District Attorney Robert James on Wednesday called on jurors to reject DeKalb County’s “sewer of corruption” by finding CEO Burrell Ellis guilty — a verdict he said would send a message that shady dealings won’t be tolerated.
After hearing 11 days of testimony from 40 witnesses and hours of secret recordings, the jury began deliberating on nine charges of bribery, extortion and perjury against Ellis.
Ellis, who has been suspended for nearly two years from his position as the head of county government, is accused of strong-arming county contractors into donating to his 2012 re-election campaign.
But lead defense attorney Craig Gillen told jurors that Ellis didn’t shake anyone down. He described one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, Kelvin Walton, a former DeKalb employee who avoided criminal charges by wearing a wire and secretly recording Ellis, as prosecutors’ “putty man.”
“There’s no deceit by Mr. Ellis. The deceit came from the government’s putty man, Mr. Walton, who continues to lie and lie and lie at each and every stage,” Gillen said. “They put up a putty man to fill the holes of a case that needed patching up.”
Gillen was even-keeled as he cast Ellis as an honest public servant, while James was animated, pointing at Ellis, slamming his hands on the podium, imitating Ellis by holding up a hand in a mock swearing-in.
James attacked not just Ellis but also two of his own witnesses — Walton, the county’s former procurement director, and Nina Hall, a former top aide to Ellis who declined to answer questions about allegations that vendors gave her money to bring her mortgage up to date.
“His administration is a virtual sewer of corruption, and he wants you to believe that even though Kelvin Walton is dirty and corrupt, and even though Nina Hall is dirty and corrupt, that he’s an angel,” James said. “He wants you to believe that he’s a swan, but let me tell you something, there’s no swans in the sewer.”
This is the second time Ellis has gone on trial. Last year, a jury couldn’t agree on a verdict after 11 days of deliberations, forcing Judge Courtney Johnson to declare a mistrial.
As he swiped his hands in front of the jurors, James told them not to fall for Ellis’ “Jedi mind tricks.”
James said jurors shouldn’t believe that Ellis took action against contractors because they were “unresponsive” when his calls were always for the purpose of seeking campaign contributions.
“How is it you call for money as many times as he called for money, and turn around and say it’s not about money?” James said. “Everybody knows why you’re calling. You want campaign money.”
Gillen said Ellis repeatedly said his issues with vendors in the case had to do with their lack of response to his messages asking for campaign contributions.
“When you look at what Mr. Ellis said, when you look at what Mr. Ellis wrote, you will see he’s not guilty,” Gillen said, repeatedly pointing out that the CEO didn’t know he was being recorded. “The words that came out of his mouth were words said to someone he trusted. … Thank goodness for the tapes because the tapes show you what he really said.”
Gillen asked jurors to pay attention to the recordings, separating statements and suggestions made by Walton from those by Ellis.
“The evidence has not shown one single dime — not one single dime — in Burrell Ellis’ pocket that shouldn’t have been there. Not one,” Gillen said.
James urged jurors to do “the right thing.” Everyone is watching, he said, whispering his final words before the jury started considering the case.
“For people who wear nice suits, who look nice, who speak nice, who know the right people? … For those people there’s a different brand of justice? Is that the message you’re going to send?” James asked.
The jury was locked away with the evidence for about a half hour Wednesday before asking to go home. They will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Thursday.
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