Irving H. Picard v. Saul B. Katz et al

Filing 90

DECLARATION of DANA M. SESHENS in Support re: 79 MOTION for Summary Judgment.. Document filed by Charles 15 Associates, Charles 15 LLC, Charles Sterling LLC, Charles Sterling Sub LLC, College Place Enterprises LLC, Coney Island Baseball Holding Company LLC, Estate of Leonard Schreier, FFB Aviation LLC, FS Company LLC, Fred Wilpon Family Trust, Arthur Friedman, Ruth Friedman, Iris J. Katz and Saul B. Katz Family Foundation, Inc., Judy and Fred Wilpon Family Foundation, Inc., Amy Beth Katz, David Katz, Dayle Katz, Gregory Katz, Howard Katz, Iris Katz, 157 J.E.S. LLC, Air Sterling LLC, BAS Aircraft LLC, Jason Bacher, Bon Mick Family Partners LP, Bon-Mick, Inc., Brooklyn Baseball Company LLC, C.D.S. Corp., Michael Katz, Saul B. Katz, Todd Katz, Katz 2002 Descendants' Trust, Heather Katz Knopf, Natalie Katz O'Brien, Mets II LLC, Mets Limited Partnership, Mets One LLC, Mets Partners, Inc., Minor 1 (REDACTED), Minor 2 (REDACTED), L. Thomas Osterman, Phyllis Rebell Osterman, Realty Associates Madoff II, Red Valley Partners, Robbinsville Park LLC, Ruskin Garden Apartments LLC, Saul B. Katz Family Trust, Michael Schreier, Deyva Schreier Arthur, See Holdco LLC, See Holdings I, See Holdings II, Sterling 10 LLC, Sterling 15C LLC, Sterling 20 LLC, Sterling Acquisitions LLC, Sterling American Advisors II LP, Sterling American Property III LP, Sterling American Property IV LP, Sterling American Property V LP, Sterling Brunswick Corporation, Sterling Brunswick Seven LLC, Sterling Dist Properties LLC, Sterling Equities, Sterling Equities Associates, Sterling Equities Investors, Sterling Heritage LLC, Sterling Internal V LLC, Sterling Jet II Ltd., Sterling Jet Ltd., Sterling Mets Associates, Sterling Mets Associates II, Sterling Mets LP, Sterling Pathogenesis Company, Sterling Third Associates, Sterling Thirty Venture LLC, Sterling Tracing LLC, Sterling Twenty Five LLC, Sterling VC IV LLC, Sterling VC V LLC, Edward M. Tepper, Elise C. Tepper, Jacqueline G. Tepper, Marvin B. Tepper, Valley Harbor Associates, Kimberly Wachtler, Philip Wachtler, Bruce N. Wilpon, Daniel Wilpon, Debra Wilpon, Fred Wilpon, Jeffrey Wilpon, Jessica Wilpon, Judith Wilpon, Richard Wilpon, Scott Wilpon, Valerie Wilpon, Wilpon 2002 Descendants' Trust, Robin Wilpon Wachtler. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C PART 1, # 4 Exhibit C PART 2, # 5 Exhibit D, # 6 Exhibit E, # 7 Exhibit F, # 8 Exhibit G, # 9 Exhibit H, # 10 Exhibit I, # 11 Exhibit J, # 12 Exhibit K, # 13 Exhibit L, # 14 Exhibit M, # 15 Exhibit N, # 16 Exhibit O, # 17 Exhibit P, # 18 Exhibit Q, # 19 Exhibit R, # 20 Exhibit S, # 21 Exhibit T, # 22 Exhibit U, # 23 Exhibit V, # 24 Exhibit W, # 25 Exhibit X, # 26 Exhibit Y, # 27 Exhibit Z, # 28 Exhibit AA)(Seshens, Dana)

EXHIBIT A

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C O N F I D E N T I A L

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
11-CV-03605(JSR)(HBP)

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IRVING H. PICARD, Trustee for
the Liquidation of Bernard L.
Madoff Investment Securities LLC,

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Videotaped
Deposition of:

Plaintiff,
CHRISTOPHER STAMOS

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vs.
SAUL B. KATZ, et al.,
Defendants.
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Transcript of testimony as taken by and before

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LESLIE ROCKWOOD, Certified Court Reporter, RPR and Notary

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Public of the State of California, at the offices of

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Shearman & Sterling, Four Embarcadero, Suite 3800,

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San Francisco, California, on Wednesday, January 4, 2012,

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commencing at 9:31 a.m.

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PICARD v. KATZ, et al.

CONFIDENTIAL

CHRISTOPHER STAMOS 1/4/12
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MR. DITCHFIELD:

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THE WITNESS:

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"have to."

