Little Pink House Part 20

Judge Martin agreed that Pfizer was a relevant party, and ruled that the company would have to comply with the subpoena. For its part, Pfizer insisted on a guarantee that the Inst.i.tute for Justice wouldn't divulge its doc.u.ments to anyone. The company's primary concern was the press. The inst.i.tute had been very active with the media, and Pfizer didn't want its internal correspondence ending up in a press release. Bullock agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Then, once he and Berliner had had a chance to review the Pfizer doc.u.ments, Bullock wanted to depose an individual from the company. Pfizer's attorney balked at this request.

"Well, we're obviously going to have questions about these doc.u.ments, and we'll need to talk to someone from Pfizer who can answer them," Bullock said.

It sounded reasonable to Judge Martin. But whom did the inst.i.tute have in mind?

"Possibly George Milne," Bullock said.

Pfizer's attorney said the company would fight any attempt to produce George Milne for a deposition.

Without much push back from Bullock, Pfizer's lawyer supplied various reasons Milne was not an option. He was a very busy man. He had other commitments. The list went on.

It was clear that any attempt to get Milne under oath would cause Pfizer to draw a line in the sand. Judge Martin didn't want a protracted legal battle over whether Milne could be forced to testify. Bullock didn't either. But Bullock didn't want to back down until he first saw Pfizer's doc.u.ments and was able to see where the paper trail led.

When word reached Milne that he might be called to be deposed, he was not eager to partic.i.p.ate. "That's not a good use of my time," he said. The attorneys a.s.sured him that they'd present that argument, along with the fact that he had little to offer.

Milne had no plans to testify, but he held some strong opinions. He disagreed with the way the inst.i.tute had framed its case. Pfizer, from his standpoint, was being unfairly a.s.sociated with the NLDC and eminent domain, both by the inst.i.tute and the media. Yet Milne maintained that the way Pfizer had done things had been nothing but proper; Pfizer had been a catalyst for improvement in New London.

"The Pfizer investment was pivotal in convincing the state to put a tremendous amount of money into New London," Milne later said. "I think we've been pretty clear that these other things had to happen in order for Pfizer to make the investment.

"The state's money was probably an important part of the engine," he continued. "It's a little hard to pull the two apart. In other words, if Pfizer hadn't agreed to make the investment, I'm not sure the state would have made the investment. I have no idea what would have happened at Fort Trumbull, but it certainly wouldn't be the beautiful place it is today if John Rowland and the state hadn't seen this as a showplace. Calamari Junkyard would still be there, and all the rest of that.

"Clearly, the Pfizer involvement was an initiating event."

Dave Goebel wasn't thrilled about the fact that his agency had to turn over doc.u.ments to the inst.i.tute. When Bullock arrived at the NLDC's office at a prearranged time to examine the files, Goebel, cold and stern, escorted him into a conference room containing a table lined with files and doc.u.ments. Bullock pulled out colored note tabs to mark the doc.u.ments he wanted copied. Goebel took a seat near him, his eyes focused on Bullock.

After an hour pa.s.sed, Bullock realized Goebel had no intention of leaving the room. Rather than a.s.sign a staff person to observe Bullock, Goebel simply stayed. Bullock was long accustomed to being observed while reviewing records belonging to adversarial companies and agencies, but he had never seen a chief executive fill that role.

Going through one file, Bullock discovered a glossy, color architectural rendition of what the area might look like if the existing neighborhood were incorporated into the redevelopment plan. Goebel had momentarily left the room, replaced by another NLDC official.

"Do you know the origin of this?" Bullock asked the official, handing him the drawing. "Have you seen it before?"

A contemptuous smile flashed across the official's face. "Oh, yeah."

"I'd like a copy of it."

The official flung the drawing on the table and shrugged. "You can have it," he said. Bullock picked it up. After the official left the room, he inspected the drawing more carefully and recognized the name of the architect who had drawn it: John Steffian.

After two full days, Bullock had pored through boxes and boxes of files. He also had compiled a list of additional doc.u.ments he had been unable to locate in the NLDC's records. He handed the list to Goebel, indicating he wanted the NLDC to produce them.

"What are you talking about?" Goebel asked, incredulous.

"Follow-up doc.u.ments," Bullock said, unsure what had upset Goebel.

