Former Del. Hamilton's bribery trial is under way

RICHMOND

A former Old Dominion University official testified that he concealed details about the hiring of ex-state Del. Phil Hamilton so people wouldn't know that "money had been exchanged for a job."

David Blackburn was the prosecution's first witness in Hamilton's federal trial on bribery and extortion charges Monday.

A grand jury indicted Hamilton, 59, early this year after he solicited a job with a university education program while helping obtain state funding for it.

During opening remarks, federal prosecutor David Harbach told jurors Hamilton struck a "corrupt arrangement" with ODU, knowing it was wrong, and then tried to hide it when questions arose.

Defense attorney Andrew Sacks painted Hamilton as a career educator who "made a mistake in judgment" by accepting the job, but didn't break the law.

At the heart of the trial is Hamilton's role as director of The Center for Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership at ODU.

Hamilton, a Newport News Republican who served in the legislature for more than 20 years, secured $500,000 in the state budget in 2007 to help establish the center.

Email correspondence between Hamilton and Blackburn from 2006 shows the two men discussed a paid role for Hamilton at the center. He was subsequently hired to a $40,000-a-year job.

Some of those messages were obtained through a 2009 open-records request by The Virginian-Pilot, which first reported on Hamilton's job.

Hamilton and the university severed ties that year as the controversy over his job intensified.

Hamilton lost a re-election bid that November, then effectively short-circuited an ethics investigation into his conduct by resigning from the House of Delegates.

The emails appear to be a key ingredient in the prosecution's case; Harbach repeatedly referenced them while questioning Blackburn.

The prosecutor highlighted passages to show that in 2008, when Senate Finance Committee staff asked questions about the center, Hamilton encouraged Blackburn to downplay Hamilton's role at the center and obscure his salary by including it with other consultant payments.

Blackburn testified that he also was less than forthcoming about the Hamilton situation on other occasions, including his responses to the legislative ethics panel, an ODU audit and the grand jury.

He has been granted immunity from the federal government in exchange for his testimony and is suing the university over the loss of his job.

Other emails Harbach produced show Hamilton discussed a proposal to have his ODU salary paid through Newport News Public Schools, where he also worked. That arrangement never materialized.

Blackburn admitted he hired Hamilton without formally interviewing him even though other candidates applied for the job through traditional channels.

Asked by the prosecution why Hamilton was hired, Blackburn said, "Because he secured the funding."

Harbach said that is a classic "quid pro quo."

Sacks insisted Hamilton had long fought for state funds to support a teacher training center like the one ODU established, saying it was consistent with his life's work as an educator.

And while his client made a "human error," he said, "this was not an exchange of legislative services for money."

Throughout the first day, Hamilton sat alongside Sacks, intently listening to testimony and reviewing documents prosecutors presented into evidence.

Hamilton wore a gray suit with a white shirt and a pink patterned tie. During breaks in the action, he chatted with family in the courtroom, even sharing a few lighthearted moments with his supporters.

The trial is expected to last into next week. Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com