At trial, FBI agent estimates Kenyatta Johnson’s wife was paid $67,000 for 40 hours of work
How much work did Kenyatta Johnson's wife do for the $67,000 she was paid by a nonprofit seeking his help in various real estate matters? Testimony Tuesday showed the answer depends on whom you ask.
With the FBI’s lead case agent on the witness stand for a third day in Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson’s federal bribery trial, prosecutors homed in on the case’s central question:
Just how much work did his wife, Dawn Chavous, do for the nearly $67,000 she was paid between 2013 and 2014 as a consultant for Universal Companies, a South Philadelphia nonprofit seeking his assistance with various real estate problems?
The answer, testimony Tuesday showed, depends on whom you ask.
Richard Haag, the case agent on the witness stand, never wavered when asked repeatedly in court.
His answer? “Very little” — a conclusion that has prompted prosecutors to label the payments as a bribe meant to influence her husband.
Rahim Islam — one of two nonprofit executives charged alongside Johnson and Chavous — said he hired her in April 2013 to do fund-raising. But he added in a 2017 FBI interview, she didn’t raise any funds.
Shahied Dawan — the other executive charged — initially told agents he had no recollection of Chavous doing any work for Universal. But later, testifying before a grand jury, he described her role as general “PR work.”
And prosecutors have said several Universal board members had no idea that Chavous had a contract with their organization, one focused on affordable housing development and operating charter schools.
Lawyers for Johnson and Chavous — a former chief of staff to State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (D., Phila.) who struck out on her own to form a consulting firm in 2010 — have consistently pushed back, describing her as a “workaholic” with a documented record of charter-school advocacy. She did “many, many hours of work” as part of her contract with Universal and earned every bit of the money she was paid, her attorney told jurors last week.
Where jurors settle on that debate could decide whether Johnson becomes the second member of City Council convicted on corruption charges within a year.
“To some extent, this is subjective, right?” Johnson’s lawyer, Patrick J. Egan, asked as he finally had his opportunity to begin cross-examining Haag toward the end of the day Tuesday.
» READ MORE: Kenyatta Johnson and Dawn Chavous bribery trial: What you need to know
Prosecutors have described Chavous’ contract as a “low-show” job and said Islam and Dawan were actually using it to funnel money to Johnson, whose help they needed to protect Universal’s real estate holdings in the city.
“Bribery in the 21st century is not cash in a bag delivered in the middle of the night,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Gibson told jurors during his opening statement last week. “It’s not that easy to move $67,000 from … a nonprofit to a public official without some sort of paper justification. The nonprofit has to account for the money leaving its coffers.”
Still, evidence put forth in court Tuesday made clear that Chavous did some work for Universal between 2013 and 2014. Invoices she submitted to the nonprofit list various tasks she charged it for, including attending meetings with Universal executives and public officials — including her husband.
That put Haag and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dubnoff in the unusual position of trying to assign a value to that work she did do — drawing frequent objections from the defense.
“How can he make a determination as to what work was done?” Chavous’ lawyer, Barry Gross, asked the judge at one point. “He’s not testifying as an expert. He’s trying to get his opinion out there.”
» READ MORE: As it happened: Prosecutors focus on payments for consulting work
In all, Haag estimated, the tasks Chavous itemized on her bills over the 16-month length of her contract could have taken no more than 40 hours — a guess that, if accurate, would put her pay rate at nearly $1,675 an hour.
While her invoices to other clients — including the Washington public policy firm Maximus and several organizations tied to Williams — offered detailed breakdowns of how much time she spent on each task and itemized lists of expenses for parking, travel, food, and meetings, the bills she sent to Universal were not nearly as specific, Haag said.
She charged the nonprofit for keeping board members apprised of bills moving through Harrisburg that might affect their charter-school operations. That prompted Dubnoff to ask what need Universal executives had to pay someone for that considering the nonprofit had one of the leading charter-school advocates in the state Senate — Williams — sitting on its board of trustees.
She billed for making introductions and phone calls to prominent officials — charges Haag said struck him as odd since Islam was no stranger to the movers and shakers of the political world.
He’s “one of the most politically savvy and well-connected individuals I’ve ever come across,” the agent said. “This is a man who throws fundraisers for federal politicians. He knows mayors.”
She invoiced the nonprofit for a few conference calls and a preliminary meeting about a party to celebrate Universal’s 20th anniversary — a party that never took place.
And in March 2014, she charged Universal for work she put in to compile a list of elected officials who represent the South Philadelphia area where Universal operates.
How long would something like that take? Dubnoff asked.
“Fourteen minutes,” Haag replied. He knew, he said, because he’d timed himself Googling that same information — a task that would presumably come easier to a woman whose husband would have been on that list along with Williams, her former boss.
Some of the work Chavous charged for was directly tied to what Universal was seeking from her husband. In July 2013, she billed the nonprofit for setting up a meeting among Islam, Johnson, Williams, and State Rep. Jordan Harris (D., Phila.) to discuss Universal’s redevelopment plans for the historic Royal Theater on South Street.
Johnson later pushed a rezoning bill through City Council that helped clear the way for that plan to move forward.
And when the city’s Redevelopment Authority moved in 2014 to seize a parcel of properties Universal owned at 13th and Bainbridge Streets, Chavous emailed Islam and Dawan a warning. Johnson later used his position to stop the seizure.
Late in the day Tuesday, the defense finally got its first opportunity to cross-examine Haag after his three days on the witness stand under questioning from the prosecution. And Egan, Johnson’s lawyer, immediately challenged several of Haag’s conclusions about Chavous’ value to Universal.
He introduced minutes from Universal board meetings that showed the nonprofit’s trustees saw improving its public image and getting its story out to decision-makers as a crucial goal — one in which, the defense has argued, Chavous played a central role.
As for Haag’s earlier calculation that Chavous did only 40 hours of work, Egan shrugged.
“That’s kind of a back-of-the-envelope guess, isn’t it?” he asked.
He’ll get a chance to further probe Haag’s testimony as the trial continues Wednesday.
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