Charlie Adelson - Direct (Continued)
1,482 linesJUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated. Mr. Rashbaum, you may continue with your examination.
MR. RASHBAUM: Thank you, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, Charlie.
MR. RASHBAUM: You're aware of something called the bump, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I am.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you're aware that as a result of the bump, a whole host of calls happened after it, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, I promise not to play every call, but we're going to play some.
MR. RASHBAUM: So, at this point in time, permission to publish — already in evidence — State Exhibit A.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please proceed.
MR. RASHBAUM: Technology — not my strength.
JUDGE EVERETT: Take your time.
MR. RASHBAUM: Before — we'll sit through it again.
JUDGE EVERETT: The audio in — your headphones, all right? Please give a thumbs up so that way I can be sure everyone can hear it.
JUDGE EVERETT: We'll take you back to the jury room. We're going to fix the audio issue and then resume.
JUDGE EVERETT: There's a volume control, but I'm not sure.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's see how it sounds.
MR. RASHBAUM: I have normal hearing.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Adelson, are you having any difficulty with hearing what's coming out of the speaker?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I can hear pretty good.
JUDGE EVERETT: All right. Let's do a test run for the jurors. If they're fine with listening to the speaker, we'll move on.
JUDGE EVERETT: If not, they can put back on their headsets. I don't want to spend much time messing around with the headsets either. It's all working, so maybe you just want to use the headsets if you can.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please bring them in.
JUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can — be seated.
JUDGE EVERETT: Members of the jury, we're going to test the speaker first to determine whether you can clearly hear the audio coming out of the speaker.
JUDGE EVERETT: If you can clearly hear the audio, please give a thumbs up. If not, you'll have the option of putting back on your headsets. I believe the — where is their audio ability to change their volume levels? Okay, does everyone understand how to operate the volume switch? Please test away, Mr. Brush. Bob.
JUDGE EVERETT: Okay. Okay. Everyone's good. That's — just causing more problems. Continue — at — at your own peril, but you may continue.
MR. RASHBAUM: So, Charlie, I'm going to play for you Call A.
MR. RASHBAUM: This is a call on April 19th, 2016, 2:09 p.m. It's the first call with your mom after the bump.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Okay.
AUDIO RECORDING: I'm at Mitch — Klein's office.
AUDIO RECORDING: The desk, it works today.
AUDIO RECORDING: I'll give you a heads up if I'm going to have to drive up that way.
AUDIO RECORDING: No, no, no.
AUDIO RECORDING: Does it — involve me or other people?
AUDIO RECORDING: Well — What's that?
AUDIO RECORDING: Nothing.
AUDIO RECORDING: I — see them. That's great.
AUDIO RECORDING: You're — the rain. Was it anonymous, or...? Oh, no. Not anonymous.
AUDIO RECORDING: You — know, people get in at 1 o'clock. People work out at the gym from 9:30 to 10:30.
AUDIO RECORDING: Whatever it is, I'll take a look at the paperwork.
MR. RASHBAUM: Charlie — Where are you when this call happens?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm at Skyline Chili, eating a bowl of chili.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your mom says she had some paperwork delivered to her. Do you have any clue what she's talking about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I have no clue what she's talking about.
MR. RASHBAUM: What do you guess?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I thought it was the IRS.
MR. RASHBAUM: What else do you guess? Is everyone's health okay?
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you think it has anything to do with either your extortion or Professor Markel's murder at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, not at all.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why are you asking so many questions?
CHARLIE ADELSON: My mom — I know my mom my whole life. She's talking weird on the phone. She's, like — I can tell something's bothering her, but she's beating around the bush.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, your mom says — you say, "Does it involve me or other people?"
MR. RASHBAUM: And your mom responds, "Well, probably both of us."
MR. RASHBAUM: "Probably the two of us."
MR. RASHBAUM: "So you probably have a general idea of what I'm talking about." And I want to focus on those statements.
MR. RASHBAUM: When she says that to you, did you have any clue what she was talking about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No. I think I asked her a few more questions after that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, as the calls progress, do you know what she's talking about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: By the time I got to the end of the third call, I knew exactly what she was talking about. I felt like I knew pretty much what she was talking about by that point in time.
MR. RASHBAUM: And I want to go back to this line: "Does it involve me or other people?" Her answer: "Well, probably both of us. Probably the two of us. So you probably have a general idea of what I'm talking about." By the end of figuring out what this was, what did you understand her to be saying here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: By the time I got down to the third call, I realized fully what she was talking about in this call — in that she's getting extorted. And so why "the two of us"? She knows I was extorted two years earlier, and it's the same people that are coming to extort her for money. So she's trying to say it's the same thing that happened to you that's happening to me.
MR. RASHBAUM: And just to be clear — about a month and a half after the extortion of you, who did you tell?
CHARLIE ADELSON: My mom. She's the only person I told.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, when she says it's probably the both of us — probably the two of us — you understand the State's theory is that this murder conspiracy was, in addition to Katie, Sigfredo, and Luis Rivera, you, your mom, your dad, your sister. Do you understand that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I do now, yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: She doesn't say "probably the four of us," does she?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, she does not.
MR. RASHBAUM: She doesn't say "all of us," does she?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, she says "the two of us."
MR. RASHBAUM: Right. Yeah. Now, "the bump" — what was the bump?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The bump was an extortion from Latin King gang members — or, actually, it's the FBI pretending to be Latin King gang members.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, on this call there's discussion about your dad's schedule. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why was it important — why do you learn later that it was important what your dad's schedule was?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because my dad never knew what happened to me, and my mom was gonna want to talk to me when my dad wasn't around.
MR. RASHBAUM: We could go to B, which is a call right after, and it's you calling your mom back. May I publish, Your Honor?
AUDIO RECORDING: Do you mind paying my Brown & Brown insurance?
AUDIO RECORDING: Because I'm going to just stay with the same company.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, but the thing is, if you stay with the same company for three years and then try to buck you down and go lower, I — will stay with them and then hope that that's actually true and they can do what they said about — Do you want to get caught here, Paul?
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, because I told her that my mom was — And then just write — and then just send them in a chat.
AUDIO RECORDING: But they have to have it before something.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. And do that. And listen — whatever it is, whatever someone says, I wouldn't worry too much about anything.
AUDIO RECORDING: I mean, if someone can write whatever they want to write, I'm — not...
AUDIO RECORDING: Who is it, another bad review on Yelp?
AUDIO RECORDING: No, there's...
AUDIO RECORDING: Sometimes there are bad reviews.
AUDIO RECORDING: I'm not being sued.
AUDIO RECORDING: No. No, no. Okay.
AUDIO RECORDING: All right, honestly, whatever it is, it is, and I'm just judging from what you're making it sound like.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh yeah, listen, people can always write. People can always say anything they want.
AUDIO RECORDING: It doesn't, you know — if someone says you're a bad dentist, it doesn't mean you're a bad dentist.
AUDIO RECORDING: But anyway, I will definitely come down. It actually worked out perfectly. We had the day off.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. So I'll make you take me out to dinner. I'll make sure you bring cash with you.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. Do I need to bring cash?
MR. RASHBAUM: I want to pause it there.
MR. RASHBAUM: You call your mom back, and you start talking about the SunPass.
MR. RASHBAUM: Does that have anything to do with this case, the SunPass? Is it code?
CHARLIE ADELSON: SunPass is not code.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you mention the SunPass?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because a couple weeks earlier, my SunPass had gotten stolen out of the car from a valet. I didn't realize it. My parents were getting all these bills. They make a big deal about little things sometimes. So whatever it was, I was making fun of my mom. I thought it was a small issue, like a SunPass thing.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you then start talking about Brown and Brown Insurance. What's Brown and Brown Insurance? Is that code?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, no. That was actually the reason I called her back. On the last call, I forgot to tell her that I had to pay that insurance. Otherwise, if my insurance lapses, they'll cancel the policy, and it was due. So it was due by the 29th.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then start making more guesses. Is that fair to say?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah. I'm still at a loss for what's going on.
MR. RASHBAUM: You bring up Yelp, you bring up getting sued, right?
MR. RASHBAUM: Again, any clue whatsoever what this is about at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, she sounded really weird on the first call.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, then we get to the part that we just stopped.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she says to you, "I will make you take me out to dinner, so make sure you bring cash with you."
MR. RASHBAUM: At that point in time, what happens to your demeanor? You can hear it on the call. What happens?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I stutter, and I repeat back to her what she just said. I'm like, "I gotta bring cash with me." It was so out of place.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why did that happen at that point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think she was trying to hint to me that she's getting extorted.
MR. RASHBAUM: So what was odd about you bringing cash to dinner?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I put everything I possibly can on my credit card. That's how I ended up saving up so much cash.
MR. RASHBAUM: And, uh, let's hear how you respond.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, was this, I should bring cash? I don't have...
AUDIO RECORDING: Is someone blackmailing you, you think?
AUDIO RECORDING: Someone's trying to blackmail you?
AUDIO RECORDING: ...crazy. Is... there any way I can see you? You can't come up here at all?
AUDIO RECORDING: Can I just ask you this?
AUDIO RECORDING: Is this anything government-related, or is this like a whack job writing a letter?
AUDIO RECORDING: Is it like a whack job writing a letter to you, or is this government-related?
AUDIO RECORDING: No, I don't know.
AUDIO RECORDING: So it's not government or military or anything like that.
AUDIO RECORDING: ...to me a letter, addressed it to you.
AUDIO RECORDING: That's crazy. Did it have a — do you know who sent it to you?
AUDIO RECORDING: Whoever sent you the letter sent you, did they sign it?
AUDIO RECORDING: Was it like by a process server?
AUDIO RECORDING: Where did they come to you at?
MR. RASHBAUM: So let's talk about this call.
MR. RASHBAUM: You asked your mom, after she tells you to bring cash, "is someone blackmailing you?"
MR. RASHBAUM: And she says it's a good possibility.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now what are you thinking?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm starting to evaluate. You know, I still don't — still don't have an idea, but I was, I was extorted 21 months earlier, so I'm starting to evaluate, is it related to that, or what, what could it be?
MR. RASHBAUM: And are you growing more concerned?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Very, yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you ask her who the letter was addressed to. Why do, do you ask for that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I was the one who was extorted 21 months earlier. I had no idea why it would be going to my mom, unrelated to me.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then mentioned the possibility of seeing your mom tonight, and she doesn't want to see you tonight. Why doesn't she want to see you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because she's watching the boys, and she didn't want Wendi to ask her where were you and have to tell her — you know, what's going on.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now again, I thought, according to the State's theory, Wendi is a co-conspirator in this case, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That's part of the theory.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now you then say on this, "is the person threatening you or anything?" Why are you asking that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because on the night of the 18th, I was told if you don't pay in 48 hours, you're going to get killed. So I was trying to compare it to what happened to me to see, is this related to what happened to me?
MR. RASHBAUM: You later tell her that your advice to her is going to be to go to the police. Why would your advice to her be to go to the police at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I don't think it's related to what happened to me. When I asked my mom, "are they threatening you?", she was like, "well, maybe, you never know how to interpret these things," and like — it was very clear what the threat was to me on the 18th. So like, okay, then it's something unrelated to at that level of seriousness — maybe it's something involving code enforcement or OSHA or somebody messing with them. So I was just like, just go to the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now towards the end of the call, you say, "it wouldn't be the first time I'm being threatened." Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: What were you referring to?
CHARLIE ADELSON: When I was, when I was extorted 21 months earlier, I was, was threatened. So I was trying to compare it to that to see, is it possibly related to what happened to me.
MR. RASHBAUM: At the end of this call, do you know what is going on yet?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I don't know what's going on yet.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's go to the third call, which is 12 minutes later.
MR. RASHBAUM: And this is C.
MR. RASHBAUM: It is at three o'clock p.m.
AUDIO RECORDING: Hey, sir. Sorry about that. Quick question for you.
AUDIO RECORDING: Well, one thing I was — I was going to tell you, obviously, don't talk about things in the apartment or any place.
AUDIO RECORDING: No, obviously.
AUDIO RECORDING: The other thing is, was it a person — black, white, Hispanic?
AUDIO RECORDING: White.
AUDIO RECORDING: And they just came up to you and they said your name and they handed you a piece of paper?
AUDIO RECORDING: No.
AUDIO RECORDING: No. Didn't hear that. They were — first to me for a while. And then, and then — Were they wearing hats, sunglasses, or — No, nothing.
AUDIO RECORDING: I can — describe them to you, too.
AUDIO RECORDING: What's that? Yeah, you could just grab them for me, too.
AUDIO RECORDING: No, no.
AUDIO RECORDING: Was the person nervous, or were they angry?
AUDIO RECORDING: No, common people do — it crazy. Are they trying to ask for money or something?
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah.
AUDIO RECORDING: If someone's trying to — I mean, listen, if it's something like that, I'll probably, like, go to the police, but I'll probably — I mean, they have to, but I'd rather they spoke to you, so — I mean, yeah, I mean, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, you know — you know, there's scumbags out there all the time that try to do stuff like that.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh, no, no.
AUDIO RECORDING: I — don't want to, you know — you don't want your father upset.
AUDIO RECORDING: Don't say anything to your dad until I take a look at it. That's what I suggested.
AUDIO RECORDING: Did the person give you any kind of, like, timeframe or anything? Um, no. What — did they ask for? Um, I don't know. They asked — you for five.
AUDIO RECORDING: That's fucking hi— Sandra, good morning. How are you? Okay, that's crazy. Let me take a look at it and then I'll go from there. You're too — now.
MR. RASHBAUM: In the 12 minutes before this call, had you started to put the pieces together and figure out what was going on?
CHARLIE ADELSON: A little bit. A little bit. I was — I was thinking about the first call and the second call, and the more I thought about it, I thought this — this is related to what happened to me. So somehow this is related to it.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what does your attention shift to in the very beginning of this call?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I wanted to compare it to what happened to me 21 months earlier — to see, are these the same people that are doing this?
MR. RASHBAUM: And so the first question you ask: were they black, white, or Hispanic?
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you ask that question?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I always suspected that it was Sigfredo that did it. I mean, the process in my head — that was my first guess, and that's who I would have guessed it was.
CHARLIE ADELSON: When I met him, he was an angry guy, and I was trying to see — is this somebody fitting his description that's maybe coming to my mom and doing this?
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you ask her, did they give you a time frame?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because that night I was told, you got 48 hours to pay up. I'm trying to compare it to — is this person telling my mom you've got 48 hours to pay up?
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, she says no, but it is clear what is wanted. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then she says, this TV is probably about five. Now, before we get there — in the very start of the call, you say, don't talk about anything in the apartment or any place.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you say that to your mom?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, that was one of the first things I told her when I told her what had happened to me when I got extorted. It was picking up the checks from her. It was to never talk about it with anybody — not talk about it on the phone, don't talk in the apartment. It's that there's always a chance that the police are listening.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what would you be afraid the police were listening to if you didn't do a murder?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I never wanted anyone to know I was extorted.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why didn't you want the police to know you were extorted? What would happen if the police knew you were extorted?
