3320 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 3 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, : CR 96 1016(S-1) 4 v. : U.S. Courthouse 5 Uniondale, New York BRUCE W. GORDON, WHO'S WHO 6 WORLD WIDE REGISTRY, INC., : STERLING WHO'S WHO, INC., 7 TARA GARBOSKI, ORAL FRANK : OSMAN, LAURA WEITZ, ANNETTE 8 HALEY, SCOTT MICHAELSON, : STEVE RUBIN, and MARTIN 9 REFFSIN, : TRANSCRIPT OF TRIAL 10 Defendants. : February 9, 1998 11 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X 10:00 o'clock a.m.
12 BEFORE:
13 HONORABLE ARTHUR D. SPATT, U.S.D.J. and a jury 14 APPEARANCES: 15 For the Government: ZACHARY W. CARTER 16 United States Attorney One Pierrepont Plaza 17 Brooklyn, New York 11201 By: RONALD G. WHITE, ESQ. 18 CECIL SCOTT, ESQ. Assistant U.S. Attorneys 19 For the Defendants: NORM
AN TRABULUS, ESQ. 20 For Bruce W. Gordon 170 Old Country Road, Suite 600 21 Mineola, New York 11501
22 EDWARD P. JENKS, ESQ. For Who's Who Worldwide 23 Registry, Inc. and Sterling Who's, Who, Inc. 24 332 Willis Avenue Mineola, New York 11501 25 (cont'd)
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3321
1 APPEARANCES (cont'd):
2 GARY SCHOER, ESQ. For Tara Garboski 3 6800 Jericho Turnpike Syosset, New York 11791 4 ALAN M. NELSON, ESQ. 5 For Oral Frank Osman 3000 Marcus Avenue 6 Lake Success, New York 11042
7 WINSTON LEE, ESQ. For Laura Weitz 8 319 Broadway New York, New York 10007 9 MARTIN GEDULDIG, ESQ. 10 For Annette Haley 400 South Oyster Bay Road 11 Hicksville, New York 11801
12 JAMES C. NEVILLE, ESQ. For Scott Michaelson 13 225 Broadway New York, New York 10007 14 THOMAS F.X. DUNN, ESQ. 15 For Steve Rubin 150 Nassau Street 16 New York, New York 10038
17 JOHN S. WALLENSTEIN, ESQ. For Martin Reffsin 18 215 Hilton Avenue Hempstead, New York 11551 19
20 Court Reporter: HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR United States District Court 21 Two Uniondale Avenue Uniondale, New York 11553 22 (516) 485-6558
23 Proceedings recorded by mechanical stenography, transcript 24 produced by Computer-Assisted Transcription 25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3322
1 M O R N I N G S E S S I O N
2
3 (The following takes place in the absence of the
4 jury.)
5 THE COURT: I am not sure I heard correctly, but
6 did you indicate, Mr. Rubin, you wanted to act pro se as
7 your own lawyer? Is that right?
8 THE DEFENDANT RUBIN: No, sir.
9 THE COURT: I heard that. That's why I asked you
10 to come in.
11 THE DE
FENDANT RUBIN: I asked your clerk a
12 question.
13 THE COURT: I am happy to hear that I heard
14 wrong. I was about to talk you out of that, but I don't
15 have to.
16 Then we will see you at 10:00 o'clock.
17
18 (Whereupon, a recess is taken.)
19
20 (Whereupon, the jury at this time entered the
21 courtroom.)
22 THE COURT: Good morning, members of the patient,
23 prompt -- that one I picked up -- and dedicated jury. 24 You may proceed. 25 MR. WHITE: The government calls Lester Wheeler.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3323
1 THE CLERK: Will the witness please stand and
2 raise your right hand.
3
4 L E S T E R W H E E L E R ,
5 called as a witness, having been first
6 duly sworn, was examined and testified
7 as follows:
8
9 THE CLERK: Please state
your name and spell your
10 last name slowly for the record.
11 THE WITNESS: Lester M. Wheeler, last name is
12 W H E E L E R.
13 THE COURT: Have a seat, Mr. Wheeler.
14
15 DIRECT EXAMINATION
16 BY MR. WHITE:
17 Q Mr. Wheeler, can you tell us where you live?
18 A I reside in Fort Worth, Texas.
19 Q And can you tell us what you do for a living?
20 A I am a Mr. Mom at the present time. I retired
21 several years ago and chose to take care of my children.
22 My wife works.
23 Q Before you retired, what sort of work did you do? 24 A I was with the General Dynamics, subsequently 25 Lockheed Aircraft, in the aerospace business.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3324 Wheeler-direct/White
1 Q And what sort of work did you do there?
2 A I worked phone proposals to customers for the
3 aerospace
company.
4 Q And prior to your work at those companies, what did
5 you do?
6 A I was in the U.S. Army and retired from the U.S. Army
7 in 1976, I believe it was.
8 Q Have you been contacted by a company called Who's Who
9 Worldwide?
10 A I was contacted by them.
11 Q Can you tell us how you were first contacted?
12 A As best as I recall, I received a phone call -- I got
13 a letter first, and then subsequently a phone call to my
14 office.
15 Q Now, do you recall approximately when that letter
16 came in?
17 A 1993. I cannot identify which month it came in.
18 Q Was there anything included in the letter you
19 received?
20 A Yes. There was a card which asked for my response,
21 if I was interested in the nomination.
22 Let me show you Government's Exhibit 15-C for
23 Identification. 24 (Handed to the witness.) 25
Q Would you take a look at that and tell me if you
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3325 Wheeler-direct/White
1 recognize it.
2 A Yes, that's my response.
3 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, the government offers
4 15-C.
5 MR. LEE: I apologize, your Honor, but was it
6 something just handed out today?
7 MR. JENKS: No. It is in the book.
8 MR. WHITE: No, it is not.
9 THE COURT: Do you have it, Mr. Lee?
10 MR. LEE: I apologize. I believe counsel has it.
11 THE COURT: Someone show it to him, please.
12 MR. LEE: I found it. I apologize.
13 Any objection?
14 MR. TRABULUS: No.
15 THE COURT: Government's Exhibit 15-C, for
16 Charley, in evidence.
17 (Government's Exhibit 15-C received in evidence.)
18 Q Mr. Wheeler, would you take a look at the flip side
19 of that card and tell us if there is a post m
ark on it?
20 A Yes. It reads the 25th of April, 1993.
21 Q Now, did you eventually purchase a membership from
22 Who's Who Worldwide?
23 A Yes, I purchased a membership. 24 Q Now, if you can take a look at Exhibit 15-D, like in 25 Dog, which is already in evidence.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3326 Wheeler-direct/White
1 (Handed to the witness.)
2 Q Does that document say on the top, order form, on the
3 top right-hand corner?
4 A That's right, it does.
5 Q Is there a date listed there on the left-hand side on
6 the top?
7 A Yes, 4/22/93 is the date of the order form.
8 Q Under where it says order form, it says account
9 executive number one, can you read what it says next to
10 that?
11 A The lady's name, Laura, is indicated.
12 Q You said you received a telephone call after you
13 returned this card?
14 A That's correct.
15 Q Tell us what happened in that telephone call.
16 A I was at the desk. It was a blind call. I normally
17 do not get outside calls to my office. But the person on
18 the other end of the phone identified themselves as a
19 representative of Who's Who, and they had received my
20 response to their letter. And I said I would like to
21 visit with you a little bit about your nomination.
22 We began discussing what I had previously done
23 during my military career and the positions held, and then 24 what I had done while I was with General Dynamics and then 25 Lockheed, and those positions, what they entailed and so
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3327 Wheeler-direct/White
1 forth.
2 We talked about each of the jobs a little bit.
3 She indicated that it sounded like I was a
good candidate
4 for selection in Who's Who, and that she would go forward
5 with the nomination.
6 During that discussion I said, I feel very
7 honored about being nominated. Can you tell me who
8 nominated me?
9 She said, no. We are not at liberty to discuss
10 who nominated you.
11 I said, did someone in my current position, my
12 superior?
13 She said, I am sorry, Mr. Wheeler, I can't tell
14 you. That's confidential information, and we can't
15 disclose that. And that was basically what we had said in
16 that conversation. She didn't say I was accepted or I was
17 not accepted.
18 She did discuss with me what the cost of
19 fulfilling the nomination was, and asked me if at that
20 time I would be interested in continuing the purchase of a
21 Registry, and it would have the name in it. And that was
22 about it, sir.
23 Q Now, d
id you agree to purchase a membership? 24 A Yes, I did agree to purchase the membership. 25 Q And how did you pay for it?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3328 Wheeler-direct/White
1 A As best I recall I paid for it with Master Card. I
2 know it is a charge card. I don't remember which one it
3 was.
4 Q And do you recall what length of membership you
5 purchased?
6 A I know we talked about several types of membership,
7 lifetime and what not. I am probably sure I probably
8 purchased the least amount of time that was offered.
9 Q And if you can take a look at Exhibit 15-B, which is
10 in front of you --
11 A Is this still the order form?
12 Q Let me show you.
13 (Counsel approaches the witness stand.)
14 Q 15-B, which is the pink copy.
15 A All right.
16 Q Now, do you recognize that document?<
BR> 17 A Yes. This was the invoice, or looks like the invoice
18 that I received when I got the plaque.
19 Q Now, the government offers Exhibit 15-B?
20 THE COURT: Any objection?
21 MR. TRABULUS: No.
22 THE COURT: Government's Exhibits 15-B, for
23 Baker, in evidence. 24 (Government's Exhibit 15-B received in evidence.) 25 Q Mr. Wheeler, can you take a look at that, and does it
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3329 Wheeler-direct/White
1 indicate what length of membership you purchased?
2 A Yes. It says I bought five years of membership.
3 Q And how much did you pay for that?
4 A Somewhere in the neighborhood of $400, as I recall.
5 Q Total?
6 A Total -- on the invoice, I am sorry, it shows $297 on
7 the invoice. I think there was another charge after
8 that. I am not real familiar with it.
9 Q Le
t me ask you, did you agree to make a further
10 payment after this one?
11 A There was a discussion about the additional payment.
12 And as I recall, that was for the register, or the book.
13 And that billing did not take place until it was
14 published. And I said yes to that.
15 Q Now, can you tell us what, if any, statements that
16 were made to you in this telephone conversation affected
17 your opinion to purchase a membership?
18 A The person on the other end of the line in discussing
19 with me my purchase, emphasized over and over again that
20 it was a selective process by which I was nominated.
21 Someone told them that I was a qualified --
22 MR. LEE: Objection.
23 THE COURT: Overruled. 24 A Told them that I was a qualified candidate. 25 Now, my background in education in service and
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
3330 Wheeler-direct/White
1 professional organizations indicated to me, and left me
2 with the impression that Who's Who --
3 MR. LEE: Objection, your Honor. Not responsive.
4 THE COURT: Yes.
5 Starting with the words "my background," the rest
6 of that answer is stricken. The jury is instructed to
7 disregard it.
8 THE WITNESS: I have been familiar --
9 MR. LEE: Objection, your Honor.
10 THE COURT: The question is: What statement made
11 by the salesperson, if any, affected your decision to
12 purchase a membership?
13 THE WITNESS: The statements made by the
14 representative that affected my membership hinged on my
15 knowledge of Who's Who, my knowledge of the words
16 "nomination," my knowledge of the expression "selective
17 process," the explanation to me as to who nominated me,
18 that it was confidential; I was not at liber
ty to have
19 that information. Those were the four factors that
20 affected me and my decision.
21 Q Now, can you explain for us how those factors
22 affected your decision?
23 A In high school there was a Who's Who of American High 24 Schools. In colleges I attended there was a Who's Who of 25 College Students. In business there is a Who's Who of
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3331 Wheeler-direct/White
1 Business.
2 Now, if you are aware -- and as I was aware -- of
3 the term "Who's Who," I felt quite honored, not fully
4 understanding at the time what it meant, but I felt like
5 someone had done me a great, a very honorable favor in
6 nominating me. It made be feel good. I guess I felt
7 egotistical about the matter. And I said, yes, I would be
8 glad to be a member of Who's Who, assuming it was an
9 organ
ization that would allow me to walk in the room and
10 say to someone, are you a member of Who's Who? And they
11 would say, oh, yes, are you? And leave you with a
12 distinct impression that you were dealing with someone who
13 had been recognized for past achievements in their
14 particular profession.
15 Q If in fact your name had been obtained, Mr. Wheeler,
16 not by nomination, but from a mailing list, would that
17 have affected your decision to purchase a membership?
18 MR. LEE: Objection, your Honor.
19 A Absolutely.
20 THE COURT: Overruled.
21 Q I am sorry, your answer was?
22 A Absolutely was my answer.
23 Q Can you explain how that would have affected your 24 decision? 25 A Many phone calls are received at my house with people
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3332 Wheeler-direct/White
1 soli
citing the purchase of products or services. It is
2 quite easily discernible where they got your name.
3 If my name came from a mailing list, I would have
4 been interested in knowing whose mailing list it was, and
5 it would have immediately alerted me that this was just
6 another offer to purchase a service or a product, and I
7 would have probably and more likely said no and gone no
8 further with that conversation.
9 Q Can you explain whether in your mind there is a
10 difference between selection by nomination and selection
11 from a mailing list?
12 MR. JENKS: Objection.
13 THE COURT: Overruled.
14 A Selection by a nomination connotes an honor and
15 distinctive situation where an individual is either
16 recognized for something that was done, or to be done, or
17 if your name comes from a mailing list, it is just
18 anybody's mailing list. Where it ca
me from, nobody
19 knows. It does not carry any distinction with it that it
20 is a selection or a nomination or any honor associated
21 with it. That's how I would describe it.
22 Q Now, after this telephone conversation in which you
23 were told you were nominated, did you do anything? 24 A I felt quite pleased with the nomination. It made me 25 want to pursue just who had nominated me. Since I was
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3333 Wheeler-direct/White
1 told I could not find out it tweaked me a little bit to go
2 and find out.
3 I asked among my peers if any of them had
4 nominated me for membership in Who's Who and I got no
5 response. No, not me.
6 I asked a among some former associated whom I no
7 longer worked with.
8 I even asked my superiors, vice presidents or
9 directors at the time. And there wa
s no response from
10 them, no.
11 Q Now, after this telephone conversation did you
12 receive anything besides the invoice from Who's Who
13 Worldwide?
14 A Yes. I received what I had agreed to purchase, a
15 plastic -- at the time it was a plastic plaque, and a
16 plastic medallion to be attached to the automobile.
17 Upon receipt of that, my suspicions were alerted,
18 what can I do with a piece of plastic?
19 Although the words were very nice and very
20 glowing, I was not pleased, to say the least.
21 Q Now, did you eventually receive a directory from
22 Who's Who Worldwide?
23 A Yes, I did get the directory. 24 I examined the directory. There were names in 25 there -- it looked like a telephone book when you read
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3334 Wheeler-direct/White
1 it. I was not very happ
y with it.
2 Q Now, did you ever attempt to communicate with any
3 other members listed in the directory?
4 A No, I did not. And I didn't because it was probably
5 four or five months after that that I chose to take an
6 early retirement.
7 Q Now, did you ever receive any communication from any
8 member of Who's Who Worldwide?
9 A No, I did not.
10 Q Now, if your name, and the names of others in the
11 directory had been obtained from mailing lists, do you
12 believe you received what you purchased?
13 MR. SCHOER: Objection.
14 MR. JENKS: Objection, Judge.
15 THE COURT: Sustained.
16 Q Can you tell us, if your name was obtained from a
17 mailing list, would the items that you received have value
18 to you?
19 MR. SCHOER: Objection.
20 MR. JENKS: Objection.
21 THE COURT: Overruled.
22 A They would have had no value to me bec
ause I did not
23 accept membership in Who's Who to obtain any value in 24 networking with people in a book. It would have only been 25 as an honor and distinction to look at the names in the
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3335 Wheeler-direct/White
1 book and feel that's my name was among them.
2 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, may I have one moment?
3 THE COURT: Yes.
4 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
5 proceedings.)
6 Q Mr. Wheeler, subsequent to receiving the directory,
7 did you receive anything else from Who's Who Worldwide?
8 A At best I can recall, I got one magazine. And that
9 magazine had inside of it some articles, or whatever was
10 written, by individuals I didn't know, and lots of
11 advertising, discount coupons and what have you. I didn't
12 do much reading of it.
13 Q Did you ever ava
il yourself of any other benefits
14 that were offered by your Who's Who membership?
15 A No, I did not.
16 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, no further questions.
17 THE COURT: Cross-examination.
18
19 CROSS-EXAMINATION
20 BY MR. TRABULUS:
21 Q Good morning, Mr. Wheeler.
22 My name is Norman Trabulus. I am the lawyer for
23 Mr. Gordon, the gentleman seated right next to me. 24 Mr. Wheeler, you mentioned I believe that it was 25 unusual for you to receive a telephone call directly to
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3336 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 your office number; is that correct?
2 A That is correct.
3 Q And when you sent back the cards which came with your
4 letter, you listed the office number on the card; is that
5 correct?
6 A That is correct.
7 Q And that would be the explanation of how t
he person
8 who called you received that number, correct?
9 A Yes.
10 Q Now, you received a letter with the card; is that
11 correct?
12 A Yes.
13 Q You don't have that any more, do you?
14 A No, sir, I don't.
15 Q Do you recall whether or not that letter said who
16 nominated you?
17 A No, I do not.
18 Q Do you recall, sir, whether that letter said whether
19 or not you were nominated by another member or by a board
20 of public affairs or some group like that?
21 A No, I do not. Sorry.
22 Q When you received the directory, let me ask you, was
23 it this one? Did it look like this, this color, or was it 24 a darker color? Do you recall? You can take a look at 25 it.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3337 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A I understand. It seemed to me that it was a vinyl
2 covered book. But I may be mistaken. That may be the
3 one.
4 Q Was it this reddish color?
5 A Like I said, I think it was vinyl, but I am not
6 sure.
7 Q Now, you said you looked through it, and you
8 described it as looking like a telephone (sic).
9 Did it have individual names right next to each
10 other, with any other information, like a telephone book?
11 A No, there were names and alphabetized, as I recall.
12 Q There were names and information with respect to each
13 individual?
14 A Yes. If you decipher the hieroglyphics and all the
15 information, yes.
16 Q It was -- the information next to each person listed
17 was comparable to the information you yourself gave when
18 you were interviewed; is that correct?
19 A In fact, looking my name up it was exactly word for
20 word based on the telephone interview that I had with the
21 salesperson.
22 Q Before you received the directory, did you receive
23 any -- anything from Who's Who, a proof of the listing for 24 you to check and verify to make sure it was accurate; do 25 you recall that?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3338 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A No, sir, I don't recall receiving that.
2 Q Now, when you looked through the directory --
3 withdrawn.
4 When you were spoken to on the telephone, did the
5 person who spoke to you tell you that there would be any
6 pictures in the book?
7 A No, sir.
8 Q The person told you that it would be a directory of
9 people like yourself in Who's Who, who were nominated for
10 Who's Who?
11 A We didn't talk about the directory. We didn't
12 discuss the contents of the book, other than to say that
13 it would be a compendium of those achi
evements that the
14 individual had made or accomplished.
15 Q Is it fair to say when speaking to this person, you
16 were sure that the type of information to appear with
17 respect to the people in the book would be the same as the
18 information you had given to her when you spoke the her?
19 A I didn't ask her that question. Nor did she tell me
20 any information others would be providing. She only asked
21 me to provide my background.
22 Q Mr. Wheeler, did you assume that the information that
23 would be in the book would be the same type of information 24 that you were furnishing over the telephone? 25 A I really didn't make any assumption in that regard,
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3339 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 sir.
2 Q Before you received the book did you have any reason
3 to think that it would have anythi
ng other than the type
4 of information that you were giving over the telephone?
5 Did anybody tell you anything to that effect?
6 A There was never any discussion about it.
7 Q When you got the book, is it fair to say that there
8 was nothing surprising about its contents?
9 A I was totally disappointed in the book. I was not
10 surprised.
11 Q You mentioned the plaque. When you received the
12 plaque, what did you do with it, sir?
13 A I examined it and put it in the drawer.
14 Q When you say the plaque was plastic, was it a green
15 kind of marbleized appearance?
16 A Yes, it was, and it had some gold lettering as I
17 recall.
18 Q And although it wasn't actually marble, is it fair to
19 say it was a fairly good looking plaque? If it was put up
20 on the wall and one looked at it from the distance, it
21 didn't look like a piece of junk, did it?
22 A Well, it did not look like it was made overseas in a
23 sweat shop. But it was something I didn't choose to hang 24 in my house. 25 Q Well, that was your decision; is that correct?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3340 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A Yes, it was.
2 Q And after receiving the plaque you then later on paid
3 for the directory; is that right?
4 A That's correct.
5 Q And you mentioned that you heard of Who's Who in High
6 School?
7 A Yes, sir.
8 Q Were you in Who's Who in High School?
9 A No.
10 Q And Who's Who in College?
11 A Yes.
12 Q Were you in that?
13 A No.
14 Q You mentioned something like Who's Who in Business?
15 A Yes.
16 Q How are you familiar with that?
17 A Publications, business publications, identifying
18 individuals of some renow
n and distinction having been
19 selected for Who's Who membership.
20 Q Before you received the letter from Who's Who
21 Worldwide with the card, had you yourself ever received
22 any mail solicitation which indicated you had been
23 nominated for something? 24 A Yes, I had. 25 Q And what was that?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3341 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A In college.
2 Q Had you ever received any mail solicitation
3 subsequent to college, such as that you were nominated for
4 membership in some organization, objection to subscribe to
5 some series of publications?
6 A Not in the business sense. In the military sense,
7 yes, nominated for some position, and so forth, various
8 positions, and would I be interested, and so forth.
9 Q You say nominated in various positions, is that for
10 rank?
11 A No, not rank, positions in an organization.
12 Q An organization you were already a member of?
13 A No, it was not.
14 Q This was an organization you were not a member of,
15 and you received a letter to you indicating you were
16 nominated to have a position in that organization?
17 A Not a position, but a membership in that
18 organization.
19 Q Did you ever join that organization?
20 A Yes, I did.
21 Q Do you know whether or not that nomination came from
22 a mailing list or not? Yes or no, sir?
23 A No. 24 Q If that nomination to join that organization came 25 from a mailing list and you knew that now, would that have
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3342 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 affected your decision to join that organization?
2 A I may have misled you, counselor. May I have a
3 minute
to explain that? When I said nomination for a
4 position --
5 Q Excuse me. The answer --
6 A -- a military unit, and not a society or a club or
7 anything like that. Letters nominating me for a position
8 in an army headquarters, or a particularly selected unit
9 of some distinction.
10 Q Well, let me ask you this: This was while you were
11 in the military?
12 A That's correct.
13 Q What I thought from your answer was that you had been
14 nominate after being in the military for membership in
15 some kind of veterans or former military type?
16 A No, sir.
17 Q You didn't have --
18 THE COURT: You didn't have to be nominated for
19 that, did you?
