by Неизвестный
Elias sipped an iced tea after finishing a light breakfast after his 45-minute workout on his treadmill. The unbearable heat in this part of Mexico at this time of the year meant any exercise activities were reserved for indoor facilities. He watched CNN, briefly shifted to MSNBC, did a quick check of ESPN while he was jogging on the treadmill. This was Elias Cardozo’s daily routine.
Elias asked one of the servants, “¿Donde está Tomás?”
“Creo que él esta en el oficina, señor,” the servant responded.
Elias sent a servant to fetch Tomás from the office and tell him to meet Elias at the pool. Tomás arrived shortly and sat down across from Elias and poured himself a glass of iced tea as well.
“Buenos dias mi hermano ¿como estas?”
“Muy bién.”
Elias went on to tell Tomás that José María’s United States lawyer was to be joining them shortly to discuss the status of José María’s prosecution and various other matters related to the case.
The family was the proud owner of a Gulf stream G5, the latest and greatest in the top-class of corporate jets. A world-class runway and air tower facility were likewise located within the protected perimeters of the compound.
However, their U.S. legal counsel preferred to fly regular commercial or other charter jet services when visiting the Cardozo family compound. He preferred to land at a public airport away from the Cardozo compound, but he was willing to be picked up by a Cardozo family driver.
Eduardo Mendoza-Garza was a partner in the Houston office of the international mega firm Brown & Steele, also one of the largest international law firms in the Republic of Mexico. While regularly representing the Cardozo family and even other similar families in Mexico, he preferred to maintain a comfortable distance as the last thing he wanted was to be viewed by the United States courts as “one of the family.”
Even though José María was in Federal Prison in San Diego, Mendoza-Garza was representing him in the California Federal Court located there. It was not unusual for attorneys from Garza’s firm’s Houston office to represent Mexican nationals and their businesses throughout the United States from their Houston office. That office was, in reality, the gateway hub for all legal matters in the United States for their firm.
The cost of travel, etc. from Houston to anywhere in the United States was not a problem for the Cardozo family or Garza’s other international clients.
Garza’s stated understanding of the Cardozo’s family business was that it was simply shipping, farming, transportation, real estate/resort development and involved contributing to many charitable causes throughout their country.
As to Garza’s belief about the specific activities of José María Cardozo, he was often quoted as saying, “Mr. Cardozo is a simple Mexican businessman, wrongly accused and simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
While Garza realized there was significant evidence the U.S. government gathered on José María, that the Government had gone to great lengths in chasing Cardozo down and that there was bi-national political impetus to get a conviction of a Mexican cartel drug lord, Garza had confidence in his ability to secure freedom for his client.
Elias, although trusting and greatly confident in his well-paid U.S. lawyers (the best money could buy) he was not a person who was used to leaving anything to chance. Elias could not stand a result he could not design himself.
Elias and Tomás politely and patiently inquired of Garza in English, “Have you visited José María recently? How is he surviving?” Although Garza was clearly fluent in Spanish, their conversations tended to go back and forth between English and Spanish.
Being held pending trial in the downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego was certainly not the worst of the facilities where he could be cooling his heels. Some referred to the downtown jail as the Trump Tower of the federal prison system. But, his brothers knew that to José María, being caged up anywhere was nearly impossible for him to endure.
Garza got right to the subject at hand, “Unfortunately, mi amigos, the government has amassed enough evidence to pursue this case. However, I strongly believe that I will be successful in creating enough reasonable doubt among the jury to acquit José María of at least the most serious charges.”
Garza steadfastly refused to ponder the actual guilt or innocence of José María or any of his similar clients; he did focus on the evidence available against his client.
Planting this doubt in only one juror would accomplish his goal.
Had the Cardozo family not been the target of a multi-year investigation by the DEA and FBI in San Diego, his arrest in Mexico (which often required no more probable cause than the political aspiration of the Mexican official who gave the nod) would not have been carried out and José María would not have been extradited with a large government entourage to the United States.
Cross-border pressure ended up overriding practical considerations in arresting a member of the Cardozo family and sending him to the U.S. Unfortunately, the long term health of those Mexican officials involved in something like this sortie could not be guaranteed for very long.
The Cartels did not react passively to interference by the government in their business affairs. In this case, however, there was some heavy pressure from the U.S. side to set the example. The newspapers were replete with stories of revenge, assassination of police, judges and other public officials carried out by the drug cartels.
The methodology employed by the U.S. government in capturing Cardozo would eventually be the subject of a major legal battle before the Federal Judge hearing the case.
