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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMorgan Transcript excerpt 5/25/161 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO. 9:14-CV-81250-KAM MARTIN E. O'BOYLE, Plaintiff, V. ROBERT A. SWEETAPPLE and MAYOR SCOTT MORGAN, Defendants. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x EXCERPT OF PROCEEDINGS DEPOSITION OF SCOTT MORGAN TAKEN ON BEHALF OF THE PLAINTIFF Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Daughters Reporting, Inc. 1515 North Federal Highway Suite 300 Boca Raton, Florida 33432 9:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. Reported by Felecia Curreri, RPR Notary Public, State of Florida Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 1 APPEARANCES ON BEHALF OF THE PLAINTIFF 2 Martin E. O'Boyle, Pro Se 1280 West Newport Center Drive 3 Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442 Michelle Baez, Esquire 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 APPEARANCES ON BEHALF OF THE DEFENDANT SWEETAPPLE Cole, Scott & Kissane 1645 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard Second Floor West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 BY: JOSHUA A. GOLDSTEIN, ESQUIRE Tel: 561-681-5523 Email: Joshua.Goldstein@csklegal.com APPEARANCES ON BEHALF OF THE DEFENDANT MORGAN Johnson, Anselmo, Murdoch, Burke, Piper & Hochman, P.A. 2455 East Sunrise Boulevard Suite 1000 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304 BY: JEFFREY L. HOCHMAN, ESQUIRE Tel: 954-463-0100 Email: hochman@jamgg.com Also Present: Chris O'Hare Robert Sweetapple Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 FA 9 1 THE COURT REPORTER: Do you swear or 2 affirm that the testimony you are about to 3 give will be the truth, the whole truth, and 4 nothing but the truth? 5 THE WITNESS: Yes. 6 Thereupon -- 7 SCOTT MORGAN 8 was called as a witness by the Plaintiff and, 9 having been first duly sworn, testified as follows: 10 DIRECT EXAMINATION 11 * * * * * 12 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 13 Q. There's a plethora of information in this 14 RICO complaint. As you can see, it's probably over 15 an inch thick. The pieces to this. They couldn't 16 have come from you, they couldn't have come from 17 your lawyer, lawyers, but they had to come from a 18 third -party who then related to you or to your 19 lawyers. Had to come. 20 If I'm wrong, you'll correct me. That 21 person that I said had to come from them, who was 22 that, if there was somebody? 23 A. I don't know what you mean by pieces and 24 I've already told you that I don't think I'm going 25 to answer any other questions on the RICO case. I Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 J 1 believe that we've covered that which I think may 2 in some way be responsive to questions you have on 3 this particular action, and I'm very uncomfortable 4 about further questioning on the details of an 5 ongoing RICO litigation. 6 Q. I hear you, but this, the RICO litigation, 7 is very much a part of the litigation that we're 8 here this morning. 9 MR. HOCHMAN: Mr. O'Boyle, did you also 10 notice the other lawyers, that the witness 11 mentioned, in your notice of taking this video 12 deposition? 13 MR. O'BOYLE: I'm sorry, did you -- what 14 was that? 15 MR. HOCHMAN: The witness indicated that 16 he was uncomfortable talking about the RICO 17 lawsuit because his attorneys in that matter 18 were not here. And now my question to you 19 was, have a copy of your notice, which looks 20 like it was issued on May 18, 2016, issued by 21 you for Scott Morgan's deposition today which 22 is Wednesday, May 25, and I've looked at the 23 service list and it does not have any other 24 lawyers that were noticed for the deposition. 25 Is this the valid notice or did you Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 5 1 actually provide notice to any other lawyer? 2 MR. O'BOYLE: I can't answer you. My 3 office -- my office handled that. I assume it 4 was done appropriately. But if it's not done 5 appropriately and you want to try to have it 6 set aside, then do it. 7 MR. HOCHMAN: I'm just asking you a 8 question whether or not any other lawyer, 9 besides my office and Mr. Goldstein's office, 10 was notified about potential questioning of 11 this witness about the RICO matter. 12 MR. O'BOYLE: Why don't you ask them and 13 let's go on with the deposition. 14 MR. HOCHMAN: Well, they didn't issue the 15 notice, you did. 16 MR. O'BOYLE: I understand. 17 MR. HOCHMAN: I just want to confirm no 18 other lawyer was noticed, correct? 19 MR. O'BOYLE: I'm -- first of all, I don't 20 know, and if I did, I wouldn't answer it 21 anyway. 