Embattled go-go impresario and Adrian Fenty BFF Ron Moten wants to call a surprise witness in his legal battle with the District: Vince Gray himself.

Moten, whose Peaceoholics group is accused of misusing grant money intended for anti-violence work, says only Gray can explain the motivations behind the attorney general’s lawsuit.

The official motivations aren’t hard to puzzle out—-Moten’s accused of signing bogus tax forms for the group, while Peaceoholics co-founder Jauhar Abraham allegedly blew grant funds on two SUVs. But, even without deposing Gray, Moten suspects it’s something more. A memorandum filed by Moten’s lawyer suggests that Moten thinks he’s being pursued because of his enthusiastic backing of Fenty in the 2010 mayor’s race against Gray.

As evidence of Gray’s interest in Moten, Moten’s attorney includes a Washington Post story about Gray’s 2010 campaign keeping a dossier on him. Moten’s attorney didn’t respond to LL’s request for comment.

Gray and Attorney General Irv Nathan aren’t so eager for a deposition. While a spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General declined to comment on the case, an OAG memo filed in court argues that deposing Gray would “burden and distract” him.

Besides, according to Nathan’s office, there’s a good reason to think that Gray doesn’t know anything about the audit. OAG points out in a court filing that Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander, not Gray, requested the audit into Peaceoholics’ books that started the investigation in the first place.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery