Opinion ID: 194928
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pezzullo

Text: 17 Pezzullo participated in all the double closings, almost all of which took place at the office of the Cassiere & Pezzullo law firm. Fred Strangis testified that Pezzullo's role was to prepare all the papers and as you're signing them, would bring them to you, try to get you to read them, try to explain them to you. Frank Andrews and Dennis Griffin, two other straw final buyers, and Marlissa Pina, representing one of the controlled corporate purchasers, corroborated Strangis' testimony. 18 Because the lending institutions give higher mortgages to individuals who live in the property they buy, Strangis signed Residential Loan Applications and Owner Occupancy Affidavits, which Pezzullo gave him, stating that he intended to occupy the property. Strangis was the final purchaser of four properties, however, and at closings on December 12, 1990, February 6, 1991, April 12, 1991, and April 15, 1991, he signed forms stating that four different properties would be his primary residence. Other straw final purchasers similarly signed multiple owner-occupancy documents at the closings: Peter Pina within one month and a half signed three such forms; Jeanette Monteiro within a four-month period twice signed such documents; Dennis Griffin in one month signed two such documents; and Frank Andrews within three months signed two. Pezzullo witnessed the signing of each of these documents. 19 All of the lenders required that the purchaser bring a twenty percent down payment to the closing. Neither the straw buyers making the second purchases nor the corporations making the first purchases brought down payments with them. Instead, Cassiere or Pezzullo notified Monteiro before the closing of the amount of the down payment and he would bring a cashier's check for that amount to the closing. Nonetheless, the HUD-1 Settlement Statements that Cassiere filled out at the closings reported that the buyers had brought the money. 20 The only function of the officers of the corporations that DeNunzio and Monteiro controlled was to sign legal documents designed to keep Monteiro's and DeNunzio's roles hidden. Pezzullo, however, was aware that DeNunzio and Monteiro controlled the corporations, since Half & Half used the Cassiere and Pezzullo offices as its corporate address. At the double closings where each property was first sold and then purchased, neither Cassiere nor Pezzullo told the corporate officers what the documents they were signing meant, or that they were buying and selling real property. 21 Pezzullo handled the distribution of the proceeds from the second half of the flip. The proceeds were the difference between the loan amount [from the lender] minus the first sale price, minus any closing costs. After Cassiere and Pezzullo had completed the deeds on the two sales following the double closings, Pezzullo disbursed the funds that came from the final purchaser's mortgage. Pezzullo gave Monteiro the amount due to the original owner from the first half of the flip, returned the down payments to Monteiro and DeNunzio, and distributed the remaining proceeds to Monteiro and DeNunzio for them to divide. In addition to distributing the mortgage funds, Pezzullo prepared disbursement sheets noting the funds received and the funds disbursed. 22 Paul Pires, as Half & Half's president, first bought and then sold property in nine of the flips. At each closing, in Pezzullo's presence, he signed a HUD-1 form and a statement certifying that he had received a copy of the HUD-1 form, yet neither Cassiere nor Pezzullo ever gave him that document. 23 George Gundensen, president of CenTrust Corporation, one of the lending institutions, testified that the closing attorney is expected to fill in all blank spaces in loan documents before having the mortgagor sign the documents. Some of the final buyers signed forms at the closing, however, that were completely blank. In fact, Cassiere and Pezzullo discussed in Marlissa Pina's presence that they were asking her to sign a blank document. 24 Had the lending institutions been informed that the same law firm had closed twice on the same property on the same day and with such wide price disparities, they would have either suspend[ed] the loan for further information or cancell[ed] the loan. Because of the large difference between the two sale prices, the lending institution would have believed that it would be making a loan on a piece of property, the value for which wouldn't support the amount of the loan being made. 25 The foregoing evidence, together with additional evidence in the record we have not discussed, justified the jury's conclusion that Pezzullo both committed wire fraud and aided and abetted its commission.