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Federal Jury Convicts Lorenzo

ELAINE SILVESTRINI esilvestrini@tampatrib.com

Published: Nov 10, 2005

TAMPA - Jurors in the Steven Lorenzo case had little trouble Thursday convicting the admitted sadomasochist of charges he drugged nine men with the intent of torturing, raping or killing them.

"We were really hoping that we could convict him on murder," said one juror, Vicki Slone, a nurse from Dunedin. "But that’s not the charge. I think the state has a very good case."

Hillsborough County officials are not saying when they plan to bring murder charges against Lorenzo, who was accused during his federal trial of killing two men, Michael Wachholtz and Jason Galehouse, who went missing in December 2003.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Porcelli said that when Lorenzo is sentenced in January, he plans to ask for the maximum: 200 years in federal prison. Specifically, Lorenzo was convicted of nine charges of drug-facilitated crimes of violence and one count of conspiracy with Scott Schweickert.

Schweickert, described as Lorenzo’s kindred spirit, is scheduled to go on trial in December on similar federal charges in the Galehouse and Wachholtz killings.

Hillsborough County Assistant State Attorney Darrell Dirks, whose office is under intense scrutiny in the matter, said he does not know when prosecutors there will decide to charge Lorenzo and Schweickert with murder and possibly rape.

"We know where Mr. Lorenzo is now, and we had a lot of confidence in the federal prosecution, and they did a fabulous job," Dirks said. He added that senior prosecutors will discuss "the whole spectrum of possibilities," including whether to seek the death penalty.

Roommate Welcomes Verdict

Wachholtz’s roommate, Frederick Van Den Abbeel, welcomed the verdict, saying, "This is justice that I’m sure his soul has been waiting for."

Melissa Hartford, a close friend of Wachholtz, said while she was pleased with the verdict, "if justice is going to be served, [Lorenzo] has to at least be charged with murder, because that’s what he did."

Lorenzo didn’t appear surprised when the verdict was announced. Seeming relaxed, he nodded his head and patted the back of his attorney, Donald Harrison. Harrison later said his client told him, "You did everything that you could. Thank you."

When asked if anything the defense had said during the trial gave the jury pause, Slone said, "Not really. ... We all agreed the [assistant U.S.] attorney did an excellent job presenting all the evidence."

Another juror agreed. "There was an overwhelming amount of evidence," said Dave Mount, who also lives in Dunedin. "It was a difficult case to judge in that we all had to set aside any personal prejudices and feeling we had," he said. "We saw a lot of horrific and terrible things, but we had to set that aside and judge the facts and the evidence."

Graphic Evidence Disturbing

Mount said the graphic evidence of Lorenzo’s sadomasochistic sexual activities, including photographs, videos and torture devices, was disturbing.

"It was more than I could ever imagine or think of," he said. "When you think of S&M activity, you don’t think of torture and things beyond, you don’t think of gasmasks gas masks and beating."

Harrison, the defense attorney, said the evidence in the case was a little difficult for him to handle, too. "I’m a conservative guy by nature," he said.

He said he was shocked to learn that the sadomasochistic "community [is] so vast that we have hotels, we have bars that cater to that kinky scene."

Harrison said he is going to consult with Lorenzo about whether to appeal.

Harrison argued during the trial that Lorenzo was part of a subculture of willing dominants, or doms, and submissives, or subs, who consented to bondage and sexual torture sessions.

Seven men testified during the trial that Lorenzo slipped drugs into their drinks, and they later awoke to found themselves naked and injured. Many had bruises or marks that indicated they had been tied up or choked. Some had injuries indicating they had been raped.

Harrison argued that the men knew what they were getting in to, that they’d linked up with Lorenzo for sex and later had regrets. He pointed to computer conversations between Lorenzo and other men who were eager to be dominated and tortured.

Porcelli argued that Lorenzo’s consensual activities escalated into the "taking" of unsuspecting victims and that Schweickert and Lorenzo teamed up to turn their ultimate fantasy into reality by killing Galehouse and Wachholtz.

Mount said the jury agreed with the prosecution on this point. "I think we observed a consistent progression of activity over a long period of time, progressively getting more serious and more brutal," he said.

Charge Proves Vexing

Slone and Mount said the jury did debate debated whether to convict Lorenzo on one charge involving a victim who worked as a street hustler and was, as Slone said, "less credible than the others." Ultimately, the jurors agreed that his testimony held up because it was consistent with what the other six victims said.

The jury deliberated about three hours over two days. Mount said the jurors were methodical in their approach.

"When we came … in [into] the jury room, we had a good long discussion," he said. "We looked at a lot of the evidence over again that was brought in, and then we began the process of discussing one count at a time. ... We handled each count as a separate trial, so to speak. Then we’d vote. ... After we did that, we went back and went over [it] again." Mount, who described himself as a born-again Christian, said he feels bad for Lorenzo. "I would pray he would find Christ and accept Christ in his life. We’re able to be forgiven for anything."

He quoted a verse from the Old Testament in the book of Jeremiah: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?"

"I thought of that verse many times during the trial," Mount said, "because all of us have the capability of being evil. It is only when we change those hearts can we escape from being that way. ... I think he’s unfortunately an evil person."

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837.