22 MR. HOCHMAN: Okay. Thank you. 23 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 24 Q. The RICO complaint, we just can't get that 25 off of our mind, isn't that a stinger missile Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I shooting a fly? MR. HOCHMAN THE WITNESS Mr. O'Boyle. BY MR. O'BOYLE: Objection to form. I don't know what you mean, Q. Okay. A public records case is a -- I don't want to underestimate the importance of it, but it's a nothing kind of case compared to a RICO case. A typical public records case, except for the Town of Gulf Stream, usually runs 12 to 1500, 11 in that area, $2,000, depending. In this case, 12 when I say in this case, in the RICO case, which, 13 as you announced, the whole basis of it was to 14 eliminate the thousand cuts and have one suit 15 that's gone on, sort of put everything else in the 16 corral. That's the way I took it, meaning this 17 RICO suit is going to get rid of all these other 18 suits and we're going to get all of our money back 19 and life is good. Do you remember saying anything 20 at all like that? 21 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 22 THE WITNESS: I certainly take issue with 23 the way you phrase that entire colloquy or 24 soliloquy, I guess, is the way to describe it. 25 The RICO action was a way of dealing with Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 7 1 wrongful abuse of public records filings and 2 public records lawsuits to end, not only the 3 ones that were filed, but the ones to be filed 4 in the future, which we were at risk, not only 5 to us, but to all municipalities, municipal 6 contractors throughout the state, as I have 7 explained, and which I think is detailed in 8 the complaint. 9 The purpose is not to stop public records 10 requests or public records lawsuits, the 11 purpose of the RICO was because what had been 12 identified was a criminal activity, an 13 enterprise designed to defraud and extort 14 money from municipalities and contractors that 15 was in excess of that to which they would 16 statutorily, as a plaintiff, be entitled and 17 that money would be funneled back through a 18 group of organizations and individuals that 19 primarily you oversaw and from which you and 20 others would profit. 21 That's the basis of RICO. That is the 22 racketeering in RICO and I do believe that. 23 It's not to stop public records requests, it's 24 to stop your criminal activity. 25 MR. HOCHMAN: Madam Court Reporter, can I Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 G 1 have a, rather than order the entire 2 transcript, I want a couple of pages before 3 the question and the response. 4 Thank you. 5 + + 6 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 7 Q. Okay. And, again, I don't want to -- I 8 want to get through the deposition, but if you 9 continue this, we'll have to -- we'll have to 10 cease. 11 Does rule of law prohibit any number of 12 public records suits to be filed? 13 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 14 MR. GOLDSTEIN: Join. 15 THE WITNESS: I don't know. 16 You're asking is there a law against 17 filing public records requests? 18 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 19 Q. A number of them. As an example, if I 20 filed 10,000 of them with the Town of Gulf Stream, 21 is that okay? 22 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 23 THE WITNESS: It may or may not be okay. 24 You blend your questions together and I've 25 already explained why your actions in Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 N 1 connection with many of the public records 2 lawsuits you've brought are unlawful. 3 So, again, we're engaging in some sort of 4 speculation, but I am not aware of a law and 5 I'm not a Florida lawyer, but I'm not aware of 6 a law that puts a limit on public records 7 lawsuits. 8 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 9 Q. Would it be correct to say that if someone 10 filed 10,000 requests this afternoon, that it would 11 be done without issue? When I say without issue, 12 from the Town's point of view, they would just, I 13 guess, have intake and whatever their process is 14 and then they would begin to fulfill them? 15 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. That was 16 asked and answered. 17 THE WITNESS: You've asked me that 18 question. I've answered that question. 19 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 20 Q. Let's go with a hundred thousand. 21 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 22 THE WITNESS: I'm going to say it one more 23 time, Mr. O'Boyle, and then I will refer back 24 to the transcript any time you ask it again. 25 The Town of Gulf Stream, as most other Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 10 1 municipalities, I believe all municipalities 2 in Florida, have policies in place by which 3 they respond to public records requests. 4 Whether you file or someone else files one or 5 a dozen or more, those are responded to per 6 the policy. 7 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 8 Q. Okay. But that, I don't think, addressed 9 a hundred thousand that I just mentioned. 