IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 1

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 1 I 3 INDEX FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN 2 AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA 2 Videotaped Depoeitien ofWILLIAMBERGER Page lb. Case No. 502009CA040800XXXXMB 4 JEFFREY EPSTEIN, 5 Direct Examination by Hr. Scarola 5 Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant, 4 Cross -Lamination by Mr. Lick SS Vs. 7Redirect Examination by Mr. Scarola 131 SCOTT 0.0TNSTBIN, individually; 0 Rocones-Exaninatien by Mr. Lick 138 BRADLEY EDWARDS, Individually, 9 Further Redirect Examination by Mr. Scarola 160 Defendants/Counter-Plaintiff. 10 Certificate of Oath 170 / 11 Certificate of Reporter 171 12 13 PLAINTIFF'S EXHIBIT INDEX VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION le OF WILLIAM BERGEA 15 No. Descriptich Page No 16 1 Razosbadt Cctplaint OS 17 2 (Premarked but not mentioned during deposition.) Taken on Behalf of Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff IS 3 Cceplaint in current case 118 19 Friday, February 23rd, 2028 20 9:27 . - 1:32 . 21 DEFENDANTS/COUSTER-PLAINTIFFS' EXHIBIT IM3EX 2255 Glades Road, Suite 218-A 22 (No exhibits were tacked.) Boca Raton, Florida 33431 13 24 25 2 4 1 Examination of the witness taken before 1 THE VIDEOGRAPHER: This is the 23rd day 2 Sonja D. Hall 2 of February 2028. The time is approximately Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 9 1665 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, Suite 1001 $ 9:27 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 4 This is the videotaped deposition of 4 1561) 471-2995 5 Berger in the matter of Jeffrey 5 APPEARANCES: 6 For Plaintiff: 4 Epstein versus Scott Rothstein and Bradley 7 LINK 4 ROCKENBACH, . Edwards. 1555 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, Suite 301 0 9 West Palm Beach, FL 33401 By SCOTT J. LINK, ESQUIRE , This deposition is being hold 2255 Glades Road, Suite 218-A, Boca Piton, :0 Florida 23431. 10 For Plaintiff: 11 DARREN K. INDYKE, PLLC Ii My name is Manuel Santiago. I am the 575 Lexington Avenue 12 VICIOD9taptier representing Above a Beyond 12 New York, NY 10022 By DARREM K. INDERE, ESQUIRE 29 Reprographics. IS 24 Will the attorneys please announce 14 For Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff: 15 their appearances for the record? 15 SEARCY, DENNEY, SCAROLA, BARNHART 4 SHIPLEY, . 16 MR. LINK: Sure. Scott Link on behalf 26 2139 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard 17 of plaintiff, Jeffrey Epstein. West Palm Beach, FL 33409 27 By JACK SCAROLA, ESQUIRE 19 MR. INDYKE: Darren Indyke on behalf of la 19 plaintiff, Jeffrey Epstein. 19 ALSO PRESENT 20 MR. SCAROLA: My name is Jack Scarola. 20 Above 4. Beyond Reprographics 2161 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard 21 I am counsel on behalf of Brad Edwards. II West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 22 Brad Edwards is plaintiff in the By Manuel Santiago, videographer 22 23 counterclaim in which this case -- excuse me 23 24 -- in which this deposition is being taken. 24 25 25 Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798337 5 7 2 4 THEREUPON, WILLIAM BEAZER, being a witness in the notice heretofore and being first duly sworn in the above cause, S testified on hla oath as follows: THE WITNESS: I do. DIRECT EXAMINATION 4 BY HR. SCAROLA: • Q Could you please introduce yourself to the 10 ladles and gentlemen of the jury, before whom this II deposition is likely to be shown? 12 A My name is William Joseph Berger. 13 Q And where la the deposition being taken 14 today, Mr. Berger? II A It's being taken in the Law Office of Weirs, IS Handler 4 Cornwell, the firm that 1 work for. I7 IS If 20 2l 22 2) 24 25 O What is your capacity with the firm? A I an an attorney with the firm. Q How tong have you been employed by Kelm, Handler Cornwell. A Since approximately December of 2009. Q You understand that this deposition is being taken in a case in which Bradley Edward➢ has brought suit again➢t Jeffrey Epstein for malicious prosecution, correct? Of Florida graduate school and got a master's degree in 2 philosophy. I then applied to trio university of Miami ) law school. And I went to law school iron 1972 to 4 1975, when I graduated the University of Miami law 5 school. 4 Q Tell us how you came t0 select philosophy ▪ an a major? • A How such flaw do you have? • Q Well, I have a lot of tine, but I expect 10 that the jury would like you to be relatively brief. 11 A I have also had a very longstanding interest 12 in the ideas, concepts, fundamental principles, and I 13 was attracted to philosophy. II CI All right, sir. Were your plans when you 17 chose that major to eventually go to law school? IS 17 IS A No. 0 what were your plans? A I was going to open up a philosophy shop and Is tell people if Choy existed or not. 20 Q sounds like an endeavor that was not likely 21 to enable you to support a family? 22 A Actually, It was teaching. I was going to go 2) into teaching, and then I decided to go into law 24 school. 25 Actually, law seamed to me to be -- I have 2 A Yes. O And can you tell us, understanding 3 that the case is set to be tried the second two weeks • in arch, whore you are going CO be the second two • weeks Of Mirth? 4 6 A I will have surgery out of town March 5, and / I will bo rehabilitating or recovering probably for the • resit of the month. 9 0 All right, sir, thank you. We wish you 10 beat of luck with your surgery. Sorry that you are II not going t0 be with us at trial in person. But 12 that's the reason why wo are taking this videotaped 1) deposition today. 14 A Thank you. 15 Q I want, before we begin dealing with the If issues involved in this case, co talk to you a little 17 bit about your professional history. So let'➢ start In with higher education. 19 Where did you go to school and what did 20 you study? 31 A I went to college for a year at Syracuse, 22 then I transferred to the University of Florida. I 23 graduated from the University of Florida with a 24 bachelor's degree. I had a degree in philosophy, and 25 that was to 1971. And then I stayed at the University I always thought of law a➢ the combination of 2 philosophy in action. That's what, to ma, law is, 3 the application of principles to real life 4 situations. 