Corrupt City

by Tra Verdejo

  “Overruled.”

  “And are you positive Perry never had a gun that night?” Johnson asked.

  “I’m positive. We planted the gun. We shot him first and continued to shoot him while he was on the ground.”

  The crowd started whispering. Lucky’s testimony was firing them up again. Even the judge thought another eruption was about to take place, but everyone kept their cool this time.

  “What made you come forward?”

  “Even before the shooting, I was having a hard time sleeping. It almost felt like I was in too deep to turn back. I wanted out, but I couldn’t find a way, but this case here is my way out. When Perry was killed, I realized then how important it was for me to stand up and come clean. These past few years, I have nothing to be proud off. I wanted to give back to New York. I have taken so much as a dirty cop. Hopefully now, I’m able to rest in peace in the afterlife.”

  “No more questions, Your Honor. The State rests its case,” Mr. Johnson said.

  Judge Lewis looked at his watch. “It’s now eleven thirty in the morning. Let’s break for lunch. I will see everyone back in here at one p.m. Mr. Matthew, you will get a chance to cross-examine the witness at one p.m.”

  Chapter Three

  Lucky’s Roots

  Lucky was led back to the holding cell for his own protection. He had just made himself a whole new set of enemies with his testimony. It wasn’t just police officers who felt betrayed, but correction officers as well.

  Even the prisoners hated him. They didn’t care that he was helping Perry’s case. He was still a dirty cop and a snitch, and was now what they would call easy prey.

  Lucky just sat inside his single cell, his head leaned back against the graffiti-covered wall. He tried to figure out where things went wrong for him. He thought about his ex-girlfriend and daughter, also hiding somewhere safely.

  Lucky kept his family business to himself. No one in the police department knew about them, he made sure to keep their identity a secret. Hurting a cop’s family was high on a criminal’s wish list. Lucky was starting to have second thoughts about his decision to come forward.

  He stood up and began pacing back and forth in that tiny cell. “What did I get myself into? They are going to kill me for sure,” he kept repeating to himself.

  He sat down and tried to relax his mind. He leaned his head back against the wall again and reminisced about his past, his childhood. Reflecting on his painful past had always helped him get through any issues he was dealing with in the present.

  Donald was born and raised in the South Bronx. An only child, his mother, Dawn Gibson, was a Southern lady, born and raised in New Orleans up until she was seven years old. That’s when her family moved up to New York.

  Dawn met Lucky’s father when she was sixteen years old. Four months later, she noticed her stomach was getting bigger, and she was dealing with morning sickness. She was devastated. She didn’t tell her sex partner until she was six months pregnant. Right after she told him, he got up, got dressed, and walked out. Dawn never saw Lucky’s father again. From that day on, she never looked back.

  Young Donald was a witness to his mother’s suffering, and he made himself a promise to help her out as best as he could. All she’d ever wanted for him was a good education. He made it through elementary and junior high school unfazed. He was an honor roll student and was loved by his peers because he wasn’t a follower. Everyone considered him a leader.

  By the time he reached high school, the smooth-sailing ride was over. Not having a father figure started catching up to him.

  Donald was into girls heavily. Popular and good-looking, girls were throwing themselves at him. There were some questions he thought his mother couldn’t answer. He needed a male’s advice. He wanted to know how to handle them, and he didn’t want to listen to his friends.

  His mother had always said, “Leave those fast girls alone. They’re nothing but trouble.” But, in reality, Donald wanted the attention. The word sex was now in his vocabulary, and he wasn’t waiting until his prom to lose his virginity.

  He had sex for the first time after a home game with a cheerleader he really liked. She was his girl for three weeks, until the next one threw him some new pussy. He kept switching girls as they came. If his mother had any idea he was having sex with so many different girls, she would have had a heart attack.

  He maintained a 3.9 average through high school. He lost his love for karate and grew a passion for football and basketball. He played safety for his school football team and shooting guard for the basketball team, breaking several school records. His senior year he ran for school president and won. All the faculty members wanted him to get into politics, while the coaches were arguing about which sport he should play in college. Everybody wanted to make a decision for him, but he stunned everyone with his decision to attend a community college and join the police academy.

  No one understood why he would join the academy with such a bright sport career ahead of him. No one but his mother. She knew Donald grew a passion for his community and wanted to help turn his neighborhood around.

  He’d joined the academy in hopes of having other African-Americans follow his lead. The police department had an image of only nerds and rednecks in its ranks. He figured once the public noticed a basketball and football star had joined the force, it would bring better qualified applicants. And he was right.

  Everything was on track when things took a turn for the worse. The summer right before he was to start college, Dawn was involved in a very bad car accident. While she was driving home from her second job around 2:30 in the morning, she was involved in a head-on collision with a pickup truck. The other driver fell asleep behind the wheel. By the time Donald reached the hospital, his mother was pronounced dead. He didn’t even get a chance to say good-bye to her. Her last words were a voice mail she left him.

  “Okay, baby, don’t you forget dinner is in the microwave. Mommy will be home late. I love you.”

  Donald changed after his mother died. He never made it to college that year. He was lucky his mother had a $150,000 life insurance policy, with which he was able to pay off bills and survive for the following eighteen months in isolation with no problem. For an entire year and a half, he basically blocked the world out and only went outside his house like an inmate, an hour a day.

  Donald had blocked the world out, but he didn’t shut down his mind or body. He kept exercising them both and grew physically stronger and mentally tougher, working out at least five hours a day. He was growing muscles he didn’t even know existed.

  He read all the “survival” books, and would actually live out the drills in them, sometimes starving himself for a few days. He was trying to become a superhero cop. He restarted his karate training and learned how to live in the dark, and for four months didn’t turn any light on at the house and kept all the blinds down.

  Lucky woke out of his daze when the district attorney, wanting to prepare him for the bombs the defense team would throw at him, came by to see him.

  “Listen, Lucky, get ready to talk about your whole past. If you have any secrets, they are about to get exposed on that stand. Matthew will do everything in his power to damage your credibility, trust me. The important thing to remember here is your poise. Stay cool, calm, and collected under his attack. If you lose your cool in front of the jury, you could damage our case. Are you following me?”

  “Yeah, I hear you. I’m ready. It’s not like I’m lying. I can handle Matthew, don’t worry.”

  “Well, we got five minutes. Good luck. I will talk to you after court.”

  “That’s funny, Mr. Johnson. As soon as court is over, I’m going back in the hole I crawled out of. You won’t see me anymore.”

  “You just can’t disappear again. We could protect you, Donald. Give us a chance. We may need you again.”

  “We got five minutes before court begins, right? We don’t have the time to talk about this bullshit right now. My decision i
s made. Thank you, but no, thank you.”

  “Have it your way,” Johnson shot back and left the cell.

  Lucky’s hands started sweating. He sat back down on the metal bed and placed his hands over his head. He didn’t have a clue on what to expect once he took the stand.

  When the bailiff called his name, his heart dropped. He knew it was time to face the music one last time.

  Chapter Four

  Cross-Examination

  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.”

  “Earl
ier 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.”