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Wednesday, February 8, 2006
TV anchor tells of lavish trips with Campbell
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TV anchor Marion Brooks testified Wednesday about a four-year-long affair with a married Bill Campbell, about exotic and romantic getaways, and how he paid for it all with cash.
Their travelogue included stops in San Francisco, Paris, Mexico, Jamaica and culminated in a trip to Paris.
Brooks, a former reporter and anchor at WSB-TV in Atlanta and now in Chicago, was on the stand for 40 minutes, and looked at everybody in the courtroom except Campbell, whose wife, Sharon, was absent from the courtroom where she has been almost every day. Campbell looked her direction but their eyes never appeared to meet.
She testified she met Campbell at a 1996 birthday party for Tom Houck, an Atlanta gadfly and friend of the former mayor’s. While she worked in the city she said they met “probably a couple of times a week,” sometimes at her apartment, frequently on out of town trips.
She talked about how Campbell’s personal assistant, Dewey Clark, often arranged hotel accommodations. She testified Campbell loaned her $16,000 in cash to make a down payment on a Chicago apartment, where she moved in December 1997.
They continued their affair long-distance, she said. She testified Campbell told her “he borrowed the [$16,000] from Gabe Pascarella.” She said she paid back the money to Pascarella, who is a Campbell friend who made travel arrangements for Campbell and was a regular in their Friday night poker games.
Brooks did not testify to witnessing any bribes.
In one of the more unusual twists in the trial that, at times has been bogged down in legal wrangling and bookkeeping procedures, prosecutors showed pictures taken of a July 1999 trip taken by Brooks and Campbell to Paris, where, for the first four days they stayed at the Bristol Hotel.
“Very nice, top of the line,” said Brooks.
In the photos Campbell is seen standing in front of the Palace at Versailles, and the Arch de Triomph, with Larry Wallace, the city’s chief operating officer, who was also along on the trip.
She also testified that Campbell bought her gifts, including bracelets, a necklace, and water color paintings in Paris.
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FBI: Friend netted nearly $343,000 from companies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Judge Richard Story, dealing the prosecution a blow, ruled that jurors could not watch a TV news clip in which former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell talked about Fred Prewitt, a close friends who is alleged to have given Campbell thousands of dollars in bribes.
In the clip, which aired on Fox Atlanta affiliate WAGA, Campbell said “I know virtually nothing about Mr. Prewitt’s business life.”
Story said allowing jurors to watch the short clip out of context would prejudice the jury in the trial which today entered its 11th day and heard its 30th witness, FBI agent Mike Grant, who testified about Prewitt’s cash expenditures and bank records.
Grant testified that Prewitt had large amounts of cash at his disposal and when government investigators went to interview him in March 2000, he allowed them to search the trunk of his car, where they found $167,000 in cashiers checks.
Between 1996 and January 2000, according to bank records, Prewitt generated $342,929 in cash from companies that did business either directly or indirectly with the city, Grant testified. Prosecutors then tried to tighten the knot on their case, combining bank records with previous testimony to show that Campbell took three gambling trips to Tunica, Miss., after Prewitt had solicited cash from contractors.
Grant testifed about Prewitt’s credit card records showing that Prewitt paid for air fair and hotel accommodations for Campbell on at least 11 trips.
Permalink | | Categories: Bill Campbell trial
Attorneys squabble over evidence issues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A juror was late today in the federal corruption trial of former mayor Atlanta Bill Campbell, so attorneys for both sides spent the morning squabbling over evidence without the jury.
Defense attorneys wanted to block an FBI agent from testifying about Campbell crony Fred Prewitt’s bank records. Previous witnesses have testified that Prewitt served as a middleman to funnel bribes from city contractors to the mayor.
“The government appears to have built a very strong case of bribery — against Fred Prewittâ€? not Campbell, lead defense attorney Billy Martin told the judge. “This case is about Fred Prewitt.â€?
Not so, according to federal prosecutor Phyllis Sumner.
“The way this enterprise worked was through a few select middlemen,� she told the judge.
She said the defense is trying to block circumstantial evidence that should be allowed in a racketeering case.
The judge decided to allow FBI Special Agent Mike Grant to testify, but he has reserved ruling on another issue. Defense attorneys also want to block a videotape showing a portion of a 2000 newscast where Campbell spoke about Prewitt after Prewitt was indicted.
The tape was played for the judge, without jurors present. “I know virtually nothing about Mr. Prewitt’s business life,� Campbell told a WAGA reporter.
Campbell said Prewitt, who he appointed to head the city’s Civil Service Board, had done a lot to serve the community.
“It’s totally improper,� defense attorney Fred Orr said. “It’s incomplete.�
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story has not ruled yet on the tape. He did caution: “This is what happens when you try your case to the media.�
Despite previous warnings from the judge, Campbell has continued to speak publicly about the case and has talked briefly to reporters every day after court.
The judge said he fears that will create more problems as the trial progresses.
Permalink | | Categories: Bill Campbell trial
