Robert Tanenbaum - Bad Faith

“I’ll allow it,” Temple said. “Overruled; the witness may answer the question.”

“We met at the Shelby County Penal Farm,” LaFontaine said.

“And what were you doing there?”

“Serving time.”

“For what?”

“Me, for kiting checks,” LaFontaine said. “Frank was in for assault.”

“Kiting checks,” Karp said. “A type of fraud, right? You pretended to be someone you were not and illegally obtained cash, goods, or services, correct?”

“Yes,” LaFontaine admitted.

“How many other crimes have you and Frank Bernsen been convicted of?” Karp asked. “And let’s just stick to the felonies.”

“Objection!” Rottingham shouted again. “Now Mr. Karp is fishing.”

“On the contrary, I am taking careful aim,” Karp replied, holding up the manila folder. “This is fair game, particularly as any prior conviction, like fraud, may relate to moral depravity. The defendant’s criminal record may most certainly be considered by the jurors with respect to the defendant’s so-called credibility, as Mr. Rottingham well knows.”

“Your Honor, may we approach the bench?” demanded Rottingham as he lurched to his feet.

“Come on then,” the judge replied.

“Your Honor, I request that this sidebar be on the record,” Karp said. “May we have the stenographer record it?”

“Yes, indeed,” Temple agreed.

Out of the jurors’ hearing and with the steno in place, Rottingham pleaded with the judge. “We have no idea where these alleged criminal histories come from, nor have we had a chance to look them over. In addition, I object to them on grounds of relevance. Reverend LaFontaine has already admitted that prior to his conversion he and Frank Bernsen led a life of sin, and he even just admitted to having been incarcerated for a crime.”

The judge looked at Karp. “Your take?”

“Your Honor, we obtained these certified records by serving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with a warrant,” Karp replied. “They’d been kept out of the national crime database due to this pair working as confidential informants for the ATF. The ATF wasn’t happy about it, but we won the day. As for LaFontaine already admitting to one crime and a life of sin, he still holds himself as a paragon of virtue while casting blame and culpability on his partner in crime. As such this history is relevant. The defendant exposed himself to this sort of character impeachment when he took the stand. It’s not the People’s fault that he thought his record would be kept secret. I am offering these files in evidence and handing a complete copy to Mr. Rottingham.”

Judge Temple nodded. “I’m going to allow it. Mr. Karp is right; your client chose to take the stand.”

“Not on my recommendation,” Rottingham mumbled.

“Mr. Rottingham, you may return to your seat,” Temple told him. “The objection is overruled; the certified files regarding the defendant and one Frank Bernsen, People’s Exhibit Thirty-five inclusively, is admitted into evidence.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Karp said. He walked up to the witness stand and handed one set of papers to LaFontaine. “In case you need to refresh your memory,” he said as the defendant glared down at him. “Now, you want to read off the list of felonies for which you’ve been convicted?”

“As I said, before I saw the light I lived a life of sin-” LaFontaine tried to explain, but Karp cut him off.

“That’s not what I asked. I asked you to read off the list of felonies for which you’ve been convicted,” Karp demanded, his voice booming in the courtroom.

LaFontaine looked down at the papers. “Burglary. Assault. Robbery. Drug possession and distribution. Receiving stolen goods.” He put the papers down.

“I believe you left one off,” Karp said. “It’s the second to the last one, right before ‘receiving stolen goods.’”

“Impersonating a police officer,” LaFontaine said.

“Impersonating a police officer,” Karp said. “Pretending to be someone you were not. I guess a leopard doesn’t change his spots.”

“Objection!” Rottingham roared.

“I’ll withdraw the comment, Your Honor,” Karp replied. “Now, would you do the same with Frank Bernsen’s record?”

LaFontaine looked back down at the pages. “Assault. Assault with a deadly weapon.”

“A few of those, aren’t there?” Karp commented.

“Yes. Sexual assault. Burglary. Receiving stolen goods. Impersonating a police officer.”

“That last one, impersonating a police officer, that was for the same occurrence that you were convicted for, right?”

“Yes.”

“How many years ago were you arrested and convicted for impersonating a police officer?” Karp asked.

“A little more than two years ago.”

“Shortly before you met Monique and Charlie Hale, correct?”

“Yes.”

Karp walked up to the witness stand and held out his hand to get the records back. “With all those convictions, how come you’re not in prison, Mr. LaFontaine?”

“The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offered us a deal,” LaFontaine admitted. “If we worked with them against an outlaw motorcycle club, our records were going to be expunged.”

“You were working as informants, right?”

LaFontaine stared at Karp for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah.”

“And an informant, or snitch, is someone who tells on someone else in order to get out of trouble, right?”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

“Sort of like you snitching on Frank Bernsen about the life insurance policies, right?”

“Objection.”

“Sustained,” Temple said. “Mr. Karp, let’s save it for summations.”

Karp nodded. “So, Mr. LaFontaine, if I’m right about the timing here, your conversion into a man of God happened about the same time you were making a deal with the ATF and shortly before you met the Hales. Am I correct?”

“I saw the light about that time, yes,” LaFontaine said. “I was hurting in my soul for all the sins I’d committed and after I met that other preacher, I knew I needed to change.”

“I see, and Frank changed with you?”

“I thought he had.”

“Well, he’s named as the chief financial officer for both of your churches, here and in Memphis,” Karp said. “You lived with him. Blocked the doorway of an extremely ill child with him to prevent paramedics and police officers from performing their jobs with him. And if Monique Hale is to be believed, and the jury will determine that, you were almost inseparable and he did what you told him to do.”

“I deny that,” LaFontaine replied. “Frank was his own man.”

“But he was your brother in crime?”

“He was also my brother in Christ.”

“Except that according to your testimony, he must not have been living a simple, sin-free life like you.”

“I guess not.”

Karp paced slowly in front of the jury box before asking his next question. “I’m noticing that according to you, everybody else is a liar or simply mistaken. Is that true?”

“What do you mean?” LaFontaine scowled.

“Well, Monique Hale says you forbade her and her husband from seeking medical attention for their daughter, Natalie, and that you threatened to leave her alone spiritually and emotionally. That you were her lover. But that’s all a lie, right?”

“Yes.”

“And she testified that Sarah Westerberg used to come to her house with you to talk to her about faith healing; that was also a lie?”

“Yes.”

“And Dr. Holstein says that it was you who approached him about targeting the families of ill children and expunging their records from hospital files, and that he spoke to you several times after that. But that’s a lie?”