The Patrick Daoud Depo

The Kim Rothstein case provides more proof that you might want to be suspicious of some of those smiling faces in the Fort Lauderdale society pages. 

Of course it was Kim's Ponzi schemer husband, Scott, who paid big bucks to their mugs in local magazines on a weekly basis. Rothstein buddies -- millionaires like Ted Morse, George Levin, and Ron Picou -- were also regulars. Now we have Kim charged with trying to hide more than $1 million in Ponzi jewelry she took under the nose of the feds. Stacie Weisman, a Southern Wine and Spirits maven who is also a regular on the charity circuit, is charged as a co-conspirator for allegedly trying to sell a 12-carat yellow diamond ring for Kim.

The feds allege that Weisman took the ring to her close friend, Patrick Daoud, owner of Daoud's Fine Jewelry on Sunrise Boulevard across from the Galleria Mall. Daoud then listed it for sale and later paid Weisman $175,000 cash for it, according to Daoud's federal indictment.

When the Rothstein bankruptcy lawyers realized it was missing, they aimed a lawsuit at J.R. Dunn Jewelers which had originally sold the diamond and other missing jewelry to Scott Rothstein. Dunn found that Daoud had listed the ring and, this past November, deposed him. Daoud testified that Weisman didn't bring him the ring and that he couldn't remember who brought it to his store. He also said never took possession of it.

The feds charged Daoud with perjury and he may be the most surprising defendant in the extended Rothstein case so far. He's another high-society fellow who has been photographed recently with Weisman and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, among others. His attorney, Fred Haddad, says his client knew "everyone" in town and that everyone liked him. I had never met Daoud, but have several friends and acquaintances who swore by him as a jeweler. 

Below is a full copy of his deposition. You can judge for yourself whether you think Daoud is lying or not. Haddad provides comic relief.

1 UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
2 FORT LAUDERDALE DIVISION
3 Case No. 09-34791-BKC-RBR
4 In re:
5 ROTHSTEIN ROSENFELDT ADLER, P.A.,
6 Debtor.
_________________________________/
7 HERBERT STETTIN, CHAPTER 7 TRUSTEE,
8 Plaintiff,
9 vs. Adv. No. 11-2363-BKC-RBR
10 SPD GROUP, INC.,
11 Defendant.
_________________________________/
GRAY ROBINSON, P.A.
15 401 East Las Olas, Tenth Floor
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
16 Thursday, November 3, 2011
3:15 p.m. to 4:10 p.m.
17
18
19
20 DEPOSITION
21 OF
22 PATRICK DAOUD
23 taken pursuant to notice
on behalf of the Defendant
DIRECT EXAMINATION
6 BY MR. SCOTT:
7 Q What is your name?
8 A Patrick Daoud, D-A-O-U-D.
9 Q And where do you work?
10 A I work at Daoud's Fine Jewelry.
11 Q And where is that located?
12 A 2473 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale
13 33304.
14 Q Has it moved recently?
15 A It has.
16 Q Is it just a one-location store?
17 A Just one location.
18 Q Where was its prior location, and when did it
19 move?
20 A It moved a little over a year ago, and the
21 old address was 2525 East Sunrise Boulevard. They
22 kicked us out after 50 years to build a new Publix.
23 Q What was the address?
24 A 2525.
25 Q East Sunrise Boulevard?
Page 4
1 A Right.
2 Q Okay, I know.
3 A Have you been by the new Publix?
4 Q Sure, sure.
5 MR. HADDAD: Short walk to the Titlist
6 (phonetic) Navigator for Nixon in the old days.
7 MR. SCOTT: Yeah, that's right.
8 There's a subpoena for you, which we'll mark
9 as No. 1.
10 (Thereupon, the document referred to was
11 marked as Exhibit No. 1 for identification.)
12 BY MR. SCOTT:
13 Q You've seen this before?
14 A I have.
15 Q Thank you for coming by the way.
16 Do you have any documents that fall within
17 the classifications described in the attachment to
18 this?
19 A No.
20 Q Did you make some effort to determine that
21 you didn't have any?
22 A Yes.
23 Q And what effort did you make?
24 A Well, I mean, I know -- I'm familiar with the
25 scenario, so --
Page 5
1 Q Okay. So you definitely don't have any?
2 A Absolutely.
3 Q Did you ever have any documents that fell
4 within either of those categories?
5 A Yes.
6 Q What did you have?
7 A I had a photocopy of a GIA certificate.
8 Q Okay. Do you remember this stone?
9 A Yeah, sorta, kinda. I mean, I see gazillions
10 of stones, so --
11 Q So we're referring, of course, to a 12.08
12 carat diamond which is Rapnet Lot 28193351.
13 You listed it on Rapnet?
14 A Yes.
15 Q Do you remember when?
16 A It was in our old store, so over a year ago.
17 Exactly when, I don't know.
18 Q Do you remember when you took it off?
19 A I do not. Oh, when I took it off? I took it
20 off a week or two before I got deposed.
21 Q A week or two before today, you mean?
22 A Before I got served, I mean.
23 MR. HADDAD: First notice.
24 THE WITNESS: First notice, yeah. I don't
25 know the legal jargon, so --
Page 6
1 BY MR. SCOTT:
2 Q The taking it off was because of what reason?
3 A We had -- and it wasn't just that stone. It
4 was numerous other stones, where -- I don't know how
5 familiar you are with Rapnet, but --
6 Q Not at all.
7 A Okay.
8 MR. HADDAD: I thought it was a music
9 station.
10 THE WITNESS: Rapnet is a web site that
11 jewelers go to if they have a need for a particular
12 stone that you might not have in stock, so it's an
13 avenue to give exposure to stones.
