TRANSCRIPT OF BURRELL ELLIS YOUTUBE VIDEO
This is DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis and it is now time for me to speak directly to my constituents who have placed their faith and confidence in me as their duly elected CEO.
I am innocent of the charges against me. They are politically motivated. I have never violated the trust that DeKalb County voters have placed in me in more than 13 years of public service. I have never stolen nor profited from my public service.
I stand for honest, open and transparent government.
One year ago, the DeKalb District Attorney raided my home while my 83-year-old mother was there alone. The trauma of that event lingers to this day.
The DA went through my closets, my wife’s personal items, my kids’ toy bins and even my trash and found nothing illegal or improper because I have done absolutely nothing wrong.
In an attempt to find something, District Attorney Robert James bugged my most personal phone calls, including those with my wife, my children, my mother, my lawyer and even my pastor.
After being told by a member of his staff that he had violated the law and had committed criminal acts, the district attorney, in his zeal to destroy me, continued nonetheless.
With God’s help, I will be vindicated and return to my work as your CEO. I believe that what is right will always reveal itself in the end. And that will be the restoration of the office to which you have elected me and my reputation.
Daily, whether I am in grocery store, at the gas station, at church, or simply sitting in my car at a stop light, I am approached by caring citizens who let me know that they are praying for me and praying for my family. We feel your prayers and are humbled by your heartfelt support.
To those of you who have stood with me through this trial, I thank you and my family thanks you. We will prevail. God bless you all.
The indictment
A DeKalb County grand jury re-indicted suspended CEO Burrell Ellis on 14 felony counts Thursday.
The charges include theft, conspiracy and extortion. They are a streamlined version of the 15-count indictment levied against Ellis in June but include new charges of perjury, bribery and conspiracy in “restraint” of competition. The charges:
• Prosecutors allege in two counts that Ellis threatened to withhold county business from the IT vendor CIBER Inc. after an employee said she and the firm would not contribute to Ellis’ election campaign. One charge claims Ellis told the worker he would report that she provided poor customer service if she did not give.
• Two counts accuse Ellis of making sure Power and Energy Services, an Austell equipment sales and service company, did not receive work with DeKalb after the owners and an employee either did not respond to campaign solicitations or declined to give.
• Four counts accuse Ellis of ordering the purchasing director and department staffers to compile a list of county vendors for his use in campaign calls. Two theft charges refer to stealing the workers’ time — on the taxpayers’ dime — to do the work, as well as deliver the list to an off-site office. Two coercion charges claim Ellis forced those who worked for him to help with his political efforts.
• A theft charge accuses Ellis of accepting a campaign contribution from the owner of real estate firm National Property Institute of Ellenwood after threatening that the county would stop doing business with the firm.
• One count accusing Ellis of “restraint” of open competition by cancelling the contract of The Cornelius Group because the owner “criticized (him) professionally.” At the time, Brenda Cornelius had publicly stated she supported Ellis’ competitor in his 2012 re-election campaign.
• One count of bribery alleged that Ellis solicited a campaign contribution from Merrell Bros. Inc. of Indiana in exchange for influencing the company’s contract negotiations for a $5 million Watershed Department contract.
• Three counts of perjury accuse Ellis of lying under oath during his testimony to a special grand jury investigating possible corruption in DeKalb. Two charges claim Ellis lied when he said he did not withhold work from specific firms and when said he did not order Purchasing Director Kelvin Walton to cancel the Power and Energy Services contract. The final charge more broadly accuses Ellis of lying when he said, “I don’t get involved in who gets work and who doesn’t get work.”
Digging Deep. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to report the case of Brenda Cornelius, who is at the center of the latest criminal charges against suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. A July story by DeKalb watchdog reporter April Hunt cites a complaint letter Cornelius wrote to the county. In it, Cornelius alleged Ellis stopped paying her marketing contract with the county after she refused to support his campaign. The AJC will continue digging deep on this important story.
The indictment
A DeKalb County grand jury re-indicted suspended CEO Burrell Ellis on 14 felony counts Thursday.
The charges include theft, conspiracy and extortion. They are a streamlined version of the 15-count indictment levied against Ellis in June but include new charges of perjury, bribery and conspiracy in “restraint” of competition. The charges:
• Prosecutors allege in two counts that Ellis threatened to withhold county business from the IT vendor CIBER Inc. after an employee said she and the firm would not contribute to Ellis’ election campaign. One charge claims Ellis told the worker he would report that she provided poor customer service if she did not give.
