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Prosecutor: 'Truth turned 180 degrees'

By CARRIE WEIMAR
Published January 23, 2007

TAMPA - The case against William Burke is simple, a prosecutor said Monday.

In October 2005, Burke, a former private contractor at U.S. Special Operations Command, pleaded guilty to accepting $4,500 in bribes from retired Army Col. Tom Spellissy. But at Spellissy's trial seven months later, Burke testified he wasn't bribed and denied any wrongdoing.

"Those statements are irreconcilably contradictory, ladies and gentlemen," prosecutor Robert O'Neill said during opening statements to jurors in Burke's trial. "If one is true, the other must be false."

But Burke testified Monday he wasn't lying when he made the contradictory statements. His understanding of the truth changed dramatically after accepting the plea, he said.

"I could not in clear conscience say that a bribery had occurred," Burke said. "I just could not. What I said in the courtroom is the truth."

Burke is charged with making a false declaration before a court. The maximum penalty is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The prosecution and the defense rested their cases Monday. Closing arguments are scheduled today.

Burke said he never made it a secret that he hoped to work for Spellissy's Clearwater company, Strategic Defense International Inc., after he retired from SOCom. He began moonlighting for the company in November 2004 but stopped two months later when the workload grew too heavy.

Burke said he accepted two payments of $1,500 and $3,000 from Spellissy for his work. In May 2005, Burke was contacted by law enforcement officers who he said told him his involvement with Spellissy's company was illegal. "I was told by the agents it was a bribe," he said. "I never said it was a bribe. They told me."

Burke also said he was threatened by an agent who told him, "We know where you live and we know where your family lives."

Burke said he was confused but went along with law enforcement and signed a plea agreement stating he accepted bribes from Spellissy in exchange for giving his clients in the defense industry preferential treatment. He also agreed to testify at Spellissy's trial for wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Facing 15 years in prison, Burke was sentenced to probation.

But on the witness stand, Burke's story changed. He told jurors the money he received from Spellissy was for his moonlighting work, not a bribe.

"From day one, I said I earned that money," Burke said. "I worked hard for that money."

Despite Burke's recantation, a jury found Spellissy guilty of two counts each of bribery and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy. Two months later, a federal judge threw out most of the jury's verdict, calling it a "serious miscarriage of justice."

Spellissy was sentenced to 15 months in prison on the remaining conspiracy charge. He has appealed.

During cross-examination, O'Neill asked Burke why he waited until Spellissy's trial to change his story. If his conscience was so troubled, why didn't he tell his lawyer or notify the court?

"I was trying to tell the truth," Burke answered.

"And the truth turned 180 degrees in just a few months?" O'Neill asked.

"I'm sorry, sir," Burke said. "It did. To me, it did."

Carrie Weimar can be reached at 813 226-3416 or cweimar@sptimes.com.

[Last modified January 23, 2007, 00:47:22]