Joseph Papin covered the Wedtech Trial for both the Daily News and the Riverdale Press. His drawing of the courtroom below is one of the ones that he drew from an overhead perspective while sitting at ground level:
Daily News: August 5, 1988 “The Defendants Listen as jury forewoman reads the verdicts.”
Joe Papin’s political cartoons primarily ran in the Riverdale Press, a weekly newspaper with “a reputation as a crusading newspaper. ‘The Riverdale Press courted controversy and cast a tough, skeptical eye on local officials, who ignored the paper at their peril,’ wrote The New York Times [2008].” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverdale_Press)
The lower right hand corner of the newspaper page above reads:
“About the artist:
“Courtroom artist Joe Papin will be bringing his unique view of the Wedtech trial to Riverdale Press readers for the duration of the trial. “
“This week’s portfolio covers the trial from its first witness, Mario Moreno, to its most recent, Senator Alfonse D’Amato.
“A veteran of countless major trials, Mr. Papin is familiar to readers of The Daily News, where his less-opinionated drawings appear.” (The Riverdale Press, May 12, 1988)
The following excerpt from the NY Times article, “Aide to Ex-Bronx Leader Tells of Wedtech Payments” by Howard W. French, May 28, 1988, (https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/28/nyregion/aide-to-ex-bronx-leader-tells-of-wedtech-payments.html) provides some background to the drawing below:
“A witness testifying yesterday in the racketeering trial of Representative Mario Biaggi described an elaborate system of payments made by the Wedtech Corporation, by a former law partner of Mr. Biaggi and by a Bronx Democratic club to a former Bronx Borough President, Stanley Simon.
“The witness, Ralph Lawrence, was a longtime aide of Mr. Simon in his Bronx County offices. He said he routinely performed such services as carrying Mr. Simon’s luggage and caring for his cat.”
Joe Papin’s drawing below reads:
“Come on Ralphie” … put some more into it … after all you bought all this stuff for all of us … we have to get it home … and it’s not our fault your damn car died … and we’re all getting hungry …” [Ralph Lawrence pulling Stanley Simon and his family and cat]
James Traub’s book, Too Good to Be True – The Outlandish Story of Wedtech (1990), included two pages of Joseph Papin’s drawings: “The trial of John Mariotta, Mario Biaggi, and five others, through the eyes of artist Joe Papin.”
The jacket cover of Too Good to Be True provides a summary of Wedtech:
“The story of Wedtech is a narrative of human folly on an extravagant scale—a tale of greed, ambition, petty scheming, and monumental self-delusion. At its core are the unremitting strivers, poor boys and immigrants, who shaped Wedtech into a $100 million military contractor through fanatical hard work, brute political power, lies, bribes, and sheer chance. The company rose and fell in the 1980s, and became, willy-nilly, a symbol of the decade’s ethos.
“To a credulous press and public the men who ran Wedtech were miracle workers, for the company thrived in the cataclysmic environment of the South Bronx; President Reagan pronounced Wedtech’s founder and chairman, John Mariotta, a “hero for the 80s.” And in fact Wedtech’s achievements were not entirely illusory. The company really did make engines for the Army, and causeways for the Navy. John Mariotta and his colleagues never set out to con the world—but when they had to, they did. And then they did so whenever they could.
“But the Wedtech boys had a great deal of help. Lobbyists, national politicians, federal bureaucrats, and military brass helped the company receive $250 million in military contracts, while lawyers, bankers, and auditors made it possible for the firm to raise over $150 million from the investing public. Wedtech was a magic lantern which nobody declined to rub.
“Ranging from the South Bronx to the Reagan White House to Wall Street in the go-go years, James Traub reconstructs a crusade too bizarre to be anything but real. Too Good to Be True is an untidy morality play about politics and finance in America.”
In order to identify the people in the drawings, I consulted with James Traub and a judge who was an assistant attorney during the trial. I have added their names to copies of some of the drawings that follow.
(The two pages of drawings reproduced above are from Too Good to Be True.)
Joe Papin’s drawing below reads:
“Southern District Vale of Tears Theater – Scandals of Wedtech” Cast of Thousands – Heavy Hitters – High and Mighty – Monsoons of Evidence – And Including if you please, At least One Ton of Sleaze. Oceans of Lies – Really Big Law Firms – Barrels of Bribes. See Millions Vanish. Hear Sweet Harmony – Their New Smash Hit, Hook, Line, and Sinker, and that old American Favorite, Who’s Lying Now? Shuffle, and Dance, Wiggle and Prance. The Terrific ‘Slippery Eel’ Review. Thrill with Admiration as the Indefatigable Prosecutors Struggle Courageously for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Quake before the Omnipotent Majesty of the Law.”
The originals of Joseph Papin’s drawings of the Wedtech trial are a part of his collection of courtroom art at the Library of Congress.
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