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POSTED: 03:16 p.m. EST, Dec 01, 2008
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
The evidentiary phase of the trial of former Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan ended with the jury being sent home this afternoon.
The judge and lawyers from both sides continued working on instructions regarding the law.
Common Pleas Judge James E. Murphy, who is hearing the case by appointment, scheduled final arguments in the case for Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Because of a conflict in the schedule of defense lawyers, there will be no trial proceedings Tuesday.
Willan, 38, is facing 69 charges for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, fraudulent securities and mortgage transactions, aggravated theft, theft from the elderly and other alleged financial crimes.
Many of those charges are based on the state's contention that Willan made false representations on state licensing records and permits for his Evergreen businesses.
Meanwhile, the defense rested this morning after testimony by Lonnie Rudasill, director of the identification division of the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation in London, Ohio.
Rudasill said he received paperwork dated Aug. 18, 2004, from National Background Check Inc., a private Akron firm, with Willan's fingerprints on it. He said he used those prints to perform a criminal background check, which showed Willan had only a 1992 misdemeanor conviction for passing a bad check.
Although it is unclear whether the BCII background check can be connected to any specific charge in the case, the jury heard extensive testimony on it last week from attorney George R. Sarkis, Willan's former legal adviser and the defense's first witness.
Assistant Attorney General Brad L. Tammaro, the lead prosecutor in the case, contended in cross-examination of Sarkis that Willan never completed the required state background check — waving paperwork in front of Sarkis at one point as Sarkis sat in the witness box.
Willan's lawyer, William T. Whitaker, said outside of court that it was a tactic used by Tammaro ''to impugn guilt by parading in front of the jury that he believed David never had his background check done, which is nonsense.''
''He was trying to make it look like it was intentional,'' Whitaker said.
The BCII background check was supposed to be sent to the Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Financial Institutions. But the state never received it, Whitaker said, because the party to whom it was to be addressed was left blank by National Background Check.
That omission was ''through no fault of David Willan,'' Whitaker said during a break in the proceedings.
In Rudasill's testimony, the jury also heard Whitaker point out that the BCII is under the direction of the attorney general's office and that Tammaro easily could have found out about the background check.
''All somebody from that office would have had to do is call you up, correct?'' Whitaker asked.
''Yes, sir,'' Rudasill replied.
Tammaro and Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Colleen Sims apparently poked a hole in the defense claim that a law enforcement raid — not fraud or deception — put Willan's Evergreen companies out of business two years ago.
Summit County Sheriff's Capt. Stephen M. Barry, supervisor of the law enforcement task force that conducted the June 2006 raid on Willan's West Market Street business headquarters, testified as a prosecution rebuttal witness.
There were so many business files and computer records seized in the raid, the defense has said, that Willan was unable to resume business.
Barry, however, testified that task force officers made copies of many of the files and began returning the records to Willan's Evergreen offices June 26, 2006 — one week after the raid.
''Our priority,'' Barry testified, ''was to keep the businesses in operation, because of the number of [investors] involved, so we could continue to conduct our investigation.''
Tammaro said in opening statements Nov. 18 that investors lost ''millions upon millions'' in the alleged Evergreen securities scam.
The jury has heard eight days of testimony.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
The evidentiary phase of the trial of former Evergreen Corp. President David B. Willan ended with the jury being sent home this afternoon.
The judge and lawyers from both sides continued working on instructions regarding the law.
Common Pleas Judge James E. Murphy, who is hearing the case by appointment, scheduled final arguments in the case for Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Because of a conflict in the schedule of defense lawyers, there will be no trial proceedings Tuesday.
Willan, 38, is facing 69 charges for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, fraudulent securities and mortgage transactions, aggravated theft, theft from the elderly and other alleged financial crimes.
Many of those charges are based on the state's contention that Willan made false representations on state licensing records and permits for his Evergreen businesses.
Meanwhile, the defense rested this morning after testimony by Lonnie Rudasill, director of the identification division of the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation in London, Ohio.
