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DEL.ICIO.USWitness doesn’t dispute $100,000 request
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the first witnesses called for the defense today in Bill Campbell’s federal corruption trial didn’t dispute that a businessman seeking a city contract was asked to pay $100,000 for the mayor’s re-election campaign. The witness said he just couldn’t recall it happening.
Campbell’s attorneys were expected to call as many as nine witnesses today as lawyers try to chip away at the federal corruption case against the former mayor.
Wesley Barnes, a civil engineer whose firm did work for the city, testified today about a meeting involving Campbell, city contractor Rickey Rowe and businessman Howard Sole, who earlier testified earlier that his company dropped efforts to land a lucrative city contract after he was urged to pay $100,000 to the mayor’s re-election campaign.
Sole, who formerly worked for Virginia-based CRS Construction, said he and another businessman met with Campbell in August 1997 to pitch a project to help fix the city’s sewer problems and allow Atlanta to avoid costly Environmental Protection Agency fines.
Campbell said he liked the proposal and thought the city could go forward with the project, which could net CRS between $15 million to $20 million, Sole testified.
Sole testified he had trouble meeting with the mayor until city contractor Ricky Rowe set up a meeting and went along. Afterward, Campbell and Rowe talked privately while Sole waited in the hall, Sole testified. When Rowe rejoined him, Sole said Rowe told him, “I’m not saying the mayor said this, but $100,000 and the contract is yours, regardless of whether he is elected.”
After he told officials of his company what had happened, they decided not to do business with Atlanta, Sole testified.
Today, Barnes, who was also familiar with the discussions, said he did not remember Rowe asking for a $100,000 bribe when questioned by defense attorney Jerry Froelich.
On cross examination, Assistant U. S. Attorney Russell Vineyard asked Barnes if he was disputing that Rowe asked for the $100,000 after the meeting with the mayor.
“No, I’m not disputing that,â€? Barnes said. “I just don’t recall it.â€?
Campbell, who was mayor from 1994 until 2002, is accused of running the city as a criminal enterprise through racketeering, taking bribes and tax evasion. He has pleaded not guilty.
In other testimony, Campbell’s former special assistant, Eunice Lockhart-Moss, talked about being hired by Campbell in 1998, after working several jobs, including doing work with the Clinton White House.
Lockhart-Moss said her main job was to keep the mayor’s calendar and schedule his appearances and appointments.
She said when Campbell hired her he told her that he wanted to keep his campaign promises and there a few key things she had to do to keep him happy.
She testified that Campbell said he didn’t want to be reading speeches on the way to giving speeches; he wanted to be on time; he wanted to have dinner with his family; and he wanted her to run the office in a “professional manner.â€?
The defense opened its case Tuesday, calling former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, and three others to the stand.
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