Butch Karp: Bad Faith Part 21

"Do you know firsthand what was said?"

"No."

Karp left it at that. There were some things he could not bring up. He couldn't talk about what had happened to Charlie Hale. Nor, after vigorous pretrial arguments from Rottingham, was he allowed to enter the underlying facts into evidence, because of its collateral nature, including questioning Monique Hale about the night of the shootings. The judge had agreed with Rottingham that there was not enough evidence connecting the event with LaFontaine and that it would be highly prejudicial and outweigh any probative value.

With Hale on the stand, Rottingham now did his best to portray her as an adulteress who had been spurned by her lover and had wanted the insurance money for herself and her husband.

"Mrs. Hale," he said, emphasizing the "Mrs." "You were married at the time you began having s.e.x with the Reverend LaFontaine?"

"Yes."

"Did he force himself upon you?"

"No, he said he was in love and that Jesus told him it was a beautiful thing in the eyes of G.o.d and it would help Natalie."

"That's your take," the defense lawyer said scathingly. "But you don't have any letters or e-mails to that effect, do you?"

"No. That's just what he-"

"And did the Reverend LaFontaine somehow force you to stop taking Natalie to the hospital for treatment?" Rottingham interrupted.

"No. But he said that if we did, it would show we didn't have faith in G.o.d and that he wouldn't pray with us anymore."

Rottingham questioned Hale as to whether it was possible that she was confusing Sister Sarah with Nonie Ellis-the two women did resemble each other-and that the former had never visited her home with LaFontaine. But Hale was adamant that Sarah Westerberg had been with the defendant.

"Was my client with Frank Bernsen when he came over to talk about the life insurance policy?" Rottingham asked.

"No, he just asked if Frank could talk to me about it and said that he would consider it a personal favor."

"And was my client present when Frank Bernsen pretended to be your husband and signed the agreement with the representative of the life insurance company?"

"No."

"And are you aware that as the financial officer of the Holy Covenant Church of Jesus Christ Reformed, Frank Bernsen had complete access to the church bank account?"

"No. I was never told any of that ... I wouldn't have cared."

"Yes, all you cared about was your s.e.xual liaisons outside of your marriage with my client, isn't that true?"

"No, I-"

"No further questions, Your Honor," Rottingham said, cutting her off.

Karp rose quickly and said, "I believe before your answer was clipped by Mr. Rottingham, you were going to answer his question regarding what you cared about. Would you please answer that question now?"

"Yes, I cared about my little girl," Hale said, and burst into tears.

"Did the defendant convince you that the only way to save your daughter was to stop seeking medical attention and place your faith in him?" Karp said, letting the anger rise in his voice.

"Yes. And I believed him."

30.

"SO EVERYONE IS CLEAR ABOUT THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES FOR tomorrow's event?"

Nadya Malovo asked her question in Chechen and then looked at each of the three men sitting across the table from her in the dimly lit bas.e.m.e.nt of a run-down house occupying the middle of a trashed neighborhood in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant.

"All are ready for the glorious attack," one man replied, also in Chechen, while a second typed a reply into the laptop computer in front of him and then pressed a b.u.t.ton to send his message.

Malovo looked down at the laptop in front of her as the second man's message appeared. "We will move into place at the sound of the explosions," the message read, "and wait for you there." She smiled and nodded.

Although the four had been speaking for fifteen minutes, the real conversation was being carried out on the laptops. Sometimes Malovo would ask a question out loud and the first man would give a carefully scripted answer, while the other typed out what she really wanted to know. Sometimes she would ask a question aloud for the first man as well as type another on her laptop to send to the second man.

She found it humorous that she and the second man were "chatting" on Facebook. The reason for the subterfuge waited in a utility company van parked down the street from the house. Inside the van, federal agents listened in on the spoken conversation with directional microphones that she'd been a.s.sured would capture every word-a device she'd antic.i.p.ated and used to her benefit.

Two of the men across from her were longtime a.s.sociates, exRussian military special forces and now paid a.s.sa.s.sins. Both spoke Chechen and English flawlessly, the former helpful when trying to pa.s.s as Islamic terrorists from the breakaway Muslim country of Chechnya. With a big payoff looming, she knew they could be trusted and she respected their skills.