14 BY MR. SCOTT:
15 Q You didn't sell the stone?
16 A Did not.
17 Q So why did you take it off?
18 A Because everybody was calling me -- like that
19 week, I had more calls -- in fact, five people called
20 me that week about that stone. I had a ten-carat pear
21 shape, I had a carat-and-a-half, this and that, and it
22 just got to be enough. I said, "Just take the frickin
23 thing off."
24 Q What's bad about getting calls?
25 A If I don't have the stone, you've got to
Page 7
1 field the call, you got to -- you know, you got to see
2 if you have it, if you don't have it. You know, it's
3 just -- it's -- it's a waste of time.
4 Q Explain to me your history with this stone?
5 A From what I can remember, somebody came into
6 the store, in the old store, and wanted us to market
7 the stone for them.
8 Q You say "market," not sell.
9 Is there a difference between those two
10 things?
11 A Not really. You know, market would be, put
12 it out there to see if somebody has an interest.
13 Q But if somebody had an interest and they
14 found it -- it was another dealer on Rapnet, you're
15 obligated to sell it for the price you listed it for,
16 aren't you?
17 A Well, people negotiate.
18 Q Well, you wouldn't -- if somebody offered you
19 the price you asked, it's expected, isn't it, on
20 Rapnet that you're going to sell it for that price --
21 A No --
22 Q -- you had to have authority to sell it?
23 A Sure.
24 Q So when you say "market" it, I'm thinking
25 that means market and sell it?
Page 8
1 A I guess. Well, sometimes somebody will come
2 in, if they are not comfortable leaving the stone, and
3 they'll say, "Listen see if you can sell this to
4 somebody who walks through the door, on Rapnet," or
5 whatever the case might be, "if you have client, call
6 me."
7 Q What does a person like that leave you? Not
8 the stone?
9 A A copy of the certificate.
10 Q Okay.
11 A See the certificate is like a fingerprint to
12 the stone, so, you know, all you need is the
13 information on the certificate to put it on Rapnet.
14 You don't need the stone. You need the information on
15 the certificate.
16 Q Okay. But you had the stone?
17 A No.
18 Q You never had the stone?
19 A If I had it, it was for a short period of
20 time. I mean, I had a copy of the certificate way
21 back when.
22 Q Do you do this for people regularly?
23 A Oh, all the time, sure. Because some people
24 are, like, "I don't want to leave such an expensive
25 item. How do I know you're not going to go bankrupt.
Page 9
1 How do I know that you're not going to skip town, or
2 be robbed," or whatever, so --
3 Q How expensive an item was this?
4 A I don't remember, 200-and-some thousand.
5 Q That's not the kind of stone that you get in
6 every day?
7 A Yeah, I get big stone in all the time,
8 absolutely.
9 Q Did you make note of what you listed on
10 Rapnet?
11 A I don't understand the question.
12 Q Did you ever have a document that showed what
13 you listed?
14 A I still don't understand the question.
15 Q Well, how --
16 A I mean, I --
17 Q -- can you tell me today the size of the
18 stone, for example?
19 A Because it's on here.
20 Q Because I wrote it down?
21 A Because you wrote it down, exactly.
22 Q You didn't remember yourself?
23 A You know, I mean, stones like this -- this is
24 what we do all day long, so the fact that there's --
25 you know, there was no drama with it before, to me it
Page 10
1 was another stone, so --
2 Q How do you even remember that this is the
3 12.08 diamond that you listed on Rapnet?
4 A Because I deleted it a couple weeks before,
5 and that's -- you know, like, if we had done this
6 three months ago or whenever it was, I wouldn't have
7 done it, because I don't look at it, but somebody
8 called that week about that stone, about a big pear
9 shape, about other stones, and it got to be -- just
10 take it off, just actually take it off. In other
11 words --
12 Q I still don't understand why, when you list
13 something on Rapnet to sell it and you get inquires
14 about it, you want to take it off Rapnet.
15 A Because I don't have it --
16 Q Then why did --
17 A -- I don't have the ability to sell it.
18 Q Why did you put it on Rapnet in the first
19 place if you didn't have it?
20 A Well, over a year ago, when somebody made the
21 inquiry, we put it on Rapnet, and then we moved our
22 store from the old location to the new location, so we
23 suspended all of the Rapnet stuff that we did, and
24 then at some point, once we got settled into our new
25 store -- I mean, we -- after 50 years, we moved, you
Page 11
1 know, it was quite a production, so once we got to the
2 point to where we had the ability to take the time to
3 deal with it, you know, then we reinstated it, so
4 there was a long period --
5 Q When you say "reinstated," you mean you put
6 it on -- and you say "suspended," can you explain what
7 that meant?
8 A Absolutely. The stones that are put on there
9 they want you to -- I mean, it's kind of a routine
10 thing. They want you to update it every week. Nobody
11 does it, and, like, somebody will sell a stone and
12 forget that its on there, I mean, it's not a perfect
13 science, so for us, we just didn't update it, because
14 we couldn't field the calls. We couldn't deal with
15 it. You know, we were moving. We were in a new
16 store. We're -- it was just kind of chaotic, so --
17 and that's just a small part of our business, so, you
18 know, that's not -- you know, that's just like a
19 sideline type business.
20 Q So when you say --
21 A It's like a marketing tool.
22 Q When you say you "suspended" it, does that
23 mean you sent Rapnet some notice and said --
24 A No, no. They do it automatically. Like, if
25 it sits idle for a certain amount of time, then they
Page 12
1 don't post it.
2 Q And how long was it not posted?
3 A I don't know, months and months and months.
4 I couldn't tell you exactly, because, again, it's
5 another stone.
