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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

CASE NO. 08-3720CF10A
JUDGE: LEVENSON




STATE OF FLORIDA CERTIFIED COPY
-vs-


MICHAEL BILOTTI,

Defendant.




DEPOSITION OF MICHAEL KADOSH



Thursday, April 30, 2015

2:14 p.m. - 3:31 p.m.


BROWARD COUNTY COURTHOUSE
201 Southeast Sixth Street
Room 670
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301




Reported By:
SANDRA D. SUAREZ, Court Reporter
Notary Public, State of Florida

Bailey & Associates Reporting, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Phone - (954) 358-9090


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EFTA01128435
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APPEARANCES:

2 ON BEHALF OF THE STATE:
MICHAEL J. SATZ, STATE Attorney
3 BY: GREGG ROSSMAN, Esquire
SASHA SHULMAN, Esquire
4 ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY
201 Southeast Sixth Street
5 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
(954) 831-8029
6

7 ON BEHALF OF MICHAEL BILOTTI:
FRED HADDAD, Esquire
a TARLIKA NAVARRO, Esquire
HADDAD & NAVARRO, PLLC
9 ,One Financial Plaza
Suite 2612
10 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33394
(954) 467-6767


ON BEHALF OF CHRISTIN BILOTTI:
J. DAVID BOGENSCHUTZ, Esquire
13 BOGENSCHUTZ, DUTKO, DROLL, P.A.,
600 South Andrews Avenue
14 Suite 500
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
15 (954) 764-2500

16 ON BEHALF OF JOHN PACCHIANA
H. DOHN WILLIAMS, Esquire
17 DOHN WILLIAMS, P.A.
500 Southeast Sixth Street
18 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
(954) 831-8866
19

20.

21

22

23

24

25


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1 INDEX

2 WITNESS: PAGE:

3
MICHAEL KADOSH
4 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. HADDAD: 4
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. WILLIAMS: 61
5 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. BOGENSHUTZ: 66
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. ROSSMAN: 82
6 FURTHER DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. HADDAD: 91

7

8

9 NO EXHIBITS MARKED

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25



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1 Deposition taken before Sandra D. Suarez,

2 Court Reporter and Notary Public in and for the State of

3 Florida at Large, in the above cause.

4

5 Thereupon,

6 MICHAEL KADOSH,

7 having been first duly sworn or affirmed, was examined

8 and testified as follows:

9 THE WITNESS: I do.

10 DIRECT EXAMINATION

11 BY MR. HADDAD:

12 Q. What's your name, please?

13 A. Michael Kadosh.

14 Q. Okay.

15 MR. ROSSMAN: K-A-D-O-S-H, correct?

16 THE WITNESS: Yes.

17 BY MR. HADDAD:

18 Q. I know you live down in Miami somewhere,

19 correct? Do you live in Miami?

20 A. Yes, I do.

21 Q. Okay. How long have you been in Miami?

22 A. Since 1979.

23 Q. '79?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. Okay. And you came from Montreal?



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A. No.

2 Q. From where?

3 A. I came from New York.

4 Q. Okay. I don't want to go through too much

5 background, because I read all your stuff within the

6 reports.

7 You own some hotels still?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. And you're a rabbi?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. And you taught college?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Where did you teach college?

14 A. In rabbinical college in Brooklyn.

15 Q. Rabbinical college?

16 A. Uh-huh.

17 Q. I think Jackie Mason was a rabbi, isn't he?

18 A. His brother was.

19 Q. His brother was. That's right, he's a cantor.

20 A. Yeah.

21 Q. I like Jackie Mason, that's the only Jewish I

22 know.

23 A. Cantor make more money than rabbi.

24 Q. Do they?

25 A. Yeah.


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Q. You did pretty good. It's like you're

2 Catholic or something.

3 A. Yeah.

4 Q. Any rate, you're here today -- obviously, you

5 know why you're here.

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. Okay. So let me ask you a question. I read

8 all of this stuff. How did you end up with the cops?

9 A. Somebody called me, a detective that said that

10 they saw me with Bilotti and they want to talk to me.

11 Q. Okay. Now, do you recall, because this

12 statement that you gave -- did you review this at all

13 before you came here?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Okay. Well, you gave a whole long statement

16 to Yager with Titone there.

17 A. Yes.

18 Q. Okay. Now, do you recall when it was that you

19 gave this statement?

