THE NEXT MORNING!
A body was being removed from the river...
CSI men were snapping photos...
"He took two bullets to the chest." said one of the men..
"His name is Nicky Rubin..He lives here in Philadelphia..." she said.
And Unmarked Police Car and two Philadelphia Police cruises pulled up..
Lt. Tragg walked up to the scene..
"What have we got here girls?" he asked.
Both Dr. Hazel Baylor and Dr. Marcy Martin bristled at being reffered to as "Girls"
Lt. Tragg knew who Todd Dellums was..He arrested him briefly a year ago in a simular situation in which he attempted to interfere in what he considered his investigation...He was released and Lt. Tragg was sent to the Marine Boat and Harbor Patrol as a result.. He despised the man... He had snapped photos of Todd Dellums and a Black Assistant District Attorney making love and sent the photos anonymously to each one's significant other, causing turmoil in their relationships.. His brand new car was blown to bits shortly afterwords. The cold war had ended...but both men still held a hot hatred and contempt for one another..
''Sorry to hear that Dellums,..But this is my murder investigation. So beat it!"said Lt. Tragg.
"I DON'T GIVE A MERRY DAMN IF YOU'RE THE KING OF SCOTLAND!" yelled Lt. Tragg.
Beverly was sitting on her husband, Nelson's lap howling.... Nelson was laughing so hard tears were flowing freely down the side of his face...
All of this was caught by the local press which was covering the murder and crime scene..
We were watching the entire thing on television at our Office/Duplex
Josie and Bresha were laughing loudly also and slamming their hands on the table...
"No...let him come to you." I said.
"Whose your money on Bev?" asked Josie, still laughing.
''Well who wins the fist fight?" asked Bresha.
Lt. Tragg punched Todd Dellums in the stomach and then punched him in the jaw...sending him back a few feet and then to the ground...
"OOOOOOOOOOOUFFF!" moaned Todd Dellums as he went down...He got to his feet and landed 16 lefts and 16 rights to Lt. Traggs face, sending him spinning around like a top...
Lt. Tragg swung two haymakers which missed completely and absorbed 16 more lefts and 16 more rights to his face..before tackling Todd Dellums, to keep from falling down again and both men went crashing to the ground and rolling around in the dirt pummelling each other with pucnches..before they were seperated and
FBI agents handcuffed and arrested Lt. Tragg and charged him with assault and battery of the Assistant U.S. Attorney and hauled him in...As the press and everyone else looked on in shock... Both of Lt. Tragg's eyes were swollen nearly shut,.his cheek was swollen and his lip was swollen and bleeding..His hair , a mess...
while Todd Dellums finally
got to his feet...His nose bleeding profusely, his left eye, black and swollen ,his hair a mess and his lip swollen...Angrier than we had ever seen him before.
"OH MY GOD!" exclaimed a shocked Olivia.
Alfreda and Rockland came out of the kitchen to watch the news broadcast and were laughing so hard, they had to hold each other up..
Likewise, Beverly, Nelson, Josie and Bresha were howling with laughter....
Philadelphia was certainly a passionate city...I mused.
II-
THE NEXT DAY-
The trial began
Judge John Bedford was presiding... He looked at Todd Dellums...He did a double take..
His left eye was Black and nearly swollen shut and his lip was swollen....
Our client, David Ides Jr. looked at him and did a double take..
"What the hell happened to him? Was he in a bar room brawl or something?" he asked.
Josie, Beverly and Bresha couldn't contain their laughter....but they tried to keep it as quiet as possible.
He saw the snickering and rightfully ascertained that we had seen his fight with Lt. Tragg on television the day before...
It effected him during Voir Dire.. And led to Nelson getting 11 of the 12 jurors we wanted...
Todd Dellums was furious seeing this...He wanted to punch Lt. Tragg's face into a bloody pulp....
"Oh My God...He didn't ask us to be here at the crack of dawn."said Olivia.
who smiled sheepishly...
