More Court Report
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Guardian Publisher Greeted With Racial Tirade
By Mount Vernon Mayoral Chief Of Staff
Brings Suit In Federal Court Regarding Bizarre Racial Attack
Last Monday, November 10th, Attorney Jonathan Lovett, representing Guardian publisher Sam Zherka, went to United States District
Court, White Plains, to file and commence an action against Yolanda Robinson, Chief of Staff to Mount Vernon City Mayor Clinton Young,
Jane Morris, Shield No. 2057, Mount Vernon Police Officer, Police Commissioner of Mount Vernon, David Chong, 15 “John Doe” Mount Vernon
Police Officers, Terence “Roe”, and the City of Mount Vernon.
The following day, Mr. Zherka, accompanied by Attorney Lovett, and 15 supporters, held a press conference on the plaza in front of
Mount Vernon City Hall. Attorney Lovett explained to reporters why it was necessary to bring the action, below, partially reprinted, in Federal
Court for the purpose of discouraging government officials, for any reason, from behaving as the Defendants had toward Mr. Zherka, ethnically
and racially profiling him, displaying bigotry and profanity, and unlawfully barring him from a public function in a public building, all in violation of his First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights under the Constitution of the United States, 42U.S.C. Section 1983.
Publisher Zherka told reporters present that he was calling upon Mayor Clinton Young not to indemnify the individuals named as defendants, as he did not wish the taxpayers of Mount Vernon to be stuck with picking up the tab for Robinson’s, Chong’s, and Morris’, unlawful, bigoted behavior.
The suit seeks $100 million in punitive damages and an equal sum in compensatory damages, a total of $200 million. Zherka promised reporters
that he would be tracing the Defendants’ connections to DA Janet DiFiore given her numerous attempts to harass him and damage his reputation and business enterprises.
Interviewed at her offices in Mount Vernon City Hall last Thursday, City Comptroller Maureen Walker, who has been overseeing the City’s finances for the last 14 years, expressed dismay over Chief of Staff Yolanda Robinson’s outrageous racial attack upon Zherka, making it clear that she was not present at the time of the altercation, having left the auction of tax liened City properties a few minutes before Mr. Zherka’s arrival. Walker assured The Guardian that she had no placed no entry restrictions on Zherka or anyone else.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Westchester Guardian/The Advocate.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Advocate
Richard Blassberg
Palestinian, Permanent Resident Of The
United States, Brings Civil Rights Suit Against
14 Yonkers Police Officers And City Of Yonkers
Yonkers Police Department, Out Of Control, Targeting Ethnic Arab Businesses Since 9/11
Last Thursday, Nov. 13, Haifa Tamimi, 39, a single mother of four children, filed papers, a civil rights lawsuit in United States Federal District Court against 14 Yonkers Police officers who, she alleges, over the past seven years, since the September 11, 2001 attacks, have repeatedly harassed her and forcibly curtailed her retail business enterprises while acting under color of law in violation of her rights
as guaranteed under the United States Constitution.
At a press conference held at the of-fices of her attorney, civil rights lawyer Jonathan Lovett, of White Plains, Ms. Tamimi, accompanied by three of her four children, described for reporters how numerous named Yonkers police officers, fully supported by the Amicone Administration and Building Department, have routinely, but unlawfully, harassed, assaulted, fined and damaged her business enterprises in which she has been lawfully engaged since 1997.
Describing the actions of the Yonkers Police, and the City’s Administration as an “exquisitely clear case of ethnic profiling,” Attorney Lovett detailed the unlawful activities carried out against his client, commencing the day after 9/11, when Yonkers police officers arrived at a deli then owned and operated by Tamimi, to inform her that she could no longer remain open 24/7 as most other delis and convenience stores
do, telling her, “You people send your money to terrorists. You people don’t contribute to the City.”
The police, who prior to 9/11 had been frequent customers at her store, following the World Trade Center attack, issued dozens of violations and thousands of dollars in summonses to her. When she questioned why three other restaurants on her street were still open, police told her they were in the Fourth Precinct, and she was in the third.
Tamimi told reporters, “Up until 9/11 my place had been open 10 years, 24 hours a day. I had no keys and no alarm system.” She explained that after being forced to close after midnight, her income “was cut to less than half ”, compelling her to sell off property and stores she had previously acquired, simply to support her family over the last seven years.
The Guardian’s investigation of the Yonkers Police Department’s conduct with respect to ethnic Arab/Muslim merchants in the city since September 11, 2001, has turned up several who have been similarly dealt with, but who, to date, are unwilling to come forward to exercise their Constitutional rights for fear of police department retaliation.
The Advocate
Richard Blassberg
Palestinian, Permanent Resident Of The
United States, Brings Civil Rights Suit Against
14 Yonkers Police Officers And City Of Yonkers
Yonkers Police Department, Out Of Control, Targeting Ethnic Arab Businesses Since 9/11
Last Thursday, Nov. 13, Haifa Tamimi, 39, a single mother of four children, filed papers, a civil rights lawsuit in United States Federal District Court against 14 Yonkers Police officers who, she alleges, over the past seven years, since the September 11, 2001 attacks, have repeatedly harassed her and forcibly curtailed her retail business enterprises while acting under color of law in violation of her rights
as guaranteed under the United States Constitution.
At a press conference held at the of-fices of her attorney, civil rights lawyer Jonathan Lovett, of White Plains, Ms. Tamimi, accompanied by three of her four children, described for reporters how numerous named Yonkers police officers, fully supported by the Amicone Administration and Building Department, have routinely, but unlawfully, harassed, assaulted, fined and damaged her business enterprises in which she has been lawfully engaged since 1997.
Describing the actions of the Yonkers Police, and the City’s Administration as an “exquisitely clear case of ethnic profiling,” Attorney Lovett detailed the unlawful activities carried out against his client, commencing the day after 9/11, when Yonkers police officers arrived at a deli then owned and operated by Tamimi, to inform her that she could no longer remain open 24/7 as most other delis and convenience stores
do, telling her, “You people send your money to terrorists. You people don’t contribute to the City.”
The police, who prior to 9/11 had been frequent customers at her store, following the World Trade Center attack, issued dozens of violations and thousands of dollars in summonses to her. When she questioned why three other restaurants on her street were still open, police told her they were in the Fourth Precinct, and she was in the third.
Tamimi told reporters, “Up until 9/11 my place had been open 10 years, 24 hours a day. I had no keys and no alarm system.” She explained that after being forced to close after midnight, her income “was cut to less than half ”, compelling her to sell off property and stores she had previously acquired, simply to support her family over the last seven years.
The Guardian’s investigation of the Yonkers Police Department’s conduct with respect to ethnic Arab/Muslim merchants in the city since September 11, 2001, has turned up several who have been similarly dealt with, but who, to date, are unwilling to come forward to exercise their Constitutional rights for fear of police department retaliation.
Westchester Guardian/In Our Opinion/Our Readers Respond/Janet Difiore/Jeanine Pirro.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
In Our Opinion...
“Dealing With The Devil”
For 12 years Jeanine Pirro was the ultimate authority, the force to be reckoned with in Westchester County; the one person you didn’t want to provoke no matter your guilt or innocence. In point of fact, between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 2005, there was no such thing as “self-defense” and no “accidental killings” in Westchester County. And, nobody, once made a target by Pirro’s office, was ever “discovered to be innocent.” There were only prosecutions of opportunity; a district attorney’s office whose prime requisite was the political advancement and self-preservation of DA Jeanine Pirro.
Her predecessor, Carl Vergari, had ruled with a strong grip for 26 years, having followed Leonard Rubenfeld, who preferred to be a judge, in 1968. Innocent people did go to prison under Vergari. But, he was not the self-serving, psychopathic liar who would follow him. Neither was he married to the most outrageous white collar criminal in the County. Jeanine Pirro quite literally would invent a lie at any moment, one that was calculated to advance her political position, while, at the same time, distracting public attention from hers, and her husband Al’s, criminal conduct and unethical behavior. Despite their corruptive influence, they were known as the “Power Couple”, literally adored by superficial followers,
and an icon-generating, gossipy press; Cindy Adams, Phil Reisman, Janine Rose, et cetera, ad nauseum. She was clearly not a public servant, rather a celebrity whose career and personal capital were built on the practice of extreme prosecutorial misconduct, the confabulation of “facts”, and the constant withholding of exculpatory evidence, not to mention tampering with evidence and suborning of perjury.
For Mrs. Pirro, it was never about a quest for justice, for truth, but, rather, whatever it took to achieve a conviction, even when innocence was obvious and well-established. Unfortunately, her lies and her cruelty, her evil prostitution of justice, resulted in untold numbers of innocent, incarcerated victims, persons such as Police Officer Richard Diguglielmo, civilian Anthony DiSimone, each only recently exonerated, each having served many years in state prison. They continue to be repeatedly threatened with re-prosecution by an equally evil and untruthful successor to Pirro: Janet DiFiore, who knowingly and willfully concealed from DiSimone’s attorneys 376 pages, 52 boxes and miles of exculpatory taped conversation, while sending her Assistant DAs into Federal District Court and Federal Appeals Court to repeatedly lie in the faces of those judges.
Janet DiFiore obviously had no problem with Jeanine Pirro’s mode of operation, having served six years under her. In fact, in 2005, when Pirro, responding to her own polling that informed her she would not win if she ran against Tony Castro for a second time, decided not to seek a fourth term. DiFiore, running for the job, told The Journal News editorial staff interviewing her, that she would give Pirro a grade of A-plus. Given her Pirro-like repeated prosecutorial misconduct, and totally misguided actions to cover up and preserve years of wrongful convictions, We believe she meant it.
Most significantly, Janet DiFiore has dealt with the County’s 43 individual police departments in the same manipulative and political ways Pirro often did, and, in many ways, worse. Her relationship with the Yonkers Police Department, in particular, can best be described as incestuous
and twisted. There can be little doubt, in light of her handling of the Irma Marquez case, and the Rui Florim case, and numerous other less-publicized cases of Yonkers police brutality, including Tina and Mary Bostwick, and Dr. Sherry Bobrowsky, that she is unnaturally tied to,
and beholden to, that department, a fact that goes right to her installation as District Attorney.
However, her wrongful handling of police departments, and individual police officers, has not been limited to Yonkers. Much as her predecessor, she repeatedly uses the power of her office to engage police departments in deals with the devil. Consider her dealings with the Bedford and Mount Kisco Police Departments last year regarding the death of Rene Perez.
As The Guardian observed, she came to court against Mount Kisco Police Officer George Bubaris, with her “tank on empty.” Consider, too, her secretive and disrespectful handling of the shooting death of heroic Mount Vernon Police Officer Christopher Ridley. How different were her dealings with the County Police, the White Plains Police, and Mount Vernon Police Departments, all involved in Officer Ridley’s case; her manipulation and coercion. How different was DiFiore’s conduct as compared with Jeanine Pirro’s manipulation of the Dobbs Ferry Police Department in Police Officer Richard Diguglielmo’s case, in Steven Nowicki’s case, and numerous other cases. Deals with the devil, each and every one.
Our Readers Respond....
On The Eve Of A New Day: In Honor of the American People for the election of President, Barack Obama November 4, 2008.
I looked out onto the eve of morning, with its new day rising for America and behold I saw the image of our President Elect Barack Obama as the peoples’ declaration that America will now strive together as a nation to honor and live up to the Constitution, the Amendments and The Declaration of Independence of these United States!
From a nation constructed from slave labor, I heard the messages from the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware and the District of Columbia that all men are indeed created equal!
From a nation marred with the blood of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Freedom Riders and the Foot Soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, I heard the voices of the states of Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and New Mexico proclaimed that we are indeed a United States!
From a nation still haunted by the images of the thousand nameless faces of black men and boys and families hanging from the limbs of southern trees, I heard the calls from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota, that we have overcome and this is the day the Lord has made for the Promised Land!
In a nation once plagued by segregation, I witnessed the coming together of people: in pairs, one-by-one, in groups of a dozen, in clusters of colorful droves: in peaceful assembly for the good and the survival of our nation!
From a nation where two hundred and twenty-one years ago, the founding fathers documented in the United States Constitution that slaves were to be counted as three-fifths of a human being, I heard the resounding echo from the southern states of Virginia, Florida and North Carolina, that this time of judgment is based on knowledge, character and capability!
In a nation still riddled with racial prejudice, hatred and fear, I saw the writings on the wall from the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington and Hawaii that read, this man Obama, is the only qualified applicant for the post of Commander in Chief!
And then he spoke accepting his calling and I heard him proclaimed in a brilliant, righteous, commanding fashion “This Is Your Victory.” Then it all made sense, this is the victory of Rosa Parks, of Dr. King, of the Freedom Riders, and the Foot Soldiers, of John F. Kennedy of Robert Kennedy – it is the victory of the countless every day people who sacrificed their lives for justice and equality – it is the victory of every American today!
Congratulations America, we’ll teach the world to fly again!
Joan Wong
New Rochelle
Helping EMS Save Lives Is the Responsibility of Every Business
Dear Editor:
Every day, nearly 1000 Americans suffer sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Chances for the victim’s survival decrease by 10% every 60 seconds after the attack. If the attack happens in your store or your office, you are the victim’s best chance for survival. It doesn’t require a healthcare professional. You can help save this person’s life, with the establishment of an early defibrillation program.. Finding out how to incorporate an early defibrillation program into your workplace is your public-health responsibility.
You’ve probably seen what SCA looks like on TV. But when it happens to someone right in front of you, whether to a loved one or a stranger, a work colleague or a customer, it is a sight you never forget. More than anything, you want to help.
Most commonly, the victim is suffering from a heart rhythm disorder called “ventricular fibrillation.” In this case, the victim needs defibrillation—which is an electrical shock to correct the heart’s rhythm—and they need it as soon as possible.
Defibrillation is delivered through a device called an automated external defibrillator, or AED. The latest AEDs are remarkably simple to use. With minimal training, anyone can be a lifesaver. The lightweight devices talk you through the rescue. They show you pictures to remind you how to
proceed. They sense whether the victim needs CPR or defibrillation, and they tell you how to deliver either. They have also become very
affordable, a recent development that makes widespread early defi-brillation a real possibility at last.
Wherever it is instituted, Public Access Defribrillation is a stunning success story. Placed in airplanes, airports, casinos, hotels, office buildings,
malls, restaurants, retail stores, and other public places, AEDs are saving lives all over the country. They are far more successful than CPR alone, increasing survival rates up to 70%. If you work in an office, a store, a mall, or a restaurant, you should have a defibrillator, and you should know how to use it. You have a fire extinguisher and smoke alarms. You have a telephone to call the police. You have a first-aid kit. You should have a
defibrillator. You owe it to your employees, your customers, and yourself to find out more.
Lenny Nathan
Reader Supports Gov. Paterson
Dear Editor:
I read your article regarding Governor Paterson’s cuts in government spending, which I am in total agreement with. You cited our nuclear facility.
Will you tell me, when was the last time that facility was attacked? You pointed out how our National Guard was protecting that facility, well maybe you don’t know, the National Guard is a civilian entity that has military training, basically to protect a certain group in our society. I know this to be true because I helped train them when I was in the Army.
They sleep on the job; the Governor can get anyone to work at Readers Respond, continued from page 4 Indian Point, make a few rounds and then go to sleep. There are approximately 95 or so personnel up there, and the cost is approximately $6,500,000 per year, which comes to about $75,000 per person. Only the commanding general should be paid that kind of money.
If the Governor sees fit to make any cuts he so chooses, you, like me, should give him our full support without question, because he has thought it over very carefully. He is not like your usual politician; he would not do anything without thinking it through first. I have lived under a lot of different Governors since Augustus Caesar, and they all was as crooked as an ess, without foresight or insight, and they made all kinds of
mistakes on top of greed and theft of public funds. Now we have a genuine down-to-earth individual, let us give him all the support we can.
Eddie Sauls, Sr.
Mount Vernon
In Our Opinion...
“Dealing With The Devil”
For 12 years Jeanine Pirro was the ultimate authority, the force to be reckoned with in Westchester County; the one person you didn’t want to provoke no matter your guilt or innocence. In point of fact, between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 2005, there was no such thing as “self-defense” and no “accidental killings” in Westchester County. And, nobody, once made a target by Pirro’s office, was ever “discovered to be innocent.” There were only prosecutions of opportunity; a district attorney’s office whose prime requisite was the political advancement and self-preservation of DA Jeanine Pirro.
Her predecessor, Carl Vergari, had ruled with a strong grip for 26 years, having followed Leonard Rubenfeld, who preferred to be a judge, in 1968. Innocent people did go to prison under Vergari. But, he was not the self-serving, psychopathic liar who would follow him. Neither was he married to the most outrageous white collar criminal in the County. Jeanine Pirro quite literally would invent a lie at any moment, one that was calculated to advance her political position, while, at the same time, distracting public attention from hers, and her husband Al’s, criminal conduct and unethical behavior. Despite their corruptive influence, they were known as the “Power Couple”, literally adored by superficial followers,
and an icon-generating, gossipy press; Cindy Adams, Phil Reisman, Janine Rose, et cetera, ad nauseum. She was clearly not a public servant, rather a celebrity whose career and personal capital were built on the practice of extreme prosecutorial misconduct, the confabulation of “facts”, and the constant withholding of exculpatory evidence, not to mention tampering with evidence and suborning of perjury.
For Mrs. Pirro, it was never about a quest for justice, for truth, but, rather, whatever it took to achieve a conviction, even when innocence was obvious and well-established. Unfortunately, her lies and her cruelty, her evil prostitution of justice, resulted in untold numbers of innocent, incarcerated victims, persons such as Police Officer Richard Diguglielmo, civilian Anthony DiSimone, each only recently exonerated, each having served many years in state prison. They continue to be repeatedly threatened with re-prosecution by an equally evil and untruthful successor to Pirro: Janet DiFiore, who knowingly and willfully concealed from DiSimone’s attorneys 376 pages, 52 boxes and miles of exculpatory taped conversation, while sending her Assistant DAs into Federal District Court and Federal Appeals Court to repeatedly lie in the faces of those judges.
Janet DiFiore obviously had no problem with Jeanine Pirro’s mode of operation, having served six years under her. In fact, in 2005, when Pirro, responding to her own polling that informed her she would not win if she ran against Tony Castro for a second time, decided not to seek a fourth term. DiFiore, running for the job, told The Journal News editorial staff interviewing her, that she would give Pirro a grade of A-plus. Given her Pirro-like repeated prosecutorial misconduct, and totally misguided actions to cover up and preserve years of wrongful convictions, We believe she meant it.
Most significantly, Janet DiFiore has dealt with the County’s 43 individual police departments in the same manipulative and political ways Pirro often did, and, in many ways, worse. Her relationship with the Yonkers Police Department, in particular, can best be described as incestuous
and twisted. There can be little doubt, in light of her handling of the Irma Marquez case, and the Rui Florim case, and numerous other less-publicized cases of Yonkers police brutality, including Tina and Mary Bostwick, and Dr. Sherry Bobrowsky, that she is unnaturally tied to,
and beholden to, that department, a fact that goes right to her installation as District Attorney.
However, her wrongful handling of police departments, and individual police officers, has not been limited to Yonkers. Much as her predecessor, she repeatedly uses the power of her office to engage police departments in deals with the devil. Consider her dealings with the Bedford and Mount Kisco Police Departments last year regarding the death of Rene Perez.
As The Guardian observed, she came to court against Mount Kisco Police Officer George Bubaris, with her “tank on empty.” Consider, too, her secretive and disrespectful handling of the shooting death of heroic Mount Vernon Police Officer Christopher Ridley. How different were her dealings with the County Police, the White Plains Police, and Mount Vernon Police Departments, all involved in Officer Ridley’s case; her manipulation and coercion. How different was DiFiore’s conduct as compared with Jeanine Pirro’s manipulation of the Dobbs Ferry Police Department in Police Officer Richard Diguglielmo’s case, in Steven Nowicki’s case, and numerous other cases. Deals with the devil, each and every one.
Our Readers Respond....
On The Eve Of A New Day: In Honor of the American People for the election of President, Barack Obama November 4, 2008.
I looked out onto the eve of morning, with its new day rising for America and behold I saw the image of our President Elect Barack Obama as the peoples’ declaration that America will now strive together as a nation to honor and live up to the Constitution, the Amendments and The Declaration of Independence of these United States!
From a nation constructed from slave labor, I heard the messages from the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware and the District of Columbia that all men are indeed created equal!
From a nation marred with the blood of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Freedom Riders and the Foot Soldiers of the Civil Rights Movement, I heard the voices of the states of Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and New Mexico proclaimed that we are indeed a United States!
From a nation still haunted by the images of the thousand nameless faces of black men and boys and families hanging from the limbs of southern trees, I heard the calls from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota, that we have overcome and this is the day the Lord has made for the Promised Land!
In a nation once plagued by segregation, I witnessed the coming together of people: in pairs, one-by-one, in groups of a dozen, in clusters of colorful droves: in peaceful assembly for the good and the survival of our nation!
From a nation where two hundred and twenty-one years ago, the founding fathers documented in the United States Constitution that slaves were to be counted as three-fifths of a human being, I heard the resounding echo from the southern states of Virginia, Florida and North Carolina, that this time of judgment is based on knowledge, character and capability!
In a nation still riddled with racial prejudice, hatred and fear, I saw the writings on the wall from the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington and Hawaii that read, this man Obama, is the only qualified applicant for the post of Commander in Chief!
And then he spoke accepting his calling and I heard him proclaimed in a brilliant, righteous, commanding fashion “This Is Your Victory.” Then it all made sense, this is the victory of Rosa Parks, of Dr. King, of the Freedom Riders, and the Foot Soldiers, of John F. Kennedy of Robert Kennedy – it is the victory of the countless every day people who sacrificed their lives for justice and equality – it is the victory of every American today!
Congratulations America, we’ll teach the world to fly again!
Joan Wong
New Rochelle
Helping EMS Save Lives Is the Responsibility of Every Business
Dear Editor:
Every day, nearly 1000 Americans suffer sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Chances for the victim’s survival decrease by 10% every 60 seconds after the attack. If the attack happens in your store or your office, you are the victim’s best chance for survival. It doesn’t require a healthcare professional. You can help save this person’s life, with the establishment of an early defibrillation program.. Finding out how to incorporate an early defibrillation program into your workplace is your public-health responsibility.
You’ve probably seen what SCA looks like on TV. But when it happens to someone right in front of you, whether to a loved one or a stranger, a work colleague or a customer, it is a sight you never forget. More than anything, you want to help.
Most commonly, the victim is suffering from a heart rhythm disorder called “ventricular fibrillation.” In this case, the victim needs defibrillation—which is an electrical shock to correct the heart’s rhythm—and they need it as soon as possible.
Defibrillation is delivered through a device called an automated external defibrillator, or AED. The latest AEDs are remarkably simple to use. With minimal training, anyone can be a lifesaver. The lightweight devices talk you through the rescue. They show you pictures to remind you how to
proceed. They sense whether the victim needs CPR or defibrillation, and they tell you how to deliver either. They have also become very
affordable, a recent development that makes widespread early defi-brillation a real possibility at last.
Wherever it is instituted, Public Access Defribrillation is a stunning success story. Placed in airplanes, airports, casinos, hotels, office buildings,
malls, restaurants, retail stores, and other public places, AEDs are saving lives all over the country. They are far more successful than CPR alone, increasing survival rates up to 70%. If you work in an office, a store, a mall, or a restaurant, you should have a defibrillator, and you should know how to use it. You have a fire extinguisher and smoke alarms. You have a telephone to call the police. You have a first-aid kit. You should have a
defibrillator. You owe it to your employees, your customers, and yourself to find out more.
Lenny Nathan
Reader Supports Gov. Paterson
Dear Editor:
I read your article regarding Governor Paterson’s cuts in government spending, which I am in total agreement with. You cited our nuclear facility.
Will you tell me, when was the last time that facility was attacked? You pointed out how our National Guard was protecting that facility, well maybe you don’t know, the National Guard is a civilian entity that has military training, basically to protect a certain group in our society. I know this to be true because I helped train them when I was in the Army.
They sleep on the job; the Governor can get anyone to work at Readers Respond, continued from page 4 Indian Point, make a few rounds and then go to sleep. There are approximately 95 or so personnel up there, and the cost is approximately $6,500,000 per year, which comes to about $75,000 per person. Only the commanding general should be paid that kind of money.
If the Governor sees fit to make any cuts he so chooses, you, like me, should give him our full support without question, because he has thought it over very carefully. He is not like your usual politician; he would not do anything without thinking it through first. I have lived under a lot of different Governors since Augustus Caesar, and they all was as crooked as an ess, without foresight or insight, and they made all kinds of
mistakes on top of greed and theft of public funds. Now we have a genuine down-to-earth individual, let us give him all the support we can.
Eddie Sauls, Sr.
Mount Vernon
Westchester Guardian/Janet Difiore/Rui Florim/The Court Report.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Court Report
By Richard Blassberg
Difiore Punishes Victim of Yonkers Police Brutality
Rui Florim, Nearly Beaten To Death By Yonkers Police in Hartsdale,
Arraigned On Fabricated Robbery and Assault Charges
Westchester County Court, White Plains
Judge Barbara Zambelli, Presiding
Last Monday morning, November 10th, Rui Florim, accompanied by his attorney, Tony Castro, appeared in Westchester County Court before Judge Barbara Zambelli for arraignment, together with Defendants Alex Millan and Oscar Garay, accused of acting in concert, aiding and abetting each other in their alleged “intent to cause serious physical injury to another person,” by their assault on said individual, an
off -duty Yonkers police officer at a restaurant and bar near the waterfront in Yonkers in the early morning hours of May 19, 2006.
Mr. Florim is charged in only five of the seven counts contained in the indictment, including two counts of Second Degree Robbery, one count of Attempted First Degree Assault, Assault Second Degree, and Assault In the third Degree, as a Misdemeanor.
Analysis:
It should be noted that although the incident from which the indictment stems, occurred approximately two and a half years ago, Rui Florim was not indicted until very recently, following his ling of a Civil Rights lawsuit in United States District Court against the six Yonkers police
officers who, in civilian clothing, followed him from his place of employment, in Hartsdale, in unmarked Yonkers police cars, unlawfully stopping him, and his companion, forcibly removing him and falsely imprisoning him as they mercilessly beat him nearly to death.
While it is obvious that bringing the indictment against Florim was clearly a retaliatory act, one must not lose sight of the fact that the Westchester District Attorney, once again, as in the Irma Marquez case, has made the willful decision to abuse the awesome powers of
her Office, and the civil rights of still another victim of Yonkers police brutality.
Prior to proceeding with Mr. Florim, Judge Zambelli engaged in a considerable effort to determine that Attorney George Nader, who was purporting to be representing both Oscar Garay and Alex Millan merely for the purpose of the arraignment, was, in fact, doing so only
for the limited purpose of arraignment in light of the fact that Millan and Garay were not joined in their defense and could not be represented
by a single attorney.
After inquiring, “Mr. Castro, are you ready,” and receiving an affirmative response, Zambelli proceeded to explain to Defendants Garay and Millan, individually, their “right to unfettered legal representation.”
Following Attorney Nader’s explanation that Oscar Garay would actually be represented by Attorney Joshua Martin, Zambelli proceeded to relieve Nader from Garay’s case.
Content that the representation issue between Garay and Millan had been resolved, Zambelli next returned to Rui Florim’s arraignment, asking Tony Castro how his client would plead.
Castro responded, “I am entering a plea of Not Guilty, Your Honor. And, I am asking that the present bail be continued.” Assistant DA John Thomas, seeming to affirm Mr. Castro’s position, told the Court, “Other than two misdemeanors, Mr. Florim has no other criminal record.”
At that juncture, Judge Zambelli, who had earlier made a point of stating, that she had no prior knowledge of the case, now asked ADA Thomas, “Can you tell me why one case has been two and a half years, and the other has just come forward?”
Thomas responded that his office, only recently, developed “new evidence implicating Florim.” Tony Castro then offered, “Your Honor, my client is 25 years old. He has lived in Yonkers all his life. There have been fifty adjourned appearances and, he has made every one of them.
With that revelation, Zambelli turned to Prosecutor Thomas, asking, “Is that true Mr. Thomas?” Thomas responded, “I did say he made every appearance.” The Judge came right back with, “But you didn’t say fifty.” Zambelli then conferred with Nader, Castro and Thomas, establishing a Motion and Appearance Schedule between December 2 and February 10.
ADA Thomas then offered, “In view of the voluminous discovery material, the People are consenting to “open box” discovery. Zambelli then asked, “Is there any Order of Protection?” To which, ADA Thomas responded, “No, Your Honor.” The Judge then merely uttered a single word, “Interesting.”
Analysis:
It should be noted that a few days prior to his appearance in Judge Zambelli’s Court, Rui Florim, accompanied by his attorney, Tony Castro, had appeared in Greenburgh Town Court to answer to bogus charges of Felony Assault, allegedly by Florim, against three Yonkers police
officers, growing out of the incident in Harstdale, which actually involved six Yonkers police officers who, in fact, had handcuffed, falsely
imprisoned, and punched Rui Florim into unconsciousness as they transported him to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers.
Those false charges, again the fabricated lies of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, were totally dismissed as acknowledged by the signed affirmation of Assistant DA Thomas.
The Court Report
By Richard Blassberg
Difiore Punishes Victim of Yonkers Police Brutality
Rui Florim, Nearly Beaten To Death By Yonkers Police in Hartsdale,
Arraigned On Fabricated Robbery and Assault Charges
Westchester County Court, White Plains
Judge Barbara Zambelli, Presiding
Last Monday morning, November 10th, Rui Florim, accompanied by his attorney, Tony Castro, appeared in Westchester County Court before Judge Barbara Zambelli for arraignment, together with Defendants Alex Millan and Oscar Garay, accused of acting in concert, aiding and abetting each other in their alleged “intent to cause serious physical injury to another person,” by their assault on said individual, an
off -duty Yonkers police officer at a restaurant and bar near the waterfront in Yonkers in the early morning hours of May 19, 2006.
Mr. Florim is charged in only five of the seven counts contained in the indictment, including two counts of Second Degree Robbery, one count of Attempted First Degree Assault, Assault Second Degree, and Assault In the third Degree, as a Misdemeanor.
Analysis:
It should be noted that although the incident from which the indictment stems, occurred approximately two and a half years ago, Rui Florim was not indicted until very recently, following his ling of a Civil Rights lawsuit in United States District Court against the six Yonkers police
officers who, in civilian clothing, followed him from his place of employment, in Hartsdale, in unmarked Yonkers police cars, unlawfully stopping him, and his companion, forcibly removing him and falsely imprisoning him as they mercilessly beat him nearly to death.
While it is obvious that bringing the indictment against Florim was clearly a retaliatory act, one must not lose sight of the fact that the Westchester District Attorney, once again, as in the Irma Marquez case, has made the willful decision to abuse the awesome powers of
her Office, and the civil rights of still another victim of Yonkers police brutality.
Prior to proceeding with Mr. Florim, Judge Zambelli engaged in a considerable effort to determine that Attorney George Nader, who was purporting to be representing both Oscar Garay and Alex Millan merely for the purpose of the arraignment, was, in fact, doing so only
for the limited purpose of arraignment in light of the fact that Millan and Garay were not joined in their defense and could not be represented
by a single attorney.
After inquiring, “Mr. Castro, are you ready,” and receiving an affirmative response, Zambelli proceeded to explain to Defendants Garay and Millan, individually, their “right to unfettered legal representation.”
Following Attorney Nader’s explanation that Oscar Garay would actually be represented by Attorney Joshua Martin, Zambelli proceeded to relieve Nader from Garay’s case.
Content that the representation issue between Garay and Millan had been resolved, Zambelli next returned to Rui Florim’s arraignment, asking Tony Castro how his client would plead.
Castro responded, “I am entering a plea of Not Guilty, Your Honor. And, I am asking that the present bail be continued.” Assistant DA John Thomas, seeming to affirm Mr. Castro’s position, told the Court, “Other than two misdemeanors, Mr. Florim has no other criminal record.”
At that juncture, Judge Zambelli, who had earlier made a point of stating, that she had no prior knowledge of the case, now asked ADA Thomas, “Can you tell me why one case has been two and a half years, and the other has just come forward?”
Thomas responded that his office, only recently, developed “new evidence implicating Florim.” Tony Castro then offered, “Your Honor, my client is 25 years old. He has lived in Yonkers all his life. There have been fifty adjourned appearances and, he has made every one of them.
With that revelation, Zambelli turned to Prosecutor Thomas, asking, “Is that true Mr. Thomas?” Thomas responded, “I did say he made every appearance.” The Judge came right back with, “But you didn’t say fifty.” Zambelli then conferred with Nader, Castro and Thomas, establishing a Motion and Appearance Schedule between December 2 and February 10.
ADA Thomas then offered, “In view of the voluminous discovery material, the People are consenting to “open box” discovery. Zambelli then asked, “Is there any Order of Protection?” To which, ADA Thomas responded, “No, Your Honor.” The Judge then merely uttered a single word, “Interesting.”
Analysis:
It should be noted that a few days prior to his appearance in Judge Zambelli’s Court, Rui Florim, accompanied by his attorney, Tony Castro, had appeared in Greenburgh Town Court to answer to bogus charges of Felony Assault, allegedly by Florim, against three Yonkers police
officers, growing out of the incident in Harstdale, which actually involved six Yonkers police officers who, in fact, had handcuffed, falsely
imprisoned, and punched Rui Florim into unconsciousness as they transported him to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers.
Those false charges, again the fabricated lies of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, were totally dismissed as acknowledged by the signed affirmation of Assistant DA Thomas.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Westchester Guardian/Jeffrey Deskovic.
Jeff Deskovic
Mental Games I Played
To Survive Wrongful Imprisonment
As readers of The Guardian know, beginning at age 17 and until I was 33, I served 16 years in prison for a Murder and Rape which I was innocent of. I had been convicted based upon a variety of misconduct including, for example, coerced, false confession, the fabrication of
other evidence, and other prosecutorial misconduct, despite the fact that a DNA test showed that semen found in and on the victim did not match me and that hairs found on the victim didn’t either.
All of my appeals were denied; and, on top of that, once I finished my sentence minimum of 15 years, I was turned down for parole. I was ultimately exonerated because The Innocence Project took my case and persuaded the district attorney not to oppose more sophisticated DNA testing, which not only reaffirmed my innocence, but also showed the guilt of the real perpetrator, who subsequently confessed;
and, who, in fact, had committed another Rape and Murder three and a half years after I was already in prison.
One of the questions I am frequently asked, in one form or another, is “How did you keep it together mentally? I would have gone crazy.” The short, but true, answer I give involves my belief in God, along with the knowledge that nobody was coming to my rescue, and that
if I was to be freed it would have to be through the recruiting of somebody that I didn’t yet know, who would champion my cause, as I had read had happened in some other wrongful conviction cases.
That person would somehow obtain the legal help that I needed to prove my innocence. In order to do that, I knew that I had to keep it together mentally. What I don’t mention to them, partly because it would take too long, and partly because I don’t think they might be interested, is precisely what mental gym-nastics I had to go through, and what mental tricks I had to play on my own mind just to get by.
The purpose of this column is give the in-depth answer, so that people can understand just what it means to be wrongfully imprisoned. Although the focus of this column involves the mental element, things don’t happen in a vacuum, and so some basic understanding of the physical conditions in prison is needed in order to try to get a fuller understanding of why the mental defense mechanisms are needed in order
to maintain one’s sanity. It is not simply the fact that one is incarcerated wrongfully, although that plays a big part in it.
The conditions within the prison are also are factor. Lastly, this column, whether referring to prison conditions or mental self-defense mechanisms, is not meant to be comprehensive, or all-encompassing in every detail.
Conditions Within The Prison
Contrary to some propaganda which suggests that prisoners have it too easy, being in prison is horrible. It can best be described as a non-stop obstacle course in which other prisoners, guards, and staff, are all obstacles capable of derailing one from the goal of regaining freedom.
Basic human rights and dignity are seen as unwarranted extravagances. Treating the prisoners with basic human decency is dispensed with so regularly that it is regarded as a big thing when it is not. In fact, there was no escape from the comprehensive abuse I absorbed as a youth
in an adult maximum security prison.
Additionally, survival cannot to be taken for granted. There were stabbings and cuttings on a regular basis, and the possibility of violence permeated the atmosphere. Guards brought their persona problems to work with them, taking it out on the prisoners, often stirring them
up to violence for their entertainment. Medical care was substandard and often given by bottom-of-the-barrel-caliber medical personnel who frequently issued Tylenol as the answer to everything. Seeing a doctor could take anywhere from a week to several months. The food
was bad, and sometimes the prison was unbearably hot while at other times very cold.Nobody is saying that prison should be a nice place.
However, I believe that every reasonable person would agree that all of the things I just mentioned are not morally acceptable. The punishment of incarceration is supposed to be the loss of one’s freedom, not the mistreatment and abuse that are part and parcel of everyday prison life. As I have stated before, people are sent to prison as punishment, they are not sent there to be punished.
Also, contrary to prison officials and various governmental propaganda, there is no real effort being made to rehabilitate the inmates. If there were, college education would still be available, as would current up-to-date vocational training which would equip prisoners to be jobready
upon release and thus make it less likely that they were reoffend. Therefore, any rehabilitation and bettering of one’s self that takes place happens despite the system, not because of it. It requires serious effort to avoid making one’s time in prison a total loss.
Mental Gymnastics
There was always more than one dynamic in play at any given moment. Often, a variety of defense mechanisms were going on simultaneously. Looking back, I can say that with everything going on, in many ways I did a lot of my “living” within my own mind. There was always a part of me that was aware of what was going on. My life was a living hell. I was constantly fighting to keep it together mentally, and having frequent battles with depression, frustration, loneliness, and suicidal ideation. There even reached a point where it was a struggle simply not to give up. I very nearly did not make it.
Living From Appeal To Appeal
As I began my incarceration, in my mind I was not serving the fifteen to life sentence the judge had given me, for that would be too horrible a prospect to wrap my mind around. Instead, I was simply serving a year or two until my appeal was decided, at which point I was sure that
justice would be done and I would be cleared and released. - at was not to be.
Every time an appeal was denied, I would simply repeat the process. I was denied seven different times. With each denial, the crash back down to earth was harder and harder. By the time my attorney told me that I was going home the next day, which was my eighth legal proceeding, I was afraid to hope anymore because of the pain, while simultaneously grudgingly holding onto a modicum of hope.
Normalization Of Madness
One of the things I used to protect myself, was pretending that bizarre everyday things were in fact normal. I tried to blot the craziness out of my mind although there was always a part of me that realized what was really going on.
The way that I thought about things, aided by the verbalization of the same sentiments by other prisoners, assisted me. So, rather than going to my morning assignment, I was “going to school” to obtain my GED. Rather than going to my afternoon assignment, at which they
had varying pay grades of .20, .25, and .32 cents an hour out of which I was expected to purchase hygienic items, stationary, and food items, I was “going to work”.
Rather than referring to the security personnel as what they were, prison guards, they were “Corrections Officers”. Rather than the person in charge of the prison being referred to as “The Prison Warden”, he was instead called “The Superintendent”. Sometimes the mental normalization process involved blocking out the crazy methods that the Department Of Corrections made us undergo in order to do actions that went by same name in the free world. For example, rather than acknowledging how crazy it was that I could only use the phone by calling collect, and that the people taking the calls would be charged an exhorbitant rate, I simply thought of it as ‘using the phone’. Instead of dwelling on how crazy it was that following a visit I would have to submit to a strip search and a visual inspection, I was instead “visiting with relatives”.
Having anywhere from seven to twenty three men, many of them naked, in the same immediate area as me, cleaning themselves, was thought of as “taking a shower”. When a program was piped through the facility intercom system through which the prisoners could listen via headphones, we were “listening to television”, as if that was how normal people utilized a television.
Familiarization With The Law Gave Solace
In response to the madness of being in a prison as the result of having been found guilty of a crime I was innocent of, while also taking in my surroundings which consisted of cell bars, concrete walls, a small area called a cell, barbed wire fences, being subjected to the schedule, control and command of the guards and prison officials, while also being largely stripped of the ability to decide what direction I wanted to take
in life and even the ability to make everyday choices, I sought to learn more about the legal system, motivated by a desperation to understand what was happening to me, and how better to fight.
I went to the law library and read legal material relative to the issues that existed in my case. I looked up the cases that were cited in legal documents that were filed on my behalf in order to form an opinion on the strength of those arguments that my freedom had become inextricably tied to. I also immersed myself in wrongful conviction literature, seeking to learn more about the legal system while also looking for something that others had utilized successfully, and that I might emulate.
An additional psychological function of reading the material was that I used to vicariously celebrate other inmates having been cleared, imagining what the scene would look like as their friends, family, and the media would greet them outside the courtroom or the
prison.
If only in fantasy, I would mentally leave for a few moments. But this euphoria would soon dissipate as the reality of my own circumstances set back in, and I would also feel frustrated because I felt that I, too, should be free. Feelings of hopelessness would set back in, and I
would struggle to fight them. After all of my appeals were exhausted in 2001, I faced the end of legal representation. At that point I began writing letters seeking assistance from anywhere. After a while, simply coming up with new places, or people to write to, became a tough challenge. In fact, there were periods of inactivity where no letters were written, and feelings of depression, despair, and hopelessness would overtake me and grow deeper. Then, when I would come up with a new name or place, and was able to write once more, the feeling that I was still fighting would help me fend off further depression.
Throwing Myself Into Things
One of the techniques that I used was to throw myself into different things with the hope of losing myself. By focusing on mental activity, and using most of my brain that way, I was able to slightly blunt the effects of everything. There were a variety of things I would ultimately
throw myself into.
College
Up until the time that George Pataki arrived on the scene and decided that it was a good idea to cut out funding for college education of inmates, in 1995, college used to exist in the New York State prison system. Elmira, where I spent most of my sentence, had set aside a cell block in which only those prisoners who were participating in the college program were housed, along with a few who did maintenance and upkeep. The usual communicative barriers that exist amongst prisoners was somewhat lessened, as was some of the violence and the feeling of it in that atmosphere. Interestingly enough, that environment, assisted by the presence of desks, blackboards, and books, really helped me as I tried to pretend that I “was going to college”.
Books
When reading fiction that had the same characters in it as other books, I would pretend, while I was reading, that I was visiting friends. In a way that I can’t fully explain, I would do the same thing when reading a book without the same characters, but written by the same author.
There was a saying in prison that “prison was a poor person’s university”.
The proverb meant that people, free from some of the distractions of running the street and the usual hustle and bustle of life, suddenly had time to read. I was looking for an additional method of mental escape when I first heard of the saying. I began reading non-fiction books on such topics as self-help, relationships, and politics. I used to pretend that I was doing an independent study, and that this would be valuable, later on, to some employer as I began to get back on my feet.
Self Delusions
Chess: I not only threw myself into learning how to play chess by reading various chess books and going over various strategies on my chess board while I was in my cell, but when playing chess at recreation, I would pretend that, rather than being myself locked up in prison, I was a
professional chess player participating in an important tournament that would be covered by the media and whose results would be known by the world. Television: In 1998, Elmira allowed the prisoners to purchase black and white televisions for in-cell use. Because I was wrapped up into my legal work; reading books, and learning how to play chess, most of the time my television was turned off. Instead, I used to watch certain shows every week. I would pretend, when I was watching the shows, that I was visiting friends.
Sports: I became very good a basketball and ping pong by really throwing myself into it. When playing basketball, I would engage in an elaborate delusion that not only was I a professional basketball player, along with my teammates and the people we were playing against, but
that the basketball court became an arena. The people watching, or waiting for the next game, became the crowd. The pickup games in prison became an important playoff series, and I would pretend that color commentary was being given by Marv Albert and John Andreas.
Pictures: I used to cut pictures out magazines of various nature scenes like beaches, oceans, forests, and waterfalls, and tape them up in the designated area of my cell wall where we were allowed to put pictures. Sometimes I would mentally travel to those places.
Mental Games I Played
To Survive Wrongful Imprisonment
As readers of The Guardian know, beginning at age 17 and until I was 33, I served 16 years in prison for a Murder and Rape which I was innocent of. I had been convicted based upon a variety of misconduct including, for example, coerced, false confession, the fabrication of
other evidence, and other prosecutorial misconduct, despite the fact that a DNA test showed that semen found in and on the victim did not match me and that hairs found on the victim didn’t either.
All of my appeals were denied; and, on top of that, once I finished my sentence minimum of 15 years, I was turned down for parole. I was ultimately exonerated because The Innocence Project took my case and persuaded the district attorney not to oppose more sophisticated DNA testing, which not only reaffirmed my innocence, but also showed the guilt of the real perpetrator, who subsequently confessed;
and, who, in fact, had committed another Rape and Murder three and a half years after I was already in prison.
One of the questions I am frequently asked, in one form or another, is “How did you keep it together mentally? I would have gone crazy.” The short, but true, answer I give involves my belief in God, along with the knowledge that nobody was coming to my rescue, and that
if I was to be freed it would have to be through the recruiting of somebody that I didn’t yet know, who would champion my cause, as I had read had happened in some other wrongful conviction cases.
That person would somehow obtain the legal help that I needed to prove my innocence. In order to do that, I knew that I had to keep it together mentally. What I don’t mention to them, partly because it would take too long, and partly because I don’t think they might be interested, is precisely what mental gym-nastics I had to go through, and what mental tricks I had to play on my own mind just to get by.
The purpose of this column is give the in-depth answer, so that people can understand just what it means to be wrongfully imprisoned. Although the focus of this column involves the mental element, things don’t happen in a vacuum, and so some basic understanding of the physical conditions in prison is needed in order to try to get a fuller understanding of why the mental defense mechanisms are needed in order
to maintain one’s sanity. It is not simply the fact that one is incarcerated wrongfully, although that plays a big part in it.
The conditions within the prison are also are factor. Lastly, this column, whether referring to prison conditions or mental self-defense mechanisms, is not meant to be comprehensive, or all-encompassing in every detail.
Conditions Within The Prison
Contrary to some propaganda which suggests that prisoners have it too easy, being in prison is horrible. It can best be described as a non-stop obstacle course in which other prisoners, guards, and staff, are all obstacles capable of derailing one from the goal of regaining freedom.
Basic human rights and dignity are seen as unwarranted extravagances. Treating the prisoners with basic human decency is dispensed with so regularly that it is regarded as a big thing when it is not. In fact, there was no escape from the comprehensive abuse I absorbed as a youth
in an adult maximum security prison.
Additionally, survival cannot to be taken for granted. There were stabbings and cuttings on a regular basis, and the possibility of violence permeated the atmosphere. Guards brought their persona problems to work with them, taking it out on the prisoners, often stirring them
up to violence for their entertainment. Medical care was substandard and often given by bottom-of-the-barrel-caliber medical personnel who frequently issued Tylenol as the answer to everything. Seeing a doctor could take anywhere from a week to several months. The food
was bad, and sometimes the prison was unbearably hot while at other times very cold.Nobody is saying that prison should be a nice place.
However, I believe that every reasonable person would agree that all of the things I just mentioned are not morally acceptable. The punishment of incarceration is supposed to be the loss of one’s freedom, not the mistreatment and abuse that are part and parcel of everyday prison life. As I have stated before, people are sent to prison as punishment, they are not sent there to be punished.
Also, contrary to prison officials and various governmental propaganda, there is no real effort being made to rehabilitate the inmates. If there were, college education would still be available, as would current up-to-date vocational training which would equip prisoners to be jobready
upon release and thus make it less likely that they were reoffend. Therefore, any rehabilitation and bettering of one’s self that takes place happens despite the system, not because of it. It requires serious effort to avoid making one’s time in prison a total loss.
Mental Gymnastics
There was always more than one dynamic in play at any given moment. Often, a variety of defense mechanisms were going on simultaneously. Looking back, I can say that with everything going on, in many ways I did a lot of my “living” within my own mind. There was always a part of me that was aware of what was going on. My life was a living hell. I was constantly fighting to keep it together mentally, and having frequent battles with depression, frustration, loneliness, and suicidal ideation. There even reached a point where it was a struggle simply not to give up. I very nearly did not make it.
Living From Appeal To Appeal
As I began my incarceration, in my mind I was not serving the fifteen to life sentence the judge had given me, for that would be too horrible a prospect to wrap my mind around. Instead, I was simply serving a year or two until my appeal was decided, at which point I was sure that
justice would be done and I would be cleared and released. - at was not to be.
Every time an appeal was denied, I would simply repeat the process. I was denied seven different times. With each denial, the crash back down to earth was harder and harder. By the time my attorney told me that I was going home the next day, which was my eighth legal proceeding, I was afraid to hope anymore because of the pain, while simultaneously grudgingly holding onto a modicum of hope.
Normalization Of Madness
One of the things I used to protect myself, was pretending that bizarre everyday things were in fact normal. I tried to blot the craziness out of my mind although there was always a part of me that realized what was really going on.
The way that I thought about things, aided by the verbalization of the same sentiments by other prisoners, assisted me. So, rather than going to my morning assignment, I was “going to school” to obtain my GED. Rather than going to my afternoon assignment, at which they
had varying pay grades of .20, .25, and .32 cents an hour out of which I was expected to purchase hygienic items, stationary, and food items, I was “going to work”.
Rather than referring to the security personnel as what they were, prison guards, they were “Corrections Officers”. Rather than the person in charge of the prison being referred to as “The Prison Warden”, he was instead called “The Superintendent”. Sometimes the mental normalization process involved blocking out the crazy methods that the Department Of Corrections made us undergo in order to do actions that went by same name in the free world. For example, rather than acknowledging how crazy it was that I could only use the phone by calling collect, and that the people taking the calls would be charged an exhorbitant rate, I simply thought of it as ‘using the phone’. Instead of dwelling on how crazy it was that following a visit I would have to submit to a strip search and a visual inspection, I was instead “visiting with relatives”.
Having anywhere from seven to twenty three men, many of them naked, in the same immediate area as me, cleaning themselves, was thought of as “taking a shower”. When a program was piped through the facility intercom system through which the prisoners could listen via headphones, we were “listening to television”, as if that was how normal people utilized a television.
Familiarization With The Law Gave Solace
In response to the madness of being in a prison as the result of having been found guilty of a crime I was innocent of, while also taking in my surroundings which consisted of cell bars, concrete walls, a small area called a cell, barbed wire fences, being subjected to the schedule, control and command of the guards and prison officials, while also being largely stripped of the ability to decide what direction I wanted to take
in life and even the ability to make everyday choices, I sought to learn more about the legal system, motivated by a desperation to understand what was happening to me, and how better to fight.
I went to the law library and read legal material relative to the issues that existed in my case. I looked up the cases that were cited in legal documents that were filed on my behalf in order to form an opinion on the strength of those arguments that my freedom had become inextricably tied to. I also immersed myself in wrongful conviction literature, seeking to learn more about the legal system while also looking for something that others had utilized successfully, and that I might emulate.
An additional psychological function of reading the material was that I used to vicariously celebrate other inmates having been cleared, imagining what the scene would look like as their friends, family, and the media would greet them outside the courtroom or the
prison.
If only in fantasy, I would mentally leave for a few moments. But this euphoria would soon dissipate as the reality of my own circumstances set back in, and I would also feel frustrated because I felt that I, too, should be free. Feelings of hopelessness would set back in, and I
would struggle to fight them. After all of my appeals were exhausted in 2001, I faced the end of legal representation. At that point I began writing letters seeking assistance from anywhere. After a while, simply coming up with new places, or people to write to, became a tough challenge. In fact, there were periods of inactivity where no letters were written, and feelings of depression, despair, and hopelessness would overtake me and grow deeper. Then, when I would come up with a new name or place, and was able to write once more, the feeling that I was still fighting would help me fend off further depression.
Throwing Myself Into Things
One of the techniques that I used was to throw myself into different things with the hope of losing myself. By focusing on mental activity, and using most of my brain that way, I was able to slightly blunt the effects of everything. There were a variety of things I would ultimately
throw myself into.
College
Up until the time that George Pataki arrived on the scene and decided that it was a good idea to cut out funding for college education of inmates, in 1995, college used to exist in the New York State prison system. Elmira, where I spent most of my sentence, had set aside a cell block in which only those prisoners who were participating in the college program were housed, along with a few who did maintenance and upkeep. The usual communicative barriers that exist amongst prisoners was somewhat lessened, as was some of the violence and the feeling of it in that atmosphere. Interestingly enough, that environment, assisted by the presence of desks, blackboards, and books, really helped me as I tried to pretend that I “was going to college”.
Books
When reading fiction that had the same characters in it as other books, I would pretend, while I was reading, that I was visiting friends. In a way that I can’t fully explain, I would do the same thing when reading a book without the same characters, but written by the same author.
There was a saying in prison that “prison was a poor person’s university”.
The proverb meant that people, free from some of the distractions of running the street and the usual hustle and bustle of life, suddenly had time to read. I was looking for an additional method of mental escape when I first heard of the saying. I began reading non-fiction books on such topics as self-help, relationships, and politics. I used to pretend that I was doing an independent study, and that this would be valuable, later on, to some employer as I began to get back on my feet.
Self Delusions
Chess: I not only threw myself into learning how to play chess by reading various chess books and going over various strategies on my chess board while I was in my cell, but when playing chess at recreation, I would pretend that, rather than being myself locked up in prison, I was a
professional chess player participating in an important tournament that would be covered by the media and whose results would be known by the world. Television: In 1998, Elmira allowed the prisoners to purchase black and white televisions for in-cell use. Because I was wrapped up into my legal work; reading books, and learning how to play chess, most of the time my television was turned off. Instead, I used to watch certain shows every week. I would pretend, when I was watching the shows, that I was visiting friends.
Sports: I became very good a basketball and ping pong by really throwing myself into it. When playing basketball, I would engage in an elaborate delusion that not only was I a professional basketball player, along with my teammates and the people we were playing against, but
that the basketball court became an arena. The people watching, or waiting for the next game, became the crowd. The pickup games in prison became an important playoff series, and I would pretend that color commentary was being given by Marv Albert and John Andreas.
Pictures: I used to cut pictures out magazines of various nature scenes like beaches, oceans, forests, and waterfalls, and tape them up in the designated area of my cell wall where we were allowed to put pictures. Sometimes I would mentally travel to those places.
Westchester Guardian/Catherine Wilson.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Catherine Wilson, Bureau Chief
Northern Westchester
Overcoming Barriers To An
Inclusive Society
Catherine Wilson, Bureau Chief
Northern Westchester
Overcoming Barriers To An
Inclusive Society
Our nation is currently celebrating and fundamentally changing its attitude with respect to election to public office. Race and gender
barriers are no longer obstacles in our society to achieving individual greatness. But there are still individuals who face tremendous obstacles
in their pursuit of success.
Those of our neighbors who are handicapped face daily struggles. And the recent economic setbacks, increases in energy costs, and cutbacks
in services and jobs, have affected this group of individuals more dramatically as many of whom live on fixed incomes. Fortunately,
there are many agencies in our area committed to helping our disabled neighbors.
The Guardian recently attended a function held by Westchester Disabled on the Move, an organization that seeks to “empower people with
disabilities to control their own lives” and advocates for their civil rights and a “barrier free society”. According to their own mission
statement, Westchester Disabled on the Move, Inc. is staffed and governed primarily by people with disabilities. The programs
and services of WDOMI are free to consumers with disabilities and their families. WDOMI does not discriminate based on age, sex,
disability, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion”.
The organization offers many services to their clients:
• Benefits and systems advocacy: their staff will assist in obtaining Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare,
Medicaid, public assistance, and obtaining employment;
• Disability Awareness Program: Outreach to schools and businesses and other organizations to educate our communities about the rights,
needs, and experiences of people with disabilities;
• Housing Option Program: The staff assists disabled individuals with finding and maintaining affordable, accessible housing and provides information on their housing rights, options, rental interviews, negotiations, modifications to their homes, and eviction prevention services;
• Advocacy and Architectural Barriers Consultation Program: The staff accesses accessibility in homes, workplaces, and public places.
WDOMI also works to remove barriers in our communities by providing technical advice, education, negotiation and legal action when
required;
• Independent Living Transition Program: This is a unique program with Yonkers schools to assist students as they transition to higher
education, employment training and independent living. The goal of this program is to enable each participant to become a contributing
member of our society;
• Information and Referral: The WDOMI staff assists customers in identifying the appropriate government or other agency to address
their specific needs and requirements;
• Independent Living Skills Peer Counseling: The agency provides both individual and group support counseling to assist clients in their
coping and advocacy skills. The agency offers advice on financial management, employment issues, family roles, relationships, and leisure
activities.
Throughout the years, the Westchester Disabled on the Move, Inc. has been fortunate to have many local residents provide strong advocacy
and assistance on their behalf. Every year, during National Disabilities Awareness Month in October, WDOMI honors those individuals for their efforts with a “Spirit of Independence” Award. Past honorees were New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, New York State Senator Nick Spano, MG Power company, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Westchester County Legislator Lois Bronz, and New York
State Assemblyman Michael Spano.
According to Ms. Claudia Slater, the Public Affairs and Developmental Director for WDOMI, “the concept of the Spirit Of Independent Award, is a celebration of the abilities and accomplishments of people who, through their jobs and passion, are part of the process of removing barriers in our society. They really believe that everybody has an ability and can be included”.
Slater noted that “What we do is truly unique so we believe in recognizing those individuals who advocate for the removal of the barriers in our society. And once people attend our events and understand what we do, the barriers become less set in cement, perceptions change and those barriers melt”.
WDOMI feels strongly about honoring their advocates. Each year, they also offer a Maureen Keating Tsuchiya award in honor of one of
the disabled community’s strongest advocates. The late Ms. Tsuchiya contracted polio from the vaccine in the 1950’s and became
a grassroots advocate on behalf of all disabled individuals in our area. WDOMI honored her memory at their recent event noting that although
Ms. Tsuchiya was a life-long Democrat, she willingly crossed party lines to “dedicate her tireless efforts to disability issues”. The past honorees of the “Spirit of Independence” award are further evidence that this issue surpasses political parties and agendas.
The current honorees of both awards included a community advocate on disability and youth services, Ms. Elizabeth Mark, and an ESOl instructor and volunteer for Literacy Volunteers, Ms. Jennie Mosquera. Ms. Mark has served on many committees; as the Chair of
the Westchester County Council for the Disabled, and is also involved with the Westchester Disability Advocacy Partnership. Ms. Mosquera is the Coordinator of the Learning Center in Yonkers, working with students who have suspected or diagnosed learning disabilities.
In addressing recent events, Melvin Tanzman, the Executive Director of WDOMI, noted that “hard times affect us all, but particularly
those who can least afford it”. Mr. Tanzman also noted that New York State has already cut funding by 8% while the needs for these services in our communities are growing.
Recently, 150 individuals with disabilities traveled to Albany to meet with Governor Paterson to protest cuts for independent living centers
and home care. The advocates fear that these cutbacks will force people with disabilities into institutions. According to a report by the
“New York Able”, this meeting marked the first time in New York that a governor met with the disabled advocates in person, rather
than passing them over to aides or support staff. Governor Paterson is the first legally blind Governor of any state and once served as a Board member of the Harlem Independent Living Center. The disabled community is hopeful that our Governor will address their needs
during the state’s budget crises and that they can continue to pursue the independence they seek.
Just as Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and Barack Obama have shown women and minorities that they have an equal opportunity to reach for, and obtain, the highest offices in our nation, so, too, has Governor Paterson for people with disabilities. According to WDOMI, “Governor
David Paterson has shown the country that people with disabilities can lead full and productive lives. Not since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has a person with a self evident disability been governor. It is about time that New York has another governor with a disability. Especially considering that people with disabilities make up about one-fifth of the population”.
Addressing the current joblessness in our economy, WDOMI notes “as unacceptable as the 5.5% unemployment rate among the population seems to be, the seventy percent (70%) unemployment rate among the people with disabilities is disgraceful”.
As our nation breaks down some barriers, other barriers remain, preventing a significant portion of our neighbors from being fully inclusive
members of our society. While the recent advances for women and minorities in our nation have been significant, we cannot lose sight of
those who are not fully included.
Senator Clinton may have successfully made “18 million cracks in the ceiling” on behalf of women, but there are still 41 million disabled individuals in our nation who want their chance for success as well. Sadly, in the current economic climate, those individuals may be left
further behind.
Westchester Guardian/The Advocate.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Advocate
Richard Blassberg
Governor Paterson Plays
High Stakes Russian Roulette
Perhaps it was all the attention to the Presidential election in the days immediately prior to last Tuesday, that obscured, or distracted, local attention from the sudden announcement, over a weekend, by Governor David Paterson, that he had decided to remove the National Guard, consisting of some 80 soldiers, as well as 15 Naval Militia members, from Governor Paterson Plays High Stakes Russian Roulette their assigned protection of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Facility in Buchanan.
A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office had insisted that the withdrawal of military protection was not a measure intended to save money, some $6.5 million, but, rather, as Morgan Hook put it, “This is part of a broader reevaluation of how best to use New York’s
National Guard strength to protect the State.”
It is difficult to imagine a site that is more vulnerable, or potentially harmful to more people than the Indian Point installation. We
would ask the Governor, “Where might you otherwise wish to deploy those 95 military personnel that, at any moment, 24/7, is more critical,
more essential, yet potentially deadly, to so many millions of people in the Tri-state area?”
We are told that the State’s strategy for security and protection of sites such as power plants, train stations, and tourist attractions, “has
shifted from fixed patrols to flexible threat-based rapid response units.” We are further informed that months ago the Governor had pulled an equal number of National Guard personnel from two upstate power plants, and that, furthermore, patrols in Grand Central Station have been significantly reduced.
We believe Governor Paterson is making a very serious miscalculation. To begin with, power plants situated in Oswego and Lake Ontario
radius. to bring about major damage or harm, either to infrastructure or to masses of persons, respectively, or both, would need to bring their Weapon of Mass Destruction to the site, or near it. Whereas, the potential element of mass destruction from the perspective of human health and safety, in the case of Indian Point, is already at the site: two nuclear reactors and an enormous number of spent fuel rods.
And, it’s not as though the private security employed by Entergy, the installation’s owner, has had a sterling record, one that would
inspire confidence in the minds of the millions who live around ground zero should the plant be targeted and attacked. Since as far back as 2002, and clearly before 9/11 as well, there have been numerous incidents involving drugs, alcohol, and sleeping on the job by
Indian Point security guards.
What comfort can be drawn from those incidents? The fact is, residents mindful of such failures have always drawn what little reassurance
they could from the fact that the National Guard was there. We take little comfort from the notion that under the shifting or rotating scheduling of troops “a potential attacker can’t predict” where the troops are stationed. We take less comfort from the knowledge that the private security force is “monitored by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency.”
Equally alarming in Paterson’s unilateral action, is the statement from Entergy, the plant operator, that they were not privy to the Governor’s plans. River Keeper which has other issues as well, ecological issues, with Indian Point, released the statement, “The private security forces have shown to be overworked under-gunned, and under-manned.”Their program director, Philip Musegaas, declared, “It’s a great concern to us that
the Governor would pull the National Guard and the Naval Militia.”
This is a critical issue. This is not a matter with which we can afford to mis-calculate. The notion of “quick response” is essentially as
wrong-headed as government can get with regard to the certain catastrophe that would result from even a moderately successful attack on the Indian Point Nuclear Plant. The object of a heavily armed, and numerically strong, presence, we believe, has always been to dissuade, and, if necessary, fend off any ground-based, marine or aerial attack.
Once there has been penetration, what difference will it make, even if forces arrive minutes later, and snuff out every terrorist infiltrator,
if, in fact, they have succeeded in carrying out their mission. Millions of lives will have been placed at risk, and unprecedented longterm
health and safety implications will then abound.
Governor Paterson cannot tell us, on the one hand, that it’s not about money and, on the other hand, play Russian Roulette with our very lives and safety with a shifting about security force, at best capable of showing up minutes after the most unimaginable damage has been set
in motion.
It would appear, based upon the lethargy and lack of response to the Governor by persons such as Andrew Spano and Andrew Cuomo,
two former advocates for closure of the plant, that they are either too distracted, or asleep at the switch. Whichever the case, they need to be
firmly nudged because our safety hangs in the balance.
The Advocate
Richard Blassberg
Governor Paterson Plays
High Stakes Russian Roulette
Perhaps it was all the attention to the Presidential election in the days immediately prior to last Tuesday, that obscured, or distracted, local attention from the sudden announcement, over a weekend, by Governor David Paterson, that he had decided to remove the National Guard, consisting of some 80 soldiers, as well as 15 Naval Militia members, from Governor Paterson Plays High Stakes Russian Roulette their assigned protection of the Indian Point Nuclear Power Facility in Buchanan.
A spokesperson for the Governor’s Office had insisted that the withdrawal of military protection was not a measure intended to save money, some $6.5 million, but, rather, as Morgan Hook put it, “This is part of a broader reevaluation of how best to use New York’s
National Guard strength to protect the State.”
It is difficult to imagine a site that is more vulnerable, or potentially harmful to more people than the Indian Point installation. We
would ask the Governor, “Where might you otherwise wish to deploy those 95 military personnel that, at any moment, 24/7, is more critical,
more essential, yet potentially deadly, to so many millions of people in the Tri-state area?”
We are told that the State’s strategy for security and protection of sites such as power plants, train stations, and tourist attractions, “has
shifted from fixed patrols to flexible threat-based rapid response units.” We are further informed that months ago the Governor had pulled an equal number of National Guard personnel from two upstate power plants, and that, furthermore, patrols in Grand Central Station have been significantly reduced.
We believe Governor Paterson is making a very serious miscalculation. To begin with, power plants situated in Oswego and Lake Ontario
radius. to bring about major damage or harm, either to infrastructure or to masses of persons, respectively, or both, would need to bring their Weapon of Mass Destruction to the site, or near it. Whereas, the potential element of mass destruction from the perspective of human health and safety, in the case of Indian Point, is already at the site: two nuclear reactors and an enormous number of spent fuel rods.
And, it’s not as though the private security employed by Entergy, the installation’s owner, has had a sterling record, one that would
inspire confidence in the minds of the millions who live around ground zero should the plant be targeted and attacked. Since as far back as 2002, and clearly before 9/11 as well, there have been numerous incidents involving drugs, alcohol, and sleeping on the job by
Indian Point security guards.
What comfort can be drawn from those incidents? The fact is, residents mindful of such failures have always drawn what little reassurance
they could from the fact that the National Guard was there. We take little comfort from the notion that under the shifting or rotating scheduling of troops “a potential attacker can’t predict” where the troops are stationed. We take less comfort from the knowledge that the private security force is “monitored by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency.”
Equally alarming in Paterson’s unilateral action, is the statement from Entergy, the plant operator, that they were not privy to the Governor’s plans. River Keeper which has other issues as well, ecological issues, with Indian Point, released the statement, “The private security forces have shown to be overworked under-gunned, and under-manned.”Their program director, Philip Musegaas, declared, “It’s a great concern to us that
the Governor would pull the National Guard and the Naval Militia.”
This is a critical issue. This is not a matter with which we can afford to mis-calculate. The notion of “quick response” is essentially as
wrong-headed as government can get with regard to the certain catastrophe that would result from even a moderately successful attack on the Indian Point Nuclear Plant. The object of a heavily armed, and numerically strong, presence, we believe, has always been to dissuade, and, if necessary, fend off any ground-based, marine or aerial attack.
Once there has been penetration, what difference will it make, even if forces arrive minutes later, and snuff out every terrorist infiltrator,
if, in fact, they have succeeded in carrying out their mission. Millions of lives will have been placed at risk, and unprecedented longterm
health and safety implications will then abound.
Governor Paterson cannot tell us, on the one hand, that it’s not about money and, on the other hand, play Russian Roulette with our very lives and safety with a shifting about security force, at best capable of showing up minutes after the most unimaginable damage has been set
in motion.
It would appear, based upon the lethargy and lack of response to the Governor by persons such as Andrew Spano and Andrew Cuomo,
two former advocates for closure of the plant, that they are either too distracted, or asleep at the switch. Whichever the case, they need to be
firmly nudged because our safety hangs in the balance.
Westchester Guardian/In Our Opinion/Our Readers Respond.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
In Our Opinion...