20 A. Yes.

21 Q. What year?

22 A. A couple years ago. I don't remember the

23 exact date, no.

24 Q. Okay. Is there anything that you possess that

25 would refresh your recollection, like, a diary, notes?


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1 A. No.

2 Q. So we just know a couple years ago you went.

3 A. They called me --

4 Q. Yager called --

5 A. -- and they told me to come in and I went.

6 Q. Is that when you hired Titone?

7 A. Well, I called him, and he said I should be

8 with you.

9 Q. Had you hired him before that?

10 A. Yeah, he was my lawyer for long time.

11 Q. All right. There is a $1,000 check running

12 around somewhere. Is that what he charged you to go to

13 this thing?

14 A. No. I don't know what it was for. No idea.

15 Who the check was for, I don't remember.

16 Q. I don't know. Mike Bilotti gave you a check

17 for a $1,000 made out to Joe Titone.

18 A. From Mike Bilotti's account?

19 Q. I --

20 A. There was our business. I don't know.

21 Q. Yeah, but I mean it was for Joe Titone.

22 A. Yeah, but I don't know what it was for.

23 Q. You don't remember what it was for?

24 A. No.

25 Q. Could it have been for this?


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A. No.

2 Q. You don't think so?

3 A. No.

4 Q. You use Titone for other stuff?

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. I don't want to get into for whatever else,

7 but

8 A. Mostly civil cases, disputes in business.

9 Q. Okay. Now, you go to the police -- did you go

10 to them or did they come to you?

11 A. No, I had to go to them.

12 Q. Okay. Well, in the beginning of this

13 statement that you give, you and Titone are talking

14 about the Turks, Mike Bernstein, a whole bunch of other

15 stuff. Who was listening in to your conversation? Why

16 is this recorded?

17 A. I don't know.

18 Q. Were you wearing a wire?

19 A. No, I wasn't wearing any wire.

20 Q. All right. Was Titone wearing a wire?

21 A. Not that I know if.

22 Q. Not on his head, I guess, but you don't know

23 if he's wearing a wire?

24 A. No, I don't think so.

25 Q. Okay. And were you sitting in a police


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1 station room when this was occurring?

2 A. In a small room in the police station.

3 Q. So apparently the cops must have wired the

4 room and didn't tell you?

5 A. I have no idea. I don't know.

6 Q. And you never read any of this or saw this

7 before?

8 A. I did not.

9 Q. Okay. Because Titone is saying to you, "you

10 know, and when you first got sued by O'Hanna, I tried to

11 sit down with them -- " and you say -- he says, no. And

12 Titone said, "fuck you, we're gonna get $200,000." I

13 said, okay. And Titone said, "they're vicious people."

14 Does that recall any recollection to you?

15 Who is O'Hanna?

16 A. O'Hanna was a kid that used to work for me,

17 and he claims he was my partner. And he was running a

18 hostile, and then at the end, the case was dismissed.

19 Q. Okay.

20 A. He represented me.

21 Q. It was also the guy that killed Bruce Lee's

22 sister in Enter the Dragon.

23 A. Oh, I don't know.

24 Q. A little piece of Triva.

25 All right. So at any rate, all of these


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conversations are secretly recorded, as far as you know?

2 A. No. No, I don't know.

3 Q. Well, that's what I'm asking you. You didn't

4 know these were recorded conversations.

5 Do you know how long you were there before the

6 cops came in to see you?

7 A. How long --

8 Q. How long you were sitting in a room?

9 A. I don't remember.

10 Q. Do you know whether or not, you and Titone, in

11 this recorded room had any conversations regarding Mike

12 Bilotti that may not have been in the transcript?

13 A. I don't remember.

14 Q. Okay. Do you know -- let me put it this way.

15 When you came here, we subpoenaed -- they gave your name

16 as a witness, which doesn't matter, but I subpoenaed

17 you, like, last week.

18 A. I got the subpoena.

19 Q. Yeah, I know. To come in and testify.

20 Has the prosecutors or the state, the cops,

21 anybody given you anything to refresh your recollection,

22 tapes, papers, anything --

23 A. No.

24 Q. -- about this statement that you gave?

25 A. No.


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1 Q. All right. And without being too personal,

2 you are undergoing some health issues, correct?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. I know you're going through dialysis.

