Thursday, July 10, 2008
The Advocate
Richard Blassberg
DiFiore Slips Through Their Fingers
Says “I was told that we were not going to speak about specific cases.”
Saturday, June 28, there was a meeting, a community gathering at the Mount Vernon Grace Baptist Church, attended by some 250 individuals, mostly Mount Vernon residents, including approximately ten city clergymen and an equal number of African-American police of-ficers. The gathering was understood, by nearly everyone in attendance, as an opportunity, after five months, for the community,
and specifically, those such as Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Rev. Darin Moore, who have been working closely with the family of the late Christopher Ridley, to fi-nally get some straight answers to a host of questions.
Rev. Moore opened the session with a quick anecdote about a woman living in Harlem, “who fears the police, but is glad they are right down the street.” He went on to say, “The woman has a polemic”; adding, “My Grandma called it being between a rock and a hard place.” On that note, Rev. Sharpton, acknowledging that a grand jury had looked at the killing of Christopher Ridley, declared, “The case, in our opinion, has not been resolved.” Then, looking toward those who had come seeking the truth, he said, “Police cannot be above the law; we all must be held
accountable. We need accountability, legislation, and the truth.”
Next it was Rev. Richardson’s turn to define the purpose of the gathering, an event he had promised would occur as he stood in the rain, months earlier, at the spot on Court Street in White Plains where young Mount Vernon Police Officer Christopher Ridley had lost his life trying to save an innocent middle-aged man under brutal attack by a homeless, criminal vagrant.
Standing before the People, he told the officials seated on stage, speaking directly to DA Janet DiFiore, “First and foremost, we want answers.” He went on, “We know the issue is law enforcement and community relations.”
Andy Spano, riding shotgun for Janet DiFiore, got up to address the crowd, telling them, “There’s a concern out of the community that we hear. We’ve got to come out of here with one thing that could make a difference.”
Spano was trying to shift the focus of the proceedings from fact-finding, and learning of the truth, to suggesting preventative measures.
But Rev. Richardson came back with, “The DA’s Office has played a critical role in what we perceive was wrong in what happened in the
Christopher Ridley incident.” Janet DiFiore, looking very uncomfortable, said, “Rev. Richardson told me a lack of understanding builds suspicion.”
Then, she began to duck and dodge, telling everyone, “There are limitations upon what the District Attorney’s Office can do.” Her
next comment was a whopper: “My commitment to fairness has no boundary.”
At that point, the discussion shift-ed. Note paper had been distributed to the audience so that questions could be written out and passed up to the table consisting of Revs. Moore, Sharpton and Richardson, as well as State Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson. The issue of what percentage of African-Ameri-can cops were serving in the Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Yonkers Police Departments was raised.
Mount Vernon Police Commissioner David Chong acknowledged, “We are only at 24 percent. We try hard to hire Mount Vernon people first.” Rev. Sharpton, injecting a little sardonic wit, asked Chong, “Did you invite the White officers here today?” Newly-appointed Mount
Vernon Police Chief Barbara Duncan, seated way in the back of the chapel, stood up in response.
A number of comments followed that acknowledged the struggle to get more African-Americans to join their local police departments. Richardson summarized with, “If the People are not passing the tests, then we have to help them.” Senator Hassell-Thompson then read a question, directed to DA DiFiore, that referred to the Grand Jury process, which she concluded with her own direct statement, “You control the information the Grand Jury gets.”
DiFiore, somewhat indignant, immediately went on the defensive, stating, “I’ve been a prosecutor, a judge, and a lawyer, for almost 30 years. If you think I would compromise my... People need to recall that...” Al Sharpton broke in with, “They can’t review what is not in front of
them.” He then made reference to the arrest of Yonkers Police Officer Wayne Simoes the day before, by Federal authorities rather than DA DiFiore’s of-fice. DiFiore responded with, “There were grave mistakes of judgment in that case.” She proceeded to lay blame for her Office’s wrongful prosecution of the victim, and her failure to prosecute Offficer Simoes on one of her assistant District Attorneys [see Our Readers Respond, p4]. Pressed for more details by Sharpton, she quickly ducked behind so-called rules that prevented her from being more forthcoming.
However, Sharpton came right back, with, “In light of the federal arrest, and the People’s understanding of the relationship between the police and prosecutors in Westchester, we believe there is a need for a Special Prosecutor in cases involving the police.” DiFiore quickly cracked, “I am not convinced that we need a special prosecutor.”
That comment was met with audible groans from the audience. Senator Hassell-Thompson then, first asked the DA to explain the grand
jury process; second, having not heard what she was interested in pursuing, the senator, obviously referring to the Ridley Investigation, spoke of state legislation in 1976 that dealt with grand jury reports, following which she asked the DA, “Are you planning to release a report?” DiFiore responded, “There’s no report issued by the District Attorney on the grand jury.”
Now, the senator, becoming more specific and more insistent, asked, “Are you prepared to issue a report on Christopher Ridley?”
At that point, Janet DiFiore dug in her heels, and replied, “I was told that we were not going to speak about specific cases.”
The DA made it abundantly clear, with that statement, that she had absolutely no intention of discussing the very subject that had brought everyone who filled the Chapel to Grace Baptist Church. She would not be accounting either for the conduct of the investiga-tion or the presentation to the grand jury. She would not be answering any questions pertaining to Christopher Ridley, period!
Although the session went on for another hour, with discussion of sensitivity training, and enlisting more African-American police officers, etc., it might just as well have ended with that declaration.
DiFiore had no intention of shedding any further light on what really happened to Christopher Ridley.The frustration felt by Rev. Richardson and Rev. Moore was apparent in their closing remarks as they ended the meeting a half hour earlier than scheduled.Richardson told the crowd, “What is very important is that there is a crisis with law enforcement in our community.
There is a problem, and dealing with what happened to Christopher Ridley is an opportunity for us to get it together. This is just the beginning of the discourse.
This is not going to go away.”Rev. Moore wasted few words expressing his frustration and disappointment. Speaking for all those gathered, hestated flatly, “This community is not going away.” Referring to the unanswered questions about the killing of Christopher Ridley, Moore vowed, “If it is not solved, we will do whatever it takes.”
Questions Needing To Be Answered By DA DiFiore
1. Why are you withholding Christopher Ridley’s wallet, clothing, and personal effects from his parents; could it be that they might reveal the circumstances under which he really died?
2. Why did you withhold so much from the public right from the start,but made sure to leak, within hours, the name of Sgt. Martin, the only Black County Officer involved in the incident?
3. Why have you withheld, to this moment, the fact that no shell casings from Martin’s gun were found?
4. Why do you perpetuate the lie that Officer Ridley was standing, holding a gun, and refusing to put it down when shot?
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Westchester Guardian/Janet Difiore.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
In Our Opinion...
The Seeds Of Our Discontent
The People of Mount Vernon would do well to examine the treachery that begot the treachery they continue to endure with respect to the killing of one of their City’s finest sons, Detective Christopher Ridley. Despite Janet DiFiore’s obvious opinion to the contrary, the People of Mount Vernon are too savvy not to know perfectly well that their District Attorney has not leveled with them at any point regarding Officer Ridley since his tragic death more than five months ago. And, her performance at the gathering at Grace Baptist Church on Saturday, June 28, was simply more of same.
There were many clergy among the roughly 250, mostly Mount Vernon residents, present; prominent amongst them, and organizers of the function, were Rev. Darin Moore, Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, and Rev. Al Sharpton. Rev. Moore opened the proceedings declaring,
“We’re going to hold one another accountable.” Rev. Sharpton came more precisely to the point, telling everyone, “Even though there’s been one grand jury, this case, in our opinion, has not been resolved.” Sharpton was, of course, referring to the killing of Officer Christopher Ridley.
Unfortunately, those who came hoping to hear some as yet unrevealed truth, some semblance of what actually occurred during those terrible 90 seconds just prior to 5pm on January 25 that ended Christopher Ridley’s life in a fusillade of bullets, were unreasonably optimistic.
Janet DiFiore wasn’t there to answer the questions uppermost in the minds of those who knew and loved the young man whose life was so needlessly snuffed out. In fact, despite Rev. Moore’s and Rev. Sharpton’s high-minded declarations of purpose, the program had been structured in such a way that no questions from the audience, or the press and media, would be directly put to her, or any of the other seven panelists on stage. In fact, to be sure that everyone understood she would not be held to account, she complained early on in response to a question she was uncomfortable with, “I was told that we were not going to speak about specific cases.”
Whoever assured DA DiFiore that there would be no questions on specific cases, if, indeed, anyone had, owed a real duty to all those present to announce up-front that they had granted the DA immunity from scrutiny, and that the next two and a half hours would be just another public relations exercise; so that we could all get up and leave. We want to know who gave such assurances to Janet DiFiore thus betraying and defeating the hopes and purposes of all those gathered to get beyond the lies, the deceit, and the defaming of Christopher Ridley’s honor and memory in, yet again, another massive coverup from the Office of the District Attorney.
We hold that whoever granted such assurance to Janet DiFiore betrayed the People of Mount Vernon, and all of Westchester as surely as Lisa Copeland and Reggie Lafayette did when, under orders from Larry Schwartz and Andy Spano, they worked for DiFiore’s election as a Republican in 2005 against fellow Democrat Tony Castro, who had been nominated by acclimation of more than 900 loyal Westchester Democratic committee members. Make no mistake, the People of Mount Vernon and, more specifically, the family and friends of Christopher Ridley, have Lisa, Reggie, Larry, and Andy to thank for the fact that the arrogant and untruthful Janet DiFiore; without the decency or moral fiber to return Christopher’s clothing and personal effects to his family, is their District Attorney.
She is not the People’s Attorney. She has, in two and a half years in office, demonstrated time and again, that she is beholden to special interests and is under the control of Larry Schwartz as surely as every other individual employed by Westchester County. Furthermore,
DiFiore has demonstrated that in matters involving possible police misconduct, she is totally incapable of dealing lawfully and even-handedly; instead, politically targeting the innocent while covering up the wrongful acts of officers from departments she is incestuously
connected to.
We, once again, add Our voice to the many who have called for an independent federal investigation into the killing of Mount Vernon Police Detective Christopher Ridley. There are just too many reasons not to accept the authority, the process, or the conclusions, that
have been foisted upon us.
Our Readers Respond...
In a True Democracy There is a System of Checks and Balances
Dear Editor:
The admission and acknowledgement of the District Attorney that there were grave mistakes in the handling of the Marquez case should give us pause. As a community we should take this opportunity to stop, reflect and ask ourselves: how many other innocent people have buckled under the pressure of the District Attorney’s Office? How many of us settled for being accused of minor infractions? How many times were people’s constitutional rights violated and overlooked?
Many disadvantaged families, especially those in the Black and Latino communities have been forced to watch family members brought to court on trumped up charges like “disorderly conduct”, “obstruction of justice” and “resisting arrest” which are little more than smoke screens for police misconduct and criminality. Police Criminality is cancerous; and if left unchecked, it can erode the integrity of law enforcement and eat away at the trust of the community.
Politicians and law makers in Westchester should be called to the carpet for an ineffective and failed system of law enforcement and for the lack of accountability that is running rampant. In a true democracy, there is a system of checks and balances; there are forums for the people to be heard; and there is an opportunity for dialogue and change.
