The judge was fair. A gentlemen, in fact. And Happy Easter.
Those were the cautious words of James Botti Thursday, shortly after a federal judge in New Haven declared a mistrial on two of the three criminal charges lodged against the Shelton developer.
An 11-person jury couldn’t come to a decision on the conspiracy and bribery charges. They did find Botti guilty of mail fraud, which carries a 20-year maximum sentence.
Botti was already facing a possible 10-year prison sentence stemming for two convictions in November for structuring money and conspiring to structure money.
He’ll be sentenced June 18.
Prosecutors claimed Botti bribed Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti and lavished officials with gifts to get a commercial projects approved in the city.
Lauretti hasn’t been charged with a crime, he wasn’t called as a witness in the trial — and he’s denied the prosecution’s allegations.
He did not return several messages and an e‑mail for comment Thursday.
(Click here to read all the stories relating to the case.)
The Charges
The jury came back with the mail fraud verdict around noon. They determined that Botti had used the U.S. mail in a plot to deprive residents the “honest services of their public official of officials.”
The mail fraud part of it comes in because the Planning and Zoning Commission mailed a certified letter to Botti indicating they had approved his development proposal at 828 Bridgeport Ave.
However, the jury deadlocked on the charges to which Lauretti was allegedly directly connected.
To get a guilty verdict on bribery, the prosecution had to convince the jury that Botti gave something to Lauretti worth at least $5,000, with the “corrupt” intent to influence or reward him.
They couldn’t reach a consensus. On Thursday, jurors advised Judge Charles Haight, Jr. of this fact at about noon.
He sent them back to think about it more.
At about 4:30 p.m., a note emerged from the jury room.
“Judge Haight, we have exhausted all avenues and we have reached the same conclusion as this morning. Thank you.”
Haight then declared the mistrial on those charges.
Reaction
U.S. Attorney Richard Schechter said prosecutors wanted to wait for a sentence to be issued before they determine whether to file for a retrial on the two deadlocked charges.
Botti’s attorney, William Dow III, said the mistrial on two counts was a partial win. He was happy the jury worked hard to “assess the case in a proper perspective.”
“I think the lesson we learn here is the moral high ground is a dangerous precipice,” Dow said. “The government has gone out of its way to call into question Mr. Botti’s conduct.”
Thomas Carson, the U.S. Attorney’s spokesman, declined to say much about the decision.
“The government sincerely thanks the jury for their time and attention,” Carson said.
In Shelton, reaction was mixed.
Anthony Simonetti, chairman of the Shelton GOP, was happy the trial was over.
He said Lauretti and members of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission were tarnished by federal prosecutors. All Lauretti did was give his opinion on development projects — which is part of his job, Simonetti said.
“The mayor is, in fact, an ex-officio member of every board and commission. He has the opportunity to speak at each and every board at any meeting and give his opinion on a particular situation,” Simonetti said.
“There was shenanigans by the FBI and the prosecutors,” he said.
But Democratic Town Committee chairman David Gioiello pointed out the allegations that came to light as a result of the trial.
“The trial brought out the fact that the building inspector took bribes,” Gioiello said. “We have the chairman of the Planning and Zoning commission admitting he took a bribe. He accepted a gift basket with a $150 gift certificate. That’s a bribe. Maybe he said he felt bad, but he didn’t return it.”
“That’s the way business was conducted in town. It’s not the way it should be,” Gioiello said.
Botti, meanwhile, is out on bail.
Trials, Trials, Trials
Botti was charged initially charged with seven offenses in November 2008, after FBI and IRS agents conducted a lengthy investigation into alleged corruption in Shelton.
Judge Haight split the charges into two trials.
Thursday’s guilty verdict is Botti’s third conviction related to the corruption investigation.
He was found guilty of structuring cash deposits and conspiracy to structure cash deposits at his first trial in November 2009.
At that trial, Botti was acquitted on two counts of lying to a federal agent.
“By that count, it’s Botti four, government three,” Dow said.
The Others
Two other people have been convicted in relation to the corruption investigation.
Botti’s father, Peter Botti Sr., pleaded guilty to structuring cash payments.
And Shelton’s head building official, Elliot Wilson, pleaded guilty to lying to the grand jury when he was interviewed as part of the investigation.
In the plea agreement, Wilson admitted taking gifts and favors from more than one developer in Shelton. He had lied about that fact when the grand jury interviewed him.
Botti Sr. and Wilson are both awaiting sentencing.
Carson, the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, declined to say whether there are more charges pending against anyone else mentioned during testimony.
“The investigation is ongoing,” Carson said.
Valley I. on Dipity.
