WEBVTT - AT&T vs Manny Vider 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:02.560 Previously on number one Dad. 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:07.080 Watching him maneuver. That was where I thought that the 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:09.959 sort of mentoring came in, even though it's not exactly 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:10.760 how I would. 0:00:10.600 --> 0:00:13.080 Go about things, some of the locations he would take 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:16.160 me too, and he'd have me wearing like this shirt 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:18.360 that said AT and T and it had the logo 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:21.640 on it, not knowing that you can't do that. You 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:23.440 can't just use a company's logo. 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:25.880 There's no doubt in my mind that many could have 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:27.200 been anything he wanted. 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:29.200 I got a call from him one day saying, this 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:32.040 has been a bad week. He had been getting notices 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:34.879 I believe from AT and T which will basically stopping 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:35.839 desist orders. 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:40.080 Then on October seventeenth, nineteen ninety four, I woke up 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:42.680 at six in the morning to someone pounding on our 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:46.680 front door. The next thing I knew, our house was 0:00:46.720 --> 0:01:00.960 being raided by the US Marshals. Do you remember talking 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.800 to my dad after the US Marshals raided our house. 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:07.640 I remember him saying that, oh, this one is bad. 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:12.040 They came over. They took pretty much everything from his office, files, computers, 0:01:12.120 --> 0:01:19.080 boxes to be used in a legal case against them 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.479 AT and T. Following the proper legal route had gotten 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:26.480 the court order and because he had refused who knows 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:30.039 how many ceased assist orders and judge okay, that to happen. 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:42.280 I remember they came in and my dad being me 0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:46.440 come down the stairs in a hat that had at 0:01:46.520 --> 0:01:48.880 and t on it, and he told me to say this. 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:51.560 He goes, where are you taking my daddy's stuff? So 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:53.240 that's something that I had to say as a ten 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:54.160 year old. 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:56.880 I'm relieved that he didn't have you say yes, I'm 0:01:56.880 --> 0:01:58.080 many veeter, how can I help you? 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:01.760 Yeah, it's my fault. 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.600 I'm sorry. Guys. I was there that morning. I was 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.080 like just sitting in the basement, like, man it was 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:10.079 just like stay here. I'm like really, He's like yeah. 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:12.640 Only the marshals came and they started, you know, packing 0:02:12.639 --> 0:02:15.960 things up, putting into boxes. I felt, you know, sad 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:18.440 for him because I knew he had to face a 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:19.120 man on this. 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:22.200 And we were like still worried, like, oh my goodness, 0:02:22.200 --> 0:02:23.399 are we going to be in trouble too. 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:26.519 One day I got a phone call from rich who 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:29.920 was with Manny in the basement, and the marshals came 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:34.280 storming in and that became our little season of legal eaese, 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:38.239 we would be prepping for deposition because rich and I 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:42.240 were part of this, you know, we're clearly witnesses and involved. 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:50.680 Not surprisingly, the raid came up in my last therapy session. 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:54.240 Gary, how did you feel when you saw the federal 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:56.440 agents coming in to raige your home. 0:02:57.320 --> 0:03:00.520 I mean it might sound weird, but I remember not 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.560 being worried at all. My dad always felt like he 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:06.240 could get out of any situation, so I didn't think 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.560 that he would be in trouble. If anything, I thought that, 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:11.640 you know, the people that were coming in the house, 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:14.760 the cops, that they were in the wrong. So I 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:17.280 was just taking it as like these guys are screwing up, 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.359 and my dad's going to be able to get out 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:23.000 of whatever problem this is, and that it's their fault 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:26.640 that this happened. And then I just left for school. 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:38.400 This is number one Dad. So what's the latest, Gary 0:03:38.440 --> 0:03:42.720 in tracking down your father. Well, I went and saw 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:46.080 my child at home from the outside, and I'm not 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:50.000 exactly sure if he lives there. All I saw was 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:54.800 a kid's bicycle and one of those little kid radio 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:59.080 flyer wagons, and I checked the mailbox. It was empty. 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.200 I have no idea if that's his home or not. 