The National Black Police Association (NBPA) and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have been monitoring the complaints of Police Criminality in the cities, towns and villages of Westchester. At the numerous rallies and community meetings we held over the past years, we discovered that many community residents do not know how to file a proper complaint when they felt their rights were violated by law enforcement officers. To this end, we have created an informational pamphlet “How Do You Handle Police Brutality A Citizens Plan For Action”. This pamphlet is meant to provide citizens with information to help them determine if their rights have been violated by the police and what steps to take if they feel their rights have been violated.
The NBPA will continue to support and rally for legislation that will secure the appointment of a State-wide Special Prosecutor to eliminate assumption of bias and political influence on investigations when local police municipalities are both “investigating” and “prosecuting” each other. Appointment of a Special Prosecutor will ensure transparency in the Justice System which is essential for building trust in the community we serve, and for ensuring that both the rights of victims and law enforcement of-ficers are protected.
In Unity And In Peace
Damon K. Jones, Executive Director
Westchester Blacks In Law Enforcement
Reflections Of A Truly Patriotically Spirited Reader
Dear Editor:
On the occasion of our Fourth of July holiday, when we celebrate throwing off the fetters that cruel England would have forced upon us, I think we should all take time to reflect, during the cookouts, firework displays, and parades, on the true nature and value of the freedoms
we hold so dear, and the sacrifices made in blood to secure them.
It is of special importance, I believe, at this time in our history, to consider another tyranny that threatens us - our dependence on foreign oil. We are, by nature, an optimistic and resourceful people. We have stores of talent and technology, enjoyed by few in this world, that may yet be mined to find a solution for this most vexing of problems.
A solution must be found if we are to continue to move forward and ensure for future generations the same hopes and dreams that have sustained and propelled this country to the position it enjoys today. We have diffi-culties, certainly, in our economy, and many of our citizens are suffering from hunger and lack of adequate housing and medical care. However, collectively, we are endowed with the strength
and resilience to overcome even the worst of circumstances, should we apply the full force of our minds and spirits to the matter.
How fortunate we are, too, to live in a country where one may speak freely. We have seen, only recently, the mockery made of democracy as goons frogmarched reluctant, terrified people to vote in a one-candidate election. We are blessed, indeed, to live free from the fear of reprisal for our choice of political candidate, which may mean death or dismemberment in these spurious “democracies.” Here, also, we are free to worship God in the manner we choose--or we may be unbelievers, all without fear of persecution.
We are, above all, a generous people--freely offering our talents and resources to those who suffer from want, wherever in the world they may be. At this moment though, our own economic markets are suffering. I am confident, nonetheless, given our past history, we will, as so many times before, resolve these difficulties and emerge a stronger and more resilient country and people.
Washington’s words still hold true today: “The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and
destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them.
The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.” I wish all your readers a very happy--and reflective--Fourth of July holiday.
May God bless America, always.
MaryAnn McCarra-Fitzpatrick
New Castle Reader Laments
Dear Editor:
Well, folks of the Town of New Castle, the Thruway is coming to your hometown, to your neighborhood. Commencing sometime this summer or fall, the State Department of Transportation will start construction of a new bridge and byway over the railroad tracks and parkway that are the entryway to our town. This proposition has been demanded of our town by the DOT. Our Town Board commenced, eight years ago, when this need was first announced to expand on DOT’s plans to satisfy their byway agenda with government funding.
Today this proposal will cost $17,500,000. Its initial cost was $850,000. This 20.6 fold increase is the shameful work of your Town Board and Town Administrator in conjunction with DOT incompetents in Albany. This monstrous construction folly will alter the small town entranceway to downtown Chappaqua forever; It will not ease traffic patterns to and from town in the least; It will force the establishment of the traffic light circus that was originally dismissed by the Town Board months ago; This construction project is not integrated in any way with a Downtown Development Plan.
This project, which should be termed Faiella’s Folly (the Town Administrator), must be stopped. It is up to you, the citizens of New Castle, to stop this folly in its tracks. To accomplish this, you need to:
• Express your concerns to the Town Board in writing:
Barbara Gerardi – email: bgerrard@town.new-castle.ny.us
Elise Kessler Mottel – email: ekmottel@town.new-castle.ny.us
John Buckley – email: jbuckley@town.new-castle.ny.us
Robin Stout – email: rstout@town.new-castle.ny.us
Michael Wolfensohn – email: mbwolf@town.new-castle.ny.us
• Express your concerns to the DOT in writing:
Regional Director Joan Dupont, P.E.
Eleanor Roosevelt State Office Building
4 Burnett Boulevard
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Email – cmcgarrigle@DOT.STATE.NY.US
• Express your feelings to Jerry Faiella in writing:
Email – jfaiella@town.new-castle.ny.us
• Visit the Town Board meetings expressing your concerns: the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:30pm. Or, go to their work sessions on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month by appointment. The work sessions are held in rooms adjacent to the Assembly Hall. And, listen to us, The Concerned Citizens of Chappaqua. We have the professional solution to this folly. The Town Board will not listen to us. We hope you will.
David B. Metz, Chappaqua
Ossining Must Be Very Proud Of These Seventh Graders
Dear Editor:
On June 20, we put on a benefit concert at the Ossining Public Library on behalf of a project called “Change for Darfur” which we became part of to try to help the people of Darfur. It began as our community service project for our bar mitzvahs. For months, we have been putting out cans in local businesses and shops in Ossining to raise funds and awareness, and people were invited to come to our bar mitzvahs with cans and jars and bottles of coins. We made presentations about the suffering of Darfur, trying to send the message that we should not and could not remain silent while people suffered terribly and another Holocaust takes place.
Over the months, with people being incredibly generous, we had raised more than $1,000 but we decided to put together a concert because we thought it would be an even better way to raise money and awareness, and to get more people involved. The outcome was more than we could have hoped for, and we wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank some people: first of all the community of Ossining from
its business owners to its students who helped; Sharon Kirschner in Tarrytown who inspired us and helped us to bring “Change for Darfur” to Ossining; Mr. Bradley Morrison and Mr. Dave August, music directors at AMD who we couldn’t have done this without; and all the musicians and artists of the AMD Jazz Band, Jazz Choir and rock band Mercury who gave their time and talents on a Friday night and helped us raise more than $800! And the crowd had a great time!
All of the money we’ve raised will be donated directly to Doctors Without Borders, an organization that works in Darfur bringing desperately needed medical supplies and personnel. Thank you again to all who have helped with their time, their money or their energy!
Tal Mintz, Marco Spodek
Anne M. Dorner 7th graders
Ossining
In Our Opinion...
The Seeds Of Our Discontent
The People of Mount Vernon would do well to examine the treachery that begot the treachery they continue to endure with respect to the killing of one of their City’s finest sons, Detective Christopher Ridley. Despite Janet DiFiore’s obvious opinion to the contrary, the People of Mount Vernon are too savvy not to know perfectly well that their District Attorney has not leveled with them at any point regarding Officer Ridley since his tragic death more than five months ago. And, her performance at the gathering at Grace Baptist Church on Saturday, June 28, was simply more of same.
There were many clergy among the roughly 250, mostly Mount Vernon residents, present; prominent amongst them, and organizers of the function, were Rev. Darin Moore, Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson, and Rev. Al Sharpton. Rev. Moore opened the proceedings declaring,
“We’re going to hold one another accountable.” Rev. Sharpton came more precisely to the point, telling everyone, “Even though there’s been one grand jury, this case, in our opinion, has not been resolved.” Sharpton was, of course, referring to the killing of Officer Christopher Ridley.
Unfortunately, those who came hoping to hear some as yet unrevealed truth, some semblance of what actually occurred during those terrible 90 seconds just prior to 5pm on January 25 that ended Christopher Ridley’s life in a fusillade of bullets, were unreasonably optimistic.
Janet DiFiore wasn’t there to answer the questions uppermost in the minds of those who knew and loved the young man whose life was so needlessly snuffed out. In fact, despite Rev. Moore’s and Rev. Sharpton’s high-minded declarations of purpose, the program had been structured in such a way that no questions from the audience, or the press and media, would be directly put to her, or any of the other seven panelists on stage. In fact, to be sure that everyone understood she would not be held to account, she complained early on in response to a question she was uncomfortable with, “I was told that we were not going to speak about specific cases.”
Whoever assured DA DiFiore that there would be no questions on specific cases, if, indeed, anyone had, owed a real duty to all those present to announce up-front that they had granted the DA immunity from scrutiny, and that the next two and a half hours would be just another public relations exercise; so that we could all get up and leave. We want to know who gave such assurances to Janet DiFiore thus betraying and defeating the hopes and purposes of all those gathered to get beyond the lies, the deceit, and the defaming of Christopher Ridley’s honor and memory in, yet again, another massive coverup from the Office of the District Attorney.
We hold that whoever granted such assurance to Janet DiFiore betrayed the People of Mount Vernon, and all of Westchester as surely as Lisa Copeland and Reggie Lafayette did when, under orders from Larry Schwartz and Andy Spano, they worked for DiFiore’s election as a Republican in 2005 against fellow Democrat Tony Castro, who had been nominated by acclimation of more than 900 loyal Westchester Democratic committee members. Make no mistake, the People of Mount Vernon and, more specifically, the family and friends of Christopher Ridley, have Lisa, Reggie, Larry, and Andy to thank for the fact that the arrogant and untruthful Janet DiFiore; without the decency or moral fiber to return Christopher’s clothing and personal effects to his family, is their District Attorney.
She is not the People’s Attorney. She has, in two and a half years in office, demonstrated time and again, that she is beholden to special interests and is under the control of Larry Schwartz as surely as every other individual employed by Westchester County. Furthermore,
DiFiore has demonstrated that in matters involving possible police misconduct, she is totally incapable of dealing lawfully and even-handedly; instead, politically targeting the innocent while covering up the wrongful acts of officers from departments she is incestuously
connected to.
We, once again, add Our voice to the many who have called for an independent federal investigation into the killing of Mount Vernon Police Detective Christopher Ridley. There are just too many reasons not to accept the authority, the process, or the conclusions, that
have been foisted upon us.
Our Readers Respond...
In a True Democracy There is a System of Checks and Balances
Dear Editor:
The admission and acknowledgement of the District Attorney that there were grave mistakes in the handling of the Marquez case should give us pause. As a community we should take this opportunity to stop, reflect and ask ourselves: how many other innocent people have buckled under the pressure of the District Attorney’s Office? How many of us settled for being accused of minor infractions? How many times were people’s constitutional rights violated and overlooked?
Many disadvantaged families, especially those in the Black and Latino communities have been forced to watch family members brought to court on trumped up charges like “disorderly conduct”, “obstruction of justice” and “resisting arrest” which are little more than smoke screens for police misconduct and criminality. Police Criminality is cancerous; and if left unchecked, it can erode the integrity of law enforcement and eat away at the trust of the community.
Politicians and law makers in Westchester should be called to the carpet for an ineffective and failed system of law enforcement and for the lack of accountability that is running rampant. In a true democracy, there is a system of checks and balances; there are forums for the people to be heard; and there is an opportunity for dialogue and change.
The National Black Police Association (NBPA) and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have been monitoring the complaints of Police Criminality in the cities, towns and villages of Westchester. At the numerous rallies and community meetings we held over the past years, we discovered that many community residents do not know how to file a proper complaint when they felt their rights were violated by law enforcement officers. To this end, we have created an informational pamphlet “How Do You Handle Police Brutality A Citizens Plan For Action”. This pamphlet is meant to provide citizens with information to help them determine if their rights have been violated by the police and what steps to take if they feel their rights have been violated.
