The long-awaited trial for Shelton developer James Botti dominated the news for two weeks in November.
Testimony from former friends and co-workers, and Botti’s ex-wife detailed cash – lots of it – as federal prosecutors tried to convince a 12-member jury that Botti had structured cash deposits to try to avoid detection from the IRS.
In the end, the jury agreed, and convicted Botti on one count of conspiracy to structure money and one count of structuring payments. He was found not guilty of two counts of giving false statements to federal agents.
To structure, the money had to have been deposited in cash transactions of less than $10,000 each, with the intent of avoiding detection.
The court case turned heads in Shelton because of the amounts of cash prosecutors said Botti kept on hand (up to $2 million), and because of the case’s connection to city officials.
In the November 2008 indictment, Botti was accused of bribing “Public Official #1” to get his Bridgeport Avenue development projects pushed through.
Botti’s attorney William Dow III has since identified Public Official #1 as Mayor Mark A. Lauretti. The federal prosecutors have never identified the public official, and Lauretti has denied any involvement. He has not been charged with any crime.
In Botti’s second trial, more details about the alleged bribery will likely come out in court hearings and documents. The charges are conspiracy to defraud the citizens of Shelton, bribery of a public official and mail fraud.
The indictment claims that Botti paid for renovations at the public official’s home in Oct. 2002 and permitted the public official to take cash from his safe in 2006. The indictment also claims that Botti gave gift certificates to and made payments for members of the Planning and Zoning commission in exchange for approval of his plans.
