Deadly Defiance, page 21
Stan hung up and immediately called Paula to give her the good news. She was elated as she’d been expecting a firestorm when Andrew discovered what they had done. She thanked Stan and suggested God must be smiling down on them.
On Tuesday Stan met Jade and a forensic accountant at the Dallas County Courthouse in front of the courtroom of the 14th District Court. After Stan had gone over their testimony with them, they entered the courtroom. Jade and the accountant took a seat in the gallery and Stan checked in with the bailiff. The bailiff told him he was the eleventh case on the docket, so he went back and took a seat next to Jade.
A few moments later Judge John Brock took the bench and began calling the docket. At this early morning docket the court heard simple discovery motions, summary judgments, and defaults. Forty-five minutes later the court called their case.
“The Estate of Romildo Alvarez and Jade Alvarez v. Alliance Fabrications, Inc.,” the judge said.
Stan knew Judge Brock from SMU Law School. They’d been classmates but hadn’t been friends. Stan didn’t have many friends in law school since he was working full-time and involved in politics at the time. Judge Brock knew of Stan, however, since Stan had attracted considerable media attention since law school.
Stan and Jade stood up and approached the bench. The judge was studying the file when they arrived in front of the bench. He looked up and smiled.
“So, you put the fear of God in your defendant, I hear. They just packed up and left town rather than face the mighty Stan Turner.”
Stan laughed. “No. I think it was the Dallas police and the FBI that scared them.”
“Yes. Pretty resourceful to get them involved.”
“It probably wouldn’t have been prudent to take them on alone.”
“No. You’re probably right about that. So, you want to take a default?”
“Yes. They’ve defaulted and we’re here to prove up our case and take a judgment if the court is willing.”
“Well, according to the record they were properly served. Bailiff, check the hall to be sure no one is here for Alliance Fabrications.”
The bailiff got up and went out into the hallway. He called the case but nobody answered. A moment later he came back in. “No response, Your Honor.”
“All right, then. Call your first witness.”
“Jade Alvarez,” Stan announced, turning toward Jade.
“Ms. Alvarez, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
“I do,” Jade replied.
“Go on, counsel.”
“Ms. Alvarez. Are you the duly appointed administratrix of the Estate of Romildo Alvarez?”
“Yes.”
Stan had her identify her letters of administration and they were admitted into evidence.
“Have you and your father worked for Alliance Fabrications, Inc. over the years?”
“Yes.”
Stan had Jade provide the dates and normal hours of employment for both her and her father. She explained how they worked twelve-hour shifts six days a week at minimum wage but without overtime. She told them about the poor working conditions, the intimidation, verbal abuse, and lack of breaks, sick pay, or vacations. Her story of the day her father went missing brought dead silence to the courtroom. Stan looked back and saw two reporters sitting in the back row taking notes. He had hoped to avoid the press so the cartel wouldn’t be tipped off to the fact that he was up to something, but it appeared he’d have no such luck. When he was finished with Jade he called up his forensic accountant, Larry Stone.
“Mr. Stone. Now, you’ve heard the testimony of Jade Alvarez regarding the periods of employment and hours of work, is that right?”
“Yes.”
“And prior to today have you had a chance to determine what amount of pay should have been paid these two employees had they complied with the federal wage and hour laws?”
“Yes.”
“How much should Ms. Alvarez have been paid for her years of service?”
“Well, the minimum wage currently is $4.25. It has changed over the years, so taking into consideration those changes, the base rate for eight hours comes out to $86,944. When you add in overtime at time and a half, that number doubles to $191,268.”
“What about Romildo Alvarez?”
“He worked almost twice as long as his daughter, but the minimum wage was lower in the earlier years. His base rate actually paid was $148,720. Again, if you take into consideration overtime at time and a half, he should have been paid $326,634.”
Stone provided charts and documentation for his calculation of damages and the interest that was lost. When he was done Stan addressed the court.
“Your Honor. We have also alleged causes of action for fraud, breach of contract, false imprisonment, and an assortment of other torts. The conduct of the defendant was obviously willful, intentional, and malicious and designed to thwart the laws of the United States of America. Accordingly we’re asking for punitive damages of one million dollars each for both Jade and Romildo Alvarez. Thank you.”
“All right. It seems there could be a statute of limitations as well as other possible defenses, but since there is no one here to raise them I’ll consider them waived; the motion for default judgment is therefore granted and the court awards damages as requested. Do you have a judgment prepared?”
“I do, Your Honor,” Stan said and handed it to the judge.
The judge signed the order and returned it to Stan. “You understand if I get a motion for a new trial, I’ll probably be inclined to grant it, assuming the defendant has a half-decent excuse for not answering.”
“I understand. Thank you, Your Honor.”
“Good luck trying to collect it,” the judge said, rolling his eyes.
“Thank you. May we be excused?”
“Yes. Have a good day.”
Stan and his witnesses went out into the hallway where Jodie was waiting. Stan thanked Larry Stone and he left. The two reporters walked over to them.
“Nice judgment you got,” one of the reporters said.