6 Q Okay. How long was it reactivated?
7 A I couldn't tell you. I would guess -- and
8 this is strictly a guess, because, there again, I've
9 got hundreds of stones on there, and I'm not. I would
10 say, and this would be a guess, a month maybe. Maybe
11 a month, maybe two months.
12 Q How did you even think to remove it, because
13 of the phone calls?
14 A Absolutely. I mean, it got to be annoying,
15 you know, and somebody had actually called about that
16 stone -- it could have been your secretary, I don't
17 know, but somebody called up about that stone, and
18 then it got to a point where it was just annoying,
19 like, get this off, and not only that, it was, like, I
20 had a nine or ten-carat pear shape, I had a carat-and-
21 a-half princess cut, I had blah, blah, blah, blah,
22 blah.
23 Q Were they from the same person that brought
24 you the 12.08?
25 A No, no.
Page 13
1 Q Do you remember the person?
2 A I don't, no.
3 Q Do you normally remember the people who bring
4 you stones of that value?
5 A I do it all the time. I mean, from a year or
6 year and a half ago, would I remember? No. Like the
7 nine or ten-carat that I took off on the pear shape, I
8 can't remember where that originally came from.
9 Q You said, I don't remember, earlier in
10 response to one of my questions, "If I had it, I might
11 have had it for a short time."
12 Could you explain why you would even think
13 that?
14 A I have no idea. You know, I can't tell you
15 specifically whether I had it or if I didn't.
16 Q Are you the person who would be the most
17 knowledgeable at Daoud's, Inc. --
18 A Yeah.
19 Q -- on the subject of Daoud's relationship to
20 this stone?
21 A Yes.
22 Q There's not somebody else that would be --
23 A No.
24 Q -- that would have knowledge you don't have
25 about it?
Page 14
1 A No, no, unless -- anything that's large, you
2 know, I try to get involved with it, so --
3 Q Is it possible that the person came in and
4 never even showed you the stone?
5 A Sure, absolutely.
6 Q Is it possible that the person left you the
7 stone and you still have it?
8 A No, no, no. You would remember that.
9 Q Okay.
10 A I like that. He said that with a straight
11 face. That's good.
12 MR. HADDAD: If he had that stone, my wife
13 would be wearing it.
14 MR. SCOTT: Even knowing it was Rothstein's
15 once?
16 MR. HADDAD: Wouldn't bother me. I would let
17 them try to claw it back.
18 BY MR. SCOTT:
19 Q If the stone was not in your possession at
20 the time you moved -- you know that to be true, right?
21 A You know, it was another stone way back when.
22 You know, I don't want to say yes or no, because I
23 don't know. If you said, "Give me an opinion," I
24 would say I didn't have it.
25 Q Do you get a receipt back when you give a
Page 15
1 stone back?
2 A Absolutely.
3 Q And you've looked for it?
4 A Absolutely, and especially --
5 Q And you don't have it?
6 A No, and especially because when we moved from
7 our old store, you know, we had 50 years of stuff in
8 there, so the good thing about, you know, the building
9 being knocked down is we just took what we needed, I
10 looked all around for it. There's no paperwork,
11 there's no anything. Like I said, it's another stone
12 that's in the pipeline.
13 Q I'll show you a form called a Secondhand
14 Dealer's Property Form that I've marked as Exhibit 2.
15 (Thereupon, the document referred to was
16 marked as Exhibit No. 2 for identification.)
17 BY MR. SCOTT:
18 Q I trust you're very familiar with this form?
19 A Obviously.
20 Q Can you explain what that form is used for?
21 A Sure. This is a secondhand dealer's form
22 that if somebody sells us something, you take a
23 fingerprint, take a drivers license, you fill out the
24 description, name, address, employment, drivers
25 license.
Page 16
1 Q And it's required by law?
2 A Absolutely.
3 Q Unless it's a dealer who is selling to you?
4 A Correct.
5 Q Do you have a name for what kind of stone you
6 get from somebody who not from a dealer?
7 A From the public.
8 Q Public?
9 A Yeah. I mean, there's no specific name.
10 Q And you scrupulously follow that law?
11 A Absolutely.
12 Q And you have to keep these things for years,
13 don't you?
14 A No, no. After -- we only have to keep it for
15 15 days.
16 Q Do you keep them longer?
17 A Yeah. We keep them probably about 30 days,
18 depending on -- on -- you know, there again, did I
19 bring any from the old store? No. Do I have some now
20 that -- like, I have some these that --
21 Q Date back to the old store?
22 A No, don't date back, no, because, you know,
23 it's -- after 15 days -- I mean, the police have
24 copies of these, so --
25 Q So if you did have the stone, you would have
Page 17
1 filled out one of these, wouldn't you?
2 A Absolutely.
3 Q And the police would have a copy?
4 A Absolutely.
5 Q What police?
6 A It's changed, so I'm not a hundred percent
7 sure. It used to be we used to send one copy to
8 Broward County, and then we used to send one copy to
9 the City of Fort Lauderdale, and I think that changed,
10 and I don't know what the change is. I think now one
11 copy either goes to the either the city or the county,
12 and I can't remember who, what, when, where.
13 Q Is there a means for you to obtain from other
14 people who worked at the store the knowledge that they
15 have about this stone, and have you tried to get that
16 knowledge from them? Somebody with a better memory
17 than you.
18 A No. I mean, listen, I'm the big cheese
19 there. You know, something like this, you know, I
20 handle the bigger stuff. I look at it. I oversee,
21 you know, so --
22 Q Nobody else --
23 A No.
24 Q -- would have taken in a 12-carat diamond?
25 A No.
Page 18
1 Q Have you inquired of any of your people
2 whether they remember anything about this stone?
