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The Murder Inc Trial/Day 7: The Defense Charges At Prosecution's Case
Following a morning of closing arguments by the prosecution, defense attorney Gerald Shargel submitted his own closing in Murder Inc.'s money laundering trial this afternoon.
Celebrities were still in attendance. Yet Jay-Z was now gone and Damon Dash was now sitting in his seat next to Russell Simmons while Fat Joe moved into a front row right behind the two moguls.
Shargel came out with guns blazing as he took shots at the prosecution for their mistakes and responded to jabs made by Prosecutor Carolyn Pokorny in her argument.
"I'm not going to talk about Russell Simmons, Jay-Z and Ja Rule. I'm not going to talk about Hip-Hop," Shargel passionately stated. "I don't want to stand here for two hours to make my argument. This case is so weak that it's a shame that these two men are standing here."
Energetically walking back and forth, the charismatic defense lawyer highlighted that all the prosecution had was the contradictory testimonies from witnesses Donell Nichols and Jon Ragin.
"This is the Donell Nichols," Shargel pointed out before recalling that Nichols claimed he brought the money to Cynthia Brent, The Inc.'s bookkeeper, and instructed her to cut a check to convicted drug lord Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. "Then there's the Jon Ragin version," added Shargel who then said Ragin testified that he picked up the checks from the imprint's office.
The defense further stressed the witnesses inconsistency by indicating that "not a single witness testified in the same way" before declaring that the government allowed the contradictions because "they look at everything with dirty glasses."
Shargel then bashed Pokorny's claim that the defense's "street credibility" angle was bogus by pointing out that the government's witness admitted to it. "Supreme's affiliation with Murder Inc. kept the street element away. Any hangers on or anybody looking to extort from Murder Inc. or do anything stayed away because of the relationship with Supreme," Shargel read twice from Ragin's testimony.
The prosecution's claim that Chris had unexplained cash also came under fire during the defense's summation. Shargel simply said the money could have come from Irv or family members, among countless other sources.
Shargel continued his charge, first asserting that there's "no personal animosity" between the defense and prosecution before calling the government's case "pathetic." He then began poking fun at Pokorny's claims that Chris was "swimming and bleeding" in cash, prompting a slight chuckle from the crowd.
Shargel ran with comedic flare, making the court room laugh on several occasions until Judge Edward Korman banged his gavel to restore order. Throughout his antics, the jury remained calm.
Shargel then discredited Juan "Rico" Romano's testimony, pointing out his hesitant answers, mentioning that the driver's point of reference was while driving McGriff, along with his money, to a Starbucks coffee shop, to the crowd's amusement. Judge Korman once again banged his gavel and demanded that the court room to remain quiet.
In the minutes that followed, attendees in the courtroom struggled to hold in laughs as Shargel continued to discredit Romano and then Phillip "Dalu" Banks.
The defense lawyer then re-used his "says who" concept, insisting that the prosecution's witnesses aren't credible, reminding jurors of Banks' lengthy criminal record and Nichols' reputation as a pathological liar. Shargel also referred to Nichols' claim that $500,000 in checks went out to McGriff's Picture Perfect Entertainment rather than $65,000 as bank records show.
Before breaking for lunch, Shargel noted the inconsistency of Nichols' shoe box testimony, showing that if the denominations were truly fives and tens wrapped into 100s, the bills couldn't have been contained in any type of shoe box, whether it is dress shoes, Adidas sneakers or Timberlands. Shargel then criticized Detective Anthony Castigliati, particularly his referral to the "standard urban attire." "What type of a stereotype is that?" Shargel asked.
Shargel then exposed that Pokorny failed to ask Nichols the size of the shoe box, giving way for Castigliati to conduct his experiment over the weekend. "Standard urban attire," Shargel emphatically said while directly looking at Castigliati. "They sure got one over on me. They sure took care of me with that one."
Shargel is scheduled to present the rest of his closing arguments after lunch.
Source: sohh.com
Celebrities were still in attendance. Yet Jay-Z was now gone and Damon Dash was now sitting in his seat next to Russell Simmons while Fat Joe moved into a front row right behind the two moguls.
Shargel came out with guns blazing as he took shots at the prosecution for their mistakes and responded to jabs made by Prosecutor Carolyn Pokorny in her argument.
"I'm not going to talk about Russell Simmons, Jay-Z and Ja Rule. I'm not going to talk about Hip-Hop," Shargel passionately stated. "I don't want to stand here for two hours to make my argument. This case is so weak that it's a shame that these two men are standing here."
Energetically walking back and forth, the charismatic defense lawyer highlighted that all the prosecution had was the contradictory testimonies from witnesses Donell Nichols and Jon Ragin.
"This is the Donell Nichols," Shargel pointed out before recalling that Nichols claimed he brought the money to Cynthia Brent, The Inc.'s bookkeeper, and instructed her to cut a check to convicted drug lord Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. "Then there's the Jon Ragin version," added Shargel who then said Ragin testified that he picked up the checks from the imprint's office.
The defense further stressed the witnesses inconsistency by indicating that "not a single witness testified in the same way" before declaring that the government allowed the contradictions because "they look at everything with dirty glasses."
Shargel then bashed Pokorny's claim that the defense's "street credibility" angle was bogus by pointing out that the government's witness admitted to it. "Supreme's affiliation with Murder Inc. kept the street element away. Any hangers on or anybody looking to extort from Murder Inc. or do anything stayed away because of the relationship with Supreme," Shargel read twice from Ragin's testimony.
The prosecution's claim that Chris had unexplained cash also came under fire during the defense's summation. Shargel simply said the money could have come from Irv or family members, among countless other sources.
Shargel continued his charge, first asserting that there's "no personal animosity" between the defense and prosecution before calling the government's case "pathetic." He then began poking fun at Pokorny's claims that Chris was "swimming and bleeding" in cash, prompting a slight chuckle from the crowd.
Shargel ran with comedic flare, making the court room laugh on several occasions until Judge Edward Korman banged his gavel to restore order. Throughout his antics, the jury remained calm.
Shargel then discredited Juan "Rico" Romano's testimony, pointing out his hesitant answers, mentioning that the driver's point of reference was while driving McGriff, along with his money, to a Starbucks coffee shop, to the crowd's amusement. Judge Korman once again banged his gavel and demanded that the court room to remain quiet.
In the minutes that followed, attendees in the courtroom struggled to hold in laughs as Shargel continued to discredit Romano and then Phillip "Dalu" Banks.
The defense lawyer then re-used his "says who" concept, insisting that the prosecution's witnesses aren't credible, reminding jurors of Banks' lengthy criminal record and Nichols' reputation as a pathological liar. Shargel also referred to Nichols' claim that $500,000 in checks went out to McGriff's Picture Perfect Entertainment rather than $65,000 as bank records show.
Before breaking for lunch, Shargel noted the inconsistency of Nichols' shoe box testimony, showing that if the denominations were truly fives and tens wrapped into 100s, the bills couldn't have been contained in any type of shoe box, whether it is dress shoes, Adidas sneakers or Timberlands. Shargel then criticized Detective Anthony Castigliati, particularly his referral to the "standard urban attire." "What type of a stereotype is that?" Shargel asked.
Shargel then exposed that Pokorny failed to ask Nichols the size of the shoe box, giving way for Castigliati to conduct his experiment over the weekend. "Standard urban attire," Shargel emphatically said while directly looking at Castigliati. "They sure got one over on me. They sure took care of me with that one."
Shargel is scheduled to present the rest of his closing arguments after lunch.
Source: sohh.com