LEE KRAMER'S ROOM: With Views

[janice shell]

Now that's a thought.

And it brings back a memory. Back in the early '90s in Italy, we had the Mani Pulite corruption arrests and scandals; practically everyone who was anyone ended up spending some time in San Vittore, though in the end, I believe only one person was ever convicted,

He was Sergio Cusani, a relative nonentity who only played a supporting role. And he was the defendant in a very long trial that was televised every day. And one day there was a "confronto" between Cusani and a witness. The confronto is a fun feature of Italian trials: the defendant gets to sit at a smallish table across from a witness, and they argue with each other about what happened. The prosecutor may or may not occasionally intervene.

That day, the witness was maybe, Arnaldo Forlani; I can't quite remember. He was a former prime minister, somewhat handsome, and always impeccably dressed. AND on that day, he got so upset that he foamed at the mouth, exactly as Trumpty did.

EVERYONE talked about it for days!