Chris Wright, City Councilman Jack Kelly's former chief of staff, is expected to re-take the stand this morning to continue testimony in his federal corruption trial. Wright is accused of taking bribes from Kelly's campaign manager, Andy Teitelman, and two big-time campaign contributors, developers Hardeep and Ravinder Chawla.
Wright testified yesterday that the trio of political insiders helped him starting in 2005 as his life was falling apart. Check back here today for trial updates.
UPDATE, 9:50 am: Defense attorneys pointed out this morning that both the Daily News and Inquirer published stories today that mentioned their complaints yesterday about one of the jurors. U.S. District Justice Eduardo Robreno just questioned the jury to see if any of them had been exposed to any media accounts about yesterday's proceedings. No jurors raised their hands to that question. So the trial is now under way again.
UPDATE, 10:10 am: Two key charges against Wright are that he took a rent-free apartment from Ravinder Chawla and free legal services from Teitelman. Chawla had a contract to buy the apartment building where Wright was living but stepped aside for another buyer after Wright moved in. The new owner sued Wright for not paying rent. Wright just testified that he asked Teitelman to help him avoid a legal judgment that he pay back rent.
"I knew the eviction was coming," Wright testified. "What really concerned me was the request for payment of back rent. The amount was shocking."
UPDATE, 10:50 am: Prosecutors say Wright accepted the free apartment, legal services and $1,000 to help the Chawlas and Teitelman deal with city agencies and officials. Wright is now walking his defense attorney through things he did for the trio -- dealing with the city Law Department on an overdue tax bill for Hardeep, getting information on a Philadelphia Parking Authority land sale for Ravinder. All of it, Wright testified, was part of his job and often done at Kelly's direction. None of it, Wright testified, was connected to the benefits he received from the Chawlas or Teitelman.
UPDATE, 11:50 am: Another charge by prosecutors is that Wright, a part-time real estate agent, was trying to gain big-money commissions on sales of property owned by Ravinder Chawla. On one deal, Wright stood to share in a $6 million commission. He just testified that the deal never went through and he didn't take the potential buyers seriously.
"When this whole thing started it was clear to me that these were not real buyers," Wright testified, adding that he never made a commission from the Chawla brothers. "I tried for four or five years to present them with something but it never happened."
UPDATE, 2:15 pm: Wright's cross-examination is off to a rocky start. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bresnick has asked a series of questions that caused Wright to back-track on previous testimony. Bresnick is pressing Wright to explain why he took a check for $1,000 from Hardeep Chawla in December 2005.
"A check, it's more clear and nobody can misconstrue that its unethical," Wright testified when asked why he wouldn't have taken the same amount in cash.
"So you're saying with a check it looks less like a bribe?" Bresnick asked, drawing gasps from Wright's family and friends in the courtroom's front row.
UPDATE, 3:25 pm: Bresnick is pressing hard on Wright about free legal work Teitelman provided for Wright's divorce, for an eviction action when the new owners tried to get him out of the rent-free apartment and on a foreclosure for the house he had shared with his estranged wife. Wright has testified, trying to minimize the impact of Teitelman's legal work as a favor here or there. Bresnick has been responding with a series of court filings and e-mails, detailing the work and at times showing it to be intertwined with communications about constituent work Wright was doing for the Chawlas and Teitelman.
UPDATE, 3:35 pm: A key factor in Wright's defense is that he was in financial trouble because of his divorce. Bresnick just pointed out that Wright leased a Cadillac in 2006, paying $340 per month and paid more than $5,000 for some "cosmetic surgery" that year. Wright explained he paid for the surgery using money he had inherited from his mother, who died in 2005.
"Yes I did do that," Wright testified. "I wasn't feeling too good about myself at the time."