The NBPA will continue to support and rally for legislation that will secure the appointment of a State-wide Special Prosecutor to eliminate assumption of bias and political influence on investigations when local police municipalities are both “investigating” and “prosecuting” each other. Appointment of a Special Prosecutor will ensure transparency in the Justice System which is essential for building trust in the community we serve, and for ensuring that both the rights of victims and law enforcement of-ficers are protected.
In Unity And In Peace
Damon K. Jones, Executive Director
Westchester Blacks In Law Enforcement
Reflections Of A Truly Patriotically Spirited Reader
Dear Editor:
On the occasion of our Fourth of July holiday, when we celebrate throwing off the fetters that cruel England would have forced upon us, I think we should all take time to reflect, during the cookouts, firework displays, and parades, on the true nature and value of the freedoms
we hold so dear, and the sacrifices made in blood to secure them.
It is of special importance, I believe, at this time in our history, to consider another tyranny that threatens us - our dependence on foreign oil. We are, by nature, an optimistic and resourceful people. We have stores of talent and technology, enjoyed by few in this world, that may yet be mined to find a solution for this most vexing of problems.
A solution must be found if we are to continue to move forward and ensure for future generations the same hopes and dreams that have sustained and propelled this country to the position it enjoys today. We have diffi-culties, certainly, in our economy, and many of our citizens are suffering from hunger and lack of adequate housing and medical care. However, collectively, we are endowed with the strength
and resilience to overcome even the worst of circumstances, should we apply the full force of our minds and spirits to the matter.
How fortunate we are, too, to live in a country where one may speak freely. We have seen, only recently, the mockery made of democracy as goons frogmarched reluctant, terrified people to vote in a one-candidate election. We are blessed, indeed, to live free from the fear of reprisal for our choice of political candidate, which may mean death or dismemberment in these spurious “democracies.” Here, also, we are free to worship God in the manner we choose--or we may be unbelievers, all without fear of persecution.
We are, above all, a generous people--freely offering our talents and resources to those who suffer from want, wherever in the world they may be. At this moment though, our own economic markets are suffering. I am confident, nonetheless, given our past history, we will, as so many times before, resolve these difficulties and emerge a stronger and more resilient country and people.
Washington’s words still hold true today: “The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and
destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them.
The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.” I wish all your readers a very happy--and reflective--Fourth of July holiday.
May God bless America, always.
MaryAnn McCarra-Fitzpatrick
New Castle Reader Laments
Dear Editor:
Well, folks of the Town of New Castle, the Thruway is coming to your hometown, to your neighborhood. Commencing sometime this summer or fall, the State Department of Transportation will start construction of a new bridge and byway over the railroad tracks and parkway that are the entryway to our town. This proposition has been demanded of our town by the DOT. Our Town Board commenced, eight years ago, when this need was first announced to expand on DOT’s plans to satisfy their byway agenda with government funding.
Today this proposal will cost $17,500,000. Its initial cost was $850,000. This 20.6 fold increase is the shameful work of your Town Board and Town Administrator in conjunction with DOT incompetents in Albany. This monstrous construction folly will alter the small town entranceway to downtown Chappaqua forever; It will not ease traffic patterns to and from town in the least; It will force the establishment of the traffic light circus that was originally dismissed by the Town Board months ago; This construction project is not integrated in any way with a Downtown Development Plan.
This project, which should be termed Faiella’s Folly (the Town Administrator), must be stopped. It is up to you, the citizens of New Castle, to stop this folly in its tracks. To accomplish this, you need to:
• Express your concerns to the Town Board in writing:
Barbara Gerardi – email: bgerrard@town.new-castle.ny.us
Elise Kessler Mottel – email: ekmottel@town.new-castle.ny.us
John Buckley – email: jbuckley@town.new-castle.ny.us
Robin Stout – email: rstout@town.new-castle.ny.us
Michael Wolfensohn – email: mbwolf@town.new-castle.ny.us
• Express your concerns to the DOT in writing:
Regional Director Joan Dupont, P.E.
Eleanor Roosevelt State Office Building
4 Burnett Boulevard
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Email – cmcgarrigle@DOT.STATE.NY.US
• Express your feelings to Jerry Faiella in writing:
Email – jfaiella@town.new-castle.ny.us
• Visit the Town Board meetings expressing your concerns: the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:30pm. Or, go to their work sessions on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month by appointment. The work sessions are held in rooms adjacent to the Assembly Hall. And, listen to us, The Concerned Citizens of Chappaqua. We have the professional solution to this folly. The Town Board will not listen to us. We hope you will.
David B. Metz, Chappaqua
Ossining Must Be Very Proud Of These Seventh Graders
Dear Editor:
On June 20, we put on a benefit concert at the Ossining Public Library on behalf of a project called “Change for Darfur” which we became part of to try to help the people of Darfur. It began as our community service project for our bar mitzvahs. For months, we have been putting out cans in local businesses and shops in Ossining to raise funds and awareness, and people were invited to come to our bar mitzvahs with cans and jars and bottles of coins. We made presentations about the suffering of Darfur, trying to send the message that we should not and could not remain silent while people suffered terribly and another Holocaust takes place.
Over the months, with people being incredibly generous, we had raised more than $1,000 but we decided to put together a concert because we thought it would be an even better way to raise money and awareness, and to get more people involved. The outcome was more than we could have hoped for, and we wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank some people: first of all the community of Ossining from
its business owners to its students who helped; Sharon Kirschner in Tarrytown who inspired us and helped us to bring “Change for Darfur” to Ossining; Mr. Bradley Morrison and Mr. Dave August, music directors at AMD who we couldn’t have done this without; and all the musicians and artists of the AMD Jazz Band, Jazz Choir and rock band Mercury who gave their time and talents on a Friday night and helped us raise more than $800! And the crowd had a great time!
All of the money we’ve raised will be donated directly to Doctors Without Borders, an organization that works in Darfur bringing desperately needed medical supplies and personnel. Thank you again to all who have helped with their time, their money or their energy!
Tal Mintz, Marco Spodek
Anne M. Dorner 7th graders
Ossining
Westchester Guardian/Janet Difiore.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The Court Report
By Richard Blassberg
District Attorney Vindictively Pursues
Still Another Wrong-Headed Prosecution
Wife Of Accused Sets Record Straight
Westchester Supreme Court, White Plains
Judge Lester B. Adler Presiding
Wednesday morning, July 2, Anthony DiSimone, who was released from State Prison under a Writ of Habeas Corpus, granted by Federal District Court Judge Charles L. Brieant 16 months ago, appeared in State Supreme Court before Judge Les Adler for a pre-trial hearing held specifically for the purpose of resolving the issue of whether his present attorney, Murray Richman, would be permitted to continue representing him.
At a previous appearance before Adler, Assistant District Attorney Timothy Ward, had raised the question of a possible conflict of interest
on the part of Mr. Richman based upon information that the District Attorney’s Office was relying upon to the effect that Richman had represented a potential witness in the anticipated trial, in another matter.
Prior to the opening of the hearing, Attorney Richman had assured his client, and his client’s family, that he had thoroughly checked his records and that, “There is no way, absolutely no way, there is any conflict of interest.” His assertion would be con-firmed minutes later in pen court.
Judge Adler had called Defense Attorney Richman and ADA Ward into his chambers for a brief conference prior to the hearing. Adler
opened the proceeding stating, “We are here today so that this Court can make an educated decision with respect to whether Mr. Murray Richman can represent Mr. DiSimone.”
He then called upon ADA Ward, who proceeded to explain that investigators from the District Attorney’s Office had determined that, in fact, the witness to which he had made prior reference was actually represented by Attorney Corozza in November of 2006, the time
frame referenced earlier by Ward, and that the DA’s Office was satisfied that there was no conflict in Mr. Richman’s representation of
DiSimone. Ward assured the Court, “From our standpoint, we think that clears it up.”
Murray Richman then responded, “Your Honor, I must repsectfully request to represent Mr. DiSimone. Judge Adler then, turning to
Anthony DiSimone, said, “Mr. DiSimone, I want you to state whether you are aware of the possible risk going forward, although, as of now,
there appears to be no conflict. DiSimone acknowledged the awareness of his present situation.
Adler then stated, “Bail conditions are continued.”
Mr. Ward spoke up requesting that the Court “repeat Parker Warnings.” Adler responded by proceeding to remind Mr. DiSimone that in the event he were to fail to show up for Court at an assigned date and time, the case would go forward without him. Prior to the hearing, Annmarie DiSimone, Anthony’s wife, told reporters, “I think this trial is a good thing because it will bring out and fi-nally expose all of the corruption that was involved in my husband’s conviction. If the proper investigation was done in the first place, Anthony would never have
been indicted.”
Analysis:
Anthony Di-Simone, who was acquitted of Second Degree Intentional Murder, but convicted of Depraved Indifference Murder following a jury trial in the stabbing death of Louis Balancio, February 4, 1994 outside the Strike Zone Bar in Yonkers, is presently free on $500,000
bail bond having been released on a Writ of Habeas Corpus, following the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ discovery that his conviction and
continued imprisonment was based upon extreme prosecutorial misconduct; a Brady violation so onerous and so enormous that Judge Calabresi described it, saying, “In twelve years on this Court I have never seen such a Brady violation.”
Calabresi was referring to the concealment by former District Attorney Jeanine Pirro and current District Attorney Janet DiFiore of 376 pages, 52 boxes, and miles of taped interviews and conversations withheld from Defense, exculpatory to Anthony DiSimone and pointing to the real murderers. Mrs. DiSimone’s comments to reporters indicating that she thought that the upcoming trial was “a good thing,” is understandable in light of more than 14 years of lies and harassment, not to mention seven years of wrongful imprisonment that her husband,
and their entire family, have had to deal with, as well as the financial burden they will be dealing with for many years because of the cruelty
and self-serving misconduct of both Jeanine Pirro and Janet DiFiore.
From our perspective, it is dif-ficult to conceive the charge under which DA DiFiore hopes to try and convict Mr. DiSimone. Given that he
was acquitted of intentional murder more than eight years ago following a jury trial, and the charge for which he was convicted, Depraved Indifference Murder, has been clarified and redefined since 2004 by the State Court of Appeals in terms that clearly would preclude the act of stabbing someone 13 times from eligibility as a Depraved Indifference Murder; not to mention the mountain of evidence she has been forced to turn over, that not only is exculpatory to DiSimone, but reveals who the actual confessed killer and his accomplice were.
NEWS RELEASE
Martin Tankleff and Other Exonerees and Legal Experts Testify at Senate Democratic Forum on Preventing Wrongful Convictions
Exonoree speaks for first time in public about his nearly 20-year long ordeal Today, State Senators Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan/Bronx), Velmanette Montgomery (D-Brooklyn) and Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan), Assemblymembers Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan), Rory Lancman (D-Queens) and Ellen Young (D-Queens), and leading criminal justice advocates took part in a public forum to address wrongful convictions and the creation of an independent “Innocence Commission” in New York State.
At the forum, testimony was presented by exonerees Martin Tankleff and Alan Newton, Steve Saloom of The Innocence Project, which is affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Bernice Leber, President of the New York State Bar Association, Barry Kamins, Chair of the NYS Bar Association’s Task Force on Wrongful Convictions, and Jonathan Gradess, Executive Director of the New York State Defenders Association.
