“Yes, your honor.” Ally went right up to Gianni. “Mr. Ricci, you received immunity from prosecution on this bounty deal, as you testified. But you understand the penalty for perjury, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“So, you wouldn’t come in here and deliberately lie to the court, would you? Immunity deal or no?”
“No. I’m telling the truth.”
“I have nothing further.”
“Mr. Harrington, do you have any re-cross?”
“No, your honor.” I didn’t think that I could do any better than I already did on my original cross-examination, so I chose to let that stand.
“Ms. Hughes, call your next witness.”
“The prosecution rests, your honor.”
“Very well. Let’s all take a 15 minute break,” he said, looking at the clock. “Actually, let’s break for lunch. Everybody must be back here at 1:10 PM.” At that, the judge got up and walked back to his chambers, and everybody in the jury filed out into the hallway.
“So, how do you think things are going?” Gina asked me.
“Pretty good,” I said. “Now, here’s how things are going to go. I’ll re-call the Medical Examiner, who will testify that he didn’t see any healed broken bones on Vittorio. I’ll call the officers who came to your house when you called them on Vittorio when he was beating on you. I’ll call the two victims who Vittorio drugged and raped. Then I’ll call you.”
“Do you think it’s gonna work?” she asked me in a low voice.
“Yes,” I said, also in a low voice. “I do.”
I went to lunch at the grill across the street, and grabbed a quick grilled chicken sandwich and salad. I was always conscious about not eating a heavy lunch when I was trying a case – I had to be mentally sharp and not fatigued, and I knew how a large hamburger and fries affected my energy level for the worse.
After lunch, I went right back to the courthouse. I was there about twenty minutes early, so I closed my eyes and tried to center myself. Everything was at stake at the moment. Well, not maybe everything, but Nick’s future was at stake. I didn’t know for sure if Joey was going to throw Nick under the bus if he didn’t get the money that Gina owed him, but it certainly did make sense that he would.
Gina came in and sat down next to me. “Where did you end up going for lunch?” she asked.
“I went to the grill across the street. How about you?”
“I just went to one of the food trucks that was parked on the street. I sat and ate lunch outside. It was nice. The weather is beautiful.”
“That it is.” I took a deep breath. “You ready for this?”
“Yeah. I mean, you and I went over my testimony enough times that I know just what to expect.”
That was true. Gina and I had gone over her testimony again and again. It was important, because she was lying. I also went over the possible cross-examination questions. That was even more important. She had to get her story straight, which meant that she had to remember what she said on direct when it came to the cross.
The jury filed in, and Ally and her second-chair, Sheldon Hatch, came back into the courtroom as well. Before long, the judge also came in and he sat down. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “I hope that you all had a good lunch. But I hope you didn’t eat too much. I don’t want any of you to fall asleep during testimony.” He pointed his finger at the jury, and they laughed nervously. “Not a joke,” he said. “I know that it gets stuffy in this courtroom, and your food is weighing you down, and, before long, you can’t keep your eyes open. Just know, that I’ll be watching all of you like a hawk.”
Once again, the jury laughed nervously, but I knew that they were taking his words to heart. I personally felt for them, because I knew what it felt like to sit in one place all day, just listening to testimony, and struggling to stay awake. I almost fell asleep, more than once, in the middle of a day-long deposition, especially if I ate a heavy meal for lunch.
“Okay,” Judge Reiner said, addressing the jury. “If you can remember, right before we broke for lunch, the state rested. That means that we are going to start off with the defense.” He nodded at me. “Mr. Harrington, whenever you are ready.”
I stood up. “The defense calls Dr. Prorock,” I said. Dr. Prorock was the Medical Examiner who was originally called by Ally. I was going to ask her about broken bones.
Dr. Prorock approached the witness stand and sat down.
“Dr. Prorock, I will remind you that you are still under oath,” Judge Reiner said to her.
“Thank you.”
“Now. Dr. Prorock, the reason why I am re-calling you is because there was another witness who testified that the victim in this case, Vittorio Degrazio, had his knee broken several times by my client, Gina Degrazio. I wanted to ask you if there was any indication that Mr. Degrazio’s knee had been broken before he died?”
“No, I found no evidence of that.”
“And you would have been able to tell, in your examination of Mr. Degrazio, whether or not his knee had been broken and healed, correct?”
“Yes, I would have been able to tell.”
“I have nothing further.”
I sat down.
“Ms. Hughes, do you have any questions for this witness?”
“No, your honor.”
“You may step down,” Judge Reiner said. “Counselor, call your next witness.”
“The defense calls Officer Dean,” I said.
Officer Dean, a tall black man, approached the witness stand, was sworn in and stated his name.
“Officer Dean,” I said, “I called you to testify on the stand today to ask you about an incident that occurred January 10 of this year. Do you remember being called to the home of Vittorio and Gina Degrazio that evening?”
“Yes.”
“What happened when you went to the Degrazio’s home?”
“I was called to that home and I went there with my partner, Officer Jackson, to inquire about a domestic disturbance.”
