More government witnesses are appearing today before the jury in the Austin trial of a woman accused of lying to investigators about alleged bribes to Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price.
Helena Tantillo's former boss said she never had the conversations with him that she claimed during interviews with the FBI.
Consultant Christian Campbell who pleaded guilty to bribing Price is testifying about bribe money he says he received from Tantillo to win a Dallas County contract.
Price pleaded not guilty. His trial is set for September. Campbell is expected to be a star witness for the government in Price's trial.
Tantillo's trial began Tuesday with extensive discussion about the long-time Dallas County Commissioner.
Tantillo is accused of repeatedly lying to federal investigators about payments they claim wound up as bribes to Price.
"The defendant chose to lie, to protect herself and others," lead prosecutor Nicholas Bunch said in an opening statement.
Price was indicted in 2014 for allegedly accepting $950,000 in bribes from many people over many years.
Bunch said Tantillo was the Austin-based managing partner of consulting firm Bearing Point in 2004 when the company was competing for a Dallas County records management contract. She hired Price co-defendant Christian Campbell as a consultant for the contract. Bunch said Tantillo increased Campbell's pay thousands of dollars over a two month period so he could pay another Price co-defendant Kathy Nealy. Bunch said the evidence will show that extra money went to Price.
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In 2013 and 2014 interviews with investigators, Tantillo said she thought the money was being provided to make contributions to a charity supported by another Dallas County Commissioner, Mike Cantrell.
Campbell pleaded guilty last year and is scheduled to be a witness in the Austin trial. Cantrell is also a scheduled witness and was not accused of any crime.
Tantillo's attorney Mike Gibson told the jury she simply did not properly recall some of the facts when first contacted by investigators nine years after the contract.
On the other hand, Gibson said Campbell is an admitted liar who pleaded guilty to reduce his own future sentence in the case. Gibson said documents will support Tantillo's version of the facts.
"The evidence is insufficient," Gibson said. "There is more than a reasonable doubt about these issues."
Nealy and Price have both pleaded not guilty and they are set to be tried in September.
Dallas criminal defense attorney Victor Vital, who is not connected to the case, said the Austin trial provides a glimpse of the evidence facing Price.
"This case is going to be scrutinized by the defense lawyers primarily, to give them a bird’s-eye-view into how John Wiley Price and Kathy Nealy will ultimately be prosecuted, or how the evidence might come in, how Christian Campbell will perform on the witness stand," Vital said.
Tantillo's trial could last several more days.
NBC 5's Ken Kalthoff is in Austin covering the trial, follow his tweet below:
