Читать книгу Corrupt City - Tra Verdejo - Страница 11

This time when Lucky entered the courtroom, he didn’t take his time. He walked straight to the stand and was sworn in.

“Counsel, you can cross-examine the witness when you are ready.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Matthew replied.

Tyler Matthew walked toward Donald and stared him right in his eyes, hoping to intimidate the former detective, but Lucky wasn’t fazed by the staredown. He held his ground until the fancy defense lawyer looked away.

Tyler Matthew first got his license twenty-five years ago as a public defender. He became famous when he was able to get all charges dropped against Al “The Stallion” Soprano in one of the biggest Mafia cases to hit NY in the ’80s. He even won a civil lawsuit against the city. Ever since that case, he had been defending high-profile clients who could afford his rate, which was anywhere from $5,000 plus, an hour.

“Donald, can you please state for the court and jury your last employer.”

“You mean who I worked for?”

“Correct. You do remember your last employer, right?”

“For the past fifteen years I’ve worked for the New York Police Department.”

“Are you aware of the brotherhood code in the police department?”

“What brotherhood?” Lucky asked, confused.

“Testifying against one of your own is against the brotherhood.”

“I object, Your Honor!” Johnson interrupted.

“Withdrawn, Your Honor. Lucky, today you made some accusations in this courtroom. You have implicated my clients’ involvement in all sorts of criminal activities. It is my job to make sure those accusations are nothing but the truth. How old are you?”

“I’m thirty-eight years old.”

“Are you a family man?”

“No, I’m not. My job didn’t permit me to have a family. I worked too many hours.”

“But, all three of your partners, they have a family. I don’t see why you couldn’t. Any reason as to why?”

“I object, Your Honor. His questions are irrelevant to the case.”

“Your Honor, I’m just trying to see if Mr. Gibson is a credible witness. I’m trying to establish his character, that’s all,” Matthew shot back

“Overruled. Counsel, I hope you are going somewhere with this. You are running on thin ice.”

“Thank you, Your Honor. I understand. Please continue, Mr. Gibson.”

“I understand my partners are all married, but trust me, you don’t want to use them as examples or role models. They are horrible husbands and fathers. They have all committed adultery. The clients you are defending loved having sex in our department. It didn’t matter where—in the police car, holding cell, right on their desk. You name it, they did it.” Lucky chuckled.

“But you still haven’t answered my question. Why are you avoiding answering me? Why don’t you have a family?”

“I don’t want a family, and I don’t need a family. When my partner was killed in the line of duty, I had to call his wife and tell her about the murder. I wouldn’t want my wife to receive a call like that. That’s why I avoided a family. I still dated females. I just stayed away from serious relationships.”

“You don’t have any kids?”

“No.”

Matthew paused and walked back to his desk.

Lucky took a deep breath, hoping they didn’t know about his daughter. He poured himself a glass of water. He knew he was in an awkward situation, but he kept his composure because the jury was still watching him.

“Donald, you know you are under oath. Once you make a statement, it becomes a record of the courts.”

“I understand.”

“Let’s go back to the M&M case for a second. You stated you couldn’t comprehend why Money Mike was let off the hook and his members received short sentences. Could it have been because of you?”

“What? Are you serious?” Lucky shouted back. “I did what I was told to do. I did my job.”

Mr. Johnson caught Lucky’s attention from his chair and hand signaled him to calm down.

“Did they tell you to go around killing rivals?” Matthew asked.

“As an undercover detective, you have to play whatever roles you need to in order to keep their trust and to stay alive. That’s nothing new. We killed if we had to, just to stay in character.”

“You still didn’t answer my question. Did you kill rival members with the fella you call Thirty-eight?”

“I object, Your Honor. He’s leading my witness.”

“Overruled. C’mon, Mr. Johnson, you know you can lead in cross-examination.”

Lucky, looking for help, was hoping Johnson’s objection didn’t get overruled. Matthew had him trapped against the wall.

“We are all waiting for your answer, Mr. Gibson.”

“Yes.”

Lucky knew his credibility was shot. Even the body language of a few jurors changed a bit.

“Is it true that some of your wiretaps also included your voice in the background?”

“Of course, they did. They were strapped on my chest. You could hear my heartbeat.”

“Mr. Gibson, let me refresh your memory.”

