Little Pink House_ A True Story of Defiance and Courage - Jeff Benedict [104]
Then, once he and Berliner had had a chance to review the Pfizer documents, Bullock wanted to depose an individual from the company. Pfizer’s attorney balked at this request.
“Well, we’re obviously going to have questions about these documents, and we’ll need to talk to someone from Pfizer who can answer them,” Bullock said.
It sounded reasonable to Judge Martin. But whom did the institute have in mind?
“Possibly George Milne,” Bullock said.
Pfizer’s attorney said the company would fight any attempt to produce George Milne for a deposition.
Without much push back from Bullock, Pfizer’s lawyer supplied various reasons Milne was not an option. He was a very busy man. He had other commitments. The list went on.
It was clear that any attempt to get Milne under oath would cause Pfizer to draw a line in the sand. Judge Martin didn’t want a protracted legal battle over whether Milne could be forced to testify. Bullock didn’t either. But Bullock didn’t want to back down until he first saw Pfizer’s documents and was able to see where the paper trail led.
When word reached Milne that he might be called to be deposed, he was not eager to participate. “That’s not a good use of my time,” he said. The attorneys assured him that they’d present that argument, along with the fact that he had little to offer.
Milne had no plans to testify, but he held some strong opinions. He disagreed with the way the institute had framed its case. Pfizer, from his standpoint, was being unfairly associated with the NLDC and eminent domain, both by the institute and the media. Yet Milne maintained that the way Pfizer had done things had been nothing but proper; Pfizer had been a catalyst for improvement in New London.
“The Pfizer investment was pivotal in convincing the state to put a tremendous amount of money into New London,” Milne later said. “I think we’ve been pretty clear that these other things had to happen in order for Pfizer to make the investment.
“The state’s money was probably an important part of the engine,” he continued. “It’s a little hard to pull the two apart. In other words, if Pfizer hadn’t agreed to make the investment, I’m not sure the state would have made the investment. I have no idea what would have happened at Fort Trumbull, but it certainly wouldn’t be the beautiful place it is today if John Rowland and the state hadn’t seen this as a showplace. Calamari Junkyard would still be there, and all the rest of that.
“Clearly, the Pfizer involvement was an initiating event.”
Dave Goebel wasn’t thrilled about the fact that his agency had to turn over documents to the institute. When Bullock arrived at the NLDC’s office at a prearranged time to examine the files, Goebel, cold and stern, escorted him into a conference room containing a table lined with files and documents. Bullock pulled out colored note tabs to mark the documents he wanted copied. Goebel took a seat near him, his eyes focused on Bullock.
After an hour passed, Bullock realized Goebel had no intention of leaving the room. Rather than assign a staff person to observe Bullock, Goebel simply stayed. Bullock was long accustomed to being observed while reviewing records belonging to adversarial companies and agencies, but he had never seen a chief executive fill that role.
Going through one file, Bullock discovered a glossy, color architectural rendition of what the area might look like if the existing neighborhood were incorporated into the redevelopment plan. Goebel had momentarily left the room, replaced by another NLDC official.
“Do you know the origin of this?” Bullock asked the official, handing him the drawing. “Have you seen it before?”
A contemptuous smile flashed across the official’s face. “Oh, yeah.”
“I’d like a copy of it.”
The official flung the drawing on the table and shrugged. “You can have it,” he said. Bullock picked it up. After