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Friday, February 24, 2006
IRS agent: Campbell “stopped using his ATM card”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell earned and spent money between 1996 and 1999 was the intense focus of afternoon testimony Friday as prosecutors tried to link Campbell’s spending to cash given to him in bribes.
IRS agent Bill Salinski testified that while Campbell deposited most of the money he earned as Atlanta’s mayor, he withdrew very little of it to pay for any expenditures, including meals, travel and even household utilities.
Salinski testified that Campbell generally spent cash on a majority of his large and small purchases.
Between 1996 and 1999, Bill Campbell reported $661,232 in income from his city hall salary, wife’s salary and speaking fees. Between that period, Campbell’s bank withdrawals went from $19,952 in 1995 to $69 in 1999.
Salinski testified that Campbell’s spending habits dramatically changed around 1996, which is when prosecutors say Campbell started taking bribes.
“There seemed to be an abrupt change around May 27, 1996,� Salinski said. “He stopped using his ATM card.�
In 1995, Campbell withdrew $4,362.50 from his bank accounts using his ATM card. In 1996, those withdrawals were down to $1,327, followed by only $200 in 1997. In 1998 and 1998, Campbell withdrew no money using his ATM.
Testimony is continuing throughout the afternoon. Salinski is expected to be the prosecution’s last witness. The defense is expected to start calling witnesses on Tuesday.
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Defense: FBI pressured family of key witness
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bill Campbell attorney Billy Martin continued his onslaught against Dan DeBardelaben during cross-examination Friday morning.
Martin accused the former golfing buddy of the mayor of lying and only agreeing to come out against Campbell after the FBI had started placing pressure on DeBardelaben’s family.
“When your family was brought in, the biggest concern you had was your brother Bill, correct?� Martin asked.
Martin said that FBI officials came to the office of his brother, Bill Debardelaben, at the Social Security Administration, and questioned him.
“He asked you what was going on didn’t he,� Martin said. “He said fix this, right.�
“He informed me that the FBI showed up at his job and had questions,� DeBardelaben said. “My family members were drawn into this.�
Between March 2003 and March 2004, DeBardelaben admitted he repeatedly lied to federal authorities about his relationship to Campbell. He said he never gave Campbell any money.
Martin countered that DeBardelaben changed his story only after the feds started questioning his family and they agreed not to prosecute him on tax violations.
Martin later questioned DeBardelaben about his long-standing friendship with Campbell that he said started in the mid-1980s, during a pick-up basketball game.
DeBardelaben had testified that during a golf game, when he brought up a potential city contract with Sam Barber to address the city’s Y2K concerns, Campbell asked: “What’s in it for me.�
DeBardelaben said, ” … it was clear, what he meant.â€?
Martin countered that his relationship with Campbell had never been based on business and asked DeBardelaben why didn’t he challenge his friend on the question.
“I could have. I wish I had,� DeBardelaben said. “If I had, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.�
Permalink | | Categories: Bill Campbell trial
Mayor’s golfing buddy to say more about bribes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The federal racketeering trial of former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell opens Friday morning with Dan DeBardelaben on the stand facing cross-examination from defense attorney Billy Martin.
The prosecution hopes to finish its case today, but testimony may spill into Monday, with possibly two or three prosecution witnesses still in the wings.
Debardelaben, a Lithonia businessman and friend of Campbell’s, testified Thursday that in 1999 he gave the mayor $55,000 in cash bribes. He said some of the bribe money was given to him by businessman Sam Barber.
Prosecutors planned to call Barber to testify about a deal he and DeBardelaben made to sell computer software and services to the city in 1999. But, as they are wrapping up their case, U.S. attorneys have dropped witness over the last few days.
IRS agency Bill Salinski is expected to take the stand again to testify about Campbell’s bank records and expenditures as the government seeks to strengthen its case that Campbell lived on cash to disguise his spending habits, and some of the cash was from bribes.
Permalink | | Categories: Bill Campbell trial