5 A. Yes.

6 Q. I think I read somewhere that you have heart

7 issues.

8 A. Uh-huh.

9 MR. WILLIAMS: Is that's a "yes"?

10 THE WITNESS: Yes.

11 BY MR. HADDAD:

12 Q. Now, how old are you, 70-something?

13 A. Seventy-four.

14 Q. Do you have any other issues?

15 A. Health issues.

16 Q. All health issues. Any re memory [sic]

17 issues -- not re memory, any memory issues? Alzheimer?

18 A. No.

19 Q. Dementia?

20 A. No.

21 Q. No. Okay.

22 All right. Now, in this tape, the police say

23 that they have an ongoing investigation where they've

24 continually seen you with Bilotti, do you recall that?

25 A. Yeah. They said they saw me with Bilotti,


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EFTA01128445
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yes.

2 Q. And they also said that they picked up

3 conversations with you and Bilotti regarding -- that may

4 involve a murder. Do you recall that, that the cops

5 told you that?

6 A. No. I don't recall that.

7 Q. I'm sorry.

8 A. I don't recall that.

9 Q. All right. Did they ever play for you any

10 tapes or any conversations?

11 A. Not that I remember.

12 Q. Okay. Did they ever tell you whether or not

13 you were picked up on a wiretap?

14 A. Did not.

15 Q. Okay. That was ongoing.

16 A. I don't know.

17 Q. You don't know?

18 All right. Did they ever -- let me put it

19 this way: Did you ever receive a Title III Notice from

20 the federal government at any point within the years of

21 this investigation, advising you that you had been

22 intercepted on a wiretap that was up and going by the

23 feds?

24 A. No.

25 Q. A notice?


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A. A notice in writing, I never saw.

2 Q. Yeah, a letter. It says, hey, you were

3 intercepted.

4 A. No, I didn't.

5 Q. All right. Because they said, We wanted to

6 give you an opportunity to discuss with us things that

7 may have been discussed by Mr. Bilotti -- you and

8 Mr. Bilotti, particularly concerning a couple of murders

9 that have been mentioned.

10 This is the first time that you ever seen

11 these cops, correct?

12 A. The cops in Davie, yes.

13 Q. Yeah. I mean, you didn't call and say, hey, I

14 got information about --

15 A. No. No. They called me.

16 Q. They called you.

17 A. We saw you with him. We want to talk to you.

18 I didn't want to go. They said, you have to come.

19 Q. Yeah, I understand that.

20 Do you know how they knew that you had

21 conversations with Bilotti regarding murders?

22 A. I don't know.

23 Q. All right. You don't recall what year you

24 gave this statement, correct?

25 A. I don't.


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Q. Were you ever aware of whether or not you were

2 under a federal investigation?

3 A. No, I'm not.

4 Q. You weren't?

5 A. Not that I know of.

6 Q. Okay. Well, my understanding is that, this

7 statement was not given over for a number of years

8 because some federal prosecutor asked the state not to

9 give this over, are you aware of that?

10 A. No.

11 MR. ROSSMAN: Are you talking about, you guys

12 getting the --

13 MR. HADDAD: Yeah.

14 MR. ROSSMAN: No, that was in reference to

15 Bilotti.

16 MR. HADDAD: I don't care. We didn't get it.

17 That's what I'm saying.

18 MR. ROSSMAN: I'm answering your question.

19 They directed me that they had ongoing stuff on

20 Bilotti. And I had told them, you need to tell me

21 what you've got to tell me, fish or cut bait,

22 because I've got to give it out in the state case.

23 MR. HADDAD: Yeah, but it was a couple years

24 later you gave it up.

25 MR. ROSSMAN: Yeah, because they were


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directing me that I would be impeding their

2 investigation.

3 MR. HADDAD: I don't give a rat's ass what

4 they directed to you. It was a couple years later

5 before we found out. Well, I'll file a motion to

6 find it, but --

7 BY MR. HADDAD:

8 Q. Do you know who the feds were that were

9 investigating Bilotti?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Okay. Do you know whether or not Yedick [sic]

12 was being investigated also? The banker, what's his

13 name?

