Judges in Santa Clara County are loath to touch a case with
hundreds of pages of evidence, dozens of victims and four
defendants
– one of whom has opted to represent himself against a litany of
charges.
Gilroy
Judges in Santa Clara County are loath to touch a case with hundreds of pages of evidence, dozens of victims and four defendants – one of whom has opted to represent himself against a litany of charges.
Vincent Cardinalli, Sr., 65, his son Paul Greer, 31 – formerly Vincent Cardinalli, Jr. – Greer’s sister Rosemary Ball and her husband Michael Ball face 169 counts of conspiracy, perjury, forgery, attempted grand theft and other felony charges stemming from hundreds of lawsuits filed by Cardinalli and Greer in hopes of collecting towing and storage fees for their now defunct towing businesses.
Half a dozen judges have passed the case like a hot potato and the most recent delay was brought on when attorneys convened Wednesday to set a date for a preliminary hearing and Superior Court Judge David Cena continued the case, in part because Cardinalli’s motion for advisory counsel will be heard by another judge Jan. 27.
“You can see my frustration,” said Deputy District Attorney Dale Lohman. She announced back in August that she was ready to move forward with the case. “We’ve begged the court to assign a judge, one who will have continuity. There are too many cooks in the kitchen and no one knows the full history of the case.”
The father and son duo were arrested June 2007 on dozens of felony counts. The family is accused of knowingly suing motorists who previously had sold or donated cars years before they were towed, and in some cases they sued people who had never owned the vehicle at all, court documents allege.
Cardinalli and Greer turned their towing businesses into a gold mine, collectively filing more than 2,000 cases in small claims courts since 1999 in San Benito and Santa Clara counties, according to an investigation conducted by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. They were released on bail and continued to enter small claims suits in San Benito County, even after being dubbed “vexatious litigants” by the courts. Cardinalli was later taken back into custody when further investigation revealed the Hollister resident was convicted of two felony arson charges in the 1970s.
Since then, Hollister police and the SCC District Attorney’s Office recovered seven rifles and shotguns from Cardinalli’s Hollister business though it is not clear if the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office will bring charges against Cardinalli. He could be charged for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The office did not return calls Thursday.
Process server Jeffrey Horan – who said he delivered legal notices to people who were sued, but did not actually deliver them, court documents allege – admitted to his participation in the case and was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to cheat and defraud and six counts of perjury, Lohman said. He could face up to nine years and eight months in state prison, she said. His sentencing is being postponed until the rest of the case is resolved, she said. He is currently out of custody.
Attorneys have dropped out along the way, bundles of paperwork have bounced from desk to desk and Cardinalli scrapped his defense attorney to take up the effort on his own, further delaying the case. And now he’s requesting help – he has about 20,000 pages of evidence to wade through, Lohman said.
Dozens of victims have been on telephone standby for months, Lohman said.
“I’m seeking to keep the case moving forward to get justice for the victims,” Lohman said. “But we’re cognizant of his right to prepare.”
Superior Court Judge Vincent Chiarello will rule on Cardinalli’s request for advisory counsel, 1:30 p.m. Jan. 27, in Department 43 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. At a Feb. 4 hearing, attorneys plan to set a date for the preliminary hearing, a process that could take up to six weeks, Lohman predicted.
