WSB's Veronica Waters reports several former city officials who worked in Campbell's administration testified the Mayor often used not-so-subtle pressure on them to steer business to or away from firms he did or didn't like.

Former chief operating officer Byron Marshall testified he and Campbell had a running joke about what was more important in hiring: competence or loyalty.

But Marshall was just one of several witnesses who also testified Campbell never asked them to do anything illegal.

"Did he ever ask you to accept a bribe?" asked defense attorney Billy Martin.

"No," said Marshall.

"Did he ever ask you to look the other way on an illegal contract?" Martin asked.

"No," replied Marshall.

The ex-mayor says that kind of testimony is no surprise.

"I think that has been the mantra of our lawyers and that's been the answer over and over," said Campbell. "I think some people are actually confused because it would seem as though these are almost our witnesses rather than the prosecution witnesses."

Judge Sides with Prosecution

But before testimony began Wednesday, Judge Richard Story ruled federal prosecutors will be able to use testimony of legal activities to try to show the illegal things they allege Campbell did. Prosecutors say showing how involved Campbell was in the contracting business when it came to certain companies will buttress their case that he eventually broke the law.

Defense attorneys had objected to some of the previous witness questioning by prosecutors, arguing lawyers would confuse the jury and prolong the trial by introducing incidents not charged in Campbell's indictment.

Ex-Public Works Commisssioner Testifies

Former public works commissioner Doug Hooker testified that when the city had to award a contract to bring the RM Clayton wastewater treatment plant up to environmental code, an evaluation committee picked a company to do the job but the project was inexplicably delayed for eight to nine months. Eventually, Hooker said, COO Marshall told him the contract could go ahead—but that the work needed to be split between the company originally picked for the job and a firm the Mayor had encouraged the city to use in the past on another project. Hooker said during the delay, Atlanta racked up millions of dollars in fines.

Stephen Baker testified when he served as deputy general manager at Hartsfield Airport, the Mayor met with him privately to talk about a vending contract.

" 'Rickey and Dot Rowe are my friends, and I expect them to be taken care of,' " Baker recalls the Mayor saying.

Baker said he was "puzzled and disturbed," and didn't know what the Mayor was asking him to do. He wrote a memo about the incident, he says, but doesn't know what happened to it and acknowledged he had not sent that memo to the Mayor.

Dorothy "Dot" Rowe is the widow of Rickey Rowe, a close friend and campaign fundraiser of Campbell's. Her husband owned R&D Testing, a firm which got engineering work with Atlanta; she owned D&D Concessions. On the stand, Hooker described Mr. Rowe's company's work as "Mediocre. Sometimes fine, sometimes poor."

Before Rowe died in 2004, he had maintained that Campbell had never taken any bribes or done anything illegal. His widow testified last May that Rowe would have wanted to testify on Campbell's behalf.

Jarvis Middleton was another former public works commissioner for the city of Atlanta, getting the job after Hooker left the position. He testified that the department's staff was concerned about the quality of the work of R&D, and he told chief operating officer Larry Wallace that the firm's contract with the city shouldn't be renewed. The contract was renewed despite Middleton's recommendation, and he says he later got a call from Wallace which resulted in his firing.

Middleton testified the official reason for his firing was that he was being called on the carpet for signing off on a three-day conference for 67 of his department's employees on Jekyll Island, racking up a cost to taxpayers of over $50,000. But he tells WSB he doesn't agree.

"I believe I was fired just because I was not a member of the Campbell inner circle, and I had no desire to give contracts to people who I felt didn't deserve them," Middleton said.

Earlier on the stand, Middleton was cross-examined by defense attorney Fred Orr, who asked Middleton whether he had been fired from a job in Cobb County because of insubordination.

Middleton said he had not.

"The reason...was for insubordinate acts, not insubordination," said Middleton.

"I stand corrected," Orr said.

Witness Says Campbell Got Upset Over Credit Card Payment

The final witness of the day was Michael Sullivan, who was director of the office of contract compliance in Campbell's administration. Sullivan says he sometimes traveled with the Mayor to an annual golf and tennis networking event for black executives in Florida, or attended parties or events like the World Series with Campbell. On a Florida trip, he testified, Rickey Rowe used a credit card to pay for Campbell's hotel room incidentals when Rowe and Sullivan were checking out.

Sullivan says Campbell was upset when he learned about the payment--but seemed angrier about the method than the payment itself.

"He told me you can't use a credit card to pay for things like that," Sullivan testified. "It leaves a trail."

Sullivan is expected to testify about how Campbell manipulated the contracting process to help his friends get more city work.

Marshall testified that Campbell fired Sullivan when he was accused of sexual harassment.

The defense all but promised fireworks when their cross-examination of Sullivan begins.

"We're loaded for bear," Billy Martin said in court.

Thursday, 26 January 2006