3 A No.
4 Q Who would you inquire of if you were to look
5 for somebody who might have been in the chain of
6 custody of this stone?
7 A There is nobody. I mean, nothing -- I mean,
8 everything goes through me.
9 Q Did you ever acquire -- and I'm not
10 suggesting this is a bad thing to do -- Rothstein
11 jewelry?
12 A Yes.
13 Q You also sold to Rothstein?
14 A Never, no.
15 Q I'm talking about Scott Rothstein?
16 A Absolutely. Yeah, no, he never stepped foot
17 in my store.
18 Q How about Kim --
19 A Thank God.
20 Q How Kim Rothstein, his wife?
21 A No. Well, I met her one time at a charity
22 function, and she was with the Levinsons at a charity
23 function.
24 Q Okay. So to your knowledge, have you
25 acquired anything that was once Scott Rothstein's?
Page 19
1 A Yes.
2 Q Have you bid at any of the sales of either
3 marshals auctions or trustee sales?
4 A Yes.
5 Q Roughly how many pieces have you acquired?
6 A I can give you an approximate. I don't know
7 exactly. I don't remember, ten, 12, maybe.
8 Q When you do, do you bid disclosing your name
9 as Daoud?
10 A Absolutely.
11 Q Okay. So we would be able to find --
12 A Oh, absolutely.
13 Q -- out from them what you bought?
14 A Absolutely. It's like in the name of Grecian
15 and something -- I -- it's the one that was at the
16 Broward Center.
17 Q Okay. But this stone is not one of the
18 stones that you bought at auction?
19 A No. No, I didn't buy a stone at auction. I
20 bought watches. I bought some cheap jewelry. I think
21 it was primarily watches. Oh, no, I bought a string
22 of pearls. I forgot about that.
23 Q Have you ever, to your knowledge, bought a
24 piece of former Rothstein jewelry -- and when I say
25 "jewelry," I'm including diamonds and gems and watches
Page 20
1 -- other than through those auctions?
2 A No.
3 Q Have you ever marketed or agreed to market
4 for someone else a piece of former Rothstein jewelry
5 other than this one?
6 A No.
7 Q This is the only former Rothstein jewelry
8 that you have learned that you had once marketed?
9 A Yeah, and I didn't know it was Rothstein's,
10 you know, until I got this.
11 Q I understand.
12 A In fact, I didn't even know who is SPFD was,
13 or whatever -- you know, whatever that name was.
14 MR. HADDAD: Who is that?
15 THE WITNESS: JR Dunn, I guess.
16 MR. SCOTT: Oh, yeah.
17 THE WITNESS: I Googled it. I had no idea
18 who SPFD Group is or SPD Group.
19 MR. SCOTT: Yeah.
20 BY MR. SCOTT:
21 Q Describe, if you will, the circumstances
22 under which you accept a piece of jewelry of this
23 value from someone who wants you to market it?
24 A It's kind of vague.
25 Q Is there a typical situation?
Page 21
1 A No.
2 Q Do you do it from strangers?
3 A Sure.
4 Q Do you do it for people who don't provide
5 picture ID?
6 A No, not if we don't -- not if we sell it.
7 Q No. I mean, do you agree to market it for
8 people who don't show you identification?
9 A That doesn't make sense. I don't understand
10 the question.
11 Q Okay. Could the person have come in,
12 provided no identification, not be known to you, and
13 you would have agreed it market his diamond --
14 A Oh, okay. Absolutely.
15 Q -- based on a certificate?
16 A Sure.
17 Q What information do you obtain from him?
18 A Well, it's different. If -- we at least get
19 the phone number.
20 Q Do you get a name?
21 A Name, of course, name and a phone number at
22 least.
23 Q Address?
24 A Sometimes.
25 Q Do you have a form that this goes on?
Page 22
1 A No. Well, we would either do it -- if they
2 are actually leaving an item, then we will do
3 paperwork. If somebody says, "I'm going to market the
4 stone," they might have a copy of the certificate or a
5 watch or whatever the case might be, and said, "Here's
6 my number. If you get somebody, call me."
7 Q And if this person is a stranger, you didn't
8 know this person from prior meetings to be who he or
9 she says he is --
10 A Right.
11 Q -- you would still be satisfied with just a
12 telephone number?
13 A Absolutely.
14 Q How about a price?
15 A Well, sometimes they'll rely on me for the
16 price. Sometimes they'll have a price. I mean,
17 there's no set formula.
18 Q Are there people who you turn down because of
19 the way they are dressed or the way they look or the
20 way they talk or something that makes you
21 uncomfortable?
22 A Well, yeah, I mean, if a 14-year-old kid
23 comes in, and he's got a five-carat diamond, you
24 know -- and, of course, that doesn't happen, hence
25 what happened in all the, like, Swap-Shop-type things.
Page 23
1 You know, they -- somebody of that ilk doesn't come to
2 us. They go to a pawn shop. You know, they have
3 their own marketing people.
4 MR. HADDAD: Fence.
5 THE WITNESS: I don't want to say that, but
6 they have their own way of marketing.
7 BY MR. SCOTT:
8 Q But they don't come to you?
9 A No, no.
10 Q So you've never had anybody who's come to you
11 and you've turned them down because you thought there
12 was something not right?
13 A Absolutely not. We've had people that had
14 maybe wanted to sell, you know, gold or something
15 cheap or something like that, where we've gently
16 turned them away, because, you know, we don't know if
17 they are from Channel 7 or who knows what, when, where
18 so -- but that just doesn't happen. We -- have you
19 ever been in our store?