0 Where were you born and raised? 4 A I wan born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 7 And at the age of ono year, my family moved to Miami • Beach, and I grew up on Miami. Hooch. 9 Q Do you have a family of your own now? 10 A Yea. Linda and I have been married for 47 IL years and we have three daughters. 12 Q Let's pick up with your graduation from law 1) 14 15 If 17 IS 19 30 8 school in 1975, and tell ua what you did after graduating. A From 1975 to 1997 I was an attorney in Miami, and I wan with several law firm during those 22 years. I was with the Greenberg Traurig law fire; the Fine Jacobson law firms a firm called Hughes Hubbard t Read, which is a New York firm that had a *Maul office. And I had my own practice in between. So that takes me to 21 1997. 22 Then in 1997 Linda and I decided that we 33 Were going to ROVO to Boca Raton, and we did. I 21 joined this fire in 1997, the Rehm Handler firm. 25 was here for a year, and then I started ny own Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798338 9 11 practice, just a solo practice until 2002. 2 And in 2002, I ran for circuit court Judge 2 hero in Palm Beach County and I was elected. I 4 served a➢ a circuit judge in Palm Beach County from • January of 2003 until Juno of 2008. Q Lot's talk a little bit about the nature of 7 your practice before you were honored with a position s on the bench. Toll us, if you would, please, about * what kind of legal work you did in those decades It before you became a circuit court judge? 11 12 13 state and federal. In the 190. I started to focus on 13 employment discrimination law whore I represented 14 the employe*a who had been fired or disciplined. I7 Those were cases against their employers. And so if Is I had any kind of concentration, it was in that IS area. Probably a third of my practice was in that 20 area until I was elected to the bench. 21 Q During that period of tine before taking 22 the bench, did you focus your practice exclusively on 22 representing either plaintiff➢ or defendants? 24 You told us that your employment law 25 practice was focused on representing plaintiffs. A I handled lawsuits of people suing other ',maple, companion suing companion. General -type work, Q Tell us atittle about them, if you would, 2 please. A My daughter Marla is 43 today. It'➢ her 4 birthday. she's a mental health counselor. S Unfortunately, her -- in the sense that she specializes 4 in grieving, she administers mental health counseling 1 to -- particularly to children -- she works for a a charity called Tomorrow'➢ Rainbow in Broward County. / she has her hands full right now with the shooting. 10 My daughter Lauren is 41, and oho'➢ a II social director -- rather, an activitie➢ director 12 for a large temple here in Boca Raton. 13 My youngest daughter is Brooke, who is 29 14 years old. Brooke is looking co find herself, so she's back at hone now, and wo are going to nee where She goes next. Q I have a few of those myself. IC Tell us, if you would, please, how you 13 14 If went about addressing the financial issues that 20 arose in '07 and '08 that compelled you to leave the 2L bench? 22 A I decided I needed to go back to private 23 practice. I took a substantial cut in pay to become a 24 Judge, and we realized that going into it. But it was 25 just something that needed to be addressed as a result 10 I What about prior to that? 2 A well, I did -- I did -- oven during that 3 time, I did represent Gone employers, so I did 4 represent both aides. In other types of canon, there wan no 4 exclusive representation of plaintiffs or defendants 7 in what we would call civil matters, comeorcial t disputes and those types of things. 9 Q What motivated you to nook a position on 10 Il 12 13 14 15 14 11 the bunch? A Maybe the same thing that motivated no to go into philosophy. It was something whore I could actually apply principles, legal principles to real -life situations and deal with people's Isamu➢ and really do something for society. And it was something that was vary rewarding when I was on the bench. O What were the circumstances under which you IS left? IS A well, unfortunately in 2007/2008, wo wore 24 hit -- my family wan hit with the recession, no w0 21 had -- it was a serious financial ➢ltuation for us, so 22 I decided I needed to go back into private practice. 23 Q You told ua about your 47-year marriage. 24 Do you have Children? 33 A Yea, three daughters. 12 of the recension, so I decided to look to go back into 2 practice. And I was -- I interviewed with a couple of 3 largo firms. 4 Q roll us, before wo leave focus on your 3 Judicial career, what you did during those five to 4 nix yearn? 7 A well, in Palm Beach County, the circuit • court, which is the higher -level trial court, La • divided into five divisions: civil, criminal, family, 10 probate and Juvenile. In the five to six years that I IL was a Judge, I served in the civil division for ono 12 year, then I nerved to the family division involving 13 divorcoa, custody fights for two and a half years. And 14 that was in the branch court in Delray Beach. And I 15 was the administrative judge for the Delray Beach 14 Courthouse. 11 And then the last approximately two year➢ IS that I was on the bench, I Served in the criminal 19 division, so I presided over Colonial/capital case➢ 24 for two years. 21 Q I know from the review of your professional 22 sestina that you currently, in addition to doing trial 23 work, also do soma appellate work; is that correct? 24 A Yea. 33 O Did you have any app responsibilities Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798339 13 15 l while you were a judge? 