The pointed questions posed to suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis’ testimony to a special grand jury last January became public Tuesday as part of the ongoing criminal case against him.
The testimony, typically secret by law, repeatedly focuses on how involved Ellis became in the process of awarding, and revoking, the millions of dollars the county pays in contracts.
Ellis deflected some of the initial questions before issuing a blanket denial that he punished vendors who did not contribute to this political campaign — one of the 14 felony charges he now faces. The exchange, edited for brevity:
Assistant District Attorney Kellie Hill: “(There) have been reports about the current administration and particular contracts. So while we have you here … what I thought we could do is, if there’s an opportunity to clear up misunderstandings, to give you an opportunity to do that.”
Burrell Ellis: “I don’t know what the perception is. I don’t go out and cancel contracts, OK. … And people probably love me because they got a contract, but the reality is that, you know, I have little to do with them getting the contract. They competitively bid. It was awarded to them through the process we described. And then we expect them to do the work. And there’s other people that, you know, might hate me because either they have a contract that got canceled or a contract that didn’t get renewed. And, I mean, these things happen as part of a process.”
Hill: “OK, I want to ask you a specific question. … Have you ever ordered contract canceled because a particular vendor supported a political opponent of yours?”
Ellis: “No.”
Hill: “Have you ever ordered or directed a contract canceled because a vendor refused to contribute to your campaign?”
Ellis: “No.”
Hill: “Have you ever ordered or directed that a vendor who was under a split award contract not receive additional work because they did not contribute to your campaign …”
Ellis: “No.”
Hill: “… or because they angered you in some way?”
Ellis: “No.”
A few moments later, Ellis expands on his answers.
Ellis: “I don’t make the call to give people work. I don’t make the call not to give people work. I let — I just rely on my department heads to make those decisions.”
Read the full transcript at www.MyAJC.com.
In secret testimony last January, then-DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis denied and deflected any question that he influenced county contracts or punished vendors. At the same time, investigators were at his home and office seizing his computer and files in a bid to prove wrongdoing.
Ellis’ denials are not new, and neither is the information about the raid. But motions filed Tuesday by District Attorney Robert James in the ongoing corruption case against Ellis do offer a rare glimpse into grand jury proceedings, normally secret by law. The seized files and secret recordings by the county’s purchasing director became the basis of a 15-count indictment that alleges Ellis shook down county vendors for campaign contributions and punished those who refused.
Ellis answered prosecutors' questions before the special grand jury for 56 minutes on Jan. 7, 2013, unaware of the raids. Early in his testimony, his only concern appears to be finishing in time to attend the funeral of U.S. Rep. John Lewis' wife, Lillian.
Among the charges against him are extortion and theft. He’s also accused of using county employees during work hours to help him determine which vendors to hit up for cash.
The questions posed to Ellis that morning ranged from whether he put allies on contract selection committees to steer business to favored firms to whether he had ever personally retaliated against a vendor by steering county work from their firm.
Ellis, known for giving long-winded answers, at first appeared unwilling to offer direct answers to many of the questions.
Several times, he said he couldn’t recall any questionable behavior. He acknowledged that, as CEO, he had the power to set and change the very policies in question – such as deciding who sat on bid review – but said underlings managed much of the work.
“And people probably love me because they got a contract, but the reality is that, you know, I have little to do with them getting the contract,” Ellis said, according to transcripts.
Then in one exchange with prosecutors, Ellis emphatically denied punishing firms that supported political rivals or refused to contribute to his campaign.
“I have never and would never order that someone’s contract be terminated or that their contract not be renewed or any action be taken against anybody because of their decision to support another candidate. … I’ve never done that,” Ellis said according to the transcript.
James denied comment through a spokesman, as did Ellis’ attorneys.
Albert Trujillo, the foreman of the grand jury, said he could not speak specifically about Ellis’ testimony.
But the retired insurance executive has been very vocal in saying that he and other grand jurors were frustrated that some witnesses were not forthcoming.
“Some witnesses came right to the point,” Trujillo said. “Some political witnesses, I will say, wanted to see how much you knew before they answered the question and that kind of circumventing goes all the way up to the CEO.”
Still, speaking exclusively to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution just hours after that testimony and the raids, Ellis reiterated that he had done nothing wrong.
At the time, Ellis said he did not know if he was a “target” of the grand jury probe that began the year before, looking into allegations of kickbacks and bid rigging in county contracts in its water and sewer department.
Ellis hired attorneys 10 days later.
Those lawyers and James are slated to face off in a hearing Jan. 23.
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