The Law of Second Chances

31

Luis Melendez called Sal Paglia the day after his visit to Benny. He’d first had to digest everything over a few scotch and sodas before he could revisit it with anyone. Luis rarely drank. He was very disciplined after the drug years of his youth. Benny’s diatribe, however, had taken a toll on his psyche.

“My son has agreed to your representation,” Luis told Sal after Hazel got him on the line.

“Good. Good,” Sal said. “How’d the meeting go?”

“It went.”

“Not good, huh?”

“No. He’s got good reason to be angry.”

“Well, maybe we can do something for the both of you by getting him out of jail. By the way, I’ve got a mortgage broker coming in here to meet with us tomorrow afternoon at four o’clock to get the paperwork done on your refinancing. Be sure to bring your tax returns and everything else on that sheet I gave you so he can get started right away.”

Luis sensed a tone of desperation in Sal’s voice and he was right. Sal was scared. He had already given three thousand bucks to his loan shark, Beano Moffit, who had visited him rather unexpectedly a few days before.

“Give me one reason why I don’t break your legs,” Beano had asked at the time. Sal loved that about shylocks-they always made it sound like it hurt them more than you when they broke your body parts into pieces. Just to be sure he remained intact, he’d given Beano three thousand reasons not to break his legs. But he knew the reprieve wouldn’t last for long. He needed Luis’s money. He also needed to tell somebody about the heat he was getting from Beano, so he called his good friend, Sergeant Al Borders of the NYPD.

“Al, don’t ask me any questions, okay? I just want you to know that if something happens to me, Beano Moffit is behind it.”

“No. Sal. Don’t tell me you’re into Beano.”

“I’m not telling you anything, Al. I’m just saying, if I turn up missing or something, you tell the powers that be to put the heat on that prick.”

“Don’t say anything else, Sal. Consider it done.”

After Luis had been to the office and the paperwork was completed on the refinancing, Sal took a trip downtown to see Benny. They met in the same room where Benny had spoken with his father. Sal was determined to make things go smoothly.

“Benny, I’m Sal Paglia, the lawyer Luis Melendez hired to represent you. First thing I want to tell you-Luis is paying the freight, but you are my client. I’m working for you, not him. I’ve got experience in this stuff and I’ve got a plan, which I’ll tell you about in a minute. Second item-I do the talking. You don’t tell me nothing unless I ask. If I ask a specific question, you give me a specific answer. The reason I tell you this is because if you tell me something, I have an ethical obligation not to put on evidence that contradicts what you told me. Understand?”

Benny nodded. At this point, he simply didn’t care. Sal continued to explain, despite Benny’s nod. “You see, the less you tell me, the greater leeway I have in defending you. Got it?”

“Sure,” Benny replied. Trying as best he could to tune Sal out.

“Third item,” Sal continued. He was on a roll now-he’d had a few cups of coffee before showing up at the prison. “Bail. I don’t think I’m going to get you out of here anytime soon. That stiff you smoked-I mean, allegedly shot-was a high roller. Anytime you smoke-and I’m just talking hypothetically, you understand?”

“I understand.” Benny felt the need to say something just to slow Sal down a bit. The lawyer was like a runaway freight train.

“Anytime you smoke a high roller, all hell breaks loose. So to make a long story short, that’s why you ain’t gettin’ out of here anytime soon.”

“Gotcha. Anything else?” Benny had had his fill of Sal. This is who my old man entrusts my life to? I’m getting fucked all over again.

“Oh yeah. I just want to tell you I’ve got a plan to get you out of here. I’ve been over the public defender’s files in detail, and I see some things we can work with. I’m going to hire a world-famous medical examiner from California to testify on your behalf. I’ve used him before. He’s great. His name is Dr. Donald Wong-you may have heard of him. So don’t worry, we’re working on a defense for you.”

Those last words made Benny feel a little better. Sal had reviewed the files and actually had a plan. Benny’s cautious optimism wasn’t entirely unwarranted, either. As goofy as Sal was, he knew how to get people off.

“The thing is,” Sal cautioned, “getting this guy is going to take some time. Like I said, he’s a big shot. He’s got to clear his calendar not only to do his investigation but also to testify at trial. So you’re going to be in here for a while.”

“How long?” Benny asked.

“Six months to a year.”

Benny shrugged his shoulders. “I ain’t got nothing better to do,” he said.

Sal had Benny sign a bunch of papers before leaving, including a contract of representation and a waiver of speedy trial. The lawyer gave Benny some final words of encouragement before he left.

“And don’t worry about the death penalty. They got it in New York, but they never use it.”