LOS ANGELES – The trial for disgraced car dealer Eminiano Jun Reodica has been moved again, this time to May 21, 2013.
Citing the case’s unusual and complex nature, United States District Court for the Central District of California Judge S. James Otero granted another continuance, so prosecutors and defense can effectively prepare their case for trial in May.
In a court document on February 27, Otero wrote: “The Court further finds that: the ends of justice served by the continuance outweigh the best interest of the public and defendant in a speedy trial; failure to grant the continuance would be likely to make a continuation of the proceeding impossible, or result in a miscarriage of justice; and the case is so unusual and so complex, due to the nature of the prosecution, that it is unreasonable to expect preparation for pre-trial proceedings.”
“Failure to grant the continuance would unreasonably deny defendant continuity of counsel and would deny defense counsel the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence,” he further wrote.
This is the second time the judge granted a continuance since Reodica’s arrest by FBI agents on November 27, 2012. The case was originally set for trial on January 29, 2013 before being moved to March 12.
The 68-year-old Reodica, former president of Grand Chevrolet and the Grand Wilshire Group, is accused of swindling over $100 million from banks and savings and loans, and 1,000 investors throughout Southern California.
He faces 51 counts of fraud and a maximum 250 years in prison, if found guilty.
Reodica fled the US in 1988, only to resurface in Brisbane, Australia, where he has lived for the past two decades under the alias Roberto Coscolluela Jr.
The FBI recently released a photo of Reodica’s co-conspirator Danilo De Castro, who was Grand Chevrolet’s inventory manager. De Castro also fled to the Philippines in 1988 to avoid prosecution. His whereabouts remain unknown.
Meanwhile, more victims of Reodica (as Coscolluela) in Australia are coming out since the release of his alias. For the past two decades, Reodica posed as an accountant, real estate and insurance agent in Cairns and Brisbane, Australia.
Court records and several sources in Brisbane reveal that Reodica allegedly defrauded several members of the Filipino-Australian community.
He and his wife Leticia Coscolluela face a litany of civil charges against them, ranging from withholding clients tax refunds, swindling investors in a commercial property deal, and other crimes.
TayLAW Solicitors, who is representing many of the victims in their lawsuits against Reodica, has already procured five judgments and is in the process of selling several of his homes to compensate their clients.
According to TayLAW Principal Scott Taylor, the highest judgment they’ve received is a claim for around $600,000 from a couple in northern Queensland. The others ranged anywhere between $10,000 to $100,000.
(www.balikbayanmag.com)
(LA Midweek March 13, 2013 Sec. A pg.1)
