by mafiastudent » Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:43 pm
It appears there's a new twist to the Michael Meldish murder trial case. The government submitted a letter yesterday to Judge Cathy Seibel that they had evidence in their possession that they apparently weren't aware of - that evidence being 33 recorded phone calls of jailhouse snitch David Evangelista - the key witness at the November trial. These were recorded phone calls taken from June 2017 through August 2017 - the exact time period when Londonio reportedly confessed to Evangelista not only about his plans to escape (for which he was acquitted at trial) but also detailed info about his involvement in the Meldish murder.
If you remember, it was Evangelista's testimony of this alleged jailhouse confession by Christopher Londono that formed the major basis for the case against Crea and the others.
The government had issued a subpoena for a call log made by Evangelista during that time period but it was never fulfilled and the government got the call log through other means. However, an MDC employee had put these phone calls on a disc where it sat at the MDC, not having been retrieved by the government. Eventually, the disk made it's way to AUSA Alexandra Rothman's desk - where it sat for some time unnoticed during the Covid crisis. Evidence, by the way, that although not specifically requested in the government's subpoena was still provided to them and evidence which the defense had no knowledge about.
The government may now claim the recordings hold no merit, but is that really their jurisdiction to decide? This is evidence from a key witness that very well could have had a major impact on the outcome of the trial.
The document posted up on PACER today is below for your perusal.
It appears there's a new twist to the Michael Meldish murder trial case. The government submitted a letter yesterday to Judge Cathy Seibel that they had evidence in their possession that they apparently weren't aware of - that evidence being 33 recorded phone calls of jailhouse snitch David Evangelista - the key witness at the November trial. These were recorded phone calls taken from June 2017 through August 2017 - the exact time period when Londonio reportedly confessed to Evangelista not only about his plans to escape (for which he was acquitted at trial) but also detailed info about his involvement in the Meldish murder.
If you remember, it was Evangelista's testimony of this alleged jailhouse confession by Christopher Londono that formed the major basis for the case against Crea and the others.
The government had issued a subpoena for a call log made by Evangelista during that time period but it was never fulfilled and the government got the call log through other means. However, an MDC employee had put these phone calls on a disc where it sat at the MDC, not having been retrieved by the government. Eventually, the disk made it's way to AUSA Alexandra Rothman's desk - where it sat for some time unnoticed during the Covid crisis. Evidence, by the way, that although not specifically requested in the government's subpoena was still provided to them and evidence which the defense had no knowledge about.
The government may now claim the recordings hold no merit, but is that really their jurisdiction to decide? This is evidence from a key witness that very well could have had a major impact on the outcome of the trial.
The document posted up on PACER today is below for your perusal.