The Alligator Man (24 page)

Y
ou could hear a pin drop in the courtroom when Harvey Booth’s testimony ended. Kevin knew he had the jury’s attention. They were following along like bloodhounds. The question was whether he could produce. They knew now that Roy Johnson had bailed out of his company to the tune of
at least
one hundred million dollars before criminal indictments came down. It was up to Kevin to make the connection—to get them to believe he had done something similar in 1982 and stolen Sellers’s and Winters’s money, giving Winters the motive to kill him when he got out of prison. That was the battle yet to be waged.

Testimony was not over for the day, however. Nor was the drama.

The next witness was Anne Lyons, Billy’s elderly next-door neighbor in St. Albans. Jeanette was going to use her to put the last nail in the coffin, so to speak—to talk about Billy and the kids having to move out of the family home on April first, six days before Billy went to the Verona Inn and nine days before Roy Johnson’s murder. Jeanette tried to narrowly tailor the questions to Ms. Lyons, but she was only partially successful. Anne Lyons gave Billy a face, a heart, and a soul, something no other witness had done to that point. Even though Jeanette never asked the question, Anne told the jury about Billy.

“How do you know they foreclosed on Mr. Fuller’s house?” Jeanette asked.

“Billy told me himself. He was so strong that day. He had the kids with him. I think he was holding it all in for them. When Laurie died he came to my house and sat on my couch and wept openly. That day they moved out of their home, leaving all those memories behind, had to be almost as tough. But Billy held it all in.”

Kevin watched the jury. They were all looking at Billy, who was struggling to keep himself composed as tears streamed down his face.

Jeanette had no further questions and Kevin had no cross-examination.

“It’s four thirty, Ms. Truluc. Do you have another witness?” Judge Thorpe asked.

“I do, Your Honor.”

“Do you think we can get him on and off in the next hour?”

“I do, Your Honor.”

“Then let’s proceed.”

“The State calls Richard Bothwell.”

The moment of truth had arrived. Richard Bothwell was the retired FBI agent who had headed up the task force that busted the drug ring in Gladestown in 1982.

Mr. Bothwell was a tall, slender man probably in his seventies. He swore to tell the truth and took the witness stand.

“Where are you employed, Mr. Bothwell?” Jeanette asked.

“I’m retired.”

“Where were you employed?”

“I was a special agent with the FBI for thirty-five years.”

“There has been some discussion during this trial about a drug bust in Gladestown, Florida, in 1982—do you know anything about that?”

“Yes, I was in charge of the operation.”

“There was statement made here in court that the bust occurred after a tip from a confidential informant. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“There was also a statement made here in court that Roy Johnson, the victim in this murder trial, may have been the confidential informant. Is that true?”

“No. I knew the confidential informant and spoke with him personally. I actually kept up with him over the years. He died two years ago in an unfortunate accident. It was definitely not Roy Johnson.”

“No further questions.”

Judge Thorpe had that smile on his face again. “Cross-examination, Mr. Wylie?”

“Yes, Your Honor. Thank you, Your Honor. Mr. Bothwell, who was the confidential informant?”

“I can’t give that information.”

“Why not? You just testified that the person is dead.”

“His family is still alive. They could still be harmed or affected in other ways by the fact that he was a government informant.”

“Are you saying that somebody could retaliate against them?”

“Yes.”

Jeanette was slow to get to her feet but she finally stood up and objected.

“Approach the bench,” the judge told the two lawyers.

“What are you doing, Mr. Wylie?” he asked when everybody had arrived.

“I don’t trust the government, Judge. I want to know who the confidential informant was so I can check to find out if he was a real person who died two years ago.”

“You are taking this way too far, Mr. Wylie. And you’re trying my patience.”

“Look, Judge, Ms. Truluc brought this man in here and had him testify about the confidential informant. I’m allowed to test his credibility.”

Kevin was forceful in his argument. He couldn’t afford to lose on this issue.

The judge looked at Jeanette. “He makes a point, Counsel. You did raise this issue. The possibility of the family being affected by this disclosure, while serious, is outweighed by Mr. Wylie’s obligation to defend his client and test every witness by vigorous cross-examination.”