1 A Yes. Judges that are circuit court judges 3 have appellate responsibility for cases from the county 4 court being appealed to the circuit court, and I worked S on those. And then I was also invited by the Fourth f District Court of Appeal, which is our appellate court / for Palm Beach County, Broward County and the Treasure • Coast. I was invited ono simmer to sit on -- to 10 sit on that court in place of a judge who was on 11 vacation, Judge Barry Stone. So I served on the 12 Fourth District and served with a panel of judges 13 and heard quite a number of cafes and wrote several 14 decisions for the Fourth District. Q The jury may not be familiar with the 14 procedure, but when the appellate court reviews 17 decision➢ that are rendered and jury trial re➢ult➢ at 18 the trial court level, how many judges aro involved It in that review process? 13 20 A Three. 21 Q And you then wore one of three panel 21 members in the review of multiple cases that were 23 heard before the Fourth District Court of Appeal? 24 A Yea. 2S Q Did you ever have the responsibility of 1 1 3 4 S a circuit court judge➢. Q In going through your career, we had reached the point where in 2008 you faced the economic reality of having to leave the bench. where did you than go? A I was hired by the Rothstein, Rosonfoldt a Adler firm. O How did that cone about? A As I said, I was interviewing with two firms. 10 There wore two largo firma that had offices in Palm Beach County -- largo offices In Palm Beach County. 12 Neon wo moved up hove in 199?, my daughter 13 Brooke got to know Stuart Rosonfoldt ,a daughter, and 14 we became socially acquainted with Stuart Rosenfeldt 13 and his wife. So I know him from 2997 until - wo - 14 aro at 2008. I knew him that entire time. In fact, when I went on the bench in 2003, 18 I referred to Stuart my employment case➢ that I had. It I had a great deal of respect for Stuart. 20 Stuart was a very prominent attorney in 21 the employment law area. No wrote for the Florida 21 Bar the teat that lawyers take to become board 23 certified in labor law. lie had an excellent 24 reputation in that area. 2S And Stuart, I would see ha every once in 11 14 1 writing opinions on behalf of the court, oven though 2 you were an a➢sociate judge and not a regular member 3 of the Court? 4 A Yea, I wrote several divisions that were 3 published and -- for the courts -- for the court of 4 appeal. 7 Q Did you also, during the course of those ▪ years, when you were serving as a circuit court judge, 9 receive the honor of having been selected by the 10 chief justice of the Florida Supremo Court to fulfill II 12 13 14 any responsibilities on behalf of the Supremo Court of Florida? A Yes. The position of chief justice rotates among the justices in the court. And at the time the IS chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court was Fred If Lowia. And Justice Lewis appointed me to a ➢tatewide 17 panel conflating of laypersons, judges at the trial 18 level, and appellate judges and retired Supreme Court 19 justices on a cormittoo to study how the public Could 20 130 batter informed in voting for trial judges. 21 In Florida, county and circuit court aro 22 elected. Appellate judges are appointed by the 33 governor. And the purpose of the panel was to deal 24 with how the public could bo bettor informed in 33 decisions of -- towards voting for county and 16 a while, and ho would toll mo about this firm that 2 ha was now with, Rothstein, Rosenfeldt 4 Adler, and 3 it was upbeat. Be portrayed it as a vary dynamic 4 firm. So during CM time I was looking to go 4 back into private practice talking to other firms, I 7 road In the paper that Rothstein, Roacmfoldt 4 Adler • had just hired the former mayor of Boca Raton Stove 9 Abraea to open up a Boca Raton office. 10 I 12 13 14 IS If 17 Now, I knew Stove Abrams. Ho was my mayor. NO was our mayor here In Boca Baton during 9/11, and I had a groat deal of respect for hie. Ne had an anthrax attack here in Boca at the National Enquirer building. And Mayor Abrams was like Mayor Giuliani for Boca Baton. He was vary -- showed great leadership skills. So when I saw and then ho was not the IS mayor anymore, of course, in 2009. But when I saw 19 that the firm was hiring -- had hired Steve Abrams 20 to open up an office here, which would be a 21 brand-new office, not a branch office of a big firm 22 that had -- that already had a largo number of 23 people in a branch office, it just seemed like an 24 opportunity I needed to explore. 23 So I called Stuart. And I said, Stuart, I Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798340 17 19 would like to talk to your fire about -- I told him 2 I was thinking of leaving the bench. And I asked if 3 I could be interviewed by the firm to work with 4 Stove Abrams in opening up the office here. 5 Q Did you then interview with the firm of 4 Rothstein, Rosenfoldt a Adler? 7 A Yea. Stuart and I talked, and then ho 4 introduced ma to Scott Rothstein, and that was the • interview I had. 10 Rothstein and I talked for about a half II hour in his office, and he made me an offer and I 12 accepted it. 13 Q Which office wad it at which you were 14 interviewed by Mr. Rothstein? A The firm didn't have a Boca location. It had 14 a Fort Lauderdale location on East Las Olaa Boulevard, 12 ➢o it was in that suit of offices there, in hi➢ office. Q roll ua about that suit of offices. A Noll, at the tine the -- I call it RRA for 20 Rothstein, Rosonfoldt a Adler -- MA had -- if not 21 mistaken, it had one and a half floors of that 22 high-rise office building on East Las Olam. And 23 Rothstein's office was on the floor -- the main floor 24 whore they had the entire floor. 