In a legalistic encore, former Gwinnett County Commissioner Kevin Kenerly was indicted Thursday on the same bribery-related charges that he was slapped with last year.
A grand jury indicted Kenerly on one count of bribery for accepting or agreeing to accept $1 million in bribes from a prominent developer and two counts of failing to disclose a financial interest in properties he voted to rezone.
Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter also said he is continuing to investigate Kenerly's activities and might seek additional charges. The indictment was "really a form of insurance, because I wanted to keep the case moving forward," Porter said.
Kenerly's attorney, Patrick McDonough, said he was not surprised at Thursday's developments.
"We stand ready to fight and ultimately prove his innocence," McDonough said.
A previous indictment against Kenerly was voided last month by the Court of Appeals of Georgia, which ruled that the special purpose grand jury that returned the indictment did not have the power to indict anyone.
That Oct. 20, 2010 indictment had been the culmination of a 10-month-long investigation conducted by the special purpose grand jury impaneled to look into the county's suspicious park land purchases. The investigation began after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a series of stories questioning some of the deals.
The special grand jury ultimately concluded that Gwinnett County commissioners paid millions of dollars too much for some parcels of land in several deals that used taxpayer money to benefit commissioners' friends and political allies.
The panel considered indicting then-Commission Chairman Charles Bannister on a perjury charge, but Bannister avoided prosecution by offering to resign.
Kenerly's attorney appealed the indictment, saying that special purpose grand juries did not have the authority to issue indictments under state law. The state Court of Appeals agreed in a July 6 decision.
Porter plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Georgia. In the meantime, Thursday's indictment means the prosecution of Kenerly can proceed.
The next step is an arraignment hearing where Kenerly would be formally notified of the charges against him and given the opportunity to enter a plea. No arraignment date has been scheduled and Porter said it will probably be a month or longer before that hearing occurs.
Until he stepped down Nov. 16, Kenerly was the county's longest-serving commissioner, having held his seat for 16 years. He voluntarily suspended himself two weeks before his term was to expire, saying that his case had become an "unnecessary distraction" for county staff.
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