CHARLIE ADELSON: They would come talk to me.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what would happen if they came and talked to you? What did you think would happen at that point?
CHARLIE ADELSON: If they came to talk to me, if I decided to talk to them, I'd have to tell them what happened to me.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And if I told them what happened to me, my life would be in danger. These people would come find me. They'd find someone in my family. I mean, they don't care.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, going back to the TV comment, where she says, this TV is probably about five.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you have code words with your mom that TV — I think they said, do you have that sheet where TV equals?
MR. RASHBAUM: Did TV — was it a code word?
CHARLIE ADELSON: There is absolutely no code word involving TV whatsoever.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, by the way, your response isn't, no, it's an air conditioner.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your response is, they want $5,000?
MR. RASHBAUM: Was there any code there?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Not at all. I just wanted to clarify what was being said to me — to repeat it back.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your mom then brings up that they brought up an ex-girlfriend. Do you remember that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, Ms. Cappleman, in her cross-examinations, went through how you had several ex-girlfriends after Katie Magbanua. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did any of your other ex-girlfriends become involved in a situation where you were extorted?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I only had one ex-girlfriend whose friends extorted me.
MR. RASHBAUM: So once she brings up your ex-girlfriend, did you have a pretty good idea of what was going on?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I knew exactly what was going on at this point.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well — almost exactly what was going on.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, also during this call, you again remind your mom not to say anything to your father, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: At the end of this call, what do you decide to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm going to give Katie a call.
MR. RASHBAUM: And why are you going to reach out to Katie?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I want to see if her friends are extorting my mom that she knows of, because she sure knew what had happened to me.
MR. RASHBAUM: We're going to now publish D, Your Honor, already in evidence.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may.
MR. RASHBAUM: This is a call between you and Katherine Magbanua at 4:27 p.m. on that same day, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you want to use your headphones?
[STAGE DIRECTION]: [audio playback of phone call between Charlie Adelson and Katherine Magbanua]
AUDIO RECORDING: Hello?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Hey, what's going on? Is there someplace you can talk to me? Any place that you can talk to me?
AUDIO RECORDING: What's that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Just talk right now. Just talk.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Okay, can you go someplace where it's not loud where I'm talking to you?
AUDIO RECORDING: I can't. It's like loud, but I can't get out.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay, I'm trying to walk outside and talk to her. I can't even talk to her to get outside.
CHARLIE ADELSON: All right, so you have somebody?
AUDIO RECORDING: I can hear.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Okay, I just want you to listen to me. I'll be able to talk to you first, and then I'll see you tomorrow.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I don't know what's going on, but my mom heard part of the story, and I'm going to go down there and talk to her tomorrow to find out what's going on. Okay. She didn't want to elaborate.
AUDIO RECORDING: Uh-huh.
CHARLIE ADELSON: But she said that someone approached her on the street, called her by name, something in it. Yeah. And somebody was — she really wouldn't go into detail. I have no idea what he's been referenced to. But something regarding her son, something regarding his ex-girlfriend, and the person asking my mom for somebody.
AUDIO RECORDING: What?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So I said, well, hey, I'm like, first of all, you're saying — I thought it was, like, something involved in the IRS or something like that. So I don't even know what the fuck it's about at all.
AUDIO RECORDING: So somebody can, like, bump into your mom like that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, they came up to her on the street after she dropped the kids off at school. I guess she's gone to school. I don't even know.
CHARLIE ADELSON: But they must know her routine. They must know who she is. They walked up to her, they called her by name, they handed her an envelope, she said they spoke to her for a few minutes, and then they'd be paid for the money.
AUDIO RECORDING: For what?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was just — my mom didn't want to talk to me on the phone. But, like, did she see the person?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Oh yeah, that's what I said. I said, no one's going to start blackmailing you or something.
AUDIO RECORDING: Exactly, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I said, you've got to go — She's like, I don't even know what this is about. I don't — I don't want to talk about it. I will take a picture and send me what it is. She's like, I just want to see the person.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm gonna go down — I can't even fucking go there today because I won't get out of work until nine o'clock at night. Yeah. So she's like — just a little bit. Stalking your mom? I just — I don't even fucking know. I don't know what's going on with my mom's body. You didn't do anything with my mom.
[STAGE DIRECTION]: [audio playback ends]
MR. RASHBAUM: Let me pause it right there.
MR. RASHBAUM: You say, and I quote, "I mean, you didn't do anything with my mom."
CHARLIE ADELSON: I did say that.
MR. RASHBAUM: What were you asking her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Are your friends extorting my mom that you know of? Are they up to this?
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, during this call, you say, "I have no idea what this is in reference to."
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you say that to Katie?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm calling her up and talking about something that she'd asked me to never talk about.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And I never planned on talking about it.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So I wanted to let her know that I wasn't setting her up. I needed her help. That's why I was calling her up.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you make reference to an ex-girlfriend, but you're kind of wishy-washy whether she's the ex-girlfriend. Why?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I was implying it was her, but I didn't want her to feel like I was setting her up.
MR. RASHBAUM: She says to you, when you say, "I mean, you didn't do anything with my mom," she says, "What would I do with your mom?"
MR. RASHBAUM: And you say, "Just checking."
MR. RASHBAUM: Katie seems surprised on this call.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Very.
MR. RASHBAUM: How did that make you feel?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That made me feel good. It made me feel like it wasn't her friends that were doing it. I mean, she knew when it happened last time. She definitely wasn't acting surprised.
MR. RASHBAUM: What was your level of concern at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: It was probably medium.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I mean, I was still pretty concerned, but my mom didn't sound right on the phone.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, there's a call that occurs after this call that is not in evidence where Katie calls you back.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall what Katie wanted you to do when she called you back?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She wanted me to go down there that night to see my parents.
MR. RASHBAUM: And did she seem very concerned?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She was extremely concerned when she called me back.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you go to see your mom that night?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No. I finished work probably after 10, and I went down there the next afternoon.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, so let's talk about the next day.
MR. RASHBAUM: So just to be clear, the bump happens, and these calls happen on April 19, 2016, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes. We're now at April 20th.
MR. RASHBAUM: Where did you meet your mom?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I met her in the lobby of the building.
MR. RASHBAUM: And did you go anywhere with her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, we went for a short walk and ended up sitting on a bench.
MR. RASHBAUM: What time approximately did you get to Miami and see your mom?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'd say like 1:30ish.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Why did you meet her then?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because she wanted to wait for my dad to go to work.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you walked to this bench, it's outside of a restaurant called Monty's, right? Not far from a restaurant called Monty's?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, it's right next to Monty's, actually.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you notice anyone following you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: As you sit here today, do you know that you were being followed?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Today I do, yeah. Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now, I think State's Exhibit 54 has been put in evidence. It's a picture of you and your mom on that bench outside of Monty's. Is that a fair depiction of where you were?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, we were sitting.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's been testimony, I think, by Special Agent Sanford that you and your mom were whispering or trying not to be heard. Is that testimony true?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I mean, we wanted some privacy for sure.
MR. RASHBAUM: And how was your mom acting?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She was very scared.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did she tell you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, she told me that she went to go pick the boys up from school and that this really big guy came over to her and said that you've been helping out Katie, and Tuto, my brother Tato, is going through a hard time, and he's incarcerated.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And my brother Tato did a big favor for you, and you need to do what's right. You need to take care of my brother Tato.
CHARLIE ADELSON: My mom's like, "I don't know what you're talking about." The guy handed her a copy of an article, and it had $5,000 written on it, and it also had a cell phone written on it.
MR. RASHBAUM: At this point in time, did you have any clue whatsoever who Tato was?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I've never heard of Tato in my life.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, so let me make sure that we're all on the same page. You knew who Tuto was, right? Tuto was Sigfredo Garcia.
MR. RASHBAUM: But you had no idea of anyone named Tato or Luis Rivera, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Never heard of that name before.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did your mom show you the paper that was given to her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, she did.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall if you took the paper with you or whether you wrote down the phone number from the paper?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I don't know whether I took the paper with me or I just took a piece of paper and wrote the phone number down on the paper. One of the two, but I did have the number with me when I left.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now, at this point in time, when you're meeting with your mom, what was she concerned about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She was concerned that she was going to get hurt, and that they were going to hurt her, and then someone else in the family was going to pay, and she wanted to go to the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you tell your mom in response? What was your theory at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was telling my mom this, this is so different than what happened to me. I said, you know, it could actually — I was actually thinking it could have been Sigfredo Garcia, because him and Katie were in this explosive fight, and I always suspected that it was him and that he's now extorting my mom, and that's what it was. So I thought it could be that. That scared my mom a lot. But then I said, you know, this is probably the police. I said, you know, they're not telling you 48 hours or you're going to get killed.
CHARLIE ADELSON: They're not hiding who they are. For the first, you know — even at that point, I only suspected Sigfredo. This guy's not even hiding who he is. He's not wearing a hat. He's not wearing glasses. He's not trying to conceal himself.
CHARLIE ADELSON: You know, the first time I wasn't given a cell phone number. This time they're giving cell phone numbers. They're giving names. They're giving all this information.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm like, wow, I think this is the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you tell your mom you were going to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I told her that I was going to go ahead and go talk to Katie and see if she thinks that this is possibly — if this is Sigfredo, who I suspected — and if it is, see if she could get him to stop.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, did your mom during this meeting tell you anything about your dad?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did she say?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She was really worried that her safety was an issue now, and my dad's with her all the time, and she's like, "Look, I know you don't want me to say anything to Dad, but I have to say something to him. Like, this has gone too far. I can't not." So I told her, I said, if you tell him, you've got to promise not to say anything to Wendi. Please do not let them go to the police.
CHARLIE ADELSON: You're going to put my life at risk. You're going to put your life at risk.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Let me just figure out if Katie could get these people to stop, if she's related to them somehow, and identify them and get them to stop.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why were you so adamant that she not tell Wendi?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I thought Wendi would go to the police, and I thought my dad would too, but my mom swore that she'd be able to get them not to go.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you tell your mom about what you would do with your dad after she told him?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I said, after you tell Dad what's going on, I said, I'll be happy to have him come over to my house, or I'll meet him. I'm sure he's going to have a whole bunch of questions, and I'll talk to Dad tomorrow.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, after you left your mom, what did you do next?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I left, and then I drove up to see Katie. She was probably working for a real estate company, and it was about 15 minutes away from my parents' place.
MR. RASHBAUM: And I think we heard the calls. I'm not going to play them again. Did you call her to find out the address and where to meet her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I got the address, and then I called her again as I was pulling into the plaza because I'd never been there before.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And she walked out of the office that she was working at.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, when you got to her, by the way, where she was working, was it in a strip mall?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. When you got there, where was she?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She was standing in front of the — I think it was Optimar Realty. She had just come outside, so she waved me down.
MR. RASHBAUM: And did you go straight into the restaurant, or did something happen before you went into the restaurant later?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Um, she came — she walked over to the car. I pulled up into a parking spot, she walked over to the car. I just — I wanted to talk to her, so I said, I said, hop in the car, I need to talk to you.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, did you know that you were being followed?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, not at all.
MR. RASHBAUM: When she got in the car, what did you learn and what happened?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, you know, she asked me what happened to my mom. I told her, and I said, I said — I said, do you think — do you think this is T? You know, they said — well, I said, geez, was this — was T behind what happened to me? And she said — she looked at me — she said, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what did you ask her about the information your mom had received when she was approached on the street?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I asked her if she thought that this was T, that he's doing this to my mom, you know, because you guys are fighting. Like a week or so earlier, they had this explosive fight because she saw his phone and some girl was sending her text messages of a tattoo that she just got at like 3 in the morning.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So they were, like, breaking up, and now that my mom's getting extorted and she's having a fight with him, I'm suspecting that it's him.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you bring up the name Tato?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: What happened when you brought up the name Tato?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I said, "Have you ever heard of some guy Tato?" I thought it was a joke that there's a Tuto and a Tato.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Have you ever heard of Tato?
CHARLIE ADELSON: And then she started talking.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did she say?
CHARLIE ADELSON: And she said, "Yeah, I know Tato."
CHARLIE ADELSON: Tato is Tuto's best friend.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And she said, he's a bad dude. He's the head of the Latin Kings.
CHARLIE ADELSON: She said they went up to Tallahassee, and he's the one who rented a car, and he's the one who did this to Dan.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And off the top of my head, I'm freaking out. This is the guy that's now extorting my mom, and I'm like, Katie, is this guy incarcerated?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's like, yeah.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm like, does he have brothers? She said he's got four or five brothers, but he's got a couple hundred brothers in the Latin Kings of Miami.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's stop there for a second.
MR. RASHBAUM: So why did you ask her if he was incarcerated?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because the guy who came up to my mom said, my brother Tato is incarcerated. He's going through a hard time, and he needs your help. You need to take care of him the way you're taking care of Katie and Tuto.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, when Katie is telling you that there is a Tato, that he's the head of the Latin Kings, that he's incarcerated, and you know he has brothers — what starts going through your mind?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Holy shit, this is real. Like, this is real extortion, and it's happening again.
MR. RASHBAUM: What does Katie tell you about what happened in Tallahassee and who did what?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She told me that T was high on drugs and got fast food.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'm going to interrupt you for one second just to make it clear to the jury. I'm going to ask you — I know she used their nicknames, okay?
MR. RASHBAUM: Make that clear. But for the purposes of today, let's use their names so that there's no confusion.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay? I understand in the car she used nicknames, either Tato, Tuto, or T.
MR. RASHBAUM: But just for the purposes of today, use their names, okay? What did she tell you about who did what in Tallahassee?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She said that Sigfredo was high on drugs at the hotel.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And that Luis Rivera was the one who shot Dan.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, did she tell you that Tato was also behind your extortion, or no?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She said that Sigfredo brought him to go do this, and that he got paid, but the extorter was Sigfredo.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did she describe to you — you said she described to you about a rental car.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did she describe to you anything about the payments the next day?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did she tell you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She said when she brought the money, she met up with them, and she gave the money to Sigfredo and him, and that she didn't touch any of it, and that she didn't take a single dime for herself or anything like that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, when you're hearing this in the car, by the way, how long do you think you were in the car for?
CHARLIE ADELSON: 10 to 15 minutes, probably closer to 10.
MR. RASHBAUM: How are you feeling, and what do you now want to do when you're in the car? You've just told your mom that you think it's the police, that it's all going to be okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now you've heard that there is a real Tato.