Yes!
Kevin said to himself.

“Your Honor,” Jeanette began, “the only reason Mr. Bothwell is here at all is because Mr. Wylie made the claim in his opening statement that Roy Johnson was the confidential informant. The State had to refute that claim.

“There is another reason why the name of the confidential informant should not be disclosed to the jury. The witness’s credibility can be tested and satisfied by this disclosure being made to the court in chambers.”

“What’s this other reason?” the judge asked.

“For the record, Judge, if I reveal the name of the confidential informant to the court at sidebar, am I correct in assuming that I am not opening the door for counsel to use that name for any reason?”

“That’s correct, Counsel. You’re not opening any doors. Now tell me what this other reason is.” Judge Thorpe was getting very impatient with Jeanette.

“I did not know these facts until I actually started preparing for this witness’s testimony and for the testimony of Mr. Wylie’s witnesses. You could even say that Mr. Wylie brought this to my attention. The confidential informant was a man named Scotch Buchanan, a well-known outdoorsman in these parts—”

“I know who Scotch Buchanan was,” the judge interrupted.

“Scotch Buchanan died in an accident on April twentieth in 2003,” Jeanette continued. “Bobby Joe Sellers was released from prison on April fifth of 2003. If Mr. Wylie can get that information out to the jury, which I believe he is trying to do, then he can attempt to show a pattern: The informant was killed in 2003 when Sellers got out of prison and Roy Johnson was killed in 2005 when Winters got out of prison.

“Mr. Wylie could not do this directly, Judge, because you would never let him. It’s speculation that a jury could buy, but it’s pure speculation. He’s trying to do it indirectly by forcing me to disclose who the confidential informant was, thus opening the door for this evidence to come in.”

Kevin was surprised as he listened to Jeanette’s argument. He could not believe she had figured out his and Tom’s strategy.

“Is what Ms. Truluc just said true, Mr. Wylie?”

“For the most part, Judge. I did not know for sure whether Roy Johnson or Scotch Buchanan was the confidential informant. However, if it turned out to be Scotch, as it has, then my strategy was exactly as Ms. Truluc laid it out.”

A smile broke across Judge Thorpe’s face. “What a smart strategy, Mr. Wylie, and it took equal brilliance on your part, Ms. Truluc, to figure it out. The dates themselves are troubling, however. Has anybody looked into Scotch Buchanan’s death to determine if it really was an accident, Ms. Truluc?”

“Not that I am aware of, Judge. I certainly will see that it is done in the foreseeable future. However, this is all speculation at this time and it should not be part of this trial.”

“I agree. Mr. Wylie, you know that this is not admissible evidence now that Ms. Truluc has made the objection and brought your strategy to light. However, I will tell you this: If your client is convicted and if your speculation about Mr. Sellers and Scotch Buchanan turns out to be true, that would be newly discovered evidence and a basis for a new trial.”

“Come on, Judge,” Kevin said. “Once somebody is convicted they are behind the eight ball. Something may be newly discovered evidence but I still would have to show on appeal that it would have made a difference with the jury. You know how appellate courts are ruling these days on that issue. Let me present the evidence now. Let me give my client a fighting chance.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wylie, I can’t help you. The objection is sustained. You cannot inquire into the name of the confidential informant with this witness or any other witness. I know that destroys the defense you stated to this jury in your opening, but you still have other arguments to make. Now, do you have any more questions for this witness?”

“Yes, I do, Your Honor.”

“Then you may proceed.”

They returned to their respective positions and the judge told the jury that he had sustained the objection. Kevin continued his questions.

“How long had your investigation been going on before you made your bust, Mr. Bothwell?”

“About a year.”

“The deceased, Mr. Johnson, was he ever part of your investigation?”

“He was.”

“Did you consider him a principal in the drug operation?”

“I did.”

“But he was never arrested?”

“No. We could never get anything on him. He left a month before the bust.”

“Now, when you busted everybody and found the marijuana, did you uncover any large hidden caches of money?”

“No.”

