Jan. 18 - Dispatches from the Court: George Guldi

Former Suffolk County Legislator is in court before Judge James Doyle facing charges of forgery, grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument and insurance fraud.

11:30 a.m.

Guldi's trial commenced with the 12 jurors and three alternates, who were selected last week, being ushered into the courtroom. Once seated, the eight women and seven men were given preliminary instruction by Judge Doyle, who spoke for half an hour on the basic rules of the court.

Doyle told the jurors that to make a conviction, Guldi must be proven guilty beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt.

Noon

The court broke for lunch until 2 p.m. At 2 p.m. opening statements will begin, starting with the prosecution, represented by Assistant District Attorney Thalia Stavrides. George Guldi, according to District Attorney's office spokesman Robert Clifford, will be representing himself. 

Clifford said Guldi was given a court-appointed legal advisor. His name is Chris Brocato.

2:30 p.m.

Assistant District Attorney Thalia Stavrides began her opening argument on behalf of the prosecution. During her speech she said, "This is a case of broken promises, betrayal of trust and ill-gotten fortune."

Stavrides painted a verbal depiction of Guldi as a man in precarious financial condition with mounting debt and the threat of foreclosure on his home.

She gave a detailed time-line of alleged events that she believes the prosecution will prove over the course of the trial, including all of the charges Guldi is facing,  forgery, grand larceny, criminal possession of a forged instrument and insurance fraud.

She told the jury, "Don't let the smoke get in your eyes."

4 p.m.

Guldi delivered the opening statement wearing one of his signature bow ties.

"This is about my house that burned down," he said. He explained that his father bought the house in 1947 and he bought it from him in 1980. Precious family photos were lost in the fire, he said. "I lost everything," he said. "This insurance check was my money, not the bank's. They're prosecuting me for taking my own money."

Guldi said he was in the process of rebuilding the house following a fire when the district attorney's office "stole" his money. The D.A.'s office "grabbed" all his money from his bank accounts in April 2009, he said.

His bank accounts were frozen due to an investigation into a purported mortgage fraud scheme that the D.A.'s office says Guldi was at the center of.

4:15 p.m.

Witness Lynn Burke, who is a mortgage specialist, took the stand and answered questions about documents related to Guldi's mortgage.

4:45 p.m.

Judge Doyle ended the session, saying the trial will reconvene at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Be sure to come back to Patch throughout the day and week to find out how the trial is progressing.