MR. RASHBAUM: How are you feeling, and what are you thinking about doing at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm — I'm freaking out, because I thought it was Sigfredo. Then I'm hearing all the stuff about this guy Tato, whose name is Luis Rivera. Everything's seeming real. I was extorted; now my mom's getting extorted. Katie's telling me she doesn't think it's Tato or his people — he wouldn't do it like this; he would have done it the way it happened to me. She's telling me that she thinks it's a copycat of — of, uh, one of, maybe one of Tato's — someone who knows Tato and is doing a copycat on him and doing their own extortion. Or — she thinks it's probably the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now, how is she acting in the car?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's upset. She's very upset.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you've — you've told her that they used her name, correct?
MR. RASHBAUM: What do you decide to do after she tells you this bombshell information?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, I mean, I have more questions than answers.
CHARLIE ADELSON: When I got done talking to her in the car, I was more confused than ever. I had told my mom I'm going to talk to Katie and see if her friend is behind this and if she can get him to stop.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Now it's like, opened the door to all these other possibilities and scenarios of what it could be and what to do.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So Katie was the only person on the planet that I could talk to about this and see if I could try to get it to stop.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So I said, Katie, do you want to go inside and get some coffee? And I thought I'd be able to talk to her more and try to see what we're supposed to do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, we know you like to talk.
MR. RASHBAUM: How about when you're scared and trying to figure things out?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I mean, I was freaking out. I mean, I was freaking out, and I'm trying to figure things out by talking out different scenarios out loud, thinking, if it's this, we do this; or if we do this, what will happen; or if we do this, what will happen. And that's why a lot of it's very jumbled up, because I'm all over the place.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. So you decide to go inside and get coffee. Katie agrees with you. And is that when you go into the restaurant called — and I always — I pronounce it wrong, Your Honor, I'm sorry — Dolce Vita?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, it is.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. When you went into the restaurant, who — did you think was behind it?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, let me start by saying something else.
MR. RASHBAUM: You've seen the audio of you in that restaurant, right? With Katie?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Before that audio started, had you met with Katie in the restaurant for about 20 or 30 minutes?
CHARLIE ADELSON: We'd been in there about a half hour talking.
MR. RASHBAUM: So that audio doesn't capture anything in the beginning of your conversation, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, let's talk a little bit about the beginning of the conversation. Obviously, it's many years ago, you're not going to remember word for word what was said, but generally — what was Katie telling you, and what were you telling Katie?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Katie was saying that it's the police, and I — I didn't care if it was the police. I was there because it was a bad guy. So I'm trying to figure out, like, is my family really in danger? And what should we do? And if they are in danger, what should we do?
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you know that law enforcement at some point in the conversation started to record you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I thought we were alone.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, your conversation with Katie in the restaurant — how were you talking? Were you talking freely or carefully?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I always spoke to Katie carefully.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why was it so important for you to talk carefully to Katie in this restaurant?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Whenever I spoke to Katie, I needed her help, so I never wanted her to feel like I was trying to set her up or set her friends up in that — in that regard. So every time I said something or phrased something, I was always really careful in how I spoke to her.
MR. RASHBAUM: And again, at this point in time, did you have any clue whatsoever that Katie was part of the extortion of you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I — I did not think she was ever a part of it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, the first thing that is caught on the recording is, "If they had any evidence, we would have already gone to the airport." Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: What were you saying here, and what was it in context to of what had been said before?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Okay. Directly before that, Katie was talking about it being the police and that she thinks it's the police, and I'm like, it's — it's fine if it's the police. Like, we're innocent. They're not going to have any evidence. If we had anything to do with this, I'd be going to the airport right now.
MR. RASHBAUM: What you're saying is, it's the police.
CHARLIE ADELSON: They're not going to have evidence to show that we did something that we didn't do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Charlie, without getting into all the details that I did with Agent Sanford, this communication at Dolce Vita happened in 2016.
MR. RASHBAUM: You were arrested in 2022.
MR. RASHBAUM: When did you know that the state thought that you had participated in the murder of Professor Markel?
CHARLIE ADELSON: When the probable cause affidavit was released.
MR. RASHBAUM: And when was that affidavit released approximately?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think it was leaked to the media, and I saw it in August of 2016.
MR. RASHBAUM: 2016. Did you ever try to flee the country?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Never.
MR. RASHBAUM: After August 2016?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Never.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why not?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I wasn't part of a murder. There was no — they weren't going to have any evidence to show I was part of a murder.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you say during Dolce Vita.
MR. RASHBAUM: One second, Your Honor. I'm sorry. I lost my spot.
MR. RASHBAUM: Is Dolce Vita a bit of an argument between you and Katie?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah. You could say that.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what is the argument about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's taking the position that it's the police and you can't pay the police.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And I wasn't as focused on the police as I was focused on, well, if it's a bad guy, what do we do? Like, we can't go to the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why were you not focused on it being the police?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I didn't do a murder. I wasn't worried if it was the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, if it was a bad guy, what did you want her to do? What did you want Katie to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I wanted her to reach out to them and see if she could get them to stop.
CHARLIE ADELSON: You know, maybe threaten them, maybe she could pay them, maybe she could tell them she's going to pay them — it's a one-time thing.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I want to see if she could identify them and get them to stop.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why did you want her to do that as opposed to you doing that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She knew who the original people were. She knew Sigfredo, she knew this guy Luis Rivera, and she'd be the only person who'd be able to identify them and get them to stop, and maybe they'd be afraid of her.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, throughout this recording, several times, you try to sound tough. Is that the case?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Absolutely.
MR. RASHBAUM: You say, "I carry a gun on me," right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I said that.
MR. RASHBAUM: "I mean, someone comes up to me "
MR. RASHBAUM: "If someone comes up to me, they'd better be ready to shoot, because I'm going to shoot them."
MR. RASHBAUM: "Someone comes up to me asking for money in my house, when the fucking police show up and there's a doctor — there's an oral surgeon — standing there with a dead gang member in his fucking driveway. They're not going to come down too hard on me."
MR. RASHBAUM: Take a break right there. Why are you talking tough?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I want to let her know, like — and, you know, they're messing with my mom. They mess with me. Like, I've literally just had enough, and I've been trying to send that message.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you bring up a gang member?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because 45 minutes earlier, when I was sitting in the car with Katie, she told me that Luis Rivera was the head of the Latin Kings, and that's who the second extortion was — a Latin King gang member who was extorting my parents, which was actually the FBI.
MR. RASHBAUM: But it was immediately after you say those lines, though, you say, "And I'm not going to talk anyway." Why do you say that? You're being tough, and then you say, "And I'm not going to talk anyway." Why do you say that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because — I also didn't want to scare her into thinking that I'm some kind of loose end, that at any point I was going to the police. I was making it clear that at no point I was going to the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then say, "Katie, this is not like some chick showing tattoos to your man."
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you talking about here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That was in reference to their explosive fight that sent her and Sigfredo in opposite directions. And I was thinking that he was behind what had happened to my mom. I thought he was just sending a third party to collect.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what are you trying to tell Katie to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm telling her to call this person and to contact them and see if she can get them to stop.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you then say, "They're not going away."
MR. RASHBAUM: "I may wish they'd go away, but they're not going away."
MR. RASHBAUM: And then there's a bunch of "intelligibles," and there's a line that says — that you say — "Well, with a beard or a badge."
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you have any idea what you were talking about there?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think we were talking about, is it a police officer or a bad guy?
MR. RASHBAUM: And again, who would be the beard?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The beard would be a bad guy.
MR. RASHBAUM: And who again was Katie trying to convince you it was?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She was trying to convince me it's the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, we've seen this conversation live, although we can't hear all of it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Are you doing more of the talking or more of the listening?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm doing the thinking out loud and talking.
MR. RASHBAUM: You're not really listening to her at all, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: You again say, "Listen, if a badge comes up to you, tell them, 'Have a nice day, officer.'"
MR. RASHBAUM: And she says, "Yeah, no, perfect."
MR. RASHBAUM: You say, "If not, I don't talk to cops. Sorry."
MR. RASHBAUM: And she says, "Yeah, no, perfect." What are you saying to Katie here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm reassuring her that I'm keeping my mouth shut and I'm not going to the police, and I'm not trying to set her up, but I wanted her to maybe make a payment.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you say this person is not — this is after her long unintelligible — you say, "Well, Katie, this person is not going away. They came very equipped with details." What details are you talking about here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: They — they know about my payment to her with the checks. They know about the payment.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then go on a bunch of long discussions about DNA in a rental car. Why do you bring up a rental car?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because 40 minutes earlier I was sitting in a car with her, and she was telling me that Luis Rivera rented a car.
MR. RASHBAUM: And during these long discussions, you're talking about how you don't really know anything.
MR. RASHBAUM: You — Charlie — doesn't really know anything. Why are you telling her repeatedly that you don't know anything?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm trying to reassure her that I'm harmless and that I don't have any real knowledge of what went on, and that I'm not some loose end that you guys need to go try to clean up.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you then say, "They said the guy's name was 2-0-2-toe. I don't even know who the fuck it is."
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you know who 2-toe was?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I knew who 2-toe was.
MR. RASHBAUM: Was this you confusing the names 2-toe and Tato?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That's exactly what it was. I was getting the names mixed up.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she asks you to describe what he looked like, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you say — some of it's unintelligible — but you say, "Well-spoken, like, polite."
MR. RASHBAUM: She goes, "Polite and well-spoken."
MR. RASHBAUM: "I said, did he have, like, did he act thug, or did he talk with, like, a thick Spanish accent or anything?"
MR. RASHBAUM: She said, "No."
MR. RASHBAUM: "I said, was he white or Hispanic?"
MR. RASHBAUM: She said he was white, but he could have been Hispanic. Hispanic — why were these facts important to you and Katie?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I was comparing the original extortion that I had to the person that's extorting my mom, to see if they fit the description.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she says, "So recognizable." And you say, "With no glasses, no glasses, no hat, very well dressed." And she says, "Well dressed." As you're talking about this, what are the both of you trying to figure out?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Trying to figure out, is this related to — is this real extortion, or is this the police?
MR. RASHBAUM: And what is Katie telling you of why she doesn't think this is real extortion and why she thinks it's the police?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because of how it's being done, and these people wouldn't do it this way. But it still opened up the door to her, where she said it could be a copycat — and somebody just trying to piggyback the extortion and make it their own.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you say to her — every time she's telling you it's the police, you kind of push back.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you push back?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The whole purpose of me being there with her was not to hear if it was the police. I needed her help if it wasn't the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: 10 minutes and 28 seconds into the recording — not the meeting, but the recording — the following thing is what you say: "They didn't mention my name, which makes me think that they don't — these people only know part of the story, or they think they know part of the story." What are you telling Katie here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm saying they didn't mention my name. They don't even know I was extorted.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And that they only know part of the story. They know about the checks that my mom was writing to you.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Or they think they know part of the story. They don't realize that that was payment for an extortion, not payment for a murder.
MR. RASHBAUM: So whoever is doing this thinks that you did a murder, because they don't know that you were extorted.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Exactly.
MR. RASHBAUM: And, by the way, isn't that exactly what the bump is?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The bump is an extortion.
MR. RASHBAUM: But isn't the bump designed in a way that they thought you were part of a murder, and the responses they got, they didn't understand because they only knew part of the story?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That's exactly it.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then say, "When everybody was there the next day, hey, did you take any money? It's not like you're driving around in a Bentley, cruising around in a Megadial."
CHARLIE ADELSON: Someone — he must, at some point, because otherwise he would have no idea I had anything to do with—
MR. RASHBAUM: First of all, remind the jury — how did you know what happened on July 19th, and when did you learn that?
MR. RASHBAUM: July 19th and July 18th — how did you learn, how did you know about the money drop? Let me ask that question.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Okay. Katie told me that the next day she brought the money to, uh, to Luis and Sigfredo Garcia.
MR. RASHBAUM: When did she tell you that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She told me that, uh, in the car, 30 minutes earlier.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, when you're asking this question, who is the "everybody" that you are referring to?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera.
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you confirming here, and why?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That she's not a part of it. I mean, she's broke. I mean, I was being sarcastic when I'm like, you're not cruising around in a mega yacht or driving a Bentley. Like, her car's getting declined in Old Navy and she's borrowing 300 bucks from me. So I didn't think she was a part of it. I don't think — I didn't think at the time that she took any of that money.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So that's why I said it like that — is that you didn't take any of the money next day, and they're saying that, like, "I'm helping you out." So I'm thinking that, like, Sigfredo must have said something to Louis about the little things that I do to help you out with, you know, lending you money.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I gave her a car with 150,000, 160,000 miles on it — that Sigfredo must have said something to Louis, and then maybe one of his people is now trying to extort my family.
MR. RASHBAUM: And in response, what does she say to you?
MR. RASHBAUM: Who does she say it is?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She thinks it's the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: And so then you say to her, "It could, it could. I wish that it was a cop playing games."
MR. RASHBAUM: Why did you wish it was a cop playing games?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because then it meant that my mom wasn't being extorted by Latin Kings gang members.
MR. RASHBAUM: You say, "and I'm not involved."
MR. RASHBAUM: You recall saying that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why didn't you specifically mention the word "extortion" in Dolce Vita? Why didn't you say, "Katie, are these the same people that are doing this to my mom that did it to me back in July of 2014?" Why didn't you just say that in this recording?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was being real careful when I spoke to Katie. I would never say the word "extortion" to her.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why not?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I would get zero help and she'd think I was setting her up.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what were you most concerned about at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was most concerned about the gang member that's now extorting my mom, and also about trying to get Katie to help me to stop it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Again, you say, "If it's a cop, I'm happy because I've got nothing to hide."
MR. RASHBAUM: You say that at least three times.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you tell her that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because she keeps on saying that it's the police.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And I'm not worried about if it's the police. I'm worried about if it's a gang member, and that's coming after my mom.
MR. RASHBAUM: And as she's pushing back that she doesn't want to make the payment or reach out to the person, you then bring up "it's going to put a spotlight in the investigation" — you start talking about the FBI and BBC News. First of all, what investigation are you talking about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The murder investigation of Dan Markel.
MR. RASHBAUM: And why are you trying to tell Katie that this is going to put a spotlight on this investigation? Why are you trying to tell her that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm trying to tell her that this is a big deal.
CHARLIE ADELSON: If we go to the police on the second extortion, they're going to catch the second extortion. And when they catch them, they're going to turn, and the second extortion is going to turn in the first extortion. And then when you catch the first extortion, the police are going to come talk to us, and then when we tell them what happened, you're going to be in a lot of danger. There's no way I can talk to the police. So by catching the second, it's going to turn in the first. And that's exactly what I say in there.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you tell her that you want her to give the guy the money, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she— Again, what's her reaction to that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's like, "You can't pay the cops, they're going to arrest you. They're going to think you're a part of it."
MR. RASHBAUM: And so then you give a long-winded explanation of what she can say that won't incriminate herself, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Or make the police come talk to her. So I'm saying, just tell them that you don't know anything.