Schneiderman, who chairs the New York State Senate Democratic Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform and also serves as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Codes Committee and as a Commissioner on the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform, has worked to nsure that the guilty are punished and innocent persons are (safeguarded).
Testimony from today’s forum will be used to develop legislation that ensures the public’s trust in New York’s criminal justice system.
“No one who is entrusted with ensuring the integrity of our criminal justice process—and most importantly the legislators who make our laws—can, in good conscience, ignore the prevalence of wrongful convictions in our state,” Senator Schneiderman said. “There are known flaws in the system, with eyewitness identification, interrogations, and preservation of and postconviction access to DNA, that we can and should remedy. There are also contributing factors that we don’t understand, and we have a responsibility to identify and remedy those as well.”
Testifying today about the need for reform in our criminal justice system was Martin Tankleff, who was convicted and sentenced to 50-years-to-life after allegedly confessing to his parents’ double-homicide. Last year, after serving over 17 years in prison, the New York State Appellate Court 2nd Department unanimously overturned his conviction. On Monday, the office of New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo vacated his indictments and decided not to retry Mr. Tankleff.
“I clearly do not want another person to experience what I have been experiencing for nearly twenty years,” said Mr. Tankleff. “The larger meaning of my case is to point out the gaps in our system, which is that when there is a horrible, obvious mistake made, there is no mechanism for correcting it. To leave it to the judicial and prosecutorial entities to correct their own mistakes is what leads the wrongfully convicted, like myself, to remain imprisoned for many, many years.”
Steve Saloom, Policy Director at The Innocence Project, indicated that the circumstances in the Tankleff case were not unique. The Innocence Project has helped to exonerate 215 individuals in the United States since 1989. According to Saloom, “Twenty-three people in New York served years or decades in prison before DNA proved their innocence, more than almost any other state in the nation. Nobody – not the police, prosecutors, judges, victims, or the public at large – benefits from these wrongful convictions. The only person who benefits is the real perpetrator of a crime, who eludes justice. In order to restore public faith in the justice system, it is critically important that we learn from each wrongful conviction by examining their causes and understanding the reforms that can prevent them. We applaud the New York Bar Association for taking the first steps towards doing so and we commend Senator Schneiderman for convening this Task Force to understand how the legislature can best act to prevent wrongful convictions.”
Saloom and others spoke about the need for an independent innocence commission as a tool for addressing wrongful convictions in the state. For several years, and without success, the state legislature has sought to establish an innocence commission empowered to evaluate the lessons of these exonerations. Such a commission would examine each case, with a specific eye towards what investigative and court processes – and what prosecutorial and defense shortcomings—contributed to those wrongful convictions.
Such a commission would make recommendations to adopt reforms that increase the accuracy of criminal investigations, strengthen prosecutions, and protect the innocent. Many other states have learned from wrongful convictions in this manner; they have researched cases and potential reforms, heard testimony from experts, and issued reports and recommendations on issues including eyewitness identifications, false confessions, and forensic laboratory oversight.
The New York State Bar Association recently created a task force of criminal justice experts from across the state’s criminal justice system that will review the state’s wrongful convictions, seek to understand their causes, and issue recommendations to improve the accuracy of New York’s criminal justice system. This NYSBA task force has great potential to inform policymakers about the reforms New York needs to adopt in order to further enhance the quality of justice across our state. Legislation has been introduced in Albany to permanently establish and fund such a commission.
“Fundamentally, we became lawyers and public servants to help others,” testified Bernice Leber, President of the New York State Bar Association. “I can think of no worse fear than being imprisoned – even for one day – for a crime that one did not commit.” “The Bar Association’s Task Force has identified 56 cases in New York where a convicted defendant was later exonerated, either by the use of DNA testing or based on non-DNA methods, and we plan to review each of those cases and produce a report by January 2009,” said Barry Kamins, Chair of the recently established Bar Association Task Force on Wrongful Convictions.
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, a long time advocate for reforming criminal justice policies in New York, continued “The hundreds of exonerations across the nation over the past several years should inspire us to fix the cracks in our criminal justice system. By examining current exonerations and recommending ways to reform our criminal justice procedures, an independent commission will act as a guide to ensure that our criminal justice system is working properly, and that we are only convicting the real perpetrator of a crime.”
State Senator Bill Perkins agreed with his colleagues and added, “The Central Park Five are perfect examples of how innocent individuals can be wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. Frighteningly, if this case had warranted the death penalty, then these young men would have had their lives ended because our system failed them.” “Just as we study the causes of wrongful deaths, our criminal justice system needs an autopsy to determine how to prevent even more innocent people from being imprisoned,” said Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), who is the author of legislation to establish an Innocence Commission in New York (Assembly Bill A4317). “One innocent person spending years in prison for crimes he or she did not commit is one too many. Unfortunately, recent history proves that the problem is more widespread than anyone would like to admit. This is a systemic problem that requires a systemic solution. ”
Addressing the information provided by the Innocence Project, Manhattan Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat commented, “The Senate’s Democratic Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform provides the citizens of New York the opportunity to examine how we are best able to protect the public while at the same time protecting the rights of individual citizens. There have been individuals from my district, like Fernando Bermudez, who have suffered for years because our procedures for eyewitness identification do not account for human error.”
Martin Tankleff was joined by Alan Newton, a Brooklyn resident who served 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Newton was exonerated, with the assistance of the Innocence Project, in 2006. “It is essential that we create an innocence commission so that we can enact the necessary reforms to prevent wrongful convictions, so that other people don’t suffer the same fate I did,” said Newton.
“The hundreds of wrongful convictions exposed by DNA exonerations are a gigantic stain on the face of our criminal justice system,” testified Jonathan Gradess of the New York State Defenders Association. “Worse, these numbers only hint at the number of men and women who have lost, and those who will lose, their liberty due to systemic problems resulting in bad lawyering. An efficient and effective public defense system would be a big step in preventing wrongful convictions.”
The Court Report
By Richard Blassberg
District Attorney Vindictively Pursues
Still Another Wrong-Headed Prosecution
Wife Of Accused Sets Record Straight
Westchester Supreme Court, White Plains
Judge Lester B. Adler Presiding
Wednesday morning, July 2, Anthony DiSimone, who was released from State Prison under a Writ of Habeas Corpus, granted by Federal District Court Judge Charles L. Brieant 16 months ago, appeared in State Supreme Court before Judge Les Adler for a pre-trial hearing held specifically for the purpose of resolving the issue of whether his present attorney, Murray Richman, would be permitted to continue representing him.
At a previous appearance before Adler, Assistant District Attorney Timothy Ward, had raised the question of a possible conflict of interest
on the part of Mr. Richman based upon information that the District Attorney’s Office was relying upon to the effect that Richman had represented a potential witness in the anticipated trial, in another matter.
Prior to the opening of the hearing, Attorney Richman had assured his client, and his client’s family, that he had thoroughly checked his records and that, “There is no way, absolutely no way, there is any conflict of interest.” His assertion would be con-firmed minutes later in pen court.
Judge Adler had called Defense Attorney Richman and ADA Ward into his chambers for a brief conference prior to the hearing. Adler
opened the proceeding stating, “We are here today so that this Court can make an educated decision with respect to whether Mr. Murray Richman can represent Mr. DiSimone.”
He then called upon ADA Ward, who proceeded to explain that investigators from the District Attorney’s Office had determined that, in fact, the witness to which he had made prior reference was actually represented by Attorney Corozza in November of 2006, the time
frame referenced earlier by Ward, and that the DA’s Office was satisfied that there was no conflict in Mr. Richman’s representation of
DiSimone. Ward assured the Court, “From our standpoint, we think that clears it up.”
Murray Richman then responded, “Your Honor, I must repsectfully request to represent Mr. DiSimone. Judge Adler then, turning to
Anthony DiSimone, said, “Mr. DiSimone, I want you to state whether you are aware of the possible risk going forward, although, as of now,
there appears to be no conflict. DiSimone acknowledged the awareness of his present situation.
Adler then stated, “Bail conditions are continued.”
Mr. Ward spoke up requesting that the Court “repeat Parker Warnings.” Adler responded by proceeding to remind Mr. DiSimone that in the event he were to fail to show up for Court at an assigned date and time, the case would go forward without him. Prior to the hearing, Annmarie DiSimone, Anthony’s wife, told reporters, “I think this trial is a good thing because it will bring out and fi-nally expose all of the corruption that was involved in my husband’s conviction. If the proper investigation was done in the first place, Anthony would never have
been indicted.”
Analysis:
Anthony Di-Simone, who was acquitted of Second Degree Intentional Murder, but convicted of Depraved Indifference Murder following a jury trial in the stabbing death of Louis Balancio, February 4, 1994 outside the Strike Zone Bar in Yonkers, is presently free on $500,000
bail bond having been released on a Writ of Habeas Corpus, following the Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ discovery that his conviction and
continued imprisonment was based upon extreme prosecutorial misconduct; a Brady violation so onerous and so enormous that Judge Calabresi described it, saying, “In twelve years on this Court I have never seen such a Brady violation.”
Calabresi was referring to the concealment by former District Attorney Jeanine Pirro and current District Attorney Janet DiFiore of 376 pages, 52 boxes, and miles of taped interviews and conversations withheld from Defense, exculpatory to Anthony DiSimone and pointing to the real murderers. Mrs. DiSimone’s comments to reporters indicating that she thought that the upcoming trial was “a good thing,” is understandable in light of more than 14 years of lies and harassment, not to mention seven years of wrongful imprisonment that her husband,
and their entire family, have had to deal with, as well as the financial burden they will be dealing with for many years because of the cruelty
and self-serving misconduct of both Jeanine Pirro and Janet DiFiore.
From our perspective, it is dif-ficult to conceive the charge under which DA DiFiore hopes to try and convict Mr. DiSimone. Given that he
was acquitted of intentional murder more than eight years ago following a jury trial, and the charge for which he was convicted, Depraved Indifference Murder, has been clarified and redefined since 2004 by the State Court of Appeals in terms that clearly would preclude the act of stabbing someone 13 times from eligibility as a Depraved Indifference Murder; not to mention the mountain of evidence she has been forced to turn over, that not only is exculpatory to DiSimone, but reveals who the actual confessed killer and his accomplice were.
NEWS RELEASE
Martin Tankleff and Other Exonerees and Legal Experts Testify at Senate Democratic Forum on Preventing Wrongful Convictions
Exonoree speaks for first time in public about his nearly 20-year long ordeal Today, State Senators Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan/Bronx), Velmanette Montgomery (D-Brooklyn) and Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan), Assemblymembers Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan), Rory Lancman (D-Queens) and Ellen Young (D-Queens), and leading criminal justice advocates took part in a public forum to address wrongful convictions and the creation of an independent “Innocence Commission” in New York State.
At the forum, testimony was presented by exonerees Martin Tankleff and Alan Newton, Steve Saloom of The Innocence Project, which is affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Bernice Leber, President of the New York State Bar Association, Barry Kamins, Chair of the NYS Bar Association’s Task Force on Wrongful Convictions, and Jonathan Gradess, Executive Director of the New York State Defenders Association.