25 Q Describe the offices. A Probably maybe double the total, if you 2 counted the lawyers. So it probably had 120 to 140 S 4 omployoos. Q What happened to the aim of the firm during the period of tiro that you were associated with the firm? A Tho firm did grow. It also -- I moan, it a grow in Fort Lauderdale. We also hired wo * eventually did open up a Boca Raton office where Nayor ic Abram and I practiced. He had one attorney along with 11 us that was full -Cleo there and another attorney that 12 was part-time. If And then the firm al➢o acquired an office 14 in Venezuela and maybe in Tallaha➢lee. not sure 13 about that. No also had an office In Washington, it III. that wasn't staffed -- fully ➢taffed. There 12 might have boon one other office possibly in Now IS York. I don't recall. is Q You told us about knowing Mr. Rosonfoldt 20 and knowing Mayor Abrams. Wore there any other 2L lawyers working in that office who you either know or 22 know of? 23 A Yea. And that'➢ one of the reasons that 24 chose that firm. Thera were several people. I learned 25 that -- I think front al discus➢ion with Scott Rothstein 18 A Noll, the offices wore a number -- you had a 2 waiting room, you had a number of attorneys' office➢, 3 and sort of common . Sono of the offices were 4 bigger, some wore corner offices, depending on the 3 attorney's position with the firm, and Rothstein had 4 his own office, which, of course, was larger than 7 others. • Q Descrlbo Kr. Rothsteln's office for the 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 If 11 IS 19 30 31 benefit of the jury, if you would please. A Noll, it was a big office. It got bigger later. It was renovated in 2009 after I was hired. At the time, it wa➢ -- iC wa➢ not an overly large office, but it wa➢ clearly the office of the attorney that wan the named partner in the firm -- the first named partner in the firm. Q How about once the office got renovated? Did you have occasion to over be in Mr. Rothstein's office after the renovations? A Yeah. It wan either maybe triple the size than it had been before, lavishly decorated. Q How largo wan the firm at the time you 22 joined it? Now many lawyers, approximately? 33 34 A It had about 60 or 70 lawyers at the time. • And total number of omployooa, could you 25 estimate that for ua? 20 when he interviewed no -- Judge Barry Stone, the sane 2 appellate judge that I had taken his place when I sat 3 on the Fourth District -- that ha had been hired by the 4 firm, and he had either already started or he was going 3 to start. 6 Judge Stone baa a tremendous reputation. • I think he was Cho longest sitting judge on the S Fourth District. In cases whore I wa➢ -- as a circuit court 10 judge whore I was reversed by the Fourth District IL Court of Appeal ho dissented from those nave aaaaa 12 several times. 13 15 If 17 IS Q So ho had a special place in your heart? A Right. Right. So I had a groat deal of respect for Judge Stone. Another attorney, who is Gary Farmer Jr., Gary Farmer Jr. is the ➢on of Gary Farmer Sr. And Cary Farmer Sr. wan also a judge on the Fourth 19 District Court of Appeal. And I knew his son was an 30 active, prominent personal injury attorney and class 21 action attorney, consumer attorney. Ho had just 22 settled a gigantic, hundreds -of-millions -of-dollars 23 whistletdower case against the pharmaceutical 24 industry. Noll, that was very impressive. So Gary 25 either had joined the firm or was going to join the Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798341 21 23 firm. I knew that. 2 In addition to Mayor Abrans and -- there 3 was also an attorney named Steve Lippman, who I did 4 not know. But I got to know him. I heard of him. • He had quite a number of financial institutions a➢ clients. So when I joined the firm, the firm was 7 representing Citicorp, Walla Fargo, JCPenney, Ed 4 Morse Automotive dealer➢hip.. It was a crui➢e * line -- I forget the name of it, but we represented 10 a cruise line. II Robert &ache], who was an attorney who 12 was at that fire. Roach.' represented police 13 unions. So we had as clients the union➢ that 14 represented police officers. And I think those are Is the attorneys that I knew going into the firm. Q Do you remember the approximate month that I/ you actually joined RRA? 14 IS It A Julie of 2009. sorry. June of 2000. Q You remained with the fire, then, [or haw 20 long? 2L A Until probably around November 8th to 10th, 22 something like that, 2009. So June 2008 to November of 23 2009. 24 Q Approximately 18 months -- about year and a 25 half? represented another law firm in a breakup of firma 2 And the Scherer firm waa owed over a million 4 5 4 7 • In Coos. And the client, the other law firm, was reneging on paying that. And Scherer won at the trial level, and then Judge Stone and I defended that judgment and protected that judgment on appeal, and we were ultimately successful. So you had a very prominent attorney, who, * ironically later, became an attorney for clients 10 suing the firm after the firm'! demise. But at the II time, Bill Scherer -- I was very impressed with the 12 fact that Bill Scherer was a client of the firm. 13 And he spoke publicly in -- I remember a newspaper 14 article on the Internet that Michael Mayo, I 15 believe, with the Sun Sentinel, interviewed Bill 14 Scherer about Rothstein. And I remember Scherer 17 saying that -- he ➢aid, I don't know what Scott 10 Rothstein la doing, but whatever in it I like it. II He said, I like it so much that my firm has given 20 him hla major case. So that was -- I thought that 21 was a testament to the firm's reputation. 22 Q When you joined RRA, how was your position 23 with the firm, your relationship with the firm 24 publicly described? what position did you have? 25 A Noll, I had -- I was called a shareholder. 2 3 a 4 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 IS Il IS It 22 A Yeah. O All right. At that time you joined the fire and through the end of October of 2009, how would you describe the perception of the firm, the firm's reputation in the South Florida legal community? A I think it was in very high regard by the legal community. When I joined the firm, I looked up ea the Internet, articles about RRA. And it was a firm that had -- that was very much involved in civic and charitable work, giving, that sort of thing. Rothstein was awarded many honors by charities for his work, charitable work. The attorneys that I associated with at the firm I thought were very, very high-caliber -- extremely high-caliber. I got to know more people there, of course. One of the clients of the firm was the Conrad Scherer firm. The Conrad Scherer firm was 20 ran by Bill Scherer. Bill Scherer la one of most 21 prominent lawyers in South Florida, certainly in 32 Seaward County. And he was a client of the firm. 33 In [act, Judge Stone and I worked on a 24 case that he had with u➢. It was a