20 THE WITNESS: Sir?
21 THE COURT: To join a veteran's organizations,
22 you didn't have to be nominated?
23 THE WITNESS: That's right. 24 THE COURT: The mere fact that you were i
n the 25 Army was enough, at least for a certain time period; is
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3343 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 that correct?
2 THE WITNESS: Yes, you are correct.
3 Q In fact, we were not talking about that?
4 A No, sir, we were not.
5 Q You mentioned that you had heard of Who's Who in
6 Business, or some sort of Who's Who?
7 A Yes.
8 Q And the person that you spoke to on the didn't tell
9 you that this was the Who's Who in Business, or anything
10 of the sort, did she?
11 A No, no.
12 Q In speaking to her, did you ask her whether or not
13 this is the Who's Who?
14 A No, I didn't ask that. My background said Who's Who
15 is Who's Who.
16 Q Now, the Who's Who, you had thought there is only one
17 Who's Who?
18 A No.
19 Q Or one group of Who's Who?
20
A There are many Who's Who.
21 Q You knew that?
22 A Yes.
23 Q And if would you have joined -- would you have joined 24 if indeed the Who's Who was -- that contacted you was one 25 of the ones you had heard of previously?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3344 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A If I had gotten some answers to questions I would
2 have asked, yes.
3 Q Let's assume -- we are putting you back where you
4 were, back when you got this call in '93, and it turns out
5 that you are contacted by a Who's Who. You get a letter,
6 you return a card. It turns out that the Who's Who is in
7 fact one of these Who's Whos you heard about before,
8 okay?
9 As you sit here today, would you have joined that
10 Who's Who? Would you have accepted that?
11 A If I am my discussion with the person on the phone,
12 they
said I was nominated, and it was an honor, and they
13 would have given my background, I would have given the
14 same response today, yes.
15 Q And let's say one of the Who's Who you know about, if
16 they would have sent you a letter saying you were
17 nominated, and you filled out a form for acceptance, no
18 subsequent telephone call, and it turned out you were
19 nominated from a mailing list, would you still want to be
20 listed and be a member of that Who's Who?
21 A No, I would not.
22 Q Would it surprise you to find out that Marquis Who's
23 Who, which was -- which is the publisher of Who's Who in 24 America utilizes mailing lists for selecting people in 25 many of its publications?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3345 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A I don't know. I don't know how they get their names.
2 Q If I were
to tell you that the Who's Whos you have
3 been talking about, you have been thinking about, many, if
4 not most of them, utilize mailing lists judge like Who's
5 Who Worldwide, would that affect your decision as to
6 whether or not you would have joined Who's Who Worldwide
7 if you were told that there were mailing lists used?
8 A I would be extremely skeptical of joining anyone's
9 organization of saying I came off of a mailing list.
10 Q So, you would be extremely skeptical of even joining
11 the Who's Whos that you thought, that you had heard of
12 before at the time you received this solicitation, if it
13 turned out that they use mailing lists; is that right?
14 A If they told me up front that my nomination came from
15 a mailing list, I would have been extremely skeptical.
16 Q You said you got only one copy of the magazine, did
17 you move at a certain point in time o
r change your
18 address?
19 A No, sir.
20 Q Are you sure it was only one?
21 A That's all I recall, receiving only one.
22 Q By that time is it your testimony that you already
23 lost interest in the Who's Who? 24 A I did not have much interest once I received the 25 plaque.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3346 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 Q Is it possible you would have discarded the other
2 magazines after receiving the one?
3 A Not likely. I think I would have remembered
4 receiving them.
5 Q Mr. Wheeler, is it fair to say that for you, for you
6 personally, what was important was the egotistical thing
7 you referred to?
8 A The honor, yes, if that's egotistical.
9 Q I was adopting your word, Mr. Wheeler.
10 As you sit here today, do you know whether or not
11 you were nominated by a
nother member or taken from a
12 mailing list?
13 A I have been told that the names were obtained by --
14 from mailing lists.
15 Q Were you told that there were also nominations by
16 other members?
17 A No.
18 Q If you were told that there were nominations by other
19 members as well as selections from mailing lists, would it
20 have affected your determination as to whether or not you
21 would have joined?
22 A I don't know how to answer that question.
23 THE COURT: That's a good answer, because I 24 didn't understand the question. 25 MR. TRABULUS: I will rephrase it.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3347 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 Q If you were told that in addition to some members
2 nominated from mailing lists, others were nominated by
3 other members, would that have affected your decision to
4 become a member?
5 A If the party on the other end I was in conversation
6 with said your name came from a mailing list, and, by the
7 way, I do have other nominations, it might have affected
8 my decision.
9 Again, when someone tells me my name is off of a
10 mailing list, and we get our list of contacts off of a
11 mailing list, I have on my mind a small sweat shop
12 somewhere with people on the phone randomly dialing
13 numbers, saying would you like to buy this or would you
14 like to buy that? And it turns me off, I am sorry.
15 Q Certainly your telephone number was one you gave to
16 Who's Who Worldwide.
17 A I understand that.
18 Q So it is not a number dialed randomly.
19 A I understand.
20 Q If you were told some names came from mailing lists
21 and others came from other business, would it have made a
22 difference to you? Would you
have joined it? Could you
23 have joined it? 24 A I could have. 25 Q If you were told -- we can take it both ways, but if
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3348 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 you were told you had come from a mailing list, if in fact
2 you did, and some other members came from nominations by
3 other members, would you have joined?
4 A I would have pursued the discussion further to find
5 out why some were taken from nominations and some from
6 mailing lists and made by decision at that point.
7 That's conjectural, I don't know.
8 Q A lot of things you may not have known, Mr. Wheeler,
9 for example, if the mailing lists themselves utilized were
10 selected, would that have affected your determination?
11 Let me withdraw the question. You have a problem
12 with the question?
13 A I don't know. How did
that mailing list get
14 generated? Did it come from income, positions held?
15 Q Let's take mailing lists. Certainly some mailing
16 lists could be from some people who returned an offer from
17 the back of a cereal box?
18 A Correct.
19 Q That's a non-selective mailing list; is that correct?
20 A Yes.
21 Q And some mailing lists look for people with a certain
22 position, such as presidents?
23 A Yes. 24 Q Chief financial officers? 25 A Yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3349 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 Q Names of people with an executive position over a
2 certain level within certain types of organizations.
3 Let's say the mailing lists used were of that
4 type, would that have affected your decision as opposed to
5 people who handed in cereal boxes?
6 A Someone has to tell me what that mai
ling list
7 consists of, again.
8 Q There was a variety of benefits offered with
9 memberships. Is that correct?
10 A I don't recall any discussion of benefits.
11 Q Do you recall being told in the telephone
12 conversation about any software you might be able to use?
13 A No.
14 Q Were you told at some point, whether it be in that
15 telephone conversation or afterwards, about discounts on
16 auto insurance?
17 A No, sir.
18 Q Do you recall ever seeing anything -- withdrawn.
19 I think you mentioned the magazine you received
20 contained advertising or coupons of some sort?
21 A Yes, that's correct, it did.
22 Q Did you see in that magazine various discounts
23 available to members? 24 A I did see that. 25 Q Did you consider availing yourself of any of those?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
3350 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A No, sir, I did not.
2 Q I think you testified you didn't consider getting in
3 touch with any of the members in the directory, because
4 you retired about five months after you became a member;
5 is that correct?
6 A Yes.
7 Q And if you had not retired you might have pursued
8 that; is that correct?
9 A No. I don't believe I can answer that question any
10 other way but no.
11 Q So you would not have done it?
12 A I would not have done it.
13 Q So your previous answer, when you said the reason you
14 didn't pursue it was because you had retired five months
15 afterward, that answer was mistaken in some respects?
16 A No, that answer was correct. I did not pursue it
17 because I retired. If I had not retired I would not have
18 pursued it, because there did not contain in it any of the
19 information t
hat I thought it would.
20 Q Well, what information do you say you thought it
21 contained that it didn't contain?
22 A It contained the names of just anybody and
23 everybody. I was just disappointed. I thought that there 24 would be some distinctive separation between those people 25 in the directory and other people in the business world,
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3351 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 military, whatever it was. And I saw no distinction in
2 looking through it. I did not read every page of every
3 individual.
4 Q When you say it contained everybody and anybody, do
5 you mean to say that -- withdrawn -- was there any type of
6 information that you expected to see in the directory that
7 was not in it? Yes or no, sir?
8 A I would have to say yes.
9 Q Specifically what type of information did you expect
10 to see in it that was not in it?
11 A The type of information of each individual that would
12 indicate their selection and why they were selected for
13 membership.
14 Q Now, in your case you were told that information
15 pertaining to your own selection was confidential?
16 A That is correct.
17 Q And were you told that this confidential that the
18 person speaking to you would not even reveal to you, would
19 be revealed to the whole world through publication?
20 A Let me answer that this way -- you want a yes or no?
21 Q If you can give a yes or no. I think you should be
22 able to.
23 A I can't give a yes or no without explaining it. 24 Q Let me ask you this: Did anybody tell you in so many 25 words that the reasons you were selected or how you came
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3352 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 to be selected would be listed in the book?
2 A No.
3 Q And, in fact, you were told that they couldn't even
4 tell you that over the telephone; is that correct?
5 A They could not give me the reasons why I was
6 selected.
7 Q And yet you still pursued it and bought it; is that
8 correct?
9 A Absolutely. Because they said the selection process
10 would be based on all the things I had done.
11 Q Now, in the military, what was the highest rank you
12 had received?
13 A Lieutenant colonel.
14 Q And in your career in corporate work, what different
15 titles did you hold?
16 A From contract administrator to senior planning
17 specialist. I was a professional administrative type.
18 Q When you said that the book seemed to contain anybody
19 and everybody, did you check through it to see the titles
20 of the different people who we
re in it?
21 A Some.
22 Q And --
23 A Not all. 24 Q Did you notice that there were a large number of 25 people with titles such as president?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3353 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A Yes, I saw some.
2 Q Did you notice there were a lot, a large group of
3 people affiliated with corporations whose names are
4 familiar to you?
5 A I saw some.
6 Q Did you go through the book looking specifically to
7 finds some people whom you thought may not have belonged
8 in the book?
9 A No, I didn't look for anyone in that category.
10 Q When was it that you contacted your various either
11 friends or co-employees or superiors, or people you used
12 to work with to find out whether they had nominated you?
13 At what point did you do that?
14 A After I received the phone call.
15 Q And that was after you had already decided to
16 purchase a membership; is that correct?
17 A That's right.
18 Q Was that before you got the plaque?
19 A Yes.
20 Q And it was before you got the directory?
21 A Even after the plaque also.
22 Q But before you got the directory?
23 A Yes. 24 Q And at that point in time, no one had told you that 25 they had nominated you; is that correct?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3354 Wheeler-cross/Trabulus
1 A That is correct.
2 Q And, nevertheless, you still proceeded to purchase
3 the directory; is that correct?
4 A That is correct.
5 MR. TRABULUS: No further questions.
6
7 CROSS-EXAMINATION
8 BY MR. JENKS:
9 Q Good morning, Mr. Wheeler.
10 My name is Mr. Jenks.
11 Mr. Wheeler, take a look in front of you at
12 Exhibit 15-C. Do you have it? That's the card that
13 Mr. White had asked you about.
14 A All right.
15 Q Do you see the card?
16 A Yes, uh-huh.
17 Q I am not looking at the post mark side, I am looking
18 at the informational side.
19 A I have the right side.
20 Q All right.
21 It does say on there, does it not, that there is
22 no charge or obligation on your part for inclusion in the
23 Registry? 24 A That is correct. 25 Q So, you were aware of that when you received that
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3355 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 telephone call, am I correct?
2 A That is correct, I was aware of it.
3 Q Did the woman or the voice on the phone tell you that
4 there was in fact no charge or obligation on your part for
5 inclusion in the Registry?
6 A I don't recall if I was
told that. But certainly, I
7 was aware of it.
8 Q You were aware of it at the time you received the
9 call; is that correct?
10 A That is correct.
11 Q The reason you received the call is because you sent
12 back this informational card; is that a fair statement?
13 A A fair statement.
14 Q In other words, you weren't just cold called by
15 someone in a little room randomly dialing telephone
16 numbers; is that right?
17 A No, I was not.
18 Q You had received the package first, and instead of
19 reading the package and instead of discarding it, you
20 filled out the cards and provided a telephone number for
21 the person to call; is that correct?
22 A Yes.
23 Q Mr. Trabulus questioned you a lot about the issue of 24 nominations. 25 Did you ever look in the dictionary, Webster's
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT R
EPORTER 3356 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 dictionary, or any dictionary, under the word "nomination"
2 to see what in fact it meant?
3 A I know what it means to me. I don't recall looking
4 the word up in Webster's recently.
5 Q If I told you that Webster's says that nomination
6 means selected, chosen or appointed, would you agree with
7 those definitions of the word "nomination"?
8 A If that's what he says, I would agree.
9 Q Well, let me ask you this: When you think of the
10 word "nomination", you don't think there has to be like
11 500 people at the democratic national convention
12 nominating someone for something, do you?
13 A No. If you are nominated, you can be nominated by
14 one single individual.
15 Q You can be nominated anonymously also; is that
16 correct?
17 A That is correct.
18 Q As you sit here today, would it be a fai
r statement
19 to say that you were not even sure as to whether or not
20 you were anonymously nominated by someone; is that a fair
21 statement?
22 A I was told I could not even find out.
23 Q So, even as you sit here today, you don't know if 24 someone who was a current member, or someone who was a 25 member at another time, or someone whom you worked with
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3357 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 may have anonymously nominated you? Is that a fair
2 statement?
3 A My attempts to find out were fruitless. I could not
4 find out.
5 Q So, you don't know for sure as you sit here as to
6 whether or not your name was actually obtained from any
7 kind of a mailing list or not; is that right?
8 A Where my name came from, I was told it came off of a
9 mailing list. But if it did not come off of a mail
ing
10 list, I don't know where it came from.
11 Q But you have no proof as you sit here that your name
12 in fact actually came from the use of a mailing list; is
13 that correct?
14 A That's correct.
15 Q The way you think your name came off of a mailing
16 list is because the government told you that?
17 A They told me my name came from a mailing list.
18 Q Did they show you the mailing list or anything your
19 name came from that they had in their possession?
20 A No.
21 Q Did you ask to see the mailing lists or the documents
22 that your name came from to get this package in the mail?
23 A No, I didn't ask to see it. 24 Q Would it be a fair statement to say, Mr. Wheeler that 25 your membership became effective sometime, I believe, in
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3358 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 Apri
l of 1993, according to this invoice; is that right?
2 A I believe so.
3 Q And the informational listing in the Registry, given
4 your biographical data was in fact correct?
5 A At the time, yes.
6 Q No errors were made in the publication of the book;
7 is that correct?
8 A I had not seen any errors.
9 Q Would you also agree that whatever the person
10 promised you on the telephone in terms of receiving a
11 plaque, a Registry, and a logo for your car, you did in
12 fact receive those items; am I correct?
13 A I did in fact receive those items.
14 Q And up until the point -- withdrawn.
15 There came a time in June of 1995 that you
16 received a correspondence from the government in the mail;
17 am I right?
18 A No.
19 Q Did you receive a questionnaire from the government
20 in the mail?
21 A I did receive a questionnaire.
2
2 Q Let's take a look at this then and see if it
23 refreshes your recollection as to perhaps when you 24 received the questionnaire. 25 A I thought you were talking about initial contract.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3359 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 Q Is this the questionnaire you received in the mail?
2 A That's my handwriting, yes.
3 MR. JENKS: I am talking about 3500-LW-1.
4 Q You completed this questionnaire sometime in June of
5 1995; is that correct?
6 A Yes.
7 Q And is that the first time you heard from the
8 government in this matter?
9 A No, sir.
10 Q You had heard from them earlier?
11 A Yes, sir.
12 Q Okay.
13 Now, up until the point you had heard from the
14 government, did you file any complaints with Who's Who
15 Worldwide regarding the value of what you say you received
16 in the Registry?
17 A No. I just wrote it off as a bad decision.
18 Q You didn't file any written letters of complaints,
19 did you?
20 A No.
21 Q Did you file any complaints with anyone claiming
22 someone told you that you had been nominated, when in fact
23 you had not been nominated? 24 A No, I did not. 25 Q Did you complain to anyone in New York or Texas
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3360 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 anywhere?
2 A No, sir.
3 Q Orally did you complain to anyone?
4 A Other than to my wife and myself, no.
5 Q Well, the first time that you actually -- would it be
6 fair to say that the first time you actually decided to
7 register or file any formal complain was after you
8 received a letter and a questionnaire from the government
9 right?
10 A No. I received a phone
call initially.
11 Q From the government?
12 A From the government.
13 Q Let's examine that. When was the phone call you
14 received from the government?
15 A Just prior to receiving the questionnaire.
16 Q Do you know who it was that called you?
17 A Yes, the postal inspector.
18 Q Was that Inspector Biegelman or Inspector Pagano, do
19 you know?
20 A Pagano.
21 Q So, it was sometime before June of 1995?
22 A I would assume so.
23 Q Do you recall the content of the conversation? 24 A Nothing other than there was an investigation into 25 Who's Who Worldwide, was I a member, and so forth, and
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3361 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 would I complete a questionnaire and return it?
2 I said, yes, I would.
3 Q Up to that point you had not received the
4 questionnaire;
is that correct?
5 A That's correct.
6 Q But the government, so to speak, had tipped you off
7 that there was an investigation into a company called
8 Who's Who Worldwide; is that right?
9 A That was my first information, yes.
10 Q Did Inspector Pagano tell you that members of Who's
11 Who Worldwide had in fact been arrested?
12 A No, sir.
13 Q When you filled out the questionnaire were you aware
14 that members of Who's Who Worldwide were in fact arrested?
15 A No, sir.
16 Q Were you aware that members were under investigation?
17 A No, sir.
18 Q Let's take a look at -- let's take a look at
19 Government's Exhibit 3500-RR-1, and I am going to ask you
20 to just take a look at this, and just read silently to
21 yourself the little content of 3500-RR-1.
22 (Handed to the witness.)
23 A Apparently, there was a cover letter that I didn't
24 recall. 25 Q Did you get a copy of the cover letter with the
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3362 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 questionnaire?
2 A I don't recall, but I assume I did, identifying that
3 there were proceedings.
4 Q You don't recall that the postal inspectors advised
5 you in a cover letter that they were looking into the
6 activities of a telemarketing mail and telemarketing sales
7 company who does business under the name of Who's Who
8 Worldwide Registry, Inc.?
9 A If that's a copy of the cover letter provided with
10 the questionnaire, I did receive it. I did not get just a
11 blind questionnaire. I don't remember the letter,
12 however.
13 Q But you don't remember receiving this questionnaire;
14 is that correct?
15 A Yes, I --
16 Q I mean this letter, sorry.
17 A No, I didn'
t remember the letter.
18 Q But you did recall reading something when you
19 received the questionnaire that the postal inspectors were
20 looking into the activities of Who's Who Worldwide?
21 A I was obviously alerted when they called me on the
22 telephone.
23 Q Prior to that? 24 A Yes. 25 Q Let me just go through you a few answers you provided
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3363 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 in your questionnaire.
2 Mr. Trabulus, I will not go over it again, spoke
3 to you about the use of mailing lists.
4 Were you told by the company that they did not
5 use mailing lists as a source of prospective members?
6 A I was only told I was nominated.
7 Q But you weren't told specifically that they did not
8 use mailing lists to get members, right?
9 A No.
10 Q And were you ever told by
the representative of the
11 company that a certain percentage of the new applicants
12 were not accepted for inclusion?
13 A No.
14 Q Now, were you ever told by anyone in the company that
15 memberships only become available through attrition of
16 existing members?
17 A No, sir.
18 I only had one contact with the company, and that
19 was the lady who took the information over the phone.
20 Q And that lady never told you about any specific
21 policies or issues concerning you that had been voted on
22 by anybody within the company or any other members,
23 correct? 24 A No. 25 Q Now, you did say that you received everything that
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3364 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 the company had promised you; is that correct?
2 A I did, sir.
3 Q Now, did you use this distinction or th
e recognition
4 of Who's Who Worldwide to place on your business card or
5 letterhead?
6 A No.
7 Q Did you intend to put it on your business card or
8 letterhead?
9 A It had not occurred to me to do so.
10 Q When you sent in the questionnaire, did you tell the
11 government you intended to use it on your business card or
12 letterhead?
13 A No, sir, I did not.
14 Q You did not.
15 You just told us you didn't intend to contact or
16 network with any members, did you not?
17 A No, sir, I did not.
18 Q Do you recall when you sent in the questionnaire you
19 told the government that you in fact did intend to contact
20 or network with any other members?
21 A I can't recall.
22 Q Let's look at 3500-LW-2.
23 (Handed to the witness.) 24 This is Lester Wheeler; is that correct? 25 A Yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT,
CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3365 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 Q And this is part of your Who's Who questionnaire?
2 A That's not my writing. I didn't respond to that.
3 Q You didn't fill this portion out?
4 A No, sir.
5 Q You filled this portion out of the questionnaire?
6 A That's correct.
7 Q These pages; is that correct?
8 A Yes.
9 Q 1 through 6?
10 A 34 questions, yes.
11 Q Were you also telephone interviewed by the
12 government?
13 A Yes, I was.
14 Q Okay.
15 Were you asked a question by a representative of
16 the government as to whether you intended to put it on
17 your resume or on your business card?
18 A If that's the question and the response, that's
19 probably what I said.
20 Q Did you say yes to the government?
21 A I guess I did. I don't recall.
22 Q Were you asked by the govern
ment, were you contacted
23 or intended to network with other members; do you recall 24 being asked that? 25 A No. But if I said yes, I said yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3366 Wheeler-cross/Jenks
1 Q Well, it indicates that you said yes?
2 A I am corrected.
3 Q Do you recall answering yes?
4 A I don't recall answering yes to those because by the
5 time I was contacted I had retired.
6 Q So, your answer is you don't recall saying yes to
7 those questions?
8 A I don't recall saying yes.
9 MR. JENKS: One moment, your Honor.
10 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
11 proceedings.)
12 MR. JENKS: I have no further questions, Judge.
13
14 CROSS-EXAMINATION
15 BY MR. SCHOER:
16 Q Mr. Wheeler, good morning.
17 A Good morning.
18 Q To clarify a couple of t
hings.
19 In addition to filing no complaints, you didn't
20 ask for any refund at any time of Who's Who Worldwide?
21 A I did not.
22 Q And so I am clear, you received a plaque which you
23 were not happy with, right? 24 A That's correct. 25 Q And you had reasonable doubt paid, what was it, $297?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3367 Wheeler-cross/Schoer
1 A At that point, correct.
2 Q And that was what date? Do you remember?
3 A Something like June of '93, if I recall.
4 Q Sometime in January of '93 you received another
5 invoice?
6 A For the subsequent Registry, the book.
7 Q And that was after you had already purchased -- after
8 you had already received the plaque and this medallion for
9 the car; is that right?