“Right, but like the judge said, good luck collecting it.”
“So why bother, then?”
“Well, the FBI is still looking for Icaro Melendez and his sons. If they find him they may find some assets we can attach.”
“Do you have any leads on any of them?”
“Well, just the Ben Zepeda arrest, but he’s not talking. We haven’t given up, though.”
“So, has the FBI bought you a new car yet for saving their special agent?”
“No. It would be nice if they did, though. I’m still driving a rental.”
“Thank you, Mr. Turner.”
Stan nodded and the two reporters left. Stan looked at Jodie.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, sir. I’ve got all twenty-seven garnishments ready to file.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
Stan went to the court clerk’s office and got a conformed copy of the judgment. Technically the judgment was not final for thirty days, but he felt it was unlikely Melendez would appeal it. If they did and the garnishment was defeated, his clients had no non-exempt assets at risk so it was no big deal. He felt he could have gotten a pre-judgment garnishment anyway, but he would have had to persuade the court to allow it. This way he had the right to file the garnishments and didn’t have to get anyone’s permission.
Jodie took the judgment to the district clerk’s office and filed the twenty-seven garnishment actions and arranged for service. Stan went to the abstract department and got eighteen abstracts of judgment for filing in each of the counties involved just in case Alliance owned any real estate there. Stan knew it could take weeks for all the garnishments to get served, but at least the process had been started. He knew it wouldn’t be long before the cartel felt the impact of what had been done. Then they’d likely come after them like a hive of angry bees.
Chapter 23
The Sting
Paula stared at her computer screen. She was putting the final touches on her trial outline, witness and evidence lists. She liked to have her game plan in mind well in advance of trial. There was just one thing left to do and she had to enlist Detective Besch’s help in doing it. She called him and invited him to lunch. They met at Ojeda’s, a Mexican café which she often frequented. She ordered a burrito dinner and a margarita. Besch got beef fajitas and a beer.
“So, counselor. It’s nice of you to buy me lunch, but what’s the occasion?”
“Well, you’ve been so much help to Stan and Jodie here lately, I wanted to do something nice for you.”
“Oh, well you know Stan and I go way back, so it’s no big deal.”
“Yes, it is, and I wanted to show my appreciation by offering you up a high-profile criminal on a silver platter.”
Besch stopped eating and looked intently at Paula. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“You know Doc Mellon, right?”
“Doc ‘the Clock,’ sure.”
“Well, I’ve been investigating him as a suspect in the Rodney Thompson murder.”
Besch’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I see where this is going. You want me to nail Mellon for Thompson’s death so your client will be off the hook.”
“Well, that could be the result. You never know.”
Besch laughed. “You said something about a ‘silver platter.’”
She explained to Besch how Doc Mellon operated his payday loan business and got around the Texas usury laws.
“He also makes loans to small business owners who have bad credit or don’t have collateral. The loans look legitimate on their face but there are other strings attached—consulting fees, kickbacks, commissions, you name it. His customers are soon his slaves and can’t do a damn thing about it or they’ll risk Mellon’s wrath. A guy named Simon Smith dishes out the punishment but the man calling the shots is Mellon’s security chief Arch Lang. I’m sure there are more players, but those are the only ones I’ve identified.”
Besch raised his eyebrows. “Well, it sounds like this is someone who we need to get off the streets, no matter how it affects your client. How can I help?”
Paula explained her plan in detail and Besch promised to run it by his superiors to see if they’d go along with it. She stressed the importance of protecting the witnesses as she’d promised them they’d be kept out of harm’s way. He assured her they wouldn’t get hurt, if the brass gave the go-ahead for the operation. They finished their lunch; Paula thanked Besch and went back to the office and immediately went to see Stan and update him on the situation in case Besch called him.
That night Paula couldn’t sleep as something was bothering her. Maureen Thompson’s first murder trial had gotten a lot of press, so it wasn’t a stretch to assume the murderer used an ice pick as the murder weapon, so it would appear like Maureen’s handiwork. But if Doc Mellon was behind Rodney Thompson’s murder, who killed Maureen’s first husband? Obviously, it wasn’t Doc Mellon. Or, could it have been? Paula pondered that possibility. Could Randy Rhymes have borrowed money from Doc Mellon or one of his companies? That was something she’d have to check out, she decided before taking a sleeping pill and going back to bed.
The next day Paula got to the office early, grabbed a cup of coffee, and began sorting through the previous day’s mail. As she was working she remembered the possible connection between Mellon and Rhymes that had come to her in the night. She wondered who she could call to confirm that connection. After looking through her witness list, her eyes fell on the name of Ryan Jones, Randy’s ex-agent. She figured if anybody would know about a connection, it would be him.
“I’m not sure if he borrowed anything from Doc Mellon,” Jones said. “Randy didn’t mention a loan to me. If there was a loan, I would imagine his manager Bob Brown was responsible for it. Bob was getting pretty reckless there at the end. The women, the booze, and the gambling finally did him in.”
“So, where is Bob Brown these days?”