Schneiderman, who chairs the New York State Senate Democratic Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform and also serves as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Codes Committee and as a Commissioner on the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform, has worked to nsure that the guilty are punished and innocent persons are (safeguarded).
Testimony from today’s forum will be used to develop legislation that ensures the public’s trust in New York’s criminal justice system.
“No one who is entrusted with ensuring the integrity of our criminal justice process—and most importantly the legislators who make our laws—can, in good conscience, ignore the prevalence of wrongful convictions in our state,” Senator Schneiderman said. “There are known flaws in the system, with eyewitness identification, interrogations, and preservation of and postconviction access to DNA, that we can and should remedy. There are also contributing factors that we don’t understand, and we have a responsibility to identify and remedy those as well.”
Testifying today about the need for reform in our criminal justice system was Martin Tankleff, who was convicted and sentenced to 50-years-to-life after allegedly confessing to his parents’ double-homicide. Last year, after serving over 17 years in prison, the New York State Appellate Court 2nd Department unanimously overturned his conviction. On Monday, the office of New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo vacated his indictments and decided not to retry Mr. Tankleff.
“I clearly do not want another person to experience what I have been experiencing for nearly twenty years,” said Mr. Tankleff. “The larger meaning of my case is to point out the gaps in our system, which is that when there is a horrible, obvious mistake made, there is no mechanism for correcting it. To leave it to the judicial and prosecutorial entities to correct their own mistakes is what leads the wrongfully convicted, like myself, to remain imprisoned for many, many years.”
Steve Saloom, Policy Director at The Innocence Project, indicated that the circumstances in the Tankleff case were not unique. The Innocence Project has helped to exonerate 215 individuals in the United States since 1989. According to Saloom, “Twenty-three people in New York served years or decades in prison before DNA proved their innocence, more than almost any other state in the nation. Nobody – not the police, prosecutors, judges, victims, or the public at large – benefits from these wrongful convictions. The only person who benefits is the real perpetrator of a crime, who eludes justice. In order to restore public faith in the justice system, it is critically important that we learn from each wrongful conviction by examining their causes and understanding the reforms that can prevent them. We applaud the New York Bar Association for taking the first steps towards doing so and we commend Senator Schneiderman for convening this Task Force to understand how the legislature can best act to prevent wrongful convictions.”
Saloom and others spoke about the need for an independent innocence commission as a tool for addressing wrongful convictions in the state. For several years, and without success, the state legislature has sought to establish an innocence commission empowered to evaluate the lessons of these exonerations. Such a commission would examine each case, with a specific eye towards what investigative and court processes – and what prosecutorial and defense shortcomings—contributed to those wrongful convictions.
Such a commission would make recommendations to adopt reforms that increase the accuracy of criminal investigations, strengthen prosecutions, and protect the innocent. Many other states have learned from wrongful convictions in this manner; they have researched cases and potential reforms, heard testimony from experts, and issued reports and recommendations on issues including eyewitness identifications, false confessions, and forensic laboratory oversight.
The New York State Bar Association recently created a task force of criminal justice experts from across the state’s criminal justice system that will review the state’s wrongful convictions, seek to understand their causes, and issue recommendations to improve the accuracy of New York’s criminal justice system. This NYSBA task force has great potential to inform policymakers about the reforms New York needs to adopt in order to further enhance the quality of justice across our state. Legislation has been introduced in Albany to permanently establish and fund such a commission.
“Fundamentally, we became lawyers and public servants to help others,” testified Bernice Leber, President of the New York State Bar Association. “I can think of no worse fear than being imprisoned – even for one day – for a crime that one did not commit.” “The Bar Association’s Task Force has identified 56 cases in New York where a convicted defendant was later exonerated, either by the use of DNA testing or based on non-DNA methods, and we plan to review each of those cases and produce a report by January 2009,” said Barry Kamins, Chair of the recently established Bar Association Task Force on Wrongful Convictions.
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, a long time advocate for reforming criminal justice policies in New York, continued “The hundreds of exonerations across the nation over the past several years should inspire us to fix the cracks in our criminal justice system. By examining current exonerations and recommending ways to reform our criminal justice procedures, an independent commission will act as a guide to ensure that our criminal justice system is working properly, and that we are only convicting the real perpetrator of a crime.”
State Senator Bill Perkins agreed with his colleagues and added, “The Central Park Five are perfect examples of how innocent individuals can be wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. Frighteningly, if this case had warranted the death penalty, then these young men would have had their lives ended because our system failed them.” “Just as we study the causes of wrongful deaths, our criminal justice system needs an autopsy to determine how to prevent even more innocent people from being imprisoned,” said Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), who is the author of legislation to establish an Innocence Commission in New York (Assembly Bill A4317). “One innocent person spending years in prison for crimes he or she did not commit is one too many. Unfortunately, recent history proves that the problem is more widespread than anyone would like to admit. This is a systemic problem that requires a systemic solution. ”
Addressing the information provided by the Innocence Project, Manhattan Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat commented, “The Senate’s Democratic Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform provides the citizens of New York the opportunity to examine how we are best able to protect the public while at the same time protecting the rights of individual citizens. There have been individuals from my district, like Fernando Bermudez, who have suffered for years because our procedures for eyewitness identification do not account for human error.”
Martin Tankleff was joined by Alan Newton, a Brooklyn resident who served 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Newton was exonerated, with the assistance of the Innocence Project, in 2006. “It is essential that we create an innocence commission so that we can enact the necessary reforms to prevent wrongful convictions, so that other people don’t suffer the same fate I did,” said Newton.
“The hundreds of wrongful convictions exposed by DNA exonerations are a gigantic stain on the face of our criminal justice system,” testified Jonathan Gradess of the New York State Defenders Association. “Worse, these numbers only hint at the number of men and women who have lost, and those who will lose, their liberty due to systemic problems resulting in bad lawyering. An efficient and effective public defense system would be a big step in preventing wrongful convictions.”
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Westchester Guardian.
Jeff Deskovic
Catch 22: Obstacles The Wrongfully
Convicted Face Upon Release From Prison
I spent 16 years in prison obsessing over how to prove my innocence and thus regain my freedom. I thought about every conceivable way that there was, while pursuing each idea and method to the extent that I could. In order to keep my sanity, and keep myself going, at times I would daydream about being free; what my life would be like, the things that I would do, and how I would automatically fit right back in to society and begin living the life I thought most people did.
The image would dangle in front of my mind about the life that the average, reasonable man was living. He had a nice place
to live in a good neighborhood, a good job, with reasonably good financial condition, friends, social life, family relations, a wife
or someone he was serious about, doing fun things, going on vacations, and generally being well balanced.
Not only did I think that upon release I would be living that life, but I also believed that I would be at the same point others
my age were. I would not have to begin things at the bottom, and work my way up, but rather, society would recognize the ordeal that I had just been through and thus would allow me begin things at the point at which I would have been had my life never been disrupted.
Lastly, I thought that I would be able to relax for a little while, getting some much needed rest and relief after struggling to regain my freedom for 16 years while simultaneously navigating the non-stop obstacle course that some of the prisoners, prison guards, civilian staff, and prison authorities presented. I have met over seventy exonerees since I have been out of prison, and have continued to keep myself abreast of wrongful conviction literature and information, which frequently include interviews and quotes from those who have been exonerated. I have discovered my ideas of what life would be like once I was freed were not particular to me, nor were the realities and difficulties that I encountered once I was released.
We exonerees have found it to be most ironic that while we struggled in prison to clear our name, regain our freedom, and presumably exit to a happier life, that we have instead gone from one set of problems to a whole other set, mostly unanticipated. As a result, it is often difficult to pick up the pieces as we discover life is difficult, and often less than happy. It is not a matter of feeling sorry for oneself or having a bad outlook, but rather, that the positive outlook that “everything is going to be all right” is most often beaten down by hard, everyday realities that are too concrete and real. Consequently, although being free is far better than being in prison, the new problems are like going from the fire into the frying pan and hence, on some level,
like a Catch 22. Ironically, my reflections on these issues, attempting to throw some illumination on them for the sake of society
come in month 22 of my freedom.
I write hopefully not merely to inform, but also to inspire people to take corrective action. Neither the state nor the federal
government offers any assistance to the wrongfully convicted once they have been cleared and released. If after reading
this, citizens understand how morally wrong and unacceptable the circumstance is, hopefully they will contact Senators and
Assemblypersons, urging them to enact appropriate changes to the law to help ease the transition of wrongfully incarcerated persons back into society. In that regard, I urge readers to sign the petition on my website www.JeffeyDeskovicSpeaks.org if you have not already done so. The petition contains measures that I, and others, are advocating for, designed not only to prevent wrongful convictions, but also to help ease transition from prison to society for those who are exonerated.
Those issues include, but are not limited to, the following:
Housing
Once they are released, housing is frequently a problem for the wrongfully convicted. Having a place to live is often the rst obstacle encountered. Some exonerees are fortunate enough to have family waiting for them that they can live with. Although frequently grateful to have family willing to open their homes, feelings of inadequacy, awkwardness, and the lack of independence are often attendant when adults who, by the natural cycle of life, should be living on their own, are compelled
to live with parents.
Scott Fappiano, who served 21 years in New York for Rape before being proven innocent, lives with his mother. He is back
in the same room that he occupied prior to his wrongful conviction. Alan Newton, who served 21 years, also for Rape, in New
York prior to being cleared, is fortunate in that a friend has been allowing him to stay in an apartment in Harlem. But for that
fact, he would have great difficulty.
Many others do not have family waiting for them because they have passed away. Such is the case with Willie Green, who
served 25 years for Murder in California before being cleared. In other circumstances, family members are not willing to allow the exoneree to live with them any longer. Occasionally, the exonerated are able to get subsidized housing. It is not because
they went through the ordeal that they did, but rather because they just happen to qualify through other life’s circumstances.
Various exonerees who I have spoken with, who wish to remain anonymous, have said that they are often unhappy with where
their housing is, and that they are not living in the neighborhood or town that they would like to. The attitude that many of
them have had to deal with from those who work at such places is “Accept what you can get and be grateful for it. What are you complaining about; you’re free, aren’t you?” Various exonerees have told me that it is no small thing, after being imprisoned for many years, to then not be able to live where they would like. It leads to a feeling of not really being free. The commonality in all of these circumstances is that it is a far cry from having a nice place to live in a good area as each individual imagined while waiting to be liberated.
Financial Condition
Of course, feeling free goes beyond simply having housing in an area where one would like to live. There is also the element of being in reasonably good financial condition. There is the perception that the wrongfully convicted most often harbor that once they are released, they will quickly be able to transition into reasonably good financial condition by getting a good job and being on their way in no time. There are a variety of reasons why this most often does not happen. Michael Williams got a ten dollar check from Louisiana State officials the day he was released after serving 24 years in prison for an Aggravated Rape he did not commit. As absurd as it might seem to say, on a small level Williams got a head start on almost all exonerees. Incredibly, when most inmates are exonerated they walk out of prison with nothing.
It is difficult for the exonerated to get jobs. In an October 13th, 2004 article in USA Today, by Stephanie Armour, it was noted at the time that Dana Holland, who served eight years for Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault that he did not commit, could not get a job. Often when exonerees do find jobs, they are low paying. That is because employers, in many instances, have not been willing to give someone a chance to show what they can do because they lack experience.
