PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Opening statements are scheduled for Thursday in the federal bribery trial of Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson, his wife Dawn Chavous, and two others.
The prosecution will go first with their opening statements. Federal prosecutors tipped their hands during a motion hearing in January about how they intend to portray Johnson and Chavous.
The prosecutors called them “sophisticated actors” who knew what they had to do to cover up an alleged bribery scheme.
They will lay out the allegations in the indictment that two Universal Company executives made five payments totaling $66,000 to Chavous under a consulting contract.
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Prosecutors are also expected to say that in exchange, Councilmember Johnson supplied legislation and advocacy that Universal needed to turn a profit on property it owned in his district.
Defense attorneys are likely to dismiss the prosecutors’ characterization of Johnson and Chavous.
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They are expected to argue that Universal’s contract with Chavous was strictly for consulting work, and Johnson’s actions were routine business for a district councilman.
The defense is likely to describe Johnson as a dedicated public servant and Chavous as his able and hardworking wife, and that both are active in community improvement and violence prevention work.
They’ll be calling non-profit leaders and clergymen as character witnesses for the couple.
The trial has taken more than two years to go from Johnson and Chavous' not guilty plea in January 2020 to this point.
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