George Higgins - A change of gravity

"The idea's preposterous on its face, but grant it, arguendo: Dan Hilliard last sought elective office well over ten years ago. The state Statute of Limitations is six years. The federal one is five.

Except for murder or treason, of course neither of which I've heard my learned friend here mention, at least as yet. So: why in the world is the federal watchdog prowling around out here with his Operation Rolling Blunder, snarling and snapping at Danny Hilliard, and the people who backed him for the office he filled so well?

"If it weren't so scary in terms of the damage he can do with it, you'd think Mister Bissell's mission was a new mega-death computer game for kids; thrills and chills and sound-effects, flashing lights and puffs of smoke, but in the real world, harmless. Too bad it isn't. This game's for much higher stakes; he's playing with real people's lives.

Is the US Attorney really spending all this money; wasting all this manpower; muddying spotless reputations helter-skelter; causing all this anguish when even if he could prove the acts were corrupt he couldn't prosecute them? Is that what this is, an exercise here? If it is, this's not law enforcement; this is abuse of authority, power run amok. If not, then what else is it?"

"Good question, Geoff," the judge said. "Ball's in your court now, Mister Bissell."

"Thank you, your Honor," he said. "Mister Cohen took umbrage at my description of this project before I finished outlining it. Of course we're quite aware that limitations have expired for prosecution of many if not most of the substantive offenses we believe to've been committed by Mister Hilliard and his co-conspirators chief among them Mister Merrion, which's why we've immunized him over the course of the years.

But I would point out to the court, and to Mister Cohen as well, that when we can prove that further acts, within the statute, have been committed in the course of that same, ongoing, conspiracy that underlay the earlier substantive acts; and that those more recent acts were also committed in furtherance of the purpose for which the conspiracy was formed; then by law we are permitted to claim relation back to the earlier offenses, and prove them, as part of the underlying, continuing scheme. Its fruition.

"In outline what we see here, your Honor, is a convoluted tripartite conspiracy, one branch still thriving, still returning excellent profits.

"The overall conspiracy," Bissell said, making an arch with his hands over the table, 'involved the campaign contributions. We see that one as the umbrella. It provided the shelter under which at least two more schemes could grow. The fund-raising, state-contract quid-pro-quo scheme's now functionally defunct; there's no further need for it. It's done the job Hilliard and Merrion designed it to do get Hilliard elected to office; gain access to and influence over the state contracting process; and in return get kickbacks disguised as campaign contributions. Dan Hilliard's retired; the contracts continue; those two set-ups, no longer needed, were allowed to atrophy.

"That's not the case with the other plot under the big umbrella. It survives and we can prove it.

"The first thing Hilliard and Merrion did was to create an organization that would work out of Holyoke in tandem with the voting machine that the Carnes brothers, Roy and Arthur, had put into place for themselves right after World War Two. A few years later they were joined by Roy's son, Roy Junior.

"The Carneses were very methodical. Arthur had come back from the war a wounded veteran and a hero. He had capitalized on that, parlayed the admiration and the sympathy he got into his political career. So Arthur was in charge of getting power. Meanwhile, Roy Senior was doing the day-to-day work of establishing and expanding the family's local real estate empire. Roy was in charge of getting wealth. In time Roy Junior, "Little Roy" or "Young Roy," came along to inherit the aldermanic seat vacated by Arthur when he ran for the House. Then he took Arthur's House seat when Arthur moved up to the Senate. Ultimately he succeeded to his uncle's Senate seat, after Arthur's death, and to much of the wealth his father had accumulated as well. Not exactly what Arthur and Roy had in mind, but still and all, pretty close.

"Their plan'd been that Little Roy would take the Senate seat when Arthur retired to the judgeship the two of them'd created for him, when they carved out the new Canterbury District during the late Fifties.

But Arthur died, disrupting their plans. Big Roy wasn't interested in the judgeship. He was too busy making lots of money running the real estate business. Little Roy had further political ambitions; it was too early for him to retire. Charles Spring, a close Carnes family friend, therefore became the first presiding judge.

"The Hilliard-Merrion scheme was conceived as a sort of a Carnes satellite. By necessity it was somewhat less ambitious; Hilliard had no war-wound to display and Merrion had no family cash to work with, but they had some impressive plans. The first was to get Hilliard elected to the board of aldermen. Roy Junior was the only second-generation Carnes with the political bug. If Hilliard could displace the lacklustre boob who'd won Roy's seat on the board of aldermen, he'd be positioned to go after Roy's seat in the House when Roy moved up to Arthur's Senate seat.

"In effect what he and Merrion proposed to the Carneses was that since they were temporarily fresh-out of political horses, Hilliard would serve as a surrogate Carnes. He'd hold down jobs they wanted to relinquish but still control, but lacked homebred manpower to fill.

He'd exercise the authority the jobs carried in consultation with Roy and Arthur; they in turn would back him. He even agreed to let them control his financing, in exchange for help in getting it, which in real terms meant they would control not only the power, but him.

"That sounded good to the Carneses. In Nineteen-sixty, with under-the-table help from them, Hilliard and Merrion pulled off their first victory. The Carneses were taking no chances; until Hilliard proved he could actually win, he was their clandestine candidate. That way if he lost they'd be free to dump him and look for a more popular stooge."

"Your Honor," Cohen said.

The judge put up her left hand. "I know, Geoff, I know. If you ever get this case before a jury, Arnie, you can say stuff like that in your closing argument. Until such time as that occurs, restrain yourself."

Bissell nodded. "Stand corrected, your Honor," he said, his expression showing no contrition. "The second objective was to exploit the leverage and visibility of the aldermanic seat to attract the contributions Hilliard would need to run for state rep, without stepping on any Carnes toes. That he and Merrion accomplished by courting the small businessmen and manufacturers who lived in the general vicinity and ran their businesses around the Carnes turf. On the perimeter. They did very well at this, so well that one or two years after his first House election, Hilliard commanded enough campaign funds to begin "helping out" candidates from other districts who either didn't like to raise money all the time, the way he did, or didn't get the kind of results he got, because they weren't as slick."

Merrion came forward in his chair. Cohen grabbed his arm again. The judge shook her head and sighed. "Arnie, I just cautioned you about provocative language, and now here you go and do it again. Keep in mind that you're in here because you want me to do something Mister Cohen opposes. Goading him and his client is not the best way to persuade me to do it."

Bissell nodded, his face showing resignation based upon dour foresight.

"That Lord Bountiful ability he had to bestow gifts upon less-affluent reps made Mister Hilliard a popular and respected House figure, far more so than his age or years of service ever would've suggested. Give the devil his due as well: Dapper Dan Hilliard's a likable man. Women, especially, like him," Judge Foote's face remained impassive, 'which as we know finally got him in trouble, but his charm worked on his male colleagues as well.