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	Former Diocesan Accountant Tries to Fire Attorney Mid-Trial By James F. McCarty Plain Dealer September 17, 2007 http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2007/09/former_diocesan_accountant_tri.html The federal court trial of a former accountant for the Diocese of Cleveland was postponed Monday after the defendant, Anton Zgoznik, refused to participate and tried to fire his lawyers. Court officials characterized Zgoznik's problem as a panic attack on the morning he was scheduled to mount his defense against charges he paid $784,000 in kickbacks to the diocese's former top lawyer and chief financial officer, Joseph Smith. Zgoznik's supporters said he didn't panic, but feared he would be convicted and imprisoned for crimes he maintains he didn't commit. Smith, who has attended the four-week trial in U.S. District Court, said Zgoznik had grown increasingly dissatisfied with his defense attorneys, Robert Rotatori and Susan Gragel. The defendant was especially upset with Rotatori's restrained cross-examination of Bishop Anthony Pilla and the Rev. John Wright about two weeks ago. "Anton's the most stubborn person I know," Smith said. "Once he makes up his mind, he's not going to change it. He doesn't think Rotatori is being aggressive enough." Meek is a word seldom used to describe Rotatori, a veteran criminal defense lawyer with a gristly demeanor and a gravelly growl of a voice. He declined to comment and did not return a phone call to his office. Judge Ann Aldrich huddled with lawyers in her chambers for four hours Monday, trying to patch up the crumbled relationship between the defendant and his defense team. Aldrich has the power to order the trial to resume -- with or without Zgoznik's approval -- but she clearly would prefer to strike an accord and to ease the defendant's hostility. The defense lawyers and prosecutors are supposed to meet with the judge later today to provide an update. She told the jury to return on Thursday expecting to hear testimony. Aldrich told the jury that the delay was caused by a problem with witnesses -- which was technically true. After Rotatori and Gragel told them to report to court on Monday, Zgoznik called them and told them not to appear because he was firing Rotatori and the trial would be delayed. Zgoznik, 40, of Kirtland Hills, is charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, money laundering, mail fraud and obstruction of justice. Smith, 50, of Avon, will stand trial on the same charges at a later date. For the past month, Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Siegel and Jerrod Patterson have called nearly two dozen witnesses, building a case of suspected kickbacks and corruption against Zgoznik. Witnesses testified that Zgoznik enriched himself with diocesan money, collecting $17.5 million during seven years of submitting inflated bills for accounting work that was often unnecessary. The foundation of Zgoznik's defense is that Wright, the diocese's former head lawyer and chief financial officer, instructed him to make payments to Smith as a form of extra compensation. He claims that Pilla blessed the deal, and that similar off the books arrangements are standard operating procedure at the diocese. Zgoznik became upset after Rotatori declined to grill Wright and Pilla about these secret accounts, heeding Aldrich's warnings that the questioning would be off-limits, Smith said. Contact: jmccarty@plaind.com
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