CHAPTER 40

After Berkley’s testimony filled most of the morning, Judge Clayton called for a recess for lunch. Garrett was evasive and avoided eye contact with Hennessy. That worried Hennessy. He was sure Garrett still had something up his sleeve.

When the lawyers returned to the courtroom after lunch, the gallery filled behind them, eager to see if the prosecution had changed tactics after the morning testimony. But it was Garrett’s first witness after lunch who would have the most significant impact on the trial.

“The State calls Mr. John Tilly.”

“Objection!”

Hennessy leaped to his feet as the courtroom doors opened. John Tilly stood at the rear of the gallery, unsure whether or not to continue toward the stand. “Your Honor, this witness has been listed as a missing person, and we were not made aware that he’d been located, and we were not made aware that he was going to testify.”

“He’s on the witness list, Your Honor,”

Garrett stated. “We received information at lunchtime that Mr. Tilly had arrived back in Charleston, and he’s an important witness to this case. The defense has been positioning the witness as someone with knowledge and access to the accounts, and we would like to give the witness a chance to clear his name.”

“Your Honor, the prosecution claims that they located the missing witness on the last day of their case when it looked like they were losing. That’s more than a coincidence.”

“I agree it’s an unusual coincidence, Mr. Hennessy,”

Judge Clayton glared at Garrett. “But Mr. Hennessy, you have positioned this witness as someone who’s very important to this case.”

“The defense has not had the chance to depose the witness after the truth was revealed about his false and misleading witness statements. There’s information that wasn’t revealed to the defense until after he was reported as a missing person.”

“Understood, Mr. Hennessy,”

Judge Clayton sighed. “Mr. Tilly is listed as a witness in the discovery information, however, I agree with Mr. Hennessy that his return to Charleston is new information and outside the scope of reasonable notice. I will grant a recess for an hour to allow the defense to either depose Mr. Tilly in person or make other arrangements as necessary. This witness is important to the case, but this court must also maintain due fairness. We will reconvene in an hour and assess the situation then. After the hour, if the defense wishes to have more time, I will consider the proposal.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.”

Judge Clayton cleared the courtroom, and fifteen minutes later, Hennessy was sitting inside a conference room questioning Tilly. He didn’t need to depose Tilly, but the tactic bought him time to prepare for the upcoming testimony. Garrett knew it, and his frustration during the deposition was apparent.

Hennessy spent five minutes in the deposition before he went to a separate conference room to focus on his legal tactics. He wondered why Tilly returned but reasoned that Garrett had found him and threatened him with legal consequences if Palin got off. Someone had to be convicted for the crime, and if it wasn’t Palin, they would go after Tilly and Fisher. Tilly had returned to save his own skin, Hennessy concluded.

When he returned to the court an hour later, he was ready. Judge Clayton confirmed Hennessy had no further objections and then invited Garrett to recall the witness.

“The State calls John Tilly,”

Garrett began.

As he had done an hour earlier, John Tilly stepped through the courtroom doors. This time, he wasn’t interrupted. He walked through the courtroom, swore his oath, nodded to the jury members, and sat in the witness box.

Dressed in a light brown suit and striped shirt without a tie, Tilly looked presentable. But his twitchy movements, avoidance of eye contact, and a thin layer of sweat on his brow showed his nerves.

“Thank you for testifying today,”

Garrett stood behind his desk. “Can you please tell the court your name, profession, and how you are associated with Palin Accounting?”

“My name is John Tilly, and I’ve been an accountant for over thirty years. I worked for Palin Accounting as the senior accountant for five years, before I resigned earlier this year.”

“And while you worked for Palin Accounting, did you notice any unusual, fraudulent, or immoral behavior?”

“Absolutely. Mr. Palin was a terrible boss. I witnessed him groping some of the younger women. He physically pushed me on several occasions, and he would yell and swear and throw things around the office. It was a horrible working environment.”

“If it was so bad, why did you stay? A man with your experience could get another job.”

“Because Mr. Palin would threaten us. He said if we ever left the firm, we would never get another job in the State. And it happened. Several experienced accountants quit when I started, and Mr. Palin spread rumors about their poor behavior and terrible working habits. Those accountants had to go to another state just to find work. So, if I wanted to stay in South Carolina around my children, I had to stay at Palin Accounting.”

