crime.”
“Thank you. And in your role as head of this unit, Agent Pellisante, you are the senior law enforcement agent on the investigation into Dominic Cavello, is that correct?”
“That’s correct.” I nodded. “Other than the assistant director and the director.”
“The assistant director and the director?” Goldenberger cocked his head. “You mean of the New York office?”
“No, Mr. Goldenberger.” I paused, then moistened my lips with a sip of water. “Of the entire FBI.”
Goldenberger looked impressed. “Those are pretty good credentials, Special Agent Pellisante. Now, you haven’t always held this position, have you, sir?”
“No. Before that I was an agent on the task force for five years. Prior to that I taught a class in criminal anthropology at Columbia. I also worked at the Justice Department in DC for three years. And before that I was in law school.”
“And you hold a law degree from where, Mr. Pellisante?”
I played along because this was designed to set me up as even more impressive to the jury. I took another sip of water. “Columbia.”
“So you’ve been investigating organized crime for how many years?”
“Eleven. Five as a special agent. Six as the special agent in charge.”
“So it’s fair to say, in the course of your experience, you’ve come across some pretty bad people, isn’t that right?”
“The absolute worst. The Colombian drug cartels, Cosa Nostra, the Russian mob. I think I’ve looked into some of the most corrupt and violent organizations on the planet. My specialty, I guess.”
Goldenberger smiled politely. “And in the course of these investigations, how would the defendant, Dominic Cavello, rank in terms of your experience?”
“Rank?”
“In terms of the criminal behavior you’ve investigated.”
I cleared my throat. “Mr. Cavello is the most ruthless and cold-blooded killer we’ve ever looked into. He’s personally ordered the deaths of over thirty people we can directly tie him to. He is an evil human being.”
“Objection!” Hy Kaskel shot up. I expected that. “The defendant is not being charged with any of these alleged homicides. The government’s investigations and pet theories are not of interest to this court.”
“Correction, Your Honor.” Joel Goldenberger waved. “The government will rephrase. I guess what I’m asking is, does your experience with this man go beyond just your investigation? You’ve had personal experience, haven’t you, Agent Pellisante? You’ve seen Mr. Cavello’s brutality firsthand?”
“Yes.” My gaze shifted to Cavello. I wanted him to feel my eyes. I’d waited a long time to say these next words.
“I’ve personally witnessed Mr. Cavello commit murder. Twice. ”
Chapter 37
I’D ASSEMBLED HUNDREDS of wiretaps and recorded conversations as part of my testimony, but we just started with my story, what I had seen myself.
“Would you describe for this court the events surrounding Dominic Cavello’s arrest?” Goldenberger asked me.
I glanced toward Manny Oliva’s wife, Carol, who was sitting in the first row. I was glad she was here for this.
“We had been told that Cavello was going to attend his niece’s wedding at the South Fork Club in Montauk on July 23, 2004. We had multiple warrants outstanding.”
“You had tried to arrest Mr. Cavello before?”
“Yes. Cavello had gone underground, though. He was a threat to leave the country.”
“So you staked out the wedding on this tip. Can you describe for the court some of the other agents who assisted you there?”
“Sure.” I swallowed back some emotion. I talked about Manny first. “Manny Oliva was my ASAC at C-10 for three years. I took him right out of Quantico. I brought him up through the ranks. He and his wife had just had twin girls.”
“And Edward C. Sinclair, he was with you there as well?”
“Ed Sinclair was as exemplary a special agent as we had in the unit,” I said. I nodded to his wife,
“Thank you. And in your role as head of this unit, Agent Pellisante, you are the senior law enforcement agent on the investigation into Dominic Cavello, is that correct?”
“That’s correct.” I nodded. “Other than the assistant director and the director.”
“The assistant director and the director?” Goldenberger cocked his head. “You mean of the New York office?”
“No, Mr. Goldenberger.” I paused, then moistened my lips with a sip of water. “Of the entire FBI.”
Goldenberger looked impressed. “Those are pretty good credentials, Special Agent Pellisante. Now, you haven’t always held this position, have you, sir?”
“No. Before that I was an agent on the task force for five years. Prior to that I taught a class in criminal anthropology at Columbia. I also worked at the Justice Department in DC for three years. And before that I was in law school.”
“And you hold a law degree from where, Mr. Pellisante?”
I played along because this was designed to set me up as even more impressive to the jury. I took another sip of water. “Columbia.”
“So you’ve been investigating organized crime for how many years?”
“Eleven. Five as a special agent. Six as the special agent in charge.”
“So it’s fair to say, in the course of your experience, you’ve come across some pretty bad people, isn’t that right?”
“The absolute worst. The Colombian drug cartels, Cosa Nostra, the Russian mob. I think I’ve looked into some of the most corrupt and violent organizations on the planet. My specialty, I guess.”
Goldenberger smiled politely. “And in the course of these investigations, how would the defendant, Dominic Cavello, rank in terms of your experience?”
“Rank?”
“In terms of the criminal behavior you’ve investigated.”
I cleared my throat. “Mr. Cavello is the most ruthless and cold-blooded killer we’ve ever looked into. He’s personally ordered the deaths of over thirty people we can directly tie him to. He is an evil human being.”
“Objection!” Hy Kaskel shot up. I expected that. “The defendant is not being charged with any of these alleged homicides. The government’s investigations and pet theories are not of interest to this court.”
“Correction, Your Honor.” Joel Goldenberger waved. “The government will rephrase. I guess what I’m asking is, does your experience with this man go beyond just your investigation? You’ve had personal experience, haven’t you, Agent Pellisante? You’ve seen Mr. Cavello’s brutality firsthand?”
“Yes.” My gaze shifted to Cavello. I wanted him to feel my eyes. I’d waited a long time to say these next words.
“I’ve personally witnessed Mr. Cavello commit murder. Twice. ”
Chapter 37
I’D ASSEMBLED HUNDREDS of wiretaps and recorded conversations as part of my testimony, but we just started with my story, what I had seen myself.
“Would you describe for this court the events surrounding Dominic Cavello’s arrest?” Goldenberger asked me.
I glanced toward Manny Oliva’s wife, Carol, who was sitting in the first row. I was glad she was here for this.
“We had been told that Cavello was going to attend his niece’s wedding at the South Fork Club in Montauk on July 23, 2004. We had multiple warrants outstanding.”
“You had tried to arrest Mr. Cavello before?”
“Yes. Cavello had gone underground, though. He was a threat to leave the country.”
“So you staked out the wedding on this tip. Can you describe for the court some of the other agents who assisted you there?”
“Sure.” I swallowed back some emotion. I talked about Manny first. “Manny Oliva was my ASAC at C-10 for three years. I took him right out of Quantico. I brought him up through the ranks. He and his wife had just had twin girls.”
“And Edward C. Sinclair, he was with you there as well?”
“Ed Sinclair was as exemplary a special agent as we had in the unit,” I said. I nodded to his wife,
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