• Two counts accuse Ellis of making sure Power and Energy Services, an Austell equipment sales and service company, did not receive work with DeKalb after the owners and an employee either did not respond to campaign solicitations or declined to give.
• Four counts accuse Ellis of ordering the purchasing director and department staffers to compile a list of county vendors for his use in campaign calls. Two theft charges refer to stealing the workers’ time — on the taxpayers’ dime — to do the work, as well as deliver the list to an off-site office. Two coercion charges claim Ellis forced those who worked for him to help with his political efforts.
• A theft charge accuses Ellis of accepting a campaign contribution from the owner of real estate firm National Property Institute of Ellenwood after threatening that the county would stop doing business with the firm.
• One count accusing Ellis of “restraint” of open competition by cancelling the contract of The Cornelius Group because the owner “criticized (him) professionally.” At the time, Brenda Cornelius had publicly stated she supported Ellis’ competitor in his 2012 re-election campaign.
• One count of bribery alleged that Ellis solicited a campaign contribution from Merrell Bros. Inc. of Indiana in exchange for influencing the company’s contract negotiations for a $5 million Watershed Department contract.
• Three counts of perjury accuse Ellis of lying under oath during his testimony to a special grand jury investigating possible corruption in DeKalb. Two charges claim Ellis lied when he said he did not withhold work from specific firms and when said he did not order Purchasing Director Kelvin Walton to cancel the Power and Energy Services contract. The final charge more broadly accuses Ellis of lying when he said, “I don’t get involved in who gets work and who doesn’t get work.”
Digging Deep. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to report the case of Brenda Cornelius, who is at the center of the latest criminal charges against suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. A July story by DeKalb watchdog reporter April Hunt cites a complaint letter Cornelius wrote to the county. In it, Cornelius alleged Ellis stopped paying her marketing contract with the county after she refused to support his campaign. The AJC will continue digging deep on this important story.
The indictment
A DeKalb County grand jury re-indicted suspended CEO Burrell Ellis on 14 felony counts Thursday.
The charges include theft, conspiracy and extortion. They are a streamlined version of the 15-count indictment levied against Ellis in June but include new charges of perjury, bribery and conspiracy in “restraint” of competition. The charges:
• Prosecutors allege in two counts that Ellis threatened to withhold county business from the IT vendor CIBER Inc. after an employee said she and the firm would not contribute to Ellis’ election campaign. One charge claims Ellis told the worker he would report that she provided poor customer service if she did not give.
• Two counts accuse Ellis of making sure Power and Energy Services, an Austell equipment sales and service company, did not receive work with DeKalb after the owners and an employee either did not respond to campaign solicitations or declined to give.
• Four counts accuse Ellis of ordering the purchasing director and department staffers to compile a list of county vendors for his use in campaign calls. Two theft charges refer to stealing the workers’ time — on the taxpayers’ dime — to do the work, as well as deliver the list to an off-site office. Two coercion charges claim Ellis forced those who worked for him to help with his political efforts.
• A theft charge accuses Ellis of accepting a campaign contribution from the owner of real estate firm National Property Institute of Ellenwood after threatening that the county would stop doing business with the firm.
• One count accusing Ellis of “restraint” of open competition by cancelling the contract of The Cornelius Group because the owner “criticized (him) professionally.” At the time, Brenda Cornelius had publicly stated she supported Ellis’ competitor in his 2012 re-election campaign.
• One count of bribery alleged that Ellis solicited a campaign contribution from Merrell Bros. Inc. of Indiana in exchange for influencing the company’s contract negotiations for a $5 million Watershed Department contract.
• Three counts of perjury accuse Ellis of lying under oath during his testimony to a special grand jury investigating possible corruption in DeKalb. Two charges claim Ellis lied when he said he did not withhold work from specific firms and when said he did not order Purchasing Director Kelvin Walton to cancel the Power and Energy Services contract. The final charge more broadly accuses Ellis of lying when he said, “I don’t get involved in who gets work and who doesn’t get work.”
Digging Deep. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to report the case of Brenda Cornelius, who is at the center of the latest criminal charges against suspended DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. A July story by DeKalb watchdog reporter April Hunt cites a complaint letter Cornelius wrote to the county. In it, Cornelius alleged Ellis stopped paying her marketing contract with the county after she refused to support his campaign. The AJC will continue digging deep on this important story.
Suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis was hit Thursday with a new public-corruption indictment, just hours after he turned to social media to proclaim his innocence and vilify his prosecutors.
