Lawyer guilty of operating a brothel

Portland Press Herald
By KEVIN WACK
October 1, 2005

Gary H. Reiner leaves U.S. District Court in Portland after Friday's verdict, trailed by his wife, Bonnie, and his attorney, Steve Gordon. Reiner's sentencing date has not been set, but he could be facing a prison term of more than five years. A federal jury convicted Kittery lawyer Gary H. Reiner on Friday of operating a lucrative brothel that maintained the facade of a legitimate massage parlor for years.

Reiner, 54, sat with his head tilted down, his hands clasped together at his chin, as the jury returned guilty verdicts on all four prostitution and money-laundering counts he faced. The conviction was the culmination of a five-year federal effort to close the Danish Health Club in Kittery and prosecute the people who ran it. FBI agents raided and shut down the club 16 months ago, and since then five other defendants have pleaded guilty. "We're gratified," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Dilworth. "It was a long investigation and a long trial."

Jurors took about three-and-a-half hours to reach their verdict after closing arguments in U.S. District Court in Portland. Their decision was followed by hours of uncertainty inside the Edward T. Gignoux U.S. Courthouse, as Reiner waited to learn whether he would remain free until his sentencing or be taken into custody. Around 6 p.m., Judge D. Brock Hornby agreed to release Reiner on $210,000 bail, including $10,000 cash, after Reiner's wife, Bonnie, arrived with the deed to the family's home in Eliot.

"I'm grateful that I had my day in court," Reiner told reporters before leaving the courthouse. "I accept the jury's verdict. And I'm going to talk with my lawyers and review my options." Reiner's sentencing date has not been set. Dilworth said he could conservatively be facing a sentence of more than five years. During the five-day trial, prosecutors presented evidence that showed Reiner, the Danish Health Club's longtime lawyer, took on an expanded role after the club's manager died in 2001. There was testimony that Reiner held meetings with pimps, disciplined prostitutes and wrote the copy for advertisements in an adult magazine.

The government's case relied on several witnesses with checkered pasts, most of whom testified as part of plea agreements or in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Reiner took the stand in his own defense, saying he suspected there was prostitution at the club, but he never had solid evidence. During closing arguments, Dilworth questioned the plausibility of Reiner's denials. "Ask yourselves if someone can really be that unaware," Dilworth told the jury, "and especially a man like the defendant, who was involved in every detail."

Explaining why Reiner chose to run the brothel, the prosecutor compared Reiner to a convicted pimp who testified during the trial. "They both made a lot of money off of those women who worked in that club," Dilworth said. But the government's evidence showed that Reiner profited far less than Mary Ann Manzoli, the widow of the club's former owner. The club's total revenues from 2000 to 2004 were about $3.9 million, according to the government. Reiner and his law firm were paid less than $100,000 per year, or about half of what one Massachusetts woman collected while working as a prostitute in the club, according to the government's calculations.

The defense maintained that Reiner took on a larger role in 2001 because the club was in disarray. Testimony showed that the defendant felt a deep loyalty to Manzoli, whose late husband, Leo, asked Reiner to take care of his wife's interests before he died in 1996. Defense lawyer Steve Gordon portrayed his client during closing arguments as a family man who was so well-respected that local police placed troubled youths in his home. Gordon also attacked the credibility of a key government witness, a police officer-turned-private investigator named Russell Pallas. Pallas' wife worked as a prostitute at the club while Pallas was the operation's manager. "A man who is willing to sell his wife for money is a man who is willing to sell anything for his freedom," Gordon said.

The trial raised questions about the close relationship between Reiner and Kittery's longtime police chief, Edward Strong. Reiner testified that he contacted Strong after hearing about federal surveillance of the club and asked the police chief to let federal authorities know they could call him with any questions. Pallas testified that Strong contacted the FBI and reported back to Reiner, a charge that Strong denies. During his closing argument, Gordon assailed the prosecution for presenting evidence that suggested - but did not prove - police wrongdoing. "The way they dealt with that issue is by innuendo, and it is false innuendo," Gordon said.

After the verdict, Dilworth deflected a question about the Kittery Police Department, saying the town's police chief wasn't on trial. Reiner is likely to forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars to the government. The judge delayed ruling on that issue, but not before Reiner got back on the witness stand to testify about his assets. Minutes earlier, the 12 jurors had been polled, and each said they agreed with the guilty verdict. "Do you think you're guilty?" Dilworth asked Reiner during the forfeiture hearing. Reiner, an experienced defense lawyer, responded, "I've been found guilty, Mr. Dilworth."

Labels: money laundering