JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Testimonies are expected to be heard on Monday from a range of current and former officials with the city of Jacksonville and JEA before two former JEA executives stand trial later this year.
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.
The hearing starting Monday is expected to take several days or weeks. It will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed to trial.
The hearing will focus on what are known as “Garrity rights,” which are protections given to public employees who are compelled to testify, so the information can’t be used against them in a criminal proceeding. Before they can go to trial, 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 Monday’s hearing.
During the hearing, we expect to hear testimony from former JEA executives Paul McElroy and Melissa Dykes.
Dykes had been chief operating officer under Zahn and was named interim CEO when Zahn was first removed.
McElroy, who was JEA’s CEO prior to Zahn’s tenure, returned as an interim CEO in 2020 – the second interim CEO named after Zahn’s ouster.
FBI special agents, an FBI computer scientist, and two former investigators with the state attorney’s office will also testify, along with several former members of the JEA board.
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.
Part of the hearing will happen behind closed doors, despite efforts by News4JAX and other local media outlets to keep it open to the public.