“A domestic disturbance. Who called in the disturbance? Was it Ms. Degrazio, Mr. Degrazio, or somebody else?”
“It was Ms. Degrazio, but there was also a call from a next-door neighbor.”
“A next-door neighbor. Do you remember the name of the next-door neighbor?”
“I do. Her name is Laverne Donnelly.”
“And she called 911?”
“Yes.”
“Why did she call 911?”
“She said that she was outside, walking her dog, when she heard loud shouting coming from inside the Degrazio home. She heard Ms. Degrazio screaming, and she heard the sound of a belt cracking and more screaming.”
“More screaming? It was Ms. Degrazio screaming, not Mr. Degrazio, correct?”
“Correct. Ms. Donnelly said that she only heard Ms. Degrazio screaming.”
“So, did you go to the Degrazio house?”
“I did.”
“And did you speak with Mr. and Mrs. Degrazio?”
“Yes.”
“What did you ask them?”
“I told them that I was there because I got a phone call from Ms. Donnelly and from Ms. Degrazio, and I asked Mr. Degrazio his side of the story, while my partner, Officer Jackson, spoke with Ms. Degrazio. Then I spoke with Ms. Degrazio and Officer Jackson spoke with Mr. Degrazio.”
“Without testifying to what Mr. Degrazio said to you, could you please tell the court what your impression was of Mr. and Ms. Degrazio at this time?”
“I had the impression that Ms. Degrazio was extremely upset, to the point of hysteria, and Mr. Degrazio was extremely angry.”
“Did you see a belt?”
“I did. Mr. Degrazio still had it in his hands at the time that we walked through the door.”
“What did Ms. Degrazio tell you when you spoke with her?”
“She told me that Mr. Degrazio had been drinking heavily, and that he was upset because he had recently lost a lot of money betting on horses and at the ca
sinos. She said that he was in a violent mood when he came home from the casinos that day, and he was angry that she hadn’t cleaned the house while he was gone. She said that one thing led to another and before she knew it, he was punching her and beating her with a belt.”
“Did you notice if she had any bruises on her?”
“No. That was the reason why we chose not to arrest Mr. Degrazio.”
“Did you believe that Ms. Degrazio had been beaten by Mr. Degrazio?”
“I did.”
“I have nothing further.”
I knew that it was going to be a problem that they didn’t arrest Mr. Degrazio. I didn’t necessarily think that the fact that they didn’t arrest Vittorio to be fatal, though. Unfortunately, over the years I had found out that not arresting the abuser was something that happened all too often.
“Ms. Hughes, your witness,” Judge Reiner said.
Ally got on her feet, and I could see that she was to ready to go to war. “Officer Dean, you said that you got to the Degrazio residence and that Ms. Degrazio told you that Mr. Degrazio had been drinking heavily that day and had lost money in the casinos, and he was very angry and violent, correct?”
“Yes, that is what she told me.”
“And he was specifically angry because she hadn’t cleaned the house when he was gone, is that right?”
“Right.”
“And that he had a belt in his hands when you walked in the door, correct?”
“Correct.”
“Then why didn’t you arrest Mr. Degrazio?”
“We counseled both parties and we were there for about an hour, and, by the time we left, the two were calm and sitting on the couch together. Ms. Degrazio told me at that time that she didn’t want her husband to be arrested, and that things were fine, so we used our discretion and chose not to arrest Mr. Degrazio.”
“Did you know at the time that you chose not to arrest him that the police had been called to their house two other times?”
“I did.”
“So, he was a repeat offender, and you didn’t arrest him.”
“Well, I-“
“Isn’t it true that you didn’t really believe Ms. Degrazio’s story when you arrived at her house?”
“No, that’s not true.”
“But is it standard practice to not arrest an repeat abuser?”
“No, that’s not standard practice, but we’re allowed to use our discretion on whether or not we are to make an arrest.”
“But it is true that if you really thought that Ms. Degrazio was in danger, you definitely would have made an arrest, correct?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then it follows that you didn’t really believe that Ms. Degrazio was in danger, correct?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“I have nothing further.” Ally looked at me smugly as she took her seat. Her look said schooled you.
The next two witnesses were the officers who came to the other disturbances. They didn’t arrest Vittorio, either. I felt that their testimony could go either way. Either the jury was going to believe that the Degrazios did get into violent altercations, but that they had always calmed down enough that the officers didn’t want to make an arrest, or they were going to believe that Gina was the woman who was always crying wolf. Nevertheless, I took the gamble that their testimony was going to help our cause, not hurt it. After all, trial strategy was never 100%, and most moves you make in trials could go either way with the jury.
My witnesses after that were Coretta Taylor and Bianca Cassavettes. Their testimony was identical to what they told me when I went to see them. Bianca was subjected to vicious cross-examination, however.
Bianca showed up to the courtroom looking like she was trying hard to look legitimate. Her hair was no longer bleached blonde, but was back to its natural brown, and her makeup was toned down. She was dressed in a long pleated skirt and a turtle neck. I thought that she was going slightly overboard in her effort to “look the part,” but I didn’t entirely mind.
