Ethics was only a framework that defined limits, so they mustn’t get caught in ethics violations, but they were never to be driven by ethics. If all lawyers were driven by ethics, there would be no compensation incentive to ever become one in the first place.
With his reasoned understanding of lawyers’ motives, David shaped a plan to take advantage of all the lawyers involved in the litigation, especially his own. He didn’t buy into the lawyers’ “mano a mano” mantra. It wasn’t about man against man in a pitched court battle; that was a lot of lawyer bunk to sell the gullible public on hiring one of these slimy bastards in the first place. It was really a matter of mano a mano a mano, etc., for as many lawyers as there were, with David being the first and most important against all the other lawyer bastards.
As the first step in his plan, David sought out a lawyer who was an expert at convicting other lawyers of legal malpractice. He retained Mr. Green to advise him how he could set traps for all the lawyers in the case so he could have the greatest chance of either winning the case or, if he should lose or be forced to settle, make his own lawyers pay for the settlement due to the mistakes they made. Blaming others for his problems was always his backdoor escape from every jam he’d found himself in since he was a little boy.
In David’s world view, he could not possibly lose this fight. A lawyer once told him he could change his will; that settled the matter as far as he was concerned. True to his sociopathic mindset, he believed himself entitled to do anything he wanted in any way he wanted to do it. Anything which caused him to lose or settle could only be due to the malpractice or negligence of his lawyers!
Mal Green kept his practice extremely confidential. David found him through non-legal channels by asking doctors whom they used to defend them in malpractice cases. Then he asked those lawyers whom they used to defend them in malpractice cases, and then he asked those lawyers who their best adversary was in a malpractice case. Eventually, through meticulous searching, the names of the slimes that ate other slimes distilled down to the man most feared by all other slimes.
By sliming around, David found a marriage made in heaven. He found Mal Green. Mal advised him to take notes immediately after every meeting he had with his lawyers, and to hold meetings with them in his offices where the room could be bugged whenever possible. The objective of hiring lawyers was not to win the case, although that would be a nice outcome, but to protract the litigation, make the opponent suffer as much as possible, and, regardless of the outcome, make his own lawyers pay for the settlement and forgive David’s fees.
Everyone engaged in litigation learned things through depositions they never before imagined about other people. Bob learned in one deposition session when a former secretary, being asked why she resigned, stated that she liked working late sometimes but people ran around naked in the offices after hours and their cavorting about made it hard for her to concentrate.
Another revelation was that every other week or so, three armed men with Spanish accents, sunglasses, bald heads, and heavily tattooed arms, necks, and heads would show up shortly after closing carrying large shopping bags filled with cash. The bags were left in David’s office for his vital role in the drug trade, the laundering of the money. After the counting of the cash, he and the three would walk to the elevators together while smoking large cigars. The men would, all three, kiss David on his cheeks and leave with one of them carrying a single legal-sized briefcase.
Depositions also revealed that several witnesses, supposedly friends who would testify for Bob, were away on extended cruises when their depositions were supposed to occur. They all had doctors’ excuses that they needed to leave the high altitude of Colorado for their health for an extended and indefinite period of time. People Bob thought were reliable, honest friends were easily bought off. He reminded himself that the investment business was, after all, only about money.
David’s defense team engaged in harassment tactics to do their level best to prevent Bob’s new firm from gaining or retaining clients. They filed motions to discover whether he had stolen clients from the fund, which necessitated his new firm to obtain protective orders so clients’ personal files would not be revealed, or that they not be barraged with slanderous or libelous commentary about Bob. The defense attacked his elderly mother, seeking to depose her to determine whether or not he had difficulties getting along with other children when he was a child, as if some comment could possibly be elicited from his aging and infirmed mother that could tenuously be linked to David’s bogus claim that Bob was a dangerous and disruptive force in the office which necessitated his being let go. That nonsense was also quashed with a protective order.
Barbara also became the object of attacks after she left the fund. Her deposition was taken in an effort to find out if she and Bob had a romantic relationship which caused them to collude to sabotage the fund and steal its clients. That fishing expedition went nowhere, as Barbara had no such relationship while at the fund or any time up to and including the day of her deposition. Barbara was followed by David’s private detective while her home was monitored with a wide antenna listening device.
Yes, she talked to Bob sometimes in the evenings, but it was all business. David’s lawyers advised him that harassment charges against a woman in business might give them difficulties to defend, but he persisted. Barbara was tailed around the clock, every day of the week. The private detectives found nothing, but the surveillance continued.
One evening David’s hired surveillance man, sitting in his car across the street from Barbara’s home, had an encounter with undocumented aliens. They pulled their car alongside the private eye’s. Three men got out armed with baseball bats and hammers. All windows and lights in the surveillance car were smashed, every panel of the car’s body was dented, and its four tires were slashed. They dragged David’s surveillance man from his car and beat him with their bats until his ribs were broken. Then, just as quickly as they appeared, the illegals drove away. The police interviewed Barbara about the incident, but she genuinely knew nothing about it.
The next day in their tiny office, Bob asked Barbara about the dustup.
