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Jury must disregard 1992 arrest testimony
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008
A judge threw out the state's second witness Tuesday, barely an hour after the opening of the Summit County trial of former Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan.
The witness, retired sheriff's Detective Ed Gruska, was attempting to testify about his arrest of Willan on a 1992 misdemeanor charge in Barberton Municipal Court involving a bad check on a utility bill.
Retired Common Pleas Judge James E. Murphy, who is presiding over the case by appointment, interrupted the testimony to ask Gruska whether he had a certified copy of a conviction record for the offense.
Gruska could not produce such a document, and Murphy immediately ordered him to leave the courtroom.
The jury was then instructed to disregard what it had just heard.
Willan, 38, is charged with 69 felony counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity,
small-loan and securities fraud and other financial offenses.
Before the state put on its first witness, Murphy held up a 35-page copy of the voluminous charges as part of his jury instructions, telling the panel: ''There is no validity to any of these unless you find the evidence at the conclusion of the trial.''
Willan and 16 co-defendants originally were named in a 147-count indictment in December. That indictment alleged an array of financial crimes in the Akron area from 2002 until Willan's Evergreen companies went out of business in June 2006.
Case streamlined
Earlier this year, Murphy streamlined the case, eliminating all of the co-defendants from the first phase of the trial and paring the indictment to about half of its original size.
Six of Willan's co-defendants, including his sister, have pleaded guilty to felony charges and some are expected to testify against Willan during the four-week trial.
In opening statements, Assistant Attorney General Brad L. Tammaro — assigned to the state's organized crime unit — described Willan as a ''puppet master'' of his various Evergreen companies, who misused other people's money to make ''millions upon millions'' for himself.
Tammaro said much of Willan's activities involved the investments of elderly Summit County residents whose money now is ''forever gone.''
Defense responds
However, when the defense gave its opening statement, attorney Andrea L. Whitaker said Willan still would be making small loans to home buyers and paying the company's high-risk investors if not for a raid on his businesses more than two years ago.
Summit County court records show hundreds of thousands of pages of business files and computer records were seized by a government task force searching the Evergreen companies at 611 W. Market St. in Akron on June 19, 2006.
Attorney Thomas Adgate, who previously represented Willan on business matters, first raised the issue of the raid in January, when he was waiting outside court to testify on behalf of Willan at a bond hearing.
Adgate said at that time that Willan's many investors were not complaining when they were receiving high rates of return on their investments for the four years before the raid.
Gruska, one of 125 potential witnesses against Willan, was under direct examination by Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Colleen Sims when his testimony was thrown out.
Prosecutors were trying to show that Willan gave false information on state-required licensing records in a section in which he stated that he had never been convicted of violating any local or state law in Ohio.
Willan's conviction on the bad check charge resulted in a $100 fine, according to court records.
After Gruska's testimony, outside of earshot of the jury, Murphy told Sims and Tammaro that he dismissed Gruska because he was a ''poorly prepared'' witness.
''I'm not saying you can't put on evidence,'' Murphy told the prosecutors, ''but do it properly and have the witness prepared.''
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
A judge threw out the state's second witness Tuesday, barely an hour after the opening of the Summit County trial of former Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 06:45 AM, 11/19/2008
The detective was pointing out that the defendant was a crook at an early age. He was then, still is and always will be. Crooks are not made. They are born crooks and can't be changed; only controlled.
Posted 07:17 AM, 11/19/2008
Maybe Judge Murphy is just getting lazy in his older years.
If he likes the defense attorney he will make more allownces to the defense more times than not. Judge is this really justice?
It doesn't matter he is just making a little bit of retirement beer money
Posted 07:20 AM, 11/19/2008
one bad check does not make a crook. if it did than 90% of society would be in jail. Especially now with the economy with the way it is. And really if they have to back over 20 years for a misdeamnor check charge to try and impugn his character they truly are reaching.
Akron, OH
Posted 07:25 AM, 11/19/2008
Retirement beer money
Judge with Irish last name
I get it.
*shakes head*
*rolls eyes*
Mogadore, OH
Posted 09:07 AM, 11/19/2008
Murphy's a tough old dog, as well,Gruska should have known...
akron, oh
Posted 09:36 AM, 11/19/2008
Well I think Each bad check or instance of similar behavior... Could go to show a pattern of someones personal and business practices...
No one bad check doesn't show that. But IF he constantly tosses out witnesses. That would show his MO. IT can sway the way the trial goes... Which might be his reason for doing it.
A witness be that a witness. An observer of the situation.
If every witness testifying in a US Court needs to provide receipts, video tape and certified signed copy of each offence from the accused. We would never convict anyone...
If the Witness is lying. Or making things up they can be prosecuted for perjury... So I doubt these people are Lining up to tell made up stories about mr Willan...
Posted 11:28 AM, 11/19/2008
With the scope of the whole meltdown, this is just a waste of taxpayer money!
TiredTaxpayer
Posted 11:51 AM, 11/19/2008
Murphy has always followed the rules. Too bad more don't. It has made the prosecutor's office lazy.
