I'm
Christopher Mason. As is often said, denial is not just a river in
Egypt. It's usually a defense mechanism which allows people to
believe what they want to about themselves or others. It can also be
a bold-faced lie intended to deceive or to gaslight. Very effective
when used by a master of manipulation and very pathetic when the
truth is easily seen. Too many people in our tale live in a state of
denial.
I'm
Candace DeLong. I've never met or studied a criminal who didn't lie
at least half the time, both to others and to themselves.
Alonso
visited Jacinto Dorantes in the cellblock and let him know that he
will do whatever it takes to see that he paid for what he has done to
the lawyers of his firm. Dorantes told him that he was risking the
people he cared about “for caprice” because there were other
enemies. He tried telling him he was fighting the wrong people.
Alonso didn't buy a word of this.
Jacinto
Dorantes was an excellent manipulator. That was what brought him to
political prominence... and what could make him the permanent kingpin
of crime.
Mental
torture was merely a game to him. A game he had always won.
Alonso
told him that his lawyers were warriors of the law. Dorantes
insisted that the only justice that existed was bought with money.
Alonso said “You stole from me and I will reclaim it. I will be in
charge.”
Miriam
explained that she had to get away from Phillip because of his abuse.
She couldn't go anywhere, he was always watching her, and was
insanely jealous. She couldn't even work and now she needs to.
Samuel told her to count on him for help. Her children came down the
stairs saying they wanted ice cream. Since they made this request in
English she told them not to; they were to speak Spanish in Mexico.
Samuel got up, saying this was a great idea. Phillip came down the
stairs saying he needed to talk to Miriam. Samuel took the kids and
left. Phillip then said “I heard you.”
Alonso
told Dorantes that he belonged to a past where he could get away with
cheating the people of St Benito. Now he belongs where he is.
Dorantes told him to enjoy this moment because he would be declared
innocent and set free. Alonso smiled and said “You don't
understand. The justice system that will deal with you is new.
Because it concerns itself with the needs of the people. Not like
before. There is no way you will be free.” Dorantes looked
worried for a moment, then asked “You really believe that?”
Alonso said “The only successful thing will be more charges. See
you in court.”
As he walked away Dorantes told him not to be too
confident.
Dorantes
probably still thinks he's in the Old West. Look at his wardrobe.
Miriam
was clearly afraid when she said she didn't tell Samuel anything. He
called her a liar, saying he heard it all. She wanted to get away
from him.
This led to physical violence when he hit her hard enough
to almost knock her down.
Before she was steady on her feet he
grabbed her and slammed her head into the wall before throwing her to
the floor. She managed to get up, then saw the fireplace tools. She
picked up the shovel.
“Put that down,” he said, as though he
were talking to an idiot child.
When he advanced on her she hit him
on the head twice.
He fell to the floor, bleeding and unresponsive.
Miriam began to panic.
Miriam
is going to have major issues if she doesn't get a lawyer ASAP.
Alejandra,
Sofia, and Ricardo worked on the fraud case information from
Gustavo's trial against Ramiro Dorantes. They took out documents
about construction permits and bank statements showing income. Sofia
commented that this looked very advanced and prepared. Alejandra was
determined to get them.
Miriam
leaned against the wall, still in a state of panic when she heard the
children's voices approaching. She ran past the credenza that
divided the room and covered up the blood on her face. Her son asked
what happened and she asked the children to go up to their rooms.
Samuel directed them to the stairs and got closer. She took him to
the other side of the credenza and showed him. She became
incoherent. He put his arm around her.
Carlos
paid Dorantes a visit. They shook hands and Carlos told him that his
case was very difficult, which was not what Dorantes wanted to hear.
“Was that what you told El Ciego about getting him out of prison?”
He wanted to know how much money it would take. Carlos told him
that it wasn't a matter of money, it was proof. He then moved in and
asked what Dorantes had to do with the kidnapping of Jaime Ponce. He
told Carlos that this is one of Vega's fabrications. He had handed
him the proof. He finally said “If you need more, I will order
some made.”
Carlos knew that he was lying.
The
police were at Samuel's house. One put the fireplace shovel into an
evidence bag while another talked to Miriam, who said that she had no
intent to kill, just to defend herself. Samuel tried to defend her
but the cop told him not to interfere. When he stepped away the cop
told Miriam she will be taken to the station and charged with
homicide. Samuel tried to explain to the cop and told him to take a
good look at Miriam's injuries. She got upset as another officer
cuffed her and led her out, begging her brother to look after the
children.
Obviously,
neither of them has ever watched Law & Order.
