Shelton developer James Botti was “greasing the wheel” in Shelton when he gave favors, gifts and cash to public officials between 2002 and 2006.
But he corrupted the land-use approval process and the “nice people” involved by doing it, assistant U.S. attorney Rahul Kale said in his closing arguments at Botti’s federal corruption trial Wednesday morning.
For more than an hour, Kale drove home points the government tried to make in two and a half weeks of testimony — that Botti bribed public officials, specifically Mayor Mark A. Lauretti, to get his developments approved.
Lauretti has not been charged with any crime, was not called to testify — and has denied wrongdoing.
The closing arguments put into context fragments of testimony elicited since the trial began March 8.
Botti’s defense attorney, William Dow III, gave his closing arguments at 1 p.m.
Favors
In Kale’s arguments, he listed several Botti favors — including work done on Lauretti’s home in 2002, a $9,000 christmas party he threw at Lauretti’s restaurant and letting Lauretti store his cars in Botti’s maintenance garage.
Witnesses also testified that Botti told them about cash bribes to Lauretti.
Kale also listed gifts Botti gave to other public officials, including Wendy’s gift certificates to building official Elliot Wilson and gift baskets to members of the Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission.
“Grease that wheel,” Kale said after each gift he mentioned.
828 Bridgeport Ave. Approval
Kale also touched upon a flurry of phone calls between Botti, Lauretti and planning and zoning officials in the days between June 13 and June 20, 2006.
On June 13 it appeared the commission would deny Botti’s proposal at 828 Bridgeport Ave. — but, by June 20, they voted in favor of it.
Then-chairman Allan Cribbins testified that Lauretti called him June 19, concerned that the project wasn’t on the agenda. A new agenda was filed less than an hour later.
Kale questioned why Lauretti would be anxious to have the vote so soon if he was only concerned about how the project affected Shelton.
“Ask yourself, where is the rush?” Kale told the jury. “Why should the mayor be concerned if James Botti gets financing unless he’s James Botti’s partner in crime — unless he wants to earn that bribe.”
Witness Questioned
Kale used the opportunity to again question the credibility of defense witness Neil Heslin, a friend of Botti’s who testified Tuesday.
Heslin’s testimony contradicted earlier testimony from key government witness, Andre Czaplinski.
But Kale questioned whether Heslin’s testimony was “too convenient.”
“Ask yourself, is he a truth-teller, or a felon hired to say whatever the defense wants,” Kale said.
Rebuttal
After Dow’s closing remarks, Assistant U.S. attorney Richard Schechter had a chance to rebut some of the statements.
“Mr. Dow takes each piece of evidence and holds it up on its own and says ‘Look: Meaningless,’” Schechter began. “If you look at each piece individually, you’re not going to get anywhere. You need to look at it together.”
Schechter repeated several times that “this is a post-Rowland world where cash is king.”
And Schechter questioned the defense strategy of painting Botti bombastic, not corrupt.
“You can be both, ladies and gentlemen,” Schechter said.
