Compelling Evidence (43 page)

T1. "Yes I got a copy of it," he says. "And the been resolved." you settled it privately, isn't that true?" .." he says. "We take care of our clients. This was ri, misunderstanding." see, you took Mr. Plotkin's money and used it for eighteen lxn@, and he somehow misunderstood how you could do that. v‐7 it?" ,'joy doesn't answer this, but his head is constantly shaking, he wants to say "no" but doesn't know how. 1%iori, state bar didn't quite understand it either, did they?" ,J get no response to this. 7 Ar ,471 ‐t it true that you settled this complaint, that you paid Mr. "7411, his money only after the bar began its investigation, and you only paid him on condition that he would withdraw this to get the bar off your back? Isn't that true?" jk[t" he says. 1"j, can bring Mr. Plotkin in here to tell us what happened."

Greek is looking at me, his eyes darting. Tol it true that to settle this case you took other moneys from that you operated a little shell game, stealing from one client another, and that this is what Ben Potter discovered?" off in never‐never land now, guessing, filling in bare spots a little imagination. It@" he says. did you lose the money, Mr.

Skarpellos, gambling?" I "A a little more vice over him and turn him slowly on the i,W. ,‐_TV it true that Ben Potter found out about your diversions . and that the two of you argued in the office violently, MV

he gave you forty‐eight hours to pay the money back or going to the bar?" him more to worry about, a little detail, the forty7eight11,17711not. told to me by Jo Ann. looks at me round‐eyed now, ready to kill, I think. this had happened you'd have lost your ticket to practice, ,'tmr6I'm‐ in the firm, maybe gone to jail," I say.

"That is QE& WR M_ someone would kill for, isn't it, Mr. Skarpellos?" he says, "that's not true." ,1. =irs warn him of the consequences of peijury, but what is Miwo, employed to conceal a murder? lii@ away from him and to the bench. 56111 Honor, this 'is a certified copy of a letter received by bar, signed by Melvin Plotkin, a client of the Potter, Skarpellos law firm. Mr. Plotkin is wfamitu M, as to the authenticity of this letter and the 4iowwjl. i T up to its submission to the bar. We would ask the letter be marked for identification."

"I will mark it, subject to further foundational All, Acosta. &W I turn and look at the Greek for a long 11T$)11T;;0FJ;7 my head, a little scorn for the benefit of the jury. "I don't think I have any further use for this @.‐P There is more than a trace of derision in my voice. Nelson is in deep consultation with Meeks. it 11 minor miracle to rehabilitate Skarpellos now. It 17 Meeks less than five seconds to come to this best they can do is to get him out of the courtroom, ‐c of this jury as quickly as possible, and hope that the dark days of winter, are short.

ARIV Hawley has been captured by the police; her picture wso a file photo‐part of a story about the trial on the evening her in L.A. As always, she was in the tow of other I@MM people, at a gala with some movie mogul when the cops MPI her. lk.ia, and I are in a quandary, whether to call her to the stand rim. We're, closeted in my office talking strategy. V @‐%.Mm has made such a disaster of his testimony that it's to imagine that anything further could be gained by putting MU, up. @‐i , says no. "She's slick," he says, "bright and quick." stuff of which pricey call girls are made. If they applied ki,*, in other ways, most could make it in the world of (i. high finance, I think. 2F

s. risky," says Harry. "Skarpellos couldn't save himself, but 4 M ‐ w might." There is concern here that she could come up @,4 a plausible story for the $25,000 "loan"‐a down payment condo, or a new car. She might say that she told the Greek

"Tlien she'll flash big eyes at the

jury:' says Harry. I can her. She will tell them, "That Tony, loverthat he is, he just that's all.' " Like that, we could lose all we've

gained from 4@‐ ‐ :11 P,I I looks at me stark and cold, like this is a premonition. It is yl' I@e things I like best about Harry. He has good instincts. is for reasons such as this that I was not more overt in to Skarpellos in'my opening statement. Nelson would 7@‐done more, to cover up. This is more difficult now. We are deep in the defense case, and Nelson is saddled with 1, lame explanation for the $25,000 "loan." He is, I to move the court to reopen his own case to call

"If we could

crush her on the stand," 1 11 admit that it was all a scam, tampered tes. ony bought, that Tony and she.were not toge er on the was murdered, it would be like putting the smoking Greek's hand."

Harry looks at me, a wry smile. This is the stuff lore, bald fiction, not what happens each day in wozifa in this state. Cases are won or lost, not on the rail I preponderance of pedury uttered by witnesses on 177" lie with impunity and then walk away. This is @sors criminal side.

