Feds try to block witnesses, including Tallahassee officials, from testifying in Burnette case

Federal prosecutors are trying to keep numerous unnamed witnesses, including 10 city officials, from testifying in the trial of businessman J.T. Burnette, calling them “a distraction.”

The government, in U.S. District Court documents, wrote that Burnette’s lawyers want to call as many as 77 witnesses to testify in the trial, which is set for Oct. 5. Twelve of those witnesses are also on the government’s list, but not the other 65.

“The only conceivable purposes in calling many of those 65 potential witnesses are to confuse the jury with irrelevant evidence,” prosecutors said in their motion to exclude “improper” defense witnesses.

The witnesses’ names were redacted from court documents. But it’s likely they include top city officials who had various interactions and involvement with Burnette and his projects. 

Prosecutors said city officials on the defense's witness list are aware of underlying facts of the Maddox case but "have no other relevant testimony to provide."

The FBI investigation, which began in 2015 with the arrival of undercover agents, culminated in the indictments of former City Commissioner Scott Maddox, former Downtown Improvement Authority Executive Director Paige Carter-Smith and Burnette.

Federal prosecutors allege the three shook down city vendors, including prominent local business people and an FBI front company, for cash bribes in exchange for official action. Burnette also is accused of bribing Maddox directly to kill a rival hotel project.

Burnette's high-powered defense team includes Tim Jansen of Tallahassee and Gregory Kehoe of Tampa. 

"We will be filing with the court our response in opposition to the government's motion," Jansen told the Tallahassee Democrat.

Burnette's witness list also includes 13 people who were "intercepted" by undercover FBI agents or otherwise interacted with them during their Tallahassee probe, prosecutors said.

Back story:

►The ABCs of a corruption case: Your guide to the businesses and people linked to Scott Maddox

►A $110,000 bribe, an empty chair and a hotel denied: Inside the J.T. Burnette allegations

►CORRUPTION CONFIRMED: Scott Maddox, Paige Carter-Smith guilty after 4-year Tallahassee probe

Another six potential defense witnesses are representatives from the companies involved in illicit or questionable dealings with Maddox and Carter-Smith.

Five more witnesses on Burnette's list "have no apparently relevant testimony to provide, presumably to distract the jury from (Burnette's) own conduct," prosecutors wrote

Burnette, whose projects include the downtown DoubleTree Hotel and Gateway building, was scheduled to start Monday but was pushed back weeks ago because of the coronavirus outbreak. 

Maddox and Carter-Smith, who are expected to testify against him as part of an agreement with prosecutors, are scheduled for sentencing Oct. 29.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.

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