Chapter 7

We were still going over old ground when Colleen and Mr. Bell walked in. They must have hurried to arrive so fast, and I rose, unsteadily to greet them. "Would you PLEASE sit back down," Mr. Bell groaned. "I can't stand seeing you struggle so much. It's a given that your mother taught you to rise when a women enters the room, but you are in sad shape and rising only makes it worse. You have our express permission to remain seated until you recover."

Turning to Judge Jones, Mr. Bell said, "My dear friend, Judge Thomas Thorson, from Branson, has agreed to consult with us where Carl is concerned. Colleen and I agree that Judge Thorson's expertise is well beyond ours, and that his input might turn out to be critical. Please allow me to bring him in and introduce the two of you..."

"Mr. Bell," Judge Jones intoned, "Thorson and I go back to law school." He tapped his intercom and said, "Bring that scally-wag in here, already!"

Judge Thorson was ushered in and immediately went to Judge Jones and they began to pound each other on the back, talk a mile minute, and shake hands all at the same time. Mr. Bell signaled for me to remain seated, while he and Colleen selected chairs and pushed them up to the desk beside me.

The two judges talked in hushed tones for quite some time, while the three of us waited. When they were finally satisfied, they rejoined us. "Jim," Judge Thorson began, "Cleve here says that Carl gift wrapped what is turning out to be one of the largest, if not the single largest raid, seizure, and interconnected arrests of mob connected individuals, and businesses in history. He also says no one, and he means, NO ONE has any clue as to how your client came by the information.

"The hospital film shows your client on the gurney, and a man entering a set of numbers into his phone, but at no time is the man's face exposed. It appears that Carl Fleming may not have been fully conscious when that occurred, because you can clearly see him open his eyes with a confused look, as if he suddenly realized that someone was speaking to him.

"For the entire time the unidentified man spoke to Carl, the film clearly shows that Carl Fleming never spoke back to the stranger. His story holds up because the doctor medicated Mr. Fleming for pain before treating the brutal injuries to his upper leg, so the federal government has no intention of treating your client as anything other than the best tipster in the history of law enforcement.

"That said, we all want to try and delve deeper into the details that Mr. Fleming can provide, especially things he doesn't think are important, or even realize he knows. I'm really pleased to work alongside my old law school friend, and he has agreed to read me fully in, so no details of where this has gone, is going, and will go, are kept from you and Colleen.

"As officers of the court, we all understand our obligation to secrecy, yes?" he looked from Mr. Bell to Colleen, getting emphatic nods in return.

"Ok then. Let's get you three caught up." Judge Thorson turned to Judge Jones and waited for him to speak.

Judge Jones cleared his throat and consulted his iPad for a few moments. He looked at me and smiled before saying, "Carl, this morning, while you were asleep, and then on the way up here, DHS, in a joint action with agents of the DOJ, raided seventeen businesses, four banks, two credit unions, and seventy-two private residences. At last count – they arrested over two hundred low-to-medium high level mob associates, ranging from bagmen to enforcers, and bankers to stock brokers.

"As these raids unfold, we have seized well over a billion dollars in unreported cash, billions in negotiable securities, suitcases full of visa cash cards, used to launder money, as well a tractor trailer full of narcotics. The results of all of this won't be fully understood for weeks, if not months. Suffice it to say that this is the largest single seizure in US history, and we suspect we haven't scratched the surface..."

He would have continued, but I chose that instant to drop another bombshell. "Judge, there is another side to the story that I remembered when you were talking about the stranger who came to the hospital. There supposedly is a company in Deland, Florida, currently owned by a man named Tim Sanderson. He is supposed to be another front for money laundering.

"If the man who told me this is telling the truth, that company will become the property of the grandson of the founder, David Sanderson, also of Deland, Florida, because of a clause in Sanderson's will. I was told that Tim Sanderson is completely beholden to the mob, and shelters billions of dollars a year through an elaborate money laundry scheme. Because of the inheritance, the man said his son – and likely the whole family - is in extreme danger from Tim or the mob, probably both.

"Just like before, all I'm telling you is just what the guy said, so I have no idea what, if anything, is true." I shut up and waited.

Judge Jones thought.

Mr. Bell mulled.

Judge Thorson wrote himself a note on his iPhone.

And Colleen smiled at me.

Judge Jones spoke quietly to someone on the other end of his intercom. That's when I realized that everything was recorded, probably with video back up. I needed to tell them!

"Judge, one other thing – SECURITY. The man said that the has moles at several levels of the DOJ, FBI, and even Homeland Security. The only real detail he gave was that one is a female agent. If I, or anyone associated with me, is connected to all this – we'll be toast in a heartbeat!" I'd already died to prove it, too.

After a little while, Judge Jones put his finger to his left ear and listened. Satisfied, he spoke to Mr. Bell and Judge Thorson. "Our forensic auditors are jumping up and down, because that piece of information answered several questions that were going to take months to back track.

"Whoever it is that chose to unburden himself to Carl, has his finger on the pulse of the American mob, like no one ever has before."

Judge Jones looked at Mr. Bell and said, "It's time to discuss Mr. Fleming's 'reward.'" Then he swung his head to Judge Thorson and said, "How do you wish to do this, Thomas?"

They talked for a long time, in legalese, and I tuned it all out, knowing that I'd get twenty-five percent, after they go through all the rigmarole. Colleen watched the three men, in a spirited debate, and stayed silent. I suspect she had no more idea how this should go than I did.

Eventually Judge Jones looked at me and said, "Mr. Fleming, your attorneys have agreed that you should receive a cash reward totaling one-fourth of all the seized property, bonds, stocks, businesses, and cash. All of those things will be valuated, and converted to cash payments. That's completely within federal guidelines, and will turn out to be a substantial fortune in a very short time.

"The US Government is choosing to make you tax free for the rest of your life. You will never file another tax return to the IRS. When you begin to understand what you have set in motion it will blow your ever loving mind. Tax exempt status is the least we can do t oshow you how grateful we are.

"AS part of the deal, the government pay the entire fee that you would typically pay your attorneys, out of our side of the take. They are uncomfortable with my decision, primarily because of the size of the reward.

I have authority to negotiate this and bind the government to the agreement. It will be like this:

You will receive one-fourth of all seizures. It makes no difference what is seized. You will receive your quarter. We will determine where the funds are deposited in conjunction with instructions that your attorneys will provide to my office. Your attorneys will be paid the entire sum of your one-third legal bill, which is typical in such cases as this, on top of your twenty-five percent.