major cane for 25 that law firm. It was -- that law firm had 24 The firm had associates, partners and shareholders. I 2 wasn't really an equity owner in the firm. It was -- 3 When I was with the Pine Jacobson firm I 4 was designated as a partner. I wasn't really an 5 equity owner in that. So I had the -- that was sort 4 of -- there were probably 10 people that were 7 designated as shareholders. Then under that -- ➢o we had sort of a • mere senior role with the firm. 10 Q Was it unusual, based upon the experience that you have described, for law firma to de➢ignate 12 employeen of the fire a➢ being shareholders or 13 partners without those individual! having an equity 14 interest in the firm and ownership interest? A No. I had seen that before. As I ➢aid, the 19 Fine Jacobson firm was a ?0-attorney fire in Miami that was a vary, very prominent fire In the 1980s. And I was a partner with that firm, but I did not have an equity interest in it. 20 Now, afterward➢ when RR. collapsed, 21 obviously among all of the things that all of ua at 32 the firm went through in terms of being interviewed 33 by law enforcement and that sort of thing, I was 34 also interviewed by the Florida Bar. And one of the 25 points they raised was the fact that I was being II 15 17 IS 19 Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798342 25 27 1 called a shareholder and yet didn't have an equity 2 Interact In the firm. 3 I learned from the Bar, really, that that O was not -- not that It was widely -- a widely used 5 practice, but it was ono that the Bar was well aware i of and did not discipline the attorneys, to my 7 knowledge, certainly not In my case, for having been • called a shareholder and not having equity. But I learner!d from that inquiry that this 10 is a practice that seemed to be common, ao to speak, II throughout the 12 0 You have told us that your relationship 13 with Rita ended in early November of 2009. Tell ua 14 about the circumstances under which that occurre➢. II A well, the exact circumstances are that the 14 firm had already collapsed. November 1 was a Sunday. 17 And that's when I learned that there were problems, and le that Rothstein had left the country. November 2 was a Monday. And the attorney 20 that the firm hired co represent it in this 21 Rothstein problem and who had filed a lawsuit for 22 the firm against Rothstein immediately -- Kendall 23 Coffey was the attorney -- I stayed on for a couple 24 more day➢, probably a week, 10 days, something like 2S that, and then I left. i effect. He stepped into the ➢hoes of the law firm, and 2 he was now responsible for -- the firm had clients. No was responsible for collecting whatever foes could be O collected for paying aqsloyees, for seeing that there 5 was a transition from the firm to other attorneys 4 outside the fire to take over those matters, and also 1 to collect, against whoever was responsible, money to • re -- in effect to reimburse the firm for money that * was stolen from the firm. So Herb Stettin had that IC role. 11 Q So tell us, if you would -- you have 12 described the fact that the firm collapsed. How did 13 your knowledge of the circumstances surrounding that Is collapse evolve? II A Well, it evolved very quickly. On Saturday 14 October 31st, I was copied on an email that said -- 17 that was -- that didn't have broad circulation within I➢ the firm that said something about, Where's Scott? Is Something like that. 20 Q Scott meaning Scott Rothstein? 21 A Yeah. Two or three days before that, maybe 22 Wednesday of that prior week, at the and of October, 2) there was a charitable event at his home and he didn't 2• attend. He wasn't there. Nis wife was there and 25 dozens and dozens, if not over 200 people were there. 26 1 The firm had basically collapsed. We 2 weren't getting a paycheck. I felt I owed it co the 3 people in the firm -- we atilt had employees that 4 weren't getting paid but atilt had some benefits -- 5 maybe they were getting paid somewhat. The • attorney➢ weren't getting paid. I felt I needed to 7 stay there for scam period. And Herb Stettin had been appointed by t Judge Streitfeld a➢ a receiver for the firm. I knew 10 Herb Stettin for years and I felt some loyalty to him to stay for a while, at leant. But then it got 12 to the point where I had to leave. I had to get a 13 paycheck, so I left probably around November 7th or 14 10th, something like that. • Explain to the jury, if you would, please, li what a receiver la. What was the responsibility that Mr. Stettin was appointed to fulfill by circuit court Judge -- A Streltfeld. O Streitfeld. 11 IS 17 Ii It 30 21 A A receiver la somebody who is appointed by 22 the court -- and It's typically an attorney -- to take 23 charge and to basically run whatever the company is or 24 the business that is now in receivership. And that was 25 the law firm. So he was -- he became the law firm, in 28 It was a big event, but he wa➢n't there. It raised 2 questions. Where was he? 3 So on Saturday I saw an email that ➢aid he 4 has left the country. Something like that. And 5 then Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon, I got an • email that -- I forget who sent it -- but said to 7 re, Ma are going to have a meeting among -- I think S the people -- the shareholders at the fire that 9 afternoon or evening, and I went to that. 10 So there were probably about seven or IL eight or nine of u➢ there. Somebody -- maybe Stuart 12 13 IS Rosenfeldt -- had already hired Kendall Coffey, who was -- Kendall la a Miami attorney. Kendall and I practiced together at Greenberg Traurig in the '70a. Kendall became the united States attorney for the If District of Florida. I/ A presidential appointment? A Pre➢ident Clinton hired him. And then Kendall, at sans point, left that 30 position and he we➢ out in private practice. 