I don’t have a good read on Martino at all, because the only info I’ve seen about him is very old.
Having said that, I just have a gut feeling he is not a Howie-lover. Again, that’s just my gut feeling.
And he didn’t actually hook Daniel up with Harding. He and Daniel used to go to a coffee shop near their house and Harding was one of the regulars that they would shoot the breeze with there.
At some point, Daniel decided he wanted to talk to Harding privately, away from Martino, without Martino’s knowledge. So they made arrangements to meet somewhere else, so Daniel could ask him about looking into the people surrounding ANS at the time, such as HKS, maybe KE and LB - not really sure who-all he meant.
Daniel wanted Harding to go to The Bahamas to check things out, because he felt his mom was in danger. But, Harding’s services would’ve been too expensive for Daniel, so he never followed through. I think they met several times over about a 3-month period, IIRC.
The thing about this is, I expected to learn a whole lot more about Daniel’s life at the time he came to Nassau - his frame of mind, the alleged girl friend, the illnesses and hospitalizations, his plans, his friends, interests, and so forth - from Martino on the witness stand. I feel like this is crucial testimony.
But then there is the Harding angle, which is a secret aspect of Daniel’s life that Martino didn’t know about - and that info is also critical - but can’t be gotten from Martino. Harding hasn’t seemed to have been deemed as credible as he should be - or this might be spin.
I only saw him the first time, before more was added to his story - he seemed fine to me - but I think he “evolved.” Whatever he can add under oath, though, should be most welcome.
At any rate, I don’t think Martino is in cahoots with anyone - the last I saw about him was that he was an extreme religious fanatic, which alienated him from most of Anna’s crew, although not from Anna, who seemed to think it made him more reliable and trustworthy than the others - enough for him to be a “father figure” to Daniel.
I know he *had been* wild, as with any Anna-person, but I got the impression all that had been left behind long ago. I could be so wrong about this - and I’m still extremely puzzled by the report of him giving Daniel valium for the plane ride. Again, we need testimony under oath!
Good info as usual Rte66!! Since it’s been so long I guess I’m beginning to doubt everyone in this fiasco. I wonder if anyone has tried to interview Martino. He must have talked to someone for his “Don’t leave me down there” Daniel quote to him to make it’s way in Rita’s book. Does it mean anything that Howie isn’t listed as esq in the charity listing?
Harding gave Daniel his business card when Martino introduced them in the coffee house.