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May 27, 2008

CVS trial: Celona to return to the stand

Journal illustration / Frank Gerardi
U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente argues against a motion from defense lawyers to drop charges against former CVS executives John R. Kramer and Carlos Ortiz. In the foreground are prosecutors Annlou Tirol, left, Daniel Petalas, center, and Stephen G. Dambruch. Judge Mary M. Lisi presides.

PROVIDENCE -- The government’s star witness, John A. Celona, the imprisoned former legislator from North Providence, will return to federal court to testify in the CVS corruption trial.

During a tense 40-minute hearing this morning, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi weighed a defense motion on whether the bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges should be dropped against John R. ``Jack’’ Kramer, 75, and Carlos R. Ortiz, 64, two former CVS executives.

And, in a highly unusual move, Robert Clark Corrente, the U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island, argued that the motion for dismissal of the charges was ``outrageous.’’

Scott Corrigan, one of Kramer’s lawyers, based his argument primarily on Celona’s varying versions of testimony of a call he made to the Ethics Commission in the weeks before the drugstore giant hired him as a $1,000-a-month consultant in 2000. At the time, Celona was a state senator who would later rise to the influential post of chairman of the senate corporations committee.

In previous grand jury and trial testimony, Celona had testified that the called the Ethics Commission and talked to someone who has never been identified. In the conversation, Celona claims that the person told him that it was okay for him to serve as a legislator and work for CVS.

A few weeks ago, in preparation for trial, Celona told investigators that it was a more ``abstract’’ conversation he never mentioned CVS to the person at the Ethics Commission.

Corrigan repeatedly referred to Celona’s ``new memories,’’ and said that prosecutors knew about it, but chose to withhold it from the defense team.

``The prosecution readily accepted a gift that was too good to be true,’’ said Corrigan said, adding that the prosecutors should have questioned the new version of events.

Corrente took umbrage with the defense team’s characterization that the prosecution acted in ``bad faith.’’

He said that the government didn’t know exactly what Celona was going to say in the witness box ``because he had changed his testimony so many times before. It was impossible to know exactly what he was going to say.’’

Lisi, the judge, was critical of the prosecution team for failing to inform the defense about Celona’s latest version of the call to the Ethics Commission. She said that the government was required ``to make that disclosure in a timely manner.’’

Nonetheless, she said that dismissing the 23 felony charges against Kramer and Ortiz would be a ``rather extreme remedy.’’

She decided to have Celona return to court to testify. No day or time was set for the former legislator, who is serving a 2 ½ -year prison term in federal prison. He has been at the Donald W. Wyatt Federal Detention Center fin Central Falls or the past three weeks.

The defense and prosecution made their arguments outside the presence of the jury.

The government rested this morning; and, at 10 a.m., the defense began presenting its case.

Read more on the the trial and the government's Operation Dollar Bill investigation.

-- Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski

Posted by Jack Perry  at 10:55 AM | Permalink

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Frank Martin | May 27, 2008 11:52 AM link

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