JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The jury for ex-JEA CEO Aaron Zahn reached a verdict Thursday, just before the end of the day at 5:30 p.m. The jury handed an envelope to the judge with their decision inside -- but Zahn will have to wait to find out what it says.
Zahn was being charged alongside ex-CFO Ryan Wannemacher, his accused co-conspirator. An hour before, Federal Judge Brian Davis had decided that both verdicts in the federal corruption case would be read together.
Zahn's verdict was decided first, but it will remain sealed until Wannemacher's jury reaches a decision.
Wannemacher's jury was sent home for the day and will return to the courthouse at 9 a.m. Friday, meaning Zahn's verdict will be read Friday at the earliest.
Zahn could face up to 25 years in federal prison if found guilty.
Zahn and Wannemacher were accused of working together to create a bonus plan that would have made them millions -- while concealing the possible payouts. The plan was linked with a push to privatize JEA, called the city's "crown jewel" throughout the trial. An influx of cash from a successful sale would have funneled money into the plan, but prosecutors said the two executives never explained that the plan could be linked to a sale, or that a sale would drastically change the payouts. If this scenario had played out, it could have defrauded the city of Jacksonville of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Jurors were asked to decide if prosecutors had proven Zahn and Wannemacher knowingly and willingly misled people to push this plan and embezzle funds from JEA.
Though Zahn and Wannemacher were being charged separately, in order to charge them with conspiracy, the jury had to agree that the two worked to create the plan.
Prosecutors did not have to prove that Zahn actually committed the crime, or that their crime would have been carried out successfully, only that they plotted to do it. They also didn't have to prove that they conspired to commit both crimes, just one or the other.
Judge Brian Davis reminded the jurors that "half truths" count as lying. If Zahn told some of the truth, it doesn't mean that they weren't misleading people into furthering their plan.
Davis told jurors they must agree that their defendant acted "knowingly and with specific intent," and using poor judgement or making a mistake does not count.