10 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form; asked and 11 answered. 12 THE WITNESS: I think it did. 13 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 14 Q. Okay. Madam -- 15 A. It's not up to the -- it's not up to the 16 municipality to say here is a number that's 17 acceptable, here is a number that's not acceptable. 18 Municipalities respond to public records requests. 19 However, as was evident here, if there is evidence 20 of fraud, extortion, other racketeering activities, 21 which there was, then the Town, which is using 22 public money to respond to public records requests, 23 to defend public records lawsuits, then it is our 24 responsibility as a Town to defend against that 25 criminal abuse. So there's two separate things Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 11 1 going on. 2 Q. I still -- and maybe my hearing is worse 3 than I thought, but I still have not heard how the 4 actions of Martin O'Boyle, Christopher O'Hare, 5 William Wright, Jonathan O'Boyle -- 6 THE COURT REPORTER: Can you slow down, 7 please? 8 Q. MR. O'BOYLE: I'm sorry. 9 word used by the MR. HOCHMAN: And also before he rephrases 10 the question, I'd like another expert which 11 was the question that was posed to him about 12 the number of public records requests about 13 two pages ago, and then the witness's 14 response, please. 15 That will be excerpt number two. 16 17 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 18 Q. Extortion seems to be a word used by the 19 Town. What does extortion mean? 20 A. Again, I can't give you a dictionary or 21 Blacks Law Dictionary of it or even a statutory 22 definition, but in my mind, extortion is what your 23 organizations and your enterprises have been doing, 24 that is, you were filing public records requests 25 and lawsuits in a fashion that was designed to Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 12 1 create an issue where there would be a failure to 2 comply or a delay to comply or in some other way -- 3 I believe Chandler described it as a kill shot that 4 is almost a guarantee failure that would allow a 5 threat or a filing of a lawsuit and then you could 6 try to secure amounts of money in excess of that 7 which would be statutorily permitted under the 8 threat of a lawsuit or a barrage of public records 9 requests for a barrage of lawsuits, but all 10 designed to obtain the illegal fee. That's how I 11 in interpret the extortion definition relative to 12 you. That may not be an exact definition. 13 MR. HOCHMAN: Can I have an excerpt of 14 that set of question and answer as the third 15 excerpt I am requesting? 16 17 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 18 Q. And Mr. Richman said that all the lawsuits 19 are nothing more than vehicles to extort fees; do 20 you agree with that? 21 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 22 Specificity. 23 THE WITNESS: I gave you what I say and I 24 have said it multiple times today and, that 25 is, those lawsuits are a part of a criminal Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 13 1 enterprise that went beyond Gulf Stream across 2 the state, went beyond the Town of Gulf Stream 3 to municipalities and contractors across the 4 state, and it was designed to extort, not just 5 fees, but fees in excess of that which is 6 allowed under law. 7 MR. HOCHMAN: I'd ask for another excerpt, 8 please, I guess number four. 9 + * + 10 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 11 Q. As I understand the law, and I'm not a 12 lawyer, I'm a layman at best, you need to have 13 authority from the commission or the commission has 14 to vote and authorize somebody to take action, 15 otherwise it would be willy-nilly, correct? 16 A. I don't believe that's correct. 17 Q. Okay. Tell me what's wrong, where I went 18 astray. 19 A. The Town takes many actions without 20 commission directive, so your statement is 21 inaccurate. 22 Q. Have you ever looked at your charter? 23 A. I don't know if I have. 24 MR. HOCHMAN: I'm sorry, Mr. O'Boyle, 25 what's going too fast for you? Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 14 1 MR. O'BOYLE: My heart. 2 MR. HOCHMAN: I don't understand. 3 MR. O'BOYLE: Okay. 4 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 5 Q. Freda Defasi, do you remember her? 6 A. I believe Freda was one of the clerks at 7 the Town of Gulf Stream. 8 Q. And? 9 A. And what? 10 Q. You said was. 11 A. She's no longer there. 12 Q. Okay. Do you know where she is? 13 A. I do not. 14 Q. Okay. And Kelly Avery is the one there 15 now, correct? 16 A. She is a clerk at -- 17 Q. Pardon? 18 A. She's a clerk for Gulf Stream Town, yes. 19 Q. Well, she thinks she's an accountant, but 20 maybe that's what she thinks. 21 MR. HOCHMAN: Let me move to strike the 22 statement as not a question. 23 MR. GOLDSTEIN: Joined. 