I
don't think it matters in a place where you are guilty until proven
innocent and Mexico is one of those places.
Carlos
told Dorantes that at that moment the evidence against him was being
reviewed by a judge. Dorantes told him “Let them put on their show
to try to make the people believe that their mayor is a thief. I
don't care what they think. Political memory is very short and this
will balance out. You know why? Because I know how to do these
things.” Carlos asked how. “Make deals. Up front. Imposing
conditions.” Carlos told him that his case was very complicated.
Also that his fiancée worked in the Vega office and that the firm
has taken hits during the kidnapping. Dorantes said – for the nth
time – that he had nothing to do with this. Carlos told him that
the perfect crime did not exist. Sooner or later the truth comes
out. Dorantes grinned and almost laughed, but his face froze when
Carlos told him that he will not take on his defense. He thanked him
for the offer, turned to leave.
Dorantes yelled that he was a
fifth-rate hack.
What
was Carlos thinking, mentioning that his “fiancee” worked for the
Vega firm? He just made her a target in her own right.
Carlos
is just as arrogant as the man who wanted to hire him. You were
right the other day; he has not changed.
That
night the Vega attorneys met over the cases against Jacinto Dorantes.
Alejandra, Ricardo, and Sofia had everything they needed about the
fraud but Gustavo wasn't satisfied; he wanted the evidence about the
murder of his family. They told him they wanted to make sure that
they could hit Dorantes with as many charges as they could make
stick. Alonso arrived and told the room that he had just seen
Dorantes, who was as arrogant as ever. The charges against him could
get hiim locked up for the rest of his life, so they needed to work
hard to make their case watertight.
Victoria
and Roberto.... same scene, slightly different script.
The
following morning Carlos slithered into Alejandra's office to tell
her that Jacinto Dorantes wanted him to defend him. Alejandra got
up, agitated, but he quickly told her that he had gone to see him and
told him to his face that he would not. That this would hurt his
family... and he regarded her as family. Further, that he had more
than enoughmney to get a good defense. Alejandra thanked him for
telling her. He told her to count on him forever. She was ill at
ease when he touched her hand.
Raquel
was looking at a photo of Ariadna when an angry Julio came home. He
had just been to see the insurance agent and they would not pay out
his parents' policies. He had no money and there were expenses to be
paid,, including the funerals and lawyers. The agent said that his
father's policy will be authorized and paid in a week, but they would
not pay out his mother's life insurance because they don't pay out in
the event of suicide. Raquel told him she had never imagined her
sister in the middle of such a situation.
She also told him not to
worry because she would not leave him in this crisis. He apologised,
saying he didn't know what to do. She said that soon they would
catch his father's killers and justice will be done. He sat back in
the sofa at that.
Carlos
tried to hypothesize Dorantes' defense, such as the possibility that
he had his current fortune before he was elected to office, which
would disprove charges of malfeasance. That would certainly be
documented and Alejandra said she would talk to Gustavo about it.
Carlos also told her that Dorantes claimed that there was no evidence
to prove his guilt of anything. Alejandra decided to ask the judge
for a deadline for the presentation of evidence so that there could
be no surprises. She was offended that Dorantes was so arrogant as
to think he could get away with this. Carlos told her that she is
too inside the case, that she needed to keep a cool head.
Of
course, all this is part of Dorantes' repertoire of mind games. A
person who can't keep a cool head and a stiff upper lip will be prone
to costly mistakes in business and the law.
Juan
came back from seeing the forensic team. He told Roberto that they
found something strange when they examined Sergio Cervantes' body.
The thieves had taken a thousand pesos and an inexpensive watch.
What was stranger was that he had not been hit or beaten. He had
been stabbed a total of twenty times before they ran off. Roberto
thought for a moment and said that this was not a chance robbery
attempt; it was premeditated murder.
Alejandra
and Ricardo met with Alonso and Jaime to discuss the court
proceedings. They were alright with the evidence deadline request,
but Jaime was concerned about the possibility of Dorantes getting
released from jail before they trial. They had to be prepared for
anything. It was possible that Dorantes would present the same
documents he had once handed to Jaime. Mostly with older dates
before he was mayor. There was the possibility of bribery either to
falsify dates or to obtain blank official forms. They needed to look
at the real estate deals and knew they could get that information
from public archives.
Roberto
asked about witnesses. How long does it take to stab someone twenty
times? Juan thought this would take time. He said that the next
witness didn't see the attack, but made the emergency call. The file
indicated that Julio was nearby during the attack. Roberto said that
him not getting attacked as well wasn't luck and the attack was about
his father's life.