“The American People Have Spoken, And They Have Spoken Clearly”
Last Tuesday night, an event occurred in Chicago that will forever re-order our political memories of that city in a wonderfully positive and hopeful way. Moments before midnight, Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two sweet daughters, who will soon be chasing their new puppy Daddy promised them all around the White House, stepped out on the platform at Grant Park before a combined crowd, both inside and outside the fences, of more than 160,000 cheering supporters, not to mention the World. It was a moment for all but the most cynical of observers, pregnant with irony and historical significance; a moment to be savored and somehow wrapped up in a flag to be carefully preserved for revisiting whenever situations might arise, casting doubt upon the American Dream.
There stood a new breed of President, a Renaissance Man, a vibrant, articulate, passionate yet calm under fire, Chief Executive; a cool and collected leader, ready for whatever the Office and the vagaries of historical fortune might hurl at him and the collective family of Peoples, three hundred million strong, known as the United States.
He was deeply moved, but well within himself. His voice and his words were clear, and especially reassuring as he stood on new ground in an old, familiar city, the words “Yes, we can” in the hearts and on the lips of those smiling before him. His grandmother, his mother’s mother who, perhaps, more than anybody else, had grown him, loved and nurtured him from childhood through adolescence, helping to mold the man he would become, had passed away just the day before. The bittersweetness of the moment was palpable.
Barack was not yet born when the City of Chicago, through the liaison of Joe Kennedy and Mayor Richard Daley, somehow “conceived” the plurality that helped make John Fitzgerald Kennedy our first Roman Catholic president in 1960. Barack was all of seven years old when “The Chicago Seven”, originally “The Chicago Eight”, before Black Panther Bobby Seale was separated from Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, John Froines, Rennie Davis, and Lee Weiner, by Judge Julius Hoffman, for purposes of trying them in federal
court for Attempting To Incite A Riot. Their indictment had come under the then-newly enacted Federal Anti-Riot legislation for their activities in attempting to disrupt the Democratic National Convention at the Chicago Cow Palace, and allegedly planning and threatening to destroy several Chicago buildings and landmarks in their protest against the Vietnam War, and in furtherance of their counter-culture movement.
Now, Barack Obama, exactly 40 years later, stood before the Nation and the World, poised to assume the reins of control, having been thrust forward by the grandchildren of those who had risen up in rebellion, only to face, toe-to-toe, the Chicago Police in riot gear, with water cannon and clubs and snarling dogs. Now that same youthful energy and idealism had made the dream once spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a reality.
They had helped ring a bell that could never be unrung. They had made a man, half-Caucasian and half-African, the next President of the United States. And, who could blame them if they, and those parents and grandparents standing with them, People of every hue and ethnicity, were so happy they were crying under the gravity of their’s, and their candidate’s, accomplishment.
President-elect Obama, no doubt, must have mixed feelings with regard to his predecessor, George W. Bush. On the one hand, he is being handed the controls at a time of serious economic and military over-commitment; not to mention domestic insecurity over heightening unemployment. On the other hand, he knows that the rapidly deteriorating economy in the closing months of his 21-month campaign, significantly aided his effort in relation to his opponent, Republican John McCain.
Here, in Westchester, we must keep in mind the vastly disproportionate majority enjoyed by the Democratic Party, and, the potential for exploitation of the aggregate. There will be those who would try to cloak themselves in Barack Obama’s dignity and decency, his transcendency and humility. We must be mindful, and vigilant, with respect to such counterfeits, political parasites who change their party affiliation without ideological awakening; politicians who are first, last, and always, all about themselves.
It is no overstatement that, with the election of Barack Obama, a new day has dawned in America. And, as Senator McCain rightly declared, “The American People have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.”
So-called politicians and officeholders would do well to take heed. The old ways, once exposed, will not work any longer. Predatory Government, the likes of what Andy Spano, Larry Schwartz, and Company have been perpetrating for years, no matter under what political label, simply will no longer be tolerated. Actions speak louder than words, and each and every aspirant to public office will be held accountable for their behavior, Larry, Andy, Janet, Tim, Ken, Bill, etc.
We cannot speak for others, but we will have no shortage of ink.
Our Readers Respond...
Dobbs Ferry Officials Unbelievably Unresponsive To Residents
Dear Editor:
Your prior letter from an anonymous person from the Dobbs Ferry Department of Public Works has prompted us to write to you in the hopes of getting some help. The residents that live on Southfield Avenue, Dobbs Ferry are having difficulty in dealing with the situation of having a strip mall on our street and being ignored by Village Officials who ignore our concerns, complaints and zoning regulations. Among other issues, parking is an insurmountable situation which is created by the restaurant together with the stores.
We have contacted every Village Official that we could including the ex-Village Manager, the ex-Mayor, the current Mayor, Trustees, Village
Attorney, the Fire Department and the Police Department. We must give credit to the new police chief. We contacted and met with her regarding
the illegal parking that was being previously ignored by the department and she assured us that things would change and they did. Unfortunately,
our other problems have been ignored by the remaining officials. Our question is why?
The Mayor contacted us and wanted to set up a meeting with the owners to discuss what could be done to alleviate our problems. Scheduling was
difficult but we called his office at least 3 times to schedule same and did not receive return calls and this was his idea. Again, why?
The owners of the mall do not allow employees to park in the lot as they are too many and would take most of the customers’ spots. So the
employees now park on Southfield together with the customers. As residents, we have no parking for ourselves or company.
It is our opinion, based on a letter dated October 13, 1967 from a professional engineer addressed to the original owners of the mall property, (a FOIL document) that the retail sales or personal service area required 13 parking spaces and the restaurant, which at that at time had 85 seats, required an additional 4 spaces (Dobbs Ferry Zoning Ordinance at that time which, we believe this property has been ‘grandfathered’ in) for a total of 17 parking spaces.
In addition, after 3 years of searching, the officials cannot locate the original approved site plan or a Planning Board document of approval at the time. It is also our belief, that the current site plan also violates the buffer provisions of the Zoning Code as it applies to commercial parcels abutting residential parcels. The current use has 8 parking spaces (or a portion thereof) in these required buffer zones, non-permitted garbage dumpsters and recently, a patio was constructed (without permits) which serve outdoor diners in the buffer zone.
Village Officials have totally failed to enforce this requirement of the zoning regulations. Despite what the owner claims, there is no demonstration that any waivers or variances were ever issued for any of these items. We would expect that after 3 years that the municipality would come up with a factual finding and have the violations removed.
At present, the restaurant has taken over additional spaces and have added additional tables and seats to the original 85 seats; we have a Dunkin Donuts on site and a deli. When all these people converge on Southfield Avenue, parking and traffic is unbearable and not sufficient to withstand
all these cars. The owners have painted more parking spaces in the lot, in further violation of the zoning code and in the required buffer zone. It is our understanding, that these spaces, in addition to the constructed patio, are to be 10 feet away from the Ashford Avenue Bridge, the Southfield
Avenue street and the residential house located adjacent to the spaces after the deli.
They are not and all of these facts, pictures and additional facts have all been brought to the attention of the Village Officials and again have been ignored. Why? After living in our home for more than 25 years, we were given a violation for our shed in the back of the house due to the fact
that it was not placed the required 6 feet from the property line. We moved it. In addition, after approximately 44 years after the house was built, we were given a violation for a cement wall next to our garage door for being over 4 feet. We needed to get an affidavit from a tenant from when our parents purchased the home to state that the wall was existing when they moved in.
We also got pictures showing the wall when our parents purchased our home. Why is it that the mall owners need do nothing to correct the violations on that property? We are now facing an additional dilemma. We were just notified that the owners of the lots located next door to our home (which, upon information and belief, one or more of the owners of the mall may be partners in that property) are pre-submitting to the Village Planning Board plans to construct a 4 story structure consisting of offices, residential apartments and parking areas.
Where exactly do they think this 4 story structure would fit into a residential area and where do they think people will park when they cannot get up the steep hill of Allen Street in the winter months? Correct, on Southfield. We will be attending the Village Planning Board meeting on November 6, 2008 to see what exactly they are thinking and where the Village stands on this project. It is interesting to note that a 4 story building was proposed by a property owner with property owned in the Village of Dobbs Ferry (the ‘Gateway’) and after many years and a lot of money spent, he was told to scale it down.
We are asking if you, your readers or a Village Official can help us get done what obviously needs to get done that you let us know. We are at the end of our rope and not getting any help from anyone. We hope you can print this letter in its entirety. If any additional information is needed,
please feel free to contact us.
Saccoccio/Barbieri, Dobbs Ferry
Mature Reader Laments Decline Of The Times
Dear Editor:
I share your sadness at the decline of the New York Times. For me, the reasons are its reduction in news coverage and the migration of editorial opinion to the news pages.
The Times, until maybe 30 or so years ago, had very thorough coverage of news in many places in the world, daily, when something big was going on. Now it does not follow up on what happens from one day to the next. It mentions someone in an “exciting” situation and then does not follow
up the next day. It skims over key anniversaries.
Some international news is covered more by other papers than the Times. In addition, the Times struggles between an old-fashioned objective newspaper and two types of subjectivity:
1) Being an activist crusader for abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and some recreational drug use;
2) Serving its corporate sponsors with articles like “in India and Bulgaria, before it becomes impossible to buy non-salted food and non-iodized salt, children were so dopey they couldn’t say their names.” At least the Times struggles. The Post unabashedly lets its opinions color everything.
And the Times, like other papers, in August 1990 obeyed the corporate dictum to cancel all international news not related to Iraq and Kuwait.
Recently the Times did score a brownie point. It diverted some rah-rah glorifying China’s Olympics material to headlining the Russia-Georgia conflict, despite the Times’ till-then China cheering. One reason might be the Times’ reporter who was arrested. Still, I’m away for several weeks and, when I get back, I’m not going to cry for every Times I’ve missed. It’s the old Times I miss. The current Times I have no commitment to.
Jean Wolfberg, Mount Kisco
Reader Expresses Concern Over Displaced Octogenarian
Dear Editor:
I’m writing to you in regards to a incident that occurred on the 16th of October at 43 Calton Road, New Rochelle. This is one of the older apartment buildings in New Rochelle and houses many long-time and elderly residents. One of those residents happens to be a relative of mine. His name is Robert Brandt and he has lived in the building for approximately 40 years, making him the longest residing resident. A week after
turning 80, he was awakened by the sound of water flowing into his apartment. A major water main broke, destroyed 2 apartments and partially destroyed another. His, unfortunately, was one of the apartments totally destroyed. To make matters worse, the ceiling collapsed, causing a gash to his head and injury to his back.
With no place to go, the Red Cross provided a hotel for 3 days. After the 3 days, I drove him to the Emergency Room at Sound Shore Medical Center because he was complaining of excruciating back pain. Mr. Brandt has been recovering at Schaffer Extended Care Center for the past 3 weeks.
To this point Maxx Management, the group that manages 43 Calton has never contacted my relative to inquire about his condition, offer an apology, nor offer any substitute living accommodations. I find this despicable and irresponsible. I also find it amazing that they have not returned any of my calls.
Could it be that they want my cousin out of the building due to financial reasons? Perhaps it is because my cousin is in a rentcontrolled situation and they would much rather have this apartment converted to a cooperative. I can’t help but think this is the reason why no action has taken place.
I have contacted Mayor Bramson and City Manager Strome and I’m pleased to say that they have responded and have referred the matter over to the City Housing Authority.
John Schwartz,
New Rochelle
In Our Opinion...
“The American People Have Spoken, And They Have Spoken Clearly”
Last Tuesday night, an event occurred in Chicago that will forever re-order our political memories of that city in a wonderfully positive and hopeful way. Moments before midnight, Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two sweet daughters, who will soon be chasing their new puppy Daddy promised them all around the White House, stepped out on the platform at Grant Park before a combined crowd, both inside and outside the fences, of more than 160,000 cheering supporters, not to mention the World. It was a moment for all but the most cynical of observers, pregnant with irony and historical significance; a moment to be savored and somehow wrapped up in a flag to be carefully preserved for revisiting whenever situations might arise, casting doubt upon the American Dream.
There stood a new breed of President, a Renaissance Man, a vibrant, articulate, passionate yet calm under fire, Chief Executive; a cool and collected leader, ready for whatever the Office and the vagaries of historical fortune might hurl at him and the collective family of Peoples, three hundred million strong, known as the United States.
He was deeply moved, but well within himself. His voice and his words were clear, and especially reassuring as he stood on new ground in an old, familiar city, the words “Yes, we can” in the hearts and on the lips of those smiling before him. His grandmother, his mother’s mother who, perhaps, more than anybody else, had grown him, loved and nurtured him from childhood through adolescence, helping to mold the man he would become, had passed away just the day before. The bittersweetness of the moment was palpable.
Barack was not yet born when the City of Chicago, through the liaison of Joe Kennedy and Mayor Richard Daley, somehow “conceived” the plurality that helped make John Fitzgerald Kennedy our first Roman Catholic president in 1960. Barack was all of seven years old when “The Chicago Seven”, originally “The Chicago Eight”, before Black Panther Bobby Seale was separated from Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, John Froines, Rennie Davis, and Lee Weiner, by Judge Julius Hoffman, for purposes of trying them in federal
court for Attempting To Incite A Riot. Their indictment had come under the then-newly enacted Federal Anti-Riot legislation for their activities in attempting to disrupt the Democratic National Convention at the Chicago Cow Palace, and allegedly planning and threatening to destroy several Chicago buildings and landmarks in their protest against the Vietnam War, and in furtherance of their counter-culture movement.
Now, Barack Obama, exactly 40 years later, stood before the Nation and the World, poised to assume the reins of control, having been thrust forward by the grandchildren of those who had risen up in rebellion, only to face, toe-to-toe, the Chicago Police in riot gear, with water cannon and clubs and snarling dogs. Now that same youthful energy and idealism had made the dream once spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. a reality.
They had helped ring a bell that could never be unrung. They had made a man, half-Caucasian and half-African, the next President of the United States. And, who could blame them if they, and those parents and grandparents standing with them, People of every hue and ethnicity, were so happy they were crying under the gravity of their’s, and their candidate’s, accomplishment.
President-elect Obama, no doubt, must have mixed feelings with regard to his predecessor, George W. Bush. On the one hand, he is being handed the controls at a time of serious economic and military over-commitment; not to mention domestic insecurity over heightening unemployment. On the other hand, he knows that the rapidly deteriorating economy in the closing months of his 21-month campaign, significantly aided his effort in relation to his opponent, Republican John McCain.
Here, in Westchester, we must keep in mind the vastly disproportionate majority enjoyed by the Democratic Party, and, the potential for exploitation of the aggregate. There will be those who would try to cloak themselves in Barack Obama’s dignity and decency, his transcendency and humility. We must be mindful, and vigilant, with respect to such counterfeits, political parasites who change their party affiliation without ideological awakening; politicians who are first, last, and always, all about themselves.
It is no overstatement that, with the election of Barack Obama, a new day has dawned in America. And, as Senator McCain rightly declared, “The American People have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.”
So-called politicians and officeholders would do well to take heed. The old ways, once exposed, will not work any longer. Predatory Government, the likes of what Andy Spano, Larry Schwartz, and Company have been perpetrating for years, no matter under what political label, simply will no longer be tolerated. Actions speak louder than words, and each and every aspirant to public office will be held accountable for their behavior, Larry, Andy, Janet, Tim, Ken, Bill, etc.
We cannot speak for others, but we will have no shortage of ink.
Our Readers Respond...
Dobbs Ferry Officials Unbelievably Unresponsive To Residents
Dear Editor:
Your prior letter from an anonymous person from the Dobbs Ferry Department of Public Works has prompted us to write to you in the hopes of getting some help. The residents that live on Southfield Avenue, Dobbs Ferry are having difficulty in dealing with the situation of having a strip mall on our street and being ignored by Village Officials who ignore our concerns, complaints and zoning regulations. Among other issues, parking is an insurmountable situation which is created by the restaurant together with the stores.
We have contacted every Village Official that we could including the ex-Village Manager, the ex-Mayor, the current Mayor, Trustees, Village
Attorney, the Fire Department and the Police Department. We must give credit to the new police chief. We contacted and met with her regarding
the illegal parking that was being previously ignored by the department and she assured us that things would change and they did. Unfortunately,
our other problems have been ignored by the remaining officials. Our question is why?
The Mayor contacted us and wanted to set up a meeting with the owners to discuss what could be done to alleviate our problems. Scheduling was
difficult but we called his office at least 3 times to schedule same and did not receive return calls and this was his idea. Again, why?
The owners of the mall do not allow employees to park in the lot as they are too many and would take most of the customers’ spots. So the
employees now park on Southfield together with the customers. As residents, we have no parking for ourselves or company.
It is our opinion, based on a letter dated October 13, 1967 from a professional engineer addressed to the original owners of the mall property, (a FOIL document) that the retail sales or personal service area required 13 parking spaces and the restaurant, which at that at time had 85 seats, required an additional 4 spaces (Dobbs Ferry Zoning Ordinance at that time which, we believe this property has been ‘grandfathered’ in) for a total of 17 parking spaces.