24 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 25 Q. Has Joel Chandler ever told you, and when Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 15 1 I say you, anyone in the Town, either you or 2 others, that you might have notice of -- that it 3 was a bad thing to file a RICO suit against Chris 4 O'Hare? 5 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 6 THE WITNESS: He has not told me that. 7 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 8 Q. Do you know if he's told anyone that? 9 A. I don't know. 10 Q. Do you remember Chris O'Hare showing up at 11 the commission meeting with a letter written by 12 Joel Chandler saying Chris is a great guy, he's 13 done absolutely nothing wrong, and these are my 14 words now, turn him loose; do you remember? 15 A. I recall a letter to some affect of that, 16 yes. 17 Q. Why didn't you turn him loose? 18 A. I'm sorry? 19 Q. Why didn't you say, you know, Joel is the 20 one who had the most knowledge early on, or at 21 least he claims to, he doesn't want Chris to be -- 22 he doesn't want any more pain to be inflicted upon 23 Chris and I thought he made a very warm plea to the 24 commission and the commission, I assume, has never 25 taken any action on that; would that be correct? Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 16 1 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form; compound. 2 MR. GOLDSTEIN: Joined. Nor did I see the 3 relevance of this line of questioning. 4 THE WITNESS: Taken action on what? 5 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 6 Q. On the letter. 7 Example. If I send you a letter, I might 8 say something and you do nothing about it, that 9 means you didn't take any action on it. 10 A. I don't recall specifically, but I believe 11 the letter was either read or it was -- a copy 12 given to the commissioners, each of them. I don't 13 recall. Some action was taken. 14 Q. What would that action have been? 15 A. It would have been read. 16 Q. Mr. O'Hare would have read it? 17 A. I don't recall if he read it or provided 18 copies to the commissioners to read it. I vaguely 19 remember something like a letter, as you described. 20 Q. Okay. The public records requests. It 21 seems to me that the Town is spending a literal 22 fortune and it reminds me of killing a fly with a 23 stinger missile and I'm talking about the RICO suit 24 as applies to records requests. 25 Have you or other members of the Town Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 17 1 commission ever got together and said we got to 2 figure a way to resolve this, we're spending too 3 much of the taxpayers' money, we have to figure a 4 solution, otherwise, of course, it goes on for 5 hundreds of years? Did the commission ever discuss 6 this at all? 7 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 8 MR. GOLDSTEIN: Joined. 9 THE WITNESS: Well, there were a couple of 10 comments and questions in that question. The 11 commissioners, as you know, can only get 12 together at the commission meeting and the 13 issue of litigation has come up several times 14 and has always been, I believe, unanimously 15 voted in support of the defense and the RICO 16 action as they presently sit. So, yes, it has 17 been considered in those meetings. 18 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 19 Q. And rejected? 20 A. Well, what was rejected? No, it was 21 supported to continue the defense of the actions 22 filed against the Town to continue the RICO action, 23 which is an action by the Town against others. 24 MR. HOCHMAN: Mr. O'Boyle, I'm going to 25 ask you for a one -minute break. I have a call Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 M. 1 from my home about my meeting at 5 o'clock, so 2 I need to just take one minute off the record. 3 (A brief recess was taken, after which the 4 following proceedings were had:) 5 MR. HOCHMAN: Sorry for the interruption. 6 We're back on the record. 7 MR. O'BOYLE: Counsel, as you know, when 8 we go off the record and on the record, it 9 requires both sides to do so. 10 MR. HOCHMAN: I'm not aware of that. 11 MR. O'BOYLE: Okay. 12 MR. HOCHMAN: I was just making a 13 statement for the record that we're back on 14 the record. If you disagree then, if you want 15 to go back off the record, we can. 16 MR. O'BOYLE: No. No, I don't want to, 17 but -- 18 MR. HOCHMAN: It was really just to help 19 the court reporter know whether or not she 20 should be typing or not. Really it was only 21 with respect to the court reporter so she 22 knows her function, rather than trying to 23 control the proceedings. It was really just a 24 communication, a clarification for her. 25 MR. O'BOYLE: I appreciate the lesson. Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 19 1 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 2 Q. Who is the town attorney or town council 3 or town solicitor? I don't know what the proper 4 term is. Is it the Sweetapple firm or 5 Mr. Sweetapple? Is it the Jones or Jones Foster 6 firm or Mr. Randolph or is it the Richman Greer 7 firm or Mr. Richman? 