The Gods of Guilt(77)

“There was no video of the search introduced at your trial. Do you recall seeing anybody with a video camera?”

“Yes, they take a video of me. And the whole room. They humiliate me. They make me take off my clothes for the search. And the video man was there.”

This made me curious. They had video but didn’t use it at trial. Why? What was on the video that made it a risk to show to a jury? The humiliation of Hector Moya? Possibly. But possibly something else.

I made another note on my pad and then moved on to the next thing I wanted to cover.

“Have you ever been in Nogales, Arizona?”

“No, never.”

“You’re sure? Never in your life.”

“Never.”

According to Marco’s testimony at trial, he received an ATF report tracing the gun. According to this report, the weapon was a .25 caliber Guardian manufactured by North American Arms. It was originally purchased in Colorado by a man named Budwin Dell, who then sold it at a gun show in Nogales five weeks before it was allegedly found in Moya’s hotel room. Dell was not a federally licensed firearms dealer, so he was allowed to sell the gun without a background check or a waiting period. An ID check would be the only thing required in a cash deal. An ATF agent assigned to the ICE team was dispatched to Littleton, Colorado, to interview Dell and show him a photo lineup. Dell chose the photo of Hector Moya as the customer he believed had bought the weapon in Nogales. His receipt book credited the sale to a customer named Reynaldo Sante, which happened to be one of the names contained in the numerous false identification packages found in the room where Moya was arrested.

Dell proved to be a key witness at the trial, locking Moya to the gun and the phony ID found in his possession. Though Moya claimed the gun and ID were planted by the police, it must’ve sounded preposterous to the jury.

But now with the knowledge that Glory Days and Trina Trixxx were informants to the DEA agent heading the ICE team, I didn’t think this was preposterous at all.

“Hector, I need you to tell me the truth about something. Don’t lie, because I think the truth will actually help you.”

“Ask me.”

“The false ID in the name of Reynaldo Sante. In trial you said the gun and the ID were planted in the room by the cops. But that wasn’t true, was it?”

Moya thought a little bit before answering. He first nodded his head.

“The ID was mine. Not the gun.”

I nodded. I thought so.

“And you used that ID on previous trips to Los Angeles, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Those trips, when you were checking into hotels under the name Reynaldo Sante, did you also meet Glory Days and Trina Trixxx in your rooms?”

“Yes.”

I wrote a few notes down. My adrenaline was kicking in my bloodstream. I was clearly seeing a path in which to take the La Cosse case as well as Moya’s. I was on the road to finding something out.

“Okay,” I said. “Hector, this is all good so far. I think we can do something with this.”

“What else do you want to know?”

“For the moment, nothing. But I’ll be back to see you. The main thing I wanted today was your cooperation and to know we could work together. I’m going to need you to testify at my other client’s trial. We will build a record in that trial that will support your habeas petition. One case will help the other. You understand?”

“I understand.”

“And testifying is not a problem? Your people will understand what you are doing?”

“I will make them understand.”

“Then we’re good here. The last thing I want to mention is a word of advice on Sylvester Fulgoni.”

“Sylvestri, yes.”

“Sylvestri, then. He was a very good lawyer but he is not a lawyer anymore. So you have to remember that anything you tell him is not protected like it is with anything you tell me. Be circumspect with what you say to him. Understand? Be careful.”

He nodded.

“Okay, and speaking of which, to make things all legal between you and me, you need to sign an authorization that allows me to represent you.”

I had the document ready to go, folded lengthwise in my inside pocket. I slipped it and a pen across the table to him and he signed it.

“Okay, then, I think we’re finished here,” I said. “Stay safe, Hector.”

“And you too, Miguel.”





28





Once in the Lincoln again I told Earl he could take us back to the city.

“How’d it go in there, boss?”

“You know, Earl, I’ve visited a lot of different people in a lot of different prisons and I’m not sure if I’ve ever had a better visit.”