21 So Kendall we➢ there at this meeting, 22 along with seven or eight of the other attorneys in 23 the firm, and that'➢ when I learned that Scott 24 Rothstein was in Morocco. And I was shocked. And 25 also -- because we were there for a couple hours, I IS It Southern 0 Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798343 29 31 al➢o learned that our tru➢t account➢ -- and those 1 are bank accounts that contain client money on deal➢ 3 that are pending, deal➢ that are settled, but the 4 money he➢n't been di➢tributed -- million➢ of 5 -- that those account➢ had been looted, they 4 were empty. I learned that that night. So those 7 were the circumstances where I learned that the firm 4 had basically imploded. Q Did there coma a point in time when you 10 became aware that Scott Roth➢tein was operating a 11 Renzi scheme out or the law firm? 12 A I learned that maybe a day or two after 13 November 1st, and I think I read it in the paper. 14 4) Before the disclosures that you have Is described to us, the raiding of the trust account and 14 the operation of the Moral ➢chme, having been at 15 that the firm for approximately a year and a half, II did you over have oven the slightest suspicion that It Scott Rothstein or anyone also associated with 20 Roth➢tein, Rosenfeldt t Adler wore engaged in any 2L kind of improper activity? 21 A No. 23 Q Evan in retrospect, as you sit here today, 24 can you look back on that time period and say, You 25 know, I should have realized there was something that were being prosecuted on behalf of throe young 1 woman: M., B.N. and Jane Doe. And w➢ will refer to them when I talk to you about them in that ➢ame way, 4 referring to sham by those initial➢ and that 5 pseudonym. 4 Describe how it i➢ you cam, to ➢hare ro➢ponsibility for those ca➢es with Brad. A I don't remember the first -- my first s introduction to the ca➢e➢. 0bviou➢ly, there wan a 10 meeting. Obviously, I met Brad for maybe the first 11 time, and I was -- I wa➢ asked -- I don't remember by 12 whom -- to work with Brad on these case➢ I think 13 principally becau➢e they were ➢ignificant ca➢e➢. 14 I had been practicing for quite a while. 15 I had been a Judg➢ in Palm Beach County and had 14 practiced in Palm Beach County. The fife was In 15 Fort Lauderdal➢. Brad wa➢ a Broward County lawy➢r, la I think, primarily. And I had thi➢ connection with is Palm Beach County. 20 Q Where were the case➢ pending? 21 A The canes were pending in Palm Beach County. 22 So there was a natural Lit for me to work on the➢e 23 cases, and I think that'➢ why I was brought in to work 24 with him. 25 Q You described these as significant cases. 30 1 wrong that wa➢ going on here? 2 A No. 3 0 Did all of thi➢ new➢ coma as a complete and 4 total shock to you? 5 A Absolutely. 0 Do you know Brad Edwards? A Yes. 5 Q When and how did you first moot Brad? 9 A I met him at the firm sometime in the first 10 three months, something like that, of 2009, after I had 11 been with the firm [or about almost a year. I met him 12 there. 13 Q Well, the jury will have been told, by the 14 time that your to➢timony is played to then, that Brad 15 joined the firm con➢iderably after you joined and wan 14 there for a period of about five months. So you were 17 there for almo➢t a year before Brad joined the firm, correct? 19 A Right. 20 0 Did you ever have occasion to ➢hare any 21 ro➢ponsibilities with Brad Edwards. 22 A Ye➢. I believe the only matter Brad and I 23 worked on together, if not mistaken, was the -- or 24 were the three lawsuits against Nr. Epstein. 25 Q We have identified those case➢ as case➢ IS 32 I What doe➢ that mean? 2 A Well, they involve terrible thing➢ that I happened co these three young women when they were 4 minors, ➢o they were significant in the ➢ense that the 5 personal injury to them wan enormou➢. They were al➢o 4 significant ca➢es in terms of what their potential damages were in terms of dollars. 0 Why? 9 A Because jurie➢ are asked to use their common 10 sense and their reasoning to come up with a dollar Il amount to compensate victims of wrongdoing by others. 12 Q We have identified the defendant in these 13 case➢ as Jeffrey Epstein. Was there anything about 14 the circumstances, nature or character of the IS defendant that had any influence on your describing 14 these a➢ ➢ignificant case➢? I/ A Yes. If you are going to be representing In somebody who has suffered, what I would call -- 19 although it wa➢n't exactly physical, it wan mental -- 20 catastrophic damage➢, catastrophic trauma, which I 21 believe these young women experienced when they more 22 minors and wa➢ ➢till affected by, if you're going to 23 represent them in that type of ca➢e, the case la more 24 significant IC the person that you aro suing has a➢sets 25 that you can go after ➢o that you -- so that your Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798344 2 3 5 7 s 20 II 12 13 le Is 14 11 Is Is 20 21 22 23 24 25 33 client can be compensated. And Jeffrey Epstein was a billionaire. And ao in terms of compensating, making g➢od to these young women, which would be called compensatory damage➢, this was a very significant case. You had terrible injuries, mental injuries. You had a defendant who, to me, was clearly libel, and so there would a very, very significant award of compormatory damage➢. In addition, if you were able to prove a certain degree of willfulne➢➢, that the➢e act➢ -- that he did thesethings intentionally, or he did them with a certain mindset, you could recover, what's callsd under the law, punitive dmage➢. Punitive damages are based on how wealthy the defendant is, ➢o that the defendant could be punished. And lf a person is extremely wealthy, then an award of punitive damages that'➢ $100,000, which would seem like a largo award if it wa➢ awarded against mo, would be an insignificant award of punitive damage➢ against somebody who is billionaire. So to -- so the firm wan In a position in representing 'these young women to go to a jury and ask for very, very high number of -- in dollars 1 4 5 4 s * Is II 12 13 IS Is 14 17 Is Is 20 21 22 23 24 25 35 But you do recall Paul Cassell 's involvement. What about other local lawyers? Wore there other local lawyers who were participants in the prosecution of she cases against Jeffrey Epstein? A Yeah. Not representing our three clients, but there were other firms that were representing other young woman that had been abused by him. Ye➢, I did know of those firms. There vas the Podhurst