Local

Drama Continues In Case Against Suspended DeKalb CEO

January 23rd, 2014

Suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis and his attorneys mounted a fierce attack on county District Attorney Robert James in a pretrial hearing Thursday. As heard on the radio

Ellis is accused of pressuring potential county contractors to contribute to his re-election campaign in order to do business with the county. Ellis has accused the district attorney of illegally videotaping him as part of the investigation—something James has denied.

Published reports from the DeKalb County Courthouse say Ellis’ legal team called a former assistant D.A., who testified he was concerned about the tactics James used in the investigation. James himself reportedly took the stand to deny he did anything illegal in his investigation of Ellis.

Meanwhile, county officials and business leaders joined Interim CEO Lee May for a luncheon ahead of his State of the County address Thursday night.

May said business will continue as usual despite the legal distractions and denied accusations of being an informant for the district attorney – a claim leveled by Burrell Ellis’ legal team.

“I am in this room as interim CEO because the governor appointed me to be in this role, and I have nothing to do with anything that has transpired in the past,” May said. “I am simply in this role to do the work of our county moving forward.”

The trial has turned increasingly ugly in recent weeks, with Ellis claiming District Attorney James is on a political vendetta. Ellis even took to YouTube to assert his innocence and accuse James of misconduct throughout the investigation.

DeKalb County Judge Courtney Johnson Wednesday imposed a gag order, prohibiting Ellis, James and lawyers tied to the trial from talking to the media.

As for May, he said those exchanges aren’t his concern.

“There’s little that I can do about what has transpired in the past. I’m not responsible for that. I am responsible as interim CEO to deliver the day to day services that our taxpayers deserve,” May said.

May has been subpoenaed to testify in the case.