“Chief has his ways. It would be like him to send somebody and not let me know about it. I never said a word to him about the surveillance guy, but Chief would know anyway. It’s strange being his daughter. He is everywhere but unseen, like the wind. I told you before that he always watches over me. He’s been like that since I was a little girl. I know this much for sure. If he was behind this—and I’m not saying it was him—the police will never catch him. He’s too clever to be caught and he’d use some middle men. Those three guys will never be found either. Chief’s very thorough. I’ll bet either the surveillance stops or David has to pay two guys triple each what he was paying that one guy.” Barbara’s pride in her father was apparent in her voice.
“I wonder how David feels getting a taste of his own medicine. Maybe the dirty tricks and harassment he’s been putting us through will stop now. Who were those guys? Do you know?” Bob was awed by Barbara’s father, whom he’d yet to meet.
“I can’t know. You need to know that. I’d be guessing.” Barbara tried evasion.
“Indulge me, partner. Take a guess.”
“Well, it works like this. Chief gets a cut of the casinos, right off the top. He splits with Jo Jo. Jo Jo’s job is to take care of details. Jo Jo has Bobby, Phil, and Guido who do groundwork. When Chief needs a favor, he asks Jo Jo. When Jo Jo needs a favor, he asks Dad.”
“Wait. Jo Jo, Bobby, Phil, Guido. Who are these people?”
“They’re the ‘get it done guys.’ Jo Jo Paulo, Bobby Robbie, Phil Capobianco, and Guido ‘Blade’ Checini.”
“Your family works with the mob?”
“Dad runs all legitimate businesses, and he prefers to work with people who have good business experience. Now you know all you need to know.”
“So where do you and I fit into this?”
“We manage investments, passive
investments. Dad happens to be a good client.”
“Tell me about the money.”
“It’s all legitimate, from duly incorporated U.S.-domiciled businesses that pay their taxes, their employees, their license fees, their rents and utilities. They are totally clean, no criminal complaints, no union problems, and no political problems. Jo Jo keeps everything clean. Bad actors and bad girls aren’t welcome. Legitimate independent operators can do business with Jo Jo if they’re legal and pay rent. Now you know more than you need to know. No more questions. We are clean. Our firm is clean. We have lawyers who know the securities business and they checked us out, checked everything out. We are whistle clean. Sparrow is your good clean partner, the best friend you could ever have. No more questions.”
Barbara guessed right. David’s surveillance did stop. His lawyers told him they’d never get anything for the effort anyway and he’d just look vindictive to a jury if it came out that he was engaging in harassment tactics. He decided to redouble his legal efforts and cease the thug tactics, but for the first time in his life he felt he might be dealing with forces he didn’t fully understand.
The legal case morphed into multiple cases against the defendant, David; and against the companies of the codicil; and against the service company. All actions went the slowest route possible and, all in all, David utilized the services of fifty-four different lawyers to defend himself and the companies. Years passed. Lawyers gave notice of their appearances and later requested permission to withdraw. David found reasons to change law firms several times, causing multiple delays. His strategy of grinding Bob to a pulp wasn’t working. The litigation cost him a fortune. Bob’s attorney was on a contingency arrangement, and the long hours and bitter fight took their toll on Sol.
Finally, after years of delay, David sat at the defendant’s table in court listening to Bob testify about their relationship and their agreement to have Bob change careers in exchange for the companies upon David’s death. He showed some audacity to the jurors, the judge, and Bob and his attorney.
Through the whole of Bob’s testimony, David sat sprawled in his chair, his ass barely resting on the edge of the seat. He obnoxiously chewed gum, smacking it with his mouth open throughout Bob’s testimony, and he frequently shoved his hand down into the front of his pants and adjusted his testicles in front of the entire courtroom. The judge asked David politely, twice, to please sit upright in his chair. He complied for a time and then reverted to his prostrated slouching position. The judge gave up trying to correct him.
When David took the stand, the questioning went along routinely until Bob’s attorney made him recount his visit to the bank vault with Bob. Then David exploded, lashing out at Sol from the witness stand.
“Why are you picking on me about this crap? It’s just my will. It’s my fucking will, you fucking son of a bitch! I can change my will any time I want. That’s the fucking law. You know that. You’re a lawyer. You’re just picking on me because I’m a Jew, aren’t you? What’s the matter with you? You’re a Jew yourself, aren’t you? Since when does one Jew go out of his way and try to shame another Jew, huh? Answer me! You say you’re a Jew, but no Jew does this to another Jew! Fuck you, and fuck the horse you rode in here on! You’re not going anywhere with this crap. I’ll fight you until I’m dead if I have to, you asshole! You’re not stealing my companies! You’re just a slimy bastard trying to steal from a poor old man. You’re trying to take away from me what I’ve worked all my life for. Fuck you. Fuck you. You’re just dreck. You’re going to end up eating your own shit on this case, buddy. Nobody fucks with me like this and gets away with it.” David screamed like a man possessed by demons.
