Stories Of London

The lunch period proved busy for the Defence, as they wanted to be absolutely certain that they had everything in order before Court reconvened. They knew that Mr. Burger would be calling for Lt. Tragg to enter the witness box and give his Testimony and that here, he would be trying hard ……… very hard! ………to link poor Casanova/Puppy to the less savoury side of Don Guido activities!

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Once Lt. Tragg was settled in the witness box, Mr. Burger asked him about his interview of Casanova/Puppy. The Lieutenant said that he found the accused difficult to interview since he refused to answer any questions despite multiple efforts.

Mr. Mason rose and asked the Judge that if the Defendant had never responded to questioning then why was it that he was now in the Dock? Mr. Burger said that there was much Circumstantial Evidence to indicate that Mr. Casanova/Puppy was indeed guilty of a heinous crime.

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Mr. Mason rose and objected to the use of the word GUILTY since, he said that at this time, Mr. Casanova/Puppy had been convicted of no crime, and that such a comment was prejudicial to the Defence’s case. The Judge agreed and asked the jury to disregard Mr. Burger’s last comment. He then turned back to Mr. Burger and advised him to present his circumstantial evidence against the Defendant, as quickly as possible.

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Mr. Burger (Left) questioning Lt. Tragg (Right)

Mr. Burger next asked Lt. Tragg if the defendant had any kind of criminal record.  This time, Counsel immediately leapt to her feet to object to this line of questioning and asked the Judge to excuse the Jury and then allow them to hear what Mr. Burger wished to present. This would then allow Your Honour to decide if what was presented had relevance to the Prosecution’s case or was incompetent, immaterial and irrelevant!

The Judge agreed with Counsel, much to the vexation of Mr. Burger, and directed the Court Bailiff to escort the Jury from the Courtroom.

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Once the Jury had left the Court Room, Mr. Burger resumed and said that it was important to his case to allow knowledge of Mr. Casanova/Puppy’s past history of criminal activity since it would most certainly prove relevant. The Judge reminded Mr. Burger that he would decide if what he had to present was relevant or not. He quickly apologised for his comment.

Mr. Burger said that the Police had been called to the home of the victim several months earlier as Casanova/Puppy was being accused of stealing something from the victim. He said that he could request the officers who responded to the call (Officers Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon of Petrol Car 54), should His Honour wish, but hastened to add that the Captain of their Precinct was unsure where they were at this time!!!

Officer Gunther Toody (Right) & Officer Francis Muldoon (Left)

Car 54 Where Are You?

Counsel stood up and interjected by asking if any charges were brought against their client following the accusation? Mr. Burger, somewhat dejectedly, answered that none were brought.

The Judge asked Mr. Burger if he had any further information to offer the Court. He said that he had.

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Apparently, the Defendant had been held, accused of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) following an altercation with a young lady! This resulted in his being held in captivity for fourteen days! Again Counsel leapt to her feet to object. She said that following a full investigation at the time, no charges were brought against their client and asked for the Court’s indulgence in allowing her to present the accurate facts that surrounded this accusation before the Court. The Judge said that he would welcome hearing this.

Counsel said that one morning when the victim and their client were out for their daily promenade, when a young lady appeared behind them without warning. Apparently, she had stealthily crept up without their knowledge and suddenly called Good Morning!

Although the victim and the Defendant knew this young lady and had spoken to her on a number of occasions, Mr. Casanova/Puppy was startled and believed that they were in imminent danger. He apparently turned and leapt into the air to protect himself and the victim. When he came down, one of his front paws touched one of the young lady’s fingers. The young lady screamed uncontrollably and yelled that she had been bitten on the face. Once she was calmed and told this was not the case, she decided that she needed to go to the local hospital to be fully examined. When here the Emergency Room Physician found a small scratch on one of the fingers of her left hand. This was treated.

Soon after the victim and Mr. Casanova/Puppy were visited by an Officer from Animal Control and Mr. Casanova/Puppy was ordered to remain within the confines of the garden and house for the following fourteen days and not to venture beyond. It had been noted that Mr. Casanova/Puppy had received all the necessary immunizations required and was regularly examined by his doctor and had always been found to be in perfect health.

Later that day, the mother of the young lady visited the victim and Mr. Casanova/Puppy to apologise for her daughter’s behaviour. She said she had told her daughter often that she should never creep up behind someone. And that they both regretted the incident.  

At the end of his confinement period, the Officer from Animal Control returned and informed the victim that since Mr. Casanova/Puppy had complied fully with the request to remain at home for the full period of time, and, during which time neither he nor the young lady had developed any sequelae resulting from their encounter, and since no charges were being against him, his record would be expunged.

