“The money had a musty smell.”
That’s how a government witness in Shelton developer James Botti’s federal money structuring trial described the bundles of cash the federal government alleges Botti hid in his office safe.
In day three of the trial, at U.S District Court in New Haven, more talk about the stacks of cash Botti allegedly kept in his office surfaced – this time from another government witness, Gregory Fracassini.
Fracassini, who worked as a property manager for Botti, testified that during the summer of 2006, Botti pulled out a box in his office and asked him if he wanted to see what a million dollars looks like.
“I saw $100 bills, wrapped in white bands in a cardboard box,” Fracassini testified. “The money had a musty smell.”
On Wednesday, the defense and prosecution wrapped up three days of testimony in the case against Botti, 46, accused of structuring cash deposits below $10,000 to avoid detection from the Internal Revenue Service, and of lying to the IRS.
The 16-member jury, which includes four alternates, is expected to hear closing arguments tomorrow. Deliberations are set to begin Friday.
Fracassini also testified that Botti told him that his father, Peter Botti, moved the cash from his office safe after his IRS agents questioned him in July 2006 about his tax returns.
“God Bless that old man,” Fracassini said Botti told him. “He had the wherewithal to take the cash out of the office.”
Throughout the trial, the prosecution tried to show that Botti had the cash and used it to pay for various projects. It also tried to prove that on July 14, 2006 Botti lied to IRS agent, Charles Cooney, when he told him he never had more than $5,000 in cash at the end of a year and only received checks for rental payments.
Several government witnesses testified during the trial that Botti kept almost $1 million in cash in a safe in his Bridgeport Avenue office.
On Tuesday, Andy Czaplinski, 35, a Shelton developer and long-time Botti friend, testified that sometime in 2006 Botti showed him wads of $100 bills packaged in groups of $10,000 each he kept in his Bridgeport Avenue office.
The bills totaled $870,000.
On Wednesday, Albert Papa, who owns a masonry company, told the jurors that Botti paid him $65,000 in cash to do brick work on two garages at Botti’s Maple Avenue home in Shelton.
Jurors also heard from Paul Ganassini, the former owner of the now closed Madison’s Restaurant on Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton, who testified that in 2006 he paid Botti $80,000 in cash for rent.
Vincenzo Fini, Botti’s accountant, testified that while he was preparing Botti’s 2006 income tax forms, Botti revealed that he collected $212,000 in cash in rent from Madison’s Restaurant.
Government witnesses during the trial included bank officials and banks statements alleging that Peter and James Botti made dozens of cash deposits below $10,000 in their accounts.
Peter Botti has pleaded guilty to one count of structuring bank deposits. He awaits sentencing.
Throughout the trial, William F. Dow, III, Botti’s lawyer, grilled witnesses by asking them if Botti had ever told them he was structuring cash to avoid IRS detection. All of the witnesses responded no.
On Wednesday, under cross examination he reminded IRS agent Shawn Darling that it’s not illegal to pay in cash.
“It’s not a crime to keep cash in your house, or in the soffit of your house. It’s not a crime to pay people in cash,” Dow said.