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.880 So I'm kind of in a position where at one 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:09.840 point I was scared to talk to him, but now 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:11.800 I don't even know if I'm going to get the chance. 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:19.320 All Right, I'm. 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:24.000 Going good, So I know this is like a weird question. 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:25.320 I was wondering if you get help. 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:27.560 So I have a number for my father, who I 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:30.120 haven't spoken to in like twenty four years, and I'm 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:32.359 not sure if it's his phone number, and I was 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:34.480 wondering if there's a way to like look it up 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:36.719 to see if it's his number, because I tried calling 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:39.279 and I got disconnected, so I'm not sure if it's 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:40.560 like his number. 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:44.359 It's a landline, okay, So as far as like the 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:46.560 landline numbers, the only thing that I can do it 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.680 as is we can pay a bill. If you're not 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.640 the account holder, I can't give any information about the bill, 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.440 like as to who the account holder is, anything else 0:04:54.480 --> 0:05:03.400 about it. So no, yes, just for like security purposes, okay. 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:05.760 So I wouldn't be able to tell you the name, 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:07.040 so called it. 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:09.159 It didn't well, So what happened was I called the 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:13.440 number and then an automated message picked up and but 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.160 it sounds. It was like a robotic automated message, so 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:19.480 it's not like my dad's voice. And then I'm leaving 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:21.359 a message and then it just got like cut off, 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:23.239 like halfway through the message. 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:26.080 Okay, and then so I don't know if it was received. 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:29.160 Okay, what's actually I think with a laydland on, hold on? 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:31.359 What's the phone number? 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:36.240 So it's six ' three one. What's what's his name, 0:05:37.200 --> 0:05:37.880 Manny Veeder? 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:40.280 I mean that's the number that is showing on here. 0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:43.159 Uh huh, that's associated with him. 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:44.680 So got it. 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:48.720 This was the last subject in the twenty twenty though. 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.920 So yeah, Well, trying to figure out my next move 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:54.200 and tracking my father down, I caught up with my 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:55.000 cousin Mason. 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:56.120 Manny was smart. 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:59.080 He never went to law school, but he learned the 0:05:59.160 --> 0:05:59.919 court system. 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:03.039 My father's years of legal battles in court preparing would 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:04.800 go up against one of the biggest companies in the 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:06.120 world at and T. 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:10.640 He seemed to understand that the longer you delay any 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:14.760 legal work, push off court dates, push off everything you 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:19.120 possibly can, the more exhausted people get, and the more 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:23.360 likely that something will be dismissed or the punishment will 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:24.280 be less severe. 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:27.400 My dad's employees at the time were Rich Petrick and 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:30.479 Mark Palmery, and they found themselves right in the middle 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:31.880 of my father's problems. 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:33.599 I remember me going to court with him. 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.200 The courthouse in Manhattan was always funny because we had 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:38.239 to go there a couple of times. He was confident 0:06:38.320 --> 0:06:41.000 when he got in there and he didn't care at all. 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:44.320 He was familiar with these court run ins, and he 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:47.560 would go in and ask for an extension or a 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:50.920 delay where some people weren't happy for something and they 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:53.080 felt lied to, and it was always this kind of 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:56.680 petty sounding complaint, so like something wasn't returned, something was broken, 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.120 maybe he was dishonest, you know, or whatever. But it 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:01.040 was not that big a deal. But the eighteen and 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:03.200 T lawyers were a little scary. They were they were 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:06.159 fired up, and they were saying some crazy stuff that 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:07.000 we had never seen. 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:14.640 Good Morning calling. The case of AT and T Corp. 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:16.400 Versus Manny Vider. 