14 A. Zedeck.

15 Q. Zedeck. Zedeck -- Yedick whatever.

16 You don't know?

17 A. No.

18 Q. All right. Has anyone, other than the Davie

19 police, come to you to speak to you about Mr. Bilotti,

20 Mr. Zedeck, anyone?

21 A. Yes.

22 Q. Who?

23 A. I don't know their name.

24 Q. Well, who are they with?

25 A. FBI and FDIC.


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1 Q. FDIC. So FDIC has got something to do with

2 banks.

3 A. Uh-huh.

4 Q. FBI usually has something to do with white

5 collar issues. So it was some kind of fraud?

6 A. They thought. Yes, I think so.

7 Q. Did you go and talk to the cops about that?

8 A. No, I didn't.

9 Q. You never went before a grand jury?

10 A. No.

11 Q. Did you ever go to the US attorney's office to

12 talk about anything?

13 A. No.

14 Q. Nothing at all?

15 A. They came to me.

16 Q. Okay. Well, let me put it this way: Did

17 anybody come and sit down with you from the FBI, US

18 Attorney's Office and others?

19 A. I believe it was -- I don't remember exactly

20 what, FBI or FDIC together.

21 Q. How long did they speak to you?

22 A. A couple hours.

23 Q. And what did they discuss with you?

24 A. About my dealings with the bank, Bilotti and

25 everything.


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1 Q. Was that after your talked to these guys from

2 Davie or before?

3 A. I believe it was after.

4 Q. All right. And did they ever show you a copy

5 of the statement or anything else after that?

6 A. No.

7 Q. Did they ever suggest to you, you might be a

8 witness in a federal prosecution?

9 A. No.

10 Q. Did you ever suggest to them that you were

11 aware of criminal activity that was going on with

12 Zedeck, Bilotti or anyone else?

13 A. I just answered whatever questions they asked.

14 They know everything.

15 Q. Did they ask questions about --

16 MR. WILLIAMS: Whoa. Whoa. You said, they

17 know everything?

18 MR. HADDAD: I understand.

19 THE WITNESS: Yeah, they basically asked me,

20 how did I get to know Bilotti. What kind of loan I

21 made? Do I have the documents?

22 I said, not right now. And how did Bilotti

23 become my partner. And about Zedeck, and I told

24 what I know.

25


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BY MR. HADDAD:

2 Q. You sound like Jackie Mason when you start

3 talking a little faster.

4 A. I like to be like him.

5 Q. At any rate, did they ask you anything with

6 Bilotti regarding the violence that you asserted?

7 A. They asked me what happened. Did I ever see

8 anything. And I told them what I heard.

9 Q. Okay. Did they ever advise you that they had

10 intercepted you on phone conversations?

11 A. No.

12 Q. Did they advise you that they had undercover

13 people that had intercepted you or talked to you or

14 aware of activities that you were involved in?

15 A. No.

16 Q. So all you know is that out of the blue, the

17 Davie police comes to you, correct?

18 A. Yes. They called me, yes.

19 Q. And you go down there?

20 A. (No verbal response.)

21 Q• All right. Here it is, Detective Yager says

22 to you:

23 "YAGER: We're responsible for an

24 investigation of a murder that occurred here in Davie.

25 This is your card, Mr. Titone?


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1 "TITONE: Thank you, sir. Here you go.

2 "Involving a Mr. Michael Bilotti. And we know
3 from surveillance and investigation that is continually

4 ongoing that you've met with Mr. Bilotti on more than

5 one occasion.

6 "MR. KADOSH: Yes.

7 "YAGER: And the investigations were able to

8 ascertain some of your conversations, but not every bit

9 of it. And since I believe you have nothing to do with

10 this murder -- and by no means is Mr. Kadosh a subject

11 of any criminal investigation or nor do we have any --

12 MR. WILLIAMS: By the Davie police department.

13 MR. HADDAD: Dohn, do you want to do it?

14 MR. WILLIAMS: No. No.

15 BY MR. HADDAD:

16 Q. "By the Davie Police Department, nor do we

17 have any information to believe he's involved in any

18 criminal activity, but we wanted to give you an

19 opportunity to discuss with us things that may have been

20 discussed by you -- with you, by Mr. Bilotti,

21 particularly concerning a couple of murders that may

22 have been mentioned."

23 Did they tell you intimate to you or in any

24 way advise you of how they knew what your conversations

25 were with Mr. Bilotti?


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1 A. I don't remember.

