BOSTON (Court TV) – Once a candidate for the ABC series “The Bachelor,” Gary Zerola’s legal career was red hot until he was accused of sexual misconduct. After his 2008 acquittal, Zerola, a former prosecutor, tried to get his career back on track by serving as a defense lawyer for Kathleen Hilton. Hilton, a mentally disabled woman, was accused of starting a deadly house fire that killed five people.
Fourteen years later, Gary Zerola, now 51, has been indicted on two charges of rape for allegedly attacking a friend of a woman he was dating in 2016 and is standing trial in Boston.
Read More: MA v. Gary Zerola: ‘Eligible Bachelor’ Rape Trial
Court TV veteran field producer Grace Wong interviewed Gary Zerola in 2009 to discuss how his experience as a criminal defendant impacted his life and legal career.
Interview Transcript:
Grace Wong, Court TV:
Gary, what do you say to those people that might have questions about your background?
Gary Zerola:
My background has nothing to do with what I’m doing here today and that’s assisting in the defense of Kathleen Hilton, who has been wrongly accused of a crime.
Grace Wong, Court TV:
And what does it mean to you to have to defend her in this trial?
Gary Zerola:
Well, having been in the same position, sitting as a criminal defendant accused of a crime she did not commit, I can certainly empathize and sympathize with what she’s going through.
Grace Wong, Court TV:
So, you have a different perspective, you think?
Gary Zerola:
I have a very unique perspective than most attorneys. One of which I hope that most attorneys never have to go through. But, I certainly have a very unique perspective about what Kathleen was going through.
Grace Wong, Court TV:
And tell me about that. What’s what’s your perspective on what she may be going through?
Gary Zerola:
Well, she’s stands of a very serious crime that she didn’t commit. And I similarly went through the same situation. But I also have a deep faith in the criminal justice system that we have fair judges in Massachusetts, that we have an incredible jury system. They can see through lies, they can see through false accusations. They can see through in my cases that in many cases, police officers who exaggerate evidence or twist evidence and things of that nature in order to do what they think is right, which ultimately is not. We have a constitution. We have a Bill of Rights in this country and in the state for a reason. And a lot of times that’s lost on the goals of law enforcement, and that’s simply to get a conviction.
Grace Wong, Court TV:
Having gone through what you’ve gone through, accused – you’ve been through the process, has it ever shaken your faith and in doing what you do?
Gary Zerola:
Not for one moment. If anything, it’s re-energized me. It hasn’t shaken my faith as a criminal defense lawyer. As a matter of fact, I think that now more than ever, considering my experience, I’m needed. And that’s why Michael Natola asked me to assist him in the defense of Kathleen. You know, I asked him one simple question: Do you think she did it? And he said, absolutely not. And I said, Well, I’m all in. And that was after he told me he couldn’t pay me.
Grace Wong, Court TV:
What has the experience that you’ve been through… Having been a criminal defendant in two trials that involve very serious charges, what’s that done for your career? Or how has it impacted your career?
Gary Zerola:
It’s had a dual effect. Some people have a negative view towards it. And other people have actually sought me out and called me and said and they wanted to hire me. When I go into a little bit about my background, what I went through for the past two years to inform them about my background. They, in some cases have said that’s exactly why they’re calling me, because they know that I know exactly what they’re going through. And when you stand wrongly accused of a crime, one moment in a jail cell is too long.
Grace Wong, Court TV
How is it – do you think it’s made you a better lawyer?
Gary Zerola:
Absolutely. I have a different perspective now of of the system. I’ve been an assistant district attorney in Essex County. That’s where I started my career. I transferred to Suffolk County, where I prosecuted child abuse cases when I was there. And then I wanted to become a criminal defense lawyer. And of course, I’ve been a criminal defendant on two very serious trials. And I chose to go to trial. I chose to prove my innocence in those particular cases. I’ve also been sat on a jury. So other than being a judge, I think I have a pretty full perspective on the criminal justice system.
Grace Wong, Court TV:
And ultimately, how do you think this how do you think this has impacted you as a person?
Gary Zerola:
Makes me want to study more, work harder, work longer days, listen to my clients more intently to be there when they need me, to return their calls immediately. And in my personal life, you know, to make some changes, make some changes about how I conduct myself, how I want people to view me. By people, I mean the important people, my close friends and my family. And it’s caused me to evaluate the things that I’ve been given and the things that I’ve earned and worked for over the past few years, and to not neglect to jeopardize those things.
Grace Wong, Court TV
Do you feel very invested in this case? How do you I mean, you’ve been working very hard on it. You’re not being paid. What if it’s a guilty and you believe in her innocence? How do you think you’re going to feel about it? It won’t be.
Gary Zerola:
It’s not going to be.
Grace Wong, Court TV
And why are you so confident of a not guilty in this case?
Gary Zerola:
Because I believe that the the truth counts for something. I think that the founding fathers of the country who invented the jury system had incredible foresight to know that maybe you can fool one person sometimes, but you’re not going to fool a group of people all the time, especially when you’re entrusting with them the grave responsibility of somebody’s liberty in somebody’s future. I have invested a lot. I know Attorney Natola has been working on this case for the past decade. I would say that this case is largely responsible for a lot of the great he has – he’s gained in the past ten years. And when he asked me to start helping him do some research and reviewing the files and then a couple of months ago to help him prepare for trial when he unequivocally and without hesitation told me that he believed in her innocence, I knew that I would have to invest my heart and my soul and all of my time. I don’t go out as much as I used to any more. So, I have a lot more free time on my hands. And Attorney Toler and I have been putting in about 18-hour days, seven days a week since last November to prepare for this trial. And I’m confident that the jury will see that Mrs. Hilton is completely innocent of everything she’s accused of, and they will give her her freedom back.
Grace Wong, Court TV:
Gary, you mentioned that you’ve done you’ve made some changes to your personal life. So what does that mean exactly?
Gary Zerola:
I spend more time with my family as opposed to, you know, so-called friends. And when when times are tough, you realize quickly who your friends are and who your family are and the people that want to stick by you and that believe in you no matter what’s said about you and no matter how many times it’s said. And that’s certainly true when I took the witness stand in my own defense, not once but twice, and you look out into that jury box and you see those people that have your life in their hands, but more than that, you see past them and see everybody in the galley. Your family, your parents, your sisters, my nieces and nephews. And you see how, you know, working hard and playing harder can have an effect on them. No more playing hard. It’s working hard. And the rest I spend time with my family.
Defendant Kathleen Hilton was acquitted of all charges a decade after the deadly fire took place.
