Ellis fires back with his own accusations | www.myajc.com

The bare-knuckled litigation involving the political corruption prosecution of suspended DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis has become even more heated.

In court filings this week, Ellis fought back against the district attorney who’s prosecuting him and the man who succeeded him as the county’s top official, leveling accusations of financial wrongdoing and hypocrisy.

Ellis’ legal team accused District Attorney Robert James and interim CEO Lee May of essentially committing the same crime Ellis is being prosecuted for: theft of county property. James and May used county employees to raise money at a gala that was nothing more than a political event used to promote their own agendas, a strongly worded court motion alleges.

DeKalb prosecutors and Ellis’ lawyers have been exchanging barbs since before Ellis was indicted in June on charges of extortion, conspiracy, theft and coercion. Ellis’ court filings this week should only exacerbate the acrimony on both sides.

Craig Gillen, Ellis’ lead defense attorney, declined to comment. A spokesman for the DeKalb District Attorney’s Office said James had no comment. May, through a county spokesman, could not be reached for comment.

Ellis is asking Superior Court Judge Courtney Johnson to dismiss the indictment or to disqualify the DeKalb District Attorney’s Office from trying his case.

One motion, which accuses the District Attorney’s Office of selective prosecution, notes that Ellis is indicted for theft of county property by getting employees, during normal working hours, to help him raise campaign cash.

Ellis used Kelvin Walton, the county’s head of purchasing and contracting, to create lists of vendors who had been awarded contracts so Ellis could use that information to solicit campaign contributions, the indictment alleges. The lists were created by three county employees.

James and May used eight county employees to raise money and coordinate the 2013 Senior Ball, a county function that was held June 8 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Ellis’ motion says. At that time, May served as a county commissioner representing District 5.

James and May tapped a political fundraiser, Candace Franklin, to solicit money for the Senior Ball from vendors and companies who do business with the county. The court motion attached numerous email exchanges between county employees and Franklin in the weeks leading up to the event.

The Senior Ball was a black-tie affair for about 1,000 county residents ages 60 and older. Its brochure said organizers wanted to educate seniors about the precautions they can take to minimize theft, abuse and exploitation.

But Ellis’ motion calls the gala “a thinly veiled formal political affair.”