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Chapter 68<br />
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V. ROSS<br />
WILLIAM ULBRICHT<br />
All rise,” the clerk bellowed. “This court is now in session. The honorable Judge Katherine<br />
Forrest presiding.” Ross placed his hands on the oak table in front of him as he pushed<br />
himself upward; his legal team and two U.S. marshals rose beside and behind him in unison. He<br />
looked at the judge, an attenuated, stoic woman a few court cases away from turning fifty.<br />
In front of Ross a group of lawyers from the U.S. Attorney’s Office stood and greeted the judge<br />
with the appropriate “your honor” as the court proceedings were set in motion. Judge Forrest was<br />
terse and to the point, cognizant of the fact that time in room 15A of the Lower Manhattan United<br />
States Courthouse was other people’s money, tax dollars at work. She announced dates for jury<br />
selection and scheduling and noted that expert witnesses would be approved, travel plans agreed<br />
upon, and some of the agents involved in the case against Ross, including Jared, Gary, and Thom,<br />
called to testify.<br />
Judge Forrest had a tough reputation for handing out harsh sentences for drug offenders. But<br />
Ross’s legal team, headed by Joshua Dratel, stood ready for a fight.<br />
It had been months since Ross had arrived at the prison in Brooklyn. But as autumn had become<br />
winter and the leaves fell off the trees, Ross was transferred across the bridge to the Metropolitan<br />
Correctional Center in Manhattan, which would serve as his new home during the trial.<br />
MCC Prison, as it is called, was a chilling tower of concrete and steel that stood just a few<br />
blocks away from the World Trade Center and even closer to the FBI and IRS headquarters. The jail<br />
had, over time, had its share of famed residents, including John Gotti, the Gambino crime family boss,<br />
and several al Qaeda terrorists. When Ross arrived, whispers scurried through the walls that a new<br />
prominent resident had joined the ranks. A pirate.<br />
While he waited for the trial to commence, life inside MCC became as monotonous as in its<br />
Brooklyn counterpart. Ross made friends. He taught yoga classes to some inmates, offered others help<br />
with their GEDs, and gave impromptu explanations of physics, philosophy, and libertarian theory to<br />
the guards.<br />
The trial began shortly after Christmas.
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