“I object, Your Honor. Where are these wiretaps? There could be anything on those tapes.”

“I agree. Sustained. Counsel, don’t talk about mysterious wiretaps in my courtroom. Unless you are submitting new evidence, please proceed.”

“Is it true your captain approached you about your conduct during the investigation?”

“No, he never approached me about my conduct. He patted me on the back and told me to keep my mouth shut.”

“He wanted you to keep your mouth shut about what?”

“They didn’t want me to talk about my involvement with M&M. They thought my behavior was a bit much.”

“Over the edge, you think?” Matthew asked with a friendly smile, hoping Lucky would bite.

“I guess a little too much.”

“I just asked you if you were approached by your captain about your behavior and you said no.”

“No, I didn’t. I thought you were referring to IA, Internal Affairs.”

Lucky’s credibility took another hit. Perry’s family was all sitting on the edge on their seats. They knew Lucky was messing up, and that was hurting their case.

“I warned you earlier that you are under oath. Secretary, read back for the records.”

“Counsel,” she said. “‘Is it true your captain approached you about your conduct during the investigation?’

“Witness. ‘No, he never approached me about my conduct. He patted me on the back and told me to keep my mouth shut.’”

“Mr. Gibson, how can we trust anything that’s coming out your mouth is the truth? In the past few minutes, we all have witnessed you change your testimony. Were charges dropped against M&M because your wiretaps also incriminated the police department?”

“No, I don’t agree. I was asked to do what’s necessary to bring down M&M. I acted as a gangster, only to build the trust I needed to shut down their operation. My behavior wasn’t a mystery. It was necessary to perform at a maximum level.”

Matthew walked right up to the jury, and without looking at Lucky, facing the jury and smiling the whole time, he said, “Mr. Gibson, today you could go to jail for perjury. Did you know that? You have lied to us all,” Matthew spread his arms like wings.

Johnson jumped in, hoping to save Lucky from himself. “I object, Your Honor. He is bashing my witness.”

“Overruled.”

“Earlier in your testimony, you stated you don’t have any children, Donald. Again, were you lying?”

“I object, Your Honor!”

“Withdrawn.” Matthew walked toward Lucky. “Is it true you have a pretty little daughter?”

Lucky just sat there. Once he heard the word daughter, he automatically assumed the worst, that maybe they got to her. No one knew about his baby girl, so for Matthew to bring it up meant he knew something.

After this trial he was going have to move his daughter to a new house. He was stuck in a tough situation. He didn’t want to admit he lied again and hurt this case even more. He assumed the defense had some type of paperwork to prove he was the father, but he took his chances anyway.

The judge snapped, “Mr. Gibson, please answer the counsel!”

“No, I don’t have a daughter. I have a god-daughter, who I haven’t seen in years.”

“Is that your final answer?”

“I object, Your Honor. Counsel is delaying this case in hopes he could trap my witness in his own words. It is obvious to the court the defense is hoping for a miracle mistake.”

“Sustained. Counsel, let’s speed things up. We are not here on a paternity case. We would need a DNA test, and we don’t have time.”

“I understand, Your Honor. I was trying to prove to the jury that Donald Gibson has no credibility.”

Matthew walked back to his table and consulted with his team about the next step. They were hoping to keep pushing and hurting his credibility.

Right before the judge banged his gavel, Matthew jumped up from the chair and continued his questioning.

“Mr. Gibson, you stated you accepted bribes from criminals and important businessmen, correct?”

“Yes, I did. Personally, from criminals only. The businessmen always dealt with my captain.”

“If you weren’t present in those meetings, how can you accuse my clients of making under-the-table deals?”

“I always waited in the other room while these meetings took place. Once the deals were made, I was always given a black garbage bag filled with money.”

“But you never heard the bribes. You are only assuming.”

“I don’t know the details of the negotiation, you are right, but if my cut is one hundred thousand, that’s more than assuming.”

“Donald, for how long have you been snorting cocaine?”

“Maybe five years. I was working on a case, and in order to join their organization, I had to snort cocaine. Only problem is, after that, I became addicted.”

“So you are an addict?”

Johnson jumped in again. “I object, Your Honor!”

“Withdrawn. Do you have a problem with cocaine, Mr. Gibson?”

