No words were exchanged throughout the night, and morning of the second day arrived.
The courtroom of the State Tax Bureau in Sparks was located in the city bureau of the Eastern District State Tax Bureau.
"Good morning, everyone. It's now 8:30 AM, and there are 30 minutes left before the trial begins. Everyone, please look forward to it..."
Early in the morning, local media channels had arrived at the venue early to stake out their positions and were broadcasting live updates of the situation.
Soon after, officials from the city hall, the Eastern District, the West City State Tax Bureau, and some invited dignitaries from Sparks City also arrived at the scene, mingling in the lobby.
In the parking area, David and his two companions also stepped out and made their way into the lobby.
Richards Hopkins and the others had arrived early. Upon seeing David's arrival, they immediately came up to greet him.
Among them, Hopkins said, "As you instructed, I've already briefed Judge Yvonne!"
"That's good."
"Alright, the trial is about to start, let's go upstairs!"
David nodded and then he and his entourage made their way to the elevator and rode it up to the sixth floor.
Due to the small size of Sparks City, the courthouse was not very large. It was only about half as big as those in Las Vegas.
As per the usual practice of the State Tax Bureau, to avoid complications with public opinion, media reporters were not allowed inside, except for invited personnel.
As the courtroom attendees took their places, the time approached 9 o'clock.
"All rise."
Right on the hour, a man wearing a black judge's robe emerged from the passage; he was Judge Yvonne, the presiding judge for this trial.
He took his seat, and only then did everyone else sit down.
Following that, he said, "The court is now in session. Bring in the defendant!"
As he spoke, Deputy Mayor Bitcher and Chief Adelaide were brought in through the passageway; though their spirits were somewhat downcast, their positions of power seemed to have preserved their composure and demeanor.
After the two had taken their places in the dock, Judge Yvonne then stated, "Chief Adelaide, Deputy Mayor Bitcher, you are accused by this court of tax evasion. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"Your Honor, I don't quite understand this alleged 'tax evasion'."
"Your Honor, I feel the same way!"
Although both men knew the State Tax Bureau was very confident, they naturally couldn't admit guilt at this point, for that would mean no further trial proceedings were necessary, and they could go straight to prison.
Judge Yvonne picked up a document from the desk and looked it over before turning to Chief Adelaide and saying, "Chief Adelaide, according to the evidence we have obtained, on December 8th, you accepted a bribe of one hundred thousand US dollars from the West City Police Sub-Branch, on December 26th, you accepted another two hundred thousand US dollars from the Eastern District Police Sub-Branch, and on January 13th..."
With each piece of evidence being pointed out by Judge Yvonne above, Chief Adelaide's complexion went from its previous calm to one of shock.
"According to the regulations of the Black Tax Act, starting from December 3, 2021, any illicit income must be reported and taxed to our State Tax Bureau. Yet, as a public servant, you have failed to report such matters. How do you explain this?"
After Judge Yvonne finished speaking, Attorney Smollett from the defense bench became restless and quickly raised his hand, indicating he wanted to speak.
Judge Yvonne saw his hand and said, "Defense attorney, what would you like to say?"
Smollett stood up immediately and responded, "Your Honor, I'm not sure where this information is coming from, but it must be slander or a frame-up against Chief Adelaide."
Smollett stood up again, arguing, "Your Honor, let the evidence speak!"
"Fine!"
Judge Yvonne picked up a piece of paper and said, "Here is a list supplied by Attorney Heisenberg, with records of his assistance in your money laundering, as well as vouchers and account-related information. How do you explain this?"
"Heisenberg!"
Bitcher finally understood, this was where the State Tax Bureau's confidence came from!
Then, he looked towards the spectator's gallery and indeed found Heisenberg among them.
"Attorney Heisenberg, please come up and state the transactions you had with Deputy Mayor Bitcher, and how you laundered money for him!"
Hearing Judge Yvonne's summons, Heisenberg in the spectator's gallery glanced at David before walking down to the stand.
The testimonies from the two police chiefs earlier had confirmed that David's promise to Heisenberg was effective and that he wouldn't face further consequences after testifying, so at this point, Heisenberg was relatively calm and composed.
After organizing his thoughts, Heisenberg slowly began, "My encounter with Deputy Mayor Bitcher began half a year ago, when he had just been promoted to deputy mayor and found me through his connections..."
As Heisenberg unfolded how he met Bitcher, then how he laundered money for him, and eventually the bank accounts that the money was transferred into, the verdict was clear in everyone's mind.
That was, Deputy Mayor Bitcher was doomed for sure!
"Heisenberg, you son of a bitch, you'll get what's coming to you one day!"
Recognizing from the previous actions of the two police chiefs, Bitcher knew that with the protection of the State Tax Bureau, he had no chance to implicate Heisenberg and could only curse out in anger.
"Alright, the tax evasion charges against Chief Adelaide and Deputy Mayor Bitcher have been substantiated. Now, the verdict will be announced!"
As she finished, Judge Yvonne stood up first, and everyone in the spectator's gallery followed suit.
"Defendant Adelaide, having been found guilty of tax evasion, and considering the substantial amount involved, plus your position as a public official committing a crime knowing the law, an additional degree of punishment is justified.
Therefore, I hereby sentence you to 1200 years in prison without possibility of parole, and I order the forfeiture of the total tax amount of 320 thousand US dollars!"
Many in the audience knew the State Tax Bureau's punishments would be severe, but they did not expect it to be this harsh – a direct sentence of 1200 years left them stunned.
But before they could even process this, Judge Yvonne continued, "Defendant Bitcher, having been found guilty of tax evasion, and considering the substantial amount involved, plus your position as a public official committing a crime knowing the law, an additional degree of punishment is justified.
Therefore, I hereby sentence you to 1200 years in prison without possibility of parole, and I order the forfeiture of the total tax amount of 440 thousand US dollars!"
Smollett couldn't stay seated any longer. He stood up to object, "Your Honor, I object to such severe sentencing. Not long ago, in the Indian case enforced by Director David, the tribe chose to resist with violence; despite their egregious nature, they were only sentenced to 1000 years.
Now Chief Adelaide and Deputy Mayor Bitcher are only guilty of tax evasion; how can their sentence be harsher than theirs?"
In truth, there was essentially no difference between 1000 years and 1200 years.
After all, could a person live to be 1000 or 1200 years old?
Yet, as representatives of city hall, it was imperative to make a stand regardless, or else in future cases, the State Tax Bureau would become even more unbridled.
"The Indian tribe has a lower level of education and favors force; their violent resistance can be somewhat excused. However, both Adelaide and Bitcher are highly educated and held key positions in Sparks only to choose to knowingly break the law by evading taxes. Essentially, this is much more severe in nature than the case of the Indians!"
"This..."
Even as a man who made his living off words, Smollett found himself at a loss for words against Judge Yvonne's fallacious argument.
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