PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Jury selection is in recess, in the federal corruption trial of Philadelphia City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, his wife, Dawn Chavous and two co-defendants.
Attorneys narrowed down the jury pool but recessed before settling on a final panel. In the process, prosecutors and defense attorneys revealed their lists of potential witnesses, which includes some surprises.
Three elected officials are among the dozens of witnesses that prosecutors said they might call, including State Sen. Anthony Williams, for whom Johnson and Chavous both worked at one time.
Also on the list are State Sen. Sharif Street, State Rep. Jordan Harris, Philadelphia schools Superintendent William Hite, Public Housing Authority President Kelvin Jeremiah and former city Managing Director Brian Abernathy.
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Developers Carl Dranoff and Ori Feibush — who ran against Johnson for council — were also listed as possible witnesses.
Johnson, Chavous and two former executives of Universal Companies, a charter school operator founded by music producer Kenny Gamble, are accused of engaging in a bribery scheme. The charges against the four involve real estate dealings. Prosecutors allege the Universal executives gave Chavous a $66,000 contract in exchange for Johnson’s help with company property in his district.
Related Jawncast: Details of the Kenyatta Johnson corruption trial
Gamble is also on the list of prosecution witnesses.
All four defendants have pleaded not guilty. Johnson and Chavous have said they look forward to being exonerated in court.
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The defense said it plans to call some prominent Philadelphians, too, including State Rep. Joanna McClinton, the first female minority leader of the state house; also Shop Rite CEO Jeff Brown, Philly school security chief Kevin Bethel, and nonprofit leaders Dorothy Johnson-Speight of Mothers in Charge and Noel Eisenstat of Philabundance.
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Get the latest updates on the Kenyatta Johnson trial.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story identified Joanna McClinton as the speaker of the Pa. House. She is minority leader.