Motta, convicted kingpin of staged truck accident scam, seeks new trial

Vanessa Motta, the New Orleans attorney convicted of being a mastermind of the Louisiana staged accident case, is asking for a new trial.

Central to her request is the murder of Cornelius Garrison, a so-called “slammer” who pleaded guilty in 2020 to involvement in the staged collisions with trucks, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and was soon after gunned down in his home.

While there is a looming trial in that murder in which one of the defendants is Sean Alfortish, the disbarred attorney who is Motta’s fiance, Motta herself was never charged in connection with Garrison’s murder. But in a filing made last week, Motta’s attorneys argue that the U. S.

Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Louisiana either brought in the Garrison murder during Motta’s trial or subtly threatened to introduce it in ways that would link Motta to that crime. In doing so, Motta’s attorneys argue, she was unable to receive a fair trial. Federal prosecutors gave “repeated pretrial assurances that it would not bring up Mr.

Garrison’s murder at trial, followed by its reversal of those assurances during trial,” according to the request for a new trial. The request from Motta’s attorneys recap several occurrences that they believe constituted “assurances” about not introducing the Garrison murder into trial.

A change by the feds But, the attorneys said, “during trial, however, the government reversed course. The government advised that it would, in fact, introduce evidence relating to Mr. Garrison’s murder, and more troubling still, Ms. Motta’s purported involvement in or acquiescence to it.”

Prosecutors suggested, according to the request for a new trial, that they would bring up the Garrison murder during cross-examination of Dane Ciolino, an attorney who had earlier represented Motta, and Ryan Harris, who pleaded guilty in connection with the murders and who is providing evidence to the prosecutors in the coming murder trial.

(Both Motta and co-defendant Giles have been in federal custody since the convictions.) “The government wielded this threat of introducing Ms. Motta’s alleged involvement in the murder as a strategic lever throughout trial, which crippled Ms. Motta’s ability to defend herself,” the new trial request says.

Fear of Garrison discussion Motta did not testify in her defense. And according to the request for a new trial, part of that was the government was going to introduce the Garrison murder in the questioning of her, contradicting what Motta’s attorneys said was the prosecutors’ earlier guarantees not to bring up the issue.

“The government informed (Motta’s attorneys) at trial that, if Ms. Motta took the stand, it would introduce evidence of Mr. Garrison’s murder and Ms. Motta’s alleged involvement in or acquiescence to it,” the new trial request said. “This threat directly burdened her constitutional right to testify or not testify.”

The request for a new trial also reveals a deep schism between Motta and Giles, who also was convicted in the same trial as Motta. Giles’ attorneys, according to the new trial request, made clear they were going to “throw her under the bus” in their closing arguments.

But while their right to do that was not questioned, Motta’s attorneys says the setup of the closing arguments, and their accusation that Giles’ attorneys used up excessive time in their allotted period for those arguments, gave Motta’s attorneys no ability to rebut the charges Giles’ lawyers hurled against her.

Other issues raised by Motta’s attorneys in their filing include objections to jury instructions on the witness tampering charge that Motta was convicted of, and delivering the case to the jury without Judge Wendy Vitter having ruled on a separate request regarding a Motta request on one of her mail fraud charges.

More sentencing postponments Separately, the sentencing of attorney Danny Keating that was scheduled for this week, after countless postponements since his 2021 guilty plea in connection with the scam, has been postponed until August 6. Keating testified for the prosecution in the Motta/Giles trial.

Another defendant who pleaded guilty and who also had his sentencing postponed many times, Damian Labeaud, was to be sentenced last week. That has been postponed until August 20. Labeaud also testified in the recently-completed trial.

More articles by John Kingston 3 carriers and Kroger blocked hiring of ex-Quickway drivers: lawsuit Indiana’s new CDL rule pushes ahead on English proficiency Two solid ‘yes’ votes for Echo Global’s acquisition: Moody’s and S&P