“I have no idea. When Randy found out he’d been embezzling and the money was gone, he hired some goons to beat the crap out of him and he hasn’t been seen since.”
Paula took a deep breath. She couldn’t believe her luck. The location of the only person who could link the two murders was unknown. Now what was she going to do?
“Was there a criminal prosecution for the embezzlement?”
“No. Like I said. He had disappeared so there wasn’t much point prosecuting a ghost.”
As Paula listened, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. All she needed was a few bits of hard evidence to tie it all together. But without this evidence all she had was speculation. She thanked Jones and hung up. While she was contemplating the situation Maria came over the intercom and advised her Bart was on the line.
“Hey, I’m in the neighborhood. You want to have lunch?” Bart asked.
“Yes, I’m starving. Thank you. I’d have probably skipped lunch had you not called.”
“Good. Meet me at Dickey’s on Forest Lane in ten minutes.”
“All right. I’m on my way.”
It was unusual for Bart to take her out to lunch. She wondered if he was really just in the neighborhood or there was something on his mind. She stood up, grabbed her purse, and made a quick trip to the ladies’ room. When she looked in the mirror she saw dark circles under her eyes. She hadn’t been getting enough sleep. Digging into her purse, she dug out her emergency cosmetics and made the dark shadows disappear. Then she put on fresh lipstick and headed for the rendezvous with her husband. He was sitting on a bench by the cash register when she walked in. He got up and they embraced.
“Boy, this is a nice surprise,” Paula said.
He nodded guiltily. “Well, actually I’m here on official business.”
“Hmm. I figured as much,” Paula confessed.
They went through the line. Paula got ribs and Bart a three-meat platter. They both got a Coors Light to wash it down. After they’d found a table and started eating, Bart explained the purpose of the meeting.
“The DA found out about your proposed sting operation against Doc Mellon. He doesn’t think Mellon had anything to do with Rodney Thompson’s murder, but he’s been trying to build a case against Mellon for years.”
“Oh, really?”
“So, he’s approved the plan but with no guarantees. If they take Mellon down, but you don’t find the evidence to clear your client, then it’s just like it never happened. You won’t get any favors when Maureen’s trial comes up.”
“That’s fine,” Paula said. “I know it’s a gamble, but I’m sure Mellon was behind the murder—I’ll do anything to prove it.”
“Okay, then. Tell me your plan. I’ve been assigned to be your liaison.”
Paula smiled. “Oh, that’s great. It will be like old times, working together on a murder case.”
Paula was referring to the one case they had worked together several years earlier as co-counsel after Bart had lost his job at the Collin County DA’s office, and temporarily worked for Turner & Waters. Their client had been accused of setting a fire that killed an entire family. It had seemed like a hopeless case at the outset, but they dug into it, worked hard, and ended up getting their client off. They loved working together, but Bart had a problem switching from prosecutor to defense counsel. Consequently, it was their one and only case as Bart soon got a job with the Dallas DA’s office.
That night Paula explained to Bart the details of her plan. The next day he ran it by his superiors and got the go-ahead. A few days later Detective Besch, Bart, and Don Lee met in the conference room of Turner & Waters. Mr. Lee was extremely nervous and Paula was trying to calm him.
“You don’t have to do a thing except take this original petition to the justice of the peace court. You won’t be in any danger because Doc Mellon won’t be served for several days,” Paula assured him.
“From the moment you file the petition with the JP court you’ll have 24/7 police protection. Someone will be watching you at every moment,” Detective Besch said. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Now what this is,” Paula continued, “is a petition alleging usury. That means you are suing Mr. Mellon and his company for charging excessive interest. If you win, which I assure you, you will, the interest and principal balance of the loan will be forfeited and you’ll owe him nothing.”
“Sure, but if he shoots me or my wife, what good will that do?”
“That won’t happen,” Detective Besch replied. “The moment they make any move against you we’ll arrest them.”
“What if they come in, shoot me, and don’t ask questions? You not have time to stop them.”
“Well, that’s possible,” Paula said, “but not likely. They are going to try to convince you to drop the lawsuit first. You see, if they just walk in and kill you it would be too obvious that they were the killers. They’ll want to make you back down first.”
“Okay, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Paula felt a cringe of guilt as she worked to convince Don Lee to play his role in the sting. She wondered if she was doing the right thing. If she got Don Lee killed, what would she tell his widow? She came close to aborting the plan but couldn’t bring herself to do it. She had a gut feeling it would all work out in the end.
Don Lee signed the complaint and Paula drove him to the JP court in Garland so he could file it. Paula followed him at a distance into the auxiliary courthouse to be sure it got filed properly. He went up to the window and handed the petition and two copies to the woman.
“What you got there, honey?” the clerk asked.
“I want to sue Doc Mellon.”
The clerk raised her eyebrows. The name Doc Mellon was familiar. Doc’s Payday Loans, Inc. filed a lot of criminal complaints for bad checks. They never let them go to trial as they knew the judge would throw them out, but the threat of criminal prosecution was all that they were after. The clerk read the petition.
“You suing him for usury. Do you even know what that is, honey?”