The third man, the traitor, she felt nothing but scorn for, but she needed him and so turned on the charm. "Are you okay, my friend?" she typed, and then smiled in a way that had melted harder hearts than the one this little man possessed.

The man licked his thin lips nervously but smiled and nodded. "I'll be ready," he typed.

"So what will you be wearing for Halloween?" Malovo said aloud.

The first man laughed. "Why, we will be dressed as terrorists," he said, reading from the script. "We hope the infidels will appreciate the irony."

The second man didn't bother to type. She already knew the real answer.

"How many mujahideen?" she asked aloud.

As instructed, the first man hesitated before answering her, as though suspicious of the question. "Enough," he said. "We have spread out so in case one group is discovered, there will be more to carry out the glorious mission. They will wait for your signal and then begin the attack. You will be on the northwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street."

"Yes," Malovo replied. "Dressed as Little Red Riding Hood."

"Little Red Riding Hood?" the first man asked in English, as if he didn't understand the description.

"Yes, a fairy tale," Malovo replied. "A hooded red cape, carrying a basket. I will be standing with a man dressed as a wolf. Never mind ... it is part of the fairy tale."

"Who is this 'wolf'?" the first man asked suspiciously.

"One of our benefactors," Malovo replied. "He wishes to observe the event firsthand. I vouch for him, and remember we are all working for Allah's glory."

"Praise be to Allah," the man replied.

Finished with the conversation, Malovo got up and climbed the stairs from the bas.e.m.e.nt into the kitchen, where a half-dozen young black men pieced together suicide vests. "Allahu akbar, Ajmaani," said one of the men nearby, who was stuffing ball bearings into the pockets and lining of one of the vests.

"Allahu akbar," Malovo replied. "It appears that you are almost ready for martyrdom!"

"Yes," the man answered. He pointed to boxes stacked next to the kitchen door. "We will be wolves among the sheep."

"Um, yes, a wonderful blow for Allah," Malovo said. "Remember, at my signal, rush the float with the enemy Karp on board."

"How will we know him? Will he be wearing a costume?"

"He is the grand marshal and will be on the last float. A tall man, but I do not know how he will be dressed. Now make your peace with Allah, and someday soon, we will all meet again in paradise."

31.

SITTING NEXT TO GUMA AT THE PROSECUTION TABLE, KARP made notes on his yellow legal pad and pretended not to be interested in what was occurring across the aisle. But it was hard not to smile as Rottingham leaned in close to LaFontaine, arguing quietly yet vigorously. Twice the defense attorney looked back over his shoulder at him before turning back to his client. But whatever he was saying, it was having no effect, as the defendant continued to shake his head and argue back.

Karp heard the door at the rear of the courtroom open and turned in his seat to look back as a woman in sungla.s.ses entered wearing a scarf over her blond hair. Dressed in slacks, a blouse, and a faded beige jacket, she looked like the sort of courtroom spectator who frequented trials where there had been a lot of publicity. The woman looked around for a moment before walking up and taking a seat next to Marlene, who'd called shortly before Karp left for the courtroom to say that she was going to attend the trial that morning. Marlene scooted over a little bit to make room but didn't say anything to the woman as she gave Karp a slight smile.

Smiling back, Karp then turned his attention to the defense table. At last Rottingham's shoulders sagged and he nodded. Rising from his seat and addressing Judge Temple, he announced, "The defense calls John LaFontaine."

Karp managed to keep a straight face, but his heart skipped a triumphant beat. They were now into the second day of the defense's case, and his plan to bait LaFontaine into taking the stand had worked.

After Monique Hale's testimony, Karp had wrapped up the People's case by calling investigators from the insurance companies that had written policies for Natalie Hale and Micah Ellis. The investigators testified that efforts had been made to search national databases for medical records pertaining to the children, but other than typical childhood issues that had shown up in the records of family doctors, there was nothing. On cross-examination, Rottingham had done little more than get the investigators to agree that it was not unusual for death benefits to be a.s.signed to churches and other charitable organizations.

