The Court: Let’s hear it. Answer the question, Mr. Mandel.
Mandel: Brian was asking Jim how would he like his mother to know that he was- (Inaudible.)
Pisano: You’ll have to speak up, Josh.
Mandel: A cocksucker. I’m sorry, Your Honor, but that’s what he said.
The Court: I’ve heard worse things in this court, Mr. Mandel. Next question, counsel.
Pisano: Okay. Did Jim Pears say anything in response?
Mandel: Yeah.
Pisano: What?
Mandel: He said something like, ‘I’ll kill you before that happens.’
Pisano: And how soon before Brian’s murder did this conversation take place?
Mandel: It was two days.
(Cross-examination by Mrs. Hart)
Hart: Now you say that Brian Fox told you he saw Jim having sex with a man that night, is that right?
Mandel: Yes.
Hart: This was in a private car in the parking lot at night?
Mandel: Yeah, I guess.
Hart: Did Brian explain how he happened to be there?
Mandel: Not to me.
Hart: Well, isn’t it true that Brian Fox followed Jim and then snuck up on him?
Pisano: The People will stipulate that Brian was not asked to join in on the festivities.
The Court: Why don’t we let the witness answer, Mr. Pisano?
Mandel: I don’t know.
Hart: Now, Mr. Mandel, what words did Brian use to describe what he had seen?
Mandel: I don’t remember, exactly.
Hart: Well, did he say he’d seen Jim having sex or making love?
Mandel: No. It was more like he saw him getting a blow job.
Hart: Okay. Did you ever hear Brian Fox call Jim a faggot?
Pisano: Objection, irrelevant.
The Court: Overruled. Answer the question.
Mandel: Yes.
Hart: More than once?
Mandel: Yes.
Hart: Did you ever hear Brian Fox call Jim a queer?
Mandel: Yes.
Hart: More than once?
Mandel: Yes.
Hart: How many times did you hear Brian Fox call Jim either a faggot or a queer?
Mandel: I don’t remember.
Hart: Isn’t it true that you don’t remember because that was how Brian normally referred to Jim?
Mandel: He called him that a lot.
Hart: Around other people?
Mandel: Yes.
Hart: Now, Mr. Mandel, isn’t it true that, in addition to being a waiter at the Yellowtail, you are also a manager?
Mandel: Manager-trainee.
Hart: And isn’t part of your job to supervise the busboys on the shifts that you manage?
Mandel: Yes.
Hart: And did you ever manage a shift where Brian and Jim were working?
Mandel: Yeah.
Hart: And during one of those shifts did you hear Brian call Jim a queer or a faggot?
Mandel: I’m not sure. Maybe.
Hart: But you never stopped Brian, did you?
Mandel: I don’t remember.
Hart: In fact, isn’t it true that you also called Jim a faggot once?
Mandel: I don’t remember.
Hart: Isn’t it true that you told Jim to start acting like a man?
Mandel: That was just because he was letting Brian get to him.
Hart: Then shouldn’t you have talked to Brian?
Mandel: Yeah. (Inaudible) I’m sorry, Jim.
Hart: I have nothing further, Your Honor.
(Examination by Mr. Pisano of Andrea Lew, a cocktail waitress at the Yellowtail.)
Pisano: Who was working at the Yellowtail between eleven- thirty p.m. and midnight on the night Brian was killed?
Lew: It was just me and Frank — that’s the bartender — and Jim was the busboy.
Pisano: Besides the bar was any other part of the restaurant open?
Lew: No, the kitchen closes at ten.
Pisano: How many people were in the bar at that time?
Lew: Not many. It was Monday, you know. Slow night. Maybe a dozen.
Pisano: Between eleven-thirty and midnight did you see anyone enter the bar?
Lew: Just Brian.
Pisano: Now, would you have noticed if anyone else had come in?
Lew: Well, yeah, because you have to cross in front of the bar to get to the dining rooms or the kitchen.
Pisano: Was Jim Pears in the bar when Brian came in?
Lew: Yes.
Pisano: Did he see Brian?
Mrs. Hart: Objection, calls for speculation.
The Court: Sustained.
Pisano: Okay. Was Brian working that night?
Lew: No, just Jim.
Pisano: Do you know what he was doing there?
Lew: (Shakes head.)
Pisano: You’re going to have to answer yes or no for the reporter.
Lew: No.
Pisano: Did you see Brian leave the bar at some point? Lew: No, but he was gone.
Pisano: Did you see Jim Pears leave the bar?
Lew: Yes.
Pisano: When was this?
Lew: Maybe around midnight.
Pisano: Where did he go?
Lew: Back toward the kitchen.
Pisano: Did you also go back to the kitchen at some point? Lew: Yes.
Pisano: Why?
Lew: There’s a movie theater next door and around midnight the last show gets out. Some people came in for a drink and Frank needed some more ice so he told me to have Jim bring him up some.
Pisano: Where is the ice kept?
Lew: In the walk-in — that’s the refrigerator — in the kitchen.
Pisano: About what time was it when you went back into the kitchen?
Lew: A quarter after twelve.
Pisano: Did you see Jim back there?