Alonso
and the others decided to launch an investigation into possible
bribery of notaries regarding the real estate situations in the case.
Alejandra suggested document analysis as there was the possibility
that they wouldn't get anyone to admit bribery. Alejandra told them
that Carlos offered to help. Alonso said he would talk to him.
Ricardo looked curious at Carlos' offer.
Roberto
and Juan went to the Cervantes house to talk to Julio. They asked
where he had been that day. He said he had told the police, but Juan
told him they needed every detail he could recall. Such as anything
said by the assailants, a gesture. Julio answered that he doesn't
remember, that it happened so fast.
Roberto asked whether they
attacked him or only his father and Julio told him that they had
attacked only his father. He was a little off to the side and they
did nothing to him. Juan asked how many there were and Julio said
that there had been two. Roberto asked what they took and he
answered that it was everything his father had.
He himself had been
against the wall and was not attacked. Juan asked whether his father
had fought back. Julio answered that he had not. Raquel said she
could not understand this, that this was a murder without motive.
Roberto told he that this was not the case. The manner of the attack
indicated that the motive was murder.
Julio got up and said “That's
not true. I saw.”
Alejandra
came back with information on some of the properties. Four houses
were in Jacinto Dorantes' name, two in Ramiro's, one in Jacinto's
wife's, who had died four years previously. The would also have a witness. They had what they needed.
Raquel
was shocked. She could not believe that her brother-in-law had any
enemies. She put her arm around Julio. Roberto stood up and told
her that the manner in which Sergio had been attacked did not
correspond to an average assault. This would have happened very
fast. Julio said it had. Roberto said that if this had been an
assault with intent to rob it would have happened in the least time
necessary. There would have been no need to kill the victim. Juan
added that since two assailants had Sergio cornered, one or two
wounds would have been sufficient.
Roberto then said that there had
been twenty stab wounds. That was a guarantee of a kill. Raquel
stared at Julio, who was beginning to look hostile and defensive.
Roberto described the attack as typical of a crime passionel,
or revenge.
This set Julio off, saying this was ridiculous and
demanding that instead of inventing things like this they should look
for the criminals. He left the room. Raquel apologised, saying that
Julio was very affected by this. Roberto told her not to worry and
that they will find the guilty parties. She shook hands with each of
them and they left.
Samuel
went to see Miriam in the lockup. She asked about her children and
he said they were upset. He still wasn't sure what to tell them. She
feared what they would think once they knew she had killed their
father. She asked him to help get her out of there. He told her that
someone had recommended a law firm and he would see them. Phillip's
brother, Jacob, had come to claim the body and take it back to the
US. Miriam said that Jacob had a worse temper than his brother and
she looked worried. He had never liked her and it was because she is
Mexican. She had made a huge mistake, thinking that Phillip would
change.
That
night Gustavo went to the lockup. Dorantes was lying on the slab
that served as a bed and had turned his face to the wall. Gustavo
told him he wanted to see the face of the man who killed his family.
Again, Dorantes denied having anything to do with this but Gustavo
would not believe him. He demanded to know why he did this.
Dorantes tried to taunt him by asking an ugly rhetorical question,
which provoked Gustavo to reach in and grab his lapels. Dorantes
called for the guards, who arrived quickly and restrained Gustavo.
Gustavo said that he was lucky to be in prison because if he were
freed he'd kill him with his own hands.
As the guards dragged him
back he yelled again that he would kill Dorantes, who laughed at him
as though he were Mephistopheles in Faust.
It
would be better if Gustavo were taken off this case. He has not
effectively dealt with his grief and has done several very
unprofessional things. That could all end very badly.
Later
at Victoria's apartment, Roberto described his new case to Victoria.
He explained the series of events leading to the stabbing of Sergio
Cervantes. That his son had stepped back when the two assailants
grabbed his father. He had stayed there clutching his dog. Victoria
said that this did not sound like a natural reaction. Roberto
agreed, saying if anything were to happen to his father he would
fight and risk injury. Victora agreed and asked what he was going to
do. He got up, picked up something from the food plate and flirted
with her for a minute, then said he was going to figure out exactly
what happened.
Alejandra
and Jaime sat at Paula's dining table working on the case and looking
at financial statements related to it. Paula liked this sight very
much, saying she had been afraid she would never see happiness in
that house, but now she was. She went to the kitchen to get their
drinks.
Victoria
confessed that if Dorantes is convicted and sent to prison and
Roberto didn't need to be there to protect her she would miss him.
However, she did not allow him to follow her to bed.