10 A That's correct, but at the time --
11 Q Yes or no, that's after you had
already received it?
12 A That's correct.
13 Q Then, did you send a check in for the balance?
14 A No. I made the commitment for the Registry at the
15 time I signed up.
16 Q Mr. Wheeler, I am asking you questions which are
17 pretty easy to answer. Did you send a check in, yes or
18 no?
19 A No.
20 Q Did you make a telephone call into Who's Who
21 Worldwide to authorize them to use your credit card again?
22 A No.
23 Q Did you authorize them to take an additional amount 24 of money out for the directory? 25 A At the initial purchase I did.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3368 Wheeler-cross/Schoer
1 Q So, at the initial purchase you authorized them both
2 to make the initial withdrawal from your credit card, and
3 you also authorized them to take an additional amount out
4 sometime in the fut
ure?
5 A That was the transaction, because the Registry was
6 not available at the time the initial purchase was made.
7 The discussion was we will bill you at the time --
8 Q Mr. Wheeler --
9 A -- we will send it to you.
10 Q Mr. Wheeler, I am asking you questions that you can
11 answer yes or no. Would you please do that?
12 THE COURT: Mr. Wheeler, on cross examination as
13 I have advised every witness so far, and there have been a
14 number of them, if you are going to be asked a yes or no
15 question, and you can't answer yes or no, please say
16 that. That shifts the burden to the questioner to decide
17 what he wants to do. He may say tell us in your own
18 words. I doubt that that is going to happen.
19 If you can't answer the questions yes or no, you
20 don't have to. Say you can't answer the question yes or
21 no.
22 THE WITNESS: Fair, your
Honor. Thank you.
23 Q As far as you know you did not receive a second 24 invoice for the additional payment; is that correct? 25 A No, it is not correct.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3369 Wheeler-cross/Schoer
1 Q Well, did you receive a second payment for the
2 initial payment?
3 A Yes.
4 Q And when you received that second invoice did you
5 make any complaint at that point?
6 A No.
7 Q Did you contact your credit card company and say I
8 don't want to make this -- I don't want to authorize this
9 payment?
10 A No.
11 Q Did you contact your credit card company and say, I
12 would like you to cancel that charge?
13 A No.
14 Q Now, you said that you received a magazine; is that
15 correct?
16 A Correct.
17 Q I will show you what is marked as
18 Defendant's Exhibi
t C, D, G, E and F.
19 (Handed to the witness.)
20 Q Did you ever see any of those magazines?
21 A As I indicated I got one copy. But I don't remember
22 receiving any other additional copies.
23 Q Do you remember which of those four you received? 24 A No, sir, I don't remember any of the ones I received. 25 Q Do you remember any of the people who were profiled
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3370 Wheeler-cross/Schoer
1 in any of the magazines that you saw?
2 A No, sir, I can't. It has been too many years.
3 Q Do you remember the benefits listed in the magazine
4 available to you?
5 A No, sir. I know that there were coupons in there,
6 and for what they were for, I don't know.
7 Q Do you remember any discussion either on the
8 telephone -- well, do you remember any discussion on the
9 telephone concerning a Wh
o's Who Executive Club gold
10 Master Card?
11 A No, sir.
12 Q Do you remember seeing anything about that in the
13 magazines?
14 A No, sir.
15 Q You said you were familiar with Who's Who books; is
16 that correct?
17 A No, sir.
18 Q You were not familiar with Who's Who books?
19 A Not books. I was familiar with Who's Who.
20 Q Well, did you understand Who's Who to be a publisher
21 or many publishers?
22 A I would assume that they are a publisher.
23 Q Did you understand that the word, the concept, the 24 name "Who's Who" is not owned by any one company 25 exclusively?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3371 Wheeler-cross/Schoer
1 A No, sir.
2 Q Do you know that there are hundreds of different
3 Who's Whos?
4 A No, sir.
5 Let me reanswer that. Yes, I know that there a
re
6 different Who's Who.
7 Q Do you know that there are hundreds of Who's Whos?
8 A No. I don't know that there are hundreds.
9 Q Do you know of a publication called Who's Who in
10 Addiction Treatment and Recovery?
11 A No, sir.
12 Q Do you think the people contained in that volume
13 were -- well, do you think some of the people contained in
14 that volume might have been nominated by mailing lists?
15 A No, I don't know how to answer that question.
16 Q Do you know the publication Who's Who Among
17 African Americans?
18 A No, sir, I do not.
19 Q Do you know a publication, Who's Who in Banking in
20 Europe, Who's Who in Beverage Technology? Do you know any
21 of those publications?
22 A No, not any of those publications.
23 Q Who's Who in Knowledge Organization, Who's Who in 24 Landscaping Contracting. Do you have any knowledge of
25 those?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3372 Wheeler-cross/Schoer
1 A No, sir, I do not.
2 Q Have you heard of Who's Who in America?
3 A Yes.
4 Q And that's a Who's Who published by a company called
5 Marquis, correct? Do you know that?
6 A I don't know that.
7 Q When you received the invoice in front of you, on
8 that invoice it says that Who's Who Worldwide is the
9 largest Who's Who membership organization in the world;
10 did you know that?
11 A No, sir.
12 Q Did you respect the book to be larger or smaller than
13 what you received?
14 A I really didn't know what to expect.
15 Q Did you know that Marquis Who's Who, Reed Elsevir now
16 has a Who's Who on line, where you can self nominate?
17 A No, sir, I did not.
18 Q He now has a membership organization where you can
19 nom
inate yourself to be in that group?
20 A No, sir.
21 MR. SCHOER: I have no further questions.
22
23 24 25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3373 Wheeler-cross/Nelson
1 CROSS-EXAMINATION
2 BY MR. NELSON:
3 Q Good morning, Mr. Wheeler.
4 My name is Alan Nelson, how are you today, sir?
5 Mr. Wheeler, I believe you testified that you
6 became aware that your name came from a mailing list based
7 upon the fact that you were apprised of that by the
8 government; is that correct?
9 A That is correct.
10 Q And up to that time it was your belief that you had
11 been nominated in some manner for membership; is that
12 correct?
13 A That is correct.
14 Q Now, when you spoke with the government, you spoke, I
15 believe, you indicated one time on the telephone prior to
16
your receipt of the questionnaire; is that right?
17 A That's correct.
18 Q And then you subsequently filled out a questionnaire
19 that you sent out to the government; is that right?
20 A Yes.
21 Q And am I correct that after you sent out the
22 questionnaire you then spoke with the government further
23 prior to coming here to testify today? 24 A That is correct. 25 Q Now, during the course of your various discussions
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3374 Wheeler-cross/Nelson
1 with the government, were you ever advised of the fact, by
2 either the prosecutor or the postal inspectors, that based
3 upon their investigation the government was aware that
4 Who's Who Worldwide actively solicited members of the
5 organization to have those members nominate other people
6 for inclusion in Who's Who Worldwide?
7 A
I don't recall a discussion on that subject.
8 Q Were you ever apprised by the government that while
9 mailing lists were in fact used by Who's Who Worldwide,
10 there was a selection process which was utilized by the
11 company in the acquisition of the mailing lists that they
12 were using?
13 A I don't recall a discussion of the selection process.
14 Q Did the government ever advise you that they had
15 looked very closely into the manner of the acquisition of
16 the mailing lists by Who's Who Worldwide and they had
17 determined that those mailing lists were broken down based
18 upon the nature of somebody's profession, the amount of
19 income that the person was making, and making sure that
20 those lists were limited in scope to people who earned a
21 certain amount of money, or were in a certain area of
22 expertise? Were you ever apprised of that by the
23 gov
ernment? 24 A No, sir. 25 Q Now, you had indicated that you had received at least
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3375 Wheeler-cross/Nelson
1 one of the magazines, the Tribute Magazines, subsequent to
2 you acquiring your membership in Who's Who Worldwide; is
3 that right?
4 A Right.
5 Q And because of the fact that you would re -- you had
6 retired, and you had already made a determination that the
7 membership wasn't necessarily of value to you, you didn't
8 look all that closely at the magazine; is that correct?
9 A That is correct.
10 Q Okay.
11 I would like to show you what is marked as
12 Gordon-C in evidence, and I would ask you to look at the
13 last page of the magazine.
14 (Handed to the witness.)
15 Q Am I correct that inside of the magazine itself, of
16 which you had received at
least one copy, there actually
17 is a ballot for a member to send an -- to nominate another
18 member for membership into Who's Who Worldwide?
19 A Yes, it is mere.
20 Q But you had not looked very closely through the
21 magazine so you wouldn't be aware as to whether or not
22 such a nomination ballot was actually inside of the Who's
23 Who Tribute Magazine that you yourself had received; is 24 that right? 25 A I was not aware of any nomination form.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3376 Wheeler-cross/Nelson
1 Q I think Mr. Trabulus, other than sitting here today,
2 you said, other than the government telling you you
3 weren't nominated, you have no way to know as to whether
4 you were nominated or weren't nominated; is that correct?
5 A That is correct.
6 Q And as you sit here today you are certainly unaware
7 as to whether or not your name might well have come from a
8 mailing lists, for example, of aerospace engineers, who
9 were in high executive positions, and earning a certain
10 income in the southwestern portion of the United States;
11 is that correct?
12 A That is correct.
13 Q Now, I believe you indicated during the course of
14 your testimony, that when you have the opportunity -- when
15 you had the opportunity to finally look at the Registry,
16 the large bound volume, you weren't particularly satisfied
17 with it, because you saw no distinction inside of it
18 between different people; is that correct?
19 A I did not see anything in there that was honorarium
20 type, or distinguishing between any of the people
21 published in there.
22 Q Would I be correct in stating when you looked through
23 the magazine, the majority of the people, in fact, the
24 vast majority of the people you looked at in the magazine, 25 were listings indicating that they came from high
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3377 Wheeler-cross/Nelson
1 executive positions in the various field or business that
2 they were in?
3 A I wasn't impressed they were in high positions.
4 Q Your problem was that they had -- you had not seen a
5 biographical sketch to exemplify what particular endeavor
6 or accomplished they had had to place them in the
7 publication; is that correct?
8 A That's correct.
9 Q And you indicated that this was the first type of
10 Who's Who publication that you personally acquired; is
11 that correct?
12 A That I personal acquired, that's correct.
13 Q And you indicated you were familiar with Who's Who
14 membership organizations for high school individuals, for
15 col
lege individuals, and for other forms of business
16 endeavors; is that correct?
17 A That is correct.
18 Q Had you ever examined any of those publications
19 before you saw this Who's Who Worldwide?
20 A No, I had not.
21 Q So, you didn't really know exactly what it was to
22 expect when you first saw the publication; is that right?
23 A I had in my mind what I expected, and it was not 24 that. 25 Q So, you had in your mind a certain impression, but
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3378 Wheeler-cross/Nelson
1 you had never actually seen any other publication; is that
2 correct?
3 A That's correct.
4 Q And I believe you also testified that while you
5 thought that there were many different Who's Whos, would I
6 be correct that it was your belief at the time you applied
7 for membership in Who's Who Wor
ldwide that there might
8 have been different categories of a Who's Who publication,
9 they were all made by one company or entity?
10 A I don't know really how to answer that question. Can
11 you ask it another way?
12 Q I will withdraw the question. It was probably
13 phrased poorly.
14 At the time that you first applied to Who's Who
15 Worldwide, for membership in the organization, was it your
16 belief that there was one umbrella entity that marketed
17 various different forms of a Who's Who for different
18 sub-categories, such as high school, college and different
19 forms of profession or business endeavor?
20 A No, I don't believe I ever had the opinion that there
21 was just one Who's Who who did it all.
22 Q And at the time that you first applied for
23 membership, you believed that there were various different 24 entities; is that correct?
25 A I hadn't thought about whether there were other
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3379 Wheeler-cross/Nelson
1 entities, other than to know, you know, that one umbrella
2 Who's Who didn't market or represent all the Who's Who in
3 the United States.
4 Q Do you recall that your first contact with Who's Who
5 Worldwide would have been a letter you received in the
6 mail requesting for you to return the ballot part which
7 you subsequently sent back to the company?
8 A That was the contact.
9 Q And do you recall that the letter itself specifically
10 states at the bottom that this Who's Who Worldwide company
11 is not affiliated with any other form of Who's Who?
12 A Yes.
13 MR. NELSON: Thank you.
14 MR. GEDULDIG: I have one or two questions.
15
16 CROSS-EXAMINATION
17 BY MR. GEDULDIG:
18 Q M
r. Wheeler, you had no plan or intention to file any
19 complaints about your membership in Who's Who Worldwide;
20 is that right?
21 A That's correct.
22 Q You didn't have any plan or complaint to do anything
23 until the government solicited you to do anything; is that 24 correct? 25 A They did not solicit. They only asked me to respond.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3380 Wheeler-cross/Geduldig
1 Q What is a solicitation?
2 A Asking me to do something -- I wasn't forced to
3 respond.
4 Q You were solicited. They didn't put a gun to your
5 head?
6 A No.
7 Q Did they ask you in a telephone interview if you
8 would be willing to come to New York and testify in this
9 case?
10 A Subsequent discussion, yes.
11 Q And prior to that you had no plan to do anything like
12 that; is that ri
ght?
13 A No, that's right.
14 MR. GEDULDIG: I have no other questions.
15 THE COURT: Anybody else?
16 MR. DUNN: Yes, your Honor.
17
18 CROSS-EXAMINATION
19 BY MR. DUNN:
20 Q Good morning, sir. My name is Thomas Dunn.
21 If you were advised that your name was obtained
22 from a high class exclusive mailing list, you may still
23 have accepted the membership, correct? 24 A No, not correct. 25 Q Do you belong to any other organizations?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3381 Wheeler-cross/Dunn
1 A I have, but I do not presently.
2 Q What are some of the organizations that you belong to
3 aside from the one through the military affiliation?
4 A Logistics Engineer Association, National Defense
5 Transportation Association. How many --
6 Q How many do you belong to?
7 A American Le
gion, Veterans of Foreign Wars. Over my
8 life span I belonged to a lot.
9 Q If some of them used mailing lists, would you
10 withdraw from those organizations, yes or no? Yes or no?
11 A Yes.
12 Q If you were aware that the person calling you in
13 response to your written response, if you were aware that
14 the person was calling you from a rather impressive
15 organization, with quality art on the walls, well dressed
16 people calling you, would that change your mind with
17 respect to being called from a sweat shop? Yes or no?
18 A No.
19 Q So, if you could actually see the person calling you
20 on the phone, calling you with valuable art in the
21 background, and a very nice business atmosphere, it would
22 have no impression on you whatsoever; is that correct?
23 A No. 24 Q Now, you said just about everybody and everyone was 25 in that director
y; is that correct?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3382 Wheeler-cross/Dunn
1 A It appeared to be that way.
2 Q Is it fair to say there are over 250 million
3 Americans in this country about?
4 A That's a good member.
5 Q Is it fair to say that 72,000 people are a very, very
6 small percentage of the people in this country; is that
7 correct?
8 A That's correct.
9 Q And would you be impressed by the fact the chairman
10 of the board of Coca-Cola, the president of American
11 Express Bank, the vice chairman of Hilton Hotels
12 Corporation, the president of Genovese drugstores, the
13 president and CEO of the Dannon Company, D A N N O N, the
14 co-chair --
15 THE COURT: You have to go slower, Mr. Dunn.
16 Q The co-chair, Hanna, H A N N A-Barbera,
17 B A R B E R A, Inc., the president and CEO of Litton,<
BR> 18 L I T T O N, Industries, the president and CEO of Good
19 Will Industries, the chairman of the board of the Kellog
20 company, and I can go on and on, sir.
21 That wouldn't impress you one bit; is that
22 correct? Yes or no?
23 A No. 24 Q Those people are just everybody and everyone; is that 25 correct? Yes or no?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3383 Wheeler-cross/Dunn
1 A I can't answer that.
2 Q Sir, you received a mailing to be in a Who's Who, and
3 you responded to it, correct?
4 A Correct.
5 Q That is something you wanted to be included in; is
6 that correct?
7 A Felt honored to be, yes.
8 Q Would you view it to be an honor to be in a Registry
9 and a member of an organization of the leaders that I just
10 mentioned to you, yes or no?
11 A Sir, I would view it to be an honor
to be in there
12 with them if I could pick the phone up with them and call
13 them directly and say I am a member of Who's Who
14 Worldwide, how are you today, and discuss the honorarium.
15 But I couldn't get through the switchboard with that
16 conversation.
17 MR. DUNN: I move to strike as not responsive.
18 THE COURT: Motion granted. Strike the entire
19 answer as not being responsive, the jury is instructed to
20 disregard it.
21 Q You were advised in your phone conversation with
22 Who's Who, sir, were you not, that phone numbers would not
23 be included in this Registry; is that correct? 24 A I do not recall this in the conversation. 25 Q Sir, if you wanted to speak to the chairman of the
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3384 Wheeler-cross/Dunn
1 Coca-Cola company, which is in Atlanta, Georgia, after you
2 retired from the Army and wanted to get into private
3 business, is it fair to say if you wanted to speak to that
4 person you could just call information for Atlanta,
5 Georgia, and get the number for Coca-Cola, yes or no?
6 A Yes, you can.
7 Q You never made any efforts to network with anybody;
8 is that correct?
9 A That is correct.
10 Q Would it be fair to say, sir, that based on your
11 qualifications and accomplishments in your work field,
12 that you believed that you would qualify for a Who's Who
13 organization; is that true? Yes or no?
14 A I did not know until I was contacted.
15 Q Sir, looking within yourself, do you believe that you
16 would qualify for a Who's Who membership in a Who's Who
17 organization based on your complaints?
18 A I think so.
19 MR. DUNN: I have no further questions, your
20 Honor.
21 THE COURT: All ri
ght.
22 We will take a ten-minute recess.
23 Please do not discuss the case. 24 Keep an open mind. 25 Please recess yourselves.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3385 Wheeler-cross/Dunn
1 (Whereupon, at this time the jury leaves the
2 courtroom.)
3
4 (Whereupon, a recess is taken.)
5
6 THE CLERK: Jury entering.
7 THE COURT: Please be seated, members of the
8 jury.
9 You may proceed, Mr. Lee.
10 MR. LEE: I have no questions, your Honor.
11 THE COURT: Pardon?
12 MR. LEE: I have no questions, your Honor.
13
14 CROSS-EXAMINATION
15 BY MR. NEVILLE:
16 Q Hi, Mr. Wheeler. My name is Jim Neville.
17 Do you know Scott Michaelson, Mr. Wheeler?
18 A No, I don't.
19 Q I represent Scott Michaelson in this trial, do you
20 know what kind proceeding this i
s, civil or criminal?
21 A I understand it is criminal.
22 Q You understand Scott Michaelson is on trial for
23 criminal charges? 24 A I do. 25 Q Tell me if I am wrong, but you felt dissatisfied with
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3386 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 your membership after you purchased it; is that right?
2 A Yes.
3 Q And have you ever bought anything in your life and
4 afterward realized you are dissatisfied with it?
5 A Yes.
6 Q Have you ever bought anything from a mail order house
7 and decided you are dissatisfied with it?
8 A Yes.
9 Q Would you then think it would be okay if the
10 individual who spoke to you on the phone and sold you that
11 item that you are dissatisfied with should go to jail for
12 five years?
13 MR. WHITE: Objection, your Honor.
14 THE COURT: Susta
ined.
15 Q Mr. Wheeler, you said earlier you were aware of the
16 other Who's Who publications, and the name Reed Elsevir
17 and Marquis, those names were mentioned to you?
18 A They were mentioned. I wasn't aware of them before,
19 just the term Who's Who, sir.
20 Q There is a company that publishes those books, the
21 Who's Who in America books that you are familiar with; is
22 that right?
23 A I said I wasn't familiar with the books per se. But 24 with the term Who's Who and their various categories. I 25 did not say I was familiar with the publishers.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3387 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 Q Well, would you accept the fact that there is a
2 company called Reed Elsevir which puts out Marquis Who's
3 Who in America?
4 A All right, fine.
5 Q Would you accept that that company is a multin
ational
6 corporation; would you accept that?
7 A Fine.
8 MR. WHITE: Objection.
9 THE COURT: Sustained.
10 Q Sir, one of the other lawyers asked you, I believe
11 Mr. Schoer, if you knew that that company Reed Elsevir,
12 Marquis Who's Who, uses mailing lists.
13 MR. WHITE: Objection.
14 THE COURT: Sustained.
15 Q Did the government tell you in any of your
16 conversations with you, sir, that there had been a civil
17 lawsuit prior to this between Reed Elsevir, Marquis Who's
18 Who, and Mr. Gordon's corporation?
19 A No, sir.
20 Q That there was a trademark infringement lawsuit?
21 A No, sir.
22 Q And did the government ever tell you that the people
23 at Marquis Who's Who had talked to the postal inspectors 24 about Mr. Gordon? 25 MR. WHITE: Objection.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
3388 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 A No, sir.
2 THE COURT: Wait a second, when you see Mr. White
3 getting up, that means he is troubled by the question and
4 he is thinking about making an objection. If he was
5 faster -- he is not as fast as Mr. Neville, you see. Then
6 again, few people could be as fast as Mr. Neville.
7 THE WITNESS: I am afraid I am looking at
8 Mr. Neville.
9 THE COURT: That's who you should be looking at.
10 MR. NEVILLE: You didn't think I would remember
11 it, your Honor?
12 THE COURT: Let me hear the question now.
13 (Whereupon, the court reporter reads the
14 requested material.)
15 THE COURT: Sustained.
16 Members of the jury, by me trying to add a little
17 light touch or levity, which doesn't succeed all the time,
18 doesn't take away from the seriousness here. I just break
19 things up from time to time.
20 Go ahead, Mr. Neville.
21 MR. NEVILLE: Thank you, your Honor.
22 Q Did the government tell you that in this civil
23 lawsuit Reed Elsevir had been successful -- withdrawn. 24 Did the government tell you that Reed Elsevir, 25 Marquis Who's Who considered themselves competitors of
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3389 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 Who's Who Worldwide, the company that you became a member
2 of?
3 MR. WHITE: Objection.
4 THE COURT: Sustained.
5 Q Did the government tell you that Reed Elsevir,
6 Marquis Who's Who sued Who's Who Worldwide and was
7 successful in putting them out of business and having them
8 go bankrupt?
9 MR. WHITE: Objection.
10 THE COURT: Sustained.
11 Desist, Mr. Neville.
12 We had enough Reed Elsevir questions. Next
13 subject.
14 Q How long have y
ou been in New York for this trip?
15 A I arrived last Wednesday, six days.
16 Q On some other business?
17 A No.
18 Q Or specifically for this testimony?
19 A Specifically for this testimony.
20 Q I see.
21 And the government is paying you for that expense
22 to come here; is that right?
23 A Yes, sir. 24 Q Who is taking care of your kids while you are here? 25 A They are at my expense.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3390 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 Q Sir, you said you had never spoken to Scott
2 Michaelson in your life; is that right?
3 A That is correct.
4 Q You said you don't know who he is?
5 A No, sir.
6 Q Do you know who sent you that original solicitation
7 letter in the mail?