MR. RASHBAUM: Again, what are you trying to convince her to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Make a payment.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she's refusing, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: You say, "That's all I was able to come up with."
MR. RASHBAUM: "If it's the police, they can't take the money."
MR. RASHBAUM: "They can't take the money. They won't even come meet you."
MR. RASHBAUM: "If it's this guy, maybe in the back of his — he knows, [unintelligible], fuck off, [unintelligible]."
MR. RASHBAUM: "And then now he's fucking with his wife. And he's — if he's fucking with him, you fuck with — you fuck with the king himself, you'd better kill him, because he's going to be a big problem." What are you trying to say to her here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm saying that maybe if you go and contact these people, they're going to know who you are, and they're going to realize — they'll know who, that your husband is Sigfredo Garcia. Sigfredo is about as scary of a guy as you can be, and if Sigfredo has a problem with you, the only thing you could do to stop Sigfredo if he wants to come after you is to kill Sigfredo. So I wasn't talking about killing him, but I was saying if he knows who you are, he's going to be a big problem. So the only way they could stop Sigfredo is if they killed him, because he's a dangerous guy.
MR. RASHBAUM: And is that precisely why you wanted her to be contacting this person?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, because they would know who her husband is. They would cut it out.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then say, "And so help me God, if they fuck with my family, it's going to be like that Nazi shit, because this will be done."
MR. RASHBAUM: Who used that terminology with you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That was an expression that Katie would use. She would say, like, "this Nazi shit," like, to go crazy on somebody.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And that was a term that she would use. And I just — I used it back to her. And it meant — I was saying, like, listen, like, I'm trying to sound tough also. So I said, listen, I'm going to get somebody to go crazy on this person and get them to stop. Like, this needs to end.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then say, "I don't care what I have to spend."
MR. RASHBAUM: Ms. Cappleman asked one of the witnesses, "Aren't you admitting to doing a murder-for-hire here?"
CHARLIE ADELSON: Absolutely not. I'm saying that I'll get somebody to act and go crazy on whoever's doing this and get them to stop. I mean, I'm not a scary guy like Sigfredo Garcia is.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So I was trying to sound intimidating.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then say, "He doesn't have any bad feelings towards me, does he? Our paths never cross. I didn't know that the two of you would be working out." Why do you ask this?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I'm saying, like, I've been complying — I've been paying every single month. It's — and it's not like I ever — I didn't do anything to him. I was, I was still thinking maybe it could be him that's doing this, as I was saying.
MR. RASHBAUM: And in the video, you see Katie leaving the table for a bit, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes. She leaves for about two minutes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what happens when she leaves, before she comes back?
CHARLIE ADELSON: It's probably the first two minutes in the last 45 or 50 minutes that I stopped talking and just sat there and started thinking about everything that we've been talking about.
MR. RASHBAUM: And as you're sitting there and thinking about it, what goes through your mind? What do you realize?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I just start thinking again about how different — how different this is, and that the person's not hiding who they are. There's no "I'm going to kill you in 48 hours." They're giving lots of information. You know, this is not the same people.
MR. RASHBAUM: When she comes back you give her the number, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you remember if you gave her a piece of paper, or if she — do you have any recollection of whether you gave her a piece of paper or she wrote down the number, or whether you — do you have any idea, any memory, this many years later?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I think I may — I think I may have just said it to her verbally or given her paper. I don't remember sitting here today.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then you immediately start talking about how the guy didn't have glasses or a hat.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why was that the first thing that you started talking to her about when she came back?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I was thinking, like, for two years, I had no idea.
CHARLIE ADELSON: You know, nothing was confirmed, and the identity was hidden. It was just "her friend." Now all of a sudden this guy shows up and he's not even taking the precaution of trying to hide his identity. He has no problem showing his face.
MR. RASHBAUM: And at this point in time, when she comes back, who do you think is behind this?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm coming around to her way of thinking that it's probably the police — and a chance, small chance, that it's a, some sort of copycat — but more than likely it's just the — is the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: What do you ask her to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I still ask her to call the number, just to make a chance that, like, hey, if I'm wrong and it's not the police and it turns out to be somebody that really is dangerous — like, I'm betting my mom's life on it being the police. So at least just call, and make it so for that peace of mind that we confirm it is what we think it is.
MR. RASHBAUM: At the end of the recording, you see that you're actually joking about something.
MR. RASHBAUM: How do you feel at the end of your meeting with her in Dolce Vita?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I feel much better. I mean, I'm back to the way I started when I came out there, is that I was thinking it was probably the police. I felt even more likely it was the police after I got done meeting with her.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you repeatedly say during this recording that you hope it's the police, did you understand that if it was the police, they thought they would be thinking that you were part of a murder?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: So why were you hoping it was the police?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, I wasn't part of a murder.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And if it was the police, it meant there was no danger. Nobody's going to get hurt.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And there's no danger to anyone in my family.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, I'm going to move on to another topic.
JUDGE EVERETT: Before we do that, members of the jury, does anyone need to take a break? Please raise your hand.
JUDGE EVERETT: We will take a brief break.
JUDGE EVERETT: For the next 10 minutes, we'll resume a little bit after 3:30.
JUDGE EVERETT: All right. You can step back down with your attorneys if you need to confer with them. We'll get started again in about ten minutes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, we're going to try to fix the computer so I can...
JUDGE EVERETT: You can come back to the witness stand. Everyone can be seated.
JUDGE EVERETT: Are they done in the restroom?
COURT STAFF: They had two more to go ten minutes ago, so I would like to believe them.
JUDGE EVERETT: Okay, Rashbaum, time check. Where are we at in said examination?
MR. RASHBAUM: I'm not sure you want to know.
JUDGE EVERETT: I noticed before you had a script that it looked like you were a quarter, half the way through.
MR. RASHBAUM: The script is deceiving, but I don't anticipate that this will end today.
JUDGE EVERETT: That much more ground to cover. All right. Once we get into tomorrow, how long?
MR. RASHBAUM: I think that would be a better question after today.
JUDGE EVERETT: No, look, we're going chronologically, right? So we just finished Dolce Vita.
MR. RASHBAUM: Yes. A lot of the — there are a couple calls I'm going to play that are coming up, but then I'm going to play very few calls.
COURT STAFF: All rise, jury entering the courtroom.
JUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated.
JUDGE EVERETT: Mr. Rashbaum, you may continue with your examination.
MR. RASHBAUM: Thank you, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, at this time, I would like to move in Defendant's Exhibit 58, which are selected text messages on July 18th that we discussed earlier.
JUDGE EVERETT: Well, any objection from the state other than what's already been made?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Admitted over objection. You may proceed with publishing.
MR. RASHBAUM: I don't need to publish this.
MR. RASHBAUM: Thank you, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: You're welcome.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you remember what you did when you left Dolce Vita?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what did you do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I got in the car, and I called my mom up on the phone.
MR. RASHBAUM: Where was your mom when you called her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think she was at the city park.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, throughout this call, you don't mention Katie's name.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why don't you mention her name?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Um, I think I was just always just being careful.
CHARLIE ADELSON: But I mean, there was no big deal. My mom knew that I was going to go meet Katie, and I just spoke in general terms.
MR. RASHBAUM: You tell your mom that everything is fine.
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you telling your mom when you tell her that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm letting her know that it's the police.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because that's — that's how I left it when I left my meeting with my mom before I went crazy and I heard all about Luis Rivera.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm letting my mom know, like, everything's fine. It's the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: At the end of this call, there's discussion about cheerleading and Passover. What is your level of concern when you have this call with your mom?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I believe that there is no danger to my family at this time. We're very minimal.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, do you recall that the call got cut off? Well, let me say it differently — withdraw the question, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall that your mom, on the end of this call, had to call you back?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And do you recall that about ten minutes, five minutes later, she did call you back?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Judge, at this point in time, I'd like to play a government exhibit, a state exhibit, G.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may proceed.
MR. RASHBAUM: This is a call between you and your mom at 5:06 on April 20th.
JUDGE EVERETT: Test your equipment again.
AUDIO RECORDING: Hi, honey. Sorry about that. I had to just schedule along.
MR. RASHBAUM: Nothing in the headphones now.
JUDGE EVERETT: I think it's clear on the speakers, but I guess play it once again.
JUDGE EVERETT: Hold your thumbs up if you can hear it clearly over the speaker.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah.
AUDIO RECORDING: Hi, honey. Sorry about that. I had to just schedule along. Schedule it for Monday, please.
MR. RASHBAUM: How about on the speakers?
JUDGE EVERETT: You just want it to be a little bit louder on the speaker, you're saying?
JUDGE EVERETT: I'm not Bill Nye the science guy. I'm not sure why we can't get this to work from call to call.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's see if everyone can hear it without the headphones.
JUDGE EVERETT: Can you turn up the speaker?
MR. RASHBAUM: It's at max capacity, which is lower than my voice.
JUDGE EVERETT: Except for when you're excited.
MR. RASHBAUM: Exactly.
AUDIO RECORDING: So I hung out with my friend, and then she's going to sleep on some stuff, and then she's going to come tomorrow to either my office or Thanos' office and tell me how it works and how she thought about it. So I'm still...
AUDIO RECORDING: I'll talk to her tomorrow. I wish her the best of luck.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah.
AUDIO RECORDING: Anyway. So you think she'll be okay? You think everything will be okay for her?
AUDIO RECORDING: I told her, I mean, like, I was just playing it to you, but really, I'm just going to say they go one of two ways.
AUDIO RECORDING: Right. So it's going to be one of two ways.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah.
AUDIO RECORDING: But that's how you want it. Yeah. It would be best for her.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, Sonny, you can.
AUDIO RECORDING: All right, Charlie, I love you. What do they say? Yeah, you're welcome.
AUDIO RECORDING: Sorry.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah. No, I'm just hoping Dad has a good day at the office.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh, yeah.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, because I like him to have a good night's sleep.
AUDIO RECORDING: So he works on a long day.
AUDIO RECORDING: I truly would not worry about anything.
AUDIO RECORDING: Wait a second. Lincoln, honey, this little girl is on now.
AUDIO RECORDING: Come here, honey.
AUDIO RECORDING: Wait till she finishes, and then you'll go on. You don't think so?
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, no, without a doubt, I wouldn't.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay, I hope so.
AUDIO RECORDING: I think he's not going to worry about it. No?
OFF RECORD: No.
AUDIO RECORDING: So you'll be at our office all day tomorrow?
AUDIO RECORDING: From 11 to probably about 3, I'm going to be gone.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh, really? I'm done for the day? Well, then I go to Thanos' office.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh, to Thanos. Gotcha.
AUDIO RECORDING: All right. I hate this area of, like, Ives Dairy and 95.
AUDIO RECORDING: Very crowded. Oh, my God. The traffic. To go from, like — I mean, literally, for me to go from, like, you know, on Biscayne to, like, all the way to, like, 95 is the same amount of time it takes me to go from my house to South Beach. Well, just east-west. Yeah, for me there's South Beach from Fort Lauderdale. There could be in Miami and go to the highway. No.
AUDIO RECORDING: That's the — they're swinging, and that's the — I'm pushing as high as they can. That's the squeak of these — of the swing. I'm pushing them, the old grandma. All right, I love you. Yeah, you probably feel that.
AUDIO RECORDING: I would — I would worry about absolutely nothing.
AUDIO RECORDING: Really?
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah. I'm telling you. I'm telling you. I do not.
AUDIO RECORDING: Well, if your theory is correct, then that'll be — you know, we don't know that.
AUDIO RECORDING: Well, listen. I mean, it...
AUDIO RECORDING: You have to realize something. It does them no good.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah.
AUDIO RECORDING: At the end of the day, there's nothing... They're not going to gain anything. They're still going to be in the same situation. It's not like... Listen, it's not like you've ever threatened anybody or hurt anybody, so... No. I know that.
AUDIO RECORDING: You know, listen, the thing is this, is that they're not hiding who they are.
AUDIO RECORDING: Right, not at all. Not at all.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you call your mom back, there's a reference to Harvey.
MR. RASHBAUM: Harvey's your dad, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's a reference to hoping — your mom says she hopes Harvey had a good day at the office.
MR. RASHBAUM: She'd like him to have a good night's sleep. What did you understand this to be a reference to?
CHARLIE ADELSON: My dad's about to find out what had happened to me two years earlier and what's happening to my mom now.
MR. RASHBAUM: You're telling your mom repeatedly in this call not to worry about anything.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why are you telling her not to worry about anything?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because my mom was worried that a gang member was going to come and hurt her, or somebody was trying to extort her for money.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you then say, not — like you ever threatened anyone or hurt anyone, and you say, she says to you, well, if your theory is correct. What was your theory? First of all, when did you go over your theories with each other?
CHARLIE ADELSON: When I saw my mom two hours before this call was placed.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what was your theory, and what was her theory?
CHARLIE ADELSON: My theory was that it's the police.
CHARLIE ADELSON: My mom's theory was that it's a bad guy, and they're going to hurt one, and then somebody else in the family is going to pay the money, and that this was a serious threat, and her life's in danger.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then start talking about, again, how there were no threats, no disguise.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why are you telling this to your mom?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm telling my mom this is so different. It can't be the same person, it can't be the same people that are behind my extortion that are behind her extortion.
MR. RASHBAUM: Moving on to State Exhibit H now.
MR. RASHBAUM: State Exhibit H is a call that's in evidence between Sigfredo Garcia and Katie Magbanua. Do you recall listening to that call?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you obviously weren't on the call initially, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was never on that call.
MR. RASHBAUM: On the call, you can hear them fighting, and Sigfredo is refusing to make the phone call, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Again, what had you discussed with Katie at Dolce Vita? What were you hoping that she would do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That she would at least make the phone call, even though we were pretty sure it was the police. I mean, there's still a chance that you're wrong, and this is a copycat who doesn't realize that I was extorted, and they're running their own extortion off of and chasing down my mom.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next day is now April 21st, and the State put in State's Exhibit J, and this is a 22-minute call between you and Katherine Magbanua. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Was this the first time that you spoke with Katie after your meeting at Dolce Vita?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, it is.
MR. RASHBAUM: On this call, are you asking to meet with her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I want to see her.
MR. RASHBAUM: And how is she responding to meeting with you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's blowing me off. I'm trying to have her come to my office. I'm trying to have her come to the second office I'm at.
CHARLIE ADELSON: She can't find it in her time to come meet me.
MR. RASHBAUM: And when she seems that way, are you offering to pay for some things for her, like helping her get a hotel room in the Keys?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, and that was actually even before the bump. She had asked me for something, and I said, sure, I'll do it for you. It was a $300 hotel room, but that was before the bump.
