SAN DIEGO -- The federal grand jury investigation into the city hall corruption appears to be entering a critical phase, 10News reported.

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An attorney for Michael Galardi -- the man who owns Cheetah's strip club in Kearny Mesa and several clubs in Las Vegas -- said that nearly 25 of his client's employees and relatives have been brought to San Diego to testify at today's weekly session.

Sources told 10News that many of the employees and relatives are listed in court documents, which detail contributions to city councilmen Ralph Inzunza and Charles Lewis.

The witnesses may help the grand jury help determine if the contributions were genuine or bribes, according to 10News.

Former federal prosecutor Eric Acker told 10News that he believes officials could be laying the final framework for a possible indictment by looking at who gave money.

Acker said that the next step before an indictment would be determining intent. Did strip club bosses give money for a specific reason? And if the contributions were bribes, were they successful?

Acker said he believes that the witnesses could prove vital by revealing when and how often those contributions were made.

"If money flowed, and something happened in response, it would certainly provide circumstantial evidence that is was not legitimate political contributions," Acker said.