20 Q No.
21 A You know, it's almost like you got a 14 or
22 15-year-old kid going to Mayor's, it's just too odd,
23 it's not -- you know, it's not the --
24 Q Mm-hmm.
25 A Now, you go into the Swap Shop, he's one of
Page 24
1 many. If he's coming to me, he sticks out like a sore
2 thumb.
3 MR. HADDAD: I stick out like a sore thumb.
4 THE WITNESS: You stick out like a sore thumb
5 everywhere.
6 BY MR. SCOTT:
7 Q So far all I know about the person who
8 brought it is this was -- it was somebody older than
9 14 --
10 A Yes.
11 Q -- and dressed appropriately to go into a
12 store?
13 A Yes, absolutely.
14 Q Besides the name and phone number and maybe
15 the address, you would get a price expectation; is
16 that right?
17 A Sometimes. Sometimes they would say, "Give
18 me an idea as to what you think." You know, sometimes
19 they would rely on me. Sometimes they have a price.
20 Q Do you ask any questions about the
21 provenience of the stone?
22 A If it has a GIA -- you know, if it's a
23 diamond, if it has a GIA. If it's a watch, does it
24 have the box, does it have the warranty, how old is
25 it. Sometimes if it's got the warranty, it will have
Page 25
1 the date on it.
2 Q Does it always have a GIA?
3 A No.
4 Q In this case did it?
5 A Yes.
6 Q And how do you know?
7 A I mean, a stone like this is going to have a
8 GIA a hundred percent of the time.
9 Q There are other brands besides GIA, aren't
10 there?
11 A There are, but they are very unethical. You
12 know, GIA is the only one that's considered --
13 Q I won't quote you on that.
14 A It's unfortunately the truth.
15 Q You don't remember that it had a GIA because
16 you don't remember the stone?
17 A Well, it had a GIA, because I would assume on
18 the Rapnet, it would have the information about the
19 GIA when you put the -- that's part of the
20 information.
21 Q So you only list things on Rapnet that have
22 GIA?
23 A For us, the answer to that is yes. For a lot
24 of dealers, they'll list stones that have other types
25 of certificates, because there's a market for that
Page 26
1 type thing. There are some people that will list
2 stones that don't have a certificate to them.
3 Q What are the store's hours?
4 A 10:30 to 5.
5 Q And what are your Rapnet listing hours? When
6 do you do your Rapnet listings?
7 A No special time.
8 Q But somewhere between 10:30 and 5 or maybe
9 even after 5?
10 A Um, I mean, could it be 5:30? Maybe. Could
11 it be 6:30? Maybe, you know, if we're working late,
12 you know, if we're busy during the day. Is it going
13 to be at midnight? No, it's not going to be at
14 midnight.
15 Q Okay.
16 A So the store closes at five, but that doesn't
17 mean everybody leaves at five.
18 Q Are you the person that does the Rapnet up
19 listings and removals?
20 A I do a lot of it, and I have a girl that does
21 additions.
22 Q What is her name?
23 A Her name a Carolena (phonetic)
24 Q What is her last name?
25 A G-U-T-T-M-A-N.
Page 27
1 Q Guttman?
2 A Guttman, yeah. There might be two N's, I'm
3 not sure.
4 MR. HADDAD: That was so politically correct,
5 I have a "girl" who does this.
6 THE WITNESS: What else should I say?
7 MR. HADDAD: You're making her mad. Sorry, I
8 can't help it, Pat. You know, once in a while, I've
9 got -- this is kind of boring as hell. Nobody is
10 dead.
11 MR. SCOTT: Yeah. Nobody ever accused me of
12 being interesting.
13 MR. HADDAD: I didn't mean you. I meant the
14 whole subject.
15 THE WITNESS: I got to tell you, even if the
16 women at the store are 70, I call them girls, so --
17 MR. HADDAD: They all are 70.
18 THE WITNESS: Yeah, exactly.
19 BY MR. SCOTT:
20 Q Okay. Do you remember the asking price for
21 this stone?
22 A I do not, no.
23 Q Does $23,500 per carat sound approximately
24 right?
25 A Yeah, sounds in the neighborhood.
Page 28
1 Q Do you remember the color and clarity of the
2 stone?
3 A I don't remember the clarity, fancy intense
4 yellow.
5 Q The shape?
6 A Radiant.
7 Q What does that mean?
8 A Rectangular.
9 MR. HADDAD: It was a yellow diamond?
10 THE WITNESS: Yeah.
11 BY MR. SCOTT:
12 Q Being a fancy intense yellow, that's a rare
13 color, isn't it?
14 A No, not really.
15 Q What else do you remember about it? Was it
16 in a setting?
17 A That I don't remember. I remember, you know,
18 just -- I mean, it should have had a certificate. You
19 know, if it didn't have a certificate, I wouldn't have
20 put it on Rapnet.
21 Q If you listed it on Rapnet, does that tell
22 you anything about whether it was in a setting or
23 whether it had baguettes or side stones?
24 A No, Rapnet is generally for the center stone.
25 Q But you still -- it still doesn't say whether
Page 29
1 it was in a setting or not?
2 A No, no. Sometimes people might make notes if
3 it is in a setting.
4 Q Do you remember -- remembering that it was a
5 fancy intense yellow, radiant, do you remember whether
6 it was in a setting?
7 A I don't. I would assume it would be. I
8 mean, the majority of the rings we get in are in
9 settings, so I would only say yes based on an
10 assumption, only because that's what most people do.
11 Not a lot of people come in with a loose diamond.
12 Q And you're sure you don't -- you've wracked
13 your brain to remember this stone --
14 A Absolutely.
15 Q -- and you can't remember anything else about
16 this stone at all?
17 A No, it's from so long ago, and it's, like,
18 one of many stones, I mean, I see all day long, you
19 know.
