The Fifth Witness - Michael Connelly [113]
The judge nodded, agreeing with her.
“I guess that would be tantamount to the man who killed his parents asking the court to show mercy on him because he’s an orphan. I’m in agreement, Mr. Haller. You are on notice that if you play it this way you must be prepared to shoulder the consequences.”
“I understand, Judge,” I said. “And I will make sure my client does as well. I only have one point of argument and that is counsel’s labeling of Louis Opparizio as a straw man. He’s no straw man and we’ll prove it.”
“Well,” the judge said, “at least you’ll get a chance to. Now time is wasting. Let’s get back into the courtroom.”
I followed Freeman out, leaving the judge behind while he put on his robe. I expected her to hit me with a verbal assault but I got the opposite.
“Well played, Counselor,” she said.
“Thanks, I think.”
“Who do you think sent you the letter?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Have the feds contacted you? My guess is they’re going to want to find out who’s leaking sensitive and confidential documents to the public.”
“Nobody’s said jack yet. Maybe it was the feds who leaked it. If I get Opparizio on the stand he’s stuck with his testimony. Maybe I’m just an instrument of the federal government here. Ever think of that?”
The suggestion seemed to put a pause in her step. As I passed her I smiled.
As we entered the courtroom I saw Herb Dahl in the front row of the gallery behind the defense table. I suppressed the urge to pull him over the rail and pound his face into the stone floor. Freeman and I took our positions at our respective tables and in a whisper I filled my client in on what had happened in chambers. The judge entered and brought the jury in.
The last piece of the picture was filled in when Detective Kurlen returned to the witness stand. I grabbed my files and legal pad and went back to the lectern. It seemed like a week since my cross-examination had been interrupted but it had been less than a day. I acted as though it had been less than a minute.
“Now, Detective Kurlen, when we left off yesterday I had just asked you if you knew what a federal target letter is. Can you answer that question now?”
“My understanding is that when a federal agency is interested in gathering information from an individual or company, they sometimes send out a letter that tells that individual or company that they want to talk. It’s sort of a letter that says, ‘Come on in and let’s talk about this so there’s no misunderstanding.’ ”
“And that’s it?”
“I’m not a federal agent.”
“Well, do you think it’s a serious matter to receive a letter from the federal government telling you that you are the target of an investigation?”
“It could be, I guess. I would assume that it depends on the crime they’re looking into.”
I asked the judge for permission to approach the witness with a document. Freeman objected for the record, citing relevance. The judge overruled without comment and told me I could give the document to the witness.
After handing the document to Kurlen I returned to the lectern and asked the judge to mark the document as Defense Exhibit 3. I then told Kurlen to read the letter.
“ ‘Dear Mr. Opparizio, This letter is to inform—’ ”
“Wait,” I interrupted. “Could you first read and describe what is at the top of the letter? The letterhead?”
“It says ‘Office of the United States Attorney, Los Angeles’ and it’s got a picture of an eagle on one side and the U.S. flag on the other. Should I read the letter part now?”
“Yes, please do.”
“ ‘Dear Mr. Opparizio, This letter is to inform you that A. Louis Opparizio Financial Technologies—known as ALOFT—and you, individually, are among the targets of a multi-agency task force investigating all levels of mortgage fraud in Southern California. Receipt of this letter puts you on notice not to remove or destroy any documents or work materials related to the business of your company. Should you wish to discuss this investigation and cooperate with members of the task force,