A bribery charge against former Gwinnett County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly may be resolved at a hearing Tuesday.
District Attorney Danny Porter announced today there will be a hearing in the case at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Gwinnett County Superior Court.
“The hearing may result in the resolution of the case,” Porter said. “The parties will not have any comment prior to the hearing but will answer questions after the hearing.”
Kenerly is accused of one felony count of bribery and two misdemeanor counts of failing to disclose a financial interest in properties the county rezoned.
According to court documents, Kenerly accepted payments totaling $1 million from developer David Jenkins beginning in 2007. Porter has said the payments were a bribe in exchange for Kenerly’s support of Gwinnett’s purchase of land owned by Jenkins to expand Rabbit Hill Park in Dacula.
Kenerly has maintained they were legitimate payments to cash out of a business partnership with Jenkins. The developer – who was granted immunity from prosecution if he answered questions truthfully – told investigators the payments were not related to the land purchase.
Kenerly was initially indicted in 2010 following a 10-month investigation by a special grand jury. The jury concluded that Gwinnett had paid millions of dollars too much for some parcels in several deals that used taxpayer money to benefit commissioners’ friends and political allies.
Then-commission Chairman Charles Bannister escaped prosecution on a perjury charge after he resigned that year.
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