By Staff
Trail Notes:
Attorney Frank Trapp is reserving comment about whether he will advise Kim Gianakos, owner of Gianakos Associates, to seek payment of almost $250,000 in unpaid Comcast invoices if she is acquitted.
David Colvin's cross-billing/reimbursement instructions were not limited to the defendants. He asked Cantey Paint and Interiors in Meridian to pay artist Cindy Matthews for work at his Lindley Road home and then bill him for the work. Lowe's paid for construction work. Bruister and Associates, a Comcast satellite installation contractor, paid for a new four-door Lexus.
Wayne Raley has a hearing problem and was cautioned not to answer any question unless he was sure he understood it clearly. Raley, a very soft-spoken man, was urged more than once to speak up so the jury could hear him.
Over the years, Raley has built 25 homes within a mile radius of where he lives.
Kim Gianakos completed her testimony Monday, and most of the Gianakos contingent did not attend the trial Tuesday. Her parents did attend. Her mother said, "As long as my daughter sits up there, I'm going to sit right here."
An X-ray machine and metal detector are located outside the courtroom, but are not always used. "These people have been coming in here for three weeks. We figure we know what's in their bag by now," one bailiff said. He did add, however, that the X-ray machine is used in the morning.
An unanswered question: If there is nothing wrong with charging Comcast a 33.34 percent mark-up on reimbursement vouchers, why did Gianakos drop the handling fee to 10 percent in August 1995?
The composition of the jury was stated incorrectly in Tuesday's trial notes. Now that both alternate jurors have been called into service, the composition of the jury is six men and six women, three African-Americans and nine whites.
Catherine Newell testified that Colvin underwent a face lift and cheek implants to improve his appearance at seminars.
A former Lowe's employee testified the cabinets in Newell's Lindley Road home cost $60,000.
The last witness of the day Tuesday, Catherine Newell, did not understand that she was released. She continued to sit in the witness chair as the jury departed and lawyers started gathering up paperwork. She eventually asked Henry Palmer, "Can I go now?"
Lost in the blare of a high-profile conspiracy trial are Comcast's remarkable achievements in the late 1980s and 1990s. The company was ahead of the curve on video rental, opening "Video to Go" in 1986 well before the Blockbusters of the world. Comcast was one of the first companies to sell a private satellite that was not half the size of a Volkswagen. At 36 inches, their satellite dish was still a little bulky and it didn't have a lot of channels but it was the forerunner of today's dinner-plate sized version.