CHARLIE ADELSON: But yes. Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, during this call, Katie starts talking about investments in properties. Do you remember that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: When she starts talking about the investments in the properties, at first, do you have any idea what she's talking about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I have no clue what she's talking about.
MR. RASHBAUM: So in this trial, there's been a lot of talk about code.
MR. RASHBAUM: And the — government has a nice little cheat sheet as to what they believe the various code words were.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you and Katie ever discuss any code words?
CHARLIE ADELSON: There was never any code discussed.
MR. RASHBAUM: But it's fair to say that when you're speaking on the phone with Katie and when you're speaking on the phone with your mom, you're talking very carefully.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Extremely carefully.
MR. RASHBAUM: And for different reasons, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, so let's talk about why you're talking carefully with Katie.
MR. RASHBAUM: What was the reason why you continued to talk very carefully on the phone with Katie?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I didn't want Katie to think that I was setting her up.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, when you say you didn't want her to think that you were setting her up, at this point in time, you didn't think she was part of any murder or any extortion, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: So how would you be setting her up?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, she's tied to the people who murdered Dan Markel, and I'm tied to her. So if I went to the police, I would be calling her up and trying to get them caught. And I'd be talking in a much more blunt way.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what are you afraid of if she thinks that you're setting her up? There's probably a couple things you're afraid of, but what are some of those things that you're afraid of?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The number one thing is I'd get killed because they think I'm a loose end.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, what's the number two thing?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Number two thing is, um, I'd get zero help. She would help me with nothing — and help in finding out who's behind the second extortion of my mom.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, ultimately, during this call, you figure out what she's talking about with properties, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: As she goes, I'm catching on to some of her lingo.
MR. RASHBAUM: She says to you, "I was talking to someone."
MR. RASHBAUM: "Do you think that would be a good investment? He was like, no, that is really stupid, you should really use your head."
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you understand her to be saying? Who is the "he"?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, by this time, she was back with her ex-husband.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And I assume that person to be Sigfredo Garcia.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you assume her to be saying to you, he doesn't want to make the phone call at this point?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, she says, "but he is going to look into a couple things, a couple of properties, and find out what's going on, and then I'll go from there, because you can't just jump into a place you don't even know."
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you understand her to be telling you here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She was saying that she's going to look into it. You just can't pay extortion. You don't even know who the person is.
MR. RASHBAUM: She then says later in the call that she thinks that the property was posted incorrectly.
MR. RASHBAUM: She also says that she thinks it's a false lead.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you understand her to be saying to you at that point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's trying to tell me that this is the police, this is not real extortion. And that's pretty much what she was saying — exactly what she was saying the day before. She — says it's one of two scenarios. That's what I'm trying to figure out right now.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you understand her to be saying were the two scenarios?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, the first one is the police, where she's like, you can't pay the police. And the second one would have been a copycat extorter, but not being possibly Louis Rivera or Sigfredo Garcia.
MR. RASHBAUM: In response, you say, "the thing is that property came with full listing, everything but pictures."
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you saying here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm saying that this extortion came with so much information. And that was the thing with the first extortion on July 18th — is that I had no information. Even when I guessed, the person wouldn't say, she just said, no, I'm not going to tell you.
MR. RASHBAUM: And so the fact that it came with everything but the pictures, what did that make you feel it was?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That it was more than likely law enforcement. I mean, they came with — they were giving you phone numbers, they were giving you names.
CHARLIE ADELSON: They weren't trying to hide who they were.
CHARLIE ADELSON: It had to be — it more than likely was law enforcement, but still a small chance it could have been a copycat extortion.
MR. RASHBAUM: Fifteen minutes and 45 seconds in this call, she says, "I did some research. I will find out more. I don't want anyone to take advantage of you." How was she acting?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Like she was protecting me, and she was trying to help.
MR. RASHBAUM: And incidentally, what did you think she was doing for you for the past 20 months since the extortion that occurred on July 18th?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I thought she was protecting me.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then start talking with her about other types of real estate. Was this real real estate?
CHARLIE ADELSON: At this point, there was some real talk about real estate because she was working at a real estate company.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you tell her that you'll lend her money for her real estate career?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, she once asked me, if she ever found a good place, where I'd lend the money and go in partnership with her. I always said if you found the right deal, I would, but we never spoke any specifics beyond that.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you talked to her about helping her out with her car?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why were you offering to help Katherine Magbanua out with her real estate career and her car and saying that at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I didn't think that she was benefiting from the extortion of me at all. She always told me she never took any money. Her credit cards were getting declined at Old Navy.
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's borrowing money. I thought that she got dragged into this in the same way I got dragged into this.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next call that's in evidence is K, and this is April 21st, and I believe 11 o'clock a.m.
MR. RASHBAUM: One moment, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Take your time.
MR. RASHBAUM: This is a call between you and your mom, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And this is the first call since the call that we just heard where your mom is swinging the boys at the park, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Right.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, there's a discussion on this call about meeting with your dad.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why were you going to meet with your dad?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, I knew the night of the 20th my mom was going to tell my dad what had happened to me and what's happening to her now. I knew my dad was going to want to talk to me and find out what's going on.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So I told my mom, listen, I'll talk to Dad when he wants to talk to me tomorrow. I'll just have him meet me.
MR. RASHBAUM: Fifty seconds into this call — which again, I don't think we need to play it — is K. You say, "I saw a lot of police everywhere giving traffic tickets, so be careful. Anyway, that's who I think it is, for multiple reasons, multiple, multiple, multiple reasons." What are you telling your mom here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm telling my mom, be careful where you talk about this. I don't — I want the police to know that I know anything or that I was extorted. They're going to come talk to you, so please maintain your — be careful, and be careful where you talk.
MR. RASHBAUM: And when your mom responds, again on the earlier call, "Well, that's good if your theory is correct"— What do you understand your mom to be hoping for?
CHARLIE ADELSON: My mom was hoping it was the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: After this call, you have a call with your dad, and where do you all decide to meet for dinner?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was originally going to just have my dad come by my house, but I was working late, and I told my dad I'll meet him at like a halfway point between my place and his place, and I met him for sushi down in Miami.
MR. RASHBAUM: And let's talk about Matsuri.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you go to the restaurant straight from work?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I did.
MR. RASHBAUM: Who got there first?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think my dad was there before me.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you got there, could you all get a table right away?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, it was night and night, but the place was packed.
MR. RASHBAUM: Where did you go when you couldn't get a table?
CHARLIE ADELSON: We waited for about 15 minutes and told the person seating people that we'll just take a seat at the bar.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Take two seats at the bar if you can.
MR. RASHBAUM: Before you got seats at the bar, did you go anywhere to talk with your dad?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, we put our name down, and we were just sitting outside the restaurant on a bench.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you notice anyone around you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: As a result, were you able to talk freely?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Without going into the whole discussion again, what did you discuss generally with your dad?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I told him what had happened to me, and I told him that I thought it was the police that were doing this to my mom, and that this is just so different.
MR. RASHBAUM: Was it clear to you when you met with your dad on the outside of the restaurant that your mom had told him everything by that point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She told him everything.
MR. RASHBAUM: Was it clear that he knew that this was related to Katherine Magbanua?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, at this point in time — I want to emphasize this point in time — did your mom or your dad know anything about Tato being in prison?
MR. RASHBAUM: Confirmation that Sigfredo Garcia was the extorter.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did they know anything about that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, the undercover had told my mom that Tato was incarcerated. But aside from that, everything that I found out at lunch the day before, or meeting with Katie after I saw my mom, I hadn't spoken to my mom about it. So she knew none of that.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, was your dad upset with you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: He wanted to know why didn't I come to him. And I said, "Dad, I thought if I went to you, I didn't think I'd be able to stop you from going to the police. I don't think you would have realized the danger that I was in."
CHARLIE ADELSON: "And the family — you would be putting the family in." So I didn't want to tell anybody. The only reason I told Mom was because when I ended up picking up the checks from her is when she found out.
MR. RASHBAUM: He now knows, though, right? He knows as of the evening of April 20th when your mom tells him, but he knows as of Matsuri.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Does he say to you, "Charlie, I've got to go to the police"?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I think my mom scared him pretty good.
MR. RASHBAUM: And when you spoke to him, was he behind you in not going to the police?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I mean, he understood why I didn't go. I mean, he understood how serious it was. This was not a small threat.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you tell him outside the restaurant before you go in to eat that you were pretty sure it was the police?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, and I went through all the reasons that we've just spoken about that it was. I was fairly certain it was the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you end up getting seated at the restaurant, and where do they seat you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: They seat us at the sushi bar.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, Matsuri, it's a pretty authentic Japanese sushi restaurant, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, it's in a strip shopping center, but you go in there and, like, half the people are Japanese. It's very authentic.
MR. RASHBAUM: At first, did you notice anyone sitting next to your dad?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, we just sat at the bar; it was just the two of us.
MR. RASHBAUM: Later, did you notice someone?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, a gentleman comes over and sits down next to my dad.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, before we get into some of the details, did anything initially strike you as very weird about this person who was sitting next to your dad? What was the first thing that struck you as being kind of off?
CHARLIE ADELSON: He was very rude.
MR. RASHBAUM: How was he rude?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, I mean, we're sitting there, and we got our dinner plates at the sushi bar that served you your food. And so your dinner plate's there, and your drinks are there. And he comes over, and he plops this big bag down right next to my dad's dinner plate.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And it's like, you don't put your belongings on the dinner table.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And it just struck me. I looked at the guy. He put his belongings down — and his keys — and it's like sitting next to my dad's plate. I'd never seen that done like that before.
MR. RASHBAUM: And that was off to you, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I just thought the guy was rude.
CHARLIE ADELSON: It was off, yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: I want to take you back to before you saw the guy.
MR. RASHBAUM: You've seen the recording. Was there some discussion between you and your dad before the recording that the jury has?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: But the recording starts with you almost mid-sentence saying, "I can even tell you he's at Giants Stadium."
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you remember that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you talking about there?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm saying that we're talking about it being the police, and I'm saying the police are just following a lead that's not true.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, are you actually using the word "police"?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then say, "It's not done." By the way, what's the reference to Giants Stadium?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Supposedly some guy, Jimmy Hoffa, who got killed years ago, was buried in the end zone of Giants Stadium. So the police went and dug up the end zone, thinking that he was there because somebody said it. So they investigated it, but it was never true.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you then say, "It's not done like that." What were you telling your dad was not done like that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The extortion wasn't done like it was done to me. It's being done to my mom — that's not how it's done.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you do this twice. But at 50 seconds into the recording, you say, "And the funny thing is..." and you whisper something in your dad's ear. I know you don't know the exact words, but what did you whisper into your dad's ear?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was saying they don't realize I was extorted the first time, and this is the same thing that's getting done.
MR. RASHBAUM: Then the second time, I say, "This is like — the funny thing is, this is like deja vu." We're going to get to that. Okay. Sorry. Then — There is talk about why they didn't go to Wendi. Why did you think they didn't go to Wendi?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I — I think they didn't go to Wendi because the police already spoke to her. And —
MR. RASHBAUM: Harvey asks you if Katie agrees with you.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Agrees with me about what?
MR. RASHBAUM: That it's the police. Throughout — the video, you're seeing repeatedly, repeatedly looking at the guy next to your dad.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why are you looking at him the second time? What piques your attention next?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, the — the waitress, the waitress came over, and uh, the first thing he said to her is, "What kind of salads do you have here?" And she even just looked at him. I mean, it's like, it's a sushi bar. You come here to eat sushi. It's not a place where you come — you're like, "What kind of salads you have here?" And then when I looked at him, he looked at me. And then he ordered his salad, and he ordered a California roll. So I was like, this guy really doesn't like sushi, and he's coming into a sushi restaurant at nine o'clock at night by himself. It seems really odd.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you — then say again at some point, "And the funny thing is..." and you — it's unintelligible after. Do you think you know what you said at that point?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I said, "This is like deja vu."
MR. RASHBAUM: You're then eating, and you say to your dad, "I think there's a recorder in the bag." Your dad asks whether they can do that, and you say they can with a warrant.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why did you think there was a recorder in the bag, and who did you think was sitting next to your dad?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I mean, the way the guy ordered his food — I mean, he clearly doesn't like sushi, and he's sitting in a sushi restaurant, and then he's sitting there with this bag on the table next to our dinner plate. I've never — he's either the rudest guy ever, or he's a — could be a police officer. Or I could be just completely wrong, and he is just a rude guy.
MR. RASHBAUM: And so what happens after, as Ms. Cappleman says, he was "made"?
MR. RASHBAUM: What happens after you realize that he is a police officer — or someone, you have suspicions that he's a police officer?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, we no longer talk about the extortion.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why don't you talk about it? What would be the problem with the police knowing about the extortion, the first extortion?
CHARLIE ADELSON: It's the same reason I didn't go to the police the night of July 18th — is that I was worried about my life, my family's life, and I bounced back and forth between, "Should I go, should I not go?" And every time I went through the pros and cons, I mean, it wasn't going to bring Dan back.
CHARLIE ADELSON: The people who did this don't care about killing someone in the middle of the day. I mean, there's not a question, you know, especially sitting here and seeing Luis Rivera come in, and I know who Sigfredo Garcia is. I don't think these guys would have cared.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think they would have killed me.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, after dinner, you leave the restaurant and you go in the parking lot, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you thought you were going to just go to your cars.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your dad walks you to your car first. And what happens?
CHARLIE ADELSON: We're just talking, and he's asking me a few more questions, and then I — he asked me about who's, who's Tato, I guess. What's, what's the story with him? Did Katie know who Tato is?
MR. RASHBAUM: And at that point in time, for the first time, did you tell your dad what you had learned in the car with Katie the day before?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I mean, at this point, I'm not holding anything back from my parents. And I told my dad that Tato is a real person, and he's the head of the Latin Kings of Miami.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And he's the one who killed Dan.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you tell your dad that, how does he react?
CHARLIE ADELSON: He's like, "Look, you think it's the police. You know, why not? You know, maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong. Well, let's just go to the police now. Don't you think that's the safest thing to do?"
CHARLIE ADELSON: And I said, "Absolutely not. I mean, these people are connected. They know other people out there. I didn't go to the police originally."
CHARLIE ADELSON: "I don't want to do that."
CHARLIE ADELSON: And he's like, "Well —" I said, "I think it's the police, so nobody's going to get hurt."
CHARLIE ADELSON: And he's like, "Well, what if you're wrong?"
MR. RASHBAUM: And did this discussion go back and forth for a while?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, because, I mean, what do you say when someone says, "What if you're wrong? You're going to get killed."
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you tell him you would continue to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I said, "Listen, I'm going to talk to Katie. Hopefully she'll come by and see me tomorrow, or I'll talk to her and see if she's reached out to these people, and to see if it is legitimate extortion or if it's just the police."
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you again go over with your dad all the reasons why you were sure it wasn't the police?
