RELATED:
Excerpted transcript of Black's deposed testimony, as filed in court
-- excerpted by attorney Andrea Mogensen, this is all that is available at this time

Void for vagueness?
Ex-City Manager Marty Black's testimony during a recent deposition in the ongoing Sunshine Law lawsuit against the city appears devastating... at first. However, as hard evidence in the ongoing lawsuit, it is problematic at best.

After reviewing the testimony, as excerpted in a recent court filing, I am observant of one thing: Black's memory is not that good. Or maybe his willingness to commit to his statements is dodgy at best. As a result, Black's testimony is not as likely to help Mogensen's case as recent news reports might indicate.

As I read the transcript, I kept noticing the typical Martyisms that clouded his testimony "I believe...," "It's a little hazy...," "who I could recall was there...," "I can't recall...," etc., etc. Black's testimony, as excerpted for the public, is thoroughly peppered with such self-disqualifying disclaimers.

Why that would be important? A number of reasons.

Black alleges that council members were chastised for discussing city business outside of the Sunshine. He alleges that, among others, City Clerk Lori Stelzer was there for this particular incident.

Stelzer told me on Monday, on the record, that no such incident as described by Black ever happened in her presence, yet Black, in one of the few moments that he actually states anything emphatically, is insistent in his testimony that Stelzer was there and witnessed the same things he did.

That's going to be a problem. That's going to be a big problem.

Some other vagueness problems: Black is unsure of the date of the incident. He's unsure of who was there. There's already one contradiction as to whether or not the incident took place. Add to that one other thing: Black can't recall what was said or discussed that would have violated the Sunshine law. As Black stated, "It's a little hazy..."

I have sat through and participated in plenty of depositions in my life and I can tell you -- this is  some freaky, non-descript testimony. Courts and judges do not like the word "hazy." Black's testimony is very worthwhile for sensationalism, it's great stuff. As hard evidence heading for inclusion in a court case, well... I don't think it is going to be hard to get Black's testimony tossed for vagueness.

And then there's credibility
Let me tell you a story, and this is why I am, and have been for a long time, dubious of anything that comes out of Black's mouth.

Go back a year or more. Like Black, I'm a little hazy on the date, but I can, if necessary, pin it down with remarkable accuracy by reviewing city council minutes.

I was raising a bit of a ruckus because the city had bought meal gift cards from CQG supporter Steve Harner's Bogey's Restaurant. These were given to employees as a Christmas bonus. I (and later, the Herald-Tribune) took Black to task for what we perceived as a crony payback disguised as a Christmas gift to employees.

Black, in follow-up to the complaints, stated in an open council meeting that I was opposed to any employee getting a Christmas bonus. The implication was that I was opposed to Christmas, the employees in general, and probably motherhood and Santa Claus.

Because of the timing within the meeting when Black made his statement, I wasn't given a chance to rebut.

I cornered Black after the meeting. I was never opposed to Christmas bonuses, they are an employee  morale necessity in any business and they are usually built into the salary budgets. So I asked Black, "Why did you say that to council? It was untrue and you knew it."

Black's response (and I'll never forget this): "I lied. I do it a lot."

I was stunned. I had no idea what to say. Black was smiling with an idiot's grin aimed at trying to anger me. I ignored the grin and played being stupid. I asked him why he had lied.

"Because that is what council [told or wanted] me to say."

I stared at him, trying to comprehend that he was actually saying these things. I asked him who on council had told him to lie. Black refused to answer.

Of course, Black was saying these things out of earshot of anyone else, which allowed him the final trump: "And if you ever repeat this to anyone, I'll deny I ever said any of this." He smirked a bit and walked away.

I kept hearing that phrase, "I lied. I do it a lot," as I was reading the excerpts of Black's testimony. Also, I was confronted with with the fact that Black was always quite comfortable with Sunshine Law violations during prior administrations when the CQG was in charge. I can remember, for instance, complaining to him about then-mayor Fred Hammett's stealth G-Mail account that Hammett was using for city business. Black's response at the time was a shrug and a short statement: "He's allowed to do that."

Last November, three of Black's buddies were voted out of office and three of his worst nightmares were voted in. Black did what a lot of people do when confronted with major problems in life -- he suddenly got religion. Specifically Sunshine religion.

I would believe Black now... why?

John Patten is the editor and publisher of Venice Florida! dot com and had previously worked in broadcasting for over 12 years. He can also be incredibly rude at times.