Closing arguments set for Tuesday in Kenyatta Johnson’s federal bribery trial

Lawyers in the federal bribery trial of Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson will have their last chance to pitch their cases to jurors on Tuesday, after a day of defense testimony aimed at sowing doubt before they begin their deliberations.

But neither Johnson nor his wife, Dawn Chavous, opted to take the witness stand Monday in their own defense.

Instead, their attorneys and those representing their codefendants — Rahim Islam, ex-CEO of the South Philadelphia affordable housing nonprofit and charter school operator Universal Companies, and its ex-CFO, Shahied Dawan — returned to many of the themes they’d sought to impress upon the jury throughout the trial.

» READ MORE: As it happened: Defense rests its case, clearing the way for closing arguments

Chavous’ lawyer, Barry Gross, elicited testimony from two witnesses hoping to show that Chavous earned every bit of the $67,000 she was paid between 2013 and 2014 through a consulting contract that prosecutors have said was meant to disguise a payoff to her husband.

And lawyers for Johnson and Islam sought to lead jurors to the question of whether Johnson was acting like a bribed man.

To that end, they summoned Carl Engelke — a lobbyist at the government relations firm run by former City Councilmember Frank DiCicco — to testify about his experience working with Universal Companies to obtain zoning legislation it needed in 2014 to move forward with a proposed redevelopment project of the historic Royal Theater on South Street.

» READ MORE: Philly’s Royal Theater is part of the bribery trial of City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson. Here’s what you need to know.

Engelke told jurors it was he and DiCicco who had first suggested to Universal and its partner, Carl Dranoff, that they obtain the necessary zoning changes through a bill before City Council instead of the more traditional, but often more time-consuming path of going through the city’s zoning board.

Prosecutors have alleged that Johnson pushed the bill Universal sought through City Council in late 2014 in exchange for the alleged bribe Islam and Dawan were funneling through Chavous.

» READ MORE: Prosecutors zoom in on Kenyatta Johnson’s Royal Theater zoning bill in federal bribery trial

But emails shown to jurors Monday, painted Engelke as uncertain — even up to the day before the legislation was introduced — as to whether Johnson would back their effort.

“I think it will take a lot of hand-holding,” he wrote to Islam and Dranoff in the fall of 2014.

Testifying Monday, Engelke said, that while he was cautiously optimistic that they’d won Johnson over, he wasn’t certain.

“We were somewhat confident,” he said. “But I was not 100% confident that it would be introduced.”

By that point, Chavous had been working with Universal for over a year. Through his questioning, Islam’s attorney David Laigaie suggested that if Universal had bribed Johnson, his support shouldn’t have been in question.

But prosecutors were quick to point out in cross-examination that Engelke was unaware at the time of the contract Universal had offered Johnson’s wife.

Joshua Weingram, the lead project manager for Dranoff on the Royal Theater project, said he also had no idea of Chavous’ links to Universal while he and the nonprofit were seeking Johnson’s assistance.

» READ MORE: Spotlight shines on Royal Theater at Kenyatta Johnson’s bribery trial

“Is that something you would have liked to have known, sir?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Gibson asked at one point.

Weingram responded: “Yes.”

Meanwhile, Gross called two more witnesses to testify about work he says Chavous — a noted charter school advocate and politically connected consultant — did in exchange for her contract with the nonprofit.

He’s previously argued that her duties included keeping the nonprofit’s executives informed about legislation in Harrisburg, connecting it with her network of wealthy charter school funders and organizing tours and meetings to spread awareness about Universal’s schools.

Walter Palmer — founder and director of The Palmer Foundation — testified that he met once with Chavous around 2014 to discuss the possibility that Universal could aid the financially struggling charter school operated by his organization.

Rodney Oglesby, the former director of government relations for the School District of Philadelphia, told jurors she’d also participated in a 2013 meeting with Islam, State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, and Philadelphia Schools Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. in which they discussed enrollment numbers in Universal’s charter schools.

Just how much work Chavous did in exchange for the $67,000 has been a central question driving the case over the last three weeks and is one sure to resurface as the attorneys deliver their closing arguments Wednesday.

Prosecutors have described her contract as a “low-show” job meant to provide cover for Universal’s alleged bribe to her husband. They’ve said she spent fewer than 40 hours working on issues related to the nonprofit over 16 months.

Chavous, however, has accused the government of minimizing the work she put into helping Universal raise money and awareness for their charter schools.

» READ MORE: Wife of indicted Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson: ‘I haven’t done anything wrong’ | Jenice Armstrong

Should she and Johnson be convicted, they could each face up to 20 years in prison on each count of honest services fraud they face.

Johnson would become the second Philadelphia City Councilmember found guilty in a federal corruption case in less than a year.

Keep up with every development in Kenyatta Johnson’s trial with our day-by-day recaps, live daily coverage, and explainer on everything you need to know about the case.