Kenerly timeline
August-September 2009: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on five land deals in which Gwinnett County paid inflated prices totaling more than $38 million to politically connected developers for parkland. The AJC would eventually identify six suspicious land deals involving the county government.
October 2010: Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charles Bannister resigns from office to avoid a perjury indictment from the special grand jury. Commissioner Kevin Kenerly is indicted on a bribery charge alleging that he accepted $1 million to secure the County Commission's approval of a land purchase for the benefit of developer David Jenkins. Kenerly denies the charge. The Georgia Court of Appeals would eventually throw out the initial indictment against Kenerly, ruling that the special grand jury was not authorized to indict.
November 2010: Kenerly suspends himself from the commission for the rest of his term, which expired Jan. 1, 2011.
December 2012: A Gwinnett County Superior Court judge denies Kenerly's request to dismiss charges against him in a second indictment.
November 2013: Georgia's Court of Appeals upholds the Gwinnett Superior Court judge's decision denying Kenerly's plea to dismiss the bribery charge.
Tuesday: Kenerly pleads no contest to a bribery charge and will serve no jail time. Judge Karen Beyers sentenced him to 10 years of probation and a $10,000 fine.
UNMATCHED COVERAGE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported on suspicious Gwinnett County land deals in 2009. The newspaper found politically connected developers won County Commission approval for their projects, sometimes at the expense of taxpayers.
The following year, a special grand jury concluded that Gwinnett spent millions of dollars too much for park land in deals that benefited commissioners’ political allies. The newspaper has continued to follow developments.
Former Gwinnett County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly, accused of accepting $1 million in bribes while in office, was sentenced to 10 years probation, but will spend no time in prison under the terms of a plea agreement approved Tuesday.
Kenerly admitted no crime, pleading “no contest” to a bribery charge stemming from a 2010 special grand jury investigation of county land deals. Superior Court Judge Karen Beyers sentenced him to probation and a $10,000 fine at the recommendation of District Attorney Danny Porter. As part of the plea deal, Porter dropped two misdemeanor charges of failure to disclose a financial interest in properties the county rezoned.
The plea deal is a surprising twist in a four-year run of scandal that has tainted the once-golden reputation of Georgia’s largest county. The grand jury probe prompted then-Chairman Charles Bannister to resign to avoid a perjury charge in 2010. Two years later, Commissioner Shirley Lasseter and three others pleaded guilty to bribery charges in a separate federal investigation.
Explaining the plea deal to Beyers, Porter cited the uncertainty of proving the bribery charge against Kenerly at trial. He also cited the poor health of Kenerly’s wife, who has stage 4 breast cancer. If she passes away and Kenerly is in prison, Porter told the judge, there will be no one to take care of the couple’s children.
Some residents decried the news that Kenerly won’t get any prison time.
“I guess it’s another example of the good old boy system in Gwinnett,” said Jim Regan of Citizens for a Better Gwinnett, a community group. “He got a special deal.”
Kenerly maintained his innocence at a press conference after the proceeding. But he said the plea agreement was right for his family. He said he would rather spend time taking care of them than continuing to fight the charges, “even though I want to fight it to my grave.”
Porter dismissed Kenerly’s assertion of innocence.
“He can deny all the way over to the probation office,” Porter said.
Kenerly was initially charged four years ago by a special grand jury that concluded Gwinnett paid millions of dollars too much for land in deals that benefited the friends and political allies of county commissioners.
The bribery charge stemmed from $1 million in payments Kenerly accepted from developer David Jenkins beginning in 2007. Porter has said the payments were a bribe for Kenerly to arrange for Gwinnett to buy land owned by Jenkins for the expansion of Rabbit Hill Park in Dacula.
Kenerly has maintained the money from Jenkins was a legitimate payout for a business partnership with the developer. Jenkins, who was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for answering investigators’ questions, also said the payments were not related to the land purchase.
Porter said he’s discussed a plea deal many times with Kenerly’s attorney, Patrick McDonough.
But they couldn’t reach an agreement in part because Porter always insisted on prison time.
But he said McDonough told him 14 weeks ago that Kenerly’s wife had a terminal medical condition, which Porter confirmed by examining medical records. He said he took that into account when finalizing the agreement.
Porter also said Jenkins’ testimony was a key factor in his decision to cut a deal that allowed Kenerly to escape prison. He told the judge he expected Jenkins to “do everything he can to help Kenerly at trial,” which would make the possibility of conviction uncertain. He also cited the minimal chance of a repeat offense because Kenerly is no longer in office.
Beyer expressed concern about setting a precedent for how the county handles the cases of defendants with sick relatives. Regan, the community activist, had similar concerns.
“I’m not insensitive to his wife’s health problems,” he said. “I’m very sorry about that. But if he did a crime, I don’t think that should have been a consideration.”
Porter said he takes each case individually and is not concerned about setting a precedent.
Beyer sentenced Kenerly as a first offender. If he violates the terms of his probation, he can be re-sentenced.
“At the end of the day, Kevin was innocent, and we would have proved that in court,” McDonough said.
Kenerly welcomed the plea agreement and said he did nothing wrong as a county commissioner. He said the land that Gwinnett bought from Jenkins has been an asset for the Dacula area.
“I still think it was one of the best purchases this county ever made,” he said.
Porter said he knows some people will be angry over his decision not to seek prison time for Kenerly. He said he’s paid to make tough decisions.
“You have to take the cards that are dealt you,” he said.
Porter said the resolution of Kenerly’s case should help Gwinnett move beyond the corruption allegations that have overshadowed the county in recent years. County Commissioner Charlotte Nash agreed.
“I believe that it is a good thing for all concerned for this to be brought to closure,” Nash said. “And I certainly trust the judgment of our very experienced district attorney on handling any case, including this one.”
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