The Case Against Casanova

Many people who know Zerola find it inconceivable that he is capable of rape. Esther Vargas, for instance, says, "The Gary I read about is not the Gary I know." The ex-girlfriend says he treated her "like a princess," never raising his hand, or voice. But neither woman testified during his first trial. In the end, the witness who convinced the jury of Zerola's innocence was Zerola himself.
He was on his game during his time on the witness stand, precise in his answers and charismatic in his demeanor. His accuser's story, by contrast, changed four times from the initial police report to her testimony. And Zerola's version of what happened in the apartment was dramatically different from hers.

Under oath, Zerola said they had kissed but the victim stopped and told him she had a boyfriend. Zerola admitted he was upset, and that he "said some mean things to her." When she demanded he either drive her home or pay for a taxi, he said, "Why don't you have your boyfriend come pick you up?"

Zerola said the struggle started after he went into the bathroom to get ready for bed and he heard a crash in the living room. The woman, he said, had smashed a $7,000 glass figurine he had purchased at an estate sale. As he tried to get her to leave, she said her boyfriend was a police officer. Zerola would regret not driving her home.

He said he walked the woman downstairs to retrieve her bag from his car, but when he saw a police cruiser pull up and heard the officer in the driver's seat call her name, he got worried, thinking it might be her boyfriend. He went back up to his apartment. "I figured she was their problem now," Zerola said.
The jury deliberated for seven hours over two days. As the "not guilty" verdicts were read, Zerola shook with sobs. The accuser left the courtroom before the jury was dismissed.

Significant weaknesses exist in the remaining cases against Zerola. In the trial scheduled for April 7, the court will hear from the defense that the accuser in the 2004 incident took a shower after the alleged attack and did not get a rape examination until 12 hours later, and that the exam found scarce evidence of sexual assault. Should the Miami case reach trial, prosecutors must contend with an alleged victim who is unable to remember anything from the incident. (One of the charges from that night has already been dropped due to her wavering account, according to Zerola's legal team.)

This is not to say Zerola will have the fast life back if he's acquitted of all the charges. The Porsche is gone, the condo sold; he has paid off only three of the tax liens against him. He now lives with his brother's family in Melrose. With his license to practice law suspended, the one-time would-be legal hotshot has had to take a job selling insurance.

Perhaps most humiliating, the man who made it his mantra to work hard and play harder can no longer play at all. Every day, Zerola must call a probation officer when he leaves for the office, and twice more during the day, the last when he returns home. Which these days is always well before the clubs close.

Additional reporting by Paul McMorrow and Paul Kix.