Janine Gill Velez — Direct/Cross
106 linesDIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. ROHRBACH:
MR. ROHRBACH: Good morning, Ms. Gill.
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Hello.
MR. ROHRBACH: Where do you work?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Florida Properties Management.
MR. ROHRBACH: What is Florida Properties Management?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Florida Properties Management is the management company for the Mar-a-Lago Club.
MR. ROHRBACH: What's your position there?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Human resources director.
MR. ROHRBACH: And what are your duties and responsibilities as the human resources director?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: I am in charge of all the employment processes.
MR. ROHRBACH: What are those employment processes?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: It would be recruiting, retention, hiring, benefits, compensation, policies, procedures; anything to do with the employees.
MR. ROHRBACH: How long have you worked at Mar-a-Lago?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Almost 15 years.
MR. ROHRBACH: And in that capacity, are you familiar with the normal business practices of Mar-a-Lago?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Yes.
MR. ROHRBACH: Are you familiar with the business practices regarding employee records?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Yes.
MR. ROHRBACH: How are those records stored?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Normally it's a paper file, in an individual folder.
MR. ROHRBACH: When an employee joins Mar-a-Lago, is any sort of record generated?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: New-hire paperwork.
MR. ROHRBACH: What sorts of new-hire paperwork?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: It would be application, policies and procedures handbook, personnel action notices.
MR. ROHRBACH: You mentioned a personnel action notice. What is a personnel action notice?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: That would be the document that the manager would complete to bring the person onboard. It would state their position and pay rate.
MR. ROHRBACH: And what happens after the personnel action notice is created?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: It's submitted to human resources and payroll for processing.
MR. ROHRBACH: Who, if anyone else, reviews the personnel action notice?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: It would be the manager, human resources, payroll, and the managing director.
MR. ROHRBACH: What sort of information is contained in a personnel action notice?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: It would be the employee's name, date of birth, Social Security number, address, they'll put the position, and rate of pay.
MR. ROHRBACH: Is making a personnel action notice a regular practice of Mar-a-Lago?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Yes.
MR. ROHRBACH: Are personnel action notices kept in the ordinary course of business?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Yes.
MR. ROHRBACH: Ms. Gill, would you turn in the binder next to you to what's been marked for identification as Government Exhibit 823. Do you recognize it?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Yes.
MR. ROHRBACH: Have you reviewed this before today?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Yes.
MR. ROHRBACH: What is it?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: This is a personnel action notice for Sky Roberts, when, it looks like, he was originally hired.
MR. ROHRBACH: Is this a fair and accurate copy of the version in Mar-a-Lago's records?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Yes.
MR. ROHRBACH: Your Honor, the government offers Government Exhibit 823.
MS. STERNHEIM: Objection.
JUDGE NATHAN: For the reasons indicated, overruled. And GX-823 is admitted.
(Government's Exhibit 823 received in evidence)
MR. ROHRBACH: Your Honor, may I publish it to the jury?
JUDGE NATHAN: You may.
MR. ROHRBACH: I apologize, your Honor. We offer Government 823 in redacted form to the public and in sealed form for the jury in order to protect the personal information of third parties.
JUDGE NATHAN: All right. 823-R is admitted in its redacted form.
(Government's Exhibit 823-R received in evidence)
MR. ROHRBACH: Thank you, your Honor. Ms. Drescher, if you would pull up 823-R for the public. And members of the jury, if you would turn to Government Exhibit 823 in your binder. I believe there are two binders, and this is in the larger binder. Again, it's the larger binder of the two binders.
JUDGE NATHAN: Larger binder, GX-823. And we have 823-R published.
BY MR. ROHRBACH:
MR. ROHRBACH: Ms. Gill, whose personnel action notice is this?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: This is for Sky Roberts.
MR. ROHRBACH: And what does it reflect about Sky Roberts? Or what -- let me turn your attention, I guess, to the top left corner of this.
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Okay.
MR. ROHRBACH: Would you read for the jury the date of hire.
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Date of hire was April 11th of 2000.
MR. ROHRBACH: Thank you.
MR. ROHRBACH: And, your Honor, if I may just ask the jurors to turn to Government Exhibit 14, which is already in evidence.
JUDGE NATHAN: Ms. Sternheim, any objection?
MS. STERNHEIM: No objection.
JUDGE NATHAN: You may look at GX-14 please.
MR. ROHRBACH: With your permission, your Honor, I would just direct the jurors' attention to the line of this exhibit labeled "father of child."
JUDGE NATHAN: I'm sorry. Mr. Rohrbach, say that again.
MR. ROHRBACH: With the Court's permission, I would direct the jurors' exhibit to the line of this exhibit that says "father of child."
JUDGE NATHAN: You may look there.
MR. ROHRBACH: No further questions, your Honor.
JUDGE NATHAN: All right. Ms. Sternheim.
MS. STERNHEIM: Thank you.
JUDGE NATHAN: Jurors, you may put your binders down. Thank you.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MS. STERNHEIM:
MS. STERNHEIM: Good morning.
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Hello.
MS. STERNHEIM: Is it Ms. Gill Velez or just Gill?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Gill is fine.
MS. STERNHEIM: Okay. Thank you. Ms. Gill, you indicated that you've worked for the property management company for approximately 15 years; correct?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Correct.
MS. STERNHEIM: Which means you started in approximately 2007?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Correct.
MS. STERNHEIM: And the document that was introduced in connection with your testimony concerns the date of 2000; correct?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Correct.
MS. STERNHEIM: You have no personal knowledge of how this document was completed; correct?
MS. STERNHEIM: You have no personal knowledge of any of the information on this document; correct?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: The information I know is what was written in it.
MS. STERNHEIM: Right. But you had nothing to do with putting it on this?
MS. STERNHEIM: And you had nothing to do with how records were kept prior to you joining the management property company in 2007; correct?
JANINE GILL VELEZ: Correct.
MS. STERNHEIM: No further questions. Thank you.
JUDGE NATHAN: Thank you, Ms. Sternheim. Mr. Rohrbach.
MR. ROHRBACH: No redirect, your Honor.
JUDGE NATHAN: All right. Ms. Gill, thank you. You're excused. You may step down.
(Witness excused)
JUDGE NATHAN: The government may call its next witness.
MS. COMEY: The government calls Shawn.
JUDGE NATHAN: The witness testifying under the name "Shawn" may come forward. SHAWN, called as a witness by the Government, having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
JUDGE NATHAN: You may be seated. Please remove your mask. This witness will be testifying under the name Shawn to protect the anonymity of a prior witness who I permitted to testify by her first name. I do remind the sketch artists that the exact likeness of Shawn not be drawn, please, in order to protect the anonymity of the other witness. Ms. Comey, you may inquire.
MS. COMEY: Thank you, your Honor. May the witness remove his mask?
JUDGE NATHAN: Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. Shawn, please remove your mask.