8 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 9 MR. GOLDSTEIN: Joined. 10 THE WITNESS: Did you say town attorney? 11 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 12 Q. Yes. 13 A. For what? 14 Q. Isn't there a town attorney? 15 A. Well, that's a pretty broad term. Our 16 municipal attorney, the one who attends our ARPB 17 and commission meetings, assists with municipal 18 matters, ordinance drafting and the like, would be 19 Jones Foster, John Randolph or Tom Baird, I 20 believe, do most of that work. 21 Q. Which one of the three, Foster, Baird or 22 -- Jones Foster, Tom Baird or Skip Randolph, which 23 one of the three? 24 A. Which one of the three what? 25 Q. Are the town, whatever you call it, town Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 20 1 attorney, municipal attorney, whatever you called 2 it. 3 A. Well, you have a law firm and attorneys 4 within the law firm will provide different 5 services. You, I believe, asked to know who the 6 municipal attorney, if you will, so I can 7 distinguish that type of attorney from a litigation 8 attorney, insurance defense attorney, like 9 Mr. Hochman, and others. 10 Jones Foster would be the municipal firm 11 from which Mr. Baird and Mr. Randolph provide the 12 services of attending our meetings and doing what I 13 call municipal general work, which is ordinance 14 drafting, assistance in that regard, if that's what 15 you are asking. 16 Q. Well, what I'm asking is, who is the, and, 17 again, I might not be using the proper phrase, I'm 18 just going to use town attorney. I know you used a 19 different term, municipal attorney. Who is the 20 town attorney for Gulf Stream? 21 A. I think you just asked me that three times 22 and I think I've just tried to explain it to you 23 three times. 24 Q. I'm a little slow. Please indulge me. 25 A. Mr. O'Boyle, I just told you several Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 21 1 seconds ago that we have a number of attorneys. We 2 went through this at the beginning of the 3 deposition. We have Jones Foster, we have 4 Sweetapple Varkas, Richman Greer, Weiss Serota, I 5 mentioned the other one in Gary Resnick's firm. 6 So when you say town attorney, I think you 7 need to be more specific. I thought you were 8 talking about the attorneys who advise the Town on 9 what are commonly known as municipal matters, 10 differentiating them from litigation or other type 11 matters, but perhaps I misunderstood you. 12 Q. The day you were sworn in, was the town 13 attorney and, again, I'm not sure I'm using the 14 same phrase, but I think we know what each other 15 means, was the town attorney Skip Randolph, 16 Mr. Sweetapple or Mr. Richman? 17 MR. HOCHMAN: Objection to form. 18 THE WITNESS: The law firm that 19 represented the Town was Jones Foster. 20 Mr. Randolph, who was the primary attorney 21 providing the municipal, as I described, 22 services. Mr. Randolph would often bring in a 23 different lawyer, if he felt that expertise 24 was required. 25 So I'm not quite sure what you mean by Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 22 1 town attorney because we have so many 2 different attorneys, but I'm trying to give 3 you an explanation of the Jones Foster law 4 firm which provides those municipal services 5 and also litigation services. 6 BY MR. O'BOYLE: 7 Q. When you were sworn in, was there any 8 other attorney there for that particular meeting 9 other than Mr. Randolph? And when I say -- I don't 10 mean out in the audience, I mean with the 11 commissioners. 12 A. I don't believe so. 13 Q. Okay. The next meeting, which would be a 14 month later, was there any other attorney besides 15 Mr. Randolph? 16 A. I don't recall whether it was Randolph, 17 Baird or neither. 18 Q. Okay. And you were on the ARPB before 19 that, correct? 20 A. That's correct. 21 Q. And when you were on the ARPB, who was, 22 I'm going to say, the town attorney, but the lawyer 23 who was up on the dais and sat at the far end, I 24 guess it would be the west end, who was the 25 attorney there? Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 23 1 A. Which meeting? 2 Q. Anyone. Most of them. 3 A. Most of them, the Jones Foster lawyer who 4 would attend the ARPB meeting was Skip Randolph. 5 Q. Okay. 6 A. Occasionally it would be someone else. 7 Q. Okay. Well, was the town lawyer Skip 8 Randolph or Jones Foster? 9 A. I'm not going to answer that question 10 again, I've answered this question multiple times 11 for you, Mr. O'Boyle. 12 Q. No, sir, you have not. 13 A. I just told you that we have multiple law 14 firms and lawyers providing services for the Town 15 of Gulf Stream. I went through those law firms. I 16 went through some of the services that they 17 provide. 18 Q. Okay. But you didn't answer my question. 