Testimony on Thursday was the first time juries heard from a member of former Mayor Lenny Curry’s staff in the federal case against former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn and former CFO Ryan Wannemacher, who are accused of orchestrating what some are calling the largest attempt to defraud the city of Jacksonville.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Testimony released Wednesday reveals what Mayor Lenny Curry and his staff may have known prior to the plan to try and sell JEA. Curry’s former Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa was interviewed for that committee and he said there was no plot by the mayor to sell JEA outright. SPECIAL SECTION | Tracking the JEA sagaMousa was questioned by an attorney hired by the investigative committee looking into JEA. Mousa said Curry never said at any time that he was going to sell JEA. One JEA employee was reprimanded for leaking some confidential documents to City Council members and JEA has made changes in how those documents are stored.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The special Jacksonville City Council committee investigating who initiated efforts to privatize the city-owned utility and if any laws or ethical standards were broken in during the process is hoping to have its final report completed by the end of September. During its meeting Monday morning, committee members expressed concern about access to testimony by the mayor current Chief Administrative officer Brian Hughes, who asserted executive privilege in order to not answer some of the questions. The City Attorneys Office has ruled that such privilege was allowed, but council members are looking to make some changes -- trying to not allow that to take place. Federal prosecutors are also investigating the efforts to sell the JEA. There is no word on when that probe may be completed.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A political consultant subpoenaed by the Jacksonville City Council has agreed to provide a sworn deposition to the committee looking into the failed bid to sell JEA. Tim Baker is the consultant who represented Mayor Lenny Curry during his campaign, and he also advised JEA during the sale process. The botched JEA sale has been the target of a City Council investigation committee for months. Baker and Mousa were photographed attending an Atlanta Braves baseball game with Curry, former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn, former City Council president Scott Wilson, and Brian Hughes -- the mayors chief administrative officer. The trip was in October at a time when the JEA sale was being negotiated and there was a cone of silence in place.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A City Council investigative committee looking into the failed bid to sell JEA revealed new information on Monday about an interview with a former member of the leadership team at the city-owned utility. According to its investigation, crucial information may have been intentionally destroyed on the personal device of the former JEA Chief Operating Officer. Some council members like Rory Diamond said that is criminal. Former JEA Chief Information Officer admits to intentionally putting the wrong password into then-Chief Operating Officer Melissa Dykes tablet destroying all documents there on. The JEA investigative committee plans to issue subpoenas Baker, Mousa, former JEA board member Alan Howard and Michael Munz, an executive at the Dalton Agency, to testify in the investigation.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Members of the Jacksonville City Council spoke virtually Monday night on whether to subpoena key witnesses in the attempted sale of the city-owned utility, JEA. There are three outstanding witnesses that the committee would like to talk to, who might not testify unless theyre compelled to by subpoena. Our job isnt to represent these people in a criminal defense matter, said City Councilman Randy DeFoor. That warning frustrated Councilwoman Randy DeFoor who said that if the City Council cant use the power of a court order, the City Council cant do much in determining what went wrong with the attempted sale of JEA. Someone explain to me what we got going left.No decision was made Monday night, but council members said they want to hear from the public.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mayor Lenny Curry on Monday responded to the latest information released on the investigation into the scuttled attempt to sell JEA. NextEra, which is the parent company of Florida Power & Light, handed over the information after getting a subpoena from a special Jacksonville City Council committee investigating the negotiations. Also on the list of those who worked on the negotiations was Bold City Strategic Partners, run by Tim Baker. The special City Council committee investigating JEA is due to meet Tuesday, May 26. A federal grand jury has also issued a subpoena for records related to the attempted sale of the city-owned utility.

SPECIAL SECTION: Tracking the JEA sagaIn its response, the company identified 13 companies including Mousa Consulting Group, a firm led by Sam Mousa, the city’s former chief administrative officer. Baker, who has consulted for Curry, ran the firm with Brian Hughes, Mousa’s replacement as chief administrative officer, up until 2017. He also said the firm did not have any contracts with FP&L while Hughes was still on board. Fallout from the doomed sale included the dismissals of then-CEO Aaron Zahn, CFO Ryan Wannemacher and several other high-level JEA executives. “I have long believed and publicly stated there was a strategic and concerted effort by Lenny Curry to sell JEA,” Dennis said.

Sam Mousa, who retired six weeks ago as Mayor Lenny Curry's chief administrative officer, will return to work for the city as a consultant. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sam Mousa, who retired six weeks ago as Mayor Lenny Curry's chief administrative officer, will return to work for the city as a consultant. According to the terms of his deal with the city, Mousa is contracted from Sept. 1, 2019, to Aug, 31, 2020, with three, one-year renewal options. Those terms were what Mousa proposed in a July 26 letter to Marlene Russe, the city's director of organizational effectiveness. While this rate of pay may seem high, Mousa was paid $329,175 in the final year of his employment with the city. His return to City Hall is raising eyebrows, including from City Councilman Garrett Dennis.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - You may not recognize the name Sam Mousa, but many are aware of his work around the city of Jacksonville. Mayor Lenny Curry's chief administrative officer is stepping down after serving under five Jacksonville mayors. Starting as a city engineer, eventually Mousa was promoted to the director of public works, and under former Mayor John Delaney, he became the chief administrative officer. Mousa said he made one of his biggest accomplishments when he was working with Mayor John Peyton. I let others set the vision, set the policy and I guess that's what I've enjoyed about my job."