In addition, after 3 years of searching, the officials cannot locate the original approved site plan or a Planning Board document of approval at the time. It is also our belief, that the current site plan also violates the buffer provisions of the Zoning Code as it applies to commercial parcels abutting residential parcels. The current use has 8 parking spaces (or a portion thereof) in these required buffer zones, non-permitted garbage dumpsters and recently, a patio was constructed (without permits) which serve outdoor diners in the buffer zone.
Village Officials have totally failed to enforce this requirement of the zoning regulations. Despite what the owner claims, there is no demonstration that any waivers or variances were ever issued for any of these items. We would expect that after 3 years that the municipality would come up with a factual finding and have the violations removed.
At present, the restaurant has taken over additional spaces and have added additional tables and seats to the original 85 seats; we have a Dunkin Donuts on site and a deli. When all these people converge on Southfield Avenue, parking and traffic is unbearable and not sufficient to withstand
all these cars. The owners have painted more parking spaces in the lot, in further violation of the zoning code and in the required buffer zone. It is our understanding, that these spaces, in addition to the constructed patio, are to be 10 feet away from the Ashford Avenue Bridge, the Southfield
Avenue street and the residential house located adjacent to the spaces after the deli.
They are not and all of these facts, pictures and additional facts have all been brought to the attention of the Village Officials and again have been ignored. Why? After living in our home for more than 25 years, we were given a violation for our shed in the back of the house due to the fact
that it was not placed the required 6 feet from the property line. We moved it. In addition, after approximately 44 years after the house was built, we were given a violation for a cement wall next to our garage door for being over 4 feet. We needed to get an affidavit from a tenant from when our parents purchased the home to state that the wall was existing when they moved in.
We also got pictures showing the wall when our parents purchased our home. Why is it that the mall owners need do nothing to correct the violations on that property? We are now facing an additional dilemma. We were just notified that the owners of the lots located next door to our home (which, upon information and belief, one or more of the owners of the mall may be partners in that property) are pre-submitting to the Village Planning Board plans to construct a 4 story structure consisting of offices, residential apartments and parking areas.
Where exactly do they think this 4 story structure would fit into a residential area and where do they think people will park when they cannot get up the steep hill of Allen Street in the winter months? Correct, on Southfield. We will be attending the Village Planning Board meeting on November 6, 2008 to see what exactly they are thinking and where the Village stands on this project. It is interesting to note that a 4 story building was proposed by a property owner with property owned in the Village of Dobbs Ferry (the ‘Gateway’) and after many years and a lot of money spent, he was told to scale it down.
We are asking if you, your readers or a Village Official can help us get done what obviously needs to get done that you let us know. We are at the end of our rope and not getting any help from anyone. We hope you can print this letter in its entirety. If any additional information is needed,
please feel free to contact us.
Saccoccio/Barbieri, Dobbs Ferry
Mature Reader Laments Decline Of The Times
Dear Editor:
I share your sadness at the decline of the New York Times. For me, the reasons are its reduction in news coverage and the migration of editorial opinion to the news pages.
The Times, until maybe 30 or so years ago, had very thorough coverage of news in many places in the world, daily, when something big was going on. Now it does not follow up on what happens from one day to the next. It mentions someone in an “exciting” situation and then does not follow
up the next day. It skims over key anniversaries.
Some international news is covered more by other papers than the Times. In addition, the Times struggles between an old-fashioned objective newspaper and two types of subjectivity:
1) Being an activist crusader for abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and some recreational drug use;
2) Serving its corporate sponsors with articles like “in India and Bulgaria, before it becomes impossible to buy non-salted food and non-iodized salt, children were so dopey they couldn’t say their names.” At least the Times struggles. The Post unabashedly lets its opinions color everything.
And the Times, like other papers, in August 1990 obeyed the corporate dictum to cancel all international news not related to Iraq and Kuwait.
Recently the Times did score a brownie point. It diverted some rah-rah glorifying China’s Olympics material to headlining the Russia-Georgia conflict, despite the Times’ till-then China cheering. One reason might be the Times’ reporter who was arrested. Still, I’m away for several weeks and, when I get back, I’m not going to cry for every Times I’ve missed. It’s the old Times I miss. The current Times I have no commitment to.
Jean Wolfberg, Mount Kisco
Reader Expresses Concern Over Displaced Octogenarian
Dear Editor:
I’m writing to you in regards to a incident that occurred on the 16th of October at 43 Calton Road, New Rochelle. This is one of the older apartment buildings in New Rochelle and houses many long-time and elderly residents. One of those residents happens to be a relative of mine. His name is Robert Brandt and he has lived in the building for approximately 40 years, making him the longest residing resident. A week after
turning 80, he was awakened by the sound of water flowing into his apartment. A major water main broke, destroyed 2 apartments and partially destroyed another. His, unfortunately, was one of the apartments totally destroyed. To make matters worse, the ceiling collapsed, causing a gash to his head and injury to his back.
With no place to go, the Red Cross provided a hotel for 3 days. After the 3 days, I drove him to the Emergency Room at Sound Shore Medical Center because he was complaining of excruciating back pain. Mr. Brandt has been recovering at Schaffer Extended Care Center for the past 3 weeks.
To this point Maxx Management, the group that manages 43 Calton has never contacted my relative to inquire about his condition, offer an apology, nor offer any substitute living accommodations. I find this despicable and irresponsible. I also find it amazing that they have not returned any of my calls.
Could it be that they want my cousin out of the building due to financial reasons? Perhaps it is because my cousin is in a rentcontrolled situation and they would much rather have this apartment converted to a cooperative. I can’t help but think this is the reason why no action has taken place.
I have contacted Mayor Bramson and City Manager Strome and I’m pleased to say that they have responded and have referred the matter over to the City Housing Authority.
John Schwartz,
New Rochelle
Westchester Guardian/The Court Report/Joe Spiezio.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The Court Report
By Richard Blassberg
Developer Buddy Of Yonkers Mayor Amicone,
Hauled Into Federal Court, May Go Bust
In the May 29, 2008 edition of The Guardian, the front page story entitled, “Connected Developer Joe Spiezio Calls His Latino Workers Spics And Steals eir Wages”, informed readers of a federal lawsuit filed by some 20 Latino workers, employees of Yonkers developer Joe Spiezio, charging Spiezio, his accountant and his bookkeeper with violations of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as New York State Labor Law.
Spiezio was specifically charged with a number of intentional unlawful acts, including violation of Wages And Hours Laws, as well as failing to pay overtime wages “for work in excess of 40 hours per week” as well as “periodically requiring work on Sundays without compensation at all.” In addition, the Summons and Complaint led by civil rights attorney Jonathan Lovett, of White Plains, alleged that Spiezio appropriated, in cash, for his own benefit, 20 percent of the wages paid to all of the Latino manual laborers and carpenters on the false representation that it was for “taxes to be withheld for, and paid by, Defendants to federal, state and Yonkers tax authorities.” In actuality, that money, beginning in 2000, was stolen
and not paid to any taxing authority.
Questioned by reporters as to why his clients had not come forward sooner, Attorney Lovett indicated that they had, and that former District Attorney Jeanine Pirro was notified, and “couldn’t care less,” and that Janet DiFiore, her successor, also refused to act on the matter.
Th e article pointed out the fact that Spiezio enjoys “a very cozy relationship” with Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone, receiving special treatment, together with an $800,000 loan from the City which had not been repaid.
The matter is in pre-trial proceedings before Federal Judge Stephen C. Robinson, United States District Court, White Plains. Now, within the last couple of weeks, a stunning decision has been handed down by Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger of the United States District Court in Manhattan in a case brought by 36 food delivery workers against four Saigon Grill Restaurants in Manhattan, charging, amongst other violations,
“blatant and intentional violation of Minimum Wage And Overtime laws.”Addi-tionally, the Defendant restaurant owners, Simon Nget and his wife, Michelle, compelled the 36 deliverymen to purchase and maintain “tools of the trade”, to wit, bicycles and motorbikes, in order to be employed, and like the Spiezio case, would illegally deduct $20-$200 from the workers as “ fines” for one infraction or another; trivial actions such as permitting a door to slam shut.
The Saigon Grill case spans virtually the same time frame as the violations alleged against developer Joe Spiezio, 1999-2007. The Plaintiffs in the Saigon Grill action, 36 in all, are all Chinese nationals from Fujian Province with little formal education and lacking proficiency in English, whereas the Plaintiffs in the Spiezio action come from Mexico, Ecuador, and El Salvador, also lacking English-speaking skills.
The Saigon Grill decision, which calls for $4.6 million in back pay and damages, would appear to be controlling in the Spiezio action, particularly coming as it does from the same Circuit and aligning virtually on all four points with respect to the nature of the allegations, the circumstances and situation of the Plaintiffs and Defendants, vis-Ã -vis one another, the applicable state and federal statutes, and the available remedies.
Specifically, the actions of Joe Spiezio, with respect to his carpenters and laborers, in many ways would appear to mirror the allegations established against the owner/operators of the Saigon Grill. And, it is unlikely that Spiezio will find any comfort, or relief, in the applicable statute of limitations given his reckless disregard for legal requirements; his attempted, and actual, deceiving of Plaintiffs with respect to deductions of 20 percent of their wages, supposedly for payment of federal, state and municipal taxes.
Under the circumstances alleged, if documented by Plaintiffs, equitable tolling may very well be used by the Court to dispense with the two-year statute of limitations altogether, given the fact that the Latino immigrant Plaintiffs were unaware of their cause of action, and Spiezio’s efforts, intentionally, to conceal the existence of such cause.
Additionally, nearly all of the allegations successfully brought against the Saigon Grill under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the New York State Labor Law, are likewise claimed against employer/developer Joe Spiezio:
• Failure to pay minimum wage;
• Failure to pay taxes;
• Unlawful deductions from wages;
• Failure to check for work, or citizenship, papers;
• Failure to pay overtime; and,
• Failure to post minimum wage or other employee information.
Analysis:
It would appear that Yonkers developer Joe Spiezio and his co-defendants are in a very vulnerable position with regard to the federal action brought against them in May of this year by some 20 Latino carpenters and laborers, previously in their employ, given the Decision and
Order handed up by Federal Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger in the Saigon Grill case within recent weeks.
Simoes In Court For Pre-Trial Readiness
United States District Court,
300 Quarropas St., White Plains
Judge Kenneth M. Karas Presiding
Last Monday morning, November 3rd, Yonkers Police Officer Wayne Simoes returned to United States District Court, White Plains, for a pre-trial status hearing before Judge Kenneth M. Karas. Simoes, was indicted by a federal grand jury August 19, 2008, for one count of Willfully Depriving Irma Marquez Of Her Rights Secured Under The United States Constitution, the right to be free from the use of excessive force by a law enforcement officer in the course of an arrest, stop, or seizure.
The indictment grew out of the unwarranted action by Simoes in the early morning hours of March 3, 2007, when Simoes, together with several
other Yonkers police officers, responded to a bar and grill on Palisade Avenue in downtown Yonkers where Marquez, 47, and her niece had been
imbibing in alcoholic beverages. The niece had been struck over the head with a bottle by another patron, rendering her unconscious on the floor.
Simoes, appearing only slightly less grave than in his prior appearance, was accompanied by lead attorney Andrew Quinn, as well as attorney
John Patton. Quinn has represented a number of Westchester police officers, most recently gaining an acquittal, on all counts, for former Mount Kisco police officer George Bubaris, charged with Manslaughter by the Westchester County District Attorney in the death, last year, of Guatemalan homeless immigrant Rene Perez. Attorney John Patton is still involved, together with attorney Ben Epstein, in the criminal defense
of former Westchester Correction Officer Paul Cote, whose conviction last year, by a federal jury, was overturned by the late Judge Charles L. Brieant as inconsistent with the evidence, but which, however, was reinstated by a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Lead Prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney Anna Skotko, told the Court that her office had provided Defense counsel with numerous items
of discovery, including the video surveillance tape, a brief segment of which shows Simoes grabbing and body-slamming Ms. Marquez, face-first, to the floor of La Fonda, the bar and grill.
In addition to the compelling videotape, Skotko informed the Court that she had also turned over the initial Yonkers Police Department Internal Affairs Report, Simoes’ personnel file, Marquez’ medical information and the transcript of Marquez’ criminal trial in May, from which she was acquitted on all counts. Additionally, the Defense was given a tape of the 911 emergency call from the scene as well as photos. Simoes has been on modified duty since his indictment and arrest, despite having been cleared of any wrongdoing by Yonkers Police Internal Investigation. Wayne Simoes’ conduct, in addition to other significant Yonkers Police brutality which have gone unchecked and unabated for many years by numerous City administrations, brought on the current FBI investigation of the Yonkers Police Department over the past 18 months.
Given the substantial volume of discovery materials turned over to Defense by Assistant United States Attorneys Anna M. Skotko, Jason P. W. Halperin, and Benjamin H. Torrance, Defense attorney Andrew Quinn asked Judge Karas for a four-week adjournment to allow the Defense team an opportunity to review all of it, and, to “decide whatever motions should be filed.”
Judge Karas, having been advised that the Government had no objection, acknowledged Quinn’s request, stating, “Why don’t we plan on getting
back together again on December 4th at 12 noon?” Upon leaving the courthouse, Attorney Quinn told reporters, “The video doesn’t tell the whole story.” He tipped his Defense strategy a bit, indicating that it had been his belief, right along, that his client hadn’t meant to inflict injury to Ms. Marquez; and, that what he had seen of the evidence merely confirmed that belief. Of course, the Government will need to convince a jury of the officer’s peers, that it was his intent to bring about the harm he, in fact, inflicted if they are to convict him as charged.
The Court Report
By Richard Blassberg
Developer Buddy Of Yonkers Mayor Amicone,
Hauled Into Federal Court, May Go Bust
In the May 29, 2008 edition of The Guardian, the front page story entitled, “Connected Developer Joe Spiezio Calls His Latino Workers Spics And Steals eir Wages”, informed readers of a federal lawsuit filed by some 20 Latino workers, employees of Yonkers developer Joe Spiezio, charging Spiezio, his accountant and his bookkeeper with violations of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as New York State Labor Law.
Spiezio was specifically charged with a number of intentional unlawful acts, including violation of Wages And Hours Laws, as well as failing to pay overtime wages “for work in excess of 40 hours per week” as well as “periodically requiring work on Sundays without compensation at all.” In addition, the Summons and Complaint led by civil rights attorney Jonathan Lovett, of White Plains, alleged that Spiezio appropriated, in cash, for his own benefit, 20 percent of the wages paid to all of the Latino manual laborers and carpenters on the false representation that it was for “taxes to be withheld for, and paid by, Defendants to federal, state and Yonkers tax authorities.” In actuality, that money, beginning in 2000, was stolen
and not paid to any taxing authority.
Questioned by reporters as to why his clients had not come forward sooner, Attorney Lovett indicated that they had, and that former District Attorney Jeanine Pirro was notified, and “couldn’t care less,” and that Janet DiFiore, her successor, also refused to act on the matter.
Th e article pointed out the fact that Spiezio enjoys “a very cozy relationship” with Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone, receiving special treatment, together with an $800,000 loan from the City which had not been repaid.
The matter is in pre-trial proceedings before Federal Judge Stephen C. Robinson, United States District Court, White Plains. Now, within the last couple of weeks, a stunning decision has been handed down by Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger of the United States District Court in Manhattan in a case brought by 36 food delivery workers against four Saigon Grill Restaurants in Manhattan, charging, amongst other violations,
“blatant and intentional violation of Minimum Wage And Overtime laws.”Addi-tionally, the Defendant restaurant owners, Simon Nget and his wife, Michelle, compelled the 36 deliverymen to purchase and maintain “tools of the trade”, to wit, bicycles and motorbikes, in order to be employed, and like the Spiezio case, would illegally deduct $20-$200 from the workers as “ fines” for one infraction or another; trivial actions such as permitting a door to slam shut.
The Saigon Grill case spans virtually the same time frame as the violations alleged against developer Joe Spiezio, 1999-2007. The Plaintiffs in the Saigon Grill action, 36 in all, are all Chinese nationals from Fujian Province with little formal education and lacking proficiency in English, whereas the Plaintiffs in the Spiezio action come from Mexico, Ecuador, and El Salvador, also lacking English-speaking skills.
The Saigon Grill decision, which calls for $4.6 million in back pay and damages, would appear to be controlling in the Spiezio action, particularly coming as it does from the same Circuit and aligning virtually on all four points with respect to the nature of the allegations, the circumstances and situation of the Plaintiffs and Defendants, vis-Ã -vis one another, the applicable state and federal statutes, and the available remedies.
Specifically, the actions of Joe Spiezio, with respect to his carpenters and laborers, in many ways would appear to mirror the allegations established against the owner/operators of the Saigon Grill. And, it is unlikely that Spiezio will find any comfort, or relief, in the applicable statute of limitations given his reckless disregard for legal requirements; his attempted, and actual, deceiving of Plaintiffs with respect to deductions of 20 percent of their wages, supposedly for payment of federal, state and municipal taxes.
Under the circumstances alleged, if documented by Plaintiffs, equitable tolling may very well be used by the Court to dispense with the two-year statute of limitations altogether, given the fact that the Latino immigrant Plaintiffs were unaware of their cause of action, and Spiezio’s efforts, intentionally, to conceal the existence of such cause.