MR. RASHBAUM: — that it was the police. I'm sorry, that it was the police.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah. At that point, I did. I rehashed everything again and went through everything that we discussed.
MR. RASHBAUM: And at the end of leaving the restaurant, what did your dad agree to?
CHARLIE ADELSON: He agreed not to go to the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next day, you — speak with your mom, correct?
MR. RASHBAUM: This is April 22nd.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: This is defense exhibit — I'm sorry.
MR. RASHBAUM: I'm sorry, Your Honor. I'm a little confused. Hold on a second.
MR. RASHBAUM: This call is not in evidence.
MR. RASHBAUM: On this call — just to refresh your memory so that we don't have to play it — let me first offer it into evidence.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, it's labeled Defense Exhibit 100. It's a call between Donna Adelson and Charlie Adelson on April 22nd. It's State Call 1695. We would move it into evidence.
JUDGE EVERETT: Any objection from the state?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Hearsay, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Members of the jury, the bailiff is going to escort you to the jury room. I'm going to listen to the call.
JUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated.
JUDGE EVERETT: You can play the call, please.
MR. RASHBAUM: Would you like me to play the full call or just the part that I'm supposed to play?
JUDGE EVERETT: Well, how long is the call itself?
MR. RASHBAUM: Let me check.
MR. RASHBAUM: The call is 15 minutes.
JUDGE EVERETT: I believe the context of the call is really going to matter here, but how long is the portion that you plan to publish?
MR. RASHBAUM: I plan on starting at around 5 minutes and 50 seconds in and going until I think I can stop it at around 7:30.
JUDGE EVERETT: Go ahead and just start it from the beginning. From the beginning of the call. Go ahead.
MR. RASHBAUM: I started it.
JUDGE EVERETT: Well I guess it's a good thing when you're not hearing voices, voices, but I do actually do need to hear the voices to get through this issue. I really hate...
AUDIO RECORDING: Say hello to...
AUDIO RECORDING: Try... hold on a second. Okay.
JUDGE EVERETT: Did you rewind at the beginning? Good.
AUDIO RECORDING: What's going on?
AUDIO RECORDING: Hey, dad.
AUDIO RECORDING: How are you? Yeah. What's going on? Not too much. I got the boys, um, picking up a, uh, computer, uh, show.
AUDIO RECORDING: You finished? Go brush your teeth, and I got to get Ben. Ben, go brush your teeth now.
AUDIO RECORDING: Ben, go brush your teeth.
AUDIO RECORDING: All right. I got Uncle Charlie on the phone. Just say hello. Hold on a second. Okay. Okay.
AUDIO RECORDING: Hey, sweetheart. How are you? Good. What's going on?
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh, you know, uh, no, I had, um, a day. I got up early and cooking a lot of stuff for the Seder for tomorrow. And then went to, no, Ben, Ben, go to grandpa and get your teeth brushed.
AUDIO RECORDING: What?
AUDIO RECORDING: Really? Okay. Lincoln, go get your teeth brushed. Did he?
AUDIO RECORDING: And then we went to the courthouse. It was very nice. We met, we met Wendi's judge.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh, nice. She is like your next-door neighbor.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah. She had said that all along, because I remember the other judge she worked for. Whoa.
AUDIO RECORDING: Really? Impossible, very difficult woman. This guy is like, you know... Like what?
AUDIO RECORDING: You know, just like your neighbor, just sitting, friendly, talking, you know, kidding about how... Because one of the guys there, this black guy named Charlie, is with a girl now and he's pretty serious.
AUDIO RECORDING: So he said, "Yeah, we've all been trying to tell him, you know, secrets of a happy marriage." He says, "I'm married, I don't know, 30 years or something," this judge. He says, "Secrets of a happy marriage is yes, dear, it all works."
AUDIO RECORDING: He says, "Actually, what really works is you're right, yes, dear." So he said, "It's worked for me." He said, "I'm happy, I've got two great daughters, you know, my life is good." He says, "So I'm trying to tell Charlie, practice every day. Yes, dear, you're right." He said, "You'll do great."
AUDIO RECORDING: It... was, like, funny and casual, and it was Casual Friday, so he was just wearing, like, a pair of pants and a collared, you know, like a collared casual shirt, t-shirt type thing. And so friendly. What a, just what Wendi said, a genuinely nice guy. You wouldn't think, you wouldn't think he was going to tell it.
AUDIO RECORDING: You wouldn't believe it.
AUDIO RECORDING: So, super nice guy, and I'm happy for her. She's a nice person for her to work with. And, um, and the other four people, you know, that we met also so nice, right? Yeah. In fact, this guy Trinity, um, I think Trinity is one of these, days I think he, unfortunately told me he used to be a cop, but then he became, then he went to law school and now he's doing this beautiful job then. And he, um, you know, and he's the one that's married and has two kids. And it's such a difference because, for whatever reason, Ben didn't want the ice cream cake. So he went back and went to his office, Laurel sitting and having cake, and after about 15 minutes, this guy Trinity gets up, and we thought he was in the bathroom.
AUDIO RECORDING: So anyway, yes, he did, honey. He just did. He has an extra brush in there.
AUDIO RECORDING: Here are some things that I was hoping...
AUDIO RECORDING: No, I'm going to ask him. He said, what time tomorrow? I'm hoping I'm going to have a little time with you tomorrow just to talk about some of the cases that we need to go over.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay.
AUDIO RECORDING: I'll get you one, so I would like, if that's possible maybe, what do you think?
AUDIO RECORDING: Well, I'm waking up early in the morning and driving up to West Palm Beach.
AUDIO RECORDING: I knew you said that. I couldn't remember though what you were doing up there. "I'm going racing." "Oh, and you're doing something. Jim said, what's, you, what's he doing? I said, you know what, I don't remember. He told me he was doing something." "Yeah, no, I'm going racing. I got all the guys going up there." "Yeah. Um, how many of you were going?" "I think just four of us." "Yeah. You're studying one of them, Scott Jones, Scott Radius, or Scott Jones?" "Uh, Jones." "Yeah. Yeah." Yeah. Hold on a second. What, Lincoln?
AUDIO RECORDING: First got their collar.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah?
AUDIO RECORDING: When they scanned their vehicle, they... formed, and they got their collar. Oh, okay. How about I'm going to get a book and go into bed with you, and I will be right there.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. I forgot about that.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh, you can have, no, not this one. Let me do this with you tomorrow, please, then.
AUDIO RECORDING: So you're going up there early. So what is that like, about three, four hours of racing or less?
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, but I mean, it's an hour and 15 minutes there. That's an hour and 15 minutes back here.
AUDIO RECORDING: And I'll probably be there for two and a half hours.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. So, you know, I'm hoping to get to your place by 5, 5:30. Okay.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, if it doesn't work, maybe, you know, maybe I'll stay a little bit later. Because dinner, it's not going to be a ladies' night.
AUDIO RECORDING: No, no, no. I can always talk to you after. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.
AUDIO RECORDING: Can I just ask you one thing?
AUDIO RECORDING: Sure. Has there been any more drama?
AUDIO RECORDING: No.
AUDIO RECORDING: Did I tell you what I spoke to him about? Yeah, yeah. And I have a couple of questions that I want to have a chance to see you tomorrow. Yeah, but it makes perfect sense though, doesn't it?
AUDIO RECORDING: Yes, it does. But I still have some questions and things that I think need to be addressed, but you know we'll do that tomorrow. Yeah, I'll talk to you tomorrow. There's no rush. I don't — still work until Monday. Okay, sounds good. It's not like I have to ask you tomorrow. I thought everything through again and again and again, and I think I'm 100% right. Yeah, or 99% right. Because none of it, none of it makes any sense. No, none of it makes any sense. I mean, there's no — it's not, it's — I'm just telling you, it's not done like that. It's not — I know, I know for a fact, it's not, it's not done like that at all.
AUDIO RECORDING: And they, and they're, they're approaching somebody who has nothing to do with anything, which is even sillier.
AUDIO RECORDING: So, listen, my feeling is that, you know, you go to — I'll tell you what my feeling is.
AUDIO RECORDING: It's utter nonsense.
AUDIO RECORDING: That's the best way I can describe it. It's utter, utter, utter nonsense, and I wouldn't pay it any attention, no attention at all. It's not done like that. It's flat out, it's not done like that. Yeah, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Yeah, no, but I mean, I can say it on the phone without saying it, but it's not done in such a nice manner. No.
AUDIO RECORDING: No, it's not done like that.
AUDIO RECORDING: It's done like that if you want someone to talk to you.
AUDIO RECORDING: Otherwise, it wouldn't have been done like that. Yeah.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, but it's not been, you know, listen, if you're — yeah, I'll talk to you later. But anyway, that's really what I thought. I think it's a good concept. Yeah. I'll leave it at that. Okay. All right, sweetie. So, are you going out tonight?
AUDIO RECORDING: No, probably not, because I want to get up and do racing. Oh, you're going to get up and do racing. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, and then do all that.
AUDIO RECORDING: Okay. Well, you're going to have fun tomorrow. That sounds great.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah. No, I'm really looking forward to it, and I'm buying the cart.
AUDIO RECORDING: What cart?
AUDIO RECORDING: I'm buying the go-kart tomorrow.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh, I thought you were racing cars.
AUDIO RECORDING: Karts. Kart racing. Oh, I thought it was C-A-R-S.
AUDIO RECORDING: Oh. No, you can't rent cars to race. They'll never let you rent a car.
AUDIO RECORDING: Karts. So what, is everybody doing that? They buy karts?
AUDIO RECORDING: Well, I'm buying my go-kart.
AUDIO RECORDING: So what, is everybody else here renting it? They're renting it, yeah. But I'm going pro. Yeah.
AUDIO RECORDING: Listen, I've always wanted a go-kart.
JUDGE EVERETT: With regard to the hearsay objection, the part that really struck my ear was your client saying it's not done this way. What is his qualification to essentially make this opinion if this is not hearsay?
MR. RASHBAUM: His qualification is he's been extorted before, and he knows it's not done this way.
JUDGE EVERETT: Assuming there are many ways to skin a cat beyond the one way in which he's alleging to have been extorted, and what is his foundation to make this opinion?
MR. RASHBAUM: He's making an opinion based on his past, and it goes to his state of mind. So even though it's hearsay, it's an exception to the hearsay rule, which is his state of mind.
JUDGE EVERETT: Any further argument?
JUDGE EVERETT: All right. I am going to sustain the objection. Your client may testify as to any matters he can recall, but specifically not getting into the substance of this call.
JUDGE EVERETT: So let's bring back in the jurors.
JUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated. The objection as to hearsay is sustained. You may continue.
MR. RASHBAUM: The Matsuri dinner was on April 21st, 2016, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next day, you have a call with your mother. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: During that call with your mother, do you recall asking her whether Dad had told her everything that you told him the night before?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Objection. Hearsay, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Overruled. You may answer the question. It does not get into the substance of. You may continue.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I asked her — my dad told her everything that I talked with him at dinner about.
MR. RASHBAUM: And on that call, what again do you tell your mom, even with what you had told your dad the night before?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Objection. Hearsay.
JUDGE EVERETT: I'm going to allow him to answer the question as long as it's not going to get into an out-of-court statement. You may answer the question.
CHARLIE ADELSON: That it's, it's not done this way. I know for a fact, and I'm 99% sure it is what I thought it was.
MR. RASHBAUM: What was the basis for you telling your mom that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I wanted to — I wanted to — I wanted to calm her down, and tell her that I'm more sure that it's the police. The basis was the guy that sat next to us at the restaurant, who went to the sushi restaurant and wanted to — he had a California roll and was real rude.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now I want to go to April 23rd.
MR. RASHBAUM: April 23rd. Judge, may we go sidebar very briefly?
JUDGE EVERETT: Approach.
MR. RASHBAUM: On April 23rd, do you find out later in the day that a letter has been sent to your parents' home?
CHARLIE ADELSON: 20— The letter was — that — it was that day your parents received a letter on April 23rd? It was — it was on a Monday. Is that — was that the 23rd?
MR. RASHBAUM: Can we show what exhibit it is?
MR. RASHBAUM: Will you take my word that the letter was received by your parents on April 23rd?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Sure.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Wait.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think it was Monday the 25th.
MR. RASHBAUM: Ah, you're right.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Don't take my word.
MR. RASHBAUM: The letter was received on April 25th.
CHARLIE ADELSON: That I will agree with.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now, on April 23rd, did you find out that Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia were in a big fight?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I did, actually.
MR. RASHBAUM: And did you learn that Katherine Magbanua had left him?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I believe when I called her on the phone, she said she took her shit and left.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, on the 23rd, when you find that out, were you upset?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why were you upset?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, at this point in time, Katie had been protecting me in the first extortion.
CHARLIE ADELSON: With Katie being with Sigfredo Garcia, that was the best chance I had to try to stop the second extortion or to find out who's behind it.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And then it also made me think that the timing of their explosive breakup and the timing of the guy extorting my mom and the fact that I had just found out on Wednesday, the 20th, that Sigfredo was behind what happened to me was very suspicious.
CHARLIE ADELSON: So it opened the door in my head to thinking, like, what if Katie's, you know, what if she's breaking up with him because she found out that he's behind the extortion of my mom and she doesn't want to tell me. So my mind was going there.
MR. RASHBAUM: And then two days later, the letter arrives at your parents' apartment, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, on that Monday.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, so let's talk about that Monday, April 25th.
MR. RASHBAUM: Where were you working that day?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was actually working in the office in South Beach just a couple blocks away.
MR. RASHBAUM: And after work, where did you go?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I went over to my parents' house to stop off.
MR. RASHBAUM: What happened when you got to your parents' house?
CHARLIE ADELSON: My parents were really shaken up because they got a very threatening letter mailed to them saying that, you don't take me serious, and Tata was fucked, and soon you will be fucked too.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And it was mailed to their apartment. So now they're saying, whoever's doing this, they know where we live, not just the building. They know the apartment number. They were scared.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did your parents think that the letter was more threatening or less threatening than the original communication on the street?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Way more threatening.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what did you do after you found out about the letter?
CHARLIE ADELSON: After I found out about the letter, I called Katie because I'm thinking, like, this has to be Sigfredo. Like, they're fighting, and he was behind what happened to me. Not that this has to be, but, like, it was real suspicious. And I wanted to see what her feelings were, and she was avoiding me. You know, I tried to see Katie on Thursday. I tried to have her come to my office, just either one of the offices I was working at. She wouldn't come. Tried to have her come on Friday. She wouldn't come. I wanted to see if she wanted to see me Saturday. She was avoiding me. And then it just all was lining up to — it was making me question a lot.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, the government, the state, put in M. Is that a call that you had with Katie about meeting with her, and this is after the letter arrives?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I wanted her to come down to meet me.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did she agree to meet with you on the evening of the 25th?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, she drove down to where I was at.
