At trial, defense witnesses say Kenyatta Johnson’s wife ‘worked hard’ for the $67K the feds say was a payoff

Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson may have the most recognizable name in the courtroom, but the first day of the defense testimony at his federal bribery trial Thursday was all about his wife.

Barry Gross, lawyer for Johnson’s spouse, Dawn Chavous, put on a string of witnesses aimed at demonstrating the value she brought to Universal Companies, the South Philadelphia affordable housing nonprofit and charter school operator that paid her nearly $67,000 as a consultant — money that prosecutors say was actually a bribe intended for her husband.

But with each new face on the witness stand — including those of Philadelphia ShopRite owner Jeffrey Brown, investor and philanthropist Richard Binswanger, and even a Norristown judge — Gross sought to show that Chavous had worked diligently for every cent she was paid.

“She had impeccable follow-up skills. She took notes at every meeting and followed up on everything,” said Brown, who partnered with a program set up by Chavous at one of Universal’s schools. “I was impressed with how she handled herself. I thought she worked hard in my interactions with her.”

» READ MORE: As it happened: First defense witness is Philly ShopRite owner Jeffrey Brown

The testimony closed out the third week of trial for Johnson, a three-term Democrat on Council, Chavous, and the two Universal executives accused of providing the alleged payoff — former CEO Rahim Islam and ex-CFO Shahied Dawan. Though the defense has just begun, lawyers for the defendants have signaled they will have only a few days of testimony when the trial resumes Monday.

That means jurors could hear closing arguments and begin their deliberations as soon as the end of next week.

Prosecutors have alleged Islam and Dawan bribed Johnson — through Chavous — in exchange for his assistance on Council in helping Universal maintain its troubled real estate holdings in his district.

But throughout the 10-day government case, Gross has sought to highlight a list of achievements his client — a charter schools advocate, politically connected consultant, and former chief of staff to State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams — accomplished for Universal between 2013 and 2014. The list ranged from setting up tours to planning a 20th anniversary party for the nonprofit and making introductions between the organization’s executives and prominent people in her network.

» READ MORE: Kenyatta Johnson and Dawn Chavous bribery trial: What you need to know

Brown told jurors Thursday about the partnership Chavous helped forge between his stores and the culinary arts program at Universal’s Audenried Charter High School in Grays Ferry. The school trained its students to ShopRite’s specifications so they could then be considered for jobs in Brown’s stores after graduation.

Binswanger — a former board member of the Philadelphia School Partnership, a fund-raising network for area schools — testified that Chavous was the first person ever to personally approach him about a possible donation to Universal’s schools. (Though, prosecutors were quick to point out Universal had another PSP board member, Chris Bravacos, on its own board of trustees.)

» READ MORE: Kenyatta Johnson trial: Day-by-day updates for federal bribery case

And yet, it was defense witness Gregory Scott — a former special assistant to Islam who went on to win election as a magisterial district judge in Norristown and is currently running for a state House seat — who offered the most direct view from inside the nonprofit of Chavous’ contributions.

“She was instrumental in a lot of the relationships we developed at that time” with donors and “other influential people” in Philadelphia, he said.

The defense has contended that part of the value Chavous brought to Universal was her relationships with a community of wealthy, pro-charter school philanthropists — many of whom she’d worked with in the past.

But how useful her connections ended up being for Universal has become a point of contention throughout the trial. Prosecutors have highlighted Islam’s statements, in a 2017 FBI interview, saying he’d hired Chavous to help with fund-raising, but she never raised any funds. At the time, he said he decided to end her contract after 14 months because he’d concluded he could do the job himself.

The former nonprofit CEO has since changed his story, and his lawyer has described Chavous as an asset.

Scott, extolling the value of Chavous’ connections Thursday, confidently pointed to a $100,000 check Universal received in 2013 as an example of her ability to bring in large donations. He said the donor — prominent charter school backer Janine Yass of Bala Cynwyd — was one of the connections that Chavous helped forge between Universal and the philanthropy world.

But in a contentious cross-examination, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Gibson confronted Scott with emails from that time in which Yass specifically cited not Chavous, but a proposal drafted by another Universal employee as the reason for that donation.

“Dawn Chavous is mentioned precisely zero times, correct?” Gibson asked.

“It doesn’t appear so,” Scott responded.

For nearly two hours, Gibson followed that up with even more emails showing that Islam had been reaching out to Yass and other donors directly for years before he offered Chavous her contract, suggesting that many of the relationships her lawyers have credited her with forging existed well before she began working there.

“Ms. Chavous’ email address appears nowhere on this email?” Gibson repeatedly asked.

Each time, Scott responded with some variation of: “It doesn’t appear to be.”

Increasingly frustrated with Scott’s lack of straightforward responses, Gibson challenged him on why he’d refused to speak with the FBI in advance of the trial despite testifying before the grand jury that indicted Johnson and Chavous.

Scott insisted he wasn’t being difficult but had declined to speak to agents because they’d shown up unannounced at his courtroom in Norristown instead of going through his lawyer.

Gibson shot back with his own explanation. He noted that after leaving Universal in 2014, Scott had gone to work for former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah — whom Gibson helped send to prison in an unrelated 2016 corruption case.

“Who prosecuted Chaka Fattah?” the prosecutor asked, drawing forceful objections from several attorneys at the defense table.

But in his questioning of Scott, Gross sought to keep the focus squarely on Chavous.

“Were you satisfied with her performance based on your interactions with her?” he asked.

Scott replied: “Overwhelmingly, yes.”

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