Karp's last witness had been a handwriting expert. He testified that whoever had signed the insurance applications as Charles Hale and David Ellis "was the same person, neither of whom were the real Mr. Hale or Mr. Ellis."

After Kenny Katz was shot trying to protect Ray Guma from Kathryn Boole's rampage, there had been no question that Karp would prosecute the case. The question had been how best to go about it, as it was no slam-dunk. The strategy he settled on had risks, but they were calculated risks he decided to take in part by studying his opponent's behavior and concluding that the man's ego could be used against him.

One of the earliest clues had been how LaFontaine, still going by the name Reverend C. G. Westlund, sought out the media spotlight after the Ellises had been charged. Of course, Karp knew that the defendant had been worried that if they were successfully prosecuted, the insurance company wouldn't pay, but there was more to it than that. LaFontaine had taken the chance that someone with whom he'd had previous dealings-such as Monique Hale-might see him on the national news and expose him. But he clearly enjoyed being a First Amendment poster boy and the support, as well as the funding, of those who'd rallied to his cause.

Some of it came down to understanding that LaFontaine was a man who practiced an extremely evil con game based on his ability to persuade parents not to seek medical attention for their sick children; it took a master manipulator to compromise such a strong bond. He was sure that LaFontaine believed he could sell ice cream to Eskimos and every success had convinced him that he was unstoppable.

Karp was sure that LaFontaine had even used his powers of persuasion on Kathryn Boole, preying on her loneliness, to seduce his way into her bed and her will. Then he convinced the woman, who'd never committed a crime in her life, to murder David Ellis. When she'd done his bidding, he ruthlessly, cold-bloodedly set her up to be killed by his own man, or any police officers present, to "protect" Karp.

After the arrest, Karp had known that LaFontaine wasn't going to confess or even say much before invoking his right to silence. But Karp had counted on the man wanting to engage in a war of words and knew he could get under LaFontaine's skin by challenging him and his ego. Then, during the trial, whether it was in his opening statement or with witnesses on the stand, Karp used every opportunity to belittle LaFontaine and paint him as a venal, evil bully who could only take on the weak. He'd made sure the defendant saw his looks of disgust and contempt and had been pleased to note how hard it had been for the egomaniac to control his rage at the insults.

After Karp had presented the People's case in chief, Judge Temple had adjourned for lunch, saying that the defense would begin its case immediately afterward. True to formal procedure, Rottingham made the pro forma motion to dismiss at the conclusion of the People's case by arguing that the prosecution had failed to present sufficient evidence to convict his client, and as was routinely done, Judge Temple had denied the motion.

So after lunch, Rottingham had started by calling an "expert" in faith healing to the stand. The man cited half a dozen anecdotal instances in which patients had been told that there was no hope, that their diseases were incurable and they were going to die. "But through prayer and the intercession of men of faith, they are alive today," declared the witness, who had written a book on the subject.

That witness had been followed by a "faith psychologist," who claimed that "scientific" data she'd a.s.sembled demonstrated that the human body responded to prayer "so long as there is a strong correlation between the intercession and the victim's beliefs." And because a child picks up on the beliefs of parents, it was also necessary that "the caregivers be committed to the faith-healing process as well." As "proof," she showed the jurors "before-and-after photographic images" of patients' magnetic fields-"Or auras, if you prefer the term," she said-that she claimed demonstrated significant improvement in their health.

Karp challenged both witnesses in the same manner, questioning whether their theories were "generally accepted within the scientific community," to which both, after complaining that the scientific community was not open to "matters of faith," admitted they were not. They also admitted that none of their studies involved the defendant.

Rottingham then called E. Webster Harding, a const.i.tutional law professor from Harvard, to testify that LaFontaine's actions were protected under the religious-freedom articles of the First Amendment. "We, as Americans, may not agree with any particular religious practice," Harding, an effete little man in a wool coat with leather elbow patches, sniffed, "but we believe in tolerance; the individual's right to wors.h.i.+p as he or she sees fit is inviolate const.i.tutionally."