Additionally, nearly all of the allegations successfully brought against the Saigon Grill under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the New York State Labor Law, are likewise claimed against employer/developer Joe Spiezio:
• Failure to pay minimum wage;
• Failure to pay taxes;
• Unlawful deductions from wages;
• Failure to check for work, or citizenship, papers;
• Failure to pay overtime; and,
• Failure to post minimum wage or other employee information.
Analysis:
It would appear that Yonkers developer Joe Spiezio and his co-defendants are in a very vulnerable position with regard to the federal action brought against them in May of this year by some 20 Latino carpenters and laborers, previously in their employ, given the Decision and
Order handed up by Federal Magistrate Judge Michael H. Dolinger in the Saigon Grill case within recent weeks.
Simoes In Court For Pre-Trial Readiness
United States District Court,
300 Quarropas St., White Plains
Judge Kenneth M. Karas Presiding
Last Monday morning, November 3rd, Yonkers Police Officer Wayne Simoes returned to United States District Court, White Plains, for a pre-trial status hearing before Judge Kenneth M. Karas. Simoes, was indicted by a federal grand jury August 19, 2008, for one count of Willfully Depriving Irma Marquez Of Her Rights Secured Under The United States Constitution, the right to be free from the use of excessive force by a law enforcement officer in the course of an arrest, stop, or seizure.
The indictment grew out of the unwarranted action by Simoes in the early morning hours of March 3, 2007, when Simoes, together with several
other Yonkers police officers, responded to a bar and grill on Palisade Avenue in downtown Yonkers where Marquez, 47, and her niece had been
imbibing in alcoholic beverages. The niece had been struck over the head with a bottle by another patron, rendering her unconscious on the floor.
Simoes, appearing only slightly less grave than in his prior appearance, was accompanied by lead attorney Andrew Quinn, as well as attorney
John Patton. Quinn has represented a number of Westchester police officers, most recently gaining an acquittal, on all counts, for former Mount Kisco police officer George Bubaris, charged with Manslaughter by the Westchester County District Attorney in the death, last year, of Guatemalan homeless immigrant Rene Perez. Attorney John Patton is still involved, together with attorney Ben Epstein, in the criminal defense
of former Westchester Correction Officer Paul Cote, whose conviction last year, by a federal jury, was overturned by the late Judge Charles L. Brieant as inconsistent with the evidence, but which, however, was reinstated by a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Lead Prosecutor, Assistant United States Attorney Anna Skotko, told the Court that her office had provided Defense counsel with numerous items
of discovery, including the video surveillance tape, a brief segment of which shows Simoes grabbing and body-slamming Ms. Marquez, face-first, to the floor of La Fonda, the bar and grill.
In addition to the compelling videotape, Skotko informed the Court that she had also turned over the initial Yonkers Police Department Internal Affairs Report, Simoes’ personnel file, Marquez’ medical information and the transcript of Marquez’ criminal trial in May, from which she was acquitted on all counts. Additionally, the Defense was given a tape of the 911 emergency call from the scene as well as photos. Simoes has been on modified duty since his indictment and arrest, despite having been cleared of any wrongdoing by Yonkers Police Internal Investigation. Wayne Simoes’ conduct, in addition to other significant Yonkers Police brutality which have gone unchecked and unabated for many years by numerous City administrations, brought on the current FBI investigation of the Yonkers Police Department over the past 18 months.
Given the substantial volume of discovery materials turned over to Defense by Assistant United States Attorneys Anna M. Skotko, Jason P. W. Halperin, and Benjamin H. Torrance, Defense attorney Andrew Quinn asked Judge Karas for a four-week adjournment to allow the Defense team an opportunity to review all of it, and, to “decide whatever motions should be filed.”
Judge Karas, having been advised that the Government had no objection, acknowledged Quinn’s request, stating, “Why don’t we plan on getting
back together again on December 4th at 12 noon?” Upon leaving the courthouse, Attorney Quinn told reporters, “The video doesn’t tell the whole story.” He tipped his Defense strategy a bit, indicating that it had been his belief, right along, that his client hadn’t meant to inflict injury to Ms. Marquez; and, that what he had seen of the evidence merely confirmed that belief. Of course, the Government will need to convince a jury of the officer’s peers, that it was his intent to bring about the harm he, in fact, inflicted if they are to convict him as charged.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Westchester Guardian/Tony Castro.
Strong Coalition Of Civic And Political Leaders Comes Out For Tony Castro
The Guardian was present Thursday evening, October 23, when more than 200 civic leaders, political leaders, and concerned citizens from all over Westchester, came together for a fundraiser organized by Friends Of Tony Castro, apparently for the purpose of showing their support for Castro and encouraging him to run for District Attorney.
The crowd was an amazing admixture of individuals from every political party and many civic organizations in the County, not to mention major law enforcement figures, including: Independence Party Chair Dr. Giulio Cavallo, Republican Party Chair Doug Colety, Working Families Party Chair Pat Welsh, and Conservative Party Vice-Chair Gene Branca.
Dr. Cavallo introduced Castro as, “The man with the experience, character, integrity and temperament to be a great district attorney of Westchester if he can be convinced to run again.” When he stepped up to the podium to address the crowd, it was obvious that Tony Castro was very moved by the outpouring of support. He acknowledged the encouragement and the confidence expressed by those present, thanking everyone for coming out. He told the gathering that he would certainly have to give serious consideration to running again for DA.
Castro declared, “The DA’s Office must have a professional relationship with police agencies, not a political one, to avoid any perceived or actual conflict-of interest.”
He went on to say that although he certainly appreciated the support of individuals engaged in law enforcement, he would, nevertheless, not seek endorsements from any department or association doing business with the District Attorney’s Office.
Castro remarked that he felt even more qualified for the position, having now spent considerable time on the defense side, seeing first-hand some of the District Attorney’s Office’s prosecutorial misconduct.
Other supporters present included Dr. Maria Munoz-Kantha, founder of Hispanic Women Leaders of Westchester, Peekskill Police Chief Eugene Tumolo, Harrison Police Captain Anthony Marraccini, White Plains Mayor Joe Delfino, former New Rochelle City City Council Member Roberto Lopez, President of New York State Chiefs of Police Chief Bob Pavone, State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, Attorney John Ciampoli, and numerous other prominent public figures.
The Guardian has learned that the event raised more than $100,000.00.
The Guardian was present Thursday evening, October 23, when more than 200 civic leaders, political leaders, and concerned citizens from all over Westchester, came together for a fundraiser organized by Friends Of Tony Castro, apparently for the purpose of showing their support for Castro and encouraging him to run for District Attorney.
The crowd was an amazing admixture of individuals from every political party and many civic organizations in the County, not to mention major law enforcement figures, including: Independence Party Chair Dr. Giulio Cavallo, Republican Party Chair Doug Colety, Working Families Party Chair Pat Welsh, and Conservative Party Vice-Chair Gene Branca.
Dr. Cavallo introduced Castro as, “The man with the experience, character, integrity and temperament to be a great district attorney of Westchester if he can be convinced to run again.” When he stepped up to the podium to address the crowd, it was obvious that Tony Castro was very moved by the outpouring of support. He acknowledged the encouragement and the confidence expressed by those present, thanking everyone for coming out. He told the gathering that he would certainly have to give serious consideration to running again for DA.
Castro declared, “The DA’s Office must have a professional relationship with police agencies, not a political one, to avoid any perceived or actual conflict-of interest.”
He went on to say that although he certainly appreciated the support of individuals engaged in law enforcement, he would, nevertheless, not seek endorsements from any department or association doing business with the District Attorney’s Office.
Castro remarked that he felt even more qualified for the position, having now spent considerable time on the defense side, seeing first-hand some of the District Attorney’s Office’s prosecutorial misconduct.
Other supporters present included Dr. Maria Munoz-Kantha, founder of Hispanic Women Leaders of Westchester, Peekskill Police Chief Eugene Tumolo, Harrison Police Captain Anthony Marraccini, White Plains Mayor Joe Delfino, former New Rochelle City City Council Member Roberto Lopez, President of New York State Chiefs of Police Chief Bob Pavone, State Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, Attorney John Ciampoli, and numerous other prominent public figures.
The Guardian has learned that the event raised more than $100,000.00.
Westchester Guardian/Jeffrey Deskovic.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Jeff Deskovic
Troy Davis: An Ongoing
Saga Of Injustice
Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail at a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia; a murder he has long maintained he did not commit.
In a letter written by Barry Scheck which was published in The Huffington Post, Scheck states, “Seven of the nine key witnesses who testified against Davis now recant their trial testimony, claiming they were coerced to lie by Savannah police.”
The reliability of those witnesses was characterized by Amnesty International as “containing inconsistencies even at the time of the trial.”
Scheck continues in his letter, “despite the seriousness of these allegations and the sheer number of recantations, Georgia courts and state officials have not only been unwilling to stay his execution, but they have even refused to hold a hearing with live, sworn testimony to assess the credibility of the recanting witnesses.
What most people don’t know is why Davis can’t get a full hearing on the new evidence -- and just how ridiculously far four judges of the Georgia Supreme Court have gone (there were three dissenters) to avoid reviewing post-conviction evidence of innocence.
The recantation of a witness alone does not and should not automatically result in a conviction being vacated -- recantation evidence is treated with caution by courts because, after all, the witness is saying he or she once lied under oath, so how can one be so sure they are not just lying again?
Nonetheless, many wrongful convictions have been overturned because a recanting witness, testifying in person and under oath before a judge, is found to be credible and the reason for the recantation – often a claim that the original trial testimony was coerced - is found to be persuasive. But in Georgia the recanting witnesses don’t get to testify because the state’s courts have created an extraordinary Catch-22 rule – the “purest fabrication” doctrine - that arbitrarily denies evidentiary hearings even when extremely persuasive recantation affidavits have been submitted.
The ‘purest fabrication’ doctrine means that post-conviction hearings don’t have to be held to evaluate the credibility of recanting witnesses unless the defendant can show, by extrinsic proof before the hearing is held, that the original testimony was absolutely false. The example cited by the Georgia Supreme Court in the Davis case is a recanting witness who testified at trial that he was an accomplice to a murder but can now show, to support his recantation, that he was incarcerated in another county at the time of the crime. Needless to say, in cases with that kind of extrinsic, objective evidence that the recanting witness gave false testimony, hearings are superfluous. In short, the ‘purest fabrication’ doctrine allows Georgia courts to duck inexcusably the most troubling, serious, and controversial recantation cases, the ones that cry out for judges to make fair and full assessments of witness credibility and claims of police coercion, if only to buttress
public confidence in the system.
What’s left of the evidence against Troy Davis inspires little confidence. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. The case turned on the testimony of two jailhouse snitches, who have both recanted, and seven eyewitnesses, five of whom recanted.
According to Amnesty International, “One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester “Red” Coles – the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whom there is new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individuals have signed a davits implicating Sylvester Coles.”
Based upon that newly discovered evidence, Davis has gained the support of the National Coalition To Abolish the Death Penalty, Amnesty International, Georgians For Alternatives To the Death Penalty,
The American Civil Liberties Union, and the NAACP, who have helped to raise awareness of his case and generate grassroots support it.
The more people that learned about it, the more that got involved, and the movement has taken on a life of its own, gaining not just nationwide but worldwide attention.
Former President Jimmy Carter, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict XVI, and former Senator and current Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr, and death row exoneree Kirk Bloodsworth, have all come out publicly for Davis. The Innocence Network- which is an association of nearly 40 member organizations, including the Innocence Project, dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to indigent prisoners whose actual innocence may be established by post-conviction evidence, filed a friend of the court brief in the Supreme Court of Georgia in support of Davis.
The following timeline is taken from Amnesty International:
July 12, 2007 – Amnesty International and Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty hold a rally in support of Troy Davis.
July 16, 2007 – Georgia State Board of Pardon and Paroles issued a stay of execution for up to 90 days.
August 3, 2007 – Georgia Supreme Court agreed to hear Davis’ appeal for a new trial.
August 4, 2007 – Testimonies of injustice event in Savannah, GA.
March 17, 2008 – Georgia Supreme Court denied Davis’ appeal for a new trial.
A New York Times article wrote that the court, in a 4-to-3 decision written by Justice Harold Melton, held that sworn testimony at the trial was more important than the later recantations, noting that some of the witnesses had said only that they no longer felt able to identify the gunman.
“We simply cannot disregard the jury’s verdict in this case,” the Court said. The dissent, written by Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, called the Court “overly rigid” in its consideration of new evidence in support of a retrial and said it had failed to allow “an adequate inquiry into the fundamental question, which is whether or not an innocent person might have been convicted or even, as in this case, might be put to death.”
The Chief Justice acknowledged that sworn trial testimony was generally considered more credible than later recantations made out of court. But, she wrote, “It is unwise and unnecessary to make a categorical rule that recantations may never be considered in support of an extraordinary motion for a new trial.”
“The claim that evidence in Davis’ favor was not sufficient to reopen his case is simply stunning,” said Larry Cox, Amnesty Internationals executive director. “In turning a blind eye to the realities of the case, the legal system has shrugged off the very notion of justice at every level, from Savannah to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
On July 10, 2008, the European Parliament issued a resolution against the death penalty in general and in favor of Davis, stating, a) Im regard to the case of Troy Davis, sentenced to death by the Georgia State Court in 1991 for the murder of a policeman and scheduled to be executed at the end of July 2008; b) Whereas, according to Troy Davis’ lawyers, there is abundant proof of his innocence, material evidence against him has never been produced and seven witnesses for the prosecution have retracted their testimony; c) Whereas, on 4 August 2007, the Supreme Court of Georgia agreed to reconsider new elements casting doubt on Troy Davis’ guilt; d) Whereas, on 17 March 2008, the Supreme Court of Georgia denied Troy Davis a retrial, although the Chief Justice dissented; e) Whereas since 1975 more than 120 people have been released from death row in the United States, having been found innocent; f) Whereas, in the United States the power of clemency in cases where a capital sentence has been imposed exists as a failsafe against irreversible errors that the courts are unable or unwilling to remedy; g) Whereas New Jersey is the first US State to have abolished capital punishment by legislation since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the United States in 1972, citing the inescapable risk of executing those wrongfully convicted; 1) Calls upon those countries where the death penalty is imposed to take the necessary steps towards its abolition; 2) Asks that Troy Davis’ death sentence be commuted and, in view of the abundant evidence which might lead to such commutation, for the relevant courts to grant him a retrial; 3) Appeals urgently to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Troy Davis’ death sentence; 4) Calls on the Presidency of the Council and the Delegation of the Commission to the United States to raise the issue as a matter of urgency with the US authorities; 5) Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government of the United States, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Attorney General of Georgia
Sept. 11, 2008 - Activists from Amnesty and the NAACP take part in the Justice Matters rally for Troy Davis in Atlanta
Sept. 12, 2008 - Georgia State Board of Pardon and Paroles denied clemency for Davis (execution scheduled for Sept. 23)
Sept. 18, 2008 - Atlanta march to Ebeneezer Baptist Church.
Sept. 23, 2008 - U.S. Supreme Court issues a stay of execution pending the disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari filed on Davis’ behalf.
Oct. 14, 2008 - U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Davis’ appeal, effectively ending the appeals process.
Oct. 15, 2008 - Execution warrant is issued to commence on Oct. 27, which is the date the Department of Corrections sets for the execution.
Oct. 23, 2008 - Amnesty International activists take part in a Global Day of Action in 30 cities around the globe.
Oct. 24, 2008 – 11th Circuit Court grants stay of execution to consider new appeal.
According to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Davis asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to pursue another round of appeals in federal court on claims he is actually innocent. Permission for a new round of appeals is required under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.
According to the National Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty, 140,000 petitions to the Parole Board and a letter to the Governor signed by over 100 Georgia clergy members were delivered. Shortly after that, on October 24, 2008 the Federal Appeals Court in Atlanta handed up its decision that stayed the execution of Davis, who was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection. “Upon our thorough review of the record, we conclude that Davis has met the burden for a stay of execution,” the Court said in a ruling issued by Judges Joel Dubina, Rosemary Barket and Stanley Marcus.
The Court said the stay of execution is conditional. Davis must make a showing he can meet the “stringent requirements” to pursue another round of appeals, the decision said. The Court directed Davis’ lawyers to file a legal brief on their arguments within 15 days. The State Attorney General’s Of-fice has another 10 days to respond.
Davis’ lawyers expressed relief and jubilation over the court’s decision. “This is the first step toward a court hearing to consider the new evidence - something we have been asking for almost a decade now,” attorney Jason Ewart said.
At many rallies and demonstrations around the country, activists obtained petition signatures. At other times, activists worked to obtain signatures without a formal event. As The Guardian went to press, a total of 300,000 people had signed petitions. Demonstrations had taken place in Milan, Italy, Montreal, Canada, Paris, France and Belford in England, many in front of United States embassies throughout the world.
Commentary
One of the favorite phrases that prosecutors sometimes use to deceive the public after a wrongful conviction has been obtained is “The evidence of guilt is overwhelming.” Borrowing much from that phraseology while still maintaining accuracy and integrity, there is overwhelming evidence of Troy Davis’s innocence.
Firstly, it strains credulity that seven witness’, with nothing to gain, will all falsely claim to have been coerced by police. Rather, that is more consistent with patterns that have been found in other cases of wrongful conviction which involve police coercion: usually when that tactic is utilized, it is rarely confined to simply one witness.
