With 2 sets of pricey lawyers, Piccoli confronts prosecutors
Federal cases pressed on dual fronts over alleged investor fraud
Richard S. Piccoli appeared in separate federal courtrooms with his newly hired attorneys Tuesday, as lawyers for two government agencies pressed their allegations that he ran a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
Richard T. Sullivan represented the 82-year-old Amherst resident in the morning on civil charges filed by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Joel L. Daniels defended Piccoli in the afternoon on the criminal charge of mail fraud.
How can Piccoli, whose assets have been frozen by the federal government, afford attorneys the caliber of Daniels and Sullivan?
“We’re working on that,” Daniels said as he left the courthouse.
Piccoli, dressed in a tweed sport coat, declined to comment.
Gretchen L. Wylegala, an assistant U. S. attorney, raised the possibility in the afternoon proceedings before Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy of a plea deal.
“We’re working for a pretrial, pre-indictment resolution of this matter,” she said of discussions she has had with Daniels and Sullivan.
Does that mean Piccoli would plead guilty?
“I really can’t speak to that at this point,” she said outside the courtroom. “Until we have the loss figures, we really can’t talk about a plea.”
Daniels and Sullivan said basically the same thing.
“Everybody should take a deep breath,” Sullivan said. “We will do our best to find where the money is and who is owed what.”
Did Piccoli and his Gen-See Capital Corp. run a Ponzi scheme as the government has charged, using the last investments to pay off the first?
“I don’t know yet,” Sullivan said. What he has learned so far, Sullivan said, “is a lot of people got paid a lot of money over the years.”
“He’s overwhelmed by it,” Sullivan said of Piccoli’s reaction to the charges brought against him last week.
“He’s very concerned with the investors,” he said. “He’s had relations with some of these people for 25 years.”
Piccoli lives in the same house he has had for more than 30 years, drives a modest car and does not have an extravagant lifestyle, Sullivan said. His wife of 52 years died in 2005.
Sullivan and Daniels said they are both working with Piccoli to make sure that his investors are repaid.
“We want to make sure the investors are taken care of,” Daniels said.
K. Michael Sawicki, an attorney representing a number of investors in Eden, attended the morning session on the SEC charges before U. S. District Judge William M. Skretny.
Sawicki said most of those investors had received regular monthly checks and were unaware there were any problems with Piccoli’s company until his arrest last week.
In the afternoon session, Vincent E. Doyle III, an attorney representing the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, observed the proceedings, along with diocesan spokesman Kevin A. Keenan. Neither had any comment.
Piccoli advertised heavily in Catholic publications, guaranteeing returns of 7 to 8 percent, and had a number of priests and religious orders as investors.
In recent years, he had quit the Knights of Columbus on Delaware Avenue and joined the Jewish Community Center. A spokesman at the Buffalo Jewish Review said that Piccoli had taken out ads for his company in recent months.
David Stoelting, senior trial counsel for the SEC, renewed his request before Skretny to have Piccoli give the court a sworn affidavit detailing his assets.
Sullivan told the judge that the request cannot be met until the government returns Piccoli’s records, which were seized from his office at 5500 Main St., Williamsville, after his arrest.
Piccoli is due back in court before Skretny at 10 a. m. Jan. 22 on the SEC charge, selling unregistered securities, and 11 a. m. Feb. 24 on the criminal charge.
Piccoli, who has remained free without posting bail, surrendered his passport to the government Tuesday.
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