20 Q Can you remember whether it was shallow cut
21 or deep cut?
22 A No, no, that's -- now we're getting --
23 absolutely not. Now we're get a little picky here.
24 Q Do you remember the quality as far as the
25 occlusions or whatever they call the --
Page 30
1 A I don't, no.
2 MR. HADDAD: You learned a lot from this
3 depo.
4 MR. SCOTT: From Sean. Sean taught me
5 everything I know.
6 BY MR. SCOTT:
7 Q Do you know a woman named Stacie Weisman?
8 A I do.
9 Q How do you know her?
10 A She comes in the store every once in a while.
11 She's kind of involved with charity stuff.
12 Q Do you know her also as a close friend of Kim
13 Rothstein?
14 A Yeah. Yeah. I mean, not that that's a topic
15 of conversation, but --
16 Q Is it Stacie Weisman who brought you this
17 diamond?
18 A No.
19 Q You're sure of that?
20 A Yeah, I mean, I have no idea who it is. I
21 mean, I have no idea who it is.
22 Q You would remember if Stacie Weisman had
23 brought you a diamond?
24 A Yes.
25 Q Has she ever?
Page 31
1 A Brought me a diamond?
2 Q Not bought diamonds, but --
3 A No, brought me a diamond.
4 Q -- brought you diamond?
5 A Brought me a diamond, no.
6 Q Has she ever brought you any jewelry for you
7 to sell?
8 A No.
9 Q Has she ever sold you any jewelry?
10 A No, she bought a couple things.
11 Q Has anyone in her family ever sold you any
12 jewelry?
13 A I don't know anybody -- I don't know her well
14 enough to know anybody else in her family.
15 Q Is she married?
16 A I don't think so. If she is, I don't know
17 about it.
18 Q Would it be odd if this diamond had been
19 removed by you from the Rapnet listing after 5:30?
20 A No.
21 Q How late could it have been removed, do you
22 think?
23 A What's the latest?
24 Q That you would be working --
25 A I mean, I was in the store yesterday until
Page 32
1 8:30. You know, I was in the store -- I'm in the
2 store -- only because I'll catch up on e-mails, do my
3 odds and ends, so I'm in the store three or four times
4 a week late at night.
5 Q So if it were removed at 8:09 p.m. New York
6 time --
7 A Yeah, it's possible.
8 Q -- that would not be unusual?
9 A No.
10 Q If it were removed on September 14th, which
11 is the day that we filed your notice of deposition,
12 you wouldn't connect that in any way --
13 A No.
14 Q -- with your deposition having been noticed?
15 A It was -- yeah, well, I was -- let me see. I
16 was served on the 19th, so that's the first time I
17 knew of anything.
18 Q That's the first time you heard that your
19 deposition --
20 A Absolutely.
21 Q You hadn't been contacted by the press, for
22 example?
23 A No, no. Definitely not, no. I mean, I'm not
24 a --
25 Q Because they do watch this file.
Page 33
1 A They do?
2 Q Oh, do they.
3 A No, I'm a --
4 MR. HADDAD: The 14th was my birthday. He
5 probably figured I was looking for a stone for free.
6 THE WITNESS: No. The first thing I ever
7 learned about this was the 19th?
8 So the press would know about this when --
9 MR. SCOTT: They watch everything filed in
10 this court file.
11 THE WITNESS: Is that in all cases or just
12 because this is so --
13 MR. SCOTT: Sean got called before he was
14 sued. Before they filed a complaint against him, he
15 got a call from the press.
16 MR. HADDAD: I was just telling Steffie, I
17 just want to see one person get sued. I'm just
18 waiting. I can't say who.
19 MR. SCOTT: No, that's okay.
20 MR. HADDAD: But I just want to see it, just
21 for the gloating that the person had done. It will be
22 interesting.
23 You're not finished yet?
24 MR. SCOTT: No, I've got one more.
25 MR. HADDAD: How much are you charging them
Page 34
1 an hour?
2 MR. SCOTT: That's it.
3 I'll show you what I marked as Exhibit 3.
4 (Thereupon, the document referred to was
5 marked as Exhibit No. 3 for identification.)
6 MR. HADDAD: So what it is? I don't have my
7 glasses.
8 MR. SCOTT: The Bates number at the bottom
9 reflect that I obtained this from GIA.
10 THE WITNESS: Okay.
11 BY MR. SCOTT:
12 Q That's the stone, isn't it?
13 A Apparently so.
14 Q With your receipt on top?
15 A Yes.
16 Q So you did have it?
17 A Okay.
18 Q I'm asking.
19 A Yes.
20 Q You provided it outside of a setting to
21 Malca-Amit, the courier, to take to GIA?
22 A Could be. It's a routine thing.
23 Q Well, I'm asking you if you --
24 A Yeah, by this, absolutely.
25 Q You obtained of GIA certification yourself?
Page 35
1 A Okay.
2 Q It didn't come with a GIA certificate.
3 A Could be.
4 Q Well, I just want to know --
5 A Yeah, I mean, by this --
6 Q -- for sure?
7 A -- absolutely.
8 MS. MOON: Thank you.
9 BY MR. SCOTT:
10 Q What else does it allow you to remember, if
11 anything, about who gave it to you? Does looking at
12 this document help you at all with that?
13 A Not really.
14 Q I will give you some possible ideas.
15 Would you agree that this reflects that you
16 sent it to them in April of 2010?
17 A Of -- April 15 of 2010, yes.
18 Q Who filled out the form?
19 A Carolena Guttman.
20 Q It was sent to them through Malca-Amit?
21 A Exactly.
22 Q M-A-L-C-A, A-M-I-T.
23 A Exactly.
24 Q Who paid for the certification?
25 A I'm not sure.
Page 36
1 Q Well --
2 A I mean, it's billed to us.
3 Q But you don't pay for certifications where
4 you're marketing the stone or someone else, do you?
