So much preliminary paperwork has been filed in the James Botti federal money structuring case, the U.S. judge overseeing the process has nicknamed some of the documents to keep track of them.
So, at a pre-trial hearing Tuesday, Senior District Judge Charles Haight referred to “The Gang of 29,” or “The Battle of the Three Vendors,” instead of “Motion #97,” or “Motion #114” as he heard arguments on the sealed motions.
“The Gang” and “The Battle” were among 14 sealed motions discussed at the last scheduled hearing before Botti’s Nov. 2 trial.
Haight said before noon Wednesday he will render a decision which will determine who can testify and what they can say on the witness stand.
Haight said the decision will be “a series of one-liners, with opinions to follow as necessary.”
Although the motions remained sealed until some information can be redacted, the hearing Tuesday gave more clues about the arguments Botti’s attorney, William Dow III, and the U.S. attorneys intend to use.
The Charges
Botti, a Shelton developer, faces charges of conspiracy to structure cash deposits, structuring and two counts of making false statements to the Internal Revenue Service.
Any cash deposit or cash payment of $10,000 or more triggers a report to the IRS. Money structuring is dividing cash transactions to avoid detection from the government.
In a federal indictment handed down in November 2008, Botti was also accused of bribing a public official and conspiracy to defraud the citizens of Shelton, charges he will face at a separate trial at a later date.
“The Gang of 29”
Discussion in the hearing room Tuesday indicated that the “Gang of 29” motion includes a list of 29 items the government plans to offer as testimony.
Dow argued against some of the items Tuesday.
For example, Dow objected to the government’s plans to include testimony from Botti’s ex-wife, Kelly.
The government wants Kelly Botti to testify to an alleged verbal threat from Botti on Christmas Eve.
According to the discussion, if the judge approves the motion, Kelly Botti will testify that Botti told her “you better not talk, you better watch your back” and that he told her she would have to go into the witness protection program if she testified.
The “Gang of 29” motion also includes plans to have Botti’s accountant testify about rent payments made to Botti in cash in 2005 and 2006.
“The Battle of the Three Vendors”
In this motion, Dow argued that including testimony from three masons that did work for Botti is not relevant to charges that Botti tried to structure money.
The U.S. attorneys plan to argue that Botti paid the three men in cash, including a $65,000 payment for brickwork at Botti’s home and a $45,000 cash payment in July 2007 for other work.
The U.S. attorneys said one of the men will testify that after making the payment, Botti told him “Don’t tell anyone I paid you in cash.”
“It’s not illegal to pay someone in cash,” Dow said, arguing that the testimony doesn’t support charges that Botti was trying to structure money.
Assistant U.S. attorney Richard Schechter said the testimony will help prove that Botti had cash on hand, and that he lied to IRS agents about it.
“Sanitized Testimony”
In one order rendered Tuesday, Judge Haight advised the U.S. attorneys to “sanitize” certain testimony that refers to conversations Kelly Botti overheard Botti having about money.
Without going into to many specifics about the conversation, Judge Haight said the witness could not refer to “blood” on the money, the color of the money, or the word “whacked.”
“We can direct the witness to say they were joking about the source of the money,” Schechter said.
Other testimony was ordered cleaned up of any references to corruption charges Botti faces in a separate trial, so as not to sway the jury during testimony on the structuring charges.