“Did you witness any fraudulent behavior while working there?”

“I witnessed many occasions of unlawful and fraudulent behavior by Mr. Palin. He was the owner of the firm and had the final say on all the processes. As the senior accountant, I had access to the same reports and bank accounts as Mr. Palin, and I witnessed many instances of fraud. One of the most common ways Mr. Palin was fraudulent was to overcharge clients. I believe he overcharged more than ninety percent of our clients.”

“Is that the only instance of fraud that you witnessed?”

“No. Mr. Palin also created fake invoices for work that was never performed. He would create invoices for business consulting services and would send these invoices to the companies to pay. As a firm, we rarely delivered business consulting services, and when we did, it was only minor work. Some years, Mr. Palin would charge tens of thousands of dollars to particular companies for consulting services that were never delivered.”

“If the fraud was so prevalent, why would any clients stay with Palin Accounting?”

“Because Mr. Palin would dig and dig and dig until he found something on the clients. No business is squeaky clean, and Mr. Palin would leverage that information. He would tell the companies if they didn’t pay, he could expose them to the IRS or law enforcement. He also ensured every client and employee signed a non-disclosure agreement, and he was diligent in monitoring those agreements.”

Garrett nodded and looked at a note from one of his associates. It was a pre-planned routine. They didn’t need the note but were buying time, allowing the jurors space to think about the terrible working conditions within Palin Accounting. Once enough time had passed, Garrett continued. “During your time with Palin Accounting, what was the worst instance of fraud you witnessed?”

“I witnessed a fraud involving the Wolfgang Berger Foundation.”

“And can you please explain what you witnessed?”

“When I first started in the job, Mr. Palin forced me to become a signatory on several new bank accounts. I was told I would be fired from my position if I didn’t sign. I didn’t think much of it then, but I later found that money was being transferred into one of those accounts directly from the Wolfgang Berger Foundation.”

“When did you discover that?”

“Around one year ago.”

“And what did you do?”

“I called a friend who worked in law enforcement and discussed my position. My friend advised me that because my name was on the bank account and the transfers came from a computer within Palin Accounting, then I could be charged as an accomplice to the crime. That made me realize why Mr. Palin made me sign on as a signatory to the bank accounts. If he was ever charged, he could blame me for it.”

“What else did your law enforcement friend advise you to do?”

“They told me to gather as much information about the fraudulent behavior as possible. Once I had all the evidence, I could take it to the police, and Mr. Palin would be charged.”

“Did you take it to the police?”

“No. When Mr. Palin was arrested, I was still gathering evidence.”

“But by this point, you had finished work with Palin Accounting?”

“That’s correct. I had resigned, but I was still a signatory on some of the accounts. Mr. Palin hadn’t removed me from them yet.”

“And were you able to present this evidence to the police when Mr. Palin was arrested?”

“I did.”

“Did you directly see Mr. Palin transfer money from the Foundation into the Palin Accounting bank account?”

“I saw the reports, which made it clear that Mr. Palin had transferred one payment of two hundred thousand to the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and an equal payment to his bank account. He made that transfer every year. The hospital would receive half, and he would receive the other half. It made me feel sick that he would steal from vulnerable children.”

“If it made you feel so sick, why didn’t you go straight to the police when you first discovered the fraud?”

“Because I was scared of what Mr. Palin and his contacts could do. He threatened us numerous times, and we signed several non-disclosure agreements. Mr. Palin physically threatened me on more than one occasion, and once, he told me he would hurt my family if I ever double-crossed him.”

“And you’re not scared of him now?”

“My children have left the state and attend college in New York and Chicago. I don’t believe Mr. Palin will chase them there.”

“And your wife?”

“Ah,”

Tilly shrugged. “We’re in the process of separating, and she owns several firearms. I don’t believe she’s in any danger.”

Garrett continued the same line of questioning for the next hour, and several times, Tilly repeated that he was scared of Palin. It was a convincing testimony.

When Garrett finished his questioning, Judge Clayton turned to Hennessy and signaled for the cross-examination to begin. Hennessy rose to his feet. It was time to dismantle Tilly piece by piece.