5 A I have. You know, just -- I have.
6 Q Would you do it for a stranger?
7 A Sometimes, sure. If I can -- if it's
8 something I can resell, absolutely.
9 Q And would you give them their stone back
10 without them repaying you for the certificate?
11 A Absolutely.
12 Q Now, the certification on a stone of this
13 size and value would cost about how much?
14 A I don't know. I'm going to guess -- I'm sure
15 you have it right there -- 500, 700, 600.
16 Q Well, the service fee on Page 2 is reflected
17 as $1,392.
18 A Could be.
19 Q Okay. So you might have advanced that --
20 A Right.
21 Q -- for a stranger, and when you got the stone
22 back -- you gave the stone back to the stranger
23 without getting paid for the certificate?
24 A Maybe I got paid for it, I don't know. That
25 I haven't checked out.
Page 37
1 Q You see the name Stacie with the spelling
2 S-T-A-C-I-E on Page 1?
3 A Oh, yes.
4 Q And that's in the column where you put down
5 the source that you got the stone from, isn't it?
6 A Yes.
7 Q For example, CBLS stands for what?
8 A It's just some sort of coding on the stone,
9 maybe where it came from.
10 Q For a regular -- it's for a regular customer
11 or account code, isn't it?
12 A Yes.
13 Q Stacie, however, is someone's first name?
14 A Yes.
15 Q And it has the same spelling as Stacie
16 Weisman's first name?
17 A Okay.
18 Q Is this someone who you are friendly with at,
19 say, a Facebook level?
20 A Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, she comes in the
21 store, we do charity stuff. Absolutely.
22 Q Does it cause you to believe she was the
23 source of this stone?
24 A Could be.
25 Q Why did you say earlier that you were sure
Page 38
1 she wasn't?
2 A It just doesn't connect. You know, I mean --
3 Q Why not?
4 A I -- I don't know, it just didn't connect.
5 Q In the course of seeing these documents, does
6 more come back to you about this stone and Stacie?
7 A I mean, could I say a hundred percent? I
8 can't say a hundred percent. But, I mean, looking at
9 this could it be? I mean, obviously it could be.
10 Q Do you know any other Stacie spelled this
11 way?
12 A I don't know.
13 Q You can't think of any?
14 A I can't think of any.
15 Q Do you know Stacie's phone number?
16 A I do not, no.
17 Q Do you know where she lives?
18 A I do not. Boca, I think.
19 Q And you believe she's single?
20 A Yes.
21 MR. HADDAD: How old is she?
22 THE WITNESS: I don't know, 40-something.
23 MR. HADDAD: Huh?
24 THE WITNESS: Forty-something.
25 MR. HADDAD: Too old.
Page 39
1 MR. SCOTT: If I can just have a few minutes,
2 I think I'm done.
3 (Informal discussion off the record.)
4 BY MR. SCOTT:
5 Q Do you recall now whether you submitted
6 anything else for a GIA certification at that time?
7 A For -- can you be more specific?
8 Q At the same time that you submitted this
9 diamond on Exhibit 3?
10 A You mean, was there anything more than these
11 three?
12 Q Yeah. Besides those pieces on there --
13 A Right.
14 Q -- do you recall whether you submitted
15 anything else?
16 A That day?
17 Q That day.
18 A I don't know.
19 Q Do you recall now, you didn't recall earlier,
20 do you recall now whether the person who brought you
21 the 12.08 brought you other things?
22 A I don't recall. I don't know. We're talking
23 about a year and a half ago or whatever.
24 Q What would you have done if you had been
25 called by someone to buy the diamond when you still
Page 40
1 had it? If you had it listed on Rapnet, I assume --
2 and you don't know whether you still had it at that
3 time because you don't recall when you gave it --
4 A You're talking about a year and a half ago or
5 whenever it was posted?
6 Q When you gave it back.
7 A Okay.
8 Q If you received a call in response to your
9 Rapnet listing, you would have sold it?
10 A I would have called the person to bring it
11 in.
12 Q No. I'm saying while you had the diamond,
13 because you had the diamond --
14 A Yeah, in having the diamond and shipping it
15 and then bringing it back, I couldn't have sold it
16 then, because it wouldn't have been a GIA, and then
17 you need the GIA first to list it on Rapnet, you know,
18 like, you need the certificate, like, you need the
19 information.
20 Q Which you received sometime after April 21,
21 2010?
22 A Correct. You talking about putting it on
23 Rapnet?
24 Q No. That's when you received the
25 certification, right, sometime after April 21 when it
Page 41
1 was printed?
2 A Correct.
3 Q Does it sound plausible that it was listed by
4 you on Rapnet on August 7, 2010?
5 A Maybe.
6 Q You don't recall at all --
7 A I don't.
8 Q -- not even within months when it was listed?
9 A I don't, no.
10 Q Just that it was sometime more than a year
11 ago?
12 A Exactly.
13 Q And you don't recall even now where the
14 diamond was at any time when it was in your
15 possession?
16 A Are you talking about when it was sent to
17 GIA?
18 Q Yeah.
19 Was it in your vault at one time?
20 A It was in a vault.
21 Q At your store?
22 A Yes, it would have to be. We wouldn't leave
23 it on display.
24 Q And you can't envision it getting from
25 someone's hands to your vault, you can't picture that
Page 42
1 now in your mind?
2 A I don't understand the question.
3 Q Well, you can't --
4 A Do I remember --
5 Q Well, you can't -- you can't by closing your
6 eyes picture this diamond at any time in the whole
7 process?