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:19.840 My Father's Child began November seventh, nineteen ninety four, on 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:22.880 Long Island. The voices you're about to hear are actors, 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:26.080 but the words were all recorded by a court stenographer. 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:28.000 Good Morning, your honor. 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:31.720 The defendant many Veder is engaged in a continuing scheme 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:34.760 of passing themselves off as an AT and T personnel 0:07:35.120 --> 0:07:38.000 using counterfeit AT and T logos in order to install 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.640 pay telephones at local retail stores and to foice the 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:45.160 defendant's version of pay telephone service on the public. The 0:07:45.200 --> 0:07:50.040 defendant has used various aliases, including Many wolf Mark, wolf 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:55.600 m Wolfman, Milton Wolfman, Menachem Vider, among others. The scheme 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:58.400 has been so successful that the defendant has acquired over 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:00.560 two hundred customers in a few year span. 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:01.920 I don't know if I still have it. 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.160 Like a sweatshirt that was from Manny, Like he had 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.640 these blue sweatshirts sprinted up and had a little AT 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:08.720 and T logo on it, and we would wear them 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:10.360 and it was like, you know, we were just absolutely 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:12.400 representing that we were AT and T. When you start 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.160 this thing and you're working for somebody, you don't know, 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:15.440 like what's going on. 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:17.880 You know, twenty years old, naive, you don't know like. 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:22.040 If he really works for ATT, he's a subcontractor The 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:23.920 thing with your dad is like he just was trying 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:25.080 to hustle and make a buck. 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:33.760 Mister Burke, this case is not about counterfeiting, while the 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:39.400 defendant has used plaintiff's trademarks a practice witch immediately terminated 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:43.960 by the defendant. After receiving notice of this action, mister 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:48.880 Veeder took affirmative steps to avoid confusion between his company 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:50.679 and plaintiff AT and T. 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:53.200 Mister Burke, I do have a check here, which I 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:57.479 believe is September ninth, is it? I'm looking at Exhibit. 0:08:57.160 --> 0:08:58.000 B, your honor. 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:01.160 If you look at that check, you'll see that it 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:05.080 states that Payphone Plus is a provider of AT and 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:08.600 T service, and it says that AT and T the 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:13.599 right choice of trademarks of American Telephone and Telegraph. 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.800 I think what I'm saying to you, however, mister Burke, 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:21.360 is why does the check have the logo of the Globeonet. 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:21.400 Your honor? 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:25.120 These checks are no longer in use. 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:26.920 We have new checks. 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:30.640 Yes, indeed, there is a dispute. 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:34.400 But that joinder is that it was used I believe 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:36.960 after the temporary restraining order, wasn't it. 0:09:37.559 --> 0:09:40.200 We discovered that he never seesoned assistant and in fact 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.560 expanded his network, even using checks as recently as two 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:46.320 weeks ago after the order telling him not to say 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:46.840 AT and T. 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.080 At this point in the trial, the court entered a 0:09:50.120 --> 0:09:53.240 preliminary injunction as a result of the items discovered at 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.040 the seizure. When my house was raided by the US marshals, 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:59.440 my father was ordered to immediately stop identifying himself as 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:02.839 a represent of AT and T. But things were also 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:05.640 just getting started. The AT and T lawyers were trying 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:09.040 to turn my father's life upside down. They subpoened my mom, 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:12.720 my uncle, and my grandparents, anyone they could get to 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.640 mess with my dad. But if you make things difficult 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:18.240 for him, he's going to make it twice as difficult 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:18.480 for you. 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:21.760 Mister Veter has been talking to witnesses and telling them 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:24.800 of different dates for depositions, so that after we subpoena 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:26.760 someone for a date, we called them to confirm they're 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:28.559 coming and they say, oh, mister Veto told us it's 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:32.760 a different day. In addition, mister Palmieri testified yesterday that 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:34.960 mister Veter spoke to him when they heard he was 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:37.800 being subpoened and told him if he avoids the subpoena, 0:10:37.880 --> 0:10:38.959 he doesn't have to come. 