Arson trial of former New Haven developer now in hands of jury

Oct. 08--NEW HAVEN -- After again hearing defendant Angelo Reyes deny he ordered a house and a car to be burned in Fair Haven, a jury Tuesday began deliberating the series of arson charges against him.

Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue sent the six jurors home shortly before 5 p.m. after about an hour of discussion had not yielded a verdict. They are to resume Wednesday morning.

Reyes, 49, who lives in Fair Haven Heights, resumed his testimony by telling defense attorney John R. Williams about his years spent battling state and federal arson charges. (A federal jury last October acquitted him on all arson counts for other Fair Haven properties than in the state case.)

"It's been a long road," Reyes testified. "My life is here. My freedom is at stake. I'm going to read every piece of paper. I'm going to study this case and pinpoint every lie and every flaw" in the state's case.

"'Every flaw'?" asked Senior Assistant State's Attorney John P. Doyle Jr. "Including the bogus mortgage application and building permit?"

Reyes denied the documents were flawed. The prosecutors have repeatedly shown them to the jury in a bid to prove Reyes wanted to take back control of the house at 95 Downing St., which he had sold to a man who had then spent years renovating it.

The vacant house burned to the ground in October 2008. In May 2009, a BMW was burned up while it was parked in front of 979 Quinnipiac Ave. The prosecutors allege Reyes hired a father and son team to carry out both fires. Reyes is charged with second-degree arson and related conspiracy counts.

Doyle and Senior Assistant State's Attorney Seth Garbarsky told the jury that Reyes arranged the fires because he was mad that the man renovating 95 Downing St. refused to sell it back to him. They alleged he had the BMW burned because its owner "disrespected" him after a neighborhood disagreement.

The prosecutors cited testimony from a Fair Haven agency worker that she had wanted to begin a program to help drug addicts and set it up at a parking lot near some of Reyes' properties. She testified Reyes sternly opposed the plan, saying it would encourage addicts to hang out on Grand Avenue when he and other merchants were trying to revitalize businesses there.

Although the car wasn't set on fire until about six months after this argument, Garbarsky told the jurors: "Perhaps revenge is a dish best served cold."

But Williams in his closing argument called the dispute "a very minor disagreement" and reminded jurors about how much time elapsed between that event and the car fire.

Williams cited testimony from two firefighters that they didn't see a gasoline container in the BMW. This contradicted the testimony of Osvaldo Segui Jr., who said he set the car on fire by tossing such a container into the back seat.

As for the house fire, Williams said Reyes was motivated not to have it burn. Because Reyes had a second mortgage of $50,000 on the property, he could have received that sum if he had let it go into foreclosure.

"As a result of that fire," Williams said, "he lost the whole thing."

"It would have been an act of madness for him to burn it," Williams said.

Referring to the two second-degree arson charges, Williams said: "It's inconceivable that a man in the position of Angelo Reyes would do anything like this. It would be utterly contrary to everything in his interests."

Williams advised the jurors to examine the motivation of Osvaldo Segui Sr. and Osvaldo Segui Jr. "Only those two could provide the necessary evidence for the state. Ask yourselves: 'Do I believe them beyond a reasonable doubt?'"

Williams reminded the jury that those two witnesses pleaded guilty to federal arson-related charges but in exchange for their testimony in federal and state courts they avoided mandatory federal minimum prison sentences of seven years; avoided prison time for the state charges; avoided the mandate of having to pay restitution of well over $100,000 to an insurance company; and had $700,000 bonds eliminated.

Segui Jr. served about three years and his father served about four years.

"You have incontrovertible proof that Segui Jr. lied to you again and again," Williams charged. "If that isn't reasonable doubt, I don't know what is."

But Doyle asked the jurors: "Do you think the Seguis would bite the hand that feeds them? Do you think they came up with this idea on their own?"

He noted Segui Sr. lived in one of Reyes' apartments rent-free in exchange for doing work for him. His son spent time there too.

Doyle also asked: "How would the Seguis know to go after that car at that address? It's because Reyes pointed it out to them. What motive would they have to make up that they did this arson?"

He also asked why the Fair Haven agency worker would be motivated to testify about the argument with Reyes unless it were the truth.

Doyle quoted a famous line spoken by Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca": "of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine." Then Doyle said: "Of all the houses in Fair Haven, this house was burned to the ground after Reyes saw the owner with real estate people out in front. What are the chances?"

Doyle derisively called Reyes "the mayor of Fair Haven," adding, "He runs Fair Haven and you're not going to cross him."

"Where there's smoke, there's fire," Doyle said. "And standing right behind them is that man over there, the mayor of Fair Haven."

Reyes' wife, Irma, who was sitting behind her husband in the courtroom, cried softly as Doyle made his remarks.

Call Randall Beach at 203-680-9345.

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