2 Q. Did anyone -- at the time that you talked to

3 Bilotti about murder -- and we'll get to that in a

4 little bit, the only persons that those were discussed

5 with would have been you, what you said that Zedeck said

6 and what Ralph Feo overheard, correct?

7 A. (No verbal response.)

8 Q. Yes?

9 A. I think so. I don't remember exactly.

10 Q. Well, did you tell anyone so that they could

11 have gone running to the cops that Mr. Michael Kadosh

12 was talking about murders --

13 A. Well, I told when the people called me from

14 the state office --

15 Q. No. No.

16 A. -- from the police.

17 Q. No. No. I'm talking about when you and

18 Bilotti were having these conversations, like, when he

19 was supposedly going to whack your son-in-law and

20 everything, did you go tell the police? Did you tell

21 anybody?

22 A. I did not.

23 Q. So all of this would have to have been

24 something overheard, like the police said, for them to

25 know, correct?


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A. What I said?

2 Q. Yeah. No. No. Before that. When they came

3 to you and said, we know from conversations that you had

4 with Bilotti about murders, it certainly wasn't

5 something you went and told the cops.

6 A. No. I didn't tell.

7 Q. You didn't tell your wife to go tell the cops?

8 A. No.

9 Q. You didn't tell your daughter to go tell the

10 cops?

11 A. No.

12 Q. You didn't tell Feo to go tell the cops? You
13 didn't tell anybody, right?

14 A. No.

15 Q. Okay. So it would have had to have come from

16 intercepted conversations, correct?

17 A. I don't know how, but --

18 MR. ROSSMAN: If they actually knew anything.

19 MR. HADDAD: Well, that's what we're going to

20 find out at some point within the next day or two.

21 BY MR. HADDAD:

22 Q. So did you have phone conversations with

23 Mr. Bilotti where somebody might have discussed being

24 killed?

25 A. No, not a phone conversation.


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Q. Not a phone conversation.

2 Okay. So you don't know whether or not

3 they're piecing together conversations that maybe

4 related to Bilotti or Zedeck, or other persons

5 conversing regarding this crime, correct?

6 A. I don't know.

7 Q. Okay. Now, since I don't want to keep you

8 here all day.

9 MR. ROSSMAN: Can I ask one question about

10 following-up on what you said?

11 MR. HADDAD: Go ahead.

12 MR. ROSSMAN: Did you ever tell Mr. Titone?

13 THE WITNESS: Yes.

14 BY MR. HADDAD:

15 Q. When?

16 A. When I went to the police.

17 Q. Yeah, you told him that day.

18 A. Yeah, I told him that. He says, you have to

19 tell the truth. I said, that's all I'm going to tell.

20 Q. Titone said that?

21 A. Yeah.

22 Q. Okay. So the only person that you have ever

23 said any of this to, other than when you gave this

24 statement, would have been to Joe Titone on that day

25 when the cops came to get you --


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A. Yes.

2 Q. -- and told you, you had to be there?

3 A. Uh-huh.

4 Q. All right. Now, let's go from there. You

5 don't know when this statement was given unfortunately.

6 A. No, I don't.

7 MR. ROSSMAN: Excuse me a minute. It should

8 be in there.

9 BY MR. HADDAD:

10 Q. Okay. So in there it says that you were 70

11 years old. You're 74 now, when are you going to be 75?

12 A. In October.

13 Q. All right. So it could have been somewhere

14 four or four-and-a-half years ago, somewhere around

15 there, true?

16 A. Probably.

17 MR. ROSSMAN: I should be able to get you the

18 exact date if we don't have that.

19 MR. HADDAD: Yager didn't put a date.

20 MR. ROSSMAN: I was going to say, Yager should

21 have it in his report.

22 MR. HADDAD: It's not anywhere here. The

23 court reporter transcribed it for me in 2014. I

24 sent the tape over there, because I had a CD of

25 this.


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MR. ROSSMAN: Before we leave today, I should

2 be able to get you that.

3 MR. HADDAD: Okay.

4 BY MR. HADDAD:

5 Q. So at any rate, you first met Bilotti and/or

6 Zedeck -- who did you meet first?

7 A. Zedeck.

8 Q. And you were doing business with Zedeck

9 with -- what is it, Trans America Bank?

10 A. TransCapital Bank. It was called Trans

11 Florida before.

12 Q. Okay. You had been doing business with them

13 for a period of years, correct?