19 MR. HOCHMAN: I'm going to ask for another 20 excerpt now. This is going to be the fifth 21 excerpt now. It's going to start about ten 22 pages back when he originally asked the 23 question of who is the town attorney, all 24 those pages through here when the witness gave 25 his answer. Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 1 (The deposition concluded at 5:45 p.m.) 2 CERTIFICATE OF OATH 03 4 THE STATE OF FLORIDA 5 COUNTY OF PALM BEACH 6 7 I, Felecia Curreri, Registered 8 Professional Reporter, Notary Public, State of 9 Florida, certify that SCOTT MORGAN personally 10 appeared before me on the 25th day of May, 2016 and 11 was duly sworn. 12 13 14 Signed this 2nd day of June, 201E 15 16 IL C't'CCLM-Qin' 17 24 FELECIA CURRERI, RPR 18 Notary Public - State of Florida 19 20 Accompanied by Counsel 21 22 23 24 25 Jeffrey L. Hochman, Esq. Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 25 1 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER 2 3 STATE OF FLORIDA 4 COUNTY OF PALM BEACH 5 6 I, FELECIA CURRERI, Registered Professional Reporter, certify that I was 7 authorized to and did stenographically report the deposition of SCOTT MORGAN; that a review of the 8 transcript was not requested; and that the transcript, 3 through 23, is a true and complete 9 record of my stenographic notes. 10 I further certify that I am not a relative, employee, attorney, or counsel of any of 11 the parties, nor am I a relative or employee of any of the parties' attorney or counsel connected with 12 the action, nor am I financially interested in the action. 13 The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of 14 the same by and means unless under the direct control and/or direction of the certifying 15 reporter. 16 D D jh�is 2n day of June, 2016. 17 lX�( Com- UAkPA., 18 19 Felecia Curreri, RPR Registered Professional Reporter 20 21 22 23 24 25 Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 A a.m 1:19 absolutely 15:13 abuse 7:1 10:25 acceptable 10:17 10:17 Accompanied 24:20 accountant 14:19 action 4:3 6:25 13:14 15:25 16:4,9,13,14 17:16,22,23 25:12,12 actions 8:25 11:4 13:19 17:21 activities 10:20 activity 7:12,24 addressed 10:8 advise 21:8 affect 15:15 affirm 3:2 afternoon 9:10 ago 11:13 21:1 agree 12:20 allow 12:4 allowed 13:6 amounts 12:6 and/or 25:14 announced 6:13 Anselm 2:13 answer 3:25 5:2 5:20 12:14 23:9,18,25 answered 9:16 9:18 10:11 23:10 anyway 5:21 APPEARANC... 2:1,6,12 appeared 24:10 applies 16:24 apply 25:13 appreciate 18:25 appropriately 5:4,5 area 6:11 ARPB 19:16 22:18,2123:4 aside 5:6 asked 9:16,17 10:10 20:5,21 23:22 asking 5:7 8:16 20:15,16 assistance 20:14 assists 19:17 assume 5:3 15:24 astray 13:18 attend 23:4 attending 20:12 attends 19:16 attorney 19:2,10 19:14,16 20:1 20:1,6,7,8,8,18 20:19,20 21:6 21:13,15,20 22:1,8,14,22 22:25 23:23 25:10,11 attorneys 4:17 20:3 21:1,8 22:2 audience 22:10 authority 13:13 authorize 13:14 authorized 25:7 Avery 14:14 aware 9:4,5 18:10 B back 6:18 7:17 9:23 18:6,13 18:15 23:22 bad 15:3 Baez 2:3 Baird 19:19,21 19:22 20:11 22:17 barrage 12:8,9 basis 6:13 7:21 Beach 2:3,8,9 24:5 25:4 beginning 21:2 BEHALF 1:14 2:1,6,12 believe 4:1 7:22 10:1 12:3 13:16 14:6 16:10 17:14 19:20 20:5 22:12 best 13:12 beyond 13:1,2 Blacks 11:21 blend 8:24 Boca 1:18 Boulevard 2:8 2:14 break 17:25 brief 18:3 bring 21:22 broad 19:15 brought 9:2 Burke 2:13 call 17:25 19:25 20:13 called 3:8 20:1 case 1:3 3:25 6:6 6:8,9,9,11,12 6:12 cease 8:10 Center 2:2 certainly 6:22 CERTIFICATE 24:2 25:1 certification 25:13 certify 24:9 25:6 25:10 certifying 25:14 Chandler 12:3 14:25 15:12 charter 13:22 Chris 2:20 15:3 15:10,12,21,23 Christopher 11:4 claims 15:21 clarification 18:24 clerk 14:16,18 clerks 14:6 Cole 2:7 colloquy 6:23 come 3:16,16,17 3:19,21 17:13 comments 17:10 commission 13:13,13,20 15:11,24,24 17:1,5,12 19:17 commissioners 16:12,18 17:11 22:11 commonly 21:9 communication 18:24 compared 6:8 complaint 3:14 5:24 7:8 complete 25:8 comply 12:2,2 compound 16:1 concluded 24:1 confirm 5:17 connected 25:11 connection 9:1 considered 17:17 continue 8:9 17:21,22 contractors 7:6 7:14 13:3 control 18:23 25:14 copies 16:18 copy4:19 16:11 corral 6:16 correct3:20 5:18 9:9 13:15 Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 E 13:16 14:15 15:25 22:19,20 council 19:2 counsel 18:7 24:20 25:10,11 COUNTY 24:5 25:4 couple 8:2 17:9 course 17:4 court 1:1 3:1 7:25 11:6 18:19,21 covered 4:1 create 12:1 criminal 7:12,24 10:25 12:25 Curreri 1:23 24:7,17 25:6 25:19 cuts 6:14 IM dais 22:23 DATED 25:16 Daughters 1:16 day 21:12 24:10 24:14 25:16 dealing 6:25 Deerfield 2:3 Defasi 14:5 defend 10:23,24 DEFENDANT 2:6,12 Defendants 1:10 defense 17:15,21 20:8 definition 11:22 12:11,12 defraud 7:13 delay 12:2 depending 6:11 deposition 1:14 4:12,21,24 5:13 8:8 21:3 24:125:7 describe 6:24 described 12:3 16:19 21:21 designed 7:13 11:25 12:10 13:4 detailed 7:7 details 4:4 dictionary 11:20 11:21 different 20:4,19 21:23 22:2 differentiating 21:10 direct 3:10 25:14 direction 25:14 directive 13:20 disagree 18:14 discuss 17:5 distinguish 20:7 DISTRICT 1:1 1:1 doing 11:23 20:12 dozen 10:5 drafting 19:18 20:14 Drive 2:2 duly 3:9 24:11 E E 1:5 2:2 early 15:20 East 2:14 either 15:1 16:11 eliminate 6:14 Email 2:10,17 employee 25:10 25:11 engaging 9:3 enterprise 7:13 13:1 enterprises 11:23 entire 6:23 8:1 entitled 7:16 Esq 24:20 Esquire 2:3,9,16 evidence 10:19 evident 10: 19 exact 12:12 EXAMINATI... 