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Objection.

Again, I don't like the word

anything, but...

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Q.

So I would say no, he didn't have to do

BY MS. KOSACK:

Did Peter ever consult with

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Saul Katz in connection with the co-branding projects, to

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the best of your knowledge?

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MS. BIEBER:

Objection.

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You can answer.

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MR. DITCHFIELD:

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THE WITNESS:

Objection.

To the best of my knowledge, he

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didn't because I don't think Saul would be interested in

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the logo or --

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Q.

BY MS. KOSACK:

Did Peter ever consult, to

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the best of your knowledge, with David Katz in connection

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with the co-branding projects?

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A.

Again, to the best of my knowledge, no, but

that was eight years ago and...
Q.

To the best of your knowledge, did Peter ever

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consult with Fred Wilpon in connection with the

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co-branding projects?

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A.

That I'm pretty sure he didn't.

Again, if

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Saul was removed, Fred was even more removed.

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be surprised if Fred wanted to look at our logo.

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Q.

So I would

And going back to the halo effect, what, if
BENDISH REPORTING, INC.
877.404.2193

PICARD v. KATZ, et al.

CONFIDENTIAL

CHRISTOPHER STAMOS 1/4/12
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any, halo effect did you hope to obtain from Sterling

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Equities?

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A.

My understanding was the 30-some years of

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doing business in New York, Saul and Fred had a

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reputation for taking care of their partners, being very

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ethical, being very generous, their philanthropic work,

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they've earned a reputation for being very quiet and

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generous in their giving.

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And baseball, in our business, baseball

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carries a lot of weight.

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having access to the owner's box is a great thing for

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clients, and hedge fund managers like baseball in

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general.

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Q.

So owning the New York Mets,

And when you say in your business baseball

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carries a lot of weight, what else did you mean in

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addition to what you just said, if anything?

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A.

I don't think I meant anything more than if

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you could call up someone and say, "Do you guys want to

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come to the owner's box," they would be pretty happy

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about it.

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Q.

Where did you obtain your understanding of

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the information you just described as part of the halo

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effect of Sterling Equities?

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MR. DITCHFIELD:

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MS. BIEBER:

Objection to the form.

Objection.

BENDISH REPORTING, INC.
877.404.2193

PICARD v. KATZ, et al.

CONFIDENTIAL

CHRISTOPHER STAMOS 1/4/12
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Q.

Did he provide you any more specifics when

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he referred to Fred Wilpon being invested with

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Bernie Madoff?

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A.

No.

I never really knew how much was Saul,

Fred, or if it was through an entity or a trust or --

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Q.

Did Peter Stamos ever tell you that any other

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Sterling Equities partners were invested with

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Bernie Madoff?

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A.

people or the specific amounts or anything like that.

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It was implied, but I never knew the specific

Q.

When you say "it was implied," what do you

mean by that?

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A.

Meaning the way Peter talked, it was that

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"Our clients" -- "A lot of our clients will have money

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with Bernie.

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you should know that."

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Q.

We're going to be compared to Bernie.

So

And when you say "we're going to be compared

to Bernie," what do you mean by that?

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A.

Meaning --

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MR. DITCHFIELD:

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THE WITNESS:

Objection to the form.

-- Bernie's returns would be

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our benchmark, because people in our community thought

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Bernie was a God.

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conceived that Bernie was the guy that he turned out to

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be.

You know, back then no one would have

And to get access to Bernie was like gold.
BENDISH REPORTING, INC.
877.404.2193

PICARD v. KATZ, et al.

CONFIDENTIAL

CHRISTOPHER STAMOS 1/4/12
119

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And so him being the gold standard, you're

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going to be compared to his numbers.

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That's all we could compare.

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Q.

BY MS. KOSACK:

Basically numbers.

Did Peter ever tell you which

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investors compared Bernie's returns to the Sterling

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Stamos returns?

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A.

No.

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Q.

Did Peter ever tell you how the Sterling

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Stamos investors that were invested with Bernie Madoff
got their access to Bernie Madoff?

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A.

No.

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Q.

Did you have any understanding as to whether

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the Sterling Stamos investors who were invested with

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Bernie became Sterling Stamos investors because of

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Saul Katz?

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MR. DITCHFIELD:

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MS. BIEBER:

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You can answer.

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THE WITNESS:

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Objection to the form.

Objection.

Could you repeat the question

for me?

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MS. KOSACK:

Can you read the question?

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(The record was read by the reporter as

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follows:

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"QUESTION:

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to whether the Sterling Stamos investors who

Did you have any understanding as

BENDISH REPORTING, INC.
877.404.2193