8 A No, sir, I don't.
9 Q Do you have any idea if the person who spoke to you
10 on t
he phone sent you the solicitation letter in the mail?
11 A The person I spoke to on the phone was a lady.
12 Q Right.
13 Do you have any idea if she sent you that
14 solicitation letter?
15 A No.
16 Q So, you have no clue at all, no idea at all where
17 that letter came from or who mailed it to you?
18 A In terms of an individual name, I do not.
19 Q Well, would I be fair in saying --
20 A It would be a person who did that, yes.
21 Q And if the person that did that, or the person who
22 had arranged for that was charged with mail fraud, do you
23 feel that that should be the person who should suffer the 24 consequences of committing mail fraud, and not somebody 25 having to do with the mail; is that a fair statement?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3391 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 MR. WHITE: Objection.
2
MR. TRABULUS: Objection.
3 THE COURT: Sustained.
4 MR. NEVILLE: No further questions.
5 THE COURT: Anybody else?
6 (No response.)
7 THE COURT: Any redirect?
8 MR. WHITE: Yes, your Honor.
9
10 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
11 BY MR. WHITE:
12 Q When you arrived in New York last Wednesday, when
13 were you expecting to testify at the trial Schoer
14 objection?
15 THE COURT: Overruled.
16 A I was expecting to testify on Thursday.
17 Q Tell us where you were on Thursday?
18 A Here in the witness room.
19 THE COURT: It is only because I am slow that you
20 didn't get to testify.
21 THE WITNESS: I have enjoyed the food, your
22 Honor.
23 Q Did you come here to New York as some kind of a 24 holiday? 25 A No, I did not come for holiday.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3392
Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 Q Now, the letter that you received initially with that
2 card you returned, do you recall what it said about how
3 your name had been obtained by Who's Who Worldwide?
4 A To the best of my recall the letter indicated that I
5 had been nominated for membership in Who's Who Worldwide.
6 And that's what I remember from that letter.
7 Q Did that play any part in your decision to return the
8 card?
9 A Absolutely. I was interested because of being
10 nominated. So I chose to return the card to pursue the
11 course.
12 Q Now, you were asked by a number of defense attorneys
13 about the fact that you received the plaque and
14 subsequently paid for the directory; do you recall that?
15 A Yes.
16 Q When you received the plaque were you satisfied or
17 dissatisfied with it?
18 A I was dissatisfied.
19 Q So, in light
of that why did you go ahead and pay the
20 remaining balance?
21 A In the initial interview over the telephone which
22 entailed purchasing the plaques or plaque and medallion,
23 the conversation was, would you like to have the register 24 also, and it is not available now, but at publication 25 time, some three, four, five months later, whenever it was
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3393 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 to be, there would be an additional charge of
2 approximately a hundred dollars for that. And I made the
3 commitment for the entire purchase at that time on my
4 credit card. But I was told -- correction, I was told
5 that there would be no charge to my credit card until such
6 time as the book was mailed to me.
7 Q Now, you were asked by Mr. Dunn if your name had come
8 from a, quote, selective, unquote, mailing l
ist, whether
9 or not you would have been interested in a membership, and
10 you said no. Can you explain that for us?
11 A I have a particular fetish, or I am leery of someone
12 telling me they have selected my name from a mailing list,
13 and would I like to buy something. The words "mailing
14 list," and "buy" connotes to me that they are selling
15 something that I really don't want.
16 Q If your name had been obtained from a mailing list of
17 any type, is that a fact that you would have considered or
18 wanted to know in wanting to make your decision to
19 purchase?
20 A Absolutely.
21 Q Now, you said that you did not see in the directory
22 information that indicated how the members were selected
23 or how they were distinguished in some way. Can you tell 24 us what you mean by that? 25 A Well, what I looked for in the directory would be
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3394 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 people, and why they were in there, and those
2 accomplishments that they had achieved in their lifetime,
3 if you will, or in that position in their career. And
4 that it would have been presented in some manner so
5 everybody had a quarter of a page, and this name, and the
6 position, and this is what they have done, some kind of an
7 honor, if you will, for lack of a better word to say what
8 I mean, but honor or recognition of that individual. Not
9 just simply an alphabetical list of names with a bunch of
10 abbreviations after their names as to what they had done.
11 Q Now, do you recall Mr. Dunn read you a list like
12 people like the president of Coca-Cola and as to whether
13 or not you would be impressed if they were in the book.
14 Do you recall that?
15 A Yes,
sir.
16 Q And you said, no. Can you tell us why not?
17 A Well, if you intended to use the book, you would
18 certainly want to be able to use the book to represent
19 yourself as a member also of Who's Who, whatever Who's
20 Who.
21 I do not think that I could represent myself as a
22 member of Who's Who Worldwide with the president of
23 Coca-Cola, because his name is in that directory, because 24 he would not recognize me for being a member of Who's Who. 25 Q Why is it that you drew that conclusion?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3395 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 A The conclusion I drew by looking in the book and
2 seeing how the book was presented, there was nothing
3 honorarium, or nothing to recognize the distinguishing
4 accomplishments of all those people in the book. You just
5 felt after you looked at it, you we
re just another piece
6 of cannon fodder, another name that was listed in there
7 from my position.
8 Q You were also asked by Mr. Jenks what you understood
9 the word "nominee" to mean. Do you recall that?
10 A Yes.
11 Q And Mr. Jenks happily provided us with a definition
12 from Webster; do you recall that?
13 A Yes.
14 Q Tell us what you understand it to mean from your
15 life's experience?
16 A The word "nominate" means to me that some person or
17 some group of persons has looked at you as an individual
18 and said we think that you, that individual, are qualified
19 for this position, this honor, or this job, or whatever.
20 It is not simply a mailing list of people.
21 Q Now, is it correct that prior to the time you
22 received this letter, you had heard the term "nominee"
23 before in your life? 24 A Yes. 25 Q And when you r
eceive letters or other solicitations,
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3396 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 is it your practice to look up the words if you already
2 know them in the dictionary to see what they mean?
3 A No, it is not my practice.
4 Q Do you recall being asked as to what the government
5 told you about nomination ballots and the process of
6 selecting lists, do you recall that?
7 A Yes.
8 Q During your discussions with anyone from the
9 government with respect to this trial, were you told
10 anything about the other aspects of the government's
11 investigation?
12 A No, nothing, no discussions with anyone about that.
13 Q Were you told anything else that the government had
14 discovered as a result of its investigation?
15 A No, I was not.
16 Q You were asked questions about whether you knew as to
17 whether the company solicited nominations from other
18 members at one point in time.
19 A Yes.
20 Q If your name had come from a mailing list and others
21 did as well, would that fact have made a difference to
22 you?
23 A Again, my name coming from a mailing list, makes me 24 very suspicious as to what that purpose is for. 25 Q And would you know whether or not the percentage of
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3397 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 names that came from nomination ballots as opposed to
2 mailing lists was minuscule or large?
3 A No.
4 MR. NELSON: Objection.
5 THE COURT: Let me hear that question.
6 (Whereupon, the court reporter reads the
7 requested material.)
8 THE COURT: Sustained.
9 Q Now, do you recall in response to questions from
10 several attorneys that you didn't s
ee anything
11 distinguishing regarding the members in the book? Do you
12 recall that?
13 A Yes.
14 Q Do you recall being asked about whether you saw
15 people whose titles are president in the book, correct?
16 A Yes.
17 Q And do you know -- do you know when you were
18 reviewing the book, did you know as to whether anyone's
19 title was actually changed from what it was before it
20 actually appeared in the book?
21 A No.
22 Q And if that had happened someone might be listed as a
23 president who was not really; is that right? 24 MR. TRABULUS: Objection, your Honor. 25 MR. NELSON: Objection.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3398 Wheeler-cross/Neville
1 THE COURT: Sustained.
2 Q Now, you were asked a number of questions about the
3 fact that you did not file a complaint from the time you
4 received the directory until when you were contacted by
5 the government, do you remember that?
6 A Yes.
7 Q Tell us why you didn't file any complaint?
8 A Sometimes you make a bad business decision and you
9 were opted to spend money that you would not have wanted
10 to spend, and you say that's it, and you don't want to
11 pursue it any further and let it go.
12 In this particular case, time had elapsed between
13 the time I made the financial commitment to buy what I
14 said I would buy, completed the transaction and forgot
15 about it, and let it go.
16 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, no further questions.
17
18 RECROSS-EXAMINATION
19 BY MR. TRABULUS:
20 Q Mr. Wheeler, I think you told Mr. White that in the
21 book you didn't see the list of accomplishments that you
22 were hoping to see there; is that correct?
23 A Yes. 24 Q And
what were your own particular accomplishments 25 that in your view qualify you to be in a Who's Who type
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3399 Wheeler-recross/Trabulus
1 publication?
2 A I didn't have any knowledge of what those were. I
3 knew what I had done, and it was up to the nomination, who
4 had nominated me, or who was making the selection to make
5 that decision.
6 Q Well, Mr. Dunn had asked you whether or not you
7 regarded yourself as a suitable candidate for Who's Who,
8 and I believe you indicated you were.
9 What did you base that answer on?
10 A The fact that they had called me.
11 Q Anything about what you yourself have accomplished in
12 life, either as a lieutenant colonel in the military or
13 anything else you believe qualifies you to be in Who's
14 Who?
15 A That is up to somebody else to
make that decision.
16 Q When you spoke to the person who telephoned you after
17 you sent in a card, she went over various items of
18 information about yourself; is that correct?
19 A She asked me -- yes.
20 Q And she confirmed that you were in the aerospace
21 business; is that correct?
22 A That is correct.
23 Q And she discussed with you that the product or 24 service would be considered aircraft or electronics; do 25 you recall that?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3400 Wheeler-recross/Trabulus
1 A That was our agreement when we talked.
2 Q That the type of organization for which you worked
3 was a manufacturer of military equipment?
4 A Yes.
5 Q And that the area of distribution of that equipment
6 was international?
7 A Yes.
8 Q She confirmed all of these things with you; is that
9 correct?
10 A That's right.
11 Q And she also confirmed that your expertise was in the
12 management technical area; is that correct?
13 A Yes.
14 Q And that the parent -- the organization for which you
15 worked or the parent organization was Lockheed; is that
16 correct?
17 A Yes.
18 Q And I think you mentioned before General Dynamics,
19 but is it correct that at the time you were interviewed
20 for Who's Who you were working for Lockheed; is that
21 right?
22 A General Dynamics was bought out by Lockheed, yes.
23 The aircraft industry, if you will. 24 Q She asked you about your favorite book or author, and 25 I believe you indicated you had none or something to that
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3401 Wheeler-recross/Trabulus
1 effect?
2 A Yes.
3 Q And your favorite magaz
ine was Business Week, that's
4 the answer you gave?
5 A Yes.
6 Q And your favorite place to take a vacation was
7 England?
8 A Yes.
9 Q And among your hobbies, it was model railroading, and
10 your favorite sport was football; is that correct?
11 A Yes.
12 Q And these are all things one might find useful in
13 striking up a conversation with someone who was also a
14 member, is that correct, if you were communicating with
15 them?
16 A Give you some common interests, that's right.
17 Q Now, this person who interviewed you did not, besides
18 verifying these things, go over any particular list of
19 complaints in your life besides that; is that correct?
20 A She had asked me what positions I had held in the
21 military service.
22 Q Besides that?
23 A No. There were no other discussions. 24 Q Is it your testimony that your
disappointment in 25 seeing the Registry is things such as the various
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3402 Wheeler-recross/Trabulus
1 positions you had in military services were not listed?
2 A No. My disappointment was --
3 Q Yes or no, sir.
4 A Okay, yes.
5 Q That was your disappointment?
6 A That that's all that was in there, yes, that's
7 correct.
8 Q Well, is it your testimony that you were expecting to
9 see in the directory other things besides what you spoke
10 about to the woman who interviewed you in the directory
11 about yourself?
12 A Yes, sir.
13 Q And that's notwithstanding the fact that she in
14 interviewing you took the trouble to verify a bunch of
15 other information and did not mention any of these other
16 things; is that correct?
17 A Since I had been nominated, sir, t
here wasn't any way
18 I could know how much information she had about me other
19 than to respond to her questions.
20 Q Did you ask her specifically what complaints in your
21 life were going to be listed in the book?
22 A When we got into the discussion of my nomination, she
23 said it was selected and she couldn't reveal any other 24 information to me. 25 Q She told you she couldn't reveal or didn't know who
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3403 Wheeler-recross/Trabulus
1 nominated you; is that right?
2 A She could not tell me.
3 Q She could not tell you who nominated you?
4 A That's right.
5 Q Did she tell you she couldn't tell you about things
6 about yourself that would appear in the book?
7 A I didn't discuss with her that.
8 Q When you received the book did you check to see
9 whether other peo
ple within Lockheed were listed in the
10 book?
11 A I looked for names of familiar -- my peers and what
12 not, and did not find them.
13 Q Do you know a Mr. Kenneth Chow, C H O W, at Lockheed,
14 Fort Worth?
15 A No.
16 THE COURT: Who was that?
17 MR. TRABULUS: Chow, C H O W.
18 Q Was the placed you worked at at Lockheed, Fort Worth?
19 A Yes.
20 Q And do you know a Mr. D E Y O, Deyo?
21 A No.
22 Q Did you know a Tony Docken, D O C K E N?
23 A No, sir. 24 Q A Kenneth G U D E N S C H A G E R, Gudenschager? 25 A No, sir.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3404 Wheeler-recross/Trabulus
1 THE COURT: Do you want to pull the microphone
2 closer, please.
3 A No, I did not.
4 Q Lisa Hughes, H U G H E S, first name Lisa at
5 Lockheed?
6 A No, sir.
7 Q A Robe
rt Johnson?
8 A Too common. I don't think so.
9 Q Okay.
10 A Douglas Thompson?
11 A No.
12 Q And a Derrick Wolf?
13 A No, sir.
14 Q If I were to tell you that all those people were
15 listed in the directory and they were all at Lockheed Fort
16 Worth, would it occur to you that it is possible that one
17 or more of them would have had some input into you
18 becoming a member?
19 A Since I don't know them and had no association with
20 them professionally within the company, very unlikely.
21 Q You mentioned it would not have impressed you to see
22 various corporate presidents and so forth in the book; is
23 that correct? 24 A That's correct. 25 Q Would it have impressed you to see the names of other
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3405 Wheeler-recross/Trabulus
1 people who work for
Lockheed in the book? Yes or no, sir?
2 A I can't answer that without amplifying. I can't say
3 yes or no to that question, sir.
4 Q In the course of your work for Lockheed do you
5 sometimes have occasion to have business relations with
6 individuals who worked for other contractors?
7 A Yes.
8 Q Would it have impressed you to see the names of
9 individuals who worked for other contractors with whom you
10 dealt in the book?
11 A If I knew them, yes.
12 Q Well, if you didn't know them would it have impressed
13 you?
14 A No.
15 Q Is it fair to say that there would have been no names
16 that would have impressed you besides your own and those
17 of people you knew?
18 A No, that's not fair.
19 Q Well, what kinds of people would have impressed you
20 besides corporate presidents, people you knew --
21 withdrawn.
22 What kin
d of people would have impressed you
23 besides yourself and people you knew? 24 A Anyone who had their accomplishments listed in that 25 book, as to how their success in their life had been
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3406 Wheeler-recross/Trabulus
1 achieved would have impressed me.
2 Q The accomplishments of the same type that you were
3 not able to identify with regard to yourself as having
4 qualified you for Who's Who; is that correct?
5 A Similar to that, yes, sir.
6 MR. TRABULUS: No further questions.
7 MR. JENKS: I have nothing.
8 MR. SCHOER: I just have a few questions.
9 What exhibit are we up to?
10 (Mr. Schoer confers with Mr. Trabulus.)
11
12 RECROSS-EXAMINATION
13 BY MR. SCHOER:
14 Q Mr. Wheeler, I believe one of my co-counsel asked you
15 as to whether you purchased anythin
g from a catalogue; is
16 that correct?
17 A Yes.
18 Q You said you did?
19 A Yes.
20 Q How did you get the catalogue?
21 A Through the mail.
22 Q Did you think when you got the catalogue through the
23 mail that your name had not come from a mailing list? 24 A I knew that it had. 25 Q So your phobia about purchasing something that had
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3407 Wheeler-recross/Schoer
1 come from someone who got your name off of a mailing list,
2 sometimes that's a phobia and sometimes it isn't; is that
3 right?
4 MR. WHITE: Objection.
5 THE COURT: Sustained.
6 Q Now, I am going to show you what is marked as
7 Defendant's Exhibit U for Identification, and I will ask
8 you whether you received a welcome letter like that when
9 you first signed on as a member of Who's Who.
10 (Handed to the witness.)
11 A If I did, I do not recall, sir. I may have. I do
12 not recall.
13 Q Did you receive any literature that indicated to you
14 when you received the invoice that what was on the invoice
15 was what would appear in the Registry?
16 A May I look at the invoice?
17 Q Sure.
18 A There are categories on the invoice, but that does
19 not indicate to me that that would be in the directory.
20 These are simply the answer to the questions asked on the
21 telephone interview.
22 Q On the bottom of the invoice it says please correct
23 any errors on the gold remittance copy and return with 24 your payment; is that correct? 25 A The payment had already been made, but, yes, it says
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3408 Wheeler-recross/Schoer
1 that.
2 Q And you received two cop
ies of the invoice, right?
3 You received a gold copy to make corrections?
4 A If you say so. I don't recall receiving it.
5 Q Do you remember?
6 A No, I don't remember getting two copies.
7 Q And based on your testimony, you went to college; is
8 that right?
9 A Yes, I did.
10 Q And you received a degree?
11 A Yes, I did.
12 Q When you received an invoice and it says university
13 degree and it says not applicable, did you make any
14 change?
15 A No.
16 Q Is there anywhere on that invoice that indicates any
17 other information which would be listed in the directory
18 other than the information obtained during the interview
19 with you?
20 A There is no other information on this that I did not
21 give verbally to the telephone interview.
22 Q Did you have any basis to expect anything but that
23 information to be in the
directory? 24 A I didn't know what information the individual 25 interviewing me had.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3409 Wheeler-recross/Schoer
1 Q You had no basis for believing that there would be
2 additional information in the directory that was not
3 contained on that invoice, did you?
4 A Other than the fact that I was nominated and what was
5 on the nomination.
6 Q You had no basis in fact for believing that there
7 would be any additional information in the directory?
8 A Yes, that's correct.
9 Q It is fair to say with respect to this entire
10 transaction as you look back at it, you didn't ask a lot
11 of questions, right?
12 A I had no reason to ask any questions.
13 MR. SCHOER: I have no further questions.
14 THE COURT: Anything else?
15
16 RECROSS-EXAMINATION
17 BY MR.
DUNN:
18 Q Good afternoon, Mr. Wheeler.
19 A Good afternoon.
20 Q Is it fair to stay from time to time, Mr. Wheeler,
21 you get phone calls from people to your home trying to
22 sell you things?
23 A I have an unlisted number, sir. 24 Q Has it happened ever that people called your home? 25 A From a computer dialed number, yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3410 Wheeler-recross/Dunn
1 Q Ever have the phone company calling you up asking
2 about service and things like that?
3 A Yes.
4 Q Ever buy anything over the phone? Ever change your
5 phone service over the phone because of a call you
6 received?
7 A No, not a phone service.
8 Q Ever purchase anything from someone soliciting you
9 over the phone?
10 A I have to answer yes to that.
11 Q Is it fair to say you have gotten a number o
f calls
12 from people at different times when they didn't tell you
13 they got your name from a mailing list, but you knew that
14 they did?
15 A Yes.
16 Q And you do that based on your experience and your
17 know how; is that correct? Is that fair to say?
18 A Fair to say.
19 Q Now, is it fair to say that it seems that one of the
20 things that you take objection with is the fact in the
21 Registry, that it doesn't state how people attained their
22 positions in life; is that fair?
23 A Yes, one of the things, yes. 24 Q That was something you were looking for, you think? 25 A Yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3411 Wheeler-recross/Dunn
1 Q And before you got the Registry, you received a
2 Tribute Magazine; is that correct?
3 A I don't remember exactly when the Tribute -- the copy
4 I reca
ll getting came, either after the register or before
5 it.
6 Q And did you skim through the Tribute Magazine at all?
7 A That's about what I did.
8 Q If I told you that in the Tribute magazine concerning
9 a member, a particular member named Robert Slattery, it
10 states Robert Slattery's climb up the shoe business ladder
11 came after several distinguished careers. Born in 1933 he
12 lost his father to an accident when he was five and began
13 working at the age of ten to help support his mother and
14 sister. He later graduated from the Massachusetts
15 Maritime Academy, became a licensed master mariner for
16 U.S. Steel --
17 THE COURT: You have to slow down.
18 MR. DUNN: Sorry. And sailing around the world.
19 Then became a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy on a destroyer
20 in the Pacific.
21 Would that have any affect on you?
22 A It is a biographica
l sketch of that individual's
23 life, yes. 24 Q That would impress you? 25 A Somewhat, yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3412 Wheeler-recross/Dunn
1 Q And would it surprise you to learn that in numerous
2 articles in the Tribute Magazine, one of which at least
3 that you remember getting, members were profiled basically
4 setting forth things they overcame and how they got to the
5 places where they ended up in this register -- in this
6 Registry? Would that surprise you?
7 A No.
8 Q Would it impress you?
9 A Reading about them, sure.
10 Q And you would have learned more about people in the
11 course; is that correct?
12 A Yes.
13 Q And you didn't take time to look at those articles,
14 did you?
15 A No. I was already disappointed.
16 Q You didn't give it a chance when you saw th
e
17 magazines; is that correct? Is that correct?
18 A I don't know what give it a chance means.
19 Q Did you take and make any effort to learn about how
20 these people got to where they were?
21 A Of those that might be in that magazine, no.
22 MR. DUNN: I have no further questions, your
23 Honor. 24 25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3413 Wheeler-recross/Lee
1 RECROSS-EXAMINATION
2 BY MR. LEE:
3 Q Good afternoon, Mr. Wheeler.
4 You stated you had been or you were presently a
5 member of certain professional organizations; is that
6 true?
7 A That's correct.
8 Q I believe you stated one of them was Logistics
9 Engineers?
10 A Yes.
11 Q Are you still a member of that?
12 A No, I am not.
13 Q Now, did you pay a membership fee to be a member?
14 A A
s I recall we did, yes.
15 Q For your membership fee did you receive a listing or
16 Registry, anything like that?
17 A No.
18 Q They didn't provide --
19 A We got a list of the members in the chapter.
20 Q They didn't provide you with a Registry?
21 A Not a national register, no.
22 Q Did they offer you as part of their -- a CD-ROM that
23 could be used? 24 A No. 25 Q As part of membership benefits did they offer you any
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3414 Wheeler-recross/Lee
1 sort of discounts on perhaps of mailing ability, credit
2 card?
