By David Oscar Markus
Do jurors know who Milli Vanilli is? A lawyer for a Goldman Sachs banker is betting on it as he invoked the lip synching group from the 1980s in his opening statement.
Jurors heard opening statements in the trial of former Goldman executive director Asante Kwaku Berko, 52, who's facing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money laundering charges stemming from an allegedly corrupt deal for a Turkish power producer to make hundreds of millions of dollars by supplying much-needed electricity to the West African nation while taking kickbacks for himself.
Goldman client Turkish Aksa Enerji Uretim AS was looking for an edge to secure a contract with the Ghanaian government in 2015 and 2016 to build and operate an electrical plant, prosecutors say. To make it happen, Berko arranged for the power producer to funnel corrupt payments to state officials "up and down the chain."
While prosecutors say they have strong evidence, such as Berko's "damning admission" to bribery on tape, and purported email correspondence about the bribes, after jurors heard the government's openings Tuesday, defense attorney Robert Boone of WilmerHale told the jury that just like the fact that Milli Vanilli stars Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus did not provide the actual vocals for their songs, the government's case is devoid of proof that Berko committed any crime.
Boone told the jury "there were signs if you looked for it," in reference to the lipsyncing by the R&B-inspired German pop sensation that was credited with singing hits like "Girl You Know It's True" and "Baby Don't Forget My Number," namely, embarrassing technical snafus at performances and the heavy accents of Morvan and Pilatus that were conspicuously absent from their songs.
Despite the flashy presentation, Boone said that, like Milli Vanilli, "what you just heard from the government was an incredible story, but it wasn't true."
I like creative lawyering and taking risks, but wondering if the jury will get it.
10 comments:
Weird. I assumed this Boone guy had to be a Boomer who just couldn't think of something more relevant than a nearly 40-year-old scandal that no one's thought about in nearly as long. But he's not.
Especially weird since the case has nothing to do with lip synching, or really subterfuge of any kind....
Creative? I guess. Effective? Nope.
Nope, flat reference. I bet ChatGPT would've come up with a way better theme or analogy for this sort of case. Not to say it'll cost him, just a missed opportunity by counsel imo. I'd be surprised if they focus-grouped it and got approval, but maybe that's why I'm the one sitting at a desk right now while this guy is running a headliner jury trial. Guess we'll find out soon...
I read the same article and thought it was a very odd, dated choice. That said, I have seen some seemingly bizarre cultural references thrown in during trials (political scandals of old, conspiracy theories, random sports teams) and suspect they are based on jury consulting research and/or social media crawling. Perhaps the attorney here saw a juror's posts or noticed a Milli Vanilli bumper sticker (?) on the walk in from the parking garage...
Oof. Almost as bad as the judges who insist on opening opinions and orders with hackneyed pop-culture references.
Robert L. Boone is a "former" federal prosecutor for a decade, and boasts that in ten years he tried TWELVE cases to verdict! His bio is laden with all the convictions he obtained. Why people hire a prosecutor to defend a case is beyond me. But, girl you know its true....
Anyone who uses the word "Boomer" must be a Gen Z kid. The same Gen Z who complains that the lights are too bright inside of offices and asks for them to be turned off. But, in any event, you're wrong. Milli Vanilli is from Gen X and we certainly got the reference. I like it.
Depends on the jury's demographics. Could work if it's is full of Gen X or older.
LOL - besides being the tiniest bit younger, there is virtually no distinction between GenX and Boomers. Much to your GenX chagrin, we all know. So. much. chagrin.
But ... lights are too bright in offices! That THIS was your best example of a Zoomer complaint ... proves you're just a Boomer with a strange affinity for the 80s 😂
You guys are missing the genius of this opening statement. He now has a clear path to "blam[ing] it on the rain" in his closing.
Post a Comment