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.360 So both Rich and I did. Eventually we had to 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:45.480 give testimony the AT and T lawyers were literally making 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:48.679 faces they hated Manny. It looks like it looked like 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:53.480 they wanted to kill him. Snarling, sneering, you know, these leering, 0:10:53.920 --> 0:10:58.600 threatening eyes, and you know, twists of the lips and 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:00.520 just like almost like they want to at him or 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:01.880 split their tongue out at him. 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:05.080 Do you remember how my dad was responding to the 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:06.240 AT and T lawyers. 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:10.160 I distinctly remember Manny just looking back at them with 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:14.640 this small smile, with a toughness, a charm, even like 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:19.240 dog tough man. There was something street right there about 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.640 that he had in him that was not backing down. 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:26.360 You know, they've said that Manny deliberately damaged other AT 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:28.280 and T phones that were in the area so that 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:29.160 people would use. 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:32.360 His lawyers for AT and T brought up Manny's criminal past, 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:34.360 some of which was news to me. 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:39.120 Defendant veter impersonated a New York telephone company employee by 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:41.960 wearing a hard hat with a Nightail logo, stole two 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.480 night Tail telephone enclosures, and had in his possession night 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:48.480 Tel traffic cones, and was prosecuted for a Class E 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:52.040 felony in connection with such stolen property. In Suffolk County, 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:55.720 resulting in criminal conviction. Defendant Veter is also the subject 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.040 of a proceeding brought by the Attorney General of the 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.240 State of New York arising out of Concers One were 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:06.240 complaints of fraud in excess of one hundred thousand dollars. 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:12.360 Between my father's criminal past and the insurmountable amount of 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:15.920 evidence against him, things did not look good, but his 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:18.760 lawyer began saying that the entire seizure at my house 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.960 was unlawful and never should have happened. If he could 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:24.720 prove it, it would get the case thrown out. 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:29.920 They had no basis to seek a seizure order. A 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:34.520 seizure order is reserved for counterfeiters. This case has no 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:39.120 counterfeit goods. They knew that mister Veder had been purchasing 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:43.240 equipment directly from AT and T for many years. 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:46.120 The law is very clear, I'm very familiar with it. 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:50.000 Unfortunately for my father, the judge found the seizure to 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:53.240 be completely compliant with the law and declared all the 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:57.679 evidence admissible. Meanwhile, the whole time this trial was going on, 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:02.760 my father's payphone business, Payphone Plus, was still operational. He 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:06.760 was running all over New York, installing payphones and making collections. 0:13:07.360 --> 0:13:09.400 One of the places he had business was at a 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:12.800 mobbed up strip club in Rego Park, Queen's named Wiggles. 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:17.079 These are made mafia guys, and every time we would enter, 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:20.400 Manny was greeted warmly. He would hang out, they would 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:22.320 catch up, they would talk, they would joke. 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:24.200 It made me uncomfortable with the owner. There was like 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:26.360 his owner guys, and he was real. He was just 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:27.079 like Sketchy. 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:32.600 That sketchy owner was Vinnie Palermo, also known as Vinnie Ocean, 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:34.600 who at the time was the boss of the New 0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:38.720 Jersey Decavalcanti crime family. It said that Vinnie was the 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:43.560 inspiration for Tony Soprano. In nineteen ninety nine, Vinnie Palermo 0:13:43.679 --> 0:13:48.480 became a government witness after confessing to two murders and 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:53.840 implicating several Decavalcanti family members of various crimes. He's currently 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:57.240 in the witness protection program living under an assumed name. 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:02.000 Manny had said that those guys had offer to find 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:04.760 the lawyers for AT and T and put them in 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:08.080 their fridge, their walk in fridge, and Manny had turned 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:09.640 them down. And so as we're talking to you, know 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.440 we're laughing, but also like, oh my god, something bad's 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.000 going to happen. This is dangerous. And he went on 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:17.439 to say that they have like an eternal devotion to 0:14:17.520 --> 0:14:21.240 him because one time he was putting in a payphone 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:25.200 plus payphone in one of their establishments and that he 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.840 found taps. He found that they were actually being spied 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:31.640 on in their office, and he was able to take 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.240 those out and also inform them that they were wire taps. 