459
22 (516) 485-6558
23
Proceedings recorded by mechanical stenography, transcript
24 produced by Computer-Assisted Transcription
25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
461
1 M O R N I N G S E S S I O N
2
3 (Whereupon, the following takes place in the
4 absence of the jury.)
5 THE COURT: First of all, I have advised you that
6 this men's bathroom is next to the jury room and is not to
7 be used. I am advised that some of you are still using
8 it. Do not. Use the one upstairs.
9 I was requested to get permission, or attempt to
10 get permission to bring cellular phones into the
11 courthouse. I cannot get that permission.
12 You may not use it in any part of the Court,
13 either in the area by the magometer and the end of the
14 door.
15 You may use the cellular phones in cars. I know
16 they can be used there. I don't happen to use one, but I
17 see people driving along with one of these things in their
18 ear as they are driving. I don't know how they manage to
19 drive with that, but if you wish, you can use your
20 cellular phones in the car.
21 There are eight public phones in the court
22 building. Three, two, and two. Three in the lower level,
23 two on the upper level, I believe. Whatever. If you
24 cannot use those, use your cellular phones in the car, not
25 in the courthouse. We cannot allow that.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
462
1 We will wait for the j ury to get here.
2 Anything else anyone wants to bring up?
3 (No response.)
4
5 (Whereupon, a recess is taken.)
6
7 THE CLERK: Jury entering.
8 (Whereupon, the jury at this time entered the
9 courtroom.)
10 THE COURT: Good morning, members of our well
11 rested jury.
12 Please be seated.
13 I want to thank you all for being here
14 punctually. I understand one juror was late. I am sure
15 there is a reason for that juror being late, and we
16 appreciate your punctuality and sense of responsibility.
17 Several announcements.
18 Today we have a judge's meeting, which means that
19 that will be from 1:00 to 2:00. We will take lunch from
20 1:00 to 2:15, instead of 12:30 to 1:30 only.
21 Also, there will be no court this Friday, so you
22 can go to work or do whatever else you want to do on
23 Friday.
24 The f ollowing Friday, the 30th of January, we
25 will work from 1:30 to 5:30, January 30th, 1:30 to 5:30.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
463
1 You may proceed.
2 MS. SCOTT: Thank you, your Honor.
3 I would like to tell the Court we have provided
4 binders to all the jurors with respect to the exhibits
5 that we have, and continue in that fashion.
6 THE COURT: Good.
7 MS. SCOTT: And the government's first witness
8 will be Madeline Middlemark.
9 THE CLERK: Please raise your right hand.
10
11 M A D E L I N E M I D D L E M A R K,
12 called as a witness, having been first
13 duly sworn, was examined and testified
14 as follows:
15
16 THE CLERK: Please state your name and spell your
17 last name slowly for the record.
18 THE WITNESS: Madeline Middlemark,
19 M I D D L E M A R K.
20 THE COURT: Have a seat, Ms. Middlemark.
21 You may proceed.
22
23
24
25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
464
Middlemark-direct/Scott
1 DIRECT EXAMINATION
2 BY MS. SCOTT:
3 Q Good morning, Ms. Middlemark.
4 A Good morning.
5 Q Tell us where you live?
6 A 96 Storehill Road in Westbury.
7 THE COURT: S T O R E?
8 THE WITNESS: Correct.
9 Q Are you married?
10 A I am a widow.
11 Q Do you have any children?
12 A Yes, I have one son.
13 Q Do you know Bruce Gordon?
14 A Yes, I do.
15 Q How do you know him?
16 A I know Bruce Gordon because I grew up next door to
17 him.
18 Q And how long have you known him?
19 A Approximately 47 years.
20 Q And over those 47 years have you maintained a
21 friendship with him?
22 A Yes, I have.
23 Q How often do you see him?
24 A Once a month, every other month.
25 Q And have you had occasion over the past 47 years to
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
465
Middlemark-direct/Scott
1 get to know other members of Mr. Gordon's family?
