Oh yes, we are, but so in Atlanta..right now the ex mayor is on trial...they should just throw all of them in the hoosegow.
Brooks Testifies in Campbell Trial
Jerry Carnes reports
Former Atlanta TV anchor Marion Brooks
Former Atlanta television anchor Marion Brooks took the stand in the federal corruption trial of former mayor Bill Campbell on Wednesday afternoon. She testified about her relationship with former mayor Bill Campbell and the trips they took together.
Brooks took the stand late Wednesday afternoon, talking about her five-year relationship with Campbell, and how the two often met out of town, and how Campbell paid for most of her expenses on those trips with cash.
The government contends that Campbell was accepting cash bribes at that time, a charge that Campbell denies.
Earlier in the day, Campbell’s attorneys were able to use some of the government’s evidence in Campbell’s defense.
The focus was on the trips and who paid for them.
On the witness stand, FBI agent Mike Grant testified about bank and travel records that belonged to Campbell and alleged bagman Fred Prewitt.
According to government attorneys, Prewitt acted as go-between taking bribes between contractors and Campbell.
Using a series of documents, the agent showed how Prewitt paid for airfare of hotels or both, so Campbell could travel to Memphis and Tunica, Miss. to gamble. But Campbell’s lawyers said that Prewitt told FBI agents, that Campbell always reimbursed him for the travel expenses.
Prewitt also told the FBI that while he accepted bribes from contractors, he never gave any of the money to Campbell.
Campbell’s lawyers used evidence in his favor. The evidence concerns a recorded conversation between Prewitt and a government informant. On the recording, the two discuss a $400,000 payment. Prewitt claimed he had just talked to the mayor.
Government prosecutors used phone records to show that Prewitt did make a call to Campbell’s office at City Hall. But Campbell’s lawyers contend that Campbell was not in his office at the time, and used the government’s travel records to prove that Campbell was in New Jersey.
Prewitt eventually did plead guilty to providing false information to a federal grand jury.
Brooks finally took the stand after 5 p.m.
She was an anchor at WSB-TV in Atlanta when the married Campbell was mayor in the 1990s, and testified that Campbell always paid with cash when they were together.
Prosecutors allege that Brooks, who at 39 is 13 years younger than Campbell, went on frequent trips with the mayor, including a getaway to Paris. They want to persuade the jury that he paid for the rendezvous with bribe money from city contractors.
Brooks moved to Chicago in late 1997 and now anchors afternoon newscasts on NBC-owned WMAQ. She married Florida lawyer Ruye Hawkins last year and is now pregnant.
Asked if she developed a relationship with Campbell when she worked for WSB-TV, she replied, "Yes, I did."
The prosecutor asked if she dated him.
"Absolutely," Brooks said. "I would have him come to my apartment. We would meet out of town."
Asked how he paid for hotel rooms and other expenses, she said: "Cash."
Did she know Campbell ever to use a credit card?
"He always had cash," she said.
Brooks testified that on a trip to San Francisco, Campbell used cash to buy her a $2,500 coat. She also testified that Campbell met her in Paris, and that for several days, Campbell paid for her expenses with cash, and even bought her gifts, including two paintings.
The government contends that a private company paid for Campbell's trip, and that the private company won a contract to take over the city's water system.
Campbell's wife of 28 years, Sharon, was not in the courtroom during Brooks' testimony. The defense had only a couple of very brief questions on cross-examination.
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