I hope the Officer brings some friends to see Scotty.
Posted on 08/03/2004 5:34:41 AM PDT by runningbear
Police officer due on the stand this morning in Peterson trial
Police officer due on the stand this morning in Peterson trial
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. A Modesto police officer is due on the stand today in the Scott Peterson murder trial.
Yesterday, jurors heard testimony from an auditor that Peterson was deep in debt when his wife disappeared. Prosecutors are suggesting that in addition to an affair being a motive for murder, Peterson's finances were faltering.
They're trying to show to the jury that he hoped to gain from a 250-thousand dollar life insurance policy taken out on Laci Peterson more than a year before she disappeared.
But the defense countered by showing that Peterson paid his bills on time and had an excellent credit rating......
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THE PETERSON TRIAL
Credit-card debt takes center stage
Couple appeared to be living beyond means, says auditor
Diana Walsh, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
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Scott Peterson and his wife, Laci, appeared to be living beyond their means -- amassing $23,000 in credit card bills -- even as the Modesto salesman struggled to turn a profit on a fledgling fertilizer business, according to an auditor who testified at the defendant's double-murder trial Monday.
Prosecutors apparently wanted to show that Peterson was under mounting financial pressure in the months before he reported his wife missing and that the couple's money worries may have been a factor in her slaying. But under an intense and well-honed cross-examination by defense attorney Mark Geragos, Gary Nienhuis, an auditor with the city of Modesto, testified that Peterson paid all of his bills on time and, in fact, had roughly $20,000 of credit available on other cards, if needed.
Geragos also got the auditor to acknowledge that an inheritance Laci Peterson received from her grandparents' estate -- about $100,000 in jewelry and a promised $140,000 she was to receive from the estate in 2005 -- would have significantly improved the couple's financial picture.
At the time of Laci Peterson's disappearance in December 2002, Peterson was earning a salary of $5,000 a month before taxes to manage Tradecorp U.S.A., a newly founded subsidiary of a European fertilizer company. Nearly 70 percent of that income was needed to pay off just the couple's house loan, credit card debts and insurance premiums in 2002, said Nienhuis, who reviewed the Petersons' personal and business records for Modesto police...........
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Expert: Peterson's Debts Rose Sharply
Expert: Peterson's Debts Rose Sharply
(ABC7)
Aug. 2 (AP) — Scott Peterson's finances came into question Monday as a prosecution witness presented evidence that might support a motive for his wife's murder -- he was going broke and getting deeper into debt in the months before his wife was killed.
Prosecutors called Gary Nienhuis, an internal auditor for the city of Modesto, where Peterson lived with his pregnant wife, Laci. Nienhuis said he examined tax returns, payroll expenses, credit card statements and other financial records kept by Peterson.
His conclusion: Peterson's debt payments compared to his take-home pay rose considerably from 2001 to 2002.
"The payments that that required were high in relation to the cash flow," Nienhuis testified.
He said that in 2002, Peterson was paying out nearly 70 percent of his average total monthly take-home pay of $3,694 to cover credit cards bills and other fixed debt, not including everyday expenses such as utilities or groceries.
A year earlier, Peterson was paying out 58.7 percent of his cash flow -- an average of $4,335 a month -- to make debt payments, Nienhuis said.......
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Aug. 2 —
"SHOW ME THE MONEY"
Almost the entire day was spent on Scott Peterson's finances. For the first time, we got to hear the exact salary of Peterson's job as a fertilizer salesman. Gary Nienhuis, an auditor with the City of Modesto, testified that in 2001, Peterson brought home a net income of $4335 per month. Then in 2002, his net income dropped to $3694 per month with nearly 70% of it going towards fixed debt every month, like the home mortgage and credit card bills. It did not include utility bills, groceries and other expenses. Peterson's fertilizer business was also losing money. The prosecution asked "What does that mean in financial status.........
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Scott Peterson, Mark Hacking, OJ Simpson: "DON'T Do-it-Yourself!"
Pinging....
Pinging....
Pinging....
Petersons' finances unraveled
By JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: August 3, 2004, 05:09:35 AM PDT
REDWOOD CITY -- Scott Peterson's finances were in shambles when his pregnant wife disappeared, a Modesto city auditor testified Monday -- though he later acknowledged that police didn't give him information that likely would have changed that opinion.