The judge was pounding his gavel from the moment he heard the first sentence and the jurors were appalled, but David would not be stopped. A true sociopath believes that he can do whatever he wishes and nobody has the right to deter him. David relished his moment in the limelight and he wasn’t about to have anyone steal it, not even a judge. The judge recessed the court and called both attorneys and David into his chambers. The jurors were filing out when he admonished David. He held out his index finger, pointing it as if it were a pistol barrel right between David’s eyes as he peered over its imaginary sights.
“I’m warning you for the last time. If there’s another outburst from you in my courtroom, you will be held in contempt and incarcerated.”
David shot back at the judge. “You’ll regret that.”
The judge had already agreed to dismiss the case for a payment to his favorite charity. Now he was confronted with outright contempt for his bench. He was stalemated by this devious sociopath. Would David actually go so far as to risk criminal bribery charges just to bring the same charges down upon a sitting judge? Sandbone had already surmised that David was an evil actor, but he doubted the man was stupid. Lowering himself to this scumbag was exactly what the narcissist wanted, to demonstrate that the whole show revolved around him, the principal actor. He swallowed hard and appealed to David’s self-interest.
“Please, Mr. Sustack. Let’s all just get through these proceedings here. I’m asking you politely to be reasonable. We must go through these formalities in good order, for the possibility is there that these proceedings will be appealed. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
David understood the subtle message. The judge was telling him in a nice way that he was actually working for David, trying to earn his bribe, but if he didn’t cooperate, the whole matter could be thrown out and David would end up in a different courtroom with a different judge and an uncertain outcome.
THE URINALS
When the actors had taken their respective positions, Judge Sandbone called the jury back. Bob, the plaintiff, took the stand. He gave testimony about the long-standing relationship he had with David, the money splitting on their handshake, the trips, the gifts, the countless lunches and dinners. Then Bob related the bank vault scene and described the codicil he was shown by David. His recitation was exactly as he’d stated it in his initial complaint, again in his deposition, and it matched exactly the copy produced by Old Mac.
David’s testimony coincided almost exactly with Bob’s. The trial was going smoothly until Bob’s lawyer began a line of inquiry that David was not prepared to answer.
“When you inherited the companies from your father, was there any condition attached to your inheritance?”
“What do you mean, condition?” David answered, a little hesitant.
“Let me introduce plaintiff exhibit number forty-six. This is your father’s, Mr. Marvin Sustack, last will and testament. I’ll read to you the relevant part, David. It says that your father is gifting to you the ownership of the underwriting and the distribution companies that operate the UGGA Universal Growth Fund, and that as a condition of your inheriting these companies from your father, you pledged to him that upon your own death, you would leave these companies to the State of Israel. Am I reading your father’s will correctly, David?”
“Yes, that is a correct reading.”
“When you made that promise to your father, was it your intention to honor that promise?”
“Yes.”
“Are you a devoted Jew, David?’
“Yes.”
“Was your father a devoted Jew?”
“Yes.”
“He was, wasn’t he? In fact, he was a committed Zionist, wasn’t he? He helped smuggle Jews out of Nazi Germany, isn’t that true? He also gave large donations to Jewish causes throughout his lifetime, didn’t he? He was also a major contributor to the American Israeli Political Action Committee, or AIPAC, and a devoted contributor to the Zionist political parties in Israel, isn’t that true?
“Yes, it’s all true. So what?”
“So what? Here’s so what! He loved Israel more than he loved you, didn’t he? He would never have given you those companies without that pledge you made to him on his deathbed. You needed those companies to make a living so you made that pledge, didn’t you?”
“Objection, badgering!” shouted the defense counsel.
“I’ll allow it,” Sandbone shot back. He’d been bribed to dismiss the case at trial, but he was going to allow the plaintiff every chance to win on appeal.
David glared at Sandbone.
“I’ll ask again,” Sol said. “Did you need those companies? Did you intend to keep that pledge?”
“Yes, I intended to keep it.”
“Okay. So now when it’s years later, you have Bob in the bank vault showing him this codicil, promising him you’ll leave him the companies if he’ll work with you to build the companies. Did you intend to keep the pledge to your father when you showed the codicil to Bob? Did you intend to give the companies to Israel as you pledged to your father as a condition of inheriting those companies when you were showing the codicil to Bob?”
“Well, I was just showing it to him.”
“That’s all been established. The question is, when you were showing Bob the codicil, were you still intending to honor your pledge to your father and the State of Israel? It’s a yes or no answer, David. Did you intend to honor your pledge to your father while you were showing Bob the codicil?”
“Yes. I have always tried to be a good son, and I intended to leave the companies to Israel when I died when I showed Bob the codicil.”
“So, you were willing to let Bob change his career, work for much less money, make you and the companies worth millions, and then give millions of dollars in valuable companies to Israel and leave Bob with nothing. Is that what your intentions were?’
“Well, I thought I might give him something later on.”
“Tell us about that.”
“Well, I replaced the codicil with a new one that left him a half million dollars.”
“When did you do that?”
“About a year before the lawsuit started.”
When The Butterflies Come Page 38
