Opinion ID: 3178500
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Testimony of Rosario Turdo

Text: Rosario Turdo testified at trial that she began dating Mr. Main in April of 2007. She testified regarding a ledger she kept which reflected monies owed to her by Mr. Main and payments made to her by Mr. Main. It was Ms. Turdo’s testimony on direct examination that she did not receive any payments from Mr. Main on the loan reflected in the above-referenced June 5, 2009 contract after November 9, 2009. She also testified that she had to have repairs costing $2,038.86 done on the truck before its sale; she added that Mr. Main’s use of the truck for the purpose of towing certain items caused some of the damage which she had subsequently caused to be repaired. On cross-examination, Ms. Turdo testified that Mr. Main did not pay under the June 5, 2009 contract “for any period of time.” She was then specifically confronted with the fact that she had just testified that Mr. Main made no payments on the June 5, 2009 contract whereas her ledger reflected payments at least until December 3, 2009. She then conceded that Mr. Main did make payments under the June 5, 2009 contract and that, contrary to what she testified to on direct examination, he made regular payments up until December 11, 2009. She added that Mr. Main did pay her $1,600 after December 11, 2009, but she stated that said payment was not “another payment” on the contract at issue but rather was related to a visit made by his parents at which time they stayed at her home. She admitted during cross-examination that that payment -3- was not recorded on her ledger, which ledger she testified had ended before that point in time due to a new agreement between the parties on December 17, 2009. She went on to testify that, in addition to the $1,600 which Mr. Main paid her in December of 2009, he also assigned to her a debt of $800 from one “Ed Alore.” It was her testimony that Mr. Main did not make any payments after the purported new agreement of December 17, 2009. On cross-examination, Ms. Turdo went on to testify that she told Mr. Main that she wanted the truck back on January 18, 2010. She conceded that in February she went to the Westerly Police Department with respect to the truck because “[Mr. Main] was driving my truck under my registration, and my insurance, without my permission.” She was asked if she told Mr. Main to return the truck “or [she] would pursue criminal charges,” and she replied in the affirmative. She was then asked whether she knew that Mr. Main was on probation, and she again replied in the affirmative. She denied that Mr. Main had offered to pay the debt he owed her in full in February of 2010, and she stated that he returned the truck on “February 26thish.” When questioned during her surrebuttal testimony, Ms. Turdo was asked: “[Y]ou also told [Mr. Main] if he didn’t give [the truck] back, you were going to say it was stolen?” She replied that she considered it to be stolen at that point. She was then asked: “You were basically threatening him?” Ms. Turdo’s reply was: “I wanted my truck back. Yes, I wanted my truck.”