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:36.200 And so he's like a hero in this circle. 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:40.040 Knowing my father, he put those wiretaps on the phone 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:43.160 himself and then told those guys he found them. That's 0:14:43.200 --> 0:14:47.720 exactly how his brain works. Meanwhile, around the same time, 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:50.360 the AT and T lawyers started to complain to the 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.320 judge about getting harassed outside of the courtroom. 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:57.320 There has been a harassment of counsel in the manner 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.240 of hang up type phone calls. They still pick sure 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:02.680 he took of me because somebody was talking me when 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:04.720 I was in a supermarket having nothing to do with 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.360 this case. This is all part and parcel we believe 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:10.280 on the defendant's tactic, which started with removing. 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:13.240 The valve of my tire from the word go, they 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:17.480 continued to hurrow accusations at mister Veeder without a single 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:19.600 shred of evidence. 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:23.560 Mister Burke, as I tell some criminal defendants when they 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:27.720 are before me, sometimes the suspicion keeps growing and growing 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:32.600 about an activity of somebody and harassment of witnesses or obstruction. 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:37.560 You're drawing an analogy between the defendant who's had his 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.800 house invaded and a bunch of other baseless. 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:43.360 I'm tired of hearing that as an excuse for your 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:46.960 client's alleged conduct. If he didn't do it, then there's 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:49.720 no need to make an excuse, is there There is 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:51.040 no excuse? Good. 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.080 It wasn't only my father who was playing dirty. So 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:57.080 were the AT and T lawyers. They began talking to 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.440 his customers, making sure they all knew he was a fraud. 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.400 I've been informed that certain customers, due to contacts from 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:07.800 AT and T, are just shutting down mister Veeter's phones. 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:11.200 They're putting out of order signs on them. They would 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:14.000 love to drag this case out for a few more months, 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:17.160 because by then mister Veeter will probably be out. 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.200 Of business, Your honor, He doesn't abide by his own agreement, 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:20.040 and he does not listen. 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:20.520 To the court order. 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:24.680 Things were getting pretty serious for my father and he 0:16:24.760 --> 0:16:27.640 was hoping to gain some leniency. I know this because 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:31.120 inside the massive stack of court documents I found a 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:35.200 letter he sent to the judge. Dear Judge Platt, I 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.320 write this letter to you on behalf of my wife, 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:41.400 Sherry and myself, Manny Veter. Since the onslaught of this case, 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:44.320 which began to unfold in your courtroom in October nineteen 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:48.080 ninety four, our lives have been turned inside out, not 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:51.440 by chance, but by the design of one of America's 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:57.440 largest corporations. Their actions have taken an extreme financial, mental, 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:00.840 and physical toll on my family as well as myself. 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:05.359 To date, we have spent twenty thousand dollars defending this suit. 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:08.560 The money has been borrowed to pay our attorneys in 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:12.199 hope of a speedy resolution, but our combined family income 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:15.320 for the year was less than fifty five thousand dollars. 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:19.280 I have to support a family of five. My attorney 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:21.240 has advised me that he would like me to release 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:23.480 him at this point from this litigation because I have 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.880 not been able to borrow or come up with any 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.679 additional money at this time to continue to pay for 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.600 legal costs. Chief Judge Platt, I must see you as 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:35.679 soon as possible. It is of the utmost urgency that 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:38.000 you were made aware of certain pressures that are being 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:43.840 put to us by certain parties. Sign Manny Veter, did 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:46.120 you talk with my dad while the trial was going on, 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:48.720 specifically about the things they took during the raid? 