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Friday, January 27, 2006
12 jurors trapped in elevator; court ends
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jurors in the Bill Campbell corruption trial were sent home early today after 12 of them were trapped in an elevator at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building for about 30 minutes while going to lunch.
“It was quite a harrowing experience for those involved,� said U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story, whose courtroom is on the 21st floor.
He said two of the jurors were sent to the infirmary and released. Two of the jurors suffer from high blood pressure.
Court deputy Rick Goss, who is assigned to Story’s courtroom, said he has been stuck alone on an elevator, albeit for 10 minutes.
“I think everyone here has stories about getting stuck,â€? he said. Goss said the building’s occupants know to stay away from Elevator 13. The one that got stuck Friday was No. 14.
The 12 jurors were stuck on the elevator with a security guard, who radioed for help.
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Prosecution cites cash payments
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With its second witness of the day, the prosecution in the federal corruption trial of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell turned to cash and credit card purchases he made during a period when he allegedly relied little on his own personal funds.
In its opening statement to the jury last week, the prosecution mentioned Campbell’s purchase of a TV set as being among a number of established cash expenditures during years when Campbell had very little activity in his personal banking account.
To track how much Campbell depended on what it called illegal gifts, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said last week that the year before he started getting money from contractors, Campbell withdrew $20,000 out of his personal account. After getting money from contractors, he relied on his personal accounts very little, withdrawing as little as $69 in 1999.
But after the federal investigation began, prosecutors say Campbell once again relied on his personal accounts, withdrawing $17,000 in 2001.
On Friday, Jan Jones, an employee of Hi Fi Buys in Buckhead, testified about cash and credit card purchases by Campbell at the store. The witness recalled that in one 1999 transaction, Campbell paid $1,500 in cash toward the purchase of a 36 inch Sony TV set.
The prosecution dismissed the witness without explaining for the jury why these transactions were significant to its case.
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Campbell judge denies mistrial request
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bill Campbell’s defense team asked for a mistrial today in his federal corruption case after a former city councilman testified “scandals had been exposed� while Campbell was mayor.
U.S. District Judge Richard Story denied the mistrial request from defense attorney Jerry Froelich, but the judge also chided the witness, former Councilman Lee Morris, for referring to scandals during his testimony.
“I don’t need to have off-handed comments throw us into a mistrial situation and have to go back and start this process all over� Story said.
Before Morris took the stand, the defense argued with federal prosecutors over allowing the testimony since Morris was a frequent critic of Campbell’s while he was on the City Council.
Campbell’s attorney strongly objected to any evidence regarding the power struggles on the Atlanta City Council, which had final approval over city contracts. The prosecution has been attempting to establish all week that Campbell was often personally involved with negotiating contracts.
The defense argued that allowing Morris to discuss the relationship between Campbell and council would amount to “litigating politics.â€? “We are getting into politics,â€? Froelich told the judge. He said Morris, who chaired the city’s finance committee for four years before leaving in 2002, often disagreed with Campbell because of the mayor’s support of affirmative action.
Prosecutors, however, said Morris’ testimony was vital in establishing the relationship between the mayor and the City Council so that jurors would understand testimony that will come later dealing with alleged bribes. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said politics formed “the backdrop where the corrupt activity occurred.�
In a minor victory for the prosecution, Story ruled he would allow Morris to talk about politics but on a sharply limited bases.
Campbell is accused of using his term as mayor to run a criminal enterprise that included bribery and illegal campaign contributions in exchange for favors, including the awarding contracts to friends. He has pleaded not guilty.
For the brief time on the stand, Morris testified to how some members of the council became concerned after Campbell’s administration was awarding contracts on an emergency basis without involving the council.
One of those agreements, Morris said, involved R&D Testing and Drilling, owned by Campbell friend Ricky Rowe. Without bidding the job, the city gave the contract to R&D to remove contaminated dirt from D.L Stanton Park, which had been built on a landfill.
Morris said the council was concerned because R&D’s specialty was materials testing, not dirt removal.
Morris testified that the emergency contracting process allowed the mayor to make contracts with companies without approval or even knowledge of the contract, and that led the council to push for legislation to change the law “after a couple of scandals within the administration.�
The reference to “scandalsâ€? irked the judge who told Morris, an attorney, that he should know better than to use such explosive terms during testimony. After Story told the jury to ignore Morris’ “scandalâ€? comment and “not consider it testimony,â€? Campbell turned to the defense table and smiled broadly.
While leaving the courthouse after his testimony, Morris told reporters he “would have been horrified� if he had caused a mistrial.
Morris said he often disagreed with Campbell, but not because of his position on affirmative action.
“My testimony was going to be not only did he abuse emergency power but he also disregarded the city charter and city ordinances,” Morris said.
With regard to Rowe’s materials testing company getting a drilling contract, Morris said, “My concern was that we used a drilling and testing company, and we ended up spending $8.4 million” on the Stanton Park cleanup. Rowe died in 2004.
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Campbell’s travels may come up today
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Testimony will resume today in the federal corruption trial of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, with the prosecution expected to call a travel agent who once arranged trips for the mayor.
Gabe Pascarella’s name surfaced in the federal investigation in 2001, a year before Campbell left office. At the time, investigators were trying to determine whether city contractors had paid for any trips Campbell had taken with former Atlanta newscaster Marion Brooks, according to people familiar with the investigation at the time.
In an interview at the time, Pascarella said it was “entirely possible� that Brooks paid him for arranging trips with Campbell after Brooks’ bank records revealed a single payment of $3,000 was paid to a Stone Mountain travel agent who sometimes arranged trips for the mayor.
Brooks, who worked for WSB-TV, left Georgia in 1997 for Chicago, where she co-anchors the 4:30 and 5 p.m. weekday newscasts for NBC affiliate WMAQ.
Pascarella has expressed public support for the mayor on at least one occasion — on an airport issue. In a letter to the editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pascarella in 1998 said Campbell’s “legacy will be determined by the decisions he makes, even if they are not popular with the antipathetic editorial staff of The Atlanta Constitution.â€?
At the time, he was referring to Campbell’s handling of leadership changes at Hartsfield International Airport.
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