She sat down, looking nervous. I kind of felt sorry for her, because she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but where she was right at that moment. She was sworn in, I asked her her name, she stated it, and I got down to business.
“Ms. Cassavettes, do you understand why I called you into court today?” I asked her.
“Yes,” she said into the microphone. “I do know.”
“And what is your understanding as to why I called you as a witness?”
“You’re defending the woman who killed Vittorio Degrazio,” she said. “Other than that, I don’t really know why I’m supposed to testify.”
“Can you tell the court how it was that you came to know Vittorio Degrazio?”
She cleared her throat. “Well, I met him at a bar. The Peanut, 50th and Main.”
“The Peanut. Did you end up going home with him?”
“Yes, I did end up going home with him.”
“What happened when you went home with him?”
“Well, I don’t really know. I mean, I liked him, and I wanted to have sex with him.” She looked at the jury. “I mean, I’m not a slut or nothing like that, but I sometimes like to have some fun. But I went home with him, expecting to have sex with him that night.”
“And did you have sex with him?”
“Yes, but not in the way that I planned.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, we were at his place, and he made me a drink. I think it was a vodka and water drink. I took a swig, and the room started to spin. It seemed like he was a long way away, and I started to feel dizzy and woozy. The next thing I know, I’m naked in his bed, and he’s next to me.”
“And he had sex with you while you were unconscious, then?”
“Yeah. It was a Cosby thing.”
“And how do you know that he had sex with you while you were unconscious?”
“Well, I could tell.” She pointed down. “You know, my ladyparts could tell.” She looked over to the women in the jury. “I’m sure that you ladies know what I’m talking about. Plus, I woke up without clothes on, and he was naked, too.”
“I have nothing further for this witness.”
“Ms. Hughes, your witness,” Judge Reiner said.
Ally stood up and walked over to Bianca. “Ms. Cassavettes, you say that Vittorio Degrazio had sex with you while you were unconscious, right?”
“Right. He raped me.”
“But you went home with him, intending to have sex with him, isn’t that right?”
“Yeah, but, you know, if we were going to have sex, I wanted to have a say in it.”
“Of course, of course. But you simply took a sip of your drink and you passed out. Is that what you’re telling the court?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.”
“But you didn’t call the police about it, did you?”
“No.”
“And why didn’t you?”
She shifted in her chair. “He paid me not to,” she said. “$100,000.”
Ally seemed delighted by that admission. “$100,000. Oh, really? That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. It sure has helped my finances a lot.”
“Isn’t it true that Vittorio didn’t rape you at all, but you blackmailed him by threatening to go to the cops about something that didn’t actually happen?”
“No. That makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. You go home with a man, you sleep with him, and then you threaten that you’re going to cry rape unless he pays you. Oldest trick in the book.”
“That isn’t what happened.”
“Is it a habit of yours to go home with strange men?”
I stood up. “Objection, relevance,” I said.
“Sustained,” Judge Reiner said. “Move along, Ms.Hughes.”
“I have nothing further.”
My next witness was Coretta Taylor, and she was much more unimpeachable in my estimation. She d
id go to the police, so there was no making her look like a scam artist who was trying to shake down an innocent man.
She didn’t try to dress the part, but that was okay. She was still gorgeous. She was wearing a long-sleeve t-shirt, so her tattoos were at least covered up, tight jeans and black leather boots. Her black hair was in a pony-tail, and she wasn’t wearing makeup. She was still one of the most beautiful women on the planet.
She was sworn in, I asked her her name, she stated it, and I started to ask her questions.
“Coretta, you are currently a bartender at The Peanut on 50th and Main, isn’t that right?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“And you met Vittorio Degrazio at that bar, isn’t that right?”
“That’s right.”
“And did you end up going home with him one night?”
“I did.”
“And what happened when you went home with him?”
“He put something in my drink to make me pass out, and he raped me while I was unconscious.”
“Did you call the police after that?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“And what was your understanding about what happened after you called the police?”
“They questioned him and released him. I have no idea why they didn’t arrest him.”
“And when was he questioned and released?”
“I think that it was on Valentine’s Day of this year.”
“Valentine’s Day - that was when he was questioned and released, according to your understanding?”
“Yeah.”
“And did you find out later that he was found dead?”
“Yeah. Just a few days later, I guess. I mean, I kept calling the police station to ask them when they were going to charge the bastard with raping me, and they eventually told me that he was found dead. I can’t say I shed any tears about that one.”
“I have nothing further.”
I looked over at Ally. Checkmate. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed. She knew that there was nowhere to go in cross-examining Coretta. I knew that she wasn’t going to even try. Any question that she asked Coretta would just dig the hole that much deeper.
“Ms. Hughes, do you have any questions for this witness?”
Ally gave me the stink-eye. “No, your honor.”
“Mr. Harrington, call your next witness.”
[Damien Harrington 01.0] The Alibi Page 19