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:50.840 I said, you know where it went or something's that 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:53.399 effect we were talking about. I'm sure they have it 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:57.280 in some warehouse somewhere. They're going through the files. I 0:17:57.320 --> 0:17:59.879 think he mentioned, ooh, they took all sorts of sports memory, 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:02.480 which I guess had to have been related because the 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:06.399 timing is right for I believe your your fake Sports 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:07.520 Illustrated Kids reporter. 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:10.440 Yeah, it was the exact same time we were pretending 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:13.280 to work for Sports Illustrated for Kids that the Marshalls 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:14.080 raided our house. 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.640 Right, So when your dad was sharing that this happened, 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.520 I could tell that he was kind of taken aback. 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:25.040 I think he truly was sorry, not necessarily about what 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.119 he'd done, but how far he'd carried it, because I 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:32.440 think he saw that there was real potential for significant 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.760 either financial loss or criminal charges. But I could tell 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:40.040 he was vulnerable at the time. And then down the 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:42.240 road as I'd speaking, I say, hey, did this ever 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:45.480 get resolved? And I remember one discussion where he said, 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:47.480 you wouldn't believe what happened. You know, I told you 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.359 that they took all this personal stuff from me. 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:51.280 I said yeah. 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:52.960 He says, well, I had it in a warehouse, and 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:55.520 somehow the warehouse was broken into and a whole bunch 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.560 of stuff was taken, including everything that I had, and 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:00.399 now I can't get back my personal stuff. 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:05.480 Improved my innocence, that's right. Mysteriously, a large amount of 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:07.800 evidence that was seized from my house and was set 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.240 to be used against my father and court went missing. 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:14.240 During the overnight period. It is my understanding that some 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:16.200 of this material disappeared. 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:17.520 That is correct, your honor. 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:20.400 Mister Veda broke into the secured AT and T facility 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:22.320 and stole twenty boxes of documents. 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:26.000 Mister Veet denies any involvement in the alleged theft, Your honor, 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:30.960 This is another baseless allegation. This alleged theft took place 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.760 at a secured AT and T facility surrounded by gates 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:39.880 guarded by armed security personnel. Twenty four hours a day 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:42.480 and is monitored by security cameras. 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:45.720 Must have looked like a real Hollywood scene. I think 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:48.240 it's very fitting after the Academy Awards last night. 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:53.320 Amazingly enough, on this day, March twenty eighth, nineteen ninety five, 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:57.440 as my dad sat in court being accused of masterminding 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.600 a break in to steal evidence compiled against him, is 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:03.040 also the same day he and I would be going 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:06.399 to Madison Square Garden to meet Michael Jordan. 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:12.200 He hadn't work. Let me take it one step further. 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:16.080 I think AT and T's violation of the seizure order 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:19.040 is so egregious here that I'm going to have to 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:24.680 order an immediate return of everything everything that was seized. 0:20:25.400 --> 0:20:28.480 This was huge. What the judge said was regardless of 0:20:28.520 --> 0:20:31.399 how the evidence went missing, AT and T mishandled it 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:34.400 when it was in their possession. So because someone broke 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:37.600 into the evidence locker, the judge ruled all the remaining 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:40.520 evidence to be inadmissible and had to be returned to 0:20:40.560 --> 0:20:44.679 my father, which essentially meant the prosecution now had nothing 0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:47.359 to go on. So the judge ordered that AT and 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:50.960 T's entire case be dropped. If you had a guess 0:20:51.160 --> 0:20:54.000 how that evidence became missing. Would you put it past them? 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:57.439 I can tell you with eighty percent certainty, you took it. 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:03.399 That's It's one of those things where it's not out 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:07.480 of the ordinary for him to figure out a way 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:11.240 to get himself out of a situation. I mean, he 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:15.399 drove a Caprice, an undercover cop car. He always was 0:21:15.520 --> 0:21:17.840