Hector Porrata, George Martinez, Rene Montes and Cara Cruz-Thompson in the Orange County AIG/Matrix embezzlement case, all appeared for their continued Arraignment yesterday morning, March 1st in the Orange County Court House in Court Room C-5 in Santa Ana, California  They are all still in custody with their release status as “remanded”, which means they are still being detained pending trial.  I believe their bails are all—as they were—set at 1 million dollars each.

I overheard the District Attorney, Thomas Schultz, say to Anna Brown, the investigator from the California Department of Insurance, “We’re not going to get a trial date today.”

Anna Brown appeared in the Court Room in the front row of the audience seats just three seats away from me to my left.  I recognized her immediately due to her appearance as a witness during the Preliminary Hearing.  I also recognized another witness for the prosecution, William Shae, a senior special agent with the Franchise Tax Board.  He was seated directly behind Anna Brown.  The man seated to the right of Anna Brown I did not recognize. 

The case for all four of the defendants was heard after the morning break at around 11:15 am.  It’s amazing how tediously lawyers shuffle their calendars and have to trail and reschedule hearings and proceedings because they’re on another trial on another case in another court room at the same time with some case they are also handling.  Lawyers need to clone themselves so they can be in two court rooms at the same time.

But, Mary Kreber and Fred McBride covered at 11:15 am for Gil Carreon, Hector Porrata’s attorney, who had appeared earlier in the morning in a dapper brown suit with a very wide tailed tie with a likeness of Elvis Presley printed on it.  Gil Carreon, well known for his flashy and extravagant ties, had disappeared by 11:15 am (most likely into another court room) and so Fred and then Mary spoke for him.  Brian Gurwitz, Cara Cruz-Thompson’s attorney, did not appear in the court room at all at any time, therefore Fred McBride spoke for him.

Hector, Rene, and George were led into the cage furthest from the judge’s bench and closest to the audience seats at just about exactly 11:15 am as their lawyers waited chatting in front of the table to the left of the podium for the Judge to reappear. Hector looked much better than he had during the Preliminary Hearing, and actually, this day, he looked extremely cheerful.  I watched his expression as I thought he must be in a very good mood this morning.  I wondered, “Is he all relieved because he has struck a deal?”  It was later I found out this was not the case. Then I spotted the source of his joy.   Cara was at the very far wall inside the last cage closest to the judge’s bench.  I immediately recognized her hair, which is getting longer and frizzier on the ends.  It must be the harsh shampoo they have in the jail that’s making the ends of her hair frizzier.

Hector looked non-stop in Cara’s direction.  He was talking, staring out through the glass towards the back wall.  He was mouthing words.  How can he be talking to her?  I thought.  She is about 45 feet away.  She is three cages away. 

Then, Hector looked straight at me.  We made eye contact.   Then he walked out of his cage area, which is open in the back, and sat along the wall half way towards the door so he could be closer to Cara.  He looked towards her for a while, smiling.  Then, he moved back inside the cage under the roof of it, probably because he didn’t want to give any deputy an opportunity to reprimand him.  That had certainly happened to him before.

Mary Kreber, wearing her classic, black patent leather pumps, walked into the attorney’s cage area in order to talk to George Martinez.  On the door there was a paper taped to the glass with a hand-written message that read: “Don’t Leave Any Paperclips Behind”.  Mary talked to George through the metal vent in the center of the glass.  George looked at her and listened.  Then George returned to the middle of the cage and tilted his head in order to look at me. 

While Fred McBride was at the podium speaking for all four attorneys, while only he and Mary were left as the only two defense lawyers, Judge Thomas Goethals stated they should next appear on March 19th for a Trial Conference, upstairs in that building in C-35 for a “long cause matter for all purposes”. 

So, moving right along: next appearance for “long cause matter for all purposes” will happen on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 8:30 am.

Hector Porrata didn’t need money.  All he needed was Cara.  She’s the center of his universe.  Was he trying to impress her?  Was he trying to win her eternal adoration through the conquest of money and power?   That’s such an age-old trap.  A proverbial cliché. 

So, Cara joined him in his world with Rene Montes.  But she could have said “no”.  There was a point when her no turned to a yes. When was that moment?   There was a moment in time when she decided to say “yes”.  She stepped over the line. At what exact moment did that happen?  Why did she step over? What made her decide?  

She can’t blame Hector.  She should have challenged him.  She could have challenged him.  She could have said no and then good-bye.  Or no and stayed.  So Cara has to take personal responsibility and stop the blame game.  Oh, the things we do for love… Isn’t that a song? 

Like walking in the rain and the snow
When there’s nowhere to go
And you’re feeling like a part of you is dying
And you’re looking for the answer in her eyes…

I love that song.  Here are some more lyrics to that song that I just looked up through Google.  In my own mind, I have nicknamed this song “Cara’s Song”. 

Too many broken hearts have fallen in the river
Too many lonely souls have drifted out to sea,
You lay your bets and then you pay the price
The things we do for love, the things we do for love

A compromise would surely help the situation
Agree to disagree but disagree to part
When after all it's just a compromise of
The things we do for love, the things we do for love

Isn’t it a noble thing, a worthy thing to give up everything for love?  Isn’t that what Cleopatra and Marc Anthony did?  Didn’t they do it all for love, power and conquest?  And isn’t that how they lost everything, including their lives?  Don’t forget history…

Would you do it?

Readers may write to writer Lonce LaMon at lonce@adjustercom.com