MR. RASHBAUM: Where did you meet with her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I met her at my parents' building. I was downstairs.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you meet her around the same place that you had met with your mom after the bomb?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you do when you met? Did you stay in one spot or did you go someplace?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, we just went for a walk along the sidewalk, along the water. And we walked probably a good 30, 40 minutes maybe.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you discuss on your walk?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I confronted her and asked her, do you think that this is Sigfredo that's doing this to my mom?
CHARLIE ADELSON: And she again said, no, absolutely not. I'm like, but come on, can you tell me? Because you guys are fighting, and I know he was behind — now what happened to me — is, is this what you guys are fighting about? Do you not want to tell me? And she was adamant that it wasn't him.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And then I said, well, what about Tato? What about Luis Rivera?
CHARLIE ADELSON: And she said, it doesn't seem like something he would do. This is not how he would do it.
CHARLIE ADELSON: She said, but he is incarcerated, and Sigfredo did bring him on. He is the one who killed Dan. Is maybe one of his people is trying to do an extortion off of something that he thinks was a murder for hire — because whoever it is writing this thinks it was a murder for hire, which it wasn't. So I opened up that possibility. She said, well, probably not. But she said it could be — it's probably the police. She still was like, it's the police, but it could be a copycat.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did she tell you that she would do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She was going to call the number, and I was like, you haven't called yet. And she said, no, she hadn't. So I'm like, can you please call the number and see if you know these people and see if you can get it to stop?
MR. RASHBAUM: How long were you with her this evening on this walk where you're having this discussion?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I mean, it was probably 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back, and we sat for like 10 minutes. So I mean, it was over an hour for sure — hour and a half.
MR. RASHBAUM: When she left, did you stay in South Beach?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah. And I also tried to get her to call the number by telling her, like, my parents are going to go to the police. Like, they are going to go if you don't give them some peace of mind and find out — that confirmed for me by —
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, this is April 25th.
MR. RASHBAUM: Is that the last time that you saw Katherine Magbanua in person?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, after you meet with her that night, do you meet with your parents again?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I went over. My parents were actually at my sister's apartment, which was a few blocks away. So when I got done there, I sat for a little while, and then I went over to my sister's apartment.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you went to your sister's apartment, was she there?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, she wasn't.
MR. RASHBAUM: And who did you meet with?
CHARLIE ADELSON: My mom came downstairs. My dad stayed up in the apartment because the kids were sleeping.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why did you meet with your mom alone outside of the apartment? What was your mom and dad afraid of?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah. I think what they didn't want was Wendi coming home and then starting to question what's going on.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you tell your mom when you met with her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I told her that I talked to Katie, and she does not think that it's Sigfredo, and she still thinks it's the police, and that she's going to look into it on the chance that it's a copycat and it's a second letter of extortion.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, April 26th, the government put in Exhibit O, which is a call between Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua, and they put in a text message, which is P and Q, which are text messages between them. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And I know you weren't privy to this in real time, but those calls and text messages show that the two of them are fighting still, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: And as a result of that — strike that, Your Honor.
MR. RASHBAUM: During those calls, what is Katherine Magbanua trying to get Sigfredo Garcia to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She wants him to call the number.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, the next morning, and this is R, 10:30 a.m., you have a call with your mom. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah. What date is that?
MR. RASHBAUM: April 26th now.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Okay.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you talk about whether she feels better about the things you told her last night.
MR. RASHBAUM: What were the things you told her last night?
CHARLIE ADELSON: And I told her that it's the police and that you're not going to be harmed, you're not in any danger. And my mom was hung up on the fact that the person was ratcheting up their threats, making deliveries to their apartment, telling them that they're going to be fucked if they don't pay up.
MR. RASHBAUM: And there's some discussion about the letter being written like a girl. Do you remember that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The beginning part of it was like a girl. The second part sounded real tough.
MR. RASHBAUM: And so what did you mean about the beginning part of it being written like a girl?
CHARLIE ADELSON: If this guy's saying that he's a Latin King, I can't imagine a Latin King writing "you don't care" as a phrase. It doesn't sound right. It doesn't mean it's not a copycat, but it doesn't sound like that's who it is, who she thinks it is.
MR. RASHBAUM: At the end of this call, and this is R again, around two minutes in, you say, one, they weren't the same person, without a doubt.
MR. RASHBAUM: "Listen, I know, I actually do know how these things are done, and that was the same thing that I said. It is not done like this." Your mom says, "Yeah, that is what you explained."
MR. RASHBAUM: And you say, "No, it is 48 hours." You recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Exactly, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: When you say they aren't the same person, what are you saying?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm saying it's not the same people that extorted me that are extorting you. It's clearly not the same as the first extortion.
MR. RASHBAUM: And when you say — it's 48 hours, what are you referring to?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm referring to what happened to me on July 18th when I was told, you've got 48 hours or we're going to kill you.
MR. RASHBAUM: We then go to State's Exhibit S, which is later that same day.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you learn that your dad didn't go to work that day.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why were you upset about that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I knew how this extortion was affecting them. I mean, my dad's probably missed two sick days in the last 20 years, and he's afraid he's going to get killed in the parking lot of him walking into his office because he's getting extorted by some Latin King gang member at this point, and he's afraid to go to work. So even though they're telling me they're okay, I know when my dad's not going to work, there's something seriously wrong.
MR. RASHBAUM: And your mom asks you whether you ever checked the phone number I gave you last night.
MR. RASHBAUM: Again, what is she referring to?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's saying, did you follow up on this? Is this person really a dangerous person?
MR. RASHBAUM: Your mom then starts talking about fixing bridges.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you say, "Mom, Mom, just stop with the fucking nonsense, because I really don't want to come down there anymore."
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you frustrated with her about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm frustrated. My mom's trying to talk carefully, and I understand that. But I'm letting her know, like, this is the police.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Like, I do not think you're in any danger. This is not the same as the extortion that I dealt with. They're not approaching you the same way I was approached. There's so many things that are different. Like, keep telling them, like, this is the police, you're not in any danger. And she's fixated, and I understand. So they're older, and someone's sending a letter to the house saying you're going to be fucked if you don't pay up. They're scared. You see seven minutes and 18 seconds into the call, it's not like, "Oh, we'll get one of them and the other one will start paying." That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you referring to?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That's what my mom's theory was — is that they're going to get her, and they're going to hurt her, and then someone else, then they'll go to someone else in the family, and then they'll start paying them.
MR. RASHBAUM: You then say, "First of all, they don't give you a number. I mean, everything is so traceable. They also weren't disguised." Again, you say 10 seconds later, "This is not how it's done."
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you reiterating over and over and over to your mom?
CHARLIE ADELSON: These people aren't hiding who they are. For two years, I was not given a name. I wasn't given phone numbers. These people have traceable devices. They're not hiding. It's not done like this. This is different.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And then they kept saying, "Well, what if you're wrong?" And that's what kept me looking into it.
MR. RASHBAUM: We go to T. And by the way, T — just to be clear — S was a call with your mom, and that call is at four o'clock p.m., it lasts 15 minutes long. And then T is at 4:33 p.m. of the same day. And this was the first call you had with Katie after you met with her, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Again, Katie is talking about a client and property, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, she is.
MR. RASHBAUM: And she asks you for a number.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you have the number on you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: How were you going to get the number?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I figured I'd just call my mom up and see if she had the phone number, and I'd get it for Katie.
MR. RASHBAUM: And so you try to get the number from your mom, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I called her.
MR. RASHBAUM: And did your mom have the number?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, she said that she had given it to me.
JUDGE EVERETT: Everyone okay?
MR. RASHBAUM: Technology.
JUDGE EVERETT: Please continue.
MR. RASHBAUM: Let's move on to W.
MR. RASHBAUM: Actually, we'll skip W.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now we go to the next day.
MR. RASHBAUM: The next day, you have a call with Katherine. This is X.
MR. RASHBAUM: You have a call with Katherine Magbanua at 10:42 in the morning.
MR. RASHBAUM: And to kind of spur your memory so that we don't have to play it again, this is the Drake call.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall that call?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I recall it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. And during this call, there's some discussion about helping her out with a vacation. What was that about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She had asked me — and it's on the wires before the bump — she wanted to go down to the Keys, and there's a place that I would stay at that I have a connection to and I could get a room really inexpensive. So she had reached out to me whether or not I could call up and get that connection for her, and I said, "You know what, I'm going to pay for it for you." So I just said, wherever you go, I'm going to take care of it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, can we briefly go sidebar again?
JUDGE EVERETT: Very briefly. Please approach.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, one of the calls that's in evidence but was not played yesterday is Y, and that's a call to your mom on the — your mom calls you at 12:25 p.m. on the 27th. There's some discussion about Miami Heat tickets. Do you recall that call?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Rather than play the whole call, let me just ask you some questions to see if you remember it.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Sure.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall offering your parents Miami Heat tickets to the playoffs?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I knew somebody who wanted to sell their tickets, so I wanted to see if they wanted to go.
MR. RASHBAUM: And they did not want to go, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, they didn't want to go.
MR. RASHBAUM: And why didn't they want to go?
CHARLIE ADELSON: They were still really upset about being extorted and the letter that came to the house on Monday.
CHARLIE ADELSON: This was the day after my dad took the day off of work and didn't go to work.
MR. RASHBAUM: And again, what do you repeatedly tell your parents on this call?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I tell them that it's not done like this, that basically I tell them it's not the same people, and that you have nothing to worry about.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you talk to them about the location they live and the timing of when the bump occurred?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, this is that call.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what do you recall telling them about the location where they live and the timing of the bump?
CHARLIE ADELSON: What I was saying is that they live in a very small, safe area.
CHARLIE ADELSON: For someone to do that in the middle of the day, it makes me think that it's even more the police, because it would be so easy for them to get caught doing something.
CHARLIE ADELSON: It's almost like these people don't care about getting caught.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay, so let's briefly recap before we go on. The letter comes on the 25th, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: And no one makes any payment. The bump had happened on the 19th, and no one — a week before — and no one made any payment, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: What's the next escalation point on April 28th? What happens next? What do the police do next?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The guy that came up to my mom on the street and wrote the letter to the house is now looking for her at work and calling her place of work and calling the office looking for her.
MR. RASHBAUM: So, and this is — I believe SX, I'm sorry, State Exhibit 107.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Now you're not on this call, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: I think the guy called Erica. And what happens after this call? Is this the one where the undercover calls Erica?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Undercover calls Erica.
MR. RASHBAUM: And does someone call you after the undercover calls Erica?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah. He said to Erica that, "I gave Mrs. Adelson some important papers last week, and she knows what this is about. She needs to call me." So then Erica called my mom and told her about this person, and I called the office. And my mom was scared, because now they're tracking her down at work, and she called me up too. And she was really shaken.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now during this period of time, what had Katherine Magbanua been telling you about her calling the number?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She said she called the number, and she called another number, and nobody picked up.
MR. RASHBAUM: So your mom calls you, and that's Z?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That's Z, correct.
MR. RASHBAUM: That's Z on April 28th at 9:42 a.m. And why did you tell your mom during that call that it's odd that the guy called the office? What was odd about it?
CHARLIE ADELSON: It was odd that he called the office because Katie had been telling me she'd been calling the number. So it's odd that the guy's not picking up, but yet he's making phone calls.
MR. RASHBAUM: After that call, there are a series of calls where you try to reach Katherine Magbanua, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why are you trying to reach her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I just heard that the guy's calling the office, and she said she'd called and the guy wasn't picking up — or she may have told me it was a non-working number. And I was driving into the office at the time, and I had limited time to try to handle this before I got into the office. It became really busy.
MR. RASHBAUM: Call AA, they played — the State played for the jury — that's a voicemail where you say, "Hey, it's me, it's important, call me by." Do you remember that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, BB is on April 28th at 10:43 in the morning, and she calls you back, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, she calls me back.
MR. RASHBAUM: What does Katie, if you remember — and I can play it for you if you need it — what does Katie first tell you about the phone number when you call her back, when she calls you back?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She says it's a non-working number and that it's a Gmail number and it's been called a hundred times.
MR. RASHBAUM: What do you understand her to be saying when she says it's a non-working number?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That, like, when you call a number, it rings and then you hear, like, a long beep and that no one's able to pick it up, and it's not an active line.
MR. RASHBAUM: Later in this call, BB, she then tells you that she's been calling the number and it just rings. Do you remember that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: When she tells you that, how do you feel?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I know she's lying to me because it's either going to be non-working or ringing. It can't be both. And the guy's calling the office.
MR. RASHBAUM: And at that point in time, I think Ms. Cappleman termed it as things got stressful.
MR. RASHBAUM: You started to get upset with her, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I know she's lying to me.
MR. RASHBAUM: And as you're finding out that she's lying to you, what do you start to think?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I start to think that this could be Sigfredo.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And that's — that's — that's why she's kind of covering and not wanting to come meet me when I keep asking her to come meet me. Um, I think she found out that it's him and she's just BSing me.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, at some point after the argument in the middle of the call, you soften and you say, "If someone's messing with you, they're messing with me." Why do you do that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because at that point — at that point I wanted her to know that, like, I'm on your side. I'm not trying to set you up. I'm not turning anybody in. Like, I know you're innocent.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I had nothing to do with this. I know you had nothing to do with it, but I need your help, and that's why I'm calling her — is for help.
MR. RASHBAUM: At the end of the call, what does she tell you she'll do?
MR. RASHBAUM: What does she tell you to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: At the end of the call she says, "You call for that number." I'm like, "Fine, I'll call." I don't know any of these people. I don't think anyone's going to be afraid of me, but at this point I don't care. I said, you know what, let me just call the number — when I get to the office and I have a break, I'm going to call them.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, does she tell you, like she did with Sigfredo on a later call — Does she tell you, "Make sure you don't call from your cell phone"?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: Does she tell you, like she did with Sigfredo on a later call, "Make sure you call from a landline"?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you called from your cell phone, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I did, yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, before you called from your cell phone, you do star-6-7.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why did you do star-6-7?
CHARLIE ADELSON: In the event that it's a bad guy, I thought it would prevent him from having my cell phone number.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, in DD, when you're going back and forth — because there's some calls between you and her trying to get the number and seeing if there's caller ID at the dental practice — she says to you, "You want me to call from my fucking phone?" and you say, "I could care less where you call from," and she says, "Exactly." Why do you not care where either of you are calling from?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because if it's the police, it's fine. I'm worried about if it's not the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: And why do you think that it doesn't matter where she calls from?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I don't think she's involved in the extortion of me or the murder of Dan Markel.
MR. RASHBAUM: At 1:51 — a minute and 51 seconds — into DD — And again, DD is that same morning, April 28th.
MR. RASHBAUM: You say to her, "They can listen to whatever conversations they want." You're talking about calling on your phone.