3 A No, sir.
4 Q Any sort of benefits like that?
5 A No, sir.
6 Q You are also a member of National Transportation?
7 A Yes.
8 Q You stated you are a member of many organizations; is
9 that correct?
10 A Over my lifetime, yes.<
BR> 11 Q That you paid membership dues to?
12 A Yes, sir.
13 Q By the way, did the National Transportation group
14 provide you with a Registry?
15 A Not a national registry, no.
16 Q Any discounts benefits?
17 A Not that I recall, no, sir.
18 Q Did you place these organizations in your resume?
19 A When I was making resumes, yes, as a member --
20 Q You didn't -- I am sorry, I interrupted you.
21 A Whenever I made a resume and it called for that, I
22 placed it in there if it called for it, yes.
23 Q You did utilize them to add to your credentials on 24 your resume; is that correct? 25 A Yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3415 Wheeler-recross/Lee
1 Q And I believe you stated that that had been one of
2 your intentions when you purchased a membership here; is
3 that correct? Yes or no?
4 A It indicates I answered yes to a verbal phone call,
5 yes.
6 MR. LEE: I have no further questions.
7 THE COURT: Anybody else?
8 MR. WHITE: I do, your Honor.
9 THE COURT: How much do you have?
10 MR. WHITE: Two minutes, three minutes.
11 THE COURT: Go ahead.
12
13 FURTHER REDIRECT EXAMINATION
14 BY MR. WHITE:
15 Q Mr. Wheeler, do you get catalogues, merchandise, mail
16 order catalogues in your home?
17 A Yes, I do.
18 Q Tell us briefly what you get?
19 A LL Bean, Landmark --
20 Q That's good enough. Let's take LL Bean. Ever
21 brought anything from LL Bean?
22 A I do, quite regular.
23 Q Tell us what you bought from LL Bean? 24 A Two rugby shirts. 25 Q Did you by the rugby shirts because you felt there
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3416 Wheeler-redirect/White
1 was value or utility to you?
2 A I bought them because I liked their color and they
3 were on sale.
4 Q Tell me, did how LL Bean got your name affect your
5 decision as to whether or not those would be valuable to
6 you?
7 A No.
8 Q Did LL Bean ever tell you when you got a catalogue
9 that you had been nominated to receive their catalogue?
10 A No.
11 Q Now, you were asked about what other information you
12 had expected to be in the directory besides what you told
13 the telephone salesperson. Do you recall that?
14 A Yes.
15 Q Did you expect that the person who had nominated you
16 had provided other things to Who's Who Worldwide?
17 A I had.
18 Q Did you think that that might also be in your profile
19 in the book?
20 A Either -- well, yes, I did, to be honest.
21 Q You believed there was additional information from
22 the nominator besides what you gave to them?
23 A There had to be information for the basis of the 24 nomination given and I assumed that would be included. 25 Q Mr. Schoer asked you if it was true that you didn't
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3417 Wheeler-redirect/White
1 ask a lot of questions as to these transactions; is that
2 right?
3 A Yes.
4 Q You said you felt you had no reason to ask questions?
5 A I didn't feel insecure.
6 Q Why is it that you didn't have reason to ask
7 questions?
8 A Well, I was led to believe that I was nominated, and
9 I was a -- and that it was a selective process, and they
10 couldn't tell me who it was that had nominated me, and I
11 was -- I felt quite good, quite honored and quite pleased
12 that someone had taken this opportunity to do this.
13 Q Did you believ
e what you were told on the phone?
14 A I believed what I was told on the phone.
15 MR. WHITE: No further questions.
16 THE COURT: Anybody have anything more?
17 MR. TRABULUS: One question from here.
18
19 FURTHER RECROSS-EXAMINATION
20 BY MR. TRABULUS:
21 Q Is it also correct that you yourself could not think
22 of why you were nominated?
23 A I didn't ask myself that question, yes. 24 MR. TRABULUS: No further questions. 25 THE COURT: Anything else?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3418 Wheeler-redirect/Trabulus
1 MR. DUNN: One question, if I may.
2
3 FURTHER RECROSS EXAMINATION
4 BY MR. DUNN:
5 Q Is it fair to say if you learned that all of Who's
6 Who publications in the world simply set forth what would
7 be in this Registry and not how the person got to the
8 position, y
ou would be dissatisfied with those also; is
9 that correct?
10 A I would be disappointed.
11 Q And you would be dissatisfied; is that right?
12 A Yes.
13 THE COURT: You will be excused, you don't have
14 to come back when we do after lunch.
15 Ladies and gentlemen, you will be recessed for
16 lunch until 1:35. And that will give you precisely one
17 hour.
18 Do not discuss the case.
19
20 (Luncheon Recess.)
21
22
23 24 25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3419 Wheeler-redirect/Dunn
1 A F T E R N O O N S E S S I O N
2
3 THE CLERK: Jury entering.
4 (Whereupon, the jury at this time entered the
5 courtroom.)
6 THE COURT: Please be seated, members of the
7 jury.
8 You may proceed.
9 MS. SCOTT: Thank you, your Honor.
1
0 The government calls Shawna Henderson.
11 THE CLERK: Please raise your right hand.
12
13 S H A W N A H E N D E R S O N ,
14 called as a witness, having been first
15 duly sworn, was examined and testified
16 as follows:
17
18 THE CLERK: Please spell your name and spell your
19 last name for the record slowly. Shawna Henderson,
20 H E N D E R S O N.
21 THE COURT: How about your first name?
22 THE WITNESS: Sir?
23 THE COURT: How do you spell your first name? 24 THE WITNESS: S H A W N A, Shawna. 25 THE COURT: Have a seat.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3420 Wheeler-redirect/Dunn
1 You may proceed.
2 MR. SCHOER: Your Honor, may we approach with
3 respect to this witness?
4 THE COURT: Come up.
5
6 (Whereupon, at this time the following took place
7 at the sid
ebar.)
8 MR. SCHOER: Your Honor, I know you made a ruling
9 last Thursday with respect to this type of witness. This
10 is another one of the people who received a letter, dear
11 Ms. Ass.
12 THE COURT: Dear what?
13 MR. SCHOER: Dear Ms. Ass, A S S.
14 I thought about it over the weekend after your
15 Honor's ruling.
16 I would ask your Honor to preclude any more
17 witnesses such as this. None of the defendants are
18 claiming that there were no mailing lists. It is not in
19 issue in this case.
20 THE COURT: I didn't get that.
21 MR. SCHOER: That is not in issue in this case.
22 THE COURT: What is that?
23 MR. SCHOER: As to whether or not mailing lists 24 were used. We are not denying mailing lists were used. 25 THE COURT: I didn't know that. When did you say
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3421
Wheeler-redirect/Dunn
1 that?
2 MR. JENKS: I guess the tone of the
3 cross-examination selects that perhaps highly selective
4 mailing lists were used by the company.
5 THE COURT: This is the first time I heard that
6 the defendants are conceding that they are mailing lists
7 used. I never heard that before.
8 MR. TRABULUS: I conceded it in my opening
9 statements.
10 MR. GEDULDIG: We are not conceding that the
11 salespeople -- as far as my client is concerned, I am
12 willing to concede that mailing lists were used. However,
13 at the time she was making her sales pitches, so-called, I
14 don't believe she was aware of the fact that there were
15 mailing lists used. It is not a question of proving to us
16 that mailing lists were used. But I think it is incumbent
17 upon Mr. White to show that Ms. Haley and some of the
18 other people knew th
at mailing lists were used.
19 THE COURT: Of course that's their burden. Why
20 are we discussing it? It has nothing to do with this
21 witness. I don't want you to make such concessions. I
22 want you to think about it. Mr. Neville is not going to
23 concede that, no how. 24 MR. LEE: Nor Mr. Lee, your Honor. 25 MR. SCHOER: You guys --
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3422 Wheeler-redirect/Dunn
1 MR. LEE: That they knew.
2 MR. SCHOER: All right.
3 The point is that these are people --
4 THE COURT: Who are these?
5 MR. SCHOER: These people who received this kind
6 of a letter.
7 THE COURT: Can I see this letter, please?
8 (Handed to the Court.)
9 THE COURT: What is the purpose of this?
10 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, we didn't intend to put
11 in this letter in light of your Honor's ruling from last<
BR> 12 week.
13 THE COURT: What is the nature of this witness'
14 testimony? Is she a customer?
15 MR. WHITE: She received a letter like the woman
16 from last Thursday, that was misaddressed to her. The
17 misaddressing was the same as the other witness. The
18 other witness said dear Ms. Ass, A S S.
19 I should say to the extent it makes a difference,
20 this is the last witness we have that says that.
21 THE COURT: What is the purpose of that?
22 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, the purpose of that is
23 the same as it was with the other witnesses. 24 THE COURT: It is now cumulative. There is no 25 reason -- this is not part of your case really.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3423 Wheeler-redirect/Dunn
1 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, I think it is, and for
2 this reason: Their defense, as I understood it was pretty
3
obvious from the cross-examination of the prior witness,
4 that the mailing lists they use are highly selective, and
5 the difference between that and a nomination is not one
6 that is very material.
7 THE COURT: You are going to prove that through
8 this witness?
9 MR. WHITE: Yes.
10 THE COURT: Leave out the A S S.
11 MR. WHITE: Her testimony is I received this
12 letter, and that's the way it was addressed to me.
13 THE COURT: I don't get it, it is probably me,
14 but I don't get it.
15 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, you ruled just on
16 Thursday, that the testimony which was somewhat like what
17 this woman was saying was relevant.
18 THE COURT: Where did I rule that?
19 MR. WHITE: At the end of the day yesterday when
20 the defense objected to that.
21 THE COURT: You mean on Thursday?
22 I don't have that transcript.
23 MR. WHITE: If th
e concern is cumulativeness, the 24 witness will be five minutes, she would be almost finished 25 now.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3424 Wheeler-redirect/Dunn
1 THE COURT: What was the reason I let this in,
2 Ms. A S S, tell me the purpose of it.
3 MR. WHITE: As I understood your Honor's ruling,
4 it went to the quality of the mailing list that they
5 used. It sort of vividly demonstrated more so than a
6 document would that fact. And that is while they claim
7 the lists are selective, they are getting sent to
8 non-existent people.
9 THE COURT: To show that it wasn't selective
10 mailing lists.
11 MR. WHITE: That's correct.
12 THE COURT: Is this the last witness in that
13 regard?
14 MR. WHITE: Yes, there is.
15 MR. TRABULUS: The fact that there is a
16 typographical error doesn't indicat
e anything as to the
17 selectivity of the mailing list.
18 THE COURT: It could or could not. Overruled. I
19 will allow it.
20 MR. SCHOER: The other point is that none of
21 these people were defrauded, because they didn't make any
22 purchase. So there is really no relevancy here.
23 THE COURT: Mr. Schoer, isn't it one of the 24 defenses or arguments by the defendants in this case that 25 even if there were no nominations, although you say there
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3425 Wheeler-redirect/Dunn
1 were some nominations, but in addition to that that the
2 mailing lists were selected mailing lists? Is that a
3 defense?
4 MR. SCHOER: Yes. That's what they are going to
5 prove from their own witnesses.
6 THE COURT: Overruled. I will allow it. One
7 last one.
8 MR. WHITE: The last one we have, Ju
dge.
9
10 (Whereupon, at this time the following takes
11 place in open court.)
12
13 DIRECT EXAMINATION
14 BY MS. SCOTT:
15 Q Good afternoon, Ms. Henderson.
16 Can you tell us where you live?
17 A Yes. I live in Boykins, Virginia, B O Y K I N S.
18 Q Do you have any children?
19 A Yes, I am, I do, I have twins, a boy and a girl.
20 Q How old are your children?
21 A 14.
22 Q Can you also tell us what you do for a living?
23 A Yes. I am the secretary senior to the assistant 24 warden of the Southampton Correctional Center. 25 THE COURT: You are the secretary senior?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3426 Henderson-direct/Scott
1 THE WITNESS: Yes, to the assistant warden for
2 programs.
3 THE COURT: This is a state institute?
4 THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.
5 Q That i
s a state correctional institute; is that
6 right?
7 A Yes.
8 Q And how long have you held that job?
9 A I have been with the Department of Corrections for
10 ten years. I have held my current position for seven.
11 Q What are your responsibilities as the secretary
12 senior?
13 A My main job duty is to coordinate the higher security
14 ICC, which is a committee, something like a court of law
15 within the correctional facility for inmates who incur
16 infractions.
17 Q Now, have you ever heard of a company called Sterling
18 Who's Who?
19 A Yes, I have.
20 Q How did you first come into contact with that
21 company?
22 A Four years ago I received -- I was solicited with
23 some material from this company, advising me that I had 24 been selected as a candidate. 25 Q And can you tell us what that letter said to you?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3427 Henderson-direct/Scott
1 A Yes.
2 I remember the letter specifically because the
3 name was addressed incorrectly. My first name was
4 correct. But the last name was incorrect.
5 In the contents of the letter it indicated I was
6 selection for inclusion into Who's Who. It also indicated
7 other information was needed as all candidates were not
8 selected.
9 Q Now, you mentioned that this letter was addressed
10 incorrectly.
11 Can you tell us how it was addressed?
12 A Yes. It was written Ms. Shawna H. Ass, last name
13 Ass.
14 Q Ms. Henderson, had you received other solicitations
15 similar to this?
16 A Yes. That year I received a lot of various
17 solicitations to seminars, with the last name Ass. It was
18 a kind of joke around the institution. I don't know how
19 it happened, but it did. Then I received something from
20 Sterling Who's Who one day with the same thing.
21 Q Now, can you tell us what you did upon receiving this
22 letter?
23 A Well, I was immediately disturbed. I have been 24 around for 36 years, but I never encountered someone with 25 that last name.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3428 Henderson-direct/Scott
1 My immediate concern was, how can I be selected
2 with a last name like that. I was a little taken back.
3 And I was offended also. And I wrote a letter of
4 complaint to the company.
5 MS. SCOTT: Thank you. I have no further
6 questions.
7 THE COURT: Cross-examination.
8 MR. TRABULUS: I have no questions.
9 THE COURT: Anybody?
10 MR. DUNN: Can you hold on for one moment,
11 please?
12 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pa
use in the
13 proceedings.)
14 MR. DUNN: I have a couple, your Honor.
15
16 CROSS-EXAMINATION
17 BY MR. DUNN:
18 Q Good afternoon.
19 My name is Thomas Dunn.
20 Did you say you got letters from different
21 companies like this quite often?
22 A Yes. It started in late '93 and then in through '94,
23 yes, sir. 24 Q You did get more than one? 25 A Yes, sir.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3429 Henderson-cross/Dunn
1 Q More than ten times?
2 A At least ten times.
3 Q And you don't know as you sit there now who was the
4 first company to send this to you?
5 A Goodness, it was a seminar -- it was a management
6 seminar. It has been so long I cannot remember. It
7 happened a long time.
8 Q And your initial outrage was at that letter, correct?
9 A No. It was --
10 Q Yes or no.
11 A No.
12 Q You received a number of letters over a period of
13 time, correct?
14 A Correct.
15 Q And concerning each seminar, this had no effect on
16 you, you were never outraged, yes or no?
17 A Yes, yes. I did quite -- I did write one company
18 telling them it was incorrect prior to receiving Sterling
19 Who's Who's, yes.
20 MR. DUNN: No further questions.
21 THE COURT: Anybody else?
22 Anything else, Ms. Scott?
23 MS. SCOTT: Nothing further. 24 THE COURT: You may step down. 25 Please call your next witness.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3430 Henderson-cross/Dunn
1 (Whereupon, at this time the witness left the
2 witness stand.)
3 MR. WHITE: The government calls Ronald
4 Behrmann.
5 THE COURT: Do you want to step up, please.
6 Raise y
our right hand.
7
8 R O N A L D H. B E H R M A N N ,
9 called as a witness, having been first
10 duly sworn, was examined and testified
11 as follows:
12
13 THE COURT: Please be seated.
14 State your full name and spell your last name.
15 THE WITNESS: My name is Ronald H. Behrmann. The
16 last name is spelled, B E H R M A N N.
17
18 DIRECT EXAMINATION
19 BY MS. SCOTT:
20 Q Mr. Behrmann, there is some water behind you if you
21 need that.
22 A Okay.
23 Q Good afternoon. 24 Can you tell us where you live? 25 A Seattle, Washington.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3431 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Q And can you tell us what you do for a living?
2 A I am a marine management consultant.
3 Q And how long have you been a marine management
4 consultant?
5 A Since 1987.
6 Q What company do you work for?
7 A Myself.
8 Q And how long have you been doing this job?
9 A Since 1987.
10 Q I am sorry.
11 What does your job involve?
12 A I work with the marine industry in the ship building
13 section.
14 Q What do you do in that capacity?
15 A Project management.
16 Q What did you do before you started this business?
17 A I worked for Lockheed ship building for 25 years.
18 Q Now, have you ever been contacted by a company called
19 Who's Who Worldwide?
20 A Yes, I was.
21 Q Did you eventually purchase a membership from them?
22 A I did.
23 Q Can you tell us approximately when you were first 24 contacted by the company? 25 A It was in June of 1993.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3432 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Q And how were y
ou first contacted?
2 A I was initially contacted by letter.
3 Q Do you remember what that letter said?
4 A It initially said I was nominated and accepted by the
5 board of governors to be included in the Who's Who
6 Worldwide Registry.
7 Q Now, I am going to show you Government's Exhibit 44-E
8 for Identification.
9 (Handed to the witness.)
10 Q Do you recognize that?
11 A Yes, I do.
12 Q What is that?
13 A The initial letter I received from Who's Who
14 Worldwide.
15 MS. SCOTT: I offer Government's Exhibit 44-E.
16 THE COURT: Any objection?
17 MR. TRABULUS: May I have a voir dire?
18 THE COURT: Surely.
19
20 VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION
21 BY MR. TRABULUS:
22 Q Good afternoon, Mr. Behrmann.
23 I think you testified the first letter you got 24 said that you were nominated by the board of governors; is
2
5 that correct?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3433 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 A Either board of governors, or the other group that
2 was board of public affairs.
3 Q This letter says board of public affairs; is that
4 correct?
5 A Yes.
6 Q Is the term -- withdrawn.
7 Did you see -- withdrawn.
8 Is the term board of governors familiar to you in
9 organizations you deal with?
10 A The term "board of governors" was related to me at a
11 later date in a telephone conversation.
12 MR. TRABULUS: I see. No further questions.
13 MR. JENKS: Judge, one question?
14 THE COURT: Surely.
15
16 VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION
17 BY MR. JENKS:
18 Q This letter talks about an office of public affairs
19 as well as a board of public affairs?
20 A Yes.
21 Q Particularly directing your attention
to the fourth
22 paragraph of the letter.
23 A Yes. 24 Q It says office of public affairs; is that correct? 25 A Yes, it does.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3434 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 MR. JENKS: No objection.
2 THE COURT: Government's Exhibit 44-E, for Easy,
3 in evidence.
4 (Government's Exhibit 44-E received in evidence.)
5
6 DIRECT EXAMINATION (cont'd)
7 BY MS. SCOTT:
8 Q Mr. Behrmann, can you tell us the date on that
9 letter?
10 A The date on this letter is June 28th, 1993.
11 Q And can you please read aloud for the jury the first
12 three paragraphs of that letter?
13 THE COURT: Take it easy for a minute, will you?
14 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
15 proceedings.)
16 THE COURT: What is the question now?
17 MS. SCOTT: I was asking Mr. Be
hrmann to read
18 aloud the first three paragraphs of the letter.
19 THE COURT: Go ahead. Slowly, please.
20 A Dear Mr. Behrmann.
21 You were recently nominated for possible
22 inclusion in the Who's Who Registry of global business
23 leaders. 24 We are pleased to inform you that on June 24th, 25 the office of public affairs accepted your nomination for
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3435 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 the Who's Who Registry of global business leaders.
2 Since the majority of new candidates who are
3 nominated are not approved, we wish to extend our
4 congratulations for this coveted event on behalf of the
5 board of public affairs.
6 MS. SCOTT: Your Honor, may I publish 44-E?
7 THE COURT: Yes.
8 (Whereupon, the exhibit/exhibits were published
9 to the jury.)
10 Q Mr. Behrmann, was
anything enclosed with that letter
11 when you received it?
12 A As I recall there was a small form to be sent in.
13 Q What did you do with that form?
14 A I returned it. Filled it out and returned it.
15 Q What happened after that?
16 A Very shortly after receiving this letter I got a
17 phone call from a Mr. Carl Roper.
18 THE COURT: Who?
19 THE WITNESS: Carl Roper.
20 THE COURT: Roper?
21 THE WITNESS: R O P E R.
22 THE COURT: R O P E R?
23 THE WITNESS: Yes. 24 Q How many times did you speak to Mr. Roper? 25 A In '93 or --
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3436 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Q To the best of your recollection in all, how many
2 times did you speak to him?
3 A Numerous times. I can't recall the number of times.
4 It was over ten.
5 Q Can you tell us what he told y
ou about Who's Who and
6 the memberships?
7 MR. NELSON: Objection.
8 THE COURT: What ground?
9 MR. NELSON: May we approach for a moment, your
10 Honor?
11 THE COURT: Yes.
12
13 (Whereupon, at this time the following took place
14 at the sidebar.)
15 MR. NELSON: Your Honor, it is my understanding
16 that the basis upon which the statements made by the
17 employees had been admitted in evidence had been by the
18 vicarious admissions of employees made by the company.
19 In view of the questionnaire made by this
20 individual on page 7, it states, and I will show it to the
21 Court, states that the individual had spoken to another
22 representative of the company who advised that the fellow
23 who he spoke to, Mr. Roper was fired by the company by 24 making unauthorized representations during the course of 25 telephone conversations.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3437 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 I submit if that was the case the statements
2 would be outside the scope as being authorized as part of
3 his employment, and, therefore, would not be vicarious
4 admissions and would not be admissible against the
5 corporation.
6 THE COURT: Am I correct that Carl Roper was in
7 fact a salesperson in the company?
8 MR. NELSON: I believe so. I don't know that for
9 a fact.
10 THE COURT: You don't know that. Was he? You
11 don't know it either?
12 MR. NELSON: He is not a charged defendant.
13 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, I believe he was. There
14 is not a document in evidence that has his name on it.
15 MS. SCOTT: It might be on the invoice.
16 THE COURT: Is it on the invoice?
17 MS. SCOTT: I will check it.
18 THE COURT: Is the government
prepared to prove
19 that he was an employee of the company? Is it true that
20 he was fired for saying unauthorized things?
21 MR. WHITE: I don't know that he was. All
22 Mr. Nelson is referring to when Mr. Behrmann called up and
23 complained about Mr. Roper's conduct he was told that that 24 was the case. We have found out that people were 25 frequently told that that was not true, namely the
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3438 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 salesperson you complained about, he was fired, when in
2 fact he wasn't.