firm in Miami, a very prominent firms Bob Josofsborg, who I have known for years. Bob is one of the moat prominent attorneys also in South Florida. He had a case -- ho had cases against Mr. Epstein. Or he had clients -- I don't know if he actually filed cases, but he had clients that were victims of MX. Epstein. Sid Garcia is a very prominent attorney in Palm Beach County, who was also representing victim. Spencer Nuieln was another lawyer. Ted Leopold, another prominent attorney, ho also had clients. The Searcy Denney, who is a prominent firm, had clients as well against Kr. Epstein. And I believe an attorney named Adam Horowitz also. Those are attorneys that I recall had similar cases I 2 3 4 I 7 10 II 12 13 14 IS It 11 IS 34 compensatory damages, as well as an extremely high norther in punitive damages, because it would take a very large amount of punitive damages to punish somebody who is a billionaire. Q Dld the prosecution of the three lawsuits for which you and Brad Edwards were responsible involvo efforts of any lawyers outside of RRA? A There was a Paul Cassell who wan co-counsel with Brad. I never met him. I have spoken so him. And he had been working with Brad -- Brad brought these cases to the firm. No didn't -- he didn't get hired on these cases after he joined ARA. Be had already filed these cases, I believe. I know ho had shoe -- the ladies as clients before he joined the firm. And Cassell was co-counsel with him on those. So in terns of attorneys that were co-counsel wish ua, he was a co-counsel representing the three young woman that we represented. I 2 3 I S t 10 11 12 13 le 15 If 17 le 36 to ours. Q Tell ua about shit extent to which you wore working together in coordinating efforts with those other lawyers. A Well, wo had -- we were conmenlcating, we wore comparing notes, we were strategiming with then. 0 What is a joint prosecution agreement? A A joint prosecution agreement la an agreement typically in writing -- although it doesn't have to be between the attorneys for different clients to pool their efforts and to keep confidential their confidential communications and to jointly assist each other because their clients have a common goal and aro typically litigating against the sane person or company. It's an agreement to share information. Q Did such an agreement exist to which you and you Brad, as lawyers with RNA, were cooperating in a joint prosecution effort with Bob Joaaf➢berg, It 0 Toll ua about Paul Caaaell. IS Spencer kuvin, Sid Garcia, Tod Leopold, Adam Horowitz 20 A Well, I don't know a whole lot about him, 30 and the Searcy Denney law firm? 21 other than he lives out of atato. And I think he's 21 A Yea. 22 connected with a university. I may be mistaken. 22 0 To what extent did Brad Edwards as➢um a 23 0 No, I think that you aro recalling 23 leadership role in that prosecution effort? 24 correctly, but we will get those detail➢ from other 24 A With our firm, with RNA, I was -- I took a 31 wan aaaaa 23 secondary role to Brad. Brad was the load attorney. Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798345 37 39 These were his clients, and I had -- I had specific 1 roles, really. I wasn't handling the same breadth of 3 issues that Brad was. I wan handling certain specific 4 aspects to the case, and also strateglzing with Brad. S But he had the lion's share of the representation. 4 Q And were there also joint prosecution 7 conferences regarding how discovery was conducted, 8 who wan to lead the discovery efforts, what discovery * was to to taken among this group of lawyers who wore 10 all prosecuting claims on behalf of child victims 11 against Jeffrey Epstein? 12 A Yes. We had verbal. I think I attended one 13 in peIlon. O Did those neetinga go on throughout your 19 involvement in the prosecution of those claims? I,A Yea. Q Describe the nature and extent of the 14 investigation into Jeffrey Ep➢tein's activities that It was undertaken in connection with thin group effort 20 to hold Mr. Epstein responsible for the victimization 21 of children. 21 MR. LINK: Object to the form. 23 BY MR. SCAROLA: 24 Q Let me restate the question. 2S Describe, if you would, please, the nature I BY I. SCAROLA: 1 4 S Q When you refer to young women being on the planes, did you ever make a determination as to whether there were, In fact, children balm; transported on those planes by Mr. Epstein? 4 A I have to correct myself. When I talk about ▪ young unman, they were young women when we wore ▪ representing them and at the tine that I was involved. * But at the time these things happened, they wore IC minors. 11 • You were involved in the representation of 12 three specific individuals. Of what significance was 13 it in your representation of those three individuals to be investigating and cooperating in the 19 investigation of offenses alleged to have 14 conflicted -- to have been comnatted by Jeffrey 17 Epstein against other children? to A Well, although we just represented three 11 minors, or three young women at the time, the rules of 20 evidence at a trial do allow an attorney for -- would 21 have allowed us, as attorneys for these waxen, to put 21 on evidence of other victims and other bad acts by 23 Mr. Epstein. 24 There's a Florida statute, 90.404, that 2S allows other acts, even though they weren't II 1 2 3 4 8 9 30 32 32 39 34 24 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 38 and extent of the investigation that was undertaken into Jeffrey Epstein's wrongdoing. MR. LINK: Object to the form. THE WITNESS: Well, it was pretty extensive. There were a number of people interviewed and you had a network of -- you had people that were -- that surrounded Epstein In terns of members of his entourage or his organization or -- that worked for him, and there was a major effort to locate these individuals that may be potential witnesses. There were third parties that -- such as pilots that wore -- we were trying to track down or communicate with, because there had been statements made about how sane of these victims wore on planes that wore chartered or owned by Mr. Epstein, so there were efforts to get the flight logs, and to depose people who -- many of whom turned out to be very prominent, nationally, individuals that were on planes that we believed contained -- at the same time there were young women on the planes -- to track down those witnesses. 