Arresting a Cardozo was so dangerous that the operation was conducted more like a kidnapping than an arrest. It seemed to play out more like a Jack Reacher novel than the criminal justice system in a routine arrest. The actual arrest mission occurred with masked officers operating like Seal Team 5 snatching Cardozo and rushing him away to a secret location. A hearing by government officials and a Mexican federal judge was staged and resulted in processing the prisoner for extradition in less than ten minutes by a Mexican judge and other officials who were disguised during the entire procedure for their own protection. The entire process was nothing less than bizarre by United States due process standards. The ends justified the means in someone’s mind in this case.
A short helicopter flight to a connecting US Government jet to San Diego followed.
When Attorney Garza finally left the Cardozo family compound, Elias remained poolside with Tomás. Elias looked at Tomás, “Has the matter we discussed been taken care of?”
“Sí, mi hermano.”
Monday, October 1
Buck Johnson’s Office, 10 a.m.
Eddie’s trial was set for Monday, November 7, a mere five weeks away. This date was neither the shortest nor longest of time frames that could have resulted, but Buck was comfortable that he would get the necessary preparation completed. If not, he would ask the court for a 30 day continuance, which would almost certainly be granted.
In planning the defense, one of the first and most significant issues Buck faced in a case of this kind was the selection of his team of experts.
Since no firearm was involved, he would not need a ballistics expert. Again, while he had no reason to question the “official” cause of death as reported by the medical examiner’s office about a week after Molina’s death, he would definitely retain a forensic scientist to conduct the obligatory review of the autopsy procedure and report. The medical condition of the victim might lead to some theory for mitigating the conclusion that Eddie participated in the beating. More realistically, he hoped to find whether the details of the attack and the details of the specific trauma to the body might lead to some exoneration of Eddie from the most serious of the charges.
Eddie insisted that he never used anything more than his fists and that Molina immediately “covered himself up and curled into a ball,” and that he never got any direct blows into any vulnerable spot on the body. Buck f
urther recalled that Eddie told him that he saw Tommy Snyder pick up either a “two by four or a pipe or something” as they were approaching Dante’s side area.
Buck hoped that with a more careful examination, some exculpatory arguments could be developed for the benefit of his client. Again, Buck had no reason per se to question Dr. Rebecca Louden’s examination and report. It was just that she had no interest in distinguishing who, among the multiple attackers, might have delivered the fatal blow. Surely she had not been asked initially by the DA’s office to determine who, among multiple potential perpetrators, played what particular role in the death.
Dr. Louden would be available to Buck and his experts to discuss these matters. Buck finally decided to contact Dr. Richard Anderson and retain him as his consultant and ultimate expert on this forensics issue. Dr. Anderson was a pathologist by background and specialty but commenced many years ago to conduct a practice in forensic pathology. Dr. Anderson worked for both criminal defense counsel as well as prosecutorial offices throughout the western United States. Dr. Anderson was not only of the utmost technical competence, he displayed that sort of keen and intuitive mind that made him an invaluable part of any legal team he worked with. Moreover, he was outstanding, almost amazing on the witness stand, having a special ability to talk to a jury in a professional, yet not lecturing, manner. Juries just plain ate him up. On cross-examination he was what Buck called a Teflon witness, meaning the harder he was cross-examined, the more any questions or assertions attempting to contradict his stated opinions would just seem to slide off him like non-stick Teflon, and the more he would shine.
As important as his credentials and testimonial prowess was the fact that
he was highly regarded by Dr. Louden and she had worked with him in side-by-side assignments when the D.A.’s office had to go outside of their own county medical examiner’s office in a case.
Buck made an appointment with Rebecca Louden to arrange to have
Dr. Anderson examine the body of Javier Molina. No one had claimed the body so it was likely to remain at the morgue for the required period of time before being disposed of per the county’s policies as to unclaimed or unknown bodies. A routine search would be made for a relative of the deceased or any other clues as to his identity and origins. The only ID on the body was the California driver’s license that was quickly determined to be a fake, with an address that was non-existent. Although tagged with the name on the ID, no one knew for certain who he was. The description on the phony license seemed accurate so all they really had was a likely John Doe, a 5'9" Hispanic male who could be, as the license said, 29
years of age and weighing approximately 160 lbs.
Thursday, October 4
County Morgue, 9:30 a.m.
When Buck and Dr. Anderson arrived at the medical examiner’s office, they were directed to the section of the facility where post-mortem bodies were kept pending disposition. Che Alvarez had pulled the storage gurney to the exam area and under the bright lights. Dr. Anderson extended the courtesy of waiting for Dr. Louden before beginning his exam and review.