''Alright...We have a jury...It's Thursday....Trial will begin Monday Morning at 10:00 am... Please be on time and be prepared for trial." said Judge John Bedford.. looking at Todd Dellums face and shaking his head.
"Oh Thank goodness." said Beverly hugging her husband, Nelson,
Todd was livid and frustrated at the way things were going.. On the one hand, a year long investigation led to 41 indictments...39 people arrested and cut deals and were on their way to at least 5 years in federal prison, sparing him any trials...The money all returned and re-imbursed to the victims and the main perpetrator, the mastermind, dead by his own hand...A major sucess. Anyone else would be jumping for joy..Yet he refused to give one inch and let a guy who at best, was a minor player , at worst, a nobody who knew absolutely nothing about the plot and had nothing to do with it, go free.. He had to nail him, had to beat us, had to prove something to himself...He was stubborn and think skinned..He couldn't give us one inch..He needed to win totally.
and the thickest juiciest steaks around..
"Husband, You've done it again with your choice of restaurants..."laughed Olivia.
"Mannnn, these steaks are incredible and the wine isn't bad either."said our client, David Ives Jr.
"I play trumpet with the house band at Josie's Bar and Grill on the side and the musicians in the band pull my coat you might say to these places."I said.
"Ummmmm this food is delish and this is the best wine I've had in awhile."said Beverly..
''Yes indeed..Everything seems to br breaking our way."said Nelson.
'Yeah, but remember...We thought that the last time we were on the eve of facing Todd Dellums and four trials later, four long trials later, we got the win."cautioned Josie. She was right..We should never get too cocky when facing an opponent like Todd Dellums.
"Let's just enjoy this nice quiet dinner and get some relaxation these next few days." said Bresha.
I found us a nice Brazillian steakhouse across town...Where we had wine
At The Federal Holding Facility on the sixth floor of the federal building, a guard opened up a cell.
"TRAGG! Get Up! You're free to go...Charges dropped." he said.
Lt. Tragg had spent the night in the holding cell....Most of the day too...He was livid!!! Both of his eyes were nearly swollen shut,,,His lip was swollen and his cheek was discolored and sweollen.. He looked like a boxer...His suit was wrinkled and his hair was a mess...
TWO HOURS BEFORE...A deal was made downtown at Police Headquarters.
"Brendan..Thanks so much, I owe you..." he said.
He had called Brendan Burns and got him to drop all charges against Lt. Tragg, calling the whole thing a "territorial misunderstanding."
Who had said. "We don't like putting cops in jail, just criminals...Consider it done my friend." he said.
"Thanks Bro." said Captain Cantrell.
''Don't mention it Eddie...Tell your wife...
I want some of that good Peach Cobbler
she cooks." said U.S. Attorney from the Southern Region of Pennsylvania, Brendan Burns.. speaking of Captain Eddie Cantrell's wife, DEA Special Agent in charge, Carol Redding Cantrell.
Lt. Tragg walked out of the U.S. Courthouse into the brisk winter breeze..
If it was the last thing he did...He was going to get revenge on U.S. Attorney Todd Dellums, he mused to himself, Livid beyond measure.
III-
The trial began...
Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Dellums began his prosecution... He was a very good story teller like most good attorneys and for at least a week he weaved a story about how our client, David Ides Jr. was his father's number two man in a Ponzi Scheme that bilked a number of people out of nearly 62 million dollars..
He was very well prepared... He had graphics and Bank statements and records of meetings with David Ides Sr and 39 of his accomplices.. For five days, he kept the jury enthralled.
David Jr. faced seven federal charges...six of which could land him in federal prison for up to 40 years if convicted on all counts.
We had our work cut out for us.
The next three days , Olivia and Beverly argued that our client knew nothing about his father's Ponzi scheme... They went hard on cross examination , along with Nelson, Bresha and Josie.
"His Old man wouldn't allow it." they said.
The next two days, Bresha and Beverly brought 27 charactor witnesses who attested to his sterling character and his aloofness to the real workings of the firm... "He simply handled legal matters and concerns." they said.