“Who were the ringleaders of the operation who you arrested?”

“Randy Winters and Bobby Joe Sellers.”

“And you believe Roy Johnson was a ringleader as well?”

“Yes.”

“Did you find any money at Winters’s and Sellers’s houses?”

“None to speak of.”

Jeanette was on her feet again. This line of questioning was going too well for her to sit back and allow it.

“Objection, Your Honor. This is beyond the scope of direct examination.”

“Overruled. You brought this witness into court, Ms. Truluc. Continue, Mr. Wylie.”

“Did you ever entertain the idea that the money went with Roy Johnson?”

“Oh yeah. He started Dynatron soon after. But we never could trace the money to him.”

“Did you ever try to get Winters and Sellers to talk about the money and where it went?”

“Yes, we did.”

“Did you try and get them to implicate Roy Johnson?”

“Yes, we did.”

“Did you offer lighter sentences for that information?”

“Yes.”

“And is it accurate that they never gave you any information about where the money went or whether Roy Johnson was involved in the drug smuggling operation?”

“That’s accurate.”

“Do you remember who represented Winters and Sellers in their criminal case back then?”

“Of course I do.”

“Who was that?”

“Bernie Stang.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.”

“Follow up, Ms. Truluc?”

Jeanette looked at Richard Bothwell like he was radioactive. She wasn’t going near him anymore. “No, Your Honor.”

“Do you have any further witnesses?”

“No, Your Honor. Not at this time.”

“Okay, let’s let our jury go and we can discuss scheduling issues for next week.”

After the judge gave his usual instructions to the jury and they had left the room, he turned his attention back to the lawyers. “I take it, Ms. Truluc, that you are ready to rest your case.”

“That may be true, Judge. I would like the weekend to think about it.”

“Fair enough. Mr. Wylie, you still need to be prepared to start your case on Monday morning at nine o’clock, so get your witnesses notified.”

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“Anything else we need to take up?”

“No, Your Honor,” Kevin replied.

“No, Your Honor,” Jeanette replied.

T
he guards gave Kevin a few minutes to talk with Billy after the courtroom was cleared. He was staying at the local jail and they could have talked over there, but this was a lot easier. The guards were like everybody else; once they spent a few days with Billy they liked him.

Kevin gave Billy the most optimistic assessment of their chances that he could.

“We’re hanging in there, Billy. This is not over by a long shot.”

Kevin called Tom that night to give him a rundown of the day’s events.

“I can’t believe she sniffed out our strategy.”

“It happens,” Tom replied. “She’s a damn good lawyer. Let’s deal with what we have. How do you assess things?”

“Well, I think the jury believed Freddie. I poked a few holes in his credibility and I can make the reasonable doubt argument, but in the end, his testimony combined with George Russo’s and the chambermaid’s—it’s pretty compelling. Nobody doubts Billy was there. Nobody doubts he had a motive to kill Roy Johnson. And nobody doubts he said he was going to kill Roy Johnson.

“On the other hand, there is a lot of sympathy for Billy on that jury and they may believe Roy Johnson took the drug money in 1982. That gives Sellers and Winters a motive for murder. Why Sellers didn’t kill Roy Johnson when he got out two years ago presents a problem, but we still have a shot with the evidence as it stands right now.

“The other part of it is I believe Billy. I don’t think he killed Roy Johnson. But nothing adds up. It just doesn’t make sense. He was there. He had the motive and intent.”

“I agree with you,” Tom replied. “This one is impossible to figure out if Billy is truly innocent. So what’s the strategy going forward?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve got three snakes subpoenaed to testify. I’m going to make them squirm over the weekend, but in the end, I think I’m better off without them. Unless Jeanette comes up with another surprise on Monday, I may not put on a witness.”

“Pore over everything this weekend to make sure you’ve covered all your bases and then go with your gut instinct. If you don’t think you need to call a witness, then don’t,” Tom said.

“I’m going over to Gladestown tomorrow to talk to Rosie and Carlisle. Maybe one of them can find something to help us.”

“Just be careful.”

“I will, Dad. I will.”