There was no shortage of London-based law firms that specialized in Caribbean tax schemes and offshore maneuvering. Gifford’s lawyer in Charleston found one with a tiny branch office on Montserrat. For a fee, and it was never clear whether the fee was aboveboard or below, the lawyer accessed the government’s register of foreign companies and individuals claiming to be domiciled on the island. Rio Glendale was one of 8,700. Its Articles of Incorporation, which were treated as highly confidential under the island’s laws, were signed by Nate Gooch, a junior partner under Pete Riddle. Half of Rio Glendale’s stock was owned by Delmonte Land; the other half by Sandman Ventures. Both companies were owned by a Boca Raton — based subsidiary of Tidal Breeze. All of the entities were privately held and under the thumb of Wilson Larney and his family.
It was a decent effort at hide-and-seek, but not terribly creative. However, Wilson and the boys never thought they’d be sued over Old Dunes. The real pros in the business went through Singapore and Panama and left no trail whatsoever.
In mid-April, one month before the trial, Steven arranged a meeting with Judge Salazar in her office down the hall from the courtroom. The purpose was to discuss the trial and decide who would testify and in what order. Before they got around to it, though, Steven startled her with “Judge, I have some rather troubling news for you.”
She responded with a confused look. “Okay.”
“It has come to our attention that your son, Lenny, is building condos at Old Dunes.”
“And doing quite well.”
“Yes. The problem is that Old Dunes is secretly owned by the Tidal Breeze Corporation of Miami.”
Her reaction was one of genuine shock. She sighed and exhaled and seemed poised to say something in response, but nothing came out. Her instinct told her to believe it, because Steven Mahon would never say such a thing without concrete proof. He placed a file on her desk and said, “Here’s the paper trail. It sails around the Caribbean a few times, which is not unusual for Tidal Breeze. The corporation is privately owned and very secretive.”
“My son is doing quite well and I’m proud of him.”
“And you should be. There is nothing in that file that is in any way critical of your son. I assume he doesn’t know the identity of the owner.”
“I seriously doubt he does. We’ve never discussed it. I had no idea.”
“Of course you didn’t. Tidal Breeze went to great lengths to hide behind a few of its offshore shell companies, a game it has played before.”
She removed her reading glasses and massaged her temples. Steven let her suffer. She said, “It was the bar lunch, wasn’t it? Last month. I said too much after the bar lunch.”
“Not at all, Your Honor.” Of course it was the bar lunch. Of course she said too much and caused them to panic and conspire to find a way to get her off the case. It was a needless, careless moment for a respected judge to comment on an important pending matter. What had she gained by tipping her hand? Nothing. Unless she secretly wanted to help Tidal Breeze, which Steven did not believe for a moment. She had no idea the company had maneuvered itself into the ownership of Old Dunes.
“Well, I said too much and I’ve regretted it ever since. Not like me at all, you know?”
“I know.”
She regained her composure and said, “I have an open mind, Steven, and am prepared to hear the case.”
“Are you suggesting I recuse myself?”
“Exactly. You do not believe the testimony of our client and star witness. Ma’am, you’ve already made up your mind.”
“I have not.”
“I won’t argue with you, Your Honor. If you refuse to step aside by your own motion, then we’ll file a proper one in court. The best way out for you is to quietly recuse yourself now. In doing so, you will not be required to give a reason. File a one-page order and ask the Supreme Court to appoint a special master for this case.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then you’ll run the risk of being embarrassed. We’ll file the recusal motion claiming that you have a substantial conflict of interest, though we won’t specify what it is, not initially. The news will make the front page. If you deny the motion, then we’ll file an expedited appeal. And, Your Honor, with all due respect, we’ll file a complaint with the Board on Judicial Conduct. Potentially also front-page news.”
Her cheeks flashed red with anger and she almost fired back. Instead she took a deep breath, and she said, “This is pretty aggressive hardball, Steven. I’m surprised.”
“And I was surprised too when I realized you had already decided the case.”
“I was wrong. And you’re wrong to try to force me off the case.”
