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Private detective not ready to talk
By TAMARA LUSH
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW PORT RICHEY -- The stage was set for the Thursday afternoon news conference. Two high-profile lawyers in dark suits flanked their client, private investigator Mike Holden. They stood behind a formal-looking podium on the porch of Holden's office. Television news cameras rolled tape and reporters opened their notebooks. Then came the announcement, from Miami lawyer Ellis Rubin: "We're not prepared to tell Mike's side of the story yet." But Holden did announce that he had retained Rubin and St. Petersburg lawyer Anthony Battaglia because of a squabble Holden had last week with two investigators from the State Attorney's Office. On Aug. 8, two investigators went to Holden's New Port Richey office to look at his file on Matthew Damiani, a Port Richey man convicted in 1996 of impersonating a Wells Fargo courier and stealing nearly $30,000 from two St. Petersburg stores. Damiani, who has maintained his innocence since his arrest, hired Holden to help investigate his case and clear his name. Last year, Holden interviewed Jeffery Durham, an inmate at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan. Durham signed a confession saying that he, not Damiani, committed the Wells Fargo thefts. But prosecutors also interviewed Durham, who told them the confession was a lie and that he did it for money. He told prosecutors that he even gave a note to Holden, asking for a $10,000 payment in exchange for the confession. So on Aug. 8, prosecutors found the note in Holden's office. According to Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett, an investigator told Holden that he was going to seize the note as evidence. A scuffle ensued, with the investigator wrapping Holden in a bear hug and bringing him to the ground. Holden said all he wanted was a receipt and a copy of the note. Bartlett said investigators offered to copy the note. On Thursday, Holden wouldn't talk much about the note or the scuffle. But he did say that he went to the emergency room with chest pains and a finger injury as a result of the squabble. His right index finger was bandaged as he spoke to the media. Bartlett, when reached by phone on Thursday, said the note is a key piece of evidence in Damiani's case. A judge is reviewing whether to grant Damiani a new trial. "I'm just trying to get to the bottom line and find out what the truth is here," Bartlett said.
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