"What do you mean follow-up follow-up doc.u.ments? You are only here for two days." doc.u.ments? You are only here for two days."

"Well," Bullock said, trying not to smile, "the discovery period extends out until the end of April. You have an ongoing obligation to produce these doc.u.ments during that time period."

"I'll have to talk to the attorneys about that."

Bullock figured Goebel found his presence unnerving.

After Bullock's visit, Goebel e-mailed Corcoran Jennison president Marty Jones to stress the importance of finalizing the development agreement right away. "We [NLDC] ... feel that concluding the development agreement prior to the start of the Inst.i.tute lawsuit will go a long way to deflate the argument that property is being taken with no plan in place," he said. "In fact, we feel this is crucial."

After spending nearly two full days examining files at Pfizer's facility, Bullock hadn't turned up any corporate doc.u.ments that proved that Pfizer was behind the NLDC's efforts to clear the Fort Trumbull area.

Then he came across two letters. The first one had been written by Claire to Milne on December 15, 1997, months before Pfizer announced its decision to build in New London: "Dear George: The directors of the New London Development Corporation are pleased to make the commitments outlined below to enable you to decide to construct a Pfizer Central Research facility in New London," she had written. "The new Pfizer facility will be the centerpiece of a concentrated reuse of the area surrounding the former New London Mills."

The letter showed that the promises Claire outlined had been endorsed by Governor Rowland and had ultimately convinced Milne to recommend New London to Pfizer's board of directors. Among other things, Claire had promised a "mixed retail and residential s.p.a.ce that will be fully integrated into the surrounding neighborhoods." She had closed her letter with a simple a.s.surance to Milne: "We will work with you to refine this proposal to meet Pfizer's requirements."

The word "requirements" caught Bullock's attention. "Requirements" has a different implication than "preferences" or "suggestions." A requirement is a demand.

The second letter was written by Milne to Claire on March 8, 1999, shortly after Pfizer had begun construction: "We are building a $270 million Global Development Facility [GDF] in New London to open October 1, 2000," he wrote. "This facility will employ more than 2,000 Ph.D.s, M.D.s and other scientists, researchers and clinical specialists. Our New London expansion requires the world cla.s.s redevelopment planned for the adjacent 90 acres in the Fort Trumbull Munic.i.p.al Development Plan."

Again Bullock noted the word choice: "requires."

Milne was more explicit than Claire had been, making clear that the redevelopment of the ninety acres around the Pfizer facility was part of the deal. Bullock read on: "The Fort Trumbull area is integral to our corporate facility and to the plan for the revitalization of New London to a world cla.s.s standard," Milne had written. "The Amended Reuse Plan will provide a waterfront hotel with about 200 rooms, a conference center and physical fitness area, extended-stay residential units and 80 units of housing. We will use the proposed hotel and conference facility as an extension of our facility, committing to 100 of those rooms on a daily basis for visiting international staff and other professionals. In addition we require conference s.p.a.ce and are exploring a 'virtual' Pfizer University to keep our researchers up to date on the most recent breakthroughs in biotechnology. The extended-stay housing will provide for researchers who often stay for periods of up to 36 months. Year round quality housing is also crucial for recruiting top scientists. The waterfront residential neighborhood envisioned provides a one-of-a-kind housing option desired by many of our employees."

Bullock's eyes lit up. On corporate letterhead, the president of Pfizer had told the president of the NLDC that his company saw the ninety acres around its facility as an extension of Pfizer's research-and-development headquarters. Milne had committed Pfizer to occupying one hundred rooms per day in the new hotel. He had said Pfizer required more conference s.p.a.ce outside the footprint of its own facility. He needed extended-stay housing for visiting scientists and permanent high-end housing for full-time employees. The specificity of the plan amazed Bullock. It was pretty clear, he concluded, why Pfizer wanted Susette and her neighbors to go away.

"We are prepared," Milne had written, "to enter into agreements with the NLDC and developers to build the type of facilities we require, but this is not just about Pfizer. The plan developed by the NLDC is intended to transform New London and is destined, we believe, to become a model for high impact, high value public/private partnerships."

For Bullock, the situation was very much about Pfizer. The company had made it a requirement that the state make certain commitments and do things a certain way before it would commit to building a facility in the city.

When Bullock returned to Washington, he immediately took Milne's letter to Berliner. "Look what we have here!" Bullock said.

