DeKalb has been investigating possible corruption in its contracting for more than a year, and on Tuesday the county's top public official was indicted. The key players in this unfolding legal battle:
DeKalb District Attorney Robert James. James, who has served as DeKalb's top prosecutor since 2010, is perhaps best known for seeking an indictment against Dunwoody widow Andria Sneiderman in the death of her husband and prosecuting Hemy Neuman for the crime. He launched a special grand jury investigation into bid-rigging and kickbacks in county contracts with the DeKalb watershed that eventually focused on DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis.
DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. Ellis has been DeKalb's chief executive since 2009, a job that gives him authority over the day-to-day operations of the state's third-largest county. He was re-elected in 2012. Ellis, an Ivy-League-educated attorney, was elected on a message of reform after the troubled administration of former CEO Vernon Jones.
Kevin Ross. A longtime attorney and political consultant, Ross once served as Ellis' campaign manager. Investigators executed search warrants on his home and business, along with those of Ellis, seeking evidence of bid-rigging and kickbacks. He was not indicted Tuesday.
Judge Mark Anthony Scott. He is overseeing the now completed special grand jury report that is still under seal after attorneys for Ross and Ellis sought to keep it away from the public. The issue is still being resolved in the courts, but Scott was sued by the special grand jury that wanted to make sure the report was released to the public.
Albert Trujillo. A 72-year-old DeKalb retiree, he was the foreman of the special grand jury looking into corruption. He sued Judge Scott over making the still-sealed grand jury report public.
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