Just what type of relationship did Prosecutor Dan Kasaris have with his lead witness?

The government's lead witness in my case, Kathryn Clover, purchased or managed all of the properties at issue in my case.  She testified in federal court that I told people to lie on their loan applications to obtain loans but, at the second trial prosecuted by the same task force on identical charges, she recanted that testimony. 

I started asking Ms. Clover about her lies in federal court but she took the Fifth Amendment as incredulous jurors looked on.  Then, evidence was presented that an increasingly cozy relationship between prosecutor Dan Kasaris and Ms. Clover developed throughout my case.  Ms. Clover was allowed to remove evidence from the prosecutor's office, sit in on key meetings with other witnesses and use government resources for her own benefit.  Ms. Clover's ex husband wrote a letter stating that there was a romantic relationship between Mr. Kasaris and his ex wife.

 Prosecutors, Mark Bennett and Dan Kasaris provided Ms. Clover with the following undisclosed financial benefits:

 (1)  Assistance obtaining a Barrister's Scholarships to attend the Cleveland Marshall College of Law. 

(2)  Legal advice in preparing an affidavit that was filed in my case but remains sealed (Docket # 110, filed under seal).

(3)  Permission not to pay taxes on income Ms. Clover earned while performing services at a massage parlor.

(4)   According to multiple sources, Ms. Clover received payments from a Cuyahoga County fund for government witnesses called the Furtherance of Justice Fund.

The Supreme Court has held, in a case called Giglio, that prosecutors must disclose any information that could be used to impeach their witnesses including disclosing all financial benefits paid to their witnesses.  But none of the foregoing information was ever provided to the defense.  

Ms. Clover attended meetings with other government witnesses, hosted by prosecutors, to get their stories straight before trial.  When I asked Ms. Clover if she was just manufacturing evidence so prosecutors could "win" the case, she took the Fifth Amendment! 

Meanwhile, I added Ms. Clover's ex husband to my witness list but when he appeared in court, he was threatened by prosecutors if he said anything.  Too afraid to tell jurors what he knew, he also took the Fifth Amendment.  However, his letter with details about his claims of an affair between Prosecutor Kasaris and his wife was added to the record in my case.  
 

I have no idea what was going on inside the Mortgage Fraud Task Force but I sure am going to find out.  I have a pending Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to compel the government to provide me with e mails between Mr. Kasaris and Ms. Clover along with documentation concerning direct or indirect payments to Ms. Clover by the government.

During the state trial, during a recess, Federal prosecutor Mark Bennett told attorney John Gibbons, "We let Clover get too close to us" and that he was "increasingly queasy" as details of Mr. Kasaris's relationship with Ms. Clover were revealed.  Mark Bennett was also aware Ms. Clover lied in federal court and even told federal jurors as much -- which raises this question:  if Mark Bennett and Dan Kasaris knew a witness lied and then allowed a witness to take the Fifth Amendment, isn't that breaking the law to "win" the case?  The Supreme Court has held, in a case called Napue v. Illinois, that prosecutors aren't allowed to knowingly use perjured testimony in court. 

But these prosecutors don't follow the law and Mark Bennett broke the law to "win" the case.  Now, he's trapped --  prosecuting his own witness for perjury would be an admission of guilt on his part. 

No prosecutor in this case is capable of doing the right thing -- they would like nothing more than for my case to disappear from view.  With your help, however, that's not going to happen.  Please share your thoughts with us and let us know what you think!  Thank you for visiting and please consider sharing this site with your family and friends!

I am Tony Viola, and I will never give up until this is finished.