Defense attorney Mark Geragos implied that police withheld documents and court testimony to elicit the auditor's opinion that Peterson had money trouble. In reality, expected cash infusions from an inheritance would have left the young couple debt-free, the auditor agreed under cross-examination.
Prosecutors have repeatedly hinted that poor finances and impending fatherhood offered a motive for Peterson to murder his pregnant wife, Laci, and unborn son, Conner.......
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"Company lost money from start
The Tradecorp USA branch in Modesto lost about $40,000 in 2000 after being established in October that year, Coleman said.
"In 2001, they lost another probably $200,000," the accountant said. "In 2002, they continued to lose money."
Nienhuis recommended that Tradecorp's accountants take a close look at Peterson's use of the company credit card, which included purchases at Marshall's clothing store and Trader Joe's grocery store, Nienhuis said.
A police detective also suggested the company investigate possible embezzlement by Peterson, but that internal probe found no evidence of wrongdoing, according to correspondence between the detective and a corporate lawyer, which was shown earlier to the jury."
Big loss for a company wanting to establish business in the USA!
I hope the Officer brings some friends to see Scotty.
Who cares? I wish the admins would move all this tabloid trial gossip over to a vanity forum.
"Breaking News: Scott wore a polo ensemble into court today"
WTF?
I don't think people understand that in a trial with a lot of circumstantial evidence; you need a lot of circumstantial evidence to pull it all together. The defense doesn't want you to know that.
bye now!
Yes, and afterwards the media should be forced to Run the Gauntlet.
thanks for the pings RB.....since Snott has so much money according to MG, why not let him pay his own defense bills and even if he has to accumulate a little more debt, join the club ! Thinking about all the money and time that has been wasted on this guy, I think MG should take a cut in salary rather than put the public thru the burden of paying for all of this plus the fact his side hasn't presented their defense. Hiring experts who will say anything for the bucks.
As opposed to the prosecution, whose witnesses apparently do it for free.
1-800-SCROLLREPAIR
Snotty couldn't even peddle poop.
Thanks for all you do, RB!
Let's hope we can keep this under wraps in hopes the PROFESSIONALATTORNEYSTOPREVENTSCROLLABUSE aren't needed.
Thanks for the daily pings. The finances are important here, although I don't know if the prosecution will be able to convey how & why. They were clearly living beyond their means. I think Laci wanted this lifestyle & maybe more (not to blame her for what happened, I'm just looking at dynamics). The inheritance would be her's, not Scott's. Was she inclined to pay off debt? It doesn't look like it at this point as she decided to keep half of the diamonds for herself. Even if she was willing to pay off debt, the inheritance gives her quite a bit of power and this really can throw a monkey wrench into relationships. She may have told Scott that she would be bailing him out in the near future with her money and, consequently, she would putting up with less "crap". The money also empowers her to leave, and, presumably, she could leave him with at least half of the debt PLUS child support. In any case she would have considerably more power and control, SP would have less (particularly in light of the way his business was going). Not a good situation in his mind.
speaking of bucks, I didnt hear any mention of the fact that Snott was about to have to pay for the birth of his son which would impinge on his "Amber money". I wonder how much it costs to have a child in a typical California hospital these days ?
I just wanted to add one more thing, if Laci caught Snott fooling around with Amber, she probably would have threatened to leave him and HIS part of her inheritance. MG is saying today that Snott would have been better off financially if Laci had lived...well that wouldn't be true if she caught him being unfaithful, he would have been cut off.
I agree..It was a neutral at best presentation when Geragos finished with Laci's jewelry and inheritance,credit history of paying on time,etc.....
but once the jury hears Scott's calls to Amber the DIVORCE possibility kicks in and Scott would have child and spousal support, weekends with a child, and no part in the inheritance...It grows clear that his focus was not on business or Laci.
I think it is pretty telling when the creep has to PAWN Laci's jewelry to wine and dine his mistress. Also, maybe Mr. Geragos doesn't realize you CANNOT borrow your way out of debt on credit cards. He plain didn't want the expense of a child and a wife etc. The other thing is, how long would Tradecorp take yearly lossess before they canned this useless tit?
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