If we put Susan Hawley up and fail, she could cut from under our case, I concede. Harry is right. 144great. We will not call her to the stand.

The telephone rings. I pick it up‐it's Nikki. I her to hold for a second. Harry's happy with my decision on Hawley, we've dodged a bullet.

He heads back to his s)"W‐,‐F hall. I take my hand off the mouthpiece of the phone. "Hi," I say. "How's it going?" she asks. Nikki has burned 15

4C‐‐ 1‐w I tion, and she is back on the job, at least for a few

"Ask me

in a week," I tell her. "I read about Skarpellos in the morning

"They're

speculating that the bar may be c;puh@ae, into his finances."

"Long overdue," I say. "You sound tired."

"I am." Nikki knows the hours, I'm working. wallflower in my life long enough, during my i M and before that when I was in the DA's Office to'

a7l not worth being around when I'm in the nuidie offf"

"You haven't been over in a while," she says. you died."

I feel bad about this. I haven't seen Sarah I M promise to make amends when this is all over. "How about dinner," she says"

"over here r*77Tj I d _quick, something you like." ‐,I wish I could.

Harry and I are scheduled to go over notes NT,. I‐ for the witnesses in the morning," I tell her. Mr s not hurt; she says she understands. She's not so sure n‐ Sarah $."A week and the case is to the jury. I will make it all up then," My. "Can she wait one more week?" uess she'll have to."

romise," I say. tell her. Try to get some sleep," she says. Then she 7‐1.1 up. ‐w‐feel like a first‐class shit. The plight of the trial lawyer's ' ‐ ‐ "‐c;' ' has been fighting old battles again, her demons of depen‐ 'i;@ feeling that with my career, in our marriage, she was afterthought to be tended to, serviced, somewhere between nights at the office and weekends laboring over briefs and M. seems she has a new sense not only of herself, but of who now that I no longer float like some satellite in the orbit 1"N,. I feel that in her eyes I am now the master of my own as threatened as that may be. If indeed we are each a

@@mage of how we perceive others see us, I can now say 71 there is something of greater worth reflected in Nikki's eyes time she looks at me. )i, the weeks since the start of the trial, she has found herself 17ol between a growing desire to reconcile our differences and @ thought that we have, each in our own ways, paid such a Mn price to find ourselves. It has taken her ‐more than a year that self‐image which makes a wife in our society an invisappendage of her spouse. And she is unwilling to backslide. has sent clear messages of late, like an emissary ending a that if I want her back it must be on her own terms.

up the phone and dial her. Nlir‐'answers. "AIJITIR S for dinner?"

I say. bit of jubilation at the other end of the line. z MM Milk. lawyer from hell," he says. Harry's commenting !@,@'big gray bags sagging under my eyes and on the wrinkled shirt. Pfi, that Nikki forgot to set her alarm. Dinner turned into of play with Sarah and a long evening of conversation over wine with Nikki, a lot of mellow forgiveness '@,Tùnderstandings. We rolled out of the sheets at ‐41_qjm@l with a nine A.M. court call. It was Sarah who woke ‐‐li eyes of wonder and delight, crawling over the body to snuggle between'her mother and me. It wi is

.1. of much sleep. It seems that we have rediscovered W. rekindled a new interest in life together. Melvin Plotkin, five‐foot‐two, is a real piece of *.I, businessman injured in a fiery auto collision four Neither the psychic trauma of the accident nor injuries sustained have taken the starch out of He has bum scars on his upper arms and neck, grafts have left splotches of discoloration. His c J;1 a quarter‐million dollars by attorneys for P&S k, i got his money eighteen months later, after a Skarpellos. Tony has probably stolen from a dozen ud=q is not to be horsed around with. He owns a small 7111@ and survives like a pilot fish swimming with M‐W‐` ry suspects that Plotkin‐shrewd, no stranger to practices‐cooks his own books, that he probably rw mom‐and‐pop shops that assign their claims to 1", 7# W"" so he knows how it's done. It stands to reason the first and loudest to screwn if cheated. We have our problems with Plotkin. It seems a much larger collection agency, started on a much hard work. He tinkered with a merger, years ago, and in the end found himself WIV4MC7' business. Two lawyers for the larger company I door. Since then Plotkin has had an abiding He is here under subpoena.

I have him look at the letter sent to the im‐1 complaining about Skarpellos and the trust ftiwnd‐, "Yeah, I wrote it," he says. "A license to this as 717 4* ris. JAI ,q1;7 as a general indictment of all lawyers. He 1"T from the dour expression on his face, it would applies to judges. "Did you talk to Mr. Skarpellos firstt' "I talked to my lawyer first," he says, "the one case." This was one of the younger associates

"What did he tell you?" : ‐,What's he gonna say‐your money's here, your money's there, PRITLI@ Site drafts take a long time to clear‐the giant stall," he says. "I've spent a lifetime chasing deadbeats, I know a stall when

"Then you talked to Mr. Skarpellos?' "No,

a hard then I talked to his secretary. Mr. Skarpellos is to catch."

