WSB's Veronica Waters reports Campbell's defense filed a motion saying the jury should not have checked off anything next to alleged racketeering acts because they ultimately found mayor Campbell not guilty of corruption. But the judge said the jury's failure to fill out the form correctly doesn't change the fact that they believed Campbell committed mail fraud.

"Not only does it remain in the record, the Court has now said himself that it is supported by the evidence," says U. S. Attorney David Nahmias.

Nahmias tells WSB he expects Campbell will be sentenced to prison time this summer.

"The Court has affirmed this specific finding related to defrauding the Mayor's campaign donors, and that's going to be important because that's more money that was unreported on the Mayor's tax returns. So that's more money that's going to be held against him at sentencing," says Nahmias.

Defense attorney Jerry Froelich disagrees.

"I don't think it'll affect the sentence at all, because it's not a conviction," Froelich tells WSB. "The only conviction is for taxes, so he'll be sentenced based on taxes."

Man Kicked Out Of Jury Pool Gets Community Service

Thursday, potential Campbell juror Thomas McAndrew appeared before Judge Richard Story to show cause why he should not be found in contempt for reading a newspaper article during jury selection.

McAndrew wrote a letter of apology to the judge, and explained that it was an innocent mistake—that he had read an Internet article printed out and left for him by his wife with the mail. Because he'd been ordered not to talk about the case, he says, he had not told his wife he was in the Campbell jury pool, and he "didn't think anything" of reading the story.

Yet when he came back to court and reviewed the jury questionnaire he had already filled out—which asked potential jurors about media coverage of the case—he realized he should tell the judge what he had done.

"I can't undo what I did, but I can take pride in the fact that I acknowledged my mistake," McAndrew said in court.

Story said when this happened in January, he believed McAndrew had been trying to get out of jury duty and noted the upfront, smiling manner then of McAndrew, who manages a manufacturing plant.

"Your responses to those questions appeared to be not a matter where you were embarrassed," Story said Thursday. "I honestly felt you had done it intentionally, that that was your way out."

Story decided to sentence McAndrew to 40 hours community service for a civil finding of contempt of court. It is not a criminal charge.

After court, McAndrew admitted after he was sent home by the judge in January, he felt fearful of what would happen next—and said the incident has also been embarrassing.

"I think it's embarrassing anytime you're called on the carpet, as you say," McAndrew tells WSB. "I made a mistake. Now I'm going to pay for it with 40 hours of service."

McAndrew called the sentence fair. He also noted that the article he'd read would not have influenced his opinion about the case—that it was only about the fact that jury selection was underway. McAndrew and his lawyer believe the judge understood the message they tried to relay in court.

"Tom did the right thing at the right time and that needs to be acknowledged," said his attorney, Chuck Gabriel. "You stand up when you make a mistake.

"I think Judge Story heard very clearly the kind of man that Tom McAndrew is, and his character."

Thursday, 23 March 2006