3 THE COURT: Do you have any evidence that Carl
4 Roper was an employee of the company?
5 MR. WHITE: Yes.
6 THE COURT: If you don't have evidence than we
7 start off --
8 MR. WHITE: We do. This is the issue we
9 discussed last week, which is from the facts and
10 circumstances
you can conclude that Carl Roper was an
11 employee there. Namely, this gentleman returns a card to
12 Who's Who Worldwide. It is shortly followed up with a
13 telephone call from Carl Roper identifying himself as from
14 Who's Who Worldwide. It is -- this fellow, this witness
15 sends in the cards, and he purchases, the membership, and
16 it is followed up by the plaque, your Honor.
17 It is similar to the Pappas case cited last week,
18 where the guy under all the facts and circumstances, the
19 guy shows up with a bucket of salt and a shovel to clear
20 off the icy patch where someone just fell down.
21 Even if the person is not identified by name, but
22 the Second Circuit case said if the facts and
23 circumstances indicated he was a corporate employee at the 24 time and this was within the scope of his employment, it 25 is sufficient for corporate admission.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3439 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 MR. NELSON: Here it is different. Here we have
2 a representation made by the witness, at least in the
3 statements made, that the individual was acting outside
4 the scope of his employment at the time that he made the
5 representations being made.
6 The government pursuant to 104-A of the Federal
7 Rules of evidence, will have to demonstrate by vicarious
8 admission to be admissible --
9 THE COURT: Excuse me.
10 What you have -- I don't know what you have in
11 your hand. Is that a statement made by this witness?
12 MR. NELSON: Correct, your Honor.
13 THE COURT: You can bring out, and the government
14 may bring it out, that he then called Mr. Roper, and he
15 was told -- who told him that?
16 MR. NELSON: The statement indicates that
17 Ms. Walsh advi
sed Mr. Behrmann that Mr. Roper had been
18 discharged from employment.
19 I am speaking from 3500-RB-1-7, to identify the
20 record.
21 THE COURT: And he was discharged for making
22 unauthorized statements?
23 MR. NELSON: Yes. 24 MR. WHITE: Mr. Nelson is confusing two different 25 things.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3440 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Just because it is unauthorized doesn't mean it
2 is not within the scope of his employment. It is Black
3 Letter Law that it doesn't have to be authority to make
4 damaging admissions. If a corporate employee does
5 something that is even contrary to the express
6 instructions of his superiors, even if it is contrary to
7 corporate policy it doesn't mean that it is contrary or
8 outside his employment.
9 The Pappas case says it has to be related to a
10 matter within his employment.
11 Here, Mr. Roper is a salesman, and what he says
12 to the customers, is related to the scope of the
13 employment.
14 THE COURT: In addition, we don't know if in fact
15 he was making statements outside the scope of his
16 employment. The fact that someone told him this, who told
17 him this? You don't know.
18 MR. NELSON: There is a representation from
19 Mr. Walsh.
20 THE COURT: I will allow it. Overruled.
21 MR. LEE: Judge, this statement is different from
22 the prior statements because this is not a
23 co-conspirator. You have been instructing the jury that 24 the statement was admissible against the corporation and 25 the person who made the statements.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3441 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 In this case here the person is not anyone who is<
BR> 2 a defendant or a co-conspirator, so I would ask they be
3 instructed that this is only admissible as against the
4 corporation.
5 MR. WHITE: At this point at a minimum it is a
6 corporate admission.
7 THE COURT: Which corporation was it, Sterling?
8 MR. WHITE: No, Worldwide.
9 THE COURT: All right.
10 MR. WHITE: I think we are getting to the point,
11 your Honor, where there is sufficient evidence where
12 pretty soon your Honor will be able to conclude by a
13 preponderance that there is a conspiracy, and some of
14 these things we have just admitted as corporate admissions
15 can be considered by the jury as co-conspirator
16 statements.
17 THE COURT: I don't know that I am there.
18 MR. WHITE: We are getting to the point shortly.
19 THE COURT: I am getting nowhere. You will have
20 to get us to that point.
21 MR. WHITE: All rig
ht.
22
23 24 25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3442 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 (Whereupon, at this time the following takes
2 place in open court.)
3 THE COURT: Members of the jury, this evidence is
4 admitted against Who's Who Worldwide Registry only.
5 You may proceed.
6 MS. SCOTT: Thank you.
7 Q Mr. Behrmann, can you tell us what Mr. Roper told you
8 about Who's Who Worldwide and the memberships, in your
9 conversation with them?
10 A He essentially reiterated what is in the letter, and
11 he volunteered that less than five percent of the people
12 who were nominated were accepted.
13 He also indicated the strict standards used in
14 the evaluation and in the acceptance.
15 Q Did he tell you anything else that you recall?
16 A He initially talked about the price of the
17 memberships. The initial one he tried to sell to me was a
18 lifetime membership. And I don't recall, I think it was
19 $495. And I told him I was not interested in a long term
20 commitment. He mentioned a five year program. And I told
21 him I was not interested in that.
22 THE COURT: Bring the microphone a little closer,
23 Mr. Behrmann. 24 THE WITNESS: He told me there was an 25 introductory offer of $190, a three year membership. And
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3443 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 that's the one we talked about.
2 He at that point indicated all the items that
3 were going to be included in the price of $190.
4 Q And what items were those?
5 A The three year membership, the plaque, inclusion in
6 the Worldwide Registry, a seal, a publication, a quarterly
7 publication of some sort, and also a p
eriodic information
8 regarding seminars and conferences.
9 Q Are you able to recall anything else that Mr. Roper
10 told you in your conversations?
11 A He indicated the selection process was through one of
12 my peers who nominated me. I was curious about that and I
13 asked him who that may be, and he wouldn't tell me.
14 Q Are you able to remember anything more about that,
15 Mr. Behrmann?
16 A I do recall after that still being curious about the
17 nomination, I asked several of my peers if they nominated
18 me. They said no.
19 I asked them if they knew who Who's Who Worldwide
20 was, and they said they never heard of them.
21 Q I will show you what is marked as
22 Government's Exhibit 3500-RB-1, and ask you if this
23 document refreshes your recollection about some of the 24 things said to you -- 25 MR. TRABULUS: Objection.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3444 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 THE COURT: What ground?
2 MR. JENKS: He didn't say, your Honor, that his
3 recollection should be refreshed.
4 THE COURT: Because I will not let the prosecutor
5 ask legal questions, because you would object and properly
6 so, and if there is something else, and his recollection
7 can be refreshed, I am going to allow the government to do
8 it. It is either done by a leading question, which you
9 would object to, and properly so, or by refreshing the
10 recollection.
11 Overruled.
12 (Handed to the witness.)
13 THE COURT: In fact, it is exactly what I told
14 the prosecutor to do after the objections were raised
15 previously.
16 MR. LEE: Your Honor, may I enter the objection
17 that there is a distinction here that these are his own
18 notes as oppos
ed to something else that might be
19 refreshing his recollection.
20 THE COURT: They could show him the ticket to the
21 Nagano Olympics in the snow. If that refreshes his
22 recollection, fine, he can do it. Or they can show him
23 the keys to the Bremerton naval shipyard. Is that where 24 you work, sir? 25 THE WITNESS: Close to it.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3445 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 THE COURT: Still there?
2 THE WITNESS: Yes.
3 Q Mr. Behrmann, does that document refresh your
4 recollection as to things that Mr. Roper said to you?
5 A Yes. I previously mentioned the fact of the less
6 than 95 percent acceptance, and the standard of
7 achievements; and that the board of governors conducted
8 individual evaluation. It was something he mentioned
9 before.
10 The only other thing I could recall
is I asked
11 him if my name had been derived from a mailing list. And
12 he said, absolutely not.
13 Q Can you tell us what was the most important thing
14 that he said to you that led you to purchase this
15 membership?
16 A Well, the most important thing throughout is the fact
17 that I had been nominated. He emphasized the nomination
18 by one of my peers, and to be included in the Registry.
19 Q And why was that so important?
20 A Well, at the time, with the limited amount of
21 acceptances, and what he portrayed to be a prestigious
22 organization, it sounded good to me.
23 Q Why was it that it sounded good to you? 24 A He mentioned the networking capabilities, the fact 25 that it would be included in this nice leather bound
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3446 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Registry, which I
have never seen. Those are the things
2 he indicated to me at the time.
3 Q How did you hope to use the membership?
4 A I was initially thinking about the networking
5 capabilities, the fact that your name was included and you
6 possibly could be hooked up with some people in your own
7 field.
8 Q And how did your perception that you would be
9 nominated relate to the network potential of this
10 membership?
11 A The fact that I had been nominated?
12 Q Yes.
13 A The fact that all of the folks, as far as he
14 indicated it was less than five percent, had all gone,
15 according to him, the same rigorous process of acceptance,
16 I felt pretty good about that.
17 Q And why is that?
18 A Because it would indicate to me that the people who
19 weren't nominated and accepted, they would all be on the
20 same playing field.
21 Q Now, if in
fact your name had been obtained from a
22 mailing list rather than from the name of another member,
23 would that have affected your decision to purchase? 24 A Yes. 25 Q How would it have affected your decision?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3447 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 A I wouldn't have purchased the membership.
2 Q How is that?
3 A Anybody can get a mailing list, and you can tailor it
4 to anything you want.
5 Q Now, why would you not have wanted this membership if
6 the names had been obtained from a mailing list?
7 A It wouldn't have meant a thing. If you are talking
8 about being nominated by one of your peers and a mailing
9 list, that's like night and day.
10 Q Would you have been able to use the membership if the
11 names had been obtained from mailing lists?
12 A Absolutely not.
13 Q Now,
how much did you pay for this membership?
14 A I paid $190 and that was to be all inclusive.
15 Q Where did you get the idea it was to be all
16 inclusive?
17 A He specifically told me $190 was to be the full
18 price, membership, and all the other amenities mentioned.
19 Q How did you pay for the membership?
20 A An American Express card.
21 Q How did you give your credit card number to Who's Who
22 Worldwide?
23 A I gave it to Mr. Roper. 24 Q I am showing you Government's Exhibit 44-A, which is 25 in evidence.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3448 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Can you tell us what that is?
2 A An invoice from Who's Who for $190.
3 Q Is that the invoice they sent you for your purchase?
4 A Yes, it was.
5 MS. SCOTT: I offer Government's Exhibit -- never
6 mind, it is already in evi
dence.
7 Q Can you tell us the amount expressed there on the
8 invoice?
9 A The unit price is $190, and on the right hand of that
10 it says extension 190, and then underneath that is a stamp
11 that said paid.
12 Q What is the date on the invoice?
13 A 7/26/93.
14 Q And, Mr. Behrmann, you mentioned you spoke with
15 people to ask them whether they had nominated you?
16 A I did.
17 Q Can you tell us about that?
18 MR. JENKS: Objection.
19 THE COURT: Sustained.
20 Q Can you tell us who you asked?
21 A I asked one of the project managers on the site at
22 Portland, Oregon, where I was at the time.
23 Q What did you ask him? 24 A I asked specifically, or told him that I received the 25 notification that I had been nominated to Who's Who
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3449 Behrmann-direct/Sc
ott
1 Worldwide, and I wanted to know who the nominee was, and
2 asked if he was it. And he said no.
3 Q Did you ask anybody else?
4 A I asked one of the other fellows, one of the other
5 managers that I thought might have been the person who
6 nominated me.
7 Q Were you able to learn who nominated you?
8 A No.
9 Q Now, did you receive a plaque?
10 A I did.
11 Q And what was your reaction to the plaque?
12 A It was a plastic plaque with some brass on it, and
13 that was the extent of it.
14 Q Did you receive a directory?
15 A No, I did not.
16 Q What else did you receive?
17 A A copy of the Tribute, or Tribute, whatever it was,
18 after complaining none of the amenities they mentioned, so
19 in '95, I received the spring version of '94.
20 Q And that's Tribute Magazine?
21 A Yes.
22 Q And did you receive any a
dditional bills?
23 A Quite a few invoices. 24 Q What were those invoices for? 25 A The invoices were for $97 for the Registry.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3450 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Q If you can flip over the document in front of you, I
2 would have you look at Government's Exhibit 44-B; 44-B in
3 evidence.
4 Can you tell us what that is?
5 A One of the invoices I received.
6 Q Can you read aloud to us what that invoice says.
7 A The invoice, the top line has a reference number. It
8 says 7/26/93, quantity, one 3-year membership, split
9 billing, amount received, $197. It says the balance is
10 zero. Underneath that there is a line that says 11/12/93,
11 quantity one, final payment, amount received, zero. And
12 then the balance $101.75.
13 Q Turning back to Government's Exhibit 44-A, could you
14 please read the information at the bottom of the page in
15 the black square.
16 A By membership reference and for your convenience, the
17 membership amount is split bill. The first payment as
18 shown is due now. Your custom wall plaque will be shipped
19 within two weeks of receipt of payment. The final payment
20 of $97 is due in December when the Who's Who Registry is
21 released. Your membership privileges is already
22 activated. You may use your Who's Who Worldwide as a
23 credit reference. 24 Q Do you remember seeing that language when you 25 received that invoice?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3451 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 A No, I did not.
2 Q When you received the invoice, was it before or after
3 you made the purchase of this membership?
4 A It was after.
5 MS. SCOTT: Your Honor, I believe the
re is some
6 confusion about whether these documents are actually in
7 evidence. I believe they are. But just for
8 clarification, I do offer them.
9 THE COURT: Offer what documents?
10 MS. SCOTT: 44-A and 44-B.
11 THE COURT: Any objection?
12 MR. TRABULUS: No.
13 THE COURT: Government's Exhibits 44-A for Abel
14 and 44-B for Baker, in evidence.
15 (Government's Exhibit 44-A received in evidence.)
16 (Government's Exhibit 44-B received in evidence.)
17 Q Now, Mr. Behrmann, in your conversations with Carl
18 Roper, did he ever mention to you that there would be this
19 additional payment for the book?
20 A Absolutely not. He was very emphatic about the $190,
21 total payment.
22 Q Now, what did you do when you received this second
23 bill? 24 A I immediately called Who's Who Worldwide. And I 25 asked to talk to Mr. Roper. I was told
by a fellow named
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3452 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Brian Sherman that he was no longer with the firm.
2 I asked to talk to a supervisor. And he put me
3 in touch with a lady named Tina Walsh.
4 Q Did you have conversations with Tina Walsh?
5 A I did. And I related to her the fact that Mr. Roper
6 had made this oral contract with me back in June of '93.
7 And I was now receiving invoices for an additional $97,
8 and I had no intention of paying that. I wanted the
9 Registry as promised for the $190.
10 Q What did Ms. Walsh tell you?
11 A She told me he didn't have the authorization to do
12 that, and I wouldn't get a Registry unless I sent the $97.
13 I said, well, I am not sending the $97.
14 Q So, what happened after that?
15 A Well, at that same conversation I asked to talk to
16
her boss, because I wanted the refund for the $190 back.
17 I said I will send your plaque back and you give me the
18 $190 back.
19 She said, we can't do that.
20 I said, why not?
21 She said the company policy is we don't refund
22 disgruntled or dissatisfied members.
23 I said, that's nice. I said, let me talk to your 24 boss. 25 Q What did she tell you when you asked to speak to her
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3453 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 boss?
2 A She then related that he wasn't there.
3 I said, well, I need to talk to him.
4 She said, well, he is the owner and he will
5 return your call whenever he can.
6 And right away the light came on that this was
7 not a membership-owned organization, like I had been told.
8 Q Who told you it was a membership owned organization?
9 A Carl Roper.
10 Q Now, after you had the series of conversations with
11 Tina Walsh, what happened?
12 A I repeated called for weeks and months to try to get
13 reimbursed for the $190. But I continued to receive
14 invoices in the meantime.
15 Q And those invoices are for the Registry; is that
16 correct?
17 A That's correct.
18 Q Did you see this charge anywhere else?
19 A Pardon?
20 Q Did you receive any other type of bill for this
21 Registry?
22 A Just the standard invoices and letters saying that
23 final payment was due, and those type of things. 24 This is after I already told her I wasn't going 25 to send any money for the register.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3454 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 Q After that point in your contacts with Who's Who
2 Worldwide what happened with respect to this bill?<
BR> 3 A In June of 1994 there was an unauthorized withdrawal
4 from my American Express account for $97.
5 Q How did you learn about that?
6 A I didn't pick up on it immediately. At the end of
7 the year when I was going through the business expenses I
8 picked it up. And I immediately called.
9 Q I am showing you Government's Exhibit 44-D for
10 Identification.
11 (Handed to the witness.)
12 Q Can you tell us what that is?
13 A That's an American Express statement.
14 Q Is that your American Express statement?
15 A Yes, it is.
16 MS. SCOTT: I offer Government's Exhibit 44-D.
17 THE COURT: Any objection?
18 MR. TRABULUS: Yes, as to the handwritten
19 material on it.
20 THE COURT: Is there handwritten material on it?
21 MS. SCOTT: Yes, there is.
22 THE COURT: Do you want to redact that material?
23 (Handed to the Court.)
24 THE COURT: Are you redacting the material? 25 MS. SCOTT: We hadn't planned to, your Honor.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3455 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 THE COURT: You better plan to.
2 Q Mr. Behrmann, whose handwriting is it on that
3 document?
4 A It is my handwriting.
5 MS. SCOTT: May we offer it unredacted.
6 THE COURT: Unredacted?
7 MS. SCOTT: Yes.
8 THE COURT: Why would that be? His handwriting
9 is hearsay, isn't it?
10 MR. WHITE: Fine.
11 THE COURT: You are redacting it?
12 MS. SCOTT: Yes. We will redact it, your Honor.
13 THE COURT: Any objection?
14 MR. TRABULUS: No.
15 THE COURT: Government's Exhibit 44-D for Dog, to
16 be redacted, and in evidence.
17 (Government's Exhibit 44-D received in evidence.)
18 Q What did you do when you saw this charge to your Amex
19 card?
20 A I called Who's Who Worldwide and I was referred to
21 another number that I wasn't familiar with. It was a
22 finance or accounting firm.
23 Q What happened when you were referred there? 24 A I talked to a young lady named Kelly. She said that 25 that obviously must have been a mistake.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3456 Behrmann-direct/Scott
1 . I said, I don't see how that can be a mistake.
2 She said send me the copy of the American Express
3 billing, and we will reimburse you.
4 I did. I faxed it to her with a note.
5 Q Did you receive a refund?
6 A This was in June of 1995.
7 I received a refund finally in November.
8 Q And what were you refunded?
9 A The entire amount, $101.75.
10 Q Were you contacted again by Who's Who Worldwide after
11 that?
12 A No.
13 MS. S
COTT: No further questions.
14 THE COURT: Cross-examination.
15 MR. TRABULUS: Thank you.
16
17 CROSS-EXAMINATION
18 BY MR. TRABULUS:
19 Q Mr. Behrmann, I think you indicated you spoke to this
20 Carl Roper approximately ten times?
21 A Approximately.
22 Q Was that all within a short period of time after you
23 first decided to purchase a membership? 24 A Yes, within a couple of months, yes. 25 Q And is it correct that you purchased a membership in
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3457 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 your first conversation with Mr. Roper?
2 A No, that's not right.
3 Q How many conversations were there with Mr. Roper
4 before you purchased a membership?
5 A There were several.
6 Q And did you purchase the membership in the last
7 conversation you had with Mr. Roper?
8 A I don't recall.
9 Q Did you have any -- withdrawn.
10 Do you recall whether or not you had any
11 conversations with Mr. Roper after you purchased the
12 membership?
13 A No, I do not.
14 Q Is it possible that the ten conversations you had
15 were all well before you purchased the membership, except
16 for the last one?
17 A That was from the time that I initially was contacted
18 until the time I received the billing, was about a month's
19 time. I don't recall if I talked to him after that.
20 Q Is it correct that up until the time you purchased
21 the membership, Mr. Roper was the only individual at Who's
22 Who that you spoke to?
23 A Yes. 24 Q Now, do you recall having any conversation with 25 Mr. Roper, after you received the bill, which is
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3458 Behrmann-cross/Tra
bulus
1 Exhibit 44-A, the invoice?
2 Do you have 44-A in front of you?
3 A Yes.
4 Q After getting that did you speak with Mr. Roper at
5 all?
6 A No, I did not.
7 Q When you received that bill, did you read it at all?
8 A The only thing I looked at, I looked at the paid
9 stamp. I looked at the top. It said 190, 190, and I
10 filed it.
11 Q And I think you indicated earlier on that Mr. Roper
12 told you all the items included in the $190, was the three
13 year membership, the plaque, inclusion in the registry, a
14 seal, a quarterly publication, and periodic information
15 concerning seminars and conferences?
16 A I said the Registry and inclusion.
17 Q The first time you answered the question as to what
18 Mr. Roper told you, did you say that the Registry itself
19 was included?
20 A If I did not say that, that's what he indic
ated to
21 me.
22 Q Later on when you spoke with Ms. Walsh, did she tell
23 you that Mr. Roper had been fired specifically because he 24 had misled people into thinking that the Registry was 25 included?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3459 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 A No, she did not.
2 Q Is it fair to say you called Who's Who Worldwide and
3 spoke to a supervisor, Tina Walsh?
4 A I did that.
5 Q And did you relate your conversation to her and the
6 promises made by Mr. Roper regarding a total cost of $190?
7 A Yes, I did.
8 Q And did Ms. Walsh tell you the $101.75 additional
9 invoices you received was for the Registry?
10 A She did. She indicated that to me.
11 Q You told her that Mr. Walsh -- excuse me, that
12 Mr. Roper had told you that the Registry was included for
13 the $190?
14 A That I did.
15 Q And did she then tell you that Mr. Roper was not
16 authorized to say that and he should have told you about
17 the final payment?
18 A She did tell me that.
19 Q Did she tell you that that is why he was no longer
20 with Who's Who Worldwide?
21 A She did not say that.
22 Q Well, do you recall that when you responded to a
23 questionnaire which was sent to you by the postal 24 inspectors, you put on an attachment that was on your own 25 letterhead? And I am going to show you part of what has
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3460 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 been marked as 3500-RB-1.
2 (Handed to the witness.)
3 Q You have the original before you, I will direct you
4 to that portion there. Does that refresh your
5 recollection that Ms. Walsh explained to you that that is
6 why he was
no longer with Who's Who Worldwide?
7 A That's what I said.
8 Q Okay.
9 So, after -- is it fair to say that Ms. Walsh
10 told you the reason he was no longer with Who's Who
11 Worldwide is because he didn't tell you or tell people
12 about the final payment?
13 A Although indicated was the fact that he was no longer
14 with the firm and he should not have made those promises.
15 Q Well, you wrote down in your notes something about
16 that was why he was no longer with Who's Who Worldwide; is
17 that correct?
18 A You want me to read what it says?
19 Q No.
20 Let me ask you: Did you write down the following
21 words in that letter, quote, that is why he was no longer
22 with Who's Who, close quote? Did you write that down?