3:10 example 8:19 16:7 excerptl:12 11:15 12:13,15 13:7 23:20,21 excess 7:15 12:6 13:5 expert 11:10 expertise 21:23 explain 20:22 explained 7:7 8:25 explanation 22:3 extort 7:13 12:19 13:4 extortion 10:20 11:18,19,22 12:11 failure 12:1,4 far 22:23 fashion 11:25 fast 13:25 Federal 1:17 fee 12:10 fees 12:19 13:5,5 Felecia 1:23 24:7 24:17 25:6,19 felt 21:23 fifth 23:20 figure 17:2,3 file 10:4 15:3 filed 7:3,3 8:12 8:20 9:10 17:22 files 10:4 filing 8:17 11:24 12:5 filings 7:1 financially 25:12 firm 19:4,6,7 20:3,4,10 21:5 21:18 22:4 firms 23:14,15 first 3:9 5:19 Floor 2:8 Florida 1:1,18 1:24 2:3,9,15 9:5 10:2 24:4,9 24:18 25:3 fly 6:1 16:22 following 18:4 follows 3:9 foregoing 25:13 form 6:2,21 8:13 8:22 9:15,21 10:10 12:21 15:5 16:1 17:7 19:8 21:17 Fort 2:15 fortune 16:22 Foster 19:5,19 19:21,22 20:10 21:3,19 22:3 23:3,8 four 13:8 fraud 10:20 Freda 14:5,6 fulfill 9:14 function 18:22 funneled 7:17 further 4:4 25:10 future 7:4 G Gary 21:5 genera120:13 give 3:3 11:20 22:2 given 16:12 go 5:13 9:20 18:8,15 goes 17:4 going 3:24 6:17 6:18 9:22 11:1 13:25 17:24 20:18 22:22 23:9,19,20,21 GOLDSTEIN 2:9 8:14 14:23 16:2 17:8 19:9 Goldstein's 5:9 good 6:19 great 15:12 Greer 19:6 21:4 group 7:18 guarantee 12:4 guess 6:24 9:13 13:8 22:24 Gulf 6:10 8:20 9:25 13:1,2 14:7,18 20:20 23:15 guy 15:12 H handled 5:3 hear 4:6 heard 11:3 hearing 11:2 heart 14:1 help 18:18 Highway 1:17 Hochman 2:14 2:16 4:9,15 5:7 5:14,17,22 6:2 6:21 7:25 8:13 8:22 9:15,21 10:10 11:9 12:13,21 13:7 13:24 14:2,21 15:5 16:1 17:7 17:24 18:5,10 18:12,18 19:8 20:9 21:17 23:19 24:20 hochman@ja... 2:17 home 18:1 hundred 9:20 10:9 hundreds 17:5 _ I identified 7:12 Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 2 illegal 12:10 importance 6:7 inaccurate 13:21 inch 3:15 indicated 4:15 individuals 7:18 indulge 20:24 inflicted 15:22 information 3:13 insurance 20:8 intake 9:13 interested 25:12 interpret 12:11 interruption 18:5 issue 5:14 6:22 9:11,11 12:1 17:13 issued 4:20,20 J Jeffrey 2:16 24:20 Joel 14:25 15:12 15:19 John 19:19 Johnson 2:13 Join 8:14 Joined 14:23 16:2 17:8 19:9 Jonathan 11:5 Jones 19:5,5,19 19:22 20:10 21:3,19 22:3 23:3,8 JOSHUA 2:9 Joshua.Goldst... 2:10 June 24:14 25:16 K Kelly 14:14 kill 12:3 killing 16:22 kind 6:8 Kissane 2:7 know 3:23 5:20 6:3 8:15 13:23 14:12 15:8,9 15:19 17:11 18:7,19 19:3 20:5,18 21:14 knowledge 15:20 known 21:9 knows 18:22 L 2:16 24:20 Lakes 2:8 Lauderdale 2:15 law 8:11,16 9:4 9:6 11:21 13:6 13:1120:3,4 21:18 22:3 23:13,15 lawsuit 4:17 12:5,8 lawsuits 7:2,10 9:2,7 10:23 11:25 12:9,18 12:25 lawyer 3:17 5:1 5:8,18 9:5 13:12 21:23 22:22 23:3,7 lawyers 3:17,19 4:10,24 23:14 layman 13:12 lesson 18:25 let's 5:13 9:20 letter 15:11,15 16:6,7,11,19 life 6:19 limit 9:6 line 16:3 list 4:23 literal 16:21 litigation 4:5,6,7 17:13 20:7 21:10 22:5 little 20:24 longer 14:11 looked 4:22 13:22 looks 4:19 loose 15:14,17 Madam 7:25 10:14 making 18:12 Martin 1:5 2:2 11:4 matter4:17 5:11 matters 19:18 21:9,11 MAYOR 1:8 mean 3:23 6:3 11:19 21:25 22:10,10 meaning 6:16 means 16:9 21:15 25:14 meeting 15:11 17:12 18:1 22:8,13 23:1,4 meetings 17:17 19:17 20:12 members 16:25 mentioned 4:11 10:9 21:5 Michelle 2:3 mind 5:25 11:22 minute 18:2 missile 5:25 16:23 misunderstood 21:11 money 6:18 7:14 7:17 10:22 12:6 17:3 month 22:14 MORGAN 1:9 1:14 2:12 3:7 24:9 25:7 Morgan's 4:21 morning 4:8 move 14:21 multiple 12:24 23:10,13 municipal 7:5 19:16,17 20:1 20:6,10,13,19 21:9,2122:4 municipalities 7:5,14 10:1,1 10:18 13:3 municipality 10:16 Murdoch 2:13 need 13:12 18:2 21:7 neither 22:17 never 15:24 Newport 2:2 North 1:17 Notary 1:24 24:8 24:18 notes 25:9 notice 4:10,11 4:19,25 5:1,15 15:2 noticed 4:24 5:18 notified 5:10 number 8:11,19 10:16,17 11:12 11:15 13:8 21:1 O'Boyle 1:5 2:2 3:12 4:9,13 5:2 5:12,16,19,23 6:4,5 8:6,18 9:8,19,23 10:7 10:13 11:4,5,8 11:17 12:17 13:10,24 14:1 14:3,4,24 15:7 16:5 17:18,24 18:7,11,16,25 19:1,1120:25 22:6 23:11 o'clock 18:1 O'Hare 2:20 11:4 15:4,10 16:16 OATH 24:2 Objection 6:2,21 8:13,22 9:15 9:21 10:10 12:21 15:5 16:1 17:7 19:8 21:17 obtain 12:10 Occasionally 23:6 office 5:3,3,9,9 okay 5:22 6:6 8:7,21,23 10:8 10:14 13:17 14:3,12,14 16:20 18:11 22:13,18 23:5 23:7,18 one -minute 17:25 ones 7:3,3 ongoing 4:5 order 8:1 ordinance 19:18 20:13 organizations 7:18 11:23 originally 23:22 oversaw 7:19 P P.A 2:14 p.m 1:19 24:1 pages 8:2 11:13 23:22,24 pain 15:22 Palm 2:8,9 24:5 25:4 Pardon 14:17 part 4:7 12:25 particular4:3 22:8 parties 25:11 Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 �1 parties' 25:11 permitted 12:7 person 3:21 personally 24:9 phrase 6:23 20:17 