14 A. Twenty.

15 Q. Three years prior?

16 A. Twenty years.

17 Q. Twenty years. So you knew the Zedeck

18 brothers?

19 A. Yeah.

20 Q. For 20 years?

21 A. Yeah.

22 Q. And you had done business with them for 20

23 years?

24 A. Yes.

25 Q. Okay. And during that period of time, I know


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1 you did hotels, you did different things. You had

2 construction loans?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. All of that other stuff, we don't need to get

5 into that now.

6 And then at some point you meet Mike Bilotti.

7 A. Yes.

8 Q. Did you know Mike Bilotti before you had that

9 first business deal with him?

10 A. I saw him at the bank a few times when I went

11 to make a deposit, but I didn't know exactly who he was.

12 Q. Did he have an office at the bank?

13 A. I found out later he had an office with

14 Zedeck's office at the bank.

15 Q. Okay.

16 A. The same office as Zedeck's office.

17 Q. Right. Which Zedeck?

18 A. Leonard Zedeck.

19 Q. Leonard Zedeck.

20 A. Yeah. He had it on Oakland Park. His office

21 is the same address.

22 Q. Okay. Now, when you first -- you were sort of

23 a good customer of the bank. You're back and forth, and

24 construction goes up, goes down. One day you're rich,

25 one day you're poor. One day you can't make your


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payments, one day you sell a building for 10 million

2 bucks, correct?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. All right. And so I take it they would float

5 you money now and then?

6 A. At the time, yes.

7 Q. Okay. And then, of course, some time around

8 2008 the banks started having problem with money and

9 regulations.

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. Because they started checking credit and doing

12 all that other stuff, correct?

13 A. Yes.

14 Q. All right. Approximately -- can you put a

15 year when you met Mike Bilotti?

16 A. I can't. I think 2008, 2009, maybe.

17 Q. You had seen him for how long of a period of

18 time before that? Years?

19 A. I had seen him a few times at the bank.

20 Q. Did he ever talk to you?

21 A. Yeah. He said, hello. But I didn't know who

22 he was.

23 Q. Okay. Did he threaten to whack you when you

24 said, hi?

25 A. No.


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Q. Okay. So he said, hello. You would talk, you

2 would be back and forth, correct?

3 A. Yeah, once or twice before.

4 Q. Okay. And then there comes a point in time

5 where, from what I read in your statement, you needed

6 money from the bank. You needed a significant amount of

7 money and they said that Bilotti had to be involved,

8 correct?

9 A. No, that's not the case.

10 Q. Okay.

11 A. I had a commitment to the bank to do

12 construction for two million.

13 Q. Right.

14 A. They gave $600,000 and they stopped.

15 Q. And then the other million four they wouldn't

16 give you unless Bilotti was the one that signed, got the

17 money and paid everybody?

18 A. Right. Right. And he didn't pay anybody.

19 Q. I could say it completely correct if you want

20 me to, but I'm just trying to get the gist of it.

21 A. Yeah.

22 Q. If we have to go through every single part of

23 the details, we'll be here till 6:00 tonight.

24 A. No.

25 Q. I mean, it's business. I'm getting to the


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main parts.

2 A. No problem.

3 Q. I mean, I could save the long stuff

4 you're on the witness stand.

5 A. All right.

6 Q. Okay. So what happened? How does it come

7 about that you agree with this proposition to have Mike

8 Bilotti take a million four that you have a commitment

9 for, and in essence, take over your corporation and

10 continue the construction? Why do you do that?

11 A. I had no choice, otherwise the bank would

12 foreclose on me.

13 Q. You were behind?

14 A. Yeah, I was behind and the bank said Bilotti

15 is going to front the loan, and it will be 50/50, but

16 the paper said 80/50 [sic], but it was 80 percent to him

17 and 20 percent to me.

18 Q. Yeah, we're not here on the civil case. I

19 don't care about that.

20 A. Well, that's what happened.

21 MR. ROSSMAN: I care. It took him two

22 seconds. We should get the right facts if you're

23 going to ask him on the stand.

24 MR. HADDAD: I didn't ask that facts. I just

25 asked how he did it. If I want that facts, I'll


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ask for it.

2 MR. ROSSMAN: You said you were going to ask

3 him on the stand.