She also called the 39 already convicted co-conspirators, who backed up her asertations.. and the victims who said they never once talked to or had any dealings with Junior, Legal or otherwise. A lot of them didn't even know him. They particularly damaged the Government's case.
The next two days ,Josie and Nelson showed the Street cam video of him meeting with his father, two nights before his father's death and of him giving him an old photo of his grandmother
Todd realized what was going on and objected vigorously......He next called a few witnesses who said that David had meetings with his father twice a week..
With his case collapsing around him...Todd Dellums argued that this was proof that David Jr. knew about his father's activity at least two days before the Feds closed in... "I don't care if he only found out the day of...He knew and was a conspirator...FIND HIM GUILTY!!" he argued eloquently...
"The Jury will now go over everything you've heard and come to a conclusion...Take your time and ask as many questions as you need." said the Judge.
morning..Let's get out of here, get some dinner." I said.
Nobody objected..
Todd was exhausted...It had been a long and harrowing trial..
He sat on the side of his bed...His bell rang...
It was Natasha Smith. They were no longer living together, but they did see each other from time to time.
"Hey Todd, Feel like some company?" she asked.
"Close that door and dim the lights and I'll uh tell you." said Todd raffishly...
She dimmed the lights...
"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu I know what you want to uh talk about!" she laughed seductively...
They sat on the bed and kissed passionately...
''Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" he moaned...
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she cooed softly..
"Now where were we?" whispered Todd Dellums in between kisses..
''We were at the part where you relieve me of my panties." giggled Natasha Smith...
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BABBBBYYYYY!" moaned Todd..
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU TODDDERS" she cooed softly as they kissed in a warm embrace...
She eased down on his waiting penis and moved up and down on the side of his bed...kissing him to near delirium...
She rode him like a surfer rides waves once in his bed..
and eventually they settled for the missionary position....This time they were making up for lost time... NINE TO TEN HOURS of slow , non steady lovemaking continued in his bedroom...
"Ohhhhh yessssss....Yesssssssssssssssss!" moaned Todd as he slipped her panties down and off..
She giggled..
"OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU TODDDERS!" she cooed.
They kissed slowly and softly and they both helped each other out of the rest of their clothing..
IV-
TWO DAYS LATER-
The Jury had reached a decision...We were pretty sure it was not a hung jury this time...
''That jury asked questions about everything...All day yesterday...I'm surprised they reached a verdict today." said Bresha.
"I'm closing my eyes and crossing my fingers..for luck!" he said.
"I have a rabbit's foot in my purse...Would you like to hold that?" she said.
We all chuckled a little bit.
U.S. Attorney Todd Dellums saw us smiling and chuckling..He was a bit pissed at our attitudes in court.
He was very thin skinned and very certain he had made his case.. This could only end in a victory for him he thought...He was certain he had made his case plain and simple and that the jury which was made up of seven women and five men would not be wowed by Olivia, Beverly or Josie and Bresha
All beautiful women, who had even made him lose his focus at times checking them out.. Especially Bresha, who he was sorry he didn't ask out for a date before she got married..
"Mr. Jury Foreman, has the jury reached a decision?" asked Judge Bedford, who had seen us in court a number of times and admired us with leaps and bounds.. ''Always Prepared , Always ready, never rattled." he mused.
"Yes your honor, we have."said the Foreman who passed the verdict to the Baillif.
He gave the verdict to the Judge, who read it without any emotion and passed it to the baillif.
"Read the verdict!" He said.
"IN THE MATTER OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA VS. DAVID LEE IDES JR. COUNT ONE,
Securities Fraud, NOT GUILTY
COUNT TWO, Wire Fraud, NOT GUILTY
COUNT THREE, Mail Fraud, NOT GUILTY
COUNT FOUR, Money Laundering, NOT GUILTY
COUNT FIVE, Making False Statements to the FBI, NOT GUILTY
COUNT SIX, Perjury, NOT GUILTY
and
COUNT SEVEN, Prior knowledge to but no participation in a Conspiracy. A misdemeanor,
GUILTY!