Secondly, nine individuals who implicate an alternative suspect is to me very powerful. It is unheard of that that many people will falsely implicate an alternative suspect while someone remains in prison already convicted of the crime. I would like to further point out that defendants have been convicted by prosecutors with far fewer witnesses than that.
It would be virtually impossible to argue that either set of evidence, independently, did not conclusively prove Davis’ innocence. Taken together, if such a thing is even possible, the proof becomes even stronger if such a thing is even possible.
It is worth repeating, in light of the two jailhouse snitch testimonies against Davis, that witnesses who receive benefits in exchange for testifying, referred to as ‘incentivized witnessing’, have been the cause of wrongful convictions in 15% of the now 223 DNA proven wrongful conviction cases.
In a previous article I reviewed, albeit briefly, the many cases in which the person pointing the finger at the defendant was himself the perpetrator. That seems highly likely to be the case with Sylvester Coles, who points the finger at Davis and has not recanted.
I don’t know how Davis’ prosecutors can sleep at night. It is clear that they are in a win at all cost mode. Similarly, the starkness with which the Georgia State and Federal Courts, along with the United States Supreme Court simply haven’t cared about innocence. By any objective standard, what more does Davis have to do to win his case?
Additionally, the “purest fabrication doctrine” that Georgia has is wholly inconsistent with justice. I believe that witness recantation testimony should be evaluated the same way that evidence at any stage of a case is. In fact, I believe that in most cases the recanted testimony should be given more weight because with the passage of time and the circumstances under which false testimony is given because of various pressures and circumstances are often lifted years later.
There is a such thing as a conscience going to work on a person over time and their wanting to come clean. These Georgian and federal law does not take this into account. The fact that all of this is taking place while Davis’ life is in the balance, is both sickening and frightening, and makes the situation worse. There have been three different occasions when he has come within days or hours of execution. I cannot imagine how horrific that is for him and his family psychologically. Similarly, it makes me want to cry when I think about how traumatizing that must be. Yet, I realize that there is nothing in my background, nor within anyone else save for those few who have come within days or hours of execution, that would enable me to know what that feels like.
Although this case is still playing out, there are profound lessons for us to learn. I would like to share my thoughts on some of them. The first is that grassroots efforts and getting publicity for ongoing cases of wrongful conviction-tactics usually eschewed by defense attorneys, can be effective and are not wastes of time.
What goes on outside of the courtroom, in many ways, can, and often does, impact what goes on inside of it. It is obvious that without the grassroots support, national and international attention and press that this case has generated, Davis would not have received this third stay of execution.
Therefore many defense attorney’s would be wise to rethink on this topic. Similarly, concerned citizens should realize that working together and using our collective voices can make a difference. The second is that we need to do away with the death penalty, because of the grave risk of executing innocent people. The need for a mechanism of review independent of courts and the governor giving a pardon, is clear, for they are neither doing the right thing in this case nor, most of the time, have their counterparts across this country.
Thirdly, as Troy Davis himself communicated to his supporters, when it appeared certain that he would be executed, we should never forget about the other Troy Davises that are wrongfully convicted whether sentenced to death or not, and that efforts on their behalf should be just as strong.
Fourthly, the way that technology was used in order to communicate, raise awareness, mobilize and organize, was a powerful model that should be repeated. List servers were used to circulate information; MYSPACE was used as concerned citizens communicated with others they had met through it, both through emailing and posting bulletins, while there was also an ‘official’ Troy Davis MYSPACE page; You-Tube was utilized heavily as 444 videos about him were posted; The Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles were both flooded with text messages and emails; and online petitions were utilized.
Lastly, every time injustice is perpetrated in this country, our national reputation takes another hit, which reduces our effectiveness when we insist that other countries observe human rights. How must our judicial system must look to the rest of the world!
The saga of the injustice of Troy Davis’ case continues to play out, and his life and liberty are very much in peril and in question.
I encourage all people of conscience to get added to the list servers of the organizations that I previously mentioned to stay up to date on this case and to participate in future efforts on his behalf, doing the small things that we are all able to do.
Jeff Deskovic
Troy Davis: An Ongoing
Saga Of Injustice
Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the murder of Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail at a Burger King in Savannah, Georgia; a murder he has long maintained he did not commit.
In a letter written by Barry Scheck which was published in The Huffington Post, Scheck states, “Seven of the nine key witnesses who testified against Davis now recant their trial testimony, claiming they were coerced to lie by Savannah police.”
The reliability of those witnesses was characterized by Amnesty International as “containing inconsistencies even at the time of the trial.”
Scheck continues in his letter, “despite the seriousness of these allegations and the sheer number of recantations, Georgia courts and state officials have not only been unwilling to stay his execution, but they have even refused to hold a hearing with live, sworn testimony to assess the credibility of the recanting witnesses.
What most people don’t know is why Davis can’t get a full hearing on the new evidence -- and just how ridiculously far four judges of the Georgia Supreme Court have gone (there were three dissenters) to avoid reviewing post-conviction evidence of innocence.
The recantation of a witness alone does not and should not automatically result in a conviction being vacated -- recantation evidence is treated with caution by courts because, after all, the witness is saying he or she once lied under oath, so how can one be so sure they are not just lying again?
Nonetheless, many wrongful convictions have been overturned because a recanting witness, testifying in person and under oath before a judge, is found to be credible and the reason for the recantation – often a claim that the original trial testimony was coerced - is found to be persuasive. But in Georgia the recanting witnesses don’t get to testify because the state’s courts have created an extraordinary Catch-22 rule – the “purest fabrication” doctrine - that arbitrarily denies evidentiary hearings even when extremely persuasive recantation affidavits have been submitted.
The ‘purest fabrication’ doctrine means that post-conviction hearings don’t have to be held to evaluate the credibility of recanting witnesses unless the defendant can show, by extrinsic proof before the hearing is held, that the original testimony was absolutely false. The example cited by the Georgia Supreme Court in the Davis case is a recanting witness who testified at trial that he was an accomplice to a murder but can now show, to support his recantation, that he was incarcerated in another county at the time of the crime. Needless to say, in cases with that kind of extrinsic, objective evidence that the recanting witness gave false testimony, hearings are superfluous. In short, the ‘purest fabrication’ doctrine allows Georgia courts to duck inexcusably the most troubling, serious, and controversial recantation cases, the ones that cry out for judges to make fair and full assessments of witness credibility and claims of police coercion, if only to buttress
public confidence in the system.
What’s left of the evidence against Troy Davis inspires little confidence. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. The case turned on the testimony of two jailhouse snitches, who have both recanted, and seven eyewitnesses, five of whom recanted.
According to Amnesty International, “One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester “Red” Coles – the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whom there is new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individuals have signed a davits implicating Sylvester Coles.”
Based upon that newly discovered evidence, Davis has gained the support of the National Coalition To Abolish the Death Penalty, Amnesty International, Georgians For Alternatives To the Death Penalty,
The American Civil Liberties Union, and the NAACP, who have helped to raise awareness of his case and generate grassroots support it.
The more people that learned about it, the more that got involved, and the movement has taken on a life of its own, gaining not just nationwide but worldwide attention.
Former President Jimmy Carter, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, Pope Benedict XVI, and former Senator and current Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr, and death row exoneree Kirk Bloodsworth, have all come out publicly for Davis. The Innocence Network- which is an association of nearly 40 member organizations, including the Innocence Project, dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to indigent prisoners whose actual innocence may be established by post-conviction evidence, filed a friend of the court brief in the Supreme Court of Georgia in support of Davis.
The following timeline is taken from Amnesty International:
July 12, 2007 – Amnesty International and Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty hold a rally in support of Troy Davis.
July 16, 2007 – Georgia State Board of Pardon and Paroles issued a stay of execution for up to 90 days.
August 3, 2007 – Georgia Supreme Court agreed to hear Davis’ appeal for a new trial.
August 4, 2007 – Testimonies of injustice event in Savannah, GA.
March 17, 2008 – Georgia Supreme Court denied Davis’ appeal for a new trial.
A New York Times article wrote that the court, in a 4-to-3 decision written by Justice Harold Melton, held that sworn testimony at the trial was more important than the later recantations, noting that some of the witnesses had said only that they no longer felt able to identify the gunman.
“We simply cannot disregard the jury’s verdict in this case,” the Court said. The dissent, written by Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, called the Court “overly rigid” in its consideration of new evidence in support of a retrial and said it had failed to allow “an adequate inquiry into the fundamental question, which is whether or not an innocent person might have been convicted or even, as in this case, might be put to death.”
The Chief Justice acknowledged that sworn trial testimony was generally considered more credible than later recantations made out of court. But, she wrote, “It is unwise and unnecessary to make a categorical rule that recantations may never be considered in support of an extraordinary motion for a new trial.”
“The claim that evidence in Davis’ favor was not sufficient to reopen his case is simply stunning,” said Larry Cox, Amnesty Internationals executive director. “In turning a blind eye to the realities of the case, the legal system has shrugged off the very notion of justice at every level, from Savannah to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
On July 10, 2008, the European Parliament issued a resolution against the death penalty in general and in favor of Davis, stating, a) Im regard to the case of Troy Davis, sentenced to death by the Georgia State Court in 1991 for the murder of a policeman and scheduled to be executed at the end of July 2008; b) Whereas, according to Troy Davis’ lawyers, there is abundant proof of his innocence, material evidence against him has never been produced and seven witnesses for the prosecution have retracted their testimony; c) Whereas, on 4 August 2007, the Supreme Court of Georgia agreed to reconsider new elements casting doubt on Troy Davis’ guilt; d) Whereas, on 17 March 2008, the Supreme Court of Georgia denied Troy Davis a retrial, although the Chief Justice dissented; e) Whereas since 1975 more than 120 people have been released from death row in the United States, having been found innocent; f) Whereas, in the United States the power of clemency in cases where a capital sentence has been imposed exists as a failsafe against irreversible errors that the courts are unable or unwilling to remedy; g) Whereas New Jersey is the first US State to have abolished capital punishment by legislation since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the United States in 1972, citing the inescapable risk of executing those wrongfully convicted; 1) Calls upon those countries where the death penalty is imposed to take the necessary steps towards its abolition; 2) Asks that Troy Davis’ death sentence be commuted and, in view of the abundant evidence which might lead to such commutation, for the relevant courts to grant him a retrial; 3) Appeals urgently to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Troy Davis’ death sentence; 4) Calls on the Presidency of the Council and the Delegation of the Commission to the United States to raise the issue as a matter of urgency with the US authorities; 5) Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Government of the United States, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, and the Attorney General of Georgia
Sept. 11, 2008 - Activists from Amnesty and the NAACP take part in the Justice Matters rally for Troy Davis in Atlanta
Sept. 12, 2008 - Georgia State Board of Pardon and Paroles denied clemency for Davis (execution scheduled for Sept. 23)
Sept. 18, 2008 - Atlanta march to Ebeneezer Baptist Church.
Sept. 23, 2008 - U.S. Supreme Court issues a stay of execution pending the disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari filed on Davis’ behalf.
Oct. 14, 2008 - U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Davis’ appeal, effectively ending the appeals process.
Oct. 15, 2008 - Execution warrant is issued to commence on Oct. 27, which is the date the Department of Corrections sets for the execution.
Oct. 23, 2008 - Amnesty International activists take part in a Global Day of Action in 30 cities around the globe.
Oct. 24, 2008 – 11th Circuit Court grants stay of execution to consider new appeal.
According to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Davis asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to pursue another round of appeals in federal court on claims he is actually innocent. Permission for a new round of appeals is required under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996.
According to the National Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty, 140,000 petitions to the Parole Board and a letter to the Governor signed by over 100 Georgia clergy members were delivered. Shortly after that, on October 24, 2008 the Federal Appeals Court in Atlanta handed up its decision that stayed the execution of Davis, who was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection. “Upon our thorough review of the record, we conclude that Davis has met the burden for a stay of execution,” the Court said in a ruling issued by Judges Joel Dubina, Rosemary Barket and Stanley Marcus.
The Court said the stay of execution is conditional. Davis must make a showing he can meet the “stringent requirements” to pursue another round of appeals, the decision said. The Court directed Davis’ lawyers to file a legal brief on their arguments within 15 days. The State Attorney General’s Of-fice has another 10 days to respond.
Davis’ lawyers expressed relief and jubilation over the court’s decision. “This is the first step toward a court hearing to consider the new evidence - something we have been asking for almost a decade now,” attorney Jason Ewart said.
At many rallies and demonstrations around the country, activists obtained petition signatures. At other times, activists worked to obtain signatures without a formal event. As The Guardian went to press, a total of 300,000 people had signed petitions. Demonstrations had taken place in Milan, Italy, Montreal, Canada, Paris, France and Belford in England, many in front of United States embassies throughout the world.
Commentary
One of the favorite phrases that prosecutors sometimes use to deceive the public after a wrongful conviction has been obtained is “The evidence of guilt is overwhelming.” Borrowing much from that phraseology while still maintaining accuracy and integrity, there is overwhelming evidence of Troy Davis’s innocence.
Firstly, it strains credulity that seven witness’, with nothing to gain, will all falsely claim to have been coerced by police. Rather, that is more consistent with patterns that have been found in other cases of wrongful conviction which involve police coercion: usually when that tactic is utilized, it is rarely confined to simply one witness.
Secondly, nine individuals who implicate an alternative suspect is to me very powerful. It is unheard of that that many people will falsely implicate an alternative suspect while someone remains in prison already convicted of the crime. I would like to further point out that defendants have been convicted by prosecutors with far fewer witnesses than that.
It would be virtually impossible to argue that either set of evidence, independently, did not conclusively prove Davis’ innocence. Taken together, if such a thing is even possible, the proof becomes even stronger if such a thing is even possible.
It is worth repeating, in light of the two jailhouse snitch testimonies against Davis, that witnesses who receive benefits in exchange for testifying, referred to as ‘incentivized witnessing’, have been the cause of wrongful convictions in 15% of the now 223 DNA proven wrongful conviction cases.
In a previous article I reviewed, albeit briefly, the many cases in which the person pointing the finger at the defendant was himself the perpetrator. That seems highly likely to be the case with Sylvester Coles, who points the finger at Davis and has not recanted.
I don’t know how Davis’ prosecutors can sleep at night. It is clear that they are in a win at all cost mode. Similarly, the starkness with which the Georgia State and Federal Courts, along with the United States Supreme Court simply haven’t cared about innocence. By any objective standard, what more does Davis have to do to win his case?
Additionally, the “purest fabrication doctrine” that Georgia has is wholly inconsistent with justice. I believe that witness recantation testimony should be evaluated the same way that evidence at any stage of a case is. In fact, I believe that in most cases the recanted testimony should be given more weight because with the passage of time and the circumstances under which false testimony is given because of various pressures and circumstances are often lifted years later.
There is a such thing as a conscience going to work on a person over time and their wanting to come clean. These Georgian and federal law does not take this into account. The fact that all of this is taking place while Davis’ life is in the balance, is both sickening and frightening, and makes the situation worse. There have been three different occasions when he has come within days or hours of execution. I cannot imagine how horrific that is for him and his family psychologically. Similarly, it makes me want to cry when I think about how traumatizing that must be. Yet, I realize that there is nothing in my background, nor within anyone else save for those few who have come within days or hours of execution, that would enable me to know what that feels like.
Although this case is still playing out, there are profound lessons for us to learn. I would like to share my thoughts on some of them. The first is that grassroots efforts and getting publicity for ongoing cases of wrongful conviction-tactics usually eschewed by defense attorneys, can be effective and are not wastes of time.
What goes on outside of the courtroom, in many ways, can, and often does, impact what goes on inside of it. It is obvious that without the grassroots support, national and international attention and press that this case has generated, Davis would not have received this third stay of execution.
Therefore many defense attorney’s would be wise to rethink on this topic. Similarly, concerned citizens should realize that working together and using our collective voices can make a difference. The second is that we need to do away with the death penalty, because of the grave risk of executing innocent people. The need for a mechanism of review independent of courts and the governor giving a pardon, is clear, for they are neither doing the right thing in this case nor, most of the time, have their counterparts across this country.
Thirdly, as Troy Davis himself communicated to his supporters, when it appeared certain that he would be executed, we should never forget about the other Troy Davises that are wrongfully convicted whether sentenced to death or not, and that efforts on their behalf should be just as strong.
Fourthly, the way that technology was used in order to communicate, raise awareness, mobilize and organize, was a powerful model that should be repeated. List servers were used to circulate information; MYSPACE was used as concerned citizens communicated with others they had met through it, both through emailing and posting bulletins, while there was also an ‘official’ Troy Davis MYSPACE page; You-Tube was utilized heavily as 444 videos about him were posted; The Georgia Board of Pardon and Paroles were both flooded with text messages and emails; and online petitions were utilized.
Lastly, every time injustice is perpetrated in this country, our national reputation takes another hit, which reduces our effectiveness when we insist that other countries observe human rights. How must our judicial system must look to the rest of the world!
The saga of the injustice of Troy Davis’ case continues to play out, and his life and liberty are very much in peril and in question.
I encourage all people of conscience to get added to the list servers of the organizations that I previously mentioned to stay up to date on this case and to participate in future efforts on his behalf, doing the small things that we are all able to do.
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