4 MR. HADDAD: Sure. I'm going to ask him on

5 the stand. I don't need to go through it now.

6 BY MR. HADDAD:

7 Q. When they said that Bilotti was going to do

8 this, had you spent any time with Michael Bilotti before

9 that?

10 A. No.

11 Q. So you just saw this short fat guy walking

12 around --

13 A. The bank had brought him and says, he's going

14 to get the loan in his name and give him half.

15 Q. Did you do any investigation of this person

16 that was becoming your partner?

17 A. I did not.

18 Q. Were you told anything about him by Mr. Zedeck

19 or his partner?

20 A. I had no choice, they told me to take him and

21 that's it.

22 Q. Yeah, I understand you had no choice. We'll

23 get to the no choices.

24 A. I didn't know. I found out later.

25 Q. No. No. Did they tell you anything then?


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A. No.

Q• Did you know what kind of busines

at the time --

A. I did not.

Q. Okay. Did you know whether he had any

knowledge of construction, hotels, business management?

A. I did not.

Q. Okay. And you signed a contract with him?

A. Yeah.

10 Q. Okay. Is that the one that Zedeck said, if

11 you don't sign it, we're going to whack you?

12 A. Yes.

13 Q. Okay. And that was Zedeck who said that?

14 A. Yeah, it was -- Bill Himes, who is the

15 president of the bank --

16 Q. Right.

17 A. -- and Zedeck.

18 Q. And they said to you, if you don't sign this

19 contract giving Bilotti -- letting Bilotti be this

20 manager of this money, who's going to whack you?

21 Bilotti?

22 A. Well, they didn't say Bilotti. They said that

23 they foreclose on me. I would lose everything. So I
24 said, let me bring my lawyer. They wouldn't let me

25 bring my lawyer.


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1 Q. Yeah, but you said that you almost had a gun

2 put to your head and they said if you didn't sign this

3 loan, Bilotti was going to have you whacked.

4 A. No, he didn't say, was going to be whacked, he

5 said that they'd foreclose on me. And that Bill Himes

6 told me, who is the president of the bank, that Bilotti

7 will whack me. I said, well I don't want to be whacked.

8 Q. Bill Himes told you that, not Zedeck?

9 A. Yeah. Yeah.

10 Q. And that was --

11 A. Bill Himes is the president of the bank.

12 Q. All right.

13 A. He says you better sign. So I signed it.

14 Q. Okay. But you had a lawyer?

15 A. No, I didn't have a lawyer.

16 Q. You just said they wouldn't let you bring your

17 lawyer.

18 A. They wouldn't let me bring the lawyer, right.

19 Q. They wouldn't let you bring your lawyer.

20 A. Right.

21 Q. Yeah, okay.

22 A. So I said, can I bring my lawyer, they said,

23 no.

24 Q. Who was your lawyer?

25 A. Ben Jacobi at the time.


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Q. Okay. Now, you're there, you're going to lose

2 -- well, you still have a building, correct, they were

3 going to foreclose? You still had the construction

4 going on, correct?

5 A. No, it was stopped.

6 Q. It was stopped, all right.

7 Now, you signed this loan?

8 A. Right.

9 Q. Did you get to meet Bilotti then?

10 A. Yes.

11 Q. What was your relationship?

12 A. Well, it was partner. The bank told me, he

13 was good, so I took --

14 Q. Well, did you sit and meet with him?

15 A. I talked to him many times, yes.

16 Q. All right. You used to go to that Turkish

17 restaurant Sultans?

18 A. Yes.

19 Q. And he used to come down at least once or

20 twice a week to the building site, correct?

21 A. No, he used to come to sign the checks.

22 Q. Yeah, every Friday he signed the checks, I

23 know that. I read all that.

24 But he'd come down once in a while during the

25 week to examine the site, didn't he?


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A. Yeah.

2 Q. He took an active interest in it.

3 A. More or less.

4 Q. I mean, he just wasn't --

5 A. He didn't know anything about construction.

6 Q. Okay. Do you know how many hotels he owned at

7 the time?

8 A. I don't know.

9 Q. Do you know how many restaurants and other

10 businesses he owned?

11 A. Restaurants, he did own.

12 Q. Okay. Do you know whether or not he owned the

13 Holiday Inn in Fort Pierce? What he owned in South

14 Beach?

15 A. No, I didn't know.

16 Q. Okay. So he comes down and every Friday he

17 signs the checks?