''What does that mean?" asked David Ides Jr.
Olivia, Beverly, Josie and Bresha all had a group hug....Laughing and crying tears of joy.
He was too upset to exchange pleasantries or small talk with us.. He bore us no ill will, but this loss was more than his thin skin could take. He grabbed his legal briefs and quickly exited the federal courthouse.
"You guys are killers...I'm going to be sending some business your way, for sure." said a very happy David Ides Jr.
''Let's go home guys...Our work here is done." said Olivia.
"Good Idea." I said.
"Yes..."said Beverly.
Nelson put his arms around both Beverly and Josie and they faked carrying him out.
''You're gettin heavy boy."said Josie.
Bresha laughed.
Todd Dellums saw us laughing and joking around outside of the court house..
He was not pleased.. He took it personal. He was so thin skinned.
EPILOUGE-
THE FBI arrested Alexi Gosar, A Russian Gambler and Yuri Kostya, his murderous associate for the murder of Nicky Rubin.
They were both convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He owed them money..They falsely thought when he was subpoenaed that he was turning in evidence on them, they didn't know about the Ides Ponzi Scheme conspiracy trial.
Lt. Tragg was livid... "That should have been my collar." he snarled angrily.
Sam Mother was a genius at getting us to come to his diner, despite Lt. Tragg..
Saturday he had A Steak and Egg special.. How could we resist?
Kayla, Ray, Jazzy, Dabnis, Jessie and Chip were there and had seperate tables..
"Ummmmmmmm so do I." said Chip.
Keith, Bee Bee, Sofia and Kahlil found a nice cozy booth that they chose to sit in..
Her husband, Kahlil hugged her.. "Yeah.." he said..
Beverly and Nelson, Josie and Paris and Bree and Tony all found seperate tables to sit at..
Olivia and I, Yvette and Gary, Jade and Danny and Virginia were all at one big round table.. We knew that we would be a target possibly of Lt. Tragg, but today we didn't care.
"Ummm this is so good." said Olivia., enjoying her food.
"Yes it is..." I said. "You're obviously enjoying your food Vettie." I said to my wife's former law school room-mate and best friend.
"Ummmmmmmm yesssssss...I sure am." said Yvette.
''Me too!"said her husband, Gary.
''Ditto" said Jade.
''She speaks for me.."said Danny Ho.
''We have consensus." laughed our new friend and Yvette's new office manager, Virginia Shaw, who we coaxed out with us this morning.. She initially didn't want to come until she saw that all of us were coming...She got up and got dresssed and joined us.
and hot coffee..
Lt. Tragg walked in...The swelling in his eyes and cheek had finally gone down and the swelling in his lip had gone down...
Lt. Tragg managed a rare smile.
We all ordered Steak and Eggs and Hash Browns..The special. Nice thick juicy New York Strip steaks, eggs to order and Hash Browns.
23 orders came out and had been passed around....
with flutes of Orange Juice..
I once again added champagne to everybody's orange juice for Mimosas.
He glared at all of us, eating breakfast on a Saturday Morning.. He hadn't seen any of us in weeks. He naturally went to the biggest table with the biggest fish, Our table..
"Olivia...I saw on the news that you guys won that big federal case yesterday huh? Good Job! It was nice seeing that arrogant pig headed U.S. Attorney Todd Dellums take a loss." he said and he walked to the counter without saying anything else to us.
It was clear he resented Todd Dellums more than he did any of us.. This marked the first time he ever congratulated any of us on WINNING a case!!
We all looked at each other, smiled and shrugged and continued eating and talking.
"What'll it be Artie?" asked Sam Mother, relieved that there was no argument or fight in here today..
''Why the special of course and some hot coffee Sammy!" he said.
''Comin Up Artie" he said.
His food came up and for once...We all had a peaceful breakfast.
FOR Sasha Cee.
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