Berliner read it. "This confirms our suspicions," she said. "Pfizer is the driving force behind the munic.i.p.al-development plan."

"This doc.u.ment takes it out of the realm of mere suggestion and into the category of demands," Bullock said. "It wasn't just Pfizer saying, 'Here's what we'd like and here are our thoughts.' It's a doc.u.ment that says, 'These are our requirements.' Pfizer required these things as part of the MDP."

"And all those requirements were put in the MDP," Berliner said.

"That's right," Bullock said, grinning. "Pfizer was driving this and it was primarily for their private benefit, not the public benefit."

But Bullock and Berliner recognized it would be difficult to link eminent-domain abuse directly to Pfizer since the drug company had never obtained the private properties. That had never been the plan. After all, the company didn't want ownership or even possession of the surrounding neighborhood. It just wanted the area around its facility cleared and redeveloped, a process that would ultimately improve the value of its investment and benefit the company.

Bullock and Berliner began to understand the power and the convenience of the personal relationship between Milne and Claire. The arrangement simultaneously afforded Pfizer both control and cover. Ostensibly, whenever Claire pushed Pfizer's agenda, she was acting in the capacity of an agent for the City of New London, not for Pfizer. Legally, the distinction was critical.

"Pfizer was always one step removed from this process," Bullock said. "The takings were not for Pfizer."

"That's going to make it difficult for us to directly show a private benefit because Pfizer can claim: 'This isn't for Pfizer,'" Berliner said.

"That's right," said Bullock. "And if you accepted the fact that taxes and jobs are a legitimate public use, then of course the city is going to try and benefit Pfizer." He could hear Tom Londregan's defense already. "The city is going to say: 'Of course we did things to please Pfizer. What's good for Pfizer is good for New London.'"

Yet one thing was clear. With doc.u.ments so clearly tying Milne to the Fort Trumbull development, it was no longer as critical to get him to testify. Bullock preferred to let the doc.u.ments speak for themselves at trial, convinced that Milne would try to explain away their significance.

33.

GO AHEAD, ASK YOUR QUESTION.

June 8, 2001 Given a choice, Governor Rowland would have stayed as far away from New London as possible. Lawsuits, protests, and nasty brawls playing out like a soap opera on the pages of the city newspaper were not the kinds of things a politician would gravitate toward in an election cycle. But on this day, the governor had to return to New London and its Fort Trumbull neighborhood. Eight months behind schedule, Pfizer was finally ready for the grand opening of its new research facility.

In a carefully crafted statement, Rowland praised Pfizer and lauded the state for its role in bringing the world-cla.s.s operation to New London. He avoided any mention of the battle being waged by homeowners just one block away. Pfizer officials distanced themselves from the mess too.

For the day, the status quo prevailed. But the governor and Pfizer executives all knew the ticking time bomb next door was about to go off.

July 3, 2001 It was nearly eleven in the morning when Claire Gaudiani sat down in her lawyer's conference room, took an oath to tell the truth, and faced Dana Berliner and Scott Bullock. The two lawyers had decided Berliner would handle the questioning.

After reviewing the rules of a deposition, Berliner suggested they begin with some background on Claire's role as president of the NLDC. "What are your day-to-day responsibilities as president?" she asked.

"I don't have any day-to-day responsibilities," Claire said. "I am a volunteer president."

Berliner moved to Claire's early involvement in the plan to redevelop the Fort Trumbull area. "You were involved in putting together the initial proposal?" Berliner asked.

"You will have to clarify what you mean," Claire said.

"Were you involved in putting together the proposal for the redevelopment of the Fort Trumbull area that was then presented to the City of New London or to Pfizer or the state?"

"The problem is the wording. 'Proposal' is a nonspecific enough word. So you need to focus on what you are asking me so I can answer you."

Berliner knew she was in for a long day.

Claire explained that when she had taken over as the NLDC's president, she had made it a top priority to entice a Fortune Fortune 500 company to the city. "Pfizer was a wild and crazy possibility that I introduced early," Claire said, "saying, 'Wouldn't it be great if Pfizer would do that?' And I was told Pfizer needs land, but they have two sites already selected, and they are already under way with the decision between the two, so New London will not be considered ... And then the magic happened." 500 company to the city. "Pfizer was a wild and crazy possibility that I introduced early," Claire said, "saying, 'Wouldn't it be great if Pfizer would do that?' And I was told Pfizer needs land, but they have two sites already selected, and they are already under way with the decision between the two, so New London will not be considered ... And then the magic happened."