However, experience, though desirable, is not necessarily an essential element. What is truly essential is whether the person can do the job, or can be trained to do it within a reasonable amount of time. Therefore, the jobs that are often offered are low-paying jobs. Vincent Moto
served 11½ years in Pennsylvania for Rape before being cleared. As he mentions in the documentary After Innocence, the state took away his prime earning years. The jobs he now gets are always low-paying, and he is still struggling to this day. Often, the wrongfully convicted don’t have the proper education to get a good paying job. I sat beside Roy Brown, at a legislative hearing, a man who served 15 years in New York for a Murder that he was proven innocent of. The hearing concerned the possible expansion of the DNA Database. Throughout the proceeding he repeatedly declared, “I don’t have much education.”
Sometimes lack of preparation for meaningful employment is coupled with learning disability or emotional problems, which stem from either pre- or post-wrongful conviction and incarceration. Byron Halsey served 19 years in New Jersey for two murders before being cleared. His lawyers said he had a sixth-grade education and severe learning disabilities. A man who owned a sign-making company felt compassion for
Halsey, and offered him a job making signs. Though I applaud him for doing more than what many potential employers would do,
Halsey is not making very much money. All of the above add up to the fact that being in good financial shape, having a good income coming in; disposable income to enjoy freedom, and being able to have money in the bank, and some measure of security, are often a fantasy.
Family Relations
In the psychological literature on the effects of wrongful conviction on prisoners, it will be found that it is often disruptive for both the family and the wrongly convicted individual to attempt to resume normal family relations, generally due to a variety of factors:
• The family got used to functioning without them;
• They are unsure of what to do or say around them, and vice versa;
• The person’s personality has changed;
Many of those who have been wrongfully convicted suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome, panic attacks, and anxiety. Ronald
Cotton, who served 10 ½ years in North Carolina for Rape before being cleared, reported that is afraid of being in crowds, due to the
violence that used to occur in prison when people were in crowds. Some of the prisoners viewed being in a crowd as an opportunity to stab, cut, or otherwise injure another unsuspecting prisoner and get away with it. These afflictions have the effect of changing a person’s personality, and thus impacting upon family interactions. The feeling of seeing family members that one last saw when they were young
children can be disorienting. Scott Hornoff, a former police officer who spent approximately seven years wrongfully convicted of a murder in Rhode Island before being proven innocent, said that he thought about picking his son up and holding him when he was cleared. Instead, by the time he was freed his son was tall enough to pick him up. Many report feeling frozen in time. Explaining to family members where
their relative has been, and why, has also proven to be difficult. Vincent Moto served 11½ years in prison in Pennsylvania for rape before being cleared. His daughter recounted not being able to understand why her father was incarcerated if he was innocent. Of course, some exonerees don’t even have the privilege of experiencing this with their family members. Some family members are just not able to reconnect. Barry Gibbs, who served 19 years in New York for a murder before he was proven innocent, mentioned in an interview that he does not have interaction with his family. Speaking of his son, he stated that he was grown up now and has his own life, and that he is not part of it.
Others, such as Willie Green of California, who served 25 years for a murder he did not commit, have had all of their relatives pass away while they were wrongfully incarcerated.
Social Life
By the time most wrongfully convicted people are released from prison, they have long since lost contact with all of their previous friends and associates. From what I have heard through my conversations with many other exonerees, it often is not possible to reconnect with former friends, for a variety of reasons: They have moved away and lost contact, with no other way to find them; they are unable to reconnect since both people are different people now with little in common other than a few memories from a long time ago. People from the past are not a source of people to socialize or do things with, or enjoy one’s new-found freedom with.
It is often difficult to meet new friends, if the exonerated person is not coming home to family members who are in the same age bracket and who can introduce them to others. Many people in society already have their lives, for the most part, in order, and have full plates in front of them. Thus, either there is no room, or others are unwilling to make room, for new activity partners. I have heard from some exonerees that
they are often alone. Out of the people who have talked to me about this problem, some have reported difficulty in having people who are able to relate to them since nothing in their background would give them a remote frame of reference by which to understand what it was like to be wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.
Yet another factor is that there are some members of the public, who, despite realizing that the exonerated are in fact innocent, are nonetheless leary of socializing with them, or being “alone with them.” Lastly, there are a few, although a definite minority of exonerees,
whose experience of being wrongfully convicted has left them feeling isolated, out of place, and leery of interacting with others, out of fear that another false allegation might be levelled against them. These factors make the social life that most exonerees dreamed of while they were
incarcerated, unobtainable.
New Technologies
While wrongfully convicted prisoners are incarcerated, society is ever advancing technologically. Because the educational programs in prison tend to be inadequate and outdated, there is little or no attempt to keep inmates up to date on the latest advances. Thus, when released, being suddenly approached with unfamiliar technology can be disorienting and discouraging. It often takes quite a while to become fully brought up to speed, and has the effect of making the exonerated feel as though they are on a strange planet.
Solutions and Conclusions
It is clear that the life that many wrongfully convicted prisoners, while they’re incarcerated, dream of having, is not the life they are likely to have upon being released, at least not unless a lot of things change. I feel very strongly, from a moral perspective, that some things should be changed, so that the exonerated can enjoy whatever is left of their life that they must live. Let us remember that, and Ron Williamson, who after serving 12 years on death row in Oklahoma for a murder he was innocent of, only lived for five more years. Thus, a long future is not
promised to any of them. It will take a combination of changes from the government and from society to make things better, so that the Catch 22 no longer exists. The government should provided the wrongfully imprisoned with funds immediately upon release, totally separate from what is awarded by way of legal action, as a good faith effort to help get people back on their feet. It should be enough that they are allowed to live in whatever town or city they would prefer, and enough to live comfortably.
They should be provided services such as mental health and programs to teach them the new technologies that will help them gain basic life skills. Many such programs already exist, but are only available to those on parole. Thus, just a little more funding is all that would be needed to allow the resources to be available to enable the wrongfully convicted access to them as well. They should be provided with education
and health benefits, without question. In addition, lawsuits involving wrongful convictions should be fast tracked so that it does not take the current time frame of between two to seven years before the litigation process is completed. To make people wait that long, often in mere poverty, is to further unjustly punish.
The citizenry, for their part, should make some changes: Firstly, on a social level, they must make an effort to view exonerees the same way they might if the exonerated had never been wrongfully convicted. That means being open to interacting with them socially on all levels, judging them on the basis of their character. To do otherwise is to engage in a type of discrimination. On a financial level, employers should
be open to employing exonerees in well paying positions, so long as they are able to do the job required. They should be willing to provide some short-term training in those instances where it is needed. Finally, those in positions to hire have the ability and the moral obligation to, in effect, open a new chapter in a wrongfully incarcerated person’s life, and help them to get started.
Bruno Retirement May Open Door To Legislative Reform
I have been to Albany on five different occasions to lobby lawmakers to pass reforms to prevent wrongful convictions, and to keep the death penalty out of New York. Senator Bruno was the biggest obstacle to such reforms. Having been the Majority
Leader for 13 years and a member of the Senate for 32, he wielded an incredible amount of power. If he wanted to pass a bill, he could say so and his party would simply vote that way. Similarly, if he did not, he could bury bills in committee. It was always clear to me that he was the main obstacle to reforms. Though we never personally met, I constantly felt the shadow that his presence cast, and I always had the keen sense that I was working for a cause to which he was opposed.
During a few of my trips to lobby, I had a few off-the-record conversations with a number of Republican Senators, who told me that, although they were against the death penalty, they felt that they had to vote for it because they were afraid of what would happen to them. They feared being assigned to committees they did not want to be on, and being given fewer resources to work with. They feared they would not have been able to deliver much to their constituents and, thus, would be vulnerable during elections. All of these were tactics they said Bruno used to keep party members in line.
In 2007, in the wake of several state troopers having been murdered, Bruno seized upon the opportunity to make a big push to reinstate the Death Penalty. Given that the Governor at the time was Eliot Spitzer, who had expressed public support for the death penalty, it was a time of crisis. Under Bruno’s watch, not only was the Death Penalty passed despite some Senators having voiced concern for innocent people who might be executed given New York’s many wrongful convictions.
When Senator Schneiderman offered amendments to try to prevent wrongful convictions, including the videotaping of police interrogations, those bills were voted down. I testified at the Assembly Codes Committee when they were considering expanding the DNA Database, as well as other reforms to protect the innocent, those bills passed the committee and then the full Assembly, but died in the Senate because of Bruno.
During one of my trips to Albany I remember being told that Bruno had, a few days prior to my arrival, passed the Death Penalty several times in one session. His publicly stated purpose was supposedly to emphasize that New York State needed the death penalty, and that he was insisting that the Assembly pass it as well.
Bruno was the main obstacle to legislative protections against wrongful convictions. Now that he no longer has a grip on his party as he is no longer Majority Leader of the Senate, I can see a possible opening of the way for passage of reforms. Of course, it remains to be seen whether on-the-fence Republicans will now vote the way that they really feel, or, whether the new Majority Leader, Dean Skelos, will use similar tactics, or be of the same mentality as Bruno.
Catch 22: Obstacles The Wrongfully
Convicted Face Upon Release From Prison
I spent 16 years in prison obsessing over how to prove my innocence and thus regain my freedom. I thought about every conceivable way that there was, while pursuing each idea and method to the extent that I could. In order to keep my sanity, and keep myself going, at times I would daydream about being free; what my life would be like, the things that I would do, and how I would automatically fit right back in to society and begin living the life I thought most people did.
The image would dangle in front of my mind about the life that the average, reasonable man was living. He had a nice place
to live in a good neighborhood, a good job, with reasonably good financial condition, friends, social life, family relations, a wife
or someone he was serious about, doing fun things, going on vacations, and generally being well balanced.
Not only did I think that upon release I would be living that life, but I also believed that I would be at the same point others
my age were. I would not have to begin things at the bottom, and work my way up, but rather, society would recognize the ordeal that I had just been through and thus would allow me begin things at the point at which I would have been had my life never been disrupted.
Lastly, I thought that I would be able to relax for a little while, getting some much needed rest and relief after struggling to regain my freedom for 16 years while simultaneously navigating the non-stop obstacle course that some of the prisoners, prison guards, civilian staff, and prison authorities presented. I have met over seventy exonerees since I have been out of prison, and have continued to keep myself abreast of wrongful conviction literature and information, which frequently include interviews and quotes from those who have been exonerated. I have discovered my ideas of what life would be like once I was freed were not particular to me, nor were the realities and difficulties that I encountered once I was released.
We exonerees have found it to be most ironic that while we struggled in prison to clear our name, regain our freedom, and presumably exit to a happier life, that we have instead gone from one set of problems to a whole other set, mostly unanticipated. As a result, it is often difficult to pick up the pieces as we discover life is difficult, and often less than happy. It is not a matter of feeling sorry for oneself or having a bad outlook, but rather, that the positive outlook that “everything is going to be all right” is most often beaten down by hard, everyday realities that are too concrete and real. Consequently, although being free is far better than being in prison, the new problems are like going from the fire into the frying pan and hence, on some level,
like a Catch 22. Ironically, my reflections on these issues, attempting to throw some illumination on them for the sake of society
come in month 22 of my freedom.