The
following morning Roberto and Juan visited the coroner, who handed
them the report on Ariadna. Roberto read it and told Juan that the
marks on her neck did not correspond to the manner in which the body
was found. This meant that she was murdered; she did not commit
suicide. He told Juan to get copies of all the reports and he would
meet him later at the office.
Alonso,
Jaime, Ricardo, Gustavo, and Alejandra entered the courtroom.
Gustavo was still agitated and Alonso told him to trust him to do
this. Dorantes was in the holding cell at the side of the courtroom wearing a prison uniform.
The judge entered and everyone took their seats. He read the
charges, which so far were only the financial offenses.
Alonso
addressed the court, emphasizing that Dorantes' position in
combination with that was a major abuse of trust and an offense
against the people. He had deceived and robbed them. This caused
Dorantes to have an outburst and claim that it was not true. The
judge ordered him to be silent. Alonso said that everyone should be
equal under the law. He asked for the maximum possible sentence for
these crimes.
Dorantes' attorney called Alonso's credibility into
question by showing a video of Benjamin, claiming that Benjamin's
money-laundering was known to Alonso and the other attorneys at his
firm, therefore making them criminals.
Alejandra objected and
Dorantes' lawyer requested that he question his client, claiming that
he was a victim of Vega's firm.
The judge allowed him to and this
elicited a tale of poverty and walking long distances to school in
Dorantes' childhood. The lawyer handed a list of names to the judge
of people who had worked with or for Dorantes before he had become
mayor and a list of properties. Dorantes told the court that he had
purchased all those properties prior to taking office. He claimed to
have been elected because of what he had done for the people. His
lawyer then handed an inch-thick document to the judge, saying it was
notarizations of properties. He called attention to the dates.
Dorantes said that he always looked out for his people and hoped that
he would soon return to doing so. Gustavo started to get up, but
Ricardo prevented him doing so. Dorantes saw this and had a look of
satisfaction.
Jaime
requested to cross-examine and the judge allowed him to. He asked
him what happened to the three hundred million pesos marked for
public services in his community. He said the the secretary of
public finance was responsible for expenses designated by the mayor.
But it may not have been carried out. Jaime showed the judge a sheet
of photos of hospitals and schools for which that money was meant to
be spent, photos that showed that nothing had been done. The photos
were said to have been taken by a civic organization. The defense
attorney tried to dismiss them but Alonso got up and asked if they
had papers proving that the work by Fausto Rivera was paid for by a
civic organization he should present them.
He had none and it showed
on his face. Jaime then got up and spoke of abuse of power. That
Fausto Rivera turned up dead shortly after this came to light was
suspicious.
Dorantes' attorney tried to object but Alonso took over
and talked about cause and effect, concluding that there were no
coincidences. He went over to Gustavo and put his hands on his
shoulders, telling the room that Gustavo's family was killed after he
had won the fraud case that sent Ramiro Dorantes to prison. The
construction job that he did not do after having been paid happened
during his brother's administration. Jaime's kidnapping happened
after he refused to defend Dorantes and the attempt on his own life
followed that. He handed the judge a copy of the court filings on
this for investigation.
Alan
scolded Carlos for turning Dorantes down on the assumption that they
weren't likely to get another client whose fee would pay off El
Ciego. He also criticized Carlos for doing this because of
Alejandra. Carlos decided he had had enough and put him in his place
with regard to authority.
Dorantes'
attorney denied his client's involvement in the crimes against the
Vega lawyers or anything irregular about the real eastate. He asked
for his client's freedom.
Alejandra got up and asked to call Doctor
Solorzano, from the public minstry. He had copies of the original
documents relating to the Dorantes properties. He showed the
documents, which were signed by the defendant and dated only a year
previously. The defense had shown documents dated from four years
previously. Dorantes had been in office for three years.
Dorantes
began denying this. Alejandra said that this was pure corruption and
demanded that the law make an example of Dorantes and impose the
maximum sentence.
Dorantes
deserves the toughest sentence allowed by Mexican law. He's not
currently being tried for the murders, kidnapping, and attempted
murder, but at least he should be in prison when that evidence is
available for trial.
Absolutely.
He's denied everything so many times he has probably convinced
himself he did nothing. Sadly, there would be members of the public
who would believe him. At least with the witness testimony they can add perjury to his list of felonies. As for Julio Cervantes, he will soon be
facing a police interrogation that will make Roberto's sound like a
poetry discussion. When that happens his aunt will not be able to
deny anything to herself either. Till next we meet Behind the Walls
of Justice, I'm Christopher Mason.
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