Claire's word choice intrigued Berliner. Magic is the practice of attempting to produce supernatural effects or control events in nature through the use of charms, spells, or rituals, or the exercise of sleight of hand or conjuring for entertainment. A bilingual professor who frequently spoke to prestigious groups about language, Claire tended to choose her vocabulary carefully. But Fortune Fortune 500 companies typically bowed to money and other financial incentives, not magic, when making decisions as important as where to construct a world headquarters for research and development. Berliner probed further. 500 companies typically bowed to money and other financial incentives, not magic, when making decisions as important as where to construct a world headquarters for research and development. Berliner probed further.

Claire confirmed that she had turned her energies toward getting Pfizer to change its mind. "We began to see what would need to be done in order to get a confirmation from Pfizer that they would turn down the other two sites," Claire said.

"Do you know at approximately what point in the plan it came to the decision that the existing homes and businesses would be moved?"

"I think your question a.s.sumes," said Claire, "that all of the properties would move. And that would be incorrect."

Claire's answer surprised Berliner. She asked if Claire interpreted the plan to say that homes and businesses in Fort Trumbull would be incorporated into the development.

Claire chastised Berliner for acting as if she didn't know that there had been extensive discussions about saving the homes in Fort Trumbull. "I worked very hard to try to raise the money to move them," she said. "Tried to get the governor to help me, but he wasn't able to work it out. It is very expensive to move houses."

This was news to Berliner and Bullock.

"You are saying that you attempted to get funding to move the houses of the plaintiffs in this lawsuit-and you weren't successful?" Berliner asked.

"Sure," Claire said. "I am sure you have come to that information before a discussion with me."

"Not exactly," Berliner said.

"If your own plaintiffs haven't told you, you have been misserved. It means you have been headed in, unfortunately, a misinformed direction. I am sure you probably do understand this."

"I have heard something about it," Berliner said. "Getting it from someone who knows all the facts is not the same as hearing about it generally."

"I don't operate at the facts level," Claire said. "I operate at the conceptual level."

Unable to maintain his poker face any longer, Bullock's jaw dropped.

It turned out, Claire insisted, that the cost of relocating the homes was simply prohibitive.

"So is it correct that the barrier to allowing the houses to stay in the MDP area is a financial one?" Berliner asked.

"I would have to characterize it as the major barrier."

Claire's story seemed to be coming out of left field. Nothing in the record supported her account, nor did any of the testimony from anyone previously deposed.

"When did you make these efforts to talk to the governor about getting funding?" Berliner asked.

Claire pointed to an e-mail with George Milne and a directive to "talk to the governor." "That is what we were trying to figure out," Claire said, "to get his advice on which of the state agencies might be able to figure out how to provide funds to move houses."

Bullock looked at the time. He had an appointment with a critical expert witness. Both sides agreed to recess briefly while Bullock and Berliner stepped outside. As soon as they were in private, they burst into laughter.

"This woman is unbelievable," Berliner said.

"She's even worse than what anybody had made her out to be," Bullock said. "She is one of the most insufferable people I've ever met. Her arrogance is breathtaking." Berliner agreed. "With her it is truly a parody of a condescending, elitist academic who knows better than anyone in the room," Bullock said, "and certainly better than the folks in Fort Trumbull."

Berliner still had a long way to go in the deposition. Bullock wished her well.

When the two sides resumed, Berliner asked the court reporter to mark a doc.u.ment as Gaudiani Exhibit 1. Then she handed the doc.u.ment to Claire to examine.

"This is a letter that you sent in March of 1998 to Susette Kelo, one of the property owners in the Fort Trumbull munic.i.p.al-development-project area. Is that right?" she asked.

"Yes," said Claire.

The letter announced the NLDC's plans to purchase options on properties in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, and it promised that Susette would not be suddenly forced to move from her property without notice.

"I notice that this letter doesn't mention the possibility of eminent domain. Why not?"

"I have no idea," Claire said.

"In the development stages of the Fort Trumbull concept, did you suggest that it would be necessary to have the power of eminent domain?"

"No."

"Who suggested that?"

"I have no idea."