MR. RASHBAUM: Quote: "They can listen to whatever conversations they want."
MR. RASHBAUM: Why do you not care about anyone hearing what you're talking about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because we weren't involved in a murder. You know, we're trying to figure out who's behind the second extortion, and if my family's in any danger — if it's the police, let them listen in. That's fine.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, I want to play FF, and that's the call to the undercover.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah. Hello.
AUDIO RECORDING: You guys — who is this? Who's this? No — one's been calling my family. I'm trying to figure out who this is. Uh — in reference to what, man? Someone by the name of Sammy called. Yeah, that's me, man. All right, what's — what's going on? Well, what's going on is my brother Tato. Okay. My brother Tato has not been taken care of. His family's not been taken care of. I talked to a dentist. Why are you calling me? Who — who are you? I gave the number to a lady. I — don't know you. You don't know Tato. I know you know Katie and Tuto. They've been taken care of since the family's problem been taken care of up north. I don't — I don't know who you are. You don't? Well, this isn't — I'm going away, my friend, because let me tell you something. I was at Broward with Tato, and he told me the whole story.
AUDIO RECORDING: He told me nobody was taking care of him. Nobody was taking care of his family.
AUDIO RECORDING: The family was taking care of Katie and Tuto, and nothing's been taken care of without them.
AUDIO RECORDING: So we know. We know what's going on.
AUDIO RECORDING: And Tato needs to be taken care of. Do the right thing.
AUDIO RECORDING: The lady already has the paperwork. She knows what I'm talking about.
AUDIO RECORDING: We know Katie, we know Tuto, we know they've been taken care of.
AUDIO RECORDING: All right, let me look at — No more fucking around, man. No more fucking around. This ain't going away.
AUDIO RECORDING: Tato needs — you guys need to do the right thing for Tato.
AUDIO RECORDING: That's my brother, man.
AUDIO RECORDING: That's my brother, and he needs to be taken care of. His family needs to be taken care of, just like Katie and Tuto have been taken care of.
AUDIO RECORDING: I've never met these people, but let me call you back, okay?
AUDIO RECORDING: That's bullshit, man. You know exactly what I'm talking about. You know this lady. I don't know your relationship to the lady, but we know what the fuck is going on.
AUDIO RECORDING: Think about that, by the way. Take care. Take care of that — which is, like, you take care of Katie and Tuto.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, in hours and hours of the wire, this is probably the quietest you've ever been. Why?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was looking to get information from him. I wasn't looking to give him any information about me or anything. He was pretty scary, too — I was talking to him on the phone.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, when he starts speaking and he says things like "in reference to" and "do the right thing," what did that make you believe?
CHARLIE ADELSON: He sounded educated. He didn't sound like a Latin King gang member.
MR. RASHBAUM: And after this call, going to GG, you have an 11-minute call with Kate, correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I do, yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you're not very good with names, are you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm horrible with names.
MR. RASHBAUM: So on that 11-minute call, not only do you again get the names Tuto and Tato confused, but now you start calling this undercover — whose name is Sammy — Simon, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, I changed his name by accident.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you do it on purpose to hide anything?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I'm just bad with names.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, you say to Katie that you told him you don't even know who these people are and you don't know what he's talking about. Why is it important for you to tell Katie that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, because I don't want Katie to think that I'm trying to set her up or set her friends up and I'm keeping quiet.
CHARLIE ADELSON: But at the same time, I'm going to her for help.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And I'm letting her know, like, the guy picked up the phone as soon as I called him.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's some conversation on this call about her working at the office. Did Katie ever work at your office?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, never.
MR. RASHBAUM: So when she brings up on this call working at your office, why do you kind of just say, "Yeah, you're a great worker at the office," or whatever you say? Why do you not say, "Katie, I don't know what you're talking about, you've never worked at the office"?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, if I would have talked bluntly and said, "You don't work at the office," and what the checks were for and that she was cashing them, she would have known I was setting her up or setting her friends up.
MR. RASHBAUM: You say things on the call like, "I might have the wrong Katie."
MR. RASHBAUM: "It might be another Katie." Why do you tell her that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because when I called her back, she got really quiet, almost like she sounded like she wasn't trusting me, and almost like she was suspecting me of trying to set her and her friends up. And that's why I really pushed to say, like, "Hey, I'm not setting you up," and talk to her like that.
MR. RASHBAUM: What was all that you cared about at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I just wanted the extortion to stop.
MR. RASHBAUM: And when you say you just wanted the extortion to stop, who were you worried about? What were you worried about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, I was worried that, you know, my parents were really upset.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I was worried that my parents were going to go to the police and catch the second extortion and then go to the police and end up having to tell them about what happened to me in the first place.
CHARLIE ADELSON: And then I was going to have to worry about the original extortion coming after me. And at this point, I know that it involves the head of the Latin Kings and Sigfredo Garcia. See, and that's why I wasn't going to talk to the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: You...
MR. RASHBAUM: Talked to her about the guy coming up with details. What details did he come up with on this call?
CHARLIE ADELSON: He knew — he knew about payment.
MR. RASHBAUM: You...
MR. RASHBAUM: Specifically tell her that he mentioned her name, or a Katie. Why do you tell her that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I'm letting her know this involves you. Like, I need your help, but, you know, this guy has details that are — that are wrong, but he has details.
MR. RASHBAUM: And on this call and some others, what do you tell her about your parents?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I tell her that my parents are close to going to the police, to try to get her to help me.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, does Katie have any idea at this point in time, any idea whatsoever, that your mom had known for 21 months about the original extortion?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I've been — that's what I've been lying to Katie about, and telling her that my parents have no idea what happened to me, and I just tell them it's a long story and I can't talk about it.
MR. RASHBAUM: Okay. Exhibit III is already in evidence on...
MR. RASHBAUM: That call. It's a call between Katie and Sigfredo. Katie is filling Sigfredo in. Correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: And on that call, a minute and 47 seconds into the call, she says to Sigfredo, "and like they're very, very close to reporting it already." What is she talking about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She's letting him know — what I've been telling her is that my parents are gonna go to the police if you can't get these friends of yours to either stop or contact them.
MR. RASHBAUM: I want to take a couple seconds and dissect this statement. You understand that the state's theory is that Katie...
MR. RASHBAUM: Sigfredo and Louis Rivera conspired not only with you but also with your sister and your parents to kill Professor Markel. You understand that, right? That's the theory.
MR. RASHBAUM: And you understand that here, Katie is telling Sigfredo, "I'm worried that they're going to go to the police."
MR. RASHBAUM: She's not telling it to you. She's telling it to Sigfredo Garcia.
MR. RASHBAUM: Is that what's happening here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: That's exactly what's happening.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, the state — you've heard it in this trial — says Katie tried to silo people, right? Nonetheless, Katie is telling Sigfredo that the very people that, according to the state, are co-conspirators are going to go to the police and report. Does it make any sense?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, not at all.
MR. RASHBAUM: About... I'm going to go to JJ now. And that's the same day at 1:46. About 15 minutes later, Sigfredo Garcia calls Katie back, and during this call, he says he's going to get rid of his phone, and Katie tells him not to call from his phone or from the office because he says — what does he say he's going to do?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think he's going to call the, uh, call the person who's extorting my family.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, before this point in time, Katie has told you that he and she — or at least she — has called the number how many times?
CHARLIE ADELSON: She said it's been called a hundred times.
CHARLIE ADELSON: She said it's not working, it's a Gmail number.
MR. RASHBAUM: Moving to later in the day, LL.
MR. RASHBAUM: This is a call between you and Katie. The call begins with her again saying that she called the number.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you find out later through discovery that she never called the number?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, many years later I found out.
MR. RASHBAUM: She then says that Sigfredo Garcia left a message.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you find out in discovery that no message was ever left?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, they were lying.
CHARLIE ADELSON: I found out years later.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now, during this call, by the way, did you know they were lying at the time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, I thought she was telling me the truth.
MR. RASHBAUM: During this call, you say, "I don't want anyone to go to jail because, you know what? People get mad when they go to jail and they feel like they have somebody to get back at."
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall saying that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes, I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why did you tell her that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I wanted to let her know that I'm not going to the police and I'm not turning anybody in.
MR. RASHBAUM: On a later call, do you recall saying what you thought the police could do to protect you?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I think I thought the police couldn't protect me.
MR. RASHBAUM: Do you recall saying to Katie, "I'll give you a secret"?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Can I inquire what call you're representing?
MR. RASHBAUM: I'll move on, Your Honor. We'll do it tomorrow.
JUDGE EVERETT: You've got a few more minutes. You might as well make use of it while you're doing it. I've got other stuff to do today. Go ahead.
MR. RASHBAUM: There's discussions on some of these calls about meeting Katie.
MR. RASHBAUM: Did you ever meet her?
CHARLIE ADELSON: No, the last time I saw her was that Monday, April 25th.
MR. RASHBAUM: Now we get to OO, and that's the same day in the evening, and it's a call with your mom.
MR. RASHBAUM: And to refresh your memory on the call so that I don't have to play the whole thing, the call starts with you saying, "I'd rather not talk on the phone," and then you talk on the phone for 41 minutes. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I do.
MR. RASHBAUM: You say to your mom not to worry, that you're 99% sure of it. What are you sure of?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm sure it's the police.
MR. RASHBAUM: Why are you so sure of it at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Because I'd spoken to the undercover, and when I spoke to him, I realized — this is obviously not Sigfredo Garcia. And, uh, the way the guy spoke on the phone, and again, how different he was than how a real Latin King would be — he's not who he says he is. And at that point I really — I feel very strongly it's the police at that point.
MR. RASHBAUM: Again, you describe why you don't think it's a real extortion. Right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah, for the same reasons that we've gone over and over today.
MR. RASHBAUM: Correct?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: Your mom says that they're barking up the wrong tree. Why? What did you understand her to mean when she said, "and they're barking up the wrong tree"?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Well, they think it's a murder for hire. They don't realize that it was an extortion on our end.
MR. RASHBAUM: And your mom says, 24 minutes and 20 seconds into the call, "I just hope they don't go and bother Wendi."
MR. RASHBAUM: And you respond that Wendi was scared from day one. She is just getting over this.
MR. RASHBAUM: What is Wendi just getting over?
CHARLIE ADELSON: The murder of her ex-husband.
MR. RASHBAUM: But according to the state, Wendi Adelson is a co-conspirator with you in her ex-husband's murder.
CHARLIE ADELSON: The state's wrong. Wrong about a lot of things.
MR. RASHBAUM: And in fact, you then go on to explain again that Wendi is just getting over the tragedy.
MR. RASHBAUM: This is the second time that you have described Professor Markel's murder as a tragedy, right? On the wires. The first time was nearly a week before the bump.
MR. RASHBAUM: 33 minutes and 40 seconds into the call. And this was not played for the jury yesterday. Yesterday, you say, "They got theories out there. Someone thinks that our family paid for this to be done." What are you saying here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm saying it's the police, and their theory is they think it was a murder for hire, and that's why they're investigating it the way they're doing it, and they're pretending to be gang members who are coming back for more money. Going back to Dolce Vita.
MR. RASHBAUM: You're aware Dolce Vita is, according to the state, the final straw that led to your arrest, right?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: Going back to Dolce Vita, did you say something very similar to this in Dolce Vita?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: What did you say in Dolce Vita?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I said that they only know part of the story, where they think they know part of the story.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what do they think?
CHARLIE ADELSON: They think it was a murder for hire.
MR. RASHBAUM: And what was it?
CHARLIE ADELSON: It was an extortion.
MR. RASHBAUM: Going to the next day, PP, which is in evidence but was not published to the jury. I want to play a portion of it.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Somebody not from the first layer, but probably the second layer.
MR. RASHBAUM: You say it's somebody not from the first layer, but probably the second layer.
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yeah.
MR. RASHBAUM: What are you saying here?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I'm saying I think it's a copycat extorter off of the first extorters, so the second is copying the first.
MR. RASHBAUM: And who did you think that copycat was?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I thought the copycat could have been somebody from Louis Rivera, somebody that he may have known or known what he did, and now they're trying to do an extortion of their own and be a copycat.
MR. RASHBAUM: And if it isn't a copycat, who still did you think it was most likely at this point in time?
CHARLIE ADELSON: I thought it was most likely the police if it wasn't a copycat.
MR. RASHBAUM: By the way, 22 minutes into that call, PP, there's reference to a jet ski incident. Do you recall that?
CHARLIE ADELSON: Yes.
MR. RASHBAUM: What jet ski incident are you talking about?
CHARLIE ADELSON: When I went to pick Katie up to go jet skiing July 1st, and Sigfredo cut in front of me and slammed on his brakes and got out of the car and started threatening me in the street, and then started leaving threatening messages on my dad's phone that night.
MR. RASHBAUM: Judge, I'm about to move on to the next day.
MR. RASHBAUM: Would you like me to do that?
JUDGE EVERETT: If you can stop it within five minutes, your next line of questioning.
MR. RASHBAUM: I think it goes a little longer than that.
JUDGE EVERETT: Very well.
JUDGE EVERETT: Members of the jury, we're going to take our break for the evening at this point.
JUDGE EVERETT: Once again, you're going to receive the same instruction. Do not discuss the case with each other or anyone else. Do not look at any news coverage. Do not seek any information about the case. We'll resume tomorrow at 8:45. Please report by 8:30 and have a good evening.
JUDGE EVERETT: You may step down, Mr. Adelson.
JUDGE EVERETT: Everyone can be seated briefly.
JUDGE EVERETT: Go over the schedule for tomorrow. From here, how much more examination do you believe you have, Mr. Rashbaum?
MR. RASHBAUM: Yeah, Judge, I'm getting pretty far.
MR. RASHBAUM: I would say I think I have maybe an hour left.
JUDGE EVERETT: Very well.
JUDGE EVERETT: Ms. Cappleman, after your cross-examination, does the state have any rebuttal witnesses that you intend to put on?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: I think not, Your Honor.
JUDGE EVERETT: Very well.
JUDGE EVERETT: Will the defense have any additional witnesses after Mr. Adelson?
MR. RASHBAUM: Most likely not. Or not. We will have a redirect.
JUDGE EVERETT: You will.
JUDGE EVERETT: How much time you spend with it, that's up to you.
JUDGE EVERETT: Then if the state is not going to put on any rebuttal, then at that point we'll probably be able to go into the charge conference.
JUDGE EVERETT: I've been editing the instructions. I've sent at least the initial draft to you all.
JUDGE EVERETT: I would expect it would go fairly quickly, but as we'll see.
MR. RASHBAUM: Yes, sir. May we briefly go sidebar to discuss one brief issue?
JUDGE EVERETT: You can.
JUDGE EVERETT: We're in recess. Please report by 8:30 tomorrow. Have a good evening, everyone.