8 A No. I mean, like I said, diamonds like this
9 I deal with all the time.
10 Q Okay.
11 A I'm working on, like, a 17-carat right now,
12 so --
13 Q You have never seen an 8.01 carat diamond
14 that you recall?
15 Does that number --
16 A No.
17 Q -- sound familiar, 8.01?
18 A No.
19 Q How about a 8.91 carat diamond? It was one
20 of the diamonds that Dunn was sued for?
21 A No.
22 Q But you wouldn't remember if you've seen an
23 8.91 carat --
24 A No. I can tell you now I have an
25 eight-oh-something that has a GIA, but it's a stone
Page 43
1 I've had for awhile.
2 Q Would showing you -- I guess they call it a
3 picture of the 8.91 cause you perhaps to be able to
4 recognize it if you see the description?
5 A Sure.
6 Q This is a GIA certificate -- you know what,
7 I'm just going to stick an exhibit number on it, even
8 though I don't have stapler.
9 (Thereupon, the document referred to was
10 marked as Exhibit No. 4 for identification.)
11 MR. HADDAD: What cuts were these?
12 MR. SCOTT: This one is round, I would call
13 it.
14 BY MR. SCOTT:
15 Q Have you ever seen that man before -- I mean,
16 have you ever seen that diamond before?
17 A No, no. I've never seen this one before.
18 Q You're sure?
19 A Hundred percent.
20 MR. SCOTT: Okay. I don't have any further
21 questions. Thank you.
22 MR. HADDAD: Don't you dare.
23 MS. MOON: (Laughter.) I just have a couple.
24 MR. HADDAD: I'm late.
25 How can a civil depo take this long?
Page 44
1 DIRECT EXAMINATION
2 BY MS. MOON:
3 Q Mr. Daoud, since you've had the opportunity
4 to review the documents that were included in Exhibit
5 3, do you have an independent recollection of
6 receiving this diamond from Stacie Weisman?
7 A I do not, no.
8 Q Is there any reason that you would have to
9 believe that it's someone other than Stacie Weisman,
10 given the fact that you don't know or cannot recall a
11 different Stacie Weisman --
12 A I don't' know.
13 Q -- or a Stacie at this time?
14 A No.
15 Q I notice that it is Ms. Guttman, who works
16 for you, who completed this document?
17 A Yes.
18 Q Would you have been the person to provide her
19 with the stone and the indication of the stone, since
20 you're the person that handles the big stones in your
21 store?
22 A I don't know. A year and a half ago, I would
23 assume so.
24 Q Is there someone else that handles stones of
25 this size in your store?
Page 45
1 A No, generally not. Generally I do it all.
2 MS. MOON: Okay.
3 MR. SCOTT: I want to ask one thing, because
4 I think I didn't -- I may have caught you off before
5 you gave a complete answer.
6 BY MR. SCOTT: (Cont'd Direct)
7 Q You were talking about the kinds of -- the
8 pieces of paper that you write in the course of taking
9 in either a stone or a certificate --
10 A Right.
11 Q -- for the purpose of contacting a person.
12 Besides Exhibit 2, which is a form we now
13 know you must have filled out on this --
14 A Absolutely.
15 Q -- is there anything else that you either
16 write on or type into a laptop or a computer or a
17 devise of any kind?
18 A No. No, we don't -- we're not that
19 sophisticated.
20 Q So the only thing you would have would be a
21 piece of paper on a non-uniform form?
22 A Yes.
23 Q You said you don't have a particular form for
24 this --
25 A No.
Page 46
1 Q -- information?
2 A No. We use this for everything.
3 Q How would you be able to find this later if
4 you had to call this person, this piece of paper?
5 Where would you go to find this piece of
6 paper?
7 A The copy of the certificate?
8 Q No, no. The piece of paper that allowed you
9 to call the person who left you the stone to be
10 marketed?
11 A Sometimes they write it on the copy of the
12 certificate, like I said, you know, that's --
13 Q Okay. Well, it wouldn't just be on a spindle
14 somewhere?
15 A No.
16 Q It won't be in a particular folder or
17 particular file or a particular box where you keep the
18 information on other people's jewelry that you're
19 selling for them?
20 A It depends. I mean, there might be --
21 there's an area where we have -- if we bring something
22 in, but it could be here, it could be there, so, you
23 know, do we have it in a certain area? In the old
24 store, I think we did.
25 Q Would Ms. Guttman know something about this
Page 47
1 process?
2 A Yeah.
3 Q Such as how to contact people who have left
4 you stones or who have shown you a stone and left you
5 a certificate or who have left you just a certificate,
6 she would know something about that process?
7 A Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
8 MR. SCOTT: I will have to talk to the client
9 to see whether that's somebody we're going to need to
10 talk to. Thank you very much.
11 BY MS. MOON:(Cont'd Direct)
12 Q Mr. Daoud, do you handle the finances for
13 your company?
14 A Do I handle the finances? Yeah, absolutely.
15 Q Okay. So you said you didn't specifically
16 recall whether or not you were reimbursed the
17 thirteen-ninety-two for ordering the GIA certificate?
18 A Right.
19 Q I'd ask you if you would take a look --
20 A Sure, absolutely.
21 Q -- to see if you have a check --
22 A Absolutely.
23 Q -- or a credit card?
24 A Absolutely.
25 Q And provide that information to counsel?
Page 48
1 A Absolutely.
2 MS. MOON: Thank you. Nothing further.
3 MR. SCOTT: Thank you so much.
4 Do you want to read or waive?
5 MR. HADDAD: He's going to waive.
6 (Whereupon, the deposition was concluded.)