DeKalb purchasing director takes Fifth in civil probe

THE CASE AGAINST ELLIS

Prosecutors filed three new motions in the corruption case against suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. He faces 14 criminal charges that accuse him of shaking down DeKalb vendors for campaign contributions. In Friday motions, prosecutors:

• Rebut Ellis' defense team's claims that the charges against Ellis are politically motivated and serve a personal vendetta.
• Assert that District Attorney Robert James' office should prosecute the case; the defense has asked the James be removed
• Said that James' computer contains just one covert video of Ellis that was shot by DeKalb Purchasing Director Kelvin Walton. James and his former chief assistant Don Geary, who now has a similar job in the Cobb County DA's office, offered completely contradictory testimony about whether additional recordings exist.

Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson has yet to rule on motions. Additional motions are due next Friday, and Johnson has set aside the week of March 31 to hear all arguments. A trial is scheduled for June, though defense attorneys have requested a delay until fall.

DeKalb County’s purchasing director invoked his Fifth Amendment rights 343 times during questioning in a civil lawsuit against the county over contract payments, according to a transcript of the deposition obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Kelvin Walton cited his Constitutional right against self-incrimination in declining to answer both routine questions about his job and direct queries about whether he obstructed payments to vendor Paul Champion so he could later solicit bribes to fix the problems he created.

Walton, who oversees all DeKalb bids and contracts, has stayed in his $153,000-a-year job, despite earlier testimony that he broke the law by not paying Champion to remove a tree on Walton’s private property. The deposition also raises questions about his relationships with contractors. Champion is now suing DeKalb for money he says he is owed on county projects.

Walton has not been charged with a crime. He is the star witness in the upcoming criminal trial of suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis, who faces 14 felonies for allegedly shaking down county vendors for campaign contributions and punishing those who did not give.

Prosecutors have labeled Walton as an “unindicted co-conspirator.” He cooperated with prosecutors by covertly recording Ellis during District Attorney Robert James’ investigation.

Under oath before the special grand jury last year, Walton admitted he lied during his first testimony before acknowledging that he did not pay Champion when, as a county vendor, he removed a tree from Walton’s back yard.

“Burrell Ellis is suspended based on accusations of that behavior, and Kelvin Walton has admitted to it, and he’s still working. No one seems to be able to explain that,” said Steve Sadow, an Atlanta criminal defense attorney who is not involved in the case

Interim CEO Lee May declined comment Friday. However, his spokesman said the civil testimony was not new since county attorneys had briefed May on it some time after the November deposition.

May already asked that a consultant, Mercer University law school dean Oren Griffin, review Walton’s admission of wrongdoing.

Attached to that same defense motion is testimony from Ellis’ former assistant, Nina Hall. In it, Hall said she believed that Walton took money from at least two other vendors to give to her, though she could not say why she believed that or how much cash she received. At the time, Hall testified she has served on several selection committees for county projects.

Hall also remains a DeKalb employee, earning $75,800 a year as a special projects manager in the county’s Watershed department.

“We don’t have all of the facts yet,” Brennan said. “We are still getting all of the information and will act accordingly when we have it.”

Walton and his attorney, Arthur Leach, did not return calls seeking comment.