Rudasill said he received paperwork dated Aug. 18, 2004, from National Background Check Inc., a private Akron firm, with Willan's fingerprints on it. He said he used those prints to perform a criminal background check, which showed Willan had only a 1992 misdemeanor conviction for passing a bad check.
Although it is unclear whether the BCII background check can be connected to any specific charge in the case, the jury heard extensive testimony on it last week from attorney George R. Sarkis, Willan's former legal adviser and the defense's first witness.
Assistant Attorney General Brad L. Tammaro, the lead prosecutor in the case, contended in cross-examination of Sarkis that Willan never completed the required state background check — waving paperwork in front of Sarkis at one point as Sarkis sat in the witness box.
Willan's lawyer, William T. Whitaker, said outside of court that it was a tactic used by Tammaro ''to impugn guilt by parading in front of the jury that he believed David never had his background check done, which is nonsense.''
''He was trying to make it look like it was intentional,'' Whitaker said.
The BCII background check was supposed to be sent to the Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Financial Institutions. But the state never received it, Whitaker said, because the party to whom it was to be addressed was left blank by National Background Check.
That omission was ''through no fault of David Willan,'' Whitaker said during a break in the proceedings.
In Rudasill's testimony, the jury also heard Whitaker point out that the BCII is under the direction of the attorney general's office and that Tammaro easily could have found out about the background check.
''All somebody from that office would have had to do is call you up, correct?'' Whitaker asked.
''Yes, sir,'' Rudasill replied.
Tammaro and Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Colleen Sims apparently poked a hole in the defense claim that a law enforcement raid — not fraud or deception — put Willan's Evergreen companies out of business two years ago.
Summit County Sheriff's Capt. Stephen M. Barry, supervisor of the law enforcement task force that conducted the June 2006 raid on Willan's West Market Street business headquarters, testified as a prosecution rebuttal witness.
There were so many business files and computer records seized in the raid, the defense has said, that Willan was unable to resume business.
Barry, however, testified that task force officers made copies of many of the files and began returning the records to Willan's Evergreen offices June 26, 2006 — one week after the raid.
''Our priority,'' Barry testified, ''was to keep the businesses in operation, because of the number of [investors] involved, so we could continue to conduct our investigation.''
Tammaro said in opening statements Nov. 18 that investors lost ''millions upon millions'' in the alleged Evergreen securities scam.
The jury has heard eight days of testimony.
Ed Meyer can be reached at 330-996-3784 or emeyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 05:17 PM, 12/01/2008
Willan will be Chillin in Cell #9 for a long time.
Soap on a rope will help him cope, good gift for a dope.
akron, oh
Posted 05:49 PM, 12/01/2008
He will be doing some lap dancing of his own. Hopefully he learned a trick of two from that strip joint he owned.
Stow, OH
Posted 06:17 PM, 12/01/2008
I don't have as much faith as the rest of you in believing the prosecution did a good job.Their track record with D. Ross and C. George says it all.Money can buy a lot of freedom in this town.
Posted 06:54 PM, 12/01/2008
Tim:
I don't have confidence either because the evidence is weak!
It's amazing that people just KNOW that Willan is guilty yet there is minimal evidence to suggest he intentionally screwed anyone!
With all the people out there who would rather listen to hearsay, rumors and read attention-grabbing headlines instead of discerning the FACTS, I doubt Willan gets a fair trial. The jury has to be influenced by all the people spouting off with their big mouths yet know very little about the case.
I hope the jury truly looks at the presented evidence and rules fairly ... whether it be innocent or guilty.
Posted 04:27 PM, 12/03/2008
Aside from all the "hearsay, rumors,and attention grabbing headlines" I think what the procecution in this trial has forgotten is what this idiot did to thousands of people. You have alot of innocent workers out of jobs, as wellas alot of families out of homes. The fact is Mike that this jerk did horrible things, and should pay deeply for them. They had the evidence.