I write hopefully not merely to inform, but also to inspire people to take corrective action. Neither the state nor the federal
government offers any assistance to the wrongfully convicted once they have been cleared and released. If after reading
this, citizens understand how morally wrong and unacceptable the circumstance is, hopefully they will contact Senators and
Assemblypersons, urging them to enact appropriate changes to the law to help ease the transition of wrongfully incarcerated persons back into society. In that regard, I urge readers to sign the petition on my website www.JeffeyDeskovicSpeaks.org if you have not already done so. The petition contains measures that I, and others, are advocating for, designed not only to prevent wrongful convictions, but also to help ease transition from prison to society for those who are exonerated.
Those issues include, but are not limited to, the following:
Housing
Once they are released, housing is frequently a problem for the wrongfully convicted. Having a place to live is often the rst obstacle encountered. Some exonerees are fortunate enough to have family waiting for them that they can live with. Although frequently grateful to have family willing to open their homes, feelings of inadequacy, awkwardness, and the lack of independence are often attendant when adults who, by the natural cycle of life, should be living on their own, are compelled
to live with parents.
Scott Fappiano, who served 21 years in New York for Rape before being proven innocent, lives with his mother. He is back
in the same room that he occupied prior to his wrongful conviction. Alan Newton, who served 21 years, also for Rape, in New
York prior to being cleared, is fortunate in that a friend has been allowing him to stay in an apartment in Harlem. But for that
fact, he would have great difficulty.
Many others do not have family waiting for them because they have passed away. Such is the case with Willie Green, who
served 25 years for Murder in California before being cleared. In other circumstances, family members are not willing to allow the exoneree to live with them any longer. Occasionally, the exonerated are able to get subsidized housing. It is not because
they went through the ordeal that they did, but rather because they just happen to qualify through other life’s circumstances.
Various exonerees who I have spoken with, who wish to remain anonymous, have said that they are often unhappy with where
their housing is, and that they are not living in the neighborhood or town that they would like to. The attitude that many of
them have had to deal with from those who work at such places is “Accept what you can get and be grateful for it. What are you complaining about; you’re free, aren’t you?” Various exonerees have told me that it is no small thing, after being imprisoned for many years, to then not be able to live where they would like. It leads to a feeling of not really being free. The commonality in all of these circumstances is that it is a far cry from having a nice place to live in a good area as each individual imagined while waiting to be liberated.
Financial Condition
Of course, feeling free goes beyond simply having housing in an area where one would like to live. There is also the element of being in reasonably good financial condition. There is the perception that the wrongfully convicted most often harbor that once they are released, they will quickly be able to transition into reasonably good financial condition by getting a good job and being on their way in no time. There are a variety of reasons why this most often does not happen. Michael Williams got a ten dollar check from Louisiana State officials the day he was released after serving 24 years in prison for an Aggravated Rape he did not commit. As absurd as it might seem to say, on a small level Williams got a head start on almost all exonerees. Incredibly, when most inmates are exonerated they walk out of prison with nothing.
It is difficult for the exonerated to get jobs. In an October 13th, 2004 article in USA Today, by Stephanie Armour, it was noted at the time that Dana Holland, who served eight years for Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault that he did not commit, could not get a job. Often when exonerees do find jobs, they are low paying. That is because employers, in many instances, have not been willing to give someone a chance to show what they can do because they lack experience.
However, experience, though desirable, is not necessarily an essential element. What is truly essential is whether the person can do the job, or can be trained to do it within a reasonable amount of time. Therefore, the jobs that are often offered are low-paying jobs. Vincent Moto
served 11½ years in Pennsylvania for Rape before being cleared. As he mentions in the documentary After Innocence, the state took away his prime earning years. The jobs he now gets are always low-paying, and he is still struggling to this day. Often, the wrongfully convicted don’t have the proper education to get a good paying job. I sat beside Roy Brown, at a legislative hearing, a man who served 15 years in New York for a Murder that he was proven innocent of. The hearing concerned the possible expansion of the DNA Database. Throughout the proceeding he repeatedly declared, “I don’t have much education.”
Sometimes lack of preparation for meaningful employment is coupled with learning disability or emotional problems, which stem from either pre- or post-wrongful conviction and incarceration. Byron Halsey served 19 years in New Jersey for two murders before being cleared. His lawyers said he had a sixth-grade education and severe learning disabilities. A man who owned a sign-making company felt compassion for
Halsey, and offered him a job making signs. Though I applaud him for doing more than what many potential employers would do,
Halsey is not making very much money. All of the above add up to the fact that being in good financial shape, having a good income coming in; disposable income to enjoy freedom, and being able to have money in the bank, and some measure of security, are often a fantasy.
Family Relations
In the psychological literature on the effects of wrongful conviction on prisoners, it will be found that it is often disruptive for both the family and the wrongly convicted individual to attempt to resume normal family relations, generally due to a variety of factors:
• The family got used to functioning without them;
• They are unsure of what to do or say around them, and vice versa;
• The person’s personality has changed;
Many of those who have been wrongfully convicted suffer from post traumatic stress syndrome, panic attacks, and anxiety. Ronald
Cotton, who served 10 ½ years in North Carolina for Rape before being cleared, reported that is afraid of being in crowds, due to the
violence that used to occur in prison when people were in crowds. Some of the prisoners viewed being in a crowd as an opportunity to stab, cut, or otherwise injure another unsuspecting prisoner and get away with it. These afflictions have the effect of changing a person’s personality, and thus impacting upon family interactions. The feeling of seeing family members that one last saw when they were young
children can be disorienting. Scott Hornoff, a former police officer who spent approximately seven years wrongfully convicted of a murder in Rhode Island before being proven innocent, said that he thought about picking his son up and holding him when he was cleared. Instead, by the time he was freed his son was tall enough to pick him up. Many report feeling frozen in time. Explaining to family members where
their relative has been, and why, has also proven to be difficult. Vincent Moto served 11½ years in prison in Pennsylvania for rape before being cleared. His daughter recounted not being able to understand why her father was incarcerated if he was innocent. Of course, some exonerees don’t even have the privilege of experiencing this with their family members. Some family members are just not able to reconnect. Barry Gibbs, who served 19 years in New York for a murder before he was proven innocent, mentioned in an interview that he does not have interaction with his family. Speaking of his son, he stated that he was grown up now and has his own life, and that he is not part of it.
Others, such as Willie Green of California, who served 25 years for a murder he did not commit, have had all of their relatives pass away while they were wrongfully incarcerated.
Social Life
By the time most wrongfully convicted people are released from prison, they have long since lost contact with all of their previous friends and associates. From what I have heard through my conversations with many other exonerees, it often is not possible to reconnect with former friends, for a variety of reasons: They have moved away and lost contact, with no other way to find them; they are unable to reconnect since both people are different people now with little in common other than a few memories from a long time ago. People from the past are not a source of people to socialize or do things with, or enjoy one’s new-found freedom with.
It is often difficult to meet new friends, if the exonerated person is not coming home to family members who are in the same age bracket and who can introduce them to others. Many people in society already have their lives, for the most part, in order, and have full plates in front of them. Thus, either there is no room, or others are unwilling to make room, for new activity partners. I have heard from some exonerees that
they are often alone. Out of the people who have talked to me about this problem, some have reported difficulty in having people who are able to relate to them since nothing in their background would give them a remote frame of reference by which to understand what it was like to be wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.
Yet another factor is that there are some members of the public, who, despite realizing that the exonerated are in fact innocent, are nonetheless leary of socializing with them, or being “alone with them.” Lastly, there are a few, although a definite minority of exonerees,
whose experience of being wrongfully convicted has left them feeling isolated, out of place, and leery of interacting with others, out of fear that another false allegation might be levelled against them. These factors make the social life that most exonerees dreamed of while they were
incarcerated, unobtainable.
New Technologies
While wrongfully convicted prisoners are incarcerated, society is ever advancing technologically. Because the educational programs in prison tend to be inadequate and outdated, there is little or no attempt to keep inmates up to date on the latest advances. Thus, when released, being suddenly approached with unfamiliar technology can be disorienting and discouraging. It often takes quite a while to become fully brought up to speed, and has the effect of making the exonerated feel as though they are on a strange planet.
Solutions and Conclusions
It is clear that the life that many wrongfully convicted prisoners, while they’re incarcerated, dream of having, is not the life they are likely to have upon being released, at least not unless a lot of things change. I feel very strongly, from a moral perspective, that some things should be changed, so that the exonerated can enjoy whatever is left of their life that they must live. Let us remember that, and Ron Williamson, who after serving 12 years on death row in Oklahoma for a murder he was innocent of, only lived for five more years. Thus, a long future is not
promised to any of them. It will take a combination of changes from the government and from society to make things better, so that the Catch 22 no longer exists. The government should provided the wrongfully imprisoned with funds immediately upon release, totally separate from what is awarded by way of legal action, as a good faith effort to help get people back on their feet. It should be enough that they are allowed to live in whatever town or city they would prefer, and enough to live comfortably.
They should be provided services such as mental health and programs to teach them the new technologies that will help them gain basic life skills. Many such programs already exist, but are only available to those on parole. Thus, just a little more funding is all that would be needed to allow the resources to be available to enable the wrongfully convicted access to them as well. They should be provided with education
and health benefits, without question. In addition, lawsuits involving wrongful convictions should be fast tracked so that it does not take the current time frame of between two to seven years before the litigation process is completed. To make people wait that long, often in mere poverty, is to further unjustly punish.
The citizenry, for their part, should make some changes: Firstly, on a social level, they must make an effort to view exonerees the same way they might if the exonerated had never been wrongfully convicted. That means being open to interacting with them socially on all levels, judging them on the basis of their character. To do otherwise is to engage in a type of discrimination. On a financial level, employers should
be open to employing exonerees in well paying positions, so long as they are able to do the job required. They should be willing to provide some short-term training in those instances where it is needed. Finally, those in positions to hire have the ability and the moral obligation to, in effect, open a new chapter in a wrongfully incarcerated person’s life, and help them to get started.
Bruno Retirement May Open Door To Legislative Reform
I have been to Albany on five different occasions to lobby lawmakers to pass reforms to prevent wrongful convictions, and to keep the death penalty out of New York. Senator Bruno was the biggest obstacle to such reforms. Having been the Majority
Leader for 13 years and a member of the Senate for 32, he wielded an incredible amount of power. If he wanted to pass a bill, he could say so and his party would simply vote that way. Similarly, if he did not, he could bury bills in committee. It was always clear to me that he was the main obstacle to reforms. Though we never personally met, I constantly felt the shadow that his presence cast, and I always had the keen sense that I was working for a cause to which he was opposed.
During a few of my trips to lobby, I had a few off-the-record conversations with a number of Republican Senators, who told me that, although they were against the death penalty, they felt that they had to vote for it because they were afraid of what would happen to them. They feared being assigned to committees they did not want to be on, and being given fewer resources to work with. They feared they would not have been able to deliver much to their constituents and, thus, would be vulnerable during elections. All of these were tactics they said Bruno used to keep party members in line.
In 2007, in the wake of several state troopers having been murdered, Bruno seized upon the opportunity to make a big push to reinstate the Death Penalty. Given that the Governor at the time was Eliot Spitzer, who had expressed public support for the death penalty, it was a time of crisis. Under Bruno’s watch, not only was the Death Penalty passed despite some Senators having voiced concern for innocent people who might be executed given New York’s many wrongful convictions.
When Senator Schneiderman offered amendments to try to prevent wrongful convictions, including the videotaping of police interrogations, those bills were voted down. I testified at the Assembly Codes Committee when they were considering expanding the DNA Database, as well as other reforms to protect the innocent, those bills passed the committee and then the full Assembly, but died in the Senate because of Bruno.