23 A That's part of what I wrote, yes. 24 Q And in writing that part, were you writing down 25 something that Tina Walsh
told you or something you told
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3461 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 Tina Walsh?
2 A It is certainly not something I would have told
3 Ms. Walsh.
4 Q So, it is something Ms. Walsh told you that you wrote
5 down; is that correct, sir?
6 A Yes.
7 Q You did ultimately get a refund of the $101.75; is
8 that correct?
9 A After I turned it over to American Express. I
10 couldn't myself get the money. So I turned it over to
11 American Express, and they eventually did, yes.
12 Q Did you not tell me you spoke to someone named Kelly?
13 A I did, yes.
14 Q And that was somebody you had been directed to by
15 Who's Who Worldwide?
16 A Tina Walsh.
17 Q After speaking to Kelly you got a refund, some months
18 later?
19 A After speaking to Kelly who assured me I would get
20 the refund immediately, I waited a month, and after that I
21 was able to contact someone at American Express and they
22 were able to eventually extract $101.75.
23 Q Do you know if American Express extracted it or 24 simply gave you the refund? 25 A They were authorized to credit my account.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3462 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 Q Did anyone explain to you at about the point in time
2 you spoke to Kelly, sometime during the summer of 1995,
3 Who's Who had essentially been put out of business?
4 A No.
5 Q Did anyone explain to you that that could delay you
6 getting a refund?
7 A No.
8 Q Now, during the same month you received the statement
9 for the $101.75, did you also receive other charges that
10 you cancelled from other sources?
11 A From Sears.
12 Q Did yo
u receive a charge from the food and wine
13 cookbook series, the best of food and wine, which you
14 cancelled?
15 A Yes.
16 Q Is that something you had ordered through a telephone
17 solicitation?
18 A Something that I did not order.
19 Q It just came to you and you cancelled it?
20 A It just came to me and I cancelled it.
21 Q You didn't sign anything for it?
22 A I did not sign anything.
23 Q Also the cook and wine food book, chicken collection, 24 something you signed for and did not order? 25 A It is from the same people.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3463 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 Q Did you actually receive those items?
2 A And returned.
3 Q Did you also get a credit from Road Runner Sports
4 Athletic Shoes and Sports the same month?
5 A I did.
6 Q Something you didn't order
or something
7 unsatisfactory?
8 A Unsatisfactory.
9 Q And that month you had nine charges; isn't that
10 correct? If you look at your statement?
11 A I don't have the billing.
12 MR. TRABULUS: Do you have 44-D?
13 MS. SCOTT: It is up there.
14 THE COURT: I think it is here.
15 Q I am showing you 44-D. It is not redacted yet, but
16 you can look at it.
17 In that month you received nine -- you had nine
18 Amex charges; is that correct, sir?
19 A Yes.
20 Q And of those nine, four of them resulted in refunds,
21 credits or cancellations?
22 A That is correct.
23 Q And you never got the directory; is that correct? 24 A Yes. 25 Q Because you never wanted it; is that correct?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3464 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 A The only thing I received was the plaqu
e.
2 Q Now, you never received the directory; is that
3 correct?
4 A I never received the directory.
5 Q Did anybody speak to you about a CD-ROM in any of
6 your conversations?
7 A The CD-ROM was indicated on several of the billings.
8 Q Were you charged for CD-ROM?
9 A I was not.
10 Q Were you offered the CD-ROM?
11 A If I recall, the billing said if you choose to take
12 the CD-ROM, pay the total amount of $180, or whatever it
13 was, and if you choose not to, just deduct it.
14 Q You say the CD-ROM was indicated on several of the
15 billings. I take it that it was not indicate on either of
16 the two billings you have before you, which is 44-A or
17 44-B; is that correct?
18 A That's correct.
19 Q So, is it correct to say that you received additional
20 billings which are not in front of you at this point in
21 time?
22
A Yes.
23 Q And they offered you a CD-ROM for some amount of 24 money; is that correct? 25 A Yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3465 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 Q And did they refer at all to the additional charge
2 for the Registry?
3 A I don't recall.
4 Q Did you make any telephone calls to Who's Who after
5 receiving those billings, the additional billings?
6 A Yes.
7 Q Now, at the time you first heard about the CD-ROM,
8 had you at that point already received the additional
9 billing for the Registry, the $97 billing?
10 A I already received several.
11 Q Did you consider that the CD-ROM might have been of
12 use to you in networking?
13 A No.
14 Q Did anyone explain to you, Mr. Roper or anyone else
15 explain to you the value that the CD-ROM might have in
16 enabling you to acce
ss other members?
17 A No, he did not explain that. He only explained the
18 packages that were available that were inclusive with the
19 CD-ROM.
20 Q Is it fair to say that by the time you learned that
21 there was going to be an additional charge of $97 or 101
22 plus, if you include the tax, you had lost interest in the
23 possibility of networking? 24 A No, that is not true. 25 Q Well, did you consider paying the money and getting
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3466 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 the book in order to network, as you indicated was your
2 original intent?
3 A No, absolutely not.
4 Q Because you were not told about the $101.75?
5 A I was not told about the $101.
6 Q When you -- after you spoke to Tina Walsh, did you go
7 back and look at your invoice, 44-A and see the reference
8 of spli
t billing in the original charge of $97?
9 A I did.
10 Q Was that the first time you ever noticed that?
11 A The first time I ever noticed it.
12 Q Did it occur to you at that time that an organization
13 who would send out an invoice right away after a purchase
14 that mentions that was not trying to deceive you in any
15 relation with respect to that?
16 A As I previously testified, I looked at the billing
17 and it said $190, and that's what I contracted for, and it
18 said paid. And that's all I was concerned with.
19 Q And it said split billing next to it with an
20 asterisk?
21 A I had no idea what split billing meant.
22 Q The largest type on the paper other than the words,
23 the logo Who's Who, and the words shipped to and billed to 24 talks about the extra $97, does it? 25 A It does.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPO
RTER 3467 Behrmann-cross/Trabulus
1 Q Take a look at it. And the words, total due, that's
2 a little bit larger.
3 A You are talking about 44-A?
4 Q Talking about the part that is white lettering
5 against black print at the bottom.
6 A I have already testified that I did not see that and
7 did not look at that until sometime later.
8 Q As you look at it now, that language being white
9 lettering against black ground is conspicuous?
10 A Conspicuous, but had no meaning to me. Absolutely no
11 meaning.
12 Q Would you say it is conspicuous at this point in
13 time?
14 A Conspicuous it is.
15 Q It is?
16 (No answer.)
17 THE COURT: You have to answer the question.
18 A Yes.
19 MR. TRABULUS: Thank you, Mr. Behrmann. No
20 further questions.
21
22 CROSS-EXAMINATION
23 BY MR. JENKS:
2
4 Q Mr. Behrmann, in fact, not only would you say that it 25 is conspicuous in Exhibit 44-A, but it does say there, am
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3468 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 I correct, important information? Do you see that in that
2 bottom portion?
3 A It does say that.
4 Q In fact, you are Ronald H. Behrmann, president of
5 Marine Management Consultants, 393 Southwest 76th Place in
6 Washington; is that correct?
7 A Yes.
8 Q And is it fair to say that you received that probably
9 a few days after July 26th, 1993; is that correct?
10 A Probably, yes.
11 Q And besides listing under details in the middle of
12 44-A, it says split billing there, am I correct?
13 A It says split billing.
14 Q And it also has all your biographical data
15 information on that bill; is that correct, on that
16 invoice?
17 A It has some biographical information, yes.
18 Q Did you see your biographical information on the
19 invoice when you received the invoice?
20 A I didn't notice it.
21 Q You didn't notice it. So obviously you didn't read
22 the invoice carefully after you received it; is that
23 correct? 24 A As I stated, I contracted for $190, and that's what 25 this invoice said, and it says so in large stamp, paid,
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3469 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 and I filed it.
2 Q If I told you in each sales presentation of is it
3 company that a salesman makes, if the salesman was
4 following the presentation as selected by the president of
5 the company, they would inform the customer that there was
6 a $97 bill for the inclusion of the Registry, would you
7 know it to be true or false?
8 A It w
as never mentioned to me.
9 Q Would you know if it was true or false if Mr. Roper
10 was acting outside the scope of his employment when he
11 sold you a membership?
12 MS. SCOTT: Objection.
13 A I would have no knowledge of that.
14 THE COURT: Can I have the question, please?
15 (Whereupon, the court reporter reads the
16 requested material.)
17 THE COURT: Sustained. Strike out the answer.
18 Q When you had a conversation with Ms. Walsh concerning
19 Mr. Roper, am I right?
20 A I had a conversation with Ms. Walsh when she related
21 that Mr. Roper -- that he was no longer with the firm.
22 Q Would it be fair to say that Ms. Walsh told you that
23 Mr. Roper was not authorized to make you any promises 24 about a free Registry; is that correct? 25 A She told me that, yes.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3470
Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 Q And that he should have told you that there was a
2 final payment due and owing when the Registry was ready or
3 prepared; is that correct?
4 A She didn't tell me that, but he didn't.
5 Q But she told you that he should have told you about
6 the final payment, correct?
7 A She told me -- she indicated that he should have made
8 those statements earlier on solicitation.
9 Q But he didn't; correct?
10 A He did not.
11 Q And you would not know if in the pitch sheet or the
12 presentation made by a salesperson at the company would
13 have in there the price of the Registry due at a later
14 date, would you?
15 A I can only go by what was represented to me over the
16 phone, and the price and the amenities.
17 Q Mr. Roper had promised you I think you said a three
18 year membership as one of the benefits; is that correct?
19 A Yes.
20 Q And you got a three year membership; is that correct?
21 A I supposedly got a three year membership. I never
22 received anything for three years. Put it that way.
23 Q You got a wall plaque; is that right? 24 A I got a wall plaque and that's it. 25 Q You got the publication of Tribute Magazine; is that
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3471 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 right?
2 A One publication, a year later.
3 Q Did you read the publication at all?
4 A I did not.
5 Q Did you receive any logo or anything for your car?
6 A Nothing.
7 Q All right.
8 You received a wall plaque and the membership; is
9 that correct?
10 A A wall plaque and the membership.
11 Q Have you seen your name in the Registry?
12 A I have not.
13 Q And that's because you testified you never received
a
14 Registry; is that correct?
15 A I never received a Registry.
16 Q Let me show you what is Defendant's Exhibit P in
17 evidence, and I will just ask you to take a look on page
18 884 under this entry, Ronald H. Behrmann.
19 A Yes.
20 Q That's you?
21 A That's me.
22 Q You are the president of Marine Management
23 Consultants; is that correct? 24 A Yes. 25 Q And it says you do government and commercial
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3472 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 projects?
2 A Yes.
3 Q And that's in fact what you in fact do; is that
4 right?
5 A Yes.
6 Q And you also do marine claims and consulting now and
7 then?
8 A Yes.
9 Q And your favorite vacation place is Puerto Vallarta,
10 Mexico?
11 A That's correct.
12 Q And there is a listing
in this Registry of you,
13 Ronald H. Behrmann; am I correct?
14 A You are correct.
15 Q You looked it over?
16 A I looked over what you pointed to, yes.
17 Q Anything in there not accurate or not true about
18 you?
19 A No.
20 Q Let's take a look since you purchased what you say
21 was a three year membership; is that correct?
22 A That's correct.
23 Q And let's take a look at Defendant's Exhibit Q, which 24 is a Who's Who Worldwide Registry 1993-1994. The one I 25 previously had shown you was 1994-1995. And let's see if
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3473 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 you are in here.
2 Is that you in this 1993, 1994 edition?
3 A Yes.
4 Q And all that information in there is correct; is that
5 true?
6 A Identical to the other.
7 Q Identical to the other listing
, correct?
8 This is in an earlier edition, 1993-1994?
9 A That's correct.
10 Q And you got neither of these two books; am I right?
11 A I got neither of them.
12 Q All right.
13 And when you take a look in front of you at
14 Government's Exhibit 44-C, do you have that in front of
15 you? Do you have that in front of you?
16 A I do not.
17 Q I will ask you to take a look at
18 Government's Exhibit 44-C, which is for identification,
19 and it is not in evidence.
20 Is this the letter, a true and accurate photocopy
21 of a letter you faxed to a person named Kelly at Who's Who
22 Worldwide?
23 A It appears to be, yes. 24 Q And the date of your letter is what? 25 A 7/13/95.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3474 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 Q Were you aware from your conversations with the <
BR> 2 government by July 13th, 1995, there was no more Who's Who
3 Worldwide?
4 A I was not aware of it.
5 Q Did you know that the government had seized all of
6 the records of Who's Who Worldwide and had arrested 29
7 people back on March 30th, 1995?
8 A I was not aware of that.
9 Q Now, when you spoke to Kelly about getting a refund
10 on your American Express card, you had spoken to her prior
11 to faxing Government's Exhibit 44-C; is that correct?
12 A I spoke to someone at Who's Who Worldwide and they
13 directed me to this number.
14 Q To this number?
15 A Well, it was something similar, 212 exchange.
16 Q Would you know if 212 980-9558 was in fact the fax
17 number for Who's Who Worldwide?
18 A I would have no idea.
19 Q But you did fax this to that number; is that correct?
20 A I did.
21 Q And there came a point that you did get cred
it in
22 full on your American Express card for the $101 that you
23 say was taken out; is that right? You got the money back, 24 right? 25 A It is not what I say. It is what was charged right
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3475 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 here.
2 Q It was charged there. But you got the money back?
3 A I got the money back in November of that year.
4 Q In November of '95?
5 A Yes.
6 Q Do you know where the money came from?
7 A I have no idea. I got a letter from American Express
8 indicating that they had contacted Who's Who Worldwide and
9 they authorized the credit.
10 Q Okay.
11 So, what you paid all told for your membership
12 for the three year membership and the listing in the
13 directory was $197; is that correct?
14 A $197.
15 Q And this is a fair and accurate c
opy of the fax that
16 you sent back in July of 1995; am I right?
17 A It appears to be.
18 MR. JENKS: I will offer
19 Government's Exhibit 44-C in evidence.
20 THE COURT: Any objection?
21 MS. SCOTT: No objection.
22 THE COURT: Government's Exhibit 44-C, for
23 Charley, in evidence. 24 (Government's Exhibit 44-C received in evidence.) 25 Q Mr. Behrmann, just a few more questions.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3476 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 As you sit here today, you don't know whether in
2 fact you were nominated for inclusion in this registry, or
3 whether or not you were selected from a selected or elite
4 mailing list, were you?
5 A I can only go by what I was told.
6 Q I am asking you if you know for sure how you were
7 selected or chosen to be in Who's Who Worldwide Registry?
8 A I have
no idea.
9 Q Has the government shown you anything which would
10 either prove or disprove to you that you were in fact
11 nominated or not nominated?
12 A I have not seen anything.
13 Q Okay.
14 MR. JENKS: Thank you very much.
15 THE COURT: I think we will take a ten-minute
16 recess at this time.
17 Please do not discuss the case and keep an open
18 mind.
19 (Whereupon, at this time the jury leaves the
20 courtroom.)
21
22 (Whereupon, a recess is taken.)
23 24 25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3477 Behrmann-cross/Jenks
1 THE CLERK: Jury entering.
2 THE COURT: Please be seated, members of the
3 jury.
4 You may proceed.
5
6 CROSS-EXAMINATION
7 BY MR. SCHOER:
8 Q Good afternoon, Mr. Behrmann.
9 A Good afternoon.
10 Q That letter you wrote requesting the refund in July
11 of 1995, was that the first written document that you
12 presented to anyone with respect to receiving a refund?
13 A Yes.
14 Q And that was dated July 13th, 1995; is that correct?
15 A That's correct.
16 Q And that letter indicates on that same day is the day
17 you spoke to this woman, Kelly, July 13th, 1995?
18 A Yes, it does.
19 Q Do you know when it was that you were first contacted
20 by the government with respect to their investigation in
21 this matter?
22 A I don't recall.
23 Q Well, I will show you what is marked as 3500-RB-1, 24 which is that questionnaire. 25 I will show you date on that.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3478 Behrmann-cross/Schoer
1 Does that refresh your recollection as to when
2 you were first contacted by the g
overnment with respect to
3 this matter?
4 A I do not recall.
5 Q And is this your handwriting on this document?
6 A Yes, it is.
7 Q Does that date that you put on this document refresh
8 your recollection as to when you filled out the document?
9 A It was in 1995.
10 Q Does it not say June 27th, 1995?
11 A It says that, yes.
12 Q And that was before you requested a refund, right?
13 A Yes.
14 Q And it wasn't until after the government contacted
15 you and told you that these people were under
16 investigation that you requested that refund, right?
17 A It absolutely had nothing to do with it.
18 Q You didn't request anything in writing prior to that
19 time; isn't that right?
20 A Nothing in writing.
21 Q Now, you indicated that you received one copy of the
22 Tribute magazine; is that correct?
23 A That is correct.
24 Q Are you sure about that? 25 A I am positive about it.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3479 Behrmann-cross/Schoer
1 Q Would you look again at page 6 of that questionnaire,
2 and I believe you have it in front of you, question number
3 34.
4 Do you see that?
5 A I see that.
6 Q Does that indicate that you received several issues
7 of the Tribute Magazine?
8 A That was an error. I received one.
9 Q You wrote that though, didn't you?
10 A I did write that.
11 Q And it is your testimony that the Tribute Magazine,
12 whether you received one or more than one, you never
13 looked at it, right?
14 A It was a year old when I got it.
15 Q Did you look at it?
16 A I did not look at it.
17 Q Now, other than the invoices that that you talked
18 about, did you receive any other -- and the
original
19 solicitation letter, did you receive any other mail from
20 Who's Who Worldwide?
21 A No other mail.
22 Q By the way, the solicitation letter you received and
23 the cards you sent back, did you have to place the stamp 24 on that card? 25 A I don't recall.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3480 Behrmann-cross/Schoer
1 Q I will show you what is marked as
2 Defendant's Exhibit U.
3 Did you receive a welcome letter like that?
4 (Handed to the witness.)
5 A I don't recall seeing anything like that.
6 Q I show you what is marked as Defendant's Exhibit K.
7 (Handed to the witness.)
8 Q Did you receive a pamphlet like that with respect to
9 benefits?
10 A I did not.
11 Q When you spoke to Mr. Roper on the phone did he tell
12 you what some of the benefits were in belonging to this
13 membership organization?
14 A I already testified to the fact that he said that
15 there would be periodic mailings to me indicating seminars
16 and conventions.
17 Q Did he tell you about a gold Master Card?
18 A I don't recall him ever mentioning a gold Master
19 Card.
20 Q Did he tell you about discounts with respect to
21 Airborne Express or Med Jet assistance, or auto insurance?
22 A I don't recall that. It wouldn't have made any
23 difference to me. I was only concerned with being 24 included in the Registry. I didn't care about a gold 25 Master Card.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3481 Behrmann-cross/Schoer
1 Q Those were benefits that were provided.
2 Did you take advantage of those benefits?
3 A He did not mention any benefits, and they were not
4 mentioned to do me.
5 Q If you
would have opened up the Tribute Magazine you
6 would have seen it was provided to you; is that correct?
7 A If it was a year old, why would I look at it.
8 Q Did you attempt to use any of the benefits of this
9 organization?
10 A No, there were no benefits offered me.
11 Q Mr. Behrmann --
12 THE COURT: Let's not both talk at the same time.
13 Q You didn't attempt to use any of the benefits of this
14 organization; is that correct?
15 A I didn't get any benefits of the organization.
16 Q You didn't use any of the benefits that are
17 available, did you?
18 MS. SCOTT: Objection.
19 THE COURT: Sustained.
20 MR. SCHOER: I have no further questions.
21
22 CROSS-EXAMINATION
23 BY MR. DUNN: 24 Q Good afternoon, Mr. Behrmann. 25 A Good afternoon.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3482 Beh
rmann-cross/Dunn
1 Q My name is Thomas Dunn.
2 Mr. Behrmann, you wanted to be a member of Who's
3 Who Worldwide; is that correct? Yes or no?
4 A Yes.
5 Q And this fellow Roper misled you, correct? Yes or
6 no?
7 A I can't answer that yes or no.
8 Q Well, you said that Mr. Roper didn't tell you that in
9 order to get the Registry when it is sent, that there has
10 to be an additional payment of $97, he never told you
11 that; right?
12 A He never told me that.
13 Q And you learned that Mr. Roper was let go from the
14 company, correct?
15 A Sometime later, yes.
16 Q But you wanted to be in Who's Who; is that correct?
17 A Initially, yes.
18 Q Do you know that you -- withdrawn.
19 You told Mr. Roper that basically your hobby was
20 ultradistance running; is that correct?
21 A That's correct.
22 Q Could you expla
in to me and the jury what that is,
23 ultradistance running? 24 A 100 mile runs, and multi-day runs. 25 Q Mr. Behrmann, do you know, out of the 72,000 members
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3483 Behrmann-cross/Dunn
1 in the Registry that you are unique in that you are the
2 only listed ultradistance runner? Did you know that?
3 A I did not know that.
4 Q Out of 72,000 members, you didn't know that?
5 A I never saw the book.
6 Q Do you know -- it was your attention, though, was it
7 not, when Mr. Roper told you these things to take
8 advantage of the Registry; is that correct?
9 A To take advantage of the Registry?
10 Q Of the Registry.
11 A I was interested in inclusion in the Registry, yes.
12 Q You were indeed included in the Registry?
13 A I didn't know it until today.
14 Q You saw several regist
ries today?
15 A Today, yes.
16 Q Because Mr. Roper failed to tell you about this
17 second cost for which he was let go for, you never got the
18 Registry; is that correct?
19 A I never got the Registry.
20 Q Because of something Mr. Roper failed to tell you;
21 isn't that right?
22 A Yes.
23 MR. DUNN: I have no further questions, your 24 Honor. 25 THE COURT: Anybody else?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3484 Behrmann-cross/Neville
1
2 CROSS-EXAMINATION
3 BY MR. NEVILLE:
4 Q Hi, Mr. Behrmann. My name is Jim Neville.
5 You are certain you spoke to a guy named Carl
6 Roper?
7 A I am positive.
8 Q And this is the guy that told you about paying for
9 this membership, and withholding information about how you
10 were going to have to make another payment later on? <
BR> 11 A All I can say is he identified himself as Carl Roper.
12 Q Do you know Scott Michaelson?
13 A I do not.
14 Q Did you ever speak to Scott Michaelson?
15 A I don't recall speaking to a Scott Michaelson.
16 Q Carl Roper you spoke to?
17 A Carl Roper.
18 Q And he tricked you? He lied to you?
19 A I didn't know he lied to me. He represented himself
20 as an employee of Who's Who Worldwide, and he made
21 promises over the phone that were not kept.
22 Q And then he got fired, right?
23 A I don't know that. 24 Q Well, that's what you were told? 25 A I was just told that today.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3485 Behrmann-cross/Neville
1 MR. NEVILLE: Mr. White, where is Carl Roper,
2 please?
3 MR. WHITE: Objection, your Honor.
4 MR. NEVILLE: I have no further questions.
5 THE COURT
: Anything else?