2 A Yes.
3 Q For example, who do you know in his family?
4 A I know his ex-wife Elissa Gordon.
5 I knew his son Todd, and I knew his son Curt, who
6 both passed away. I know his son Craig, and his sister,
7 Joyce Grossman, and his brother-in-law Richard Grossman.
8 Q Now, over the period of your friendship with
9 Mr. Gordon, have you had occasion to lend him money?
10 A Yes. I have.
11 Q How many times have you lent him money?
12 A Ten or 20.
13 Q Can you describe what types of loans you made to him?
14 A I don't understand the question.
15 Q Hav e you loaned him money for his personal use or his
16 businesses?
17 A I believe both.
18 Q And how, if at all, were these loans secured?
19 A Well, Mr. Gordon for a large amount, say, 5,000,
20 10,000, usually gave me a handwritten note saying he owed
21 me the money. But if it was for like 500 or something
22 like that, I didn't get a note.
23 Q Now, if it was -- if the amount of the note was
24 written, were you given a copy of it?
25 A Yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
466
Middlemark-direct/Scott
1 Q Does Bruce Gordon always pay you back the money he
2 borrowed from you?
3 A Yes, he did.
4 Q How would he repay you?
5 A Sometimes in cash, if it was a small amount, or by
6 check.
7 Q Okay.
8 And when he repaid you, what did you do with the
9 promissory notes that memorialized th e loans?
10 A I would rip them up.
11 Q So, after the money was repaid, did you keep any
12 record of the loans that you made to him?
13 A No.
14 Q Did you ever lend Mr. Gordon any money to pay his
15 ex-wife's medical expenses?
16 A Not to my knowledge, I did.
17 Q Did you ever hear of his ex-wife needing medical
18 treatment at any time?
19 A No, I didn't.
20 Q Have you ever loaned Mr. Gordon money to pay his
21 ex-wife's alimony?
22 A Not to my knowledge.
23 Q Now, when he asked you to borrow money, what did he
24 typically say he was going to use the money for?
25 A He usually needed it, like a bridge time loan, if he
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
467
Middlemark-direct/Scott
1 was short on cash, or if he needed it for his business.
2 At one time he needed it to pay an attorney.
3 He really didn't go into all the details.
4 Q Okay.
5 I am directing your attention now to October
6 1993.
7 Do you remember loaning Mr. Gordon money at or
8 around that time?
9 A I don't remember.
10 Q Okay.
11 Now, for example, do you think you loaned him
12 $10,000 at that time?
13 A I don't remember whether I did or not.
14 Q I am going to show you Government's Exhibit 425-B.
15 (Handed to the witness.)
16 MS. SCOTT: I remind the Court it is in evidence
17 and it has been passed out to the jury for their binders.
18 Would you please read from that document?
19 A The whole thing?
20 Q Yes. Please, thank you.
21 A It says promissory note, $10,000, date, October
22 first, 1993. I, Bruce Gordon, hereby promise to pay to
23 the order of Madeline Middlemark the amount of $10,000,
24 and then in parenthesis, $10,000, on or before five years
25 from the date of this note. Interest at the rate of 7.5
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
468
Middlemark-direct/Scott
1 percent per annum to be paid at maturity. Maturity date,
2 December 30th, 1998, Bruce Gordon.
3 Q Now, aside from the time that you testified before
4 the grand jury, have you ever seen that document before?
5 A No, I have not.
6 Q And in October of 1993, did you loan Mr. Gordon the
7 $10,000 referenced in that note?
8 A I don't believe I did.
9 Q Thank you, Ms. Middlemark.
10 One moment.
11 THE COURT: Yes.
12 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
13 proceedings.)
14 MR. WHITE: Thank you. No further questions.
15 MR. TRABULUS: Your Honor, if I may just have a
16 moment?
17 THE COURT: Surely.
18 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
19 proceedings.)
20
21 CROSS-EXAMINATION
22 BY MR. TRABULUS:
23 Q Good morning, Ms. Middlemark.
24 A Good morning.
25 Q Now, I think you just told Ms. Scott that you didn't
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
469
Middlemark-cross/Trabulus
1 loan the $10,000 that was evident -- that was referred to
2 in the note you were just shown?
3 A Right.
4 Q I think you also indicated you don't remember one way
5 or another whether or not you loaned Mr. Gordon $10,000 in
6 October of 1993; is that correct?
7 A Yes, that's correct.
8 Q So, it is possible that you loaned him $10,000 in
9 1993 in October?
10 A It's possible.
11 Q And sometimes when you loaned him money did he pay
12 you back quite quickly?
