Ex-State senator testifies in David Brooks defense

A former state senator and a charter-jet consultant were among witnesses that the defense for body-armor magnate David Brooks has presented in the past week at his $185-million fraud trial in an attempt to chip away at the case brought by federal prosecutors.

Former New York State Sen. Emanuel Gold testified at U.S. District Court in Central Islip last week that he was hired as a lawyer in 1999 to reach a settlement with insurance companies on damage to several of Brooks' company buildings in Florida.

Gold said that, working in his private law practice, he eventually arrived at a $1-million settlement with the insurance companies for damage caused by Hurricane Irene. Gold was called to dispute a claim by a federal witness -- Joseph Giaquinto, former president of a subsidiary of Brooks' former Westbury-based DHB Industries body-armor company -- that the hurricane caused no damage.

Giaquinto said Brooks' brother,Jeffrey, and he hosed down the building and goods to make it appear as if the hurricane had damaged the building.

Brooks himself is not charged with fraud in  the insurance case, but the issue was introduced by federal prosecutors in an attempt to question Brooks' overall character.

Gold said that when he arrived at a settlement there was no suggestion by insurance executives that any fraud was involved in the claim, and that in his experience insurance companies do not settle claims if they suspect fraud.

Under questioning by federal prosecutor Christopher Caffarone, Gold acknowledged he had arrived in Florida weeks after the hurricane and had no direct knowledge of the circumstances at the time of the supposed damage.

Another defense witness, charter-jet consultant Gil Wolin, said Brooks had saved DHB money by charging the costs of his own private Lear jet to the company rather than hiring a charter firm. Federal prosecutor Christopher Ott has noted Brooks is accused of defrauding DHB of $900,000 by billing the company for personal trips for himself and his family.

Wolin said that, by his calculations, if Brooks had charged the company for business trips by charter jet at commercial rates, DHB would have had to pay out $1.9 million. Since it only paid out $1 million to Brooks, Brooks was entitled to another $900,000, Wolin said.

The government's chief witness against Brooks, former chief financial officer Dawn Schlegel, previously has testified that she and Brooks cooked up business reasons for many of the flights that Brooks actually used for family and personal use.