During one of my trips to Albany I remember being told that Bruno had, a few days prior to my arrival, passed the Death Penalty several times in one session. His publicly stated purpose was supposedly to emphasize that New York State needed the death penalty, and that he was insisting that the Assembly pass it as well.
Bruno was the main obstacle to legislative protections against wrongful convictions. Now that he no longer has a grip on his party as he is no longer Majority Leader of the Senate, I can see a possible opening of the way for passage of reforms. Of course, it remains to be seen whether on-the-fence Republicans will now vote the way that they really feel, or, whether the new Majority Leader, Dean Skelos, will use similar tactics, or be of the same mentality as Bruno.
Westchester Guardian.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Catherine Wilson, Bureau Chief
Northern Westchester
Community Support for Students
A famous African saying states that “it takes a village to raise a child”. This month, thousands of students will be graduating high school and preparing to embark on their college careers. The graduating speeches will acknowledge teachers, friends, and families for their support. But behind those students is, indeed, an entire village of support. Support comes from local business leaders, civic groups, organizations, and individuals in the form of grants, scholarships, and awards.
The Guardian spoke to several local high schools about the level of support their students receive from their communities. We uncovered an incredible outpouring of support in the community for our local graduates.
Chief among the supporters for our local schools are volunteer and community organizations like the Lions Club and the Rotary Club. The Rotary Club of White Plains has established a trust fund specifically for scholarships to “aid and assist in the further educa-tion of worthy graduates of secondary schools in the White Plains area”. The club determines the beneficiaries of the scholarships by soliciting applicants
from White Plains High School, Stepinac High School, and Good Counsel School. The club notes scholarship recipients are determined by the Board of Directors of the club and are determined based on grades, school activities including athletics, financial need, and good citizenship.
Julie Kattan from the White Plains club told The Guardian that last year alone this Rotary branch gave out $22,000 in scholarships to students in their community. The volunteer organizations usually do not limit their contributions to local students to scholarships; their
generosity extends to all areas of education. The White Plains Rotary Club hosts an annual track and field event for high schools called the Loucks Games. These games are the largest high school track meet in the USA, attracting over 2,400 athletes in 2008.
Similarly, the Moses Taylor Jr. Post of the American Legion supports local students throughout their academic careers. Mr. Santo Asaro spoke to The Guardian about the Legion’s contributions to area students. “We try to give at least four scholarships each year to graduating seniors,” Asaro said. “We have two scholarships for $1,000 per year for all four years of college and we try to give another two scholarships
of $1,000 each. But this is only one of our programs for young people.
We have a Head Start program to encourage children academically. We also have children from local schools visit. Within the past month, fifth grade students from Pound Ridge and Mt. Kisco schools visited us. They get to know people who are veterans of different wars”. The Legion also supports extracurricular activities for area children such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts events, and “Boys State” and “Girls
State” programs. “Every year we send two to four boys in their Junior year of high school in local schools to a two week program upstate in Morrisville to learn about government,” Asaro said.
“The Ladies Auxiliary sponsors two to four girls to attend this program”. Leticia Costas administers the scholarships awarded to Somers High School students and confirmed the breadth of awards available for students. “We get awards from so many local groups and businesses,” Costas said. “Our students receive scholarships from the Somers Historical Society, the local branch of JP Morgan Chase Bank, the Lincolndale Property Owners Association, the local Chamber of Commerce, the Somers Newcomers Club, the local branch of Astoria Federal Savings Bank, the Volunteer Fire-fighters, and Billingsley Real Estate, to name just a few.” Jerome Billingsley told The Guardian that offering scholarships to local students was a long-standing tradition in his family.
“My mother started this four decades ago,” Billingsley said. “We get kids who’ll come into our office years later telling us that we helped them with their education. I have mothers who’ll stop me in the supermarket to tell me how their child is doing in college. It’s such a wonderful feeling”.
Debbie Goodman, of Ardsley High School, also confirmed the volume and diversity of the groups providing the awards. “We have a variety of groups that support our students,” Goodman said. “We get awards from the Ardsley Garden Club, Hudson Valley Blood Services,
Sunnydale Farms, the Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the Ardsley Fire Department and Police Department, the Rivertown Lions Club, the Rotary Club, and the P.T.A. and the Ardsley Education Foundation”. Many high school administrators noted that it was not unusual for their annual awards dinners to last three to four hours in order to hand out all of the local awards and scholarships to their students. Bedford
High School provided The Guardian with their complete list of awards that is over four pages long. This list also denoted the varying qualifications for the awards – a student does not have to be the class valedictorian or a science whiz to qualify for many awards. There are
scholarships for students who exhibit patriotism, have culturally diverse interests, are pursuing nursing, are attending vocational school, completed an ESL program, work part-time, exhibit strong writing skills, have artistic talent, participated in drama, supports tolerance,
has strong community service, studies Latin, overcame obstacles, loves poetry, is a special education student, has athletic ability, displays musical talent, pursues social studies – in short, there is a scholarship for every area of interest.
The inspiration and reasons for the scholarships are as diversified as the scholarships themselves. The Women’s Civic Club of Katonah awarded 15 scholarships this year to area students. Mary Hart, the Chairman of the Club’s Education Committee, noted that the club was
founded in 1913 by local suffragettes to aid women. “Education is one of our original tenets,” Hart said. “We have a strong commitment to aiding students. Since 1996, we have awarded over $100,000 in scholarships locally. This year we gave 10 scholarships to John Jay
High School, one to John F. Kennedy High School, two nursing scholarships, one award to a young disabled man to attend a summer program, and one ‘alternative’ scholarship to a student pursuing an unusual course of study. This year’s winner of the alternative scholarship
wants to pursue film-making. She’s an incredible young woman who has high honors, is a math tutor, captain of her softball team, works two jobs, is a volunteer with the ambulance corps, involved with school clubs, and was an extra on a television show which sparked her interest in film”. Hart also noted that the club adapts their scholarships to changing needs. “We started the nursing scholarships a few years ago when the nursing shortage became acute”.
The one regret Hart had was the inability of the club to do even more for area students. “We use three criteria for awarding our scholarships: academic achievement, community service, and financial need. We find we have so many children who are worthy, we wish we could do more,” Hart noted. The funding for the Civic Club’s scholarships comes from two main sources – their thrift shop in Katonah, and their annual Beaux Arts Exhibit of county artists. “Our volunteers are wonderful,” Hart said. “We have over 150 women who work at our thrift store. They pledge at least one day a month to our fund-raising efforts. Our volunteers are committed to our goals”.
Equally committed are the friends and family members who manage the multitude of memorial funds that award scholarships each year. Paul Radomski manages the ‘Joe Radomski Memorial Fund’ which awards an annual $1,000 scholarship to an Ardsley High School student. “My father was involved with every aspect of the high school. He was a dedicated fan at the sports events and volunteered wherever he could, like working the concession stands. He loved participating in every way he could. When he died suddenly, we wanted to keep his spirit,
energy, and memory alive”. Radomski noted that the annual award goes to a student who is strong academically and athletically and has strong community service. “We ask the high school to provide nominations, and the fund’s board, dad’s friends and family, votes on this.
Every year we host a local event and sell raffle tickets to raise money. So far we’ve raised $20,000 – so that should keep the fund going for a while!” Hart acknowledged a personal advantage of the memorial fund: “When I meet with dad’s friends each year, it’s like my father is with us. We laugh and share stories. I look forward to our annual events. It keeps my dad’s spirit alive”.
Some memorial funds have a direct connection to the schools they assist. Many schools have funds in honor of past students, coaches, teachers, administrators, and more recently, funds in memory of 9/11 victims who attended local schools. These funds are often established to continue the efforts of the coach/teacher or the goals and dreams of the student honored. Peter Benson manages the ‘John Ouligian Excellence in Mathematics Award’ to honor an Ardsley teacher who is currently suffering from Alzheimer’s. At the 40th reunion of the Class of 1966, past students learned of the tragedy befalling their favorite teacher and decided to honor him with a scholarship fund.
According to Benson “Mr. Ouligian was monumental in the lives of many of us.
Forty years after graduation we still remembered him and how incredible a teacher he was”. A fellow graduate, Pat Koslowe, confirmed this. “You could write a book about him. Half the girls were probably in love with him! He was very handsome, very personable, and was like a movie star. But he was a man of great learning and patience.” Ouligian’s students did more than just honor him with a scholarship fund; they gathered their recollections and photographs of him into a booklet and set their reminiscences to the Armenian music of his heritage and presented this to Ouligian’s wife.
The efforts of these grateful students were published in a national Armenian newspaper in an article honoring their teacher. The fund’s administrators try to emulate the spirit of their teacher in this award. “We leave the selection of the student up to the school,” Benson acknowledged. “But we ask that the recipient display an enthusiasm, a real love of math”. The fund hopes to keep this award going for years.
“Our first year out we raised over $2,500,” Koslowe said. “And many of the emails and letters we received said to count the donors in every year.” All of the individuals involved with awarding scholarships to our local students had one trait in common – incredible enthusiasm for their efforts. They couldn’t wait to tell Guardian readers about their goals and programs of their organizations, or how remarkable the individual being honored was and why they deserved a fund in their memory. This writer spoke with incredible individuals for this article – all were warm, friendly, and enthusiastic. With supporters like these people, our local students are off to a good start in their careers.
Hopefully they will be able to support future students in turn. Every local high school has a Senior Advisor or Counselor who is responsible
for the administration of their community’s scholarships. Any local resident who wishes to support a deserving student can contact their
local High School for a list of the organizations and foundations offering scholarships.
Catherine Wilson, Bureau Chief
Northern Westchester
Community Support for Students
A famous African saying states that “it takes a village to raise a child”. This month, thousands of students will be graduating high school and preparing to embark on their college careers. The graduating speeches will acknowledge teachers, friends, and families for their support. But behind those students is, indeed, an entire village of support. Support comes from local business leaders, civic groups, organizations, and individuals in the form of grants, scholarships, and awards.
The Guardian spoke to several local high schools about the level of support their students receive from their communities. We uncovered an incredible outpouring of support in the community for our local graduates.
Chief among the supporters for our local schools are volunteer and community organizations like the Lions Club and the Rotary Club. The Rotary Club of White Plains has established a trust fund specifically for scholarships to “aid and assist in the further educa-tion of worthy graduates of secondary schools in the White Plains area”. The club determines the beneficiaries of the scholarships by soliciting applicants
from White Plains High School, Stepinac High School, and Good Counsel School. The club notes scholarship recipients are determined by the Board of Directors of the club and are determined based on grades, school activities including athletics, financial need, and good citizenship.
Julie Kattan from the White Plains club told The Guardian that last year alone this Rotary branch gave out $22,000 in scholarships to students in their community. The volunteer organizations usually do not limit their contributions to local students to scholarships; their
generosity extends to all areas of education. The White Plains Rotary Club hosts an annual track and field event for high schools called the Loucks Games. These games are the largest high school track meet in the USA, attracting over 2,400 athletes in 2008.
Similarly, the Moses Taylor Jr. Post of the American Legion supports local students throughout their academic careers. Mr. Santo Asaro spoke to The Guardian about the Legion’s contributions to area students. “We try to give at least four scