JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The former chief executive at JEA expected to personally pocket $40 million dollars if the city-owned utility was sold, according to prosecutors in the federal corruption case against him.
Former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn and former chief financial officer Ryan Wannemacher have pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and conspiracy in what prosecutors say was a scheme to enrich themselves by creating a lucrative benefit plan whose value would soar if the utility was sold.
At a Wednesday pretrial hearing, the lead FBI agent in the case said he interviewed a lawyer closely involved in the privatization effort from the firm of Pillsbury Winthrop in February 2021. That attorney told agent Bobby Blythe that Aaron Zhan declared in June 2019 that he expected a $40 million windfall following a planned privatization of the city utility.
Blythe testified Zhan told the lawyer he expected members of his senior leadership team would collect $10 million apiece.
The sale effort was scuttled following revelations about the benefit plan, and all board members and JEA executives at that time quit or were fired.
Wednesday was the third day of pretrial hearings in the criminal case, which is set to go to trial in October. It was also the third day of testimony by Blythe.
The so-called Kastigar hearing was requested by lawyers for Zhan and Wannemacher, who believe the prosecution team was “tainted” by exposure to constitutionally protected statements the defendants gave city officials investigating the sale.
Those statements were widely reported by local news media. Zahn’s attorney specifically questioned Blythe whether he “followed” social media posts by Florida Times-Union columnist Nate Monroe, who reported extensively on the JEA scandal and whose coverage helped prompt the current criminal case.
So far, the Kastigar hearing has largely consisted of prosecutors attempting to show the judge that they built their case through interviews and public records, as opposed to statements Zahn and Wannemacher were compelled to give city attorneys.
The hearing is expected to last several more days.