18 A. Right.

19 Q. And pays the bills?

20 A. Uh-huh.

21 Q. Correct?

22 A. Yes.

23 Q. Construction is going on again. Everything is

24 going according to plan, correct?

25 A. Uh-huh. Yes.


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Q. Okay. Ralph Feo is there. Is he your

2 contractor?

3 A. Yes.

4 Q. And Feo is there, and he's there on Friday's

5 to get paid with

6 A. Yes.

7 Q. -- the moneys, correct?

8 A. Yes.

9 Q. Does the building get completed?

10 A. It was completed, yes.

11 Q. What year?

12 A. I believe 2011.

13 Q. That's after Bilotti was charged in this case,

14 correct?

15 A. I don't know when he was charged.

16 Q. Didn't you look it up to see when he got

17 arrested, you told us -- you told the cops?

18 A. Well, later on we Googled his name, and it

19 came all the stuff came up.

20 Q. Well, he got arrested in 2008. Were you

21 business partners with him in 2008?

22 A. Not that I know.

23 Q. And no one told you -- what year did you sign

24 the loans?

25 A. I don't remember, '09, '10.


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Q. You sold --

2 A. I sold property in '11.

3 Q. '11, so how many years did it take to complete

4 it?

5 A. Maybe a year and a half or so.

6 Q. Okay. So give it a year and a half, so that's

7 2009. In 2009 you didn't know Bilotti had been

8 arrested?

9 A. In 2009, I didn't know.

10 Q. Okay. In 2011, when you sold the building,

11 how much did you get?

12 A. I. got from 15 million, I got a million two.

13 Q. Okay. And who got the rest?

14 A. Bilotti.

15 Q. Bilotti got $14 million?

16 A. No, he got whatever the difference was. I

17 don't know exactly how much he got.

18 Q. Well, you said you sold it for $15 million or

19 did I not hear right?

20 A. Yes, we had to pay the mortgages and all --

21 Q. How much was the mortgage?

22 A. I don't remember. The mortgage was --

23 Q. $13 million?

24 A. No. No, not $13 million. The mortgage was

25 maybe $10 million, nine, I don't remember exactly the


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1 amount.

2 Q. How many partners were there in that besides

3 you and Bilotti?

4 A. That's the only one that I know of.

5 Q. How much was there to split between the

6 individuals?

7 A. I don't know. I didn't see the final.

8 Q. You didn't see the closing papers? You didn't

9 see anything?

10 A. They just gave me a check. He took 80 percent

11 and the 20 percent was mine.

12 Q. And that's your testimony?

13 A. Yes.

14 Q. Okay. You never saw the paperwork?

15 A. I don't remember whether I saw it or not.

16 Q. Did you sign the paperwork for the closing or

17 you don't remember that?

18 A. I'm sure I had to sign it, yes.

19 Q. Okay. And when you signed the paperwork --

20 you've been a businessman for 40 years, did you read

21 anything that you were signing?

22 A. I did, but I don't remember the numbers.

23 Q. What did it say?

24 You didn't look at the numbers?

25 A. I said, I don't remember.


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Q. What do you think it said, if you had to take

2 a wild guess?

3 A. Say what?

4 Q. What did the numbers show? The closing

5 documents are available.

6 A. Well, you could get it.

7 Q. I'm trying to test your memory right now, sir.

8 A. well, I don't remember that.

9 Q. You've said a lot of things that you seem to

10 remember clearly, so I'm just trying to see if something

11 as important as millions of dollars you would remember,

12 that's all.

13 A. All I remember is I got a check for a million

14 two, that was my share.

15 Q. A million two, okay.

16 And so from being in foreclosure --

17 A. I was never in foreclosure.

18 Q. From being close to default

19 A. Yeah.

20 Q. Whoa. Whoa. Let me finish my question.

21 -- and being in a situation where you were in

22 default, in essence, because the bank wouldn't give you

23 the million four that you needed to complete your

24 construction loan, you walked out with a million two

25 when it was over?


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A. Yes.

2 Q. Okay. I just want to make sure.

3 Now, did you have any other business dealings

4 with Bilotti other than that building?

5 A. No.

6 Q. So that's the whole entirety of your --

7 A. Of the Peter Miller Hotel.

8 Q. I'm