JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was the final day of testimony in the case against former JEA executives Aaron Zahn and Ryan Wannemacher who are accused of conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a proposed bonus plan that prosecutors said could have paid out hundreds of millions of dollars if the utility had been sold.
On day fourteen of the trial, the judge ordered the public, media and prosecution out of the courtroom. Also, one of the two juries - the jury that will determine former CEO Zahn’s fate - had to leave the courtroom, while the other jury, which will return a verdict for Wannemacher, the former CFO, remained in the room for the testimony, presented by Wannemacher’s attorneys.
It’s unclear what was said during that time, but attorneys had previously indicated that a clip of a statement that Zahn gave to city attorneys in January 2020 would be presented. The statement was given as the city and JEA investigated whether Zahn could be fired with cause.
Attorney Ed Birk, who represents News4JAX and has no ties to either side of this case, talked about the judge’s order to clear the courtroom.
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“It’s very unusual to close a proceeding and exclude the public, exclude the press, but also exclude the prosecution while the jury is hearing evidence. It’s an unusual situation because we had this administrative investigation called a Garrity Hearing. Garrity is a case name in federal courts,” Birk said.
Birk is working to find out if closing the courtroom is allowed.
“WJXT is looking at its options now as to whether to appeal that decision, get guidance from the appellate court, the 11th Circuit, to determine whether that was the correct decision. The purpose of doing that is so there will be guidance for trial judges in the future,” Birk said.
Tuesday’s testimony began with prosecutors cross-examining the only witness called by Zahn’s attorneys, accountant Ernest Dixon. The Zahn legal team hired Dixon as an expert witness to review and analyze financial documents in the case. During his testimony Monday afternoon, Dixon testified that the sale price of JEA would not have impacted the amounts paid out under the performance unit plan, or PUP. He also testified that by his calculations under the formula, had JEA sold for $11 billion - the amount of the top bid, from NextEra - total payouts would have been $31 million, not the hundreds of millions of dollars prosecutors had previously argued.
Tuesday morning, prosecutors questioned Dixon on his analysis, including how he considered the impact of JEA’s agreement to buy power from the Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant, and how the formula for the PUP was interpreted. Prosecutors also showed Dixon emails between Wannemacher and city auditors, where Wannemacher told the auditors the method they were using to calculate potential payouts under the PUP was correct.
MORE: Former JEA board member declines to answer more than two dozen questions related to trial of former JEA executives | Attorney testifies former JEA CEO said he would make $40 million if JEA was sold, and had backing of Mayor Curry | City lawyer testifies she saw issues with controversial bonus plan for JEA execs, even though she was set to benefit | JEA pushed for accelerated plan to sell utility to alter the narrative after public backlash, investment banker says | Former JEA exec testifies she didn’t speak up about controversial bonus plan because she thought board members knew | Ex-JEA board chair had no idea plan she voted for could net $345M in bonus payouts if utility was sold: testimony | As city council auditors pushed for answers on controversial bonus plan, they say they got no response from JEA execs
After both Zahn and Wannemacher had rested their case, prosecutors called rebuttal witness Jeff Rodda to the stand. Rodda is an auditor with the city of Jacksonville, and in 2019, regularly worked on matters related to JEA. Rodda testified that he watched the July 23, 2019 board meeting where the PUP was approved, and then began asking questions about the plan.
Rodda explained his process for calculating the potential payouts under the PUP, where he discovered the possibility of hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses, if the city received between $4 and 6 billion in proceeds from the sale.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Wednesday morning.
If convicted, Zahn and Wannemacher could get up to 25 years in prison.