21:14 pieces 3:15,23 Piper 2:14 place 10:2 plaintiff 1:6,14 2:13:8 7:16 plea 15:23 please 11:7,14 13:8 20:24 plethora 3:13 point 9:12 policies 10:2 policy 10:6 posed 11:11 potential 5:10 Present 2:19 presently 17:16 pretty 19:15 primarily 7:19 primary 21:20 Pro 2:2 probably3:14 proceedings 1:12 18:4,23 process 9:13 Professional 24:8 25:6,19 profit 7:20 prohibit 8:11 proper 19:3 20:17 provide 5:120:4 20:1123:17 provided 16:17 provides 22:4 providing 21:21 23:14 public 1:24 6:6,9 7:1,2,9,10,23 8:12,17 9:1,6 10:3,18,22,22 10:23 11:12,24 12:8 16:20 24:8,18 purpose 7:9,11 put 6:15 puts 9:6 O question 4:18 5:8 8:3 9:18,18 11:10,11 12:14 14:22 17:10 23:9,10,18,23 questioning 4:4 5:10 16:3 questions 3:25 4:2 8:24 17:10 quite 21:25 racketeering 7:22 10:20 Randolph 19:6 19:19,22 20:11 21:15,20,22 22:9,15,16 23:4,8 Raton 1:18 read 16:11,15,16 16:17,18 really 18:18,20 18:23 recall 15:15 16:10,13,17 22:16 recess 18:3 record 18:2,6,8 18:8,13,14,15 25:9 records 6:6,9 7:1 7:2,9,10,23 8:12,17 9:1,6 10:3,18,22,23 11:12,24 12:8 16:20,24 refer 9:23 regard 20:14 Registered 24:7 25:6,19 rejected 17:19 17:20 related 3:18 relative 12:11 25:10,11 relevance 16:3 remember 6:19 14:5 15:10,14 16:19 reminds 16:22 rephrases 11:9 report 25:7 Reported 1:23 reporter 3:1 7:25 11:6 18:19,2124:8 25:1,6,15,19 Reporting 1:16 represented 21:19 reproduction 25:13 requested 25:8 requesting 12:15 requests 7:10,23 8:17 9:10 10:3 10:18,22 11:12 11:24 12:9 16:20,24 required 21:24 requires 18:9 Resnick's 21:5 resolve 17:2 respect 18:21 respond 10:3,18 10:22 responded 10:5 response 8:3 11:14 responsibility 10:24 responsive 4:2 review 25:7 Richman 12:18 19:6,7 21:4,16 RICO 3:14,25 4:5,6,16 5:11 5:24 6:8,12,17 6:25 7:11,21 7:22 15:3 16:23 17:15,22 rid 6:17 risk 7:4 Robert 1:8 2:21 RPR 1:23 24:17 25:19 rule 8:11 runs 6:10 S sat 22:23 saying 6:19 15:12 Scott 1:9,14 2:7 3:7 4:2124:9 25:7 Se 2:2 Second 2:8 seconds 21:1 secure 12:6 see 3:14 16:2 send 16:7 separate 10:25 Scrota 21:4 service 4:23 services 20:5,12 21:22 22:4,5 23:14,16 set 5:6 12:14 shooting 6:1 shot 12:3 showing 15:10 sides 18:9 Signed 24:14 sir 23:12 sit 17:16 Skip 19:22 21:15 23:4,7 slow 11:6 20:24 solicitor 19:3 soliloquy 6:24 solution 17:4 somebody 3:22 13:14 sorry4:13 11:8 13:24 15:18 18:5 sort 6:15 9:3 SOUTHERN 1:1 specific 21:7 specifically 16:10 Specificity 12:22 speculation 9:4 spending 16:21 17:2 start23:21 state 1:24 7:6 13:2,4 24:4,8 24:18 25:3 statement 13:20 14:22 18:13 STATES 1:1 statutorily 7:16 12:7 statutory 11:21 stenographic 25:9 stenographica... 25:7 stinger 5:25 16:23 stop 7:9,23,24 Stream 6:10 8:20 9:25 13:1 13:2 14:7,18 20:20 23:15 strike 14:21 suit 6:14,17 15:3 16:23 Suite 1:17 2:15 suits 6:18 8:12 Sunrise 2:14 support 17:15 supported 17:21 sure 21:13,25 swear 3:1 Sweetapple 1:8 2:6,21 19:4,5 Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 E 21:4,16 sworn 3:9 21:12 22:7 24:11 take 6:22 13:14 16:9 18:2 taken 1:14 15:25 16:4,13 18:3 takes 13:19 talking 4:16 16:23 21:8 taxpayers' 17:3 Tel2:10,16 Tell 13:17 ten 23:21 term 19:4,15 20:19 testified 3:9 testimony 3:2 Thank 5:22 8:4 Thereupon- 3:6 thick 3:15 thing 15:3 things 10:25 think 3:24 4:1 7:7 10:8,12 20:21,22 21:6 21:14 thinks 14:19,20 third 12:14 third -party 3:18 thought 11:3 15:23 21:7 thousand 6:14 9:20 10:9 threat 12:5,8 three 19:21,23 19:24 20:21,23 time 9:23,24 times 12:24 17:13 20:21,23 23:10 today 4:21 12:24 told 3:24 14:25 15:6,8 20:25 23:13 Tom 19:19,22 town 6:10 8:20 9:25 10:21,24 11:19 13:2,19 14:7,18 15:1 16:21,25 17:22 17:23 19:2,2,3 19:10,14,25,25 20:18,20 21:6 21:8,12,15,19 22:1,22 23:7 23:14,23 Town's 9:12 transcript 8:2 9:24 25:8,8,13 tried 20:22 true 25:8 truth 3:3,3,4 try 5:5 12:6 trying 18:22 22:2 turn 15:14,17 two 10:25 11:13 11:15 type 20:7 2 1: 10 typical 6:9 typing 18:20 U unanimously 17:14 uncomfortable 4:3,16 underestimate 6:7 understand 5:16 13:11 14:2 UNITED 1:1 unlawful 9:2 use 20:18 usually 6:10 v 1:7 vaguely 16:18 valid 4:25 Varkas 21:4 vehicles 12:19 video 4:11 view 9:12 vote 13:14 voted 17:15 want 5:5,17 6:7 8:2,7,8 15:21 15:22 18:14,16 warm 15:23 way 4:2 6:16,23 6:24,25 12:2 17:2 we'll 8:9,9 we're 4:7 6:18 9:3 17:2 18:6 18:13 we've 4:1 Wednesday 1:15 4:22 Weiss 21:4 went 13:1,2,17 21:2 23:15,16 west 2:2,9 22:24 William 11:5 willy-nilly 13:15 witness 3:5,8 4:10,15 5:11 6:3,22 8:15,23 9:17,22 10:12 12:23 15:6 16:4 17:9 19:10 21:18 23:24 witness's 11:13 word 11:18 words 15:14 work 19:20 20:13 worse 11:2 wouldn't 5:20 Wright 11:5 written 15:11 wrong 3:20 13:17 15:13 wrongful 7:1 x 1:11 years 17:5 Z 10,000 8:20 9:10 1000 2:15 12 6:10 1280 2:2 1500 6:10 15151:17 1645 2:8 18 4:20 2 2,000 6:11 20161:15 4:20 24:10,14 25:16 23 25:8 24552:14 251:15 4:22 25th 24:10 2nd 24:14 25:16 3 25:8 3001:17 33304 2:15 334012:9 33432 1:18 33442 2:3 5 5 18:1 5:451:19 24:1 561-681-5523 2:10 6 8 9 9:14 -CV -8125... 1:3 9:301:19 954-463-0100 2:16 Daughters Reporting, Inc. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 954-755-6401 5