JOE PILEGGI DEBUNKING

It is a long standing tradition to give our outgoing President what we thought of him or her during their tenure, the past year. Some call it a President's Honorarium, others call it debunking. This year's debunking was dedicated to putting Joe on trial for his past indescretions.

President Joe is served with a subpoena at his office, handcuffed and escorted to the Three Flames


Joe conducts his normal meeting with some of the attendees
Joe is escorted out of the room and John,
the head stagehand, with his crew creates the set

As Louise watches,
the defendant Joe is in place
Here come the Judge!! Here come the Judge!! Judge Mel of the 5th Criminal Court of No Appeal takes his place.

The courtroom is in place and a jury of six is in place

The Prosecuting Attorney is William Jennings Guido and the Defense Attorney is F. Lee Hassler

Prosecuting Attorney Guido calls his first witness, Paul Consentino. He was questioned about whether Joe being the manager of his building complex did accept an acupuncturist as a tenant. And that tenant was later arrested for prostitution. The Defense Attorney objected as the P/A was leading the witness. Overruled! Was Joe ever held accountable? No. The D/A wanted to know what position did the witness take in this situation. Objection! Sustained.
The P/A calls his next witness, Paul Uenaka, an audiologist. As an expert hearing specialist, he was questioned about a lot of shouting coming from the podium - from none other than our defendant, Joe. "Hey keep it down over there. Are you guys going to let me talk?" Paul related that it caused other's hearing to be injured - it was great for business! The D/A claimed that the witness should be tried as co-conspirator. Denied! I doubt this testimony would pass the 4-way test.
The next witness is Angie Hassler. She felt sorry for Joe because he was unable to work the BBQ at the football tailgate or the Charter Party. He did get to BBQ weenies at the kid's fishing days but was not properly attired. Angie entered into evidence an apron and an extra long utensil since he was vertically challenged. The D/A objected that this entire line of questioning comes up short and how can we believe a witness who herself doesn't measure up to the task. Objection denied!
Ed Lacina was the next witness. During Joe's term, our club sponsored an exchange student, Carlos, from Venezuela. There was some question about monies coming to support him that were handled by Joe. The amounts were exorbitant and not completely explained. The DA objected that all communication was in Spanish and Joe had no way knowing what was transpiring because he only spoke New Jersey. Objection denied again! The D/A asked if he had heard from Carlos and if he had sent you the kickback he promised. Silence.

The next witness was Jeff Rosen. Jeff testified that Ray Lester left the club a large amount of money and a considerable amount of dried prunes. No one saw the money or the money gained from the raffling of the prunes. The D/A objected as hearsay and with all those prunes this testimony is just a pile of #@#$&. Objection sustained. No further questions.

Ken Tavernier was the next witness. Ken administers the endowment funds and testified that some checks were cashed in Newport Beach where Joe has family and more checks were cashed at the Pileggi Deli in Atlantic City. The checks were endorsed by John Gotti Jr. - whoever he is. The D/A questions whether the judge should recuse himself because of his Italian heritage. No response.
The next witness was John Baker who had business dealings with the accused. John testified that he believed that Joe committed mortgage fraud and violation of the usury laws of this state. Short examples were: selling mortgages short, short cuts taken on paper work trying to make short escrows, clients came up short of funds and we even had short ribs for dinner tonight. The D/A asks John whether his client held a gun to any of these people - did you sell him the gun?

The prosecuting attorney rests his case. The D/A is overwhelmed by the prosecution's case and bequeaths the fate of my client to the leniency of the judge and jury. The judge gives the jury a couple of minutes to come up with a verdict. The jury returned a guilty decision within a few seconds, explaining that the witnesses were very believable and as Rotarians, they follow the 4-Way Test and thus tell the truth.

Judge Mel finds that the jury's recommendation to send Joe to a French Guiana prison without Louise was a bit harsh. The judge decided to condemn Joe to a year as the Immediate Past President and do whatever he chooses for the remainder of his natural life. The judge with the affirmation of the whole club thanked Joe for his dedication to Rotary and the Rotary Club of Almaden Valley in particular.

THANK YOU JOE FOR A GREAT YEAR AS PRESIDENT