For the past two weeks, Mayor Mark A. Lauretti’s name has been thrown around a lot during the federal corruption trial of Shelton developer James Botti, as government attorneys argue the two conspired to defraud the citizens of Shelton.
Friday, jurors will get to hear Lauretti’s voice, too — via wiretapped conversations he had with Botti during 2005.
FBI agents received permission to tap Lauretti’s city cell phone for 60 days between May and July 2005, Special Agent Christopher Halpin testified Thursday.
They recorded about 1,400 calls.
Friday, the prosecutors will play four of those recordings — two conversations between Lauretti and Botti and two voicemails Botti left on the cell phone.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale started to play the tapes at about 4 p.m. Thursday, but Judge Charles Haight dismissed the jury early when the prosecution had technical difficulties getting the recordings to play on the courtroom’s audio system.
It’s not yet clear what topics were discussed on the recordings.
Lauretti is on potential witness lists for both the prosecution and the defense, but it’s still not clear if either side will call him to testify. The prosecution expects to finish their witnesses Friday or Monday afternoon.
U.S. attorneys claim Botti bribed Lauretti with cash and favors to win his influence getting development projects approved in Shelton.
Lauretti has not been charged with a crime and has denied wrong doing.
‘I Need You To Go’
Earlier Thursday, former Planning and Zoning commissioner and local restaurant owner Daniel Orazietti testified about the vote on Botti’s 828 Bridgeport Ave. proposal.
Orazietti said he was on the fence about the project, but didn’t bother himself with making a decision because he didn’t plan to attend the June 20, 2006 meeting to vote.
“I had no intention of going to that meeting,” Orazietti testified. “I had a graduation party coming into the restaurant (Danny O’s on River Road, which he owns).”
But on the morning of June 20, fellow Planning and Zoning Commissioner Leon Sylvester stopped by the restaurant to visit Orazietti and urge him to vote in favor of the proposal, Orazietti said.
“He was adamant that I go to the meeting that night,” Orazietti said. “He said he’d do anything — he’d do my dishes — if I went.”
Sylvester had recused himself from the vote because of a conflict of interest.
Prosecutors claim Botti asked Sylvester to swing votes in favor of the project.
As Sylvester left the restaurant, he said “This conversation never happened,” Orazietti testified.
Orazietti said the following Christmas, Botti booked a $1,800 Christmas party at his restaurant and sent him $150 in gift certificates to Il Palio Restaurant.
Different Target?
More details about the government’s strategy in their corruption investigation came out during legal arguments between Botti’s attorney, William Dow III, and U.S. Attorney Richard Schechter, Thursday.
Government agents had offered Botti a chance to cooperate with their investigation before they indicted him in November 2008.
Botti met with Schechter, Halpin and two IRS agents at the U.S. Attorneys office in New Haven on June 19, 2007 to discuss the government’s evidence “so he could make an informed decision if he wanted to cooperate with them before charges were filed,” according to a memo about the meeting Judge Haight read portions of Thursday.
Schechter told Botti he should “seriously think about the information” and if he wanted to cooperate, he should contact Schechter one week from that date, Dow said, citing the same memo.
Botti declined to cooperate.
The meeting also came up during testimony from former IRS agent Charles Cooney on Wednesday, and IRS agent Sean Darling’s testimony Thursday.
Darling said the agents played a portion of the recorded conversation between Botti and Inland Wetlands Commissioner Randy Szkola, in which Botti said he had enough information to take down several developers and public officials in Shelton.
Agents also asked Botti about the alleged $50,000 bribe to Lauretti.
“He initially denied he had made that bribe,” Darling testified.
The agents then disclosed they knew about a conversation about the bribe between Botti and his friend Andre Czaplinski.
“He said he could not recall the conversation,” Darling said. “He said ‘I’m not denying the conversation happened. I’m just saying I do not recall it.’”
Cash Payments
The jury also heard testimony Thursday that was similar to information released during Botti’s first trial in November 2009.
Albert Papa, a mason contractor, said he was paid $65,000 in cash from Botti for work he did at Botti’s Maple Avenue home in 2007.
And representatives from area banks detailed cash deposits and withdrawals from accounts held by Botti and his father Peter Botti, Sr.
