JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A multi-day, pre-trial hearing for two former JEA executives facing federal charges is expected to include testimony from a range of current and former officials with the city of Jacksonville and JEA, later this month.
Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn and former JEA chief financial officer Ryan Wannemacher were charged last year with conspiracy and wire fraud, accused of trying to take millions in personal profits through a controversial bonus plan, tied to the proposed sale of the utility. Both former executives have pleaded not guilty and are currently slated to stand trial this October.
Recommended Videos
Before the trial, however, attorneys will call a string of witnesses and present evidence during what’s known as a “Kastigar” hearing, named for a 1972 Supreme Court decision. The hearing is needed because of statements Zahn and Wannemacher made that are subject to “Garrity rights,” which are protections given to public employees who are compelled to testify, so that the information can’t be used against them in a criminal proceeding. In a Kastigar hearing, prosecutors must prove their case rests solely on evidence other than the protected statements and anything derived from them.
In late 2019 and early 2020, as the city and JEA tried to determine if Zahn could be fired with “cause,” he and Wannemacher were compelled to testify, and received Garrity protections. Wannemacher’s attorneys also argue that answers he gave to the city council’s Special Investigative Committee on Dec.16, 2019, should be covered by Garrity protections, arguing he was instructed to attend the hearing and respond to questions, and believed he would face consequences if he didn’t.
Following the investigative interviews, the JEA board unanimously voted to fire Zahn for cause on January 28, 2020. Less than a week later, city attorneys released transcripts, recordings, and documents from the investigation – including Zahn’s statements to investigators that are at the center of the defense’s arguments for the Kastigar hearing.
Friday, prosecutors disclosed their witness and exhibit lists for the Kastigar hearing, which include FBI special agents, an FBI computer scientist, and two former investigators with the state attorney’s office, which began the initial investigation into questions surrounding the proposed JEA sale.
The witness list also includes former JEA executives. They include Paul McElroy, who was JEA’s CEO prior to Zahn’s tenure, and returned as an interim CEO in 2020 – the second interim CEO named after Zahn’s ouster. The first interim CEO, Melissa Dykes, had been chief operating officer under Zahn, and was named interim CEO when Zahn was first removed. Dykes is also on the witness list for the hearing, along with Joe Orfano, who served as interim CFO during the leadership shakeups, and is now JEA’s vice president of financial services.
Several former members of the JEA board are expected to testify during the Kastigar hearing. They include April Green, who was the board’s chair when the JEA sale was scuttled and Zahn was removed. She resigned from the board at the end of its meeting on Jan. 28, 2020. Another board member who resigned that day, Fred Newbill, is also slated to testify, as well as Kelly Flanagan, whose term expired Feb. 28 of that year. Andy Allen, who resigned from the board in December 2019 is on the witness list. It also includes another former board chair, Alan Howard, who resigned after the July 23, 2019 meeting.
Former city of Jacksonville council auditor Kyle Billy, who had a role in bringing the controversial bonus plan to light, is on the witness list, along with current council auditor Kim Taylor, and the city’s former general counsel, Jason Gabriel. Two city council members, Ron Salem and Rory Diamond, are also expected to be called to testify. Diamond and Salem were both on the council’s Special Investigative Committee looking into the JEA sale, and called the December 2019 hearing where Wannemacher was questioned.
The Kastigar hearing is scheduled to begin May 15, with court in session for much of that week, and possibly into the following week. Currently, portions of the hearing may be closed to the public, following a judge’s order. Defense attorneys asked that the hearing be closed when the “protected statements” may be discussed, in order to prevent them from being disseminated further. Several local media organizations challenged the request, arguing the public and the press have a right to attend a criminal trial. In his ruling, a U.S. magistrate judge denied the media requests, pointing to the Fifth Amendment right to be free from self-incrimination and the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.