The first week of the federal corruption trial of Shelton developer James Botti is over.
Mayor Mark Lauretti has been a major focal point of testimony so far. He spoke to the Valley Independent Sentinel Friday evening about the case.
Valley Indy: Mayor Lauretti, we wanted to give you a chance to respond to the various allegations that have come out during the trial.
Mark Lauretti: That’s all they are — allegations. Where’s all the facts?
Valley Indy: Do you think the way this trial is proceeding is fair?
Lauretti: How could any of this be fair? How could it be fair to me and how could it be fair to the city?
Valley Indy: Do you think, based on the testimony the government is eliciting, that charges against you could be pending?
Lauretti: I have no idea. Nothing surprises me anymore.
Valley Indy: Are any of the allegations true? For example, did Mr. Botti send your family to Disney?
Lauretti: Where are the facts? That’s what people have to ask themselves. Are there any facts that actually exist to support those allegations? You would have thought they would supply some facts behind them, but we haven’t seen that.
It’s conjecture. It’s personal. Look at Rick Schultz. Look at his comments. (Schultz testified before the jury Thursday.)
How does his opinion of my integrity impact Botti’s charges? What’s the point of all that?
Forget about the fact that he admits that he lied to the ethics commission. I have the minutes from the ethics committee, verbatim. Where’s his integrity?
And yet this is important (to the trial).
Valley Indy: Is the trial affecting the way business is being done in the city and the way you’re doing your job now?
Lauretti: What’s it going to affect? I couldn’t speak with any certainty with that. The city certainly doesn’t deserve all this and at the end of the day people will see that because it will pass.
Valley Indy: Are you saying you think the charges will blow over? This whole thing will go away?
Lauretti: The charges are against someone else. I have no idea what the jury will do.
Valley Indy: A lot of people are asking how this will affect your possible run for governor.
Lauretti: Oh come on, you’ve gotta be kidding me? How do you think it’s going to affect it?
Valley Indy: I’m not sure. Do you still plan to proceed?
Lauretti: Maybe when this trial is concluded, which hopefully will be soon.
Valley Indy: A lot has come out during the testimony. Are any of these allegations true?
Lauretti: There’s two sides to every story and the things that are being said are just ridiculous.
Lauretti: Tell me something. You’ve been there. Rick Schultz admitted he lied to the Grand Jury? Has he been indicted? What about Elliot Wilson? He was indicted for the same thing.
Two people doing the same thing; one gets indicted, the other doesn’t. Do you see something wrong with this picture?
How about Randy Szkola (who testified Tuesday)? He was on the wetlands commission and he does work for the developers.
What standard is everybody being judged by?
Valley Indy: Are you saying there’s a double standard?
Lauretti: I’m not saying that. I’m making a point. All the emphasis seems to be on one person.
Valley Indy: Who’s that?
Lauretti: You heard the witnesses say he’s not there.
Valley Indy: How are you taking this whole thing? You’ve said how it’s affecting the city, but how is affecting Mark Lauretti as a person?
Lauretti: I’m taking it personally. This has been going on for too many years with the same cast of characters. It’s always personal with them.
In case you haven’t noticed, I do my job and I get pretty good results. In fact I’ll put my record against anyone else in the state, anywhere.
I get results. The minute somebody doesn’t get what they want, now it becomes personal.
