Testimony in JEA sale case suggests former Mayor Curry was ‘supportive’ of bonus scheme

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Testimony in federal court this week asserted former Mayor Lenny Curry knew about the bonus scheme at the center of the criminal case related to the attempted sale of JEA.

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Stephen Amdur, a mergers and acquisitions attorney hired to help sell JEA, testified during a pretrial hearing former JEA CEO Aaron Zahn told him during a phone call in 2019 that the mayor was “supportive” of Zahn receiving $40 million if he succeeded in selling the utility.

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“This is an exciting moment where we’re gonna find the results of whether or not people we’ve placed our public trust in, have not been trustworthy,” said Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson.

Carson said if Curry truly did endorse the bonus scheme, it could spell trouble for the former mayor.

“Anybody who has touched this deal is subject to a conspiracy charge,” said Carson.

It’s important to note, federal prosecutors have not accused Curry of any crimes in relation to the attempted sale of JEA.

“That never happened,” said Curry when asked about the suggestion he’d told Zahn he supported the bonus scheme.

Carson noted the testimony alone would not be enough to levy charges against the former mayor, as Zahn could have been lying to Amdur.

“You know we’re just hearing somebody said something about somebody else. You know, that’s subject to exclusion from any kind of testimony in court. It’s subject to exclusion because it’s hearsay. I mean, that’s classic hearsay,” said Carson.

But if there was enough evidence to back up Amdur’s claim or if Zahn validated the claim under oath, Carson said things could begin to get dicey for Curry.

“If he were to credibly testify Curry was involved and Curry has touched this in a way that advanced a conspiracy to defraud the people of Jacksonville, the result is he could be charged,” said Carson.

So far, only Zahn and former JEA CFO Ryan Wannemacher have been charged.

Both are facing counts of wire fraud and conspiracy.

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Their trial is set to start February 20th.

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