6 MS. SCOTT: Yes.
7
8 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
9 BY MS. SCOTT:
10 Q Mr. Behrmann, you were asked questions about other
11 benefits that were offered through the membership; do you
12 recall that?
13 A Yes.
14 Q And do you recall testifying that none of those
15 benefits would have made a difference to you?
16 A Yes.
17 Q Can you tell us what you meant by that?
18 A Some of the ones which were mentioned were some
19 medical assistance. It would not have any impact on me.
20 I wasn't in the near term going to travel overseas and use
21 any of those benefits. I have many Master Cards. I don't
22 need another one.
23 Q What was it about the membership that was of interest 24 to you? 25 A As I previously testified, the thing that interested
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 348
6 Behrmann-redirect/Scott
1 me was the nomination by my peers and to be included in
2 the Registry.
3 Q Do you remember being asked questions about the
4 CD-ROM?
5 A Yes.
6 Q Do you remember being asked if whether for additional
7 payments you could purchase the CD-ROM?
8 A I have an invoice that indicated that it is a $97
9 charge. I am not too sure what the cost was. But if you
10 chose not to take it, that you should just subtract it
11 from the billing.
12 Q If the names on the CD-ROMs would have been taken
13 from the mailing list, would you have been interested in
14 paying another $97 for purchasing the CD-ROM?
15 A No.
16 Q Why is that?
17 A What good is that? I could get a mailing list
18 anywhere.
19 Q Now, you were asked numerous questions about the
20 split billing between the membership and the Registry. Do
21 you recall that?
22 A Yes.
23 Q Do you remember being shown the warning on the 24 invoice that tells you that there is going to be a second 25 charge for the Registry?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3487 Behrmann-redirect/Scott
1 A Yes, I do.
2 Q And do you remember Mr. Trabulus asking you whether
3 that warning was conspicuously present on the invoice?
4 A He asked me whether it stood out in black and white;
5 and it does.
6 Q Now, you also testified in your conversations with
7 Carl Roper, he offered you several different kinds of
8 membership. Do you recall that?
9 A Yes.
10 Q Do you recall testifying that you turned down the
11 first two types and you opted for the $190 introductory?
12 A Yes.
13 Q Now, at that time, did you have that invoice in front
14 of you? At the time when
you purchased the membership for
15 $190, did you have that invoice in front of you with the
16 warning?
17 A No.
18 Q Sir, did you have any way of knowing you would be
19 charged an additional $97 for the book?
20 A I did not.
21 MS. SCOTT: Your Honor, I would like to publish
22 Government's Exhibits 44-A and 44-B.
23 THE COURT: Very well. 24 (Whereupon, the exhibit/exhibits were published 25 to the jury.).
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3488 Behrmann-redirect/Scott
1 Q Now, Mr. Behrmann, you were shown your name in the
2 book today; is that correct?
3 A Yes.
4 Q Did anybody from Who's Who Worldwide -- did any
5 member of Who's Who Worldwide ever call you?
6 A Never.
7 Q So, out of 72,000 members of Who's Who Worldwide,
8 nobody called you?
9 A Nobody.
10 Q Now,
you were asked questions by Mr. Trabulus about
11 the refund that you obtained from American Express of the
12 $101 that had been charged to your card.
13 A Yes.
14 Q Can you tell us when you first got the invoice for
15 $101 for the book?
16 A I don't recall offhand what the date was on the
17 initial invoice.
18 Q Would Government's Exhibit 44-B, the invoice that I
19 just passed around to the jury refresh your recollection
20 about that date?
21 A Yes.
22 MS. SCOTT: May I borrow that back?
23 (Handed to the witness.) 24 Q Can you tell us from looking at that document -- I am 25 talking about the other one, Government's Exhibit 44-B.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3489 Behrmann-redirect/Scott
1 A This one?
2 Q Can you tell us from looking at that document when
3 you learned about the $101
charge for the Registry?
4 A The date on this statement here is 3/14/94. But I
5 did learn of that before that. I had another invoice that
6 came in before that.
7 Q So, it was sometime before March of '94 that you were
8 first billed for the Registry?
9 A That's correct.
10 Q And when the American Express bill -- when your
11 American Express card was charged for that $101, do you
12 remember when that was?
13 A It was on 6/29/94.
14 Q Can you tell us when you discovered that unauthorized
15 charge to your American Express bill?
16 A I discovered it the next year.
17 Q Can you tell us approximately when?
18 A I would be guessing. It would be April or May.
19 I want to say April because I was doing my
20 taxes. That's when it jumped out at me. I didn't know
21 when I looked at the billing, it said Registry, Inc. And
22 it just didn't compute
at the time.
23 MS. SCOTT: May I have a moment, your Honor? 24 THE COURT: Yes. 25 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3490 Behrmann-redirect/Scott
1 proceedings.)
2 MS. SCOTT: Thank you, Mr. Behrmann. I have no
3 further questions.
4 THE COURT: Anyone else?
5 MR. TRABULUS: Yes, your Honor. Briefly.
6
7 RECROSS-EXAMINATION
8 BY MR. TRABULUS:
9 Q Mr. Behrmann, I think you indicated in response to a
10 question by Ms. Scott, that what you were really
11 interested in was inclusion in the Registry; is that
12 correct?
13 A Inclusion -- the Registry and inclusion in the
14 Registry.
15 Q Okay.
16 So, the two things you wanted was a copy of the
17 Registry itself and also to be included in the Registry;
18 is that correct?
19 A Yes.
20 Q And did the letter that you received, Exhibit 44-E,
21 that informed you that there was no charge for inclusion
22 itself; is that correct?
23 A I don't have the letter in front of me. But as I 24 recall, yes, it said it. 25 Q So, it is your testimony that Mr. Roper gave you to
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3491 Behrmann-recross/Trabulus
1 understand that the $190 was to be applied towards the
2 purchase of the Registry itself?
3 A Specifically.
4 Q And with regard to any other benefits, did he
5 describe them to you in any of the ten or so conversations
6 you had with him?
7 A He mentioned -- as I testified before he mentioned
8 the seal, the quarterly periodical, obviously the
9 Registry.
10 Q Is it your testimony that you weren't interested in
11 any of them except the Regis
try itself; is that correct?
12 A That is correct.
13 Q And the inclusion of the Registry which you didn't
14 have to pay for; is that correct?
15 A Yes.
16 Q And in these ten or so conversations that you had
17 with Mr. Roper, was he trying to sell you on the idea of
18 purchasing the Registry?
19 A He never mentioned additional costs for the Registry.
20 Q Well, did he try to sell you on the idea of paying
21 the $190 during some of these conversations?
22 A He told me there was an introductory offer for
23 membership and the amenities for $190. 24 Q I think you earlier indicated it took several 25 conversations with Mr. Roper, at least some number, before
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3492 Behrmann-recross/Trabulus
1 you actually agreed to pay the $190; is that correct?
2 A Before I agreed to pay it.
3 Q In all that conversation you were under the
4 assumption that you would be included in the Registry at
5 no cost regardless whether you pay the $190; is that
6 correct?
7 A Inclusion plus the Registry.
8 Q Well, were you told in the letter that went to you
9 that there was no charge for inclusion itself?
10 A If you say so. I don't have the letter in front of
11 me.
12 Q Is 44-E there?
13 (Handed to the witness.)
14 Q I am showing you 44-E and pointing to the PS at the
15 bottom.
16 A You want me to read it?
17 Q Is it correct that the first sentence says: There is
18 no cost or obligation on your part for your inclusion in
19 the Who's Who Worldwide of global business leaders?
20 A That's what it says.
21 Q And also the card you sent back, do you recall that
22 there is no charge -- indication on the card that it says
23 t
here there is no charge for inclusion? 24 A I don't recall. 25 Q Is it fair to say that as far as you understood, the
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3493 Behrmann-recross/Trabulus
1 only thing you would be paying for, that you would be
2 getting value for, that you would have to pay for, would
3 be a copy of the Registry itself? In other words,
4 inclusion was already given to you but you would have to
5 pay for the Registry?
6 A My understanding is that the $190 included the
7 inclusion plus the Registry.
8 Q And then in your conversations with Mr. Roper, and in
9 the conversations you had with him before you ultimately
10 decided to pay the 190, you said to him, look, based on
11 the letter I have, I will be in the Registry anyway, I am
12 not sure I need a copy of it? Did you say anything like
13 that to him? <
BR> 14 A No.
15 Q Is it fair to say that it took some degree of
16 deliberating on your part and multiple conversations with
17 Mr. Roper before you decided that you wanted to go ahead
18 with this and spring for the $190?
19 A The deliberation was based on some relation
20 information he provided me about the peers. And I was
21 interested on who possibly could have nominated me.
22 That's why I held up on the purchase of the membership.
23 Q Is it fair to say it took several phone calls from 24 Mr. Roper before you decided you wanted to spend the 25 $190? Yes or no, sir?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3494 Behrmann-recross/Trabulus
1 A It took a couple of phone calls, yes.
2 MR. TRABULUS: No further questions.
3 THE COURT: Anything else?
4 Ms. Scott?
5 MS. SCOTT: Nothing further.
6 THE COURT: You m
ay step down, Mr. Behrmann.
7 Please call your next witness.
8 (Whereupon, at this time the witness left the
9 witness stand.)
10 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, I have a stipulation.
11 THE COURT: Very well.
12 A stipulation, members of the jury, is an
13 agreement by the government and defense counsel that the
14 facts in the stipulation are true, and there need not be
15 any evidence adduced to prove that. It is an agreement.
16 Go ahead.
17 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, it is written, and I will
18 read it.
19 It says: It is hereby stipulated and agreed by
20 and between Zachary Carter, United States Attorney for the
21 Eastern District of New York by Ronald G. White, Assistant
22 United States Attorney, and counsel for the defendants
23 listed below, that. 24 1, Government's Exhibit 1380 to 1381, and 1385 to 25 1403, and Defendant's Exhibits BH and BJ
--
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3495
1 THE COURT: When you say B, are you talking Baker
2 or Victor.
3 MR. WHITE: Baker. Baker How, BH, and Baker --
4 what are we using for J?
5 THE COURT: Jack.
6 MR. WHITE: Jack.
7 THE COURT: Now they are getting into the swing
8 of things around here. Pretty soon we will have them
9 using nautical terms all over the place.
10 MR. WHITE: That those exhibits are true and
11 accurate copies of tape recordings made by individuals
12 employed at Who's Who Worldwide and Sterling Who's Who at
13 the government's direction on or about the dates reflected
17 through 1378 are true and accurate copies of tape
18 recordings of telephone calls placed to Worldwide and
19
Sterling by individuals acting at the government's
20 direction, posing as potential customers of Worldwide and
21 Sterling. The telephone calls occurred on or about the
22 dates reflected on the exhibits.
23 Paragraph 3. That Government's Exhibit 1379 is a 24 true and accurate copy of a tape recording of a portion of 25 a meeting between an individual acting at the government's
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3496
1 direction and defendant Oral Frank Osman on or about
2 January 20th, 1993.
3 Paragraph four. Government's Exhibit 1300-A
4 through 1381-A and 1385-A through 1403-A, with the
5 exception being 1300-A, which will be modified pursuant to
6 a request by the defendant Weitz, that those Government
7 Exhibits and those Defendant's Exhibits BA, Baker Abel,
8 through BG, Baker.
9 JUROR NO. 4: George.
10
THE COURT: The jury knows better than you.
11 George, George.
12 MR. WHITE: -- George. BI, BK, that all those
13 government and defense exhibits are transcripts or partial
14 transcripts of the above-referenced tape recordings, and
15 may be used at trial as aids for the jury reviewing the
16 corresponding tape recordings.
17 Finally, that Government's Exhibits 1300 to 1381,
18 and 1385 through 1403 to the extent admissible to each of
19 the defendants, and any defense exhibits to be determined
20 later, may be received in evidence during the trial.
21 Your Honor, based on this stipulation, the
22 government would offer Exhibits 1300 through 1381, and
23 1385 through 1403. 24 THE COURT: And what was the second batch? 25 MR. WHITE: 1385 through 1403.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3497
1 THE COURT: Any object
ion?
2 MR. TRABULUS: No objection, your Honor. But may
3 we approach? I just wanted to discuss something more
4 concerning the stipulation.
5 THE COURT: Yes.
6
7 (Whereupon, at this time the following took place
8 at the sidebar.)
9 MR. TRABULUS: Your Honor, I didn't realize that
10 Mr. White would be reading the stipulation into the record
11 today.
12 Defense counsel, and certainly myself signed the
13 stipulation with the blanks in it, the blanks for the
14 insertion of certain defense exhibits, with the
15 understanding we can include among the defense exhibits
16 copies of tapes given to us by the government, as well as
17 reasonably accurate transcripts we have prepared for.
18 Certain tapes I intend to mark as exhibits were
19 not included in the stipulation as read by Mr. White, but
20 the understand is they will be added later on.
21 MR. WHITE: I mentioned the ones that have
22 already been furnished to me. That's correct, your Honor.
23 THE COURT: You can let us know when you are 24 ready to do that. 25 MR. NELSON: It is my understanding that other
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3498
1 counsel likewise has specific transcripts and tapes
2 likewise to be added into the stipulation.
3 THE COURT: Correct?
4 MR. WHITE: Yes.
5 THE COURT: All right.
6
7 (Whereupon, at this time the following takes
8 place in open court.)
9 THE COURT: You may proceed, Mr. White.
10 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, those tapes are received
11 in evidence?
12 THE COURT: Yes. Government's Exhibit 1300
13 through 1381, and 1385 through 1403, in evidence.
14 (Government's Exhibit 1300 through 1381 received
15 in evidence.)
16 (G
overnment's Exhibit 1385 through 1403 received
17 in evidence.)
18 MR. WHITE: At this time we would like to play
19 Government's Exhibit 1303.
20 I also have books of transcripts of the exhibits
21 that were just admitted for the jury to follow along with.
22 THE COURT: Very well.
23 MR. SCHOER: Judge, may we approach while the 24 agents are handing out the books, and just for a curative 25 instruction with respect to the books?
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3499
1 THE COURT: All right. Come up.
2 You mean the usual curative charge on
3 transcripts?
4 MR. SCHOER: In addition, they are getting all
5 the transcripts as well.
6 THE COURT: All right.
7 MR. SCHOER: That was all.
8 THE COURT: Members of the jury, these
9 transcripts are what the government says is an accurate
10 recitat
ion of what you are about to hear. If when you
11 hear the actual tapes it is different from what the
12 transcript has, then you go by the tape says. This may
13 not be accurate. The evidence is the tape and not the
14 transcript.
15 Also, you are going to get transcripts of all the
16 tape recordings before you hear them. Please do not look
17 at those. Let's look at them one at a time as they are
18 actually played.
19 (Whereupon, the exhibit/exhibits were published
20 to the jury.)
21 THE COURT: Ready to proceed?
22 MR. WHITE: I believe we are, your Honor.
23 THE COURT: All right. 24 Everyone put on the headphone, please. 25 MR. WHITE: If when I turn it on, if you can't
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3500
1 hear, just raise your hand.
2 THE COURT: This is Government's Exhibit 1333?
3 (W
hereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
4 proceedings.)
5 THE COURT: What is happening, Mr. White? I
6 can't hear anything?
7 (Tape is played.)
8 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, we are going to play one
9 additional tape as well, and that's Exhibit 1379, which is
10 the one according to the stipulation is a true and
11 accurate copy of a tape recorded portion of a meeting
12 between an individual acting at the government's direction
13 and the defendant Oral Frank Osman, on or about January
14 20th, 1993.
15 Before we play the tape, there is now an
16 objection.
17 MR. TRABULUS: May we approach?
18 THE COURT: Come up.
19
20 (Whereupon, at this time the following took place
21 at the sidebar.)
22 MR. TRABULUS: Your Honor, there is no objection
23 to the tape as a whole. But in agreeing to this I had 24 told Mr. White that I w
as withdrawing any Bruton 25 objection.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3501
1 In my conversations with Mr. White there were two
2 sets of objections to this tape. And I thought he agreed
3 to remove certain portions which were just kind of
4 inflammatory with regard to Mr. Gordon.
5 THE COURT: With regard to who?
6 MR. TRABULUS: Mr. Gordon.
7 On this tape there are references to Mr. Gordon
8 being a womanizer. And the meeker, Mr. Osman, says that
9 one of his jobs is to protect the women from Mr. Gordon.
10 It seems to have no bearing to the benefits of the case.
11 I thought it was going to be kept out. Now I understand
12 it is not going to be kept out. And that is not my
13 understanding.
14 THE COURT: What reference is there to there --
15 bearing is there to there being a womanizer?
16 MR. WHIT
E: Nothing really. I agree.
17 THE COURT: Especially with respect to what the
18 state of affairs is in the country --
19 MR. WHITE: A logistical problem. I thought
20 Mr. Trabulus withdrew all his objections to the tape. Now
21 I understand that is not what it is. I have to redact
22 those parts of the tape, so we can't go forward.
23 THE COURT: You will do that. 24 MR. WHITE: And since it is Mr. Nelson's input, 25 and it is his client, I need some direction as to how to
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3502
1 redact it. It is going to be clear that there are
2 portions redacted.
3 THE COURT: So what? No problem.
4 MR. TRABULUS: Also, I faxed to you a certain
5 portion of, circled portions of the draft transcript. It
6 is true I told you that the Bruton objection would entitle
7 me to a limiting instruction,
and I wasn't really
8 concerned about that.
9 THE COURT: Counsel, will you please keep quiet,
10 other counsel.
11 MR. TRABULUS: We spoke over the phone. After I
12 faxed you the certain portions, we went over them one by
13 one. You asked me which portions I had a Bruton objection
14 to and which I had a 403(b) prejudicial question, and we
15 identified them.
16 MR. WHITE: No problem. I thought he was
17 withdrawing all the objections, that's all.
18 THE COURT: At the end of the day today go over
19 it with Mr. Trabulus. You redact the part about the
20 womanizer, and that would be it.
21 MR. WHITE: Fine.
22 THE COURT: Proceed.
23 MR. WHITE: I need a moment to go back to 24 whatever other tape we will play in lieu of that. 25 THE COURT: Very well.
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3503
1 (Whereupon, at this time the following takes
2 place in open court.)
3 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
4 proceedings.)
5 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, we are ready now. We are
6 going to play Exhibit 1330.
7 (A tape recording is begun.)
8 THE JURORS: We don't have that.
9 THE COURT: Shut that off for a minute. That's
10 not what we are hearing. That's 1330 A.
11 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, I think what happened is
12 the call was disconnected and it comes back on and that's
13 where it picks up.
14 THE COURT: The transcript that this 1330-A,
15 that's the correct transcript?
16 MR. WHITE: Yes.
17 THE COURT: And the tab says 1330?
18 MR. WHITE: Correct.
19 THE COURT: So we will get to this eventually.
20 MR. WHITE: Yes, I think in a moment.
21 (Tape is begun.)
22 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, this may be the wrong
23 one. Let me just make sure. 24 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the 25 proceedings.)
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3504
1 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, I apologize for this.
2 There is a little mix up here.
3 THE COURT: All right. It is the technological
4 age.
5 (Whereupon, at this time there was a pause in the
6 proceedings.)
7 MR. WHITE: Let me queue this up to see that we
8 are in the right spot.
9 We will play Exhibit 1325.
10 (Tape recording is played).
11 MR. WHITE: Your Honor, the next one is Exhibit
12 1326, the following one.
13 (Tape is played.)
14 THE COURT: We will recess now at this point.
15 Members of the jury, we will recess to 9:30
16 tomorrow morning. Please do not recess among -- please do
17 not discuss the case among yourself until the entire case
18 is over and you are in the jury room deliberating.
19 See you tomorrow morning at 9:30 promptly.
20 Have a nice evening.
21 (Whereupon, at this time the jury leaves the
22 courtroom.)
23 THE COURT: What is going to happen tomorrow, 24 Mr. White? More of this? 25 MR. WHITE: Tomorrow we have Nancy Young, Reid,
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3505
1 R E I D, Rotatory, who was supposed to be here last week,
2 and I mentioned him previously. Ms. Beck, she is also a
3 hold over from last week, and probably some more tapes.
4 MR. NEVILLE: Is that Sue Beck?
5 MR. WHITE: Yes.
6 MR. DUNN: Your Honor, can we ask the government
7 what tapes they are intending to play tomorrow? It is
8 almost the equivalent of a witness. I would ask that they
9 be kind enough to tell us.
10 MR. WHITE: On this one I h
onestly don't know. I
11 can tell them probably first thing in the morning.
12 THE COURT: All right.
13 9:30 tomorrow morning.
14 (Case on trial adjourned until 9:30 o'clock a.m.,
15 Tuesday, February 10, 1998.)
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23 24 25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3506
1 I-N-D-E-X
2
3 W-I-T-N-E-S-S-E-S
4 PAGE LINE 5 L E S T E R W H E E L E R.................... 3323 4 6 DIRECT EXAMINATION............................... 3323 15 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3335 19 7 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3354 7 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3366 14 8 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3373 1 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3379 16 9 CROSS-EXAMINATION..
.............................. 3380 18 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3385 14 10 REDIRECT EXAMINATION............................. 3391 10 RECROSS-EXAMINATION.............................. 3398 18 11 RECROSS-EXAMINATION.............................. 3406 12 RECROSS-EXAMINATION.............................. 3409 16 12 RECROSS-EXAMINATION.............................. 3413 1 FURTHER REDIRECT EXAMINATION..................... 3415 13 13 FURTHER RECROSS-EXAMINATION...................... 3417 19 FURTHER RECROSS EXAMINATION...................... 3418 2 14
15 S H A W N A H E N D E R S O N.............. 3419 13 DIRECT EXAMINATION............................... 3425 13 16 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3428 16
17 R O N A L D H. B E H R M A N N......... 3430 8 18 DIRECT EXAMINATION............................... 3430 18 VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION............................ 3432 20 19 VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION.
........................... 3433 16 DIRECT EXAMINATION (cont'd)...................... 3434 6 20 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3456 17 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3467 22 21 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3477 6 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3481 22 22 CROSS-EXAMINATION................................ 3484 2 REDIRECT EXAMINATION............................. 3485 8 23 RECROSS-EXAMINATION.............................. 3490 7 24 25
HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER 3507
1 E-X-H-I-B-I-T-S
2 Government's Exhibit 15-C received in evidence... 3325 17 Government's Exhibit 15-B received in evidence... 3328 24 3 Government's Exhibit 44-E received in evidence... 3434 4 Government's Exhibit 44-A received in evidence... 3451 15 4 Government's Exhibit 44-B received in evidence... 3451 16 Government's
Exhibit 44-D received in evidence... 3455 17 5 Government's Exhibit 44-C received in evidence... 3475 24 Government's Exhibit 1300 through 1381 received 6 in evidence...................................... 3498 14 Government's Exhibit 1385 through 1403 received 7 in evidence...................................... 3498 16
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HARRY RAPAPORT, CSR, CP, CM OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