40 committed against your particular client, to be 2 introduced to show a pattern, a practice, a modus 3 operandi, motives, and so it was important for ue to 4 investigate any wrongdoing by Hr. Epstein against 5 any young woman that was similarly situated and 4 groomed and recruited, like ours were, when they 7 were teenagers. That would all possibly have been • evidence that could be presented to a jury in a 9 trial, even though our clients weren't directly 10 involved in those instances. • In light of the rules of evidence and the 11 Florida statute that you have referenced, did you 13 perceive that any obligation existed to investigate 14 alleged crimes committed against other children by IS Jeffrey Epstein under the same circumatances as your 14 own clients had been victimized? A I think it would have been professional IS malpractice not to have investigated other instances, because they were all potentially relevant and it was 20 powerful evidence that if he did it to other women, he 21 did it to us. If the techniques wore the same and the 22 same pattern of activity existed -- so I think we were 23 bound as attorneys to conduct these other 24 investigations. 21 Q Were any of your three clients molested by 11 17 19 Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798346 41 43 Jeffrey Epstein onboard any of Jeffrey Epstein's 2 pats? 3 A I don't recall that, no. 4 Q In spite of the fact that there wore no • specific allegations that any of your clients were 4 abused onboard Jeffrey Epstein's jets, why did you 7 pur➢ue an investigation as to what went on onboard • the jots? • A Nell, if -- IC minors wore molested on those IC jets, even though they weren't our clients, it would II fit the pattern of what Mr. Epstein had done to our Id clients, and could have been evidence that the judge 13 would have allowed the Jury in that case to hoar. II 0 You mentioned that names of high-profile 14 individuals and celebrities came up during the course 14 of the investigation. were investigative loads 17 pur➢ued with regard to those individuals? II A I didn't have any direct involvement of that. It I just know that wo talked about specific Individuals, 20 that they were on the planes or they were at 21 Mr. Epstein'! house. 21 Whether -- when I was working on the 23 ease -- the cases before the firm collapsed -- 24 whether we issued ➢ubpoenas or tried to issue 2S subpoena➢ to those persons, I don't recall that. 1 4 S • Why would Jeffrey Epstein be flying on a plane with a minor child who is not his child? And what connection did that child have to him? why would she be on the plane. That would tend to prove that he had evil motives and it had fit the pattern of molestation of our clients. So the slightest -- any proof that he was in the presence of minor children that weren't his * children that he had no connection with was valuable IC evidence because it fit the pattern. II 12 iI Q What was the geographic scope of the Investigation that was undertaken with regard to Jeffrey Epstein? A Nell, it was almost global, really, because II of the range of his movements. It was certainly 14 national. I know he had also prope 17 property in the Bahamas -- the Caribbean, so chore were I• tie➢ throughout the western hemisphere. Q As an active participant responsible for 20 sharing the task of representing these throe clients' 21 in claim* against Jeffrey Epstein involving pattern➢ 21 of the molestation of children, was there ever 2) anything illegal, unethical or even unreasonable 24 about the things that wore investigated in the 2S Epstein cases? II 0 If, in fact, there was evidence that 2 high -profile individuals and celebrities were in a 3 position to have observed Jeffrey Epateirrs conduct 4 in the presence of minors who turned out to be I victims of sexual molestation, would there to any 4 reason to refrain from pursuing investigative lead➢ 7 with regard to those individuals? MR. LINZ: Object to the form. 10 11 12 1) 14 IS 14 17 IS IS 30 31 32 33 34 33 42 THE WITNESS: No. BY MR. SCAROLA: You spoke about an obligation to pursue investigative loads. Now would that obligation pertain, if at all, to investigative leads that lead to high-profile and celebrity individuals? A You know, the Bar has in writing that an attorney is supposed to zealously represent a client. To ma we were duty-bound to pursue these lead➢. And I think that we were obligated to do it. If Mr. Epstein was on an airplane, either his plane or a plane he chartered, and he was with another person, whether that person was a high -profile person or somebody else, and there was a minor, a young minor -- female minor on that plane -- whether molestation occurred on that plane or not, to me that'➢ powerful evidence. 44 A No. 2 Q Was there ever anything illegal, unethical 3 or even unreasonable about the people included in the 4 scope of that investigation? A No. 4 Q was there ever anything illegal, unethical 7 or even unrea➢onable about the way in which the S Investigation was conducted? 1 A No. 10 Q Did you over have any reason to question II the legitimacy of any of the claims that were being 12 prosecuted against Jeffrey Epstein by your law firm 13 and by you? 14 A No. IS Q Did you ever have any reason to question If the legitimacy of any of the claims that were 17 prosecuted against Jeffrey Epstein by those with whom IS you were participating in a joint prosecution agreement? A No. Q You have told us that, from your perception, based upon your experience and training, 23 these were significant cases. Did you ever Corm an 24 opinion regarding the potential value or the claims from a compensatory damage standpoint? If 30 31 32 33 Palm Beach Reporting Service, Inc. 561-471-2995 EFTA00798347 45 47 I A They were in the multi -millions of dollars 1 So there was then discovery directed to 2 from a compensatory standpoint. 2 VS to her to discuss her life as a ) 0 And did you form an