Ellis faces several new charges that drive home earlier earlier charges that he shook down county vendors for campaign contributions and punished those who did not give.
Among the new charges: three counts of perjury, for denying the strong-arming; a bribery charge for allegedly offering to ease one company’s contract negotiations in exchange for money and cutting off a county contract after learning the vendor, Brenda Cornelius, had criticized him professionally. Cornelius’ complaint about Ellis’ alleged payback was first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in July.
Ellis still faces charges brought in the first indictment returned against him in June, of shaking down other vendors for campaign cash.
Ellis, twice elected to the top job in Georgia’s third-largest county, strongly denied allegations in a video posted on YouTube.com. He reminded viewers that when law enforcement agents seized documents and computers from his home in January 2013 his 83-year-old mother was there alone.
Ellis was unaware searches were happening when they did because he was testifying before the special-purpose grand jury at the time. He condemned the tactics employed by District Attorney Robert James and accused the prosecutor of bringing politically motivated charges.
“The trauma of that event lingers to this day,” he said. “The D.A. went through my closets, my wife’s personal items, my kids’ toy bins and even my trash and found nothing illegal or improper because I have done absolutely nothing wrong.”
The video may leave viewers with the impression that James was going through Ellis’ belongings, but James was not at Ellis’ house. The searches were conducted by law enforcement officials.
Ellis also accused James of bugging “my most personal phone calls, including those with my wife, my children, my mother, my lawyer and even my pastor.”
He added, “With God’s help, I will be vindicated and return to my work as your CEO.”
Legal experts say the video – a rare public statement by Ellis since his indictment– is part of a strategy to send his message directly to voters and would-be jurors.
“It’s carefully written to put that image in your head, that it’s kind of creepy that the DA was listening in on me talking on the phone, was raiding my wife’s panty drawer, was going through my kids’ toys,” said Ashleigh Merchant, a Marietta defense attorney not connected with the case.
“He definitely thinks he’s going back to office and wants to restore his image for that,” she added.
Ellis’ lead attorney, Craig Gillen, could not be reached for comment.
The charges involving Cornelius also play to Ellis’ reputation. Cornelius was once an Ellis insider, serving on his transition team when he was first elected in 2008.
Four years later, she was working on the marketing plan for the county’s foray into compressed natural gas – an alternative fuel captured from the county-owned landfill – when the $40,000 deal was canceled. That was just after she said she did not support Ellis’ re-election.
“It is uncomfortable and suspicious timing that when it became common knowledge that I am not supporting the CEO’s re-election, my contract suddenly was terminated,” she wrote the county in a letter obtained exclusively by the AJC.
At the time, the AJC withheld Cornelius’ name at her request because of her fear she would lose business. But the new indictment indicates Cornelius will tell her story at Ellis’ corruption trial.
Ellis also faces a new charge of bribery accusing him of promising his help on a county contract if the company gave him a campaign contribution.
In October 2012, Ellis telephoned Terry Merrell, the owner of a biowaste company, “intentionally implying” he would use his influence with the company’s ongoing contract negotiations with DeKalb if Merrell ponied up a contribution to the CEO’s campaign, the indictment said.
Ellis also faces felony perjury counts directly related to his testimony to the special grand jury whose corruption probe helped lead to his original indictment.
James released the secret grand jury testimony earlier this week in court filings. In it, Ellis repeatedly denies ordering contracts be canceled or instructing the purchasing director to cut off work to vendors. He also said, “I don’t get involved in who gets work,” according to the testimony.
“That will be easy for the jurors to understand,” said Jill Polster, a criminal defense attorney and former DeKalb prosecutor not involved with the case. “This paints him as lying under oath, so you can’t trust anything he says if he can do that.”
Thursday’s developments come at a time when the motions in the case have grown increasingly incendiary. Ellis’ legal team has accused James of selectively prosecuting the CEO, while DeKalb prosecutors have called the allegations “ridiculous.”
Earlier this month, Ellis’ legal team accused James of illegally videotaping Ellis during the investigation. It cited a video taken from a “super spy” wristwatch worn by Kelvin Walton, the county’s purchasing director who has been cooperating with prosecutors. The motion also cited unnamed former members of the District Attorney’s Office as sources behind the accusations.
Prosecutors are hoping to make the accusations against Ellis more clear to jurors in the new indictment, said Atlanta defense attorney Don Samuel. The new counts, he said, also add to the prosecutors’ case that Ellis shook down vendors in a bid to secure more campaign donations.
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