Opinion ID: 76886
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Proceedings in the State Courts

Text: 6 In late 1988, De Lisi was charged by the State of Florida with trafficking in excess of 100 pounds of marijuana, conspiracy to traffic in excess of 100 pounds of marijuana, and a violation of the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Richard and an associate, Terry Johnson, were also charged with those crimes. After the state was unable to locate Johnson, a joint trial was scheduled for the De Lisi brothers. 7 On August 31, 1989, more than four months after the deadline for the completion of discovery, the prosecution received a discovery response with 390 pages of defense exhibits that consisted primarily of White's personal bank records. Also after the deadline, De Lisi served a subpoena for the income tax returns of both White and his wife, Shelley. After a pre-trial hearing on September 20, 1989, the court found that these untimely filings by De Lisi violated both Florida discovery rules and the pretrial order, and the court granted motions by the state to exclude the bank records and quash the subpoena for the Whites' tax returns. The court also based its order in part on erroneous information about the bank records and Shelley White's status as a witness, which the court received in an ex parte communication with the prosecution. 8 At trial, De Lisi's defense strategy was to destroy White's credibility on several fronts, because White's testimony was the linchpin of the case for the government. De Lisi argued that White's testimony was unreliable because White was a career criminal still engaged in suspicious activities and White had possibly given false testimony in another proceeding. De Lisi argued that because White had received lenient treatment from the government and was at risk of further prosecution and forfeiture of assets, White had an incentive to give false testimony favorable to the government. De Lisi also contended that White had brain damage from an accident and drug use, and White's alleged mental impairment made his testimony unreliable. 9 During his cross-examination of White, De Lisi elicited several admissions to support De Lisi's argument that White lacked credibility and had reason to be biased in favor of the prosecution. White admitted that he had been released from jail when he began working as an informant, and his sentence was reduced from five years to four months. White admitted that he no longer faced statewide indictment when he agreed to work as an informant. White conceded that he had been acquitted for a cocaine charge on a technicality, he used cocaine while working as an informant, and he smuggled marijuana on at least thirty occasions for which he was not prosecuted. White understood that his assets were subject to forfeiture if he was convicted of drug smuggling, and White admitted that he had taken precautions against forfeiture by forming an off-shore corporation in the Cayman Islands. 10 De Lisi also attempted to prove, during his cross-examination of White, that White was still involved in illegal activities and perhaps had given false testimony in an earlier trial. De Lisi established that, although White had testified at a trial five years earlier to owning only $20,000 in liquid assets, and since then had an annual income of about $50,000, White lived a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with a middle-class income. White had spent at least $45,000 at East Coast Avionics during the three years before trial, and spent approximately $5,000 per year to maintain his guard dogs. White conceded that he owned a $500,000 ranch, a $240,000 plane, a $223,000 motor home, a $43,000 Jaguar, a $15,000 diamond-studded Rolex watch that he wore at trial, and a 5.25 carat diamond pinky ring that he also wore at trial. For emphasis, De Lisi required White to write the value of each asset on a board that rested on an easel near the jury. The total value of those assets exceeded one million dollars. 11 The only limitation placed on De Lisi's strategy to discredit White pertained to the bank records and tax returns, but De Lisi still scored points regarding both White's bank records and taxes. On cross-examination, White admitted that one reason he created his corporation in the Cayman Islands was to avoid paying taxes on illegal income. After De Lisi asked whether White had filed false tax returns, the trial court informed White that he could choose not to answer if, by answering, he might incriminate himself. White then invoked, in the presence of the jury, his right not to incriminate himself. De Lisi argued in closing that White's invocation of the privilege regarding possible tax fraud evidenced that his testimony was incredible. De Lisi also argued in closing that White had more bank accounts than the president of each bank where White's funds were deposited. 12 De Lisi's strategy failed. De Lisi was convicted on all three charges and sentenced to thirty-year consecutive sentences on each charge. On August 7, 1991, the Florida Second District Court of Appeals affirmed on direct appeal De Lisi's RICO and trafficking convictions, but overturned the conviction for conspiracy. DeLisi v. State, 585 So.2d 963 (Fla.2d Dist.Ct.App.1991). The court held that, although De Lisi's fingerprints on the map, combined with White's testimony that De Lisi gave him the map, supported the RICO and trafficking convictions, the fingerprints did not support a conviction for conspiracy. Id. at 964-65.