.4g,aand what did you say to his secretary?" 111 got a little hot, I guess. She says Mr. Skarpellos; is busy. S I back. Three times I call back. All the while they're sitting on hundred and fifty thousand dollars of my money," he says. tary It seem I have words with this‐this secre ." He can cpsmvi‐, up with a better word for her. I think the lady probably

"T T‐u her wages that day. to Plotkin, his language "became colorful." She up on him. He called her back, says he was polite this but I don't know if I buy this, because she hung up again. A Iiiiii later Tony called him back and taught him a few words ;_ weren't in Plotkin's own Vocabulary. The next day Plotkin Al@ flowers to the secretary, and a note that bordered on a death `7,@ to Skarpellos.

missive had no effect on the Greek. He just kept the and i tru ted his secretary not to put Plotkin through Inst ii@. phone anymcore. 10@) two more letters to the firm went unanswered, Plotkin AW 7, the bar. They invited, him to send a formal complaint. He @7.1 a week later an investigator visited the offices of Potter, This finally had a sobering effect on Tony. The next T, IMELI W_!: to Plotkin, he got a call from the firm. wanted me to come over for a meeting," he says. @J M' s they?"

,1r11"T1rq partner called me. Hazeltine. Said he wanted me to by and pick up my check." you?"

I went by the next morning." what happened?" hustle me into a conference room. I look around this 17, see where my money has gone," he says. 44

was present at this meeting?" lawyer who represented me‐Daniel Liston is his name. @.‐ only one there." is an associate I knew, but not well, when I left the firm. : "He seems real embarrassed," says Plotkin.

1114‐m‐n cashier's check for my part of the settlement, but ,rt sign some papers."

"Paperst' "Yeah, a receipt and something else."

I look at him, like

"Please continue."

"He has this letter, typed on plain paper, to the .07 that my complaint be withdrawn, and stating that 1714P.‐F was a misunderstanding. My name is typed at e I'm supposed to sign." 1 look at the jury. They seem mesmerized by this. have turriedaic comer. One would think that Tony

.13*1 on trial here and not Talia. "Did you sign this letter?"

"I had to get my money. A bunch of .1 W "Objection," says Nelson. "If the witness could I'm making speeches."

"Sustained. The reporter will strike the last efc, Acosta. "Just answer the questions, Mr. Plotkin.", I have him look at. a copy of this letter.

I have i i too from the bar. He identifies it as the one meeting. "After you signed this letter, did Mr. Liston JW1 money Al r"

"That's all he gave me," he says. "My portion ‐')Vless their third, and no interest. They kept my 11T*)17.Wand a half, and didn't pay a dime of interest." J "You didn't sue themt' "I considered myself lucky to get out of that with anything," he says. Nelson considers whether he should object to way up, then thinks better of it. We may argue characterization, but the facts are clear, more than has in fact occurred. I have the second letter, the one withdrawing Owl' marked for identification, and move both letters and its withdrawal, into evidence.

There is no Nelson. "Your witness." I look at Nelson. He confers with Meeks 'only for a second tions of this witness," he says. "But we'd I achambers." Acosta looks at his watch. "It's time for a morning break.

We'll 7; a half‐hour," he says. I@Tois, can see that I am digging a deep hole for the Greek, 0 ,T,MU. what had started as a sideshow into the main event. f, auditor is next. He has facts and figures to document every in the, firm's trust account for the last six years. a bold mental bracket around the Greek's finana! indiscretions for the jury. We have identified more than a llrsys@ dollars that has been "borrowed7' at one time or r,lz@. all of it against checks beating Tony's signature. Not @f this money has been paid back. It seems that Skarpellos been more relentless in his abuse of these trust funds than I had imagined. He had operated a considerable Ponzi out !‐ firm's trust account for years. In thinking back, Ben had @iq given me any real I indication of the magnitude of this OL*@, evidence begs a nagging question: whether Ben know `TM tolerated these practices for years, and complained only his own ambitions were placed in jeopardy. I consider this ‐IMM@, as one often does about those now departed, whether ol@ known him as well as I thought. tr4im*‐. speaks first. "Iwould like to save some time," he says. *‐m reporter's stenograph keys are tapping softly. nods. They have concocted something between them. Tmri I take a mental giant to see this. ,tlvoi speaks as if on cue. "We will stipulate," he says, Mr.