“No, I’ve been clean since I left the force. Cocaine became a part of our job. We would snort every day, before we hit the streets. As a matter of fact, we snorted all day long, but those days are behind me.”

“On the night in question, how much drinking and cocaine did you do before the shooting took place?”

“I don’t recall how much cocaine, but it was a lot. Maybe three grams.”

“You snorted three grams of cocaine?”

“Not just me. Between all four of us, we used about three grams, and we all had about three to four shots of vodka.”

“Is it safe to say that maybe you were too high to remember what you saw?”

“No, it’s not. I clearly remember what I saw.”

“But you were high and drunk, yet you want us, the jury, and the court of law to believe an ex-dirty cop and former drug addict. Sitting over there, we have three honest cops, fathers, and husbands. Why are you trying to sabotage their careers and families?”

“What about Perry’s family? Who’s thinking about them?” Lucky stood up as he replied. Matthew finally got to him. “Listen, I know what happened that night. We killed an innocent man for no reason, and now we are hiding behind our badge, this city, and the law.”

“Mr. Gibson, if you don’t sit back down, I will hold you in contempt!” the judge yelled at him. “Are we clear?”

“Yes, we are clear,” Lucky said as he sat back down.

By this time, everyone in the courtroom, including the judge, was losing a little patience. Matthew was trying his best to avoid asking the main questions he should be asking.

The judge said, “Mr. Matthew, please get on with your case, so we could move to closing arguments by tomorrow morning.”

“Mr. Gibson, didn’t you shoot your gun that night as well?”

“No, I never drew my gun from the holster.”

“All of my clients testified you were the first one to shoot back. Remember, you are still under oath.”

“I never drew my gun, and I never shot it. There were no shell casings found on the scene that matched my gun. Those three officers over there killed Perry out of pure hatred. ‘Another dead, Black criminal. Who cares?’—Those were the words my captain used that night.”

Again, the courtroom exploded. This time, some even rushed the three officers charged. They’d had enough and couldn’t hold back their anger. The extra court officers available were able to control the crowd rapidly, but not before Steve “Loose Cannon” got hit with a chair across his back that threw him to the ground, but he was okay.

The judge banged his gavel and adjourned court until the following week. He then made his way out of the ruckus and ran straight into his chambers.

Lucky didn’t want any part of the rumble. He made his way back into the holding cell, more concerned about disappearing again.

Meanwhile, the police officers on the scene were slapping handcuffs on anyone that moved or supported the Coleman family. It was like something out of the movies.

It took about forty-five minutes to finally get the courthouse under control. Those who weren’t arrested were sitting in their seats not knowing what to do next, shocked at the way things turned out.

Lucky had some quick words with the DA.

“Listen, Lucky,” Johnson said in a soft, worrying tone. “They’re going to try to move this case to another county, maybe upstate or Westchester. If we continue, I expect a hung jury. The judge will give me a date to hear the closing argument, but I guarantee that day will never come. They don’t want a deadlocked jury. This case will get moved, especially after the ruckus that just took place in the court.”

“There’s nothing you could do to stop it? C’mon, brother, this is the time to step up. You sound like you giving up,” Lucky shot back in disbelief.

“Giving up? Listen, I worked my ass off for this case. I believe your story. I know they killed that poor kid for no apparent reason. Since this case started, I have noticed the loopholes in our great government. I’m getting pressure from the fuckin’ mayor to plea-bargain down to a misdemeanor.”

“What? That’s only a twelve-month sentence. They’ll be out in six months.”

“I know, Lucky. I’m glad you came forward. You sure you don’t want to hang around a little longer? We could really use your help.”

“Man the fuck up. They are testing you to see how far you will go. If you show fear to take chances or risk everything you have, they will own you. I can’t hang around. I now have a hit on my head for stepping on that stand. I won’t disappear quietly—I could promise you that.”

Before the district attorney could reply, Lucky was already heading for the door. Once he heard about the case being moved, he automatically knew the charges were going to get reduced or maybe even dropped. He made his way outside the courthouse and disappeared into the downtown Manhattan crowd.

There was nothing Johnson could have said to keep Lucky around, but Johnson had a funny feeling he wouldn’t be too far away either.

Outside the courtroom, Perry’s mother was getting ready to speak to reporters, while her husband, and Perry’s wife and son stood by her side.