After pleasantries were exchanged, Dr. Louden offered, “You know, Buck, my initial reaction was that this was an open and shut matter of death by blunt force, resulting from the beating the body had received, but I must tell you now that I have some second thoughts.”
She continued, “In all candor, I remained troubled by the fact that although the victim was beaten pretty extensively, I would still not have expected that the wounds that I observed would have caused his death.
“There were no heavily damaged internal organs and, amazingly, only evidence of a mild concussion,” she added.
“His apparent age, size, body composition and analysis of body organs suggested a strong healthy male in his late 20s. No analysis of any of the vital organs showed any sign of disease and the heart muscles appeared unremarkable,” she concluded.
Buck always loved the term “unremarkable” used by doctors. Although technically describing it as an organ without defect, the term seemed to imply it was unimportant. The victim’s heart had certainly been important at one time to this body.
As to the board or pipe Eddie said he thought he saw used, the only place on the body that appeared to have actually been struck by a blunt force instrument was the victim’s legs and upper thigh. Again, not locations where death would seem to be indicated.
She concluded, “In summary the body arrived, was logged in, and processed in a routine manner.”
“Dr. Louden, my reaction from your report and this discussion causes me to be in line with the same conclusion you now expressed. If I have any further questions, I’ll certainly let you know. Thank you again for your time.”
Che Alvarez kept busy by attending to other matters around the exam room, but ready to assist if called upon. Dr. Louden then recounted to Dr. Anderson the general sequence of events upon receiving the body at the morgue.
The meeting ended as cordially as it began. As they left the lab, Buck
said to Dr. Anderson, “Take some time to digest this and we’ll meet at my office on Monday so we can discuss the next step.”
This would allow Dr. Anderson a few days to review everything and focus his thoughts on how he felt he could best help the defendant, Eddie McDermott. Buck made a few notes on the yellow pad inside the leather folder which never left his side.
Among other things, Buck made a note to set up an interview with Tommy
Snyder, Jack Robinson, the bartender at Dante’s, Ed Simpson and any other persons identified by the investigator he hired, Joe Sontag.
Joe Sontag was a former FBI agent who, after 21 years on the job, had
retired to open a private investigation firm (a typical path for many former law enforcement officers). Joe had established his competence with Buck over the ten years he had been in the private investigation business and was Buck’s go-to guy whenever the need for investigative services arose.
Friday, October 5
Buck Johnson’s Office, 2 p.m.
The interview with Tommy Snyder and Jack Robinson presented additional issues. It was clear that their respective counsel would be looking to shift and point the finger to Eddie as the primary culprit. Since it was confirmed, as per Buck’s request, that his client would not be tried with the others, any testimony would be heard by different juries. Whether any of the three boys would actually testify at trial was undecided. In any event, it was likely that the boys and their lawyers would be guarded in what, if anything, they were allowed to say to Buck in any pretrial interviews.
As expected, the other two boys had opted, due to their financial conditions, to exercise their right to have an attorney appointed for them and paid for by the government. It was the public defender’s office for the county that would be selected by the court. Two seasoned attorneys in that office had been assigned to the case. Leo Pierson had been assigned to represent Tommy Snyder and Stan McLean had been selected to represent Jack Robinson. This was a good result for the boys as well as welcomed by Buck. He could clearly work with these two Public Defenders as necessary.
Buck would meet with the two boys and their lawyers separately at the jail, but not before he met again with Dr. Anderson in order to determine whether his initial examination of the body and conclusions would add any
areas of inquiry to his meeting with Tommy Snyder, Eddie Robinson and their counsel.
Monday, October 8
Buck Johnson’s Office, 8:30 a.m.
Dr. Anderson arrived at Buck’s office and after sitting down with a cup of coffee, came right to the point.
“Buck, I now have a sense, based on my experience and professional curiosity, that someone else must have intervened or been involved to cause Javier Molina to die. I just can’t seem to accept that this boy died from the wounds I observed.”
Buck replied, “Tell me more, Doc.”
Dr. Anderson paused a moment. “Again, while I can’t put my finger on it, b
ut I strongly suggest running several more sophisticated toxicology tests on the body tissue and blood.”
“Understand that during the routine autopsy, unless very clearly indicated, these tests would not have been run based on the indications presented here. Budgetary restraints at the Medical Examiner’s office just do not allow them much breadth. I already called Dr. Louden and she has no objections to the testing. I’ll make all the arrangements with Dr. Louden and after the tests are submitted for lab analysis, I’ll call you right away. It will probably take a week to ten days.”