The Art of Making Money - Jason Kersten [113]
Based on the police reports his lawyer had shown him, Art had a pretty good idea why.
“She turned us in. Why did she do that?”
“She’s a woman, she was frightened,” Senior said.
“Yeah. She’s a woman. My woman was frightened, too, she didn’t tell them anything.”
Senior shrugged.
“Anice turned me in because she never liked me,” Art continued. “She never did, not even when I was a kid. She wanted us gone. I guess she’s gonna have her way now.”
“C’mon, that’s not true,” Senior said, but he didn’t offer a countering argument.
They small-talked a little more about family members, and as the hour wore down Senior promised he’d visit again. As his dad prepared to leave, Art couldn’t help apologizing again.
“Stop it,” Senior said as they hugged each other farewell. “I don’t want you worrying about me. Promise me that you’ll take care of yourself, I’ll take care of myself, and we’ll get through this, okay?”
“Okay.”
ART HAD NO INTENTION OF WAITING AROUND to see how the chips fell for his father. Following their visit, he decided to help not only his old man, but Anice and Natalie as well. Through his lawyer, he approached Joseph Bottini, the federal prosecutor assigned to all of their cases. Bottini was a rising star in the federal District of Alaska. In his late thirties, with a black brush mustache and square jaw, Bottini embodied the ruggedness of the state and could easily pass as a cop or a fisherman, while in the courtroom he exhibited the finesse and dynamism of a professional athlete. A native of Napa, California, he had a casual and conversational air wired up to a memory that was almost photographic and a presentation that was precise and deadly. Bottini would go on to participate in the takedown of the state’s infamously corrupt legislature and its petroleum-industry bedfellows, ultimately finding himself a key member of the team that prosecuted Senator Ted Stevens. But he would never forget Art Williams: “I have one of Mr. Williams’s bills sitting on my desk in an evidence bag,” says Bottini. “It’s been sitting there all these years as a memento. It is an unusually good counterfeit. I remember everything about the case. It was a sad case. Art junior hadn’t seen his father in many years, and I wound up being the guy to prosecute this family.”
Art was in a position of strength when he approached Bottini. Because the Secret Service had failed to recover the laptop with its image files, all the government had against him was hearsay—verbal and written statements from Jim and Vicki Shanigan and Anice. Without physical evidence, it was doubtful that even a prosecutor as skilled as Bottini could make the charges against him stick. In spite of that advantage, Art indicated to Bottini that he was willing to plead guilty to everything—provided that the prosecutor would go easy on his father, Anice, and Natalie. He relayed to the prosecutor that he was the mastermind and that he had been counterfeiting for years. None of the others would have gotten wrapped up in it, he explained, if he hadn’t shown up.
Bottini appreciated Art’s chivalry, but he was in a difficult position. Federal agents had worked long hours bringing down the rest of the defendants. They had successfully compromised a counterfeiting ring, run phone- and wiretaps, and executed a search warrant that had produced hard evidence against Senior and Anice. His case against them was rock solid. And when it came to the gun charges against Senior, his hands were completely tied since it was a parole violation. He demurred at Art’s offer, but presented him with a counteroffer: If Art was willing to plead guilty to conspiracy, he’d recommend less than the five-year maximum. As part of the deal, he also wanted Art to admit to making the bills passed in Oklahoma, where agents had claimed they’d finally pulled a partial print matching one of Art’s fingers from inside one of the bills. Because it was a weak case, Art wouldn’t face charges; the Service just wanted to close the file.
That alone made Bottini’s offer a great deal for Art, but