JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A key decision in the criminal case against two former JEA executives is now in the hands of a federal judge.
Former CEO Aaron Zahn and his Chief Financial Officer Ryan Wannemacher are accused of conspiracy and fraud in connection with the attempted sale of the utility in 2019, and a proposed bonus plan that could have paid out millions of dollars.
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A federal grand jury indicted them last year.
Soon after Zahn and Wannemacher were indicted, defense attorneys started raising issues around evidence in the case.
Back in January of 2020 city attorneys interviewed Zahn and Wannemacher as they investigated whether Zahn could be fired “with cause.”
The two were given “Garrity protections,” which means nothing they said could be used against them in a criminal case. Transcripts of those interviews were released as public records. News4JAX did stories on them, as did other local media outlets.
Back in May, there was an eight-day hearing over the issue.
Prosecutors told the judge they’d avoided the protected statements and explained how they built their case independently.
Prosecutors expanded on their arguments with court filings in recent weeks. On Friday night, defense attorneys filed a response.
The defense argues that prosecutors didn’t do enough to prove their case because they didn’t call every witness who testified in front of the grand jury.
The defense also argues that while the prosecutors avoided the protected statements there were other lawyers and investigators who had been exposed to them.
It’s now up to a federal magistrate judge to weigh everything and decide whether prosecutors proved that they built their case independently.
Another federal judge overseeing the case will then make the final ruling.
That decision may still be weeks or months away.
Zahn and Wannemacher are currently slated to go on trial in February.