13 A Yes, he did.
14 Q Sometimes within a matter of weeks or even days?
15 A That's correct.
16 Q Now, do you recall whether or not when he paid you
17 back, he paid you back in cash or in check?
18 A No, I don't.
19 Q In some instances would he pay back in cash and
20 others in check?
21 A Yes.
22 Q When he paid back in check, would it sometimes be a
23 personal check?
24 A I don't remember.
25 Q Is it that you don't remember --
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
470
Middlemark-cross/Trabulus
1 A I really don't remember whether it was his personal
2 check or company check. I really don't.
3 Q Okay.
4 Do you recall sometimes in 1993 or 1994 you did
5 lend Mr. Gordon 10,000, just not the particular date?
6 A I don't remember.
7 Q Okay.
8 Ms. Middlemark, did there come a time at
9 Mr. Gordon's request you went to an auction that was
10 loc ated in a penthouse in Manhattan?
11 A Yes.
12 Q And was this an auction whereby a bankruptcy trustee
13 was having various items auctioned off?
14 A Yes.
15 Q Did you see the auction occurring?
16 A Yes.
17 Q Did you see the furnishings of the auction --
18 penthouse being auctioned off?
19 A Yes.
20 Q Did you see some of the decorations and artwork being
21 auctioned off?
22 A Yes.
23 Q And that was being auctioned off so -- withdrawn.
24 The property being auctioned off was supposed to
25 be the property of Who's Who Worldwide; is that correct?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
471
Middlemark-cross/Trabulus
1 A I believe so.
2 Q And this was an auction of Who's Who Worldwide's
3 property, not Mr. Gordon's property; is that correct?
4 A I believe so.
5 Q Among the things you saw auctioned off, was there
6 sculpture, do you recall?
7 A Everything in the apartment was auctioned.
8 Q Do you remember what some of the things in the
9 apartment were? Was there some sculpture there?
10 A Probably so.
11 Q Crystal?
12 A Crystal as far as glassware?
13 Q Yes.
14 A Yes, there was. But that was not auctioned.
15 Q Okay.
16 Any paintings? Did you see those auctioned?
17 A Yes.
18 MR. TRABULUS: No further questions.
19 MS. SCOTT: No further questions.
20 THE COURT: One moment, please.
21
22 CROSS-EXAMINATION
23 BY MR. WALLENSTEIN:
24 Q Good morning, Ms. Middlemark.
25 A Good morning.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
472
Middlemark-cross/Wallenstein
1 Q Would you say it was a fairly regular appearance for
2 Mr. Gordon to borrow money from you?
3 A I don't understand.
4 Q It wasn't unusual, was it?
5 A No.
6 Q You say it happened on ten or twelve occasions at
7 least?
8 A Yes.
9 Q Did he always repay the money?
10 A Yes, he did.
11 Q So, at this point in time he owes you nothing; is
12 that correct?
13 A That's not correct.
14 Q But he always repaid the loans?
15 A Yes.
16 Q Did you ever meet Mr. Gordon's accountant?
17 A No. I never had.
18 Q Never had any contact with him?
19 A No.
20 MR. WALLENSTEIN: Thank you.
21 No further questions.
22 MR. GEDULDIG: Judge, I have a question.
23 THE COURT: Go ahead.
24
25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
473
Middlemark-cross/Geduldig
1 CROSS-EXAMINATION
2 MR. GEDULDIG:
3 Q Ms. Middlemark, I think you testified on direct
4 examination that you have known Mr. Gordon for some 47
5 years?
6 A Yes.
7 Q And you would consider yourself to be a personal
8 friend of his?
9 A Yes.
10 Q You know him very well?
11 A Yes.
12 Q Did you know any of the people that he was involved
13 in business with?
14 A No.
15 Q As you sit here now, do you know him to have misled
16 you with regard to the reasons that you were lending him
17 money?
18 A No.
19 Q As you hit here now, is there anything that you know
20 that he told you which you learned to be untrue?
21 A No.
22 MR. GEDULDIG: I have no other questions.
23 THE COURT: Anything else?
24 MS. SCOTT: Nothing further, your Honor.
25 THE COURT: You may step down.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
474
Middlemark-cross/Geduldig
1 (Whereupon, at this time the witness left the
2 witness stand.)
3 THE COURT: Please call your next witness.
4 MS. SCOTT: The government calls Maurice
5 Mansouri.
6 THE COURT: Step up and raise your right hand.
7
8 M A U R I C E M A N S O U R I,
9 called as a witness, having been first
10 duly sworn, was examined and testified
11 as follows:
12
13 THE COURT: Be seated.
14 State your full name and spell your last name.
15 THE WITNESS: Maurice Mansouri, M A N S O U R I.
16
17 DIRECT EXAMINATION
18 MS. SCOTT:
19 Q Good morning, Mr. Mansouri.
20 A Good morning.
21 Q Can you tell us what you do for a living?
22 A Own a clothing store.
23 Q What is the name of that clothing store?
24 A Mansouri.
25 Q Where is it located?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
475
Mans ouri-direct/Scott
1 A In Greenvale, 270 Wheatley Plaza.
2 THE COURT: 270 what?
3 THE WITNESS: Wheatley Plaza.
4 Q How long has your store been in business?
5 A About 17 years.
6 Q I am showing you Government's Exhibits 485 through
7 494.
8 (Handed to the witness.)
9 Q There are two copies of each of them. Do you
10 recognize those?
11 A Yes, I do.
12 Q How do you recognize those? What do you recognize
13 those to be?
14 A The sales receipts for the merchandise we sold from
15 the store.
16 Q How do you recognize them?
17 A The receipts are usually issued in the store for
18 merchandise that customers buy.
19 Q Do they say Mansouri at the top?
20 A Yes, they do.
21 Q How are these documents created?
22 A Created by hands at the time of the purchase.
23 Q Who creates them?
24 A The salesperson.
25 Q Is that the salesperson who would be serving the
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
476
Mansouri-direct/Scott
1 customer at the time of the purchase?
2 A Yes.
3 Q And were these documents kept in the course of
4 regularly conducted business activity of Mansouri?
5 A Yes.
6 Q And was it the regular business practice of Mansouri
7 to keep these business records?
8 A Yes. .
9 MS. SCOTT: I offer Government's Exhibits 485
10 through 494 in evidence.
11 THE COURT: Any objection?
12 MR. TRABULUS: No objection.
13 THE COURT: Government's Exhibits 485 through 495
14 in evidence.
15 (Government's Exhibit 485 through 495 received in
16 evidence.)
17 Q Looking through those documents, do they show who the
18 name of the customer is?
19 A Yes, it does.
20 Q Who is that?
21 A Bruce Gordon.
22 Q Is that the customer on all the documents you have in
23 front of you?
24 A There is three of them, right?
25 Q Yes, that's right.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
477
Mansouri-direct/Scott
1 A Yes.
2 Q Can you tell us what those documents show, what
3 occurred in those transactions that is recorded on those
4 documents?
5 A It shows the customer came to the store and purchased
6 items like jackets, pants, shirts, belts.
7 Q Going through them one by one, what is the date on
8 the first one, on Government's Exhibit 485?
9 A September 21, '91.
10 Q And what does the receipt there show was purchased?
11 A A pair of pants and a belt.
12 Q What was the total amount spent that day on those
13 items?
14 A I am sorry, it is more than that. That's the second
15 page. Let me find where the first page of it is.
16 Two receipts, numbers 485 and 486. Those are the
17 same -- we write on the first one and then we finished up
18 on the second one as you can see.
19 So, on the second receipt it is a pair of pants,
20 a belt. And the first one is two sports jackets, two more
21 pants, two more shirts, and one more belt.
22 The total amount is $2,924.08.
23 Q And just for clarity, Government's Exhibit 485 and
24 486 record transactions that occurred on the same day?
25 A Yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
478
Mansouri-direct/Scott
1 Q Is that September 21st, 1981?
2 A Yes.
3 Q And if you can move on to the next transaction date.
4 A That's 487?
5 Q I am sorry, what is the date?
6 A That's Exhibit 487?
7 Q Yes; that's right.
8 A The date is October 2nd, 1991.
9 Q Please tell the jury what transactions occurred on
10 that day.
11 A It shows that there were two pairs of pants for
12 $618.45.
13 Q And moving on to the next transaction date, I believe
14 that is 487?
15 THE COURT: That was just 487, I believe.
16 Q I am sorry. I believe that that is 488.
17 A 488 is a copy have a charge. Am I correct?
18 Q Which transaction does that one relate to?
19 A This one relates to -- I have to figure this out.
20 Give me one minute, okay?
21 It looks like it pays a balance on Exhibit 486,
22 485, and Exhibit 487. If you look at the balances on
23 Exhibit 485, you have a balance of $924.08. And on
24 Exhibit 487 you have a balance of $217. If you add those
25 two, I think you will get $1,148.08. That's the
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
479
Mansouri-direct/Scott
1 combination of the two balances which was paid on that
2 date.
3 Q Now, putting aside Government's Exhibit 485, 486, 487
4 and 488 --
5 A Right.
6 Q I have to ask you to move on to the next transaction
7 date?
8 A 488 and 490?
9 Q Okay.
10 What is the date of that transaction?
11 A June 4th, 1992.
12 Q And what was purchased on that day?
13 A Three sports jackets -- four sports jackets, I am
14 sorry and seven pairs of pants.
15 Q And how much was the amount of that purchase?
16 A $5,088.65, total amount.
17 Q Going on to the next exhibit, 491, I believe; what
18 does that document show?
19 A The date on it is September 24th, 1992.
20 Q And what does that document show?
21 A That shows, again, purchases of one jacket -- it is
22 two receipts actually, 491 and 491-A, they refer to the
23 same thing. We start on one receipt and finished on
24 another receipt. He got one jacket, four pairs of pants,
25 and eight shirts.
Ah, so Gordon's obscene excesses and abuses get transmuted and transferred
to the hard-working sales defendants who did NOT have thousand-dollars jackets.
To continue this,
here is a full version of the March 19th transcript
here is a full version of the March 19th transcript
|
|
| The List Transcript USA's Best Managing Directors Dirty Jury? Politics |
| The List Transcript USA's Best Managing Directors Dirty Jury? Politics |
This site is concerned with The Mishegas of Who's Who WorldwidE, and the offensive stench of corruption in high placesin one of the Most Scandalous Trials of the Century and the concomitant news media blackout regarding this incredible story.
Sixteen weeks of oft-explosive testimony, yet not a word in any of 1200 news archives. This alone supports the claim that this was a Most Embarassing Trial; in fact, one of the most shamefully corrupt of federal trials.
Show your support for justice, for exoneration of the innocent, and perhaps most importantly, government accountability, by urgently contacting your Senator, the White House, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Feeling bad is but a fraction of your action.
The Sad Story of Who's Who Worldwide
How Thomas FX Dunn demonstrated himself to be the Dumbest Lawyer In The Nation
Most Scandalous Trials of the Century
Most Embarassing Trials -Justice Screwed, Blued, and Tattooed
How rare it is to find a case that can offer not merely two or three, instead, more than a dozen major reasons for overturning that conviction.Here is a case studied by a respected federal judge for many months, who found that no crime had been committed, and dismissed the case.
Reed Elsevier, Ltd, as the single richest and most powerful publisher in more than one hundred countries around the world,
easily. empirically and truthfully described as one of the most corrupt corporations in all of human history,
perverted the foundations of American justice in the Who's Who Worldwide case with cash, power, and perqs.
Imagine a trial where not ten percent of the proceedings have ANY connection with most of the defendants.
That alone should require a separation of trial. In this case, NOT EVEN ONE PERCENT of the proceedings,
accusations, presented evidence, or accepted facts, had anything to do with the "sales" defendants.
The Who's Who Worldwide case was all about Bruce Gordon, his machinations and his accountant,
and the many companies operated in secrecy by Gordon and Liz Sauter, his true "henchman."
For days and days and weeks and weeks, all the discussion was about Gordon and his actions.
Prosecution witness after prosecution witness exculpated the sales defendants, yet,
this same judge who had previously dismissed the case after months of study,
was under one of the worst pressures any judge can be subjected to:
pressure from the federal court of appeals above him, who, in
New York's bailiwick, remains under the control of....
Reed Elsevier, the most powerful force today
in the American arena of jurisprudence.
This can be fixed by Presidential Pardon.
Call 202-456-1414 to lift your voice.
Most Scandalous Trials of the Century
Dumbest Lawyer In The Nation Thomas FX Dunn
Dumbest Lawyer In The Nation Thomas FX Dunn