What A Difference The Weekend Makes
By Amy Hart in News on Oct 4, 2005 2:12PM
Last week Scott Fawell entered the courtroom of the Ryan trial as the arrogant, swaggering frat boy we have all grown to loathe. After waving to the audience in the courtroom, he nodded to Ryan and his co-defendant Larry Warner, saluted a reporter, and made it clear that he does not appreciate the prosecution making him turn on his buddy George Ryan.
Fawell said that he is only testifying in order to receive a reduced sentence for himself and his fiancée, Andrea Coutretsis. Fawell then infused his testimony with “wisecracks, angry asides, and blunt opinions.”
Fawell also revealed last week that Ryan did not keep in contact with him after Fawell went to prison last year, and that Ryan did not respond to a Christmas card Fawell sent him. So, whereas Fawell remains loyal to Ryan, except for the whole testifying against him in a court of law just to save his own butt part, Ryan appears content to forget about his friend once he becomes a jailbird. Or maybe the card just got lost in the mail.
If Fawell was trying to make the jury not like him last week, he probably did a decent job. He also succeeded in making it look like he was testifying not because of any wrongdoing on the part of Ryan, but because he felt he had no choice, as he said of the prosecution, "You guys got my head in a vise, basically."
The start of this week saw a kinder, gentler Scott Fawell. Yesterday Fawell was much more serious and calm and testified that he tried to make special deals with two of Ryan’s friends, Warner and lobbyist Al Ronan, and arranged for state workers to work on Republican campaigns in 1996, which Ryan did not exactly discourage. Fawell also testified about trips taken by Ryan and paid for by campaign contributors.
What's with the change of attitude, Scott? Jeffrey Steinbeck, Fawell’s lawyer, said he talked with Fawell about the way he was perceived after last week’s testimony, and that they decided it was better to portray a more positive image. Of course. We’re sure the feds were not too thrilled with last week’s performance and put a bit (or a lot) of pressure on Fawell to straighten up and fly right.
The trial resumes on Thursday.