Christine Cornell has been one of the nation’s most renowned courtroom artists for the last 25 years. The longtime Weehawken resident has covered some of the most famed trials of all time, sketching the images of courtroom dramas such as the Leona Helmsley, John Gotti, Sean “Puffy” Combs and Kenneth and Sante Kimes trials.
Recently, Cornell covered the pedophile trial of Phillip Giordano, the former mayor of Waterbury, Conn., as well as the recent Leona Helmsley civil trial.
“I keep busy,” Cornell said. “I’m very fortunate to be busy.”
However, a very interesting courtroom proceeding has elevated Cornell’s drawings to a totally new level, one with a humorous twist.
Cornell closely covered the New York courtroom testimony last month of action film star Steven Seagal, who testified as a government witness that he was being blackmailed to give a portion of his movie profits to the Gambino crime family.
After the testimony, Cornell created three satirical and humorous images of Seagal’s command performance that were published in the popular worldwide magazine, Entertainment Weekly.
“Entertainment Weekly knew I was going to be there anyway,” Cornell said. “So they commissioned me to do the drawings that I adapted to the story line. Steven Seagal is a real cartoon character, so it was perfect.”
So was Seagal’s behavior while on the witness stand. Dressed in a red silk kimono and blue jeans, Seagal came back onto the stand after a break in the testimony with a red blanket draped across his lap, supposedly to give him strength and security, as part of his Buddhist beliefs.
It was only the tip of the iceberg.
“For some reason, when he took the stand, the courtroom became less formal,” Cornell said. “He got away with saying things that really didn’t add up. You would think like Seagal was hanging out with them or that they were intrigued by him. When he went up there with the blanket, I distinctively heard giggling. It was so old-ladylike, this macho movie star with his blankie. Then, there was this belligerent banter that you don’t hear in a courtroom. Maybe you hear it in the street.”
Added Cornell, “The judge admonished him and told him to answer questions with a simple yes or no. He said, ‘Don’t engage in conversation with the attorneys.’ And then he came back on the stand, after he said he needed his Buddhist blanket. It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen in a courtroom. He was so full of himself. It was amazing.”
According to an Associated Press report, to save himself from possible prosecution, Seagal – the star of movies like “Exit Wounds” and “Under Siege” – testified that a crew of alleged mobsters, including Peter Gotti, the brother of late crime boss John “Teflon Don” Gotti, demanded that Seagal give them some proceeds from his movie deals or face bodily harm.
According to the report, prosecutors stated that the 50-year-old Seagal was extorted after a falling-out with his former business partner, Julius Nasso, an alleged associate to the Gambino crime family.
Seagal also testified that he was bothered by another defendant, Anthony “Sonny” Ciccone, who allegedly demanded the actor pay the Gambino family $150,000 for each movie he made with Nasso, according to the Associated Press.
Cornell didn’t buy Seagal’s testimony.
“For him to go up there and say that they tried to extort money off him is like the pot calling the kettle black,” Cornell said. “It’s been reported by many that he was [allegedly] involved with them before.”
Seagal apparently borrowed nearly $1 million from Nasso to pay an outstanding IRS tax bill, according to the Associated Press report.
Cornell was also amazed with some of the things Seagal said on the witness stand.
“Every so often, he tried to say something that had nothing to do with the testimony,” Cornell said. “Like he said he was a munitions expert or he was the first American to own an Akido school in Japan. He said that he was a musician who played blues guitar with B.B. King. He was sitting there with his painted hairline and silk kimono and I had never seen such a thing in a courtroom.”
So Cornell went to work and drew three humorous images, one picturing Seagal recalling his jam session with B.B. King, another showing the audience laughing and a third putting on reading glasses while holding his blanket.
“It was fine and fun,” Cornell said. “One of the drawings, I changed everyone’s facial expressions to have them laughing, because no one seemed to take him seriously. Even the prosecutor was making jokes. It was nice to have a different focus for once, after all the seriousness that I do. This was a pretty light case to cover.”
According to the Associated Press story, Seagal said that he had a license to carry a gun and had brought one to a meeting of mobsters.
Forced to testify by federal officials or face a jail sentence, Seagal was asked by reporters if his testimony had any bearing on the case.
“I don’t think I accomplished anything other than to comply with a government order to testify or go to jail,” Seagal said in the Associated Press story. “I didn’t want to go to jail. I have six kids.”
And a kimono and security blanket.
Cornell said that she really wanted to cover this courtroom proceeding, rather than cover New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in another case.
“I confess that I wanted to do it,” Cornell said. “Mayor Bloomberg’s was a serious case. I wanted the fun thing, the fluff story.”
And has Cornell ever seen any of Seagal’s movies?
“I admit I have,” Cornell said. “How can you avoid it? His movies are all over the place.”