The Judge asked Mr. Burger if he was aware that Mr. Casanova/Puppy had been exonerated from any crime. He said that he had, but he believed that his initial behaviour proved his inability to control his temper. The Judge stopped Mr. Burger at this point, sensing that both Counsel and Mr. Mason were rising to their feet to object, and said that in view of no charges were brought against him, it proved irrelevant to the case before the Court today.

Mr. Burger reddened with irritation, but decided to say no more about this incident and sat down and attempted to calm himself. Once more, the Judge asked him if he had any further information to offer the Court. Mr. Burger stood up once more and said that indded he had.

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Mr. Burger said that he had evidence that Mr. Casanova/Puppy’s current actions that now brought him here to the Court, and which had been brought to his Honour’s attention earlier, were part of some dastardly clever plot hatched by the notorious Don Guido, Head of an infamous gang where Mr. Casanova/Puppy held membership!  Immediately, Counsel jumped to her feet, but the Judge raised his hand to quieten her and said that what Mr. Burger now brought before him was of a very serious nature and of great interest to the Court. As a result, he was therefore inclined to allow the District Attorney some leeway in the matter in his bringing it to the attention of the Court. The Judge then added that should he feel that any evidence presented here bore no significance to the present case then he would instruct Mr. Burger so and it would not be presented to the Jury. With this Counsel sat down.

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Mr. Burger said that during his morning promenade, Mr. Casanova/Puppy was in the habit of meeting Don Guido. He said that, although these liaisons seemed harmless enough and would appear to occur quite-by-chance, the Prosecution believed them to be planned and took place to discuss a future caper since Mr. Casanova/Puppy, despite his friendly manner and innocent appearance, was a trusted member of Don Guido’s notorious Black Hand Gang!

Other Dangerous Liaisons

Those present in the Court were heard to gasp at this revelation and even the Judge seemed startled by the accusation. Mr. Mason rose and said that such an accusation was unfounded and was incompetent, immaterial and irrelevant!

Mr. Mason continued by adding that someone, perhaps with a resemblance to Don Guido, was also in the habit of taking an early morning stroll at the same time as Mr. Casanova/Puppy and that they would pass each other by and occasionally stop to discuss matters of the day and so inevitably spend sometime in each other’s company. Mr. Mason said that Mr. Casanova/Puppy was friendly and was in the habit of spending time with a great many people during his morning strolls. He also said that his client was always in the company of the victim during these walks, and perhaps Mr. Burger would like to accuse him of being a paid -up member of The Black Hand Gang as well?

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Mr. Burger interrupted Mr. Mason at this point and said that if the Defendant and Don Guido did not enjoy a special relationship, why was Don Guido sending the Defendant huge hampers of food each day and had paid for his cell to hold the most comfortable of furniture? Mr. Mason replied by saying that many people have sent their Client gifts to help him ease his stay in Jail, as well as receiving numerous proposals of marriage!

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Mr. Mason continued by saying that it was now apparent that the Prosecution’s main aim of bringing their client to Court was not in presenting the current case, but was rather in the hope that the Judge would issue a Subpoena requesting Don Guido to appear before the Court and give testimony. This would then allow Mr. Burger to achieve his real aim and that was to question Don Guido about his activities since, until now, Don Guido had eluded Mr. Burger’s net!

Mr. Mason concluded by saying that Mr. Casanova/Puppy was a mere pawn – an innocent – rather than some enfant terrible in Mr. Burger’s pursuit of Don Guido, and that in view of the lack of any actual evidence of a crime committed by Mr. Casanova/Puppy, he requested that the case before the Court be dismissed forthwith!

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The Judge said that Mr. Mason and Counsel would be able to present their case soon enough and then he would determine if the charges against their Client were worthy of sentencing or not.

The Judge next returned to Mr. Burger and asked if anything that Mr. Mason had said was true? Was the defendant being used to open a conduit to Don Guido and learn of his activities? Mr. Burger said that his office believed that the defendant was not an innocent and that his activities were associated with those of The Black Hand Gang!

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Mr. Burger was now asked by the Judge if there was any further evidence that he would like to present before he made a ruling as to their admissibility.  Mr. Burger said that despite Mr. Mason’s comments, the Prosecution was convinced that the current case before the Court was part of some dastardly plan of The Black Hand Gang of which the Defendant was a member.

The Judge said that in view of the lateness of the hour, he would reconvene the following day when he would render his decision on the evidence presented by Mr. Burger. With that he rose and left the Court and Mr. Casanova/Puppy was returned to the waiting Bailiff.

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CASANOVA/PUPPY …….
INNOCENT or GUILTY??? – PART 10