Categories: Courtroom Buzz
Date: January 08, 2009
Title: After A Dozen Weeks of Testimony, Lawyers in the Fumo Case are "Tired and Cranky"
An update on the Vince Fumo political corruption trial
By Ralph Cipriano
Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter found himself refereeing two unscheduled bouts during recesses as both sides went at it over the testimony of FBI Agent Brian Nichilo. Nichilo, a former accountant, spent two years analyzing financial records for the Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, a non-profit agency founded by Vince Fumo. While the FBI agent was testifying, prosecutors displayed a chart prepared by Nichilo that showed that the Citizens Alliance had spent $387,325 over a 13-year period on 10 vehicles that included a $52,000 Lincoln Navigator and a $55,000 Cadillac Escalade. Another Nichilo chart showed that the Citizens Alliance had spent $818,373 to buy and upgrade Fumo’s district office at 1201 Tasker St. After the jury filed out of the courtroom for a lunch recess, government prosecutors argued for permission to display two other charts. The first involved state Senate employees and a dollar figure for the time the employees allegedly spent on personal and political errands on behalf of Fumo. The second chart targeted what the government contends are unqualified state Senate employees employed by Fumo whose "overall classifications did not remotely match their jobs," according to Prosecutor Robert Zauzmer. Fumo is charged in a 139-count federal indictment with using state contractors and employees as servants, allowing Fumo to lead a lavish lifestyle and defraud the state Senate, the Citizens Alliance and a maritime museum out of goods and services worth $3.5 million. The former state senator, who served three decades in Harrisburg, has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, obstruction of justice and filing false tax returns. "You’re not allowed to take every argument and put it on a chart," Cogan said, arguing that the government charts amounted to "another closing argument" being made through the testimony of FBI Agent Nichilo. The judge responded that he needed more time to decide whether to allow the government charts. The testimony of the FBI agent was laden with numbers and details, and had a sleepy effect on lawyers, jurors and spectators. Prosecutor John Pease acknowledged the boredom factor by jokingly asking one reporter during a recess if she was "keeping awake." Zauzmer concluded more than three hours of direct testimony shortly after 3 p.m. by telling the judge, "Your honor, these are my questions for Agent Nichilo. I’d like to enter a number of exhibits," before he recited a litany of exhibit numbers. The judge then gave defense lawyer Edwin Jacobs, representing Fumo co-defendant Ruth Arnao, his choice of whether he wanted to begin his cross-examination of Nichilo immediately, or take a break. The usually buoyant Jacobs responded with a weary, "I think we should take a break." "Good idea," the judge responded, as jurors and spectators laughed. When court resumed, Jacobs went after Nichilo, as well as the credibility of his charts. Jacobs began by getting the FBI agent to agree that his chart regarding Citizens Alliance expenditures of $387,325 on vehicles did not factor in revenues from the sale of a 1997 Ford Expedition to a then-Fumo employee, Christian Marrone. The car was "sold and money was recovered," wasn’t it? Jacobs asked. The agent hesitated. In Agent Nichilo’s two years of researching financial records for the Citizens Alliance, Jacobs asked, did the agent ever come across a check that Marrone wrote for the Ford? "It may have been, I’m not sure," Nichilo responded, his eyebrows arching and moustache bobbing as he wrinkled his nose. "I don’t remember that check." Prosecutor Zauzmer objected, saying Jacobs’s question was vague. The judge, who was having trouble hearing Zauzmer, because the hefty Jacobs was standing in the way, asked if Zauzmer had objected on the grounds that Jacobs was badgering the witness. Jacobs told the judge the objection was that his question was vague. "We didn’t get to badgering yet," Jacobs told the judge, as the courtroom erupted with more laughter. Jacobs then asked Agent Nichilo if his chart included the sale of another Ford for $10,000 to another employee of the Citizens Alliance. Nichilo countered, with more raised eyebrows, that his chart covered a period from 1993 to 2005, and did not include any "post-investigation" transactions. It’s the government’s position, Nichilo and prosecutors contend, that certain Citizen Alliance transactions that occurred after the FBI investigation of Fumo became known were done for the purposes of sanitizing the record. Jacobs asked more questions about the trade-in of a third vehicle, and why that transaction wasn’t included in the charts. He also wanted to know why the FBI agent did not factor in depreciation of the Citizens Alliance vehicles, as well as the value of three vehicles purchased in recent years, including the Escalade, that amounted to a Blue Book value for the three vehicles of $82,325. "That’s not relevant," the agent countered. "That’s not what the chart does." Jacobs raised more questions about the chart that showed that the Citizens Alliance spent $818,373 on Fumo’s district office, arguing that the word done at the site, including more than $100,0000 in renovations to Fumo’s office and the installation of a heated sidewalk, amounted to "capital improvements" that raised the value of the property. When the judge adjourned for the day, Nichilo was still on the witness stand and Jacobs still had plenty more questions. After the jury filed out of the courtroom, Jacobs told the judge he also objected to the witness's demeanor, with Jacobs suggesting that the witness was dodging his questions. When the trial resumed on Monday, Jacobs said, perhaps "a word from the judge" would change the witness’s demeanor. "That’s not fair," prosecutor Zauzmer erupted. "I don’t want to object every time the witness is not responsive," Jacobs argued. The judge responded that if in his opinion, the witness was not being responsive, "I’ll tell ‘em," he said, but he added, "Some of the questions aren’t simple." Prosecutor Zauzmer countered that the FBI agent had been "a very fair witness," adding "his demeanor shows he is trying." Jacobs renewed his previous complaint that the FBI agent’s testimony amounted to a closing argument. The judge tried to get the lawyers on both sides to simmer down. "I perceived the day was long and Mr. Jacobs needed a break," the judge said. "Mr. Jacobs is tired and not as sharp as he normally would have been." Prosecutor Pease then brought up a new issue, saying after weeks of promises, the defense has yet to get around to paring down its lengthy list of potential witnesses. The issue has taken on urgency because the prosecution is expected to wind up its case next week. Pease said he needed to see the witness list by Monday. The defense lawyers told the judge they would attempt to take care of that. "Very well, see you Monday," the judge said, before sending the squabbling lawyers home for the weekend. Fumo also looked drained by the ordeal, appearing drawn and ashen. In the vestibule, as jurors and lawyers filed out, one veteran courtroom observer noted that after a dozen weeks of trial, "They’re just tired and cranky."
Lawyers in the Vince Fumo political corruption trial appeared tired and cranky today as the government wound up its twelfth week of prosecution testimony.
The government's contention is that Fumo promoted employees into jobs that they were not qualified for simply because they were loyal to Fumo and would do personal and political errants for him without question. The second chart that the government was seeking permission to display today would show how overpaid Fumo's employees were when compared to the standards for their job classifications, which the government argues was part of the fraud that Fumo perpetrated on taxpayers. Zauzmer argued to the judge that the charts would be "a helpful guide for the jury," which set off defense lawyer Dennis Cogan, representing Fumo.