Suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis tried to justify his actions and defend his honesty Monday as he faced hard questioning.
DeKalb District Attorney Robert James attempted to corner Ellis into acknowledging he hadn’t been truthful. At one point, Ellis acknowledged he may have misspoken but mostly rejected James’ assertions.
When asked about answers prosecutors says were lies, Ellis answered confidently that each was “a true statement.”
Ellis is charged with strong arming vendors for contributions to his 2012 re-election campaign and then lying when asked about his role in county contracting when he testified in January 2013 before a special grand jury investigating corruption in county government.
James questioned Ellis’ statement that he cut off county business from companies because they didn’t return his phone calls or because they were rude.
Ellis has previously said companies didn’t know why he was calling, but James asserted that they knew he was seeking campaign contributions.
“That’s a lie,” James said. “You didn’t say what you meant.”
Ellis is the 12th witness his defense team has called. He has been on the stand for three days; two of those days for just a few hours, however.
“I have committed none of the crimes charged in this indictment,” Ellis said.
He began his testimony Monday where it left off on Friday, denying he tied getting and keeping county contracts to whether they made a political contribution.
“I never offered to do anything in exchange for a campaign (contribution),” Ellis said.
One of the first campaign solicitations he discussed Monday was his 2012 call to Terry Merrell, the chief financial officer of a Indiana company that was in the final stages of securing a county contract to dispose of waste-water sludge.
Merrell testified earlier that Ellis offered to help resolve the issue that was keeping the contract from moving forward. But Ellis testified Monday, “there was never a call made on behalf of Mr. Merrell.”
The trial is in its 10th day of testimony. Judge Courtney Johnson told jurors last week they may begin their deliberations on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Ellis is charged with nine counts of extortion, bribery and perjury for lying to a special purpose grand jury about the extent of his role in county contracting. Ellis went on trial on these same charges last year but the jury couldn’t reach a verdict after 11 days of deliberations.
If Ellis, a real estate attorney, is convicted he could lose his license to practice law as well as his political career. If he is acquitted, however, he could immediately return to the job of running the state’s fourth-largest county.
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