On cross-examination, Karp queried, "Does one's exercise of his First Amendment rights immunize him from child abuse, Mr. Harding?"

"No, I would have to say not," Harding said.

"And, Mr. Harding, does one's exercise of his const.i.tutional rights immunize him from murder?"

"No, of course not," Harding huffed.

As Harding left the stand, Karp sat down and leaned over to Guma. "Was Bill Buckley ever right when he wrote that he'd rather be governed by the first two hundred individuals whose names appear in the Boston phone book than by the entire faculty at Harvard, particularly its law school," he said, then winked. "Okay, so I added the last part."

When Temple prepared to adjourn for the day, Rottingham gave no indication what his plan for the morning would be. There was the possibility that he would rest the defense's case and try to make the point in his summation that the prosecution had failed to prove his client guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, Karp bet that LaFontaine wouldn't pa.s.s up the opportunity to demonstrate how smart he was by putting one over on the DA, the jury, the court, and the entire justice system. Nevertheless, it had been a restless night, between wondering whether LaFontaine would take the stand and preparing for it, as well as the looming threat of the Halloween parade in two days.

Following the "a.s.sault" by David Grale, Fulton saw to it that extra police units were a.s.signed outside the Crosby Street loft, keeping reporters, television crews, and the public, including LaFontaine's supporters, at bay. All press calls to the DAO regarding the matter were fielded by chief administrative aide Gilbert Murrow, who had "no further comment."

The NYPD handled inquiries their own way. "We take this matter extremely seriously," Police Commissioner Timothy Murphy said at a press conference. "We are searching for this individual and ask the public to report any sightings of him. However, do not approach or try to detain him; we consider him armed and extremely dangerous." A police media intern had then handed out a police-artist sketch of Grale, essentially a scruffy, white, bearded male with deep-set eyes in a hooded sweats.h.i.+rt, a description that fit a good percentage of New York's population.

The next morning, Fulton again dropped Karp off at the Hogan Place entrance, where, other than a brief wave of the hand, he did not respond to shouted questions from the media. An hour later, Karp smiled inwardly as Rottingham called LaFontaine to the stand.

"All right, Mr. LaFontaine ...," Judge Temple began to say.

"Reverend LaFontaine, please, Your Honor," the defendant corrected him as he stood and brushed back his long hair with his fingers.

The judge studied him balefully for a moment before shrugging. "Okay, Reverend LaFontaine, would you please approach the witness stand to be sworn in."

LaFontaine rose and nodded to the jurors before striding to the witness stand. As he stood in the witness box he was asked by the court clerk if he would tell the truth and nothing but the truth. He raised his chin and replied, "Of course. I do not lie."

"The jury is here to determine that, Mr. LaFontaine. You may be seated," Temple growled, and turned to Rottingham. "You may begin your examination."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Rottingham replied, turning to his witness. "I'd like to begin by clearing something up for the jury. In his opening remarks, Mr. Karp noted that when you came to New York City, you used the name C. G. Westlund. Would you explain why to the jury?"

LaFontaine heaved a dramatic sigh and then looked at the jurors. "There is a simple answer: I feared for my safety. As I'm sure you good people know, men of faith are often persecuted for speaking the truth. As Jesus said, 'Know that if they hate you, they hated me first.'"

"I would also like you to explain how you came to be addressed as 'reverend'; did you attend a college or university to get a degree in religious studies?" Rottingham asked.

"I did not," LaFontaine answered. "I was called to do the Lord's work from the streets where I had been living a life of sin until I met a man who talked to me about Jesus. That's when the truth struck me like a bolt of lightning from heaven, and I was saved. This same man, a gifted street preacher himself, said I had a gift and that it was my calling to go out into an evil world and spread the Good Word."

"So then you are not a reverend?" Rottingham asked.

"Oh, but I am," LaFontaine answered. "I admit though that the appellation is something I applied for from an online school that offers such things. I would not have bothered except that-praise the Lord-my flock was growing to the point that I needed a church so that I could reach more sinners. My financial adviser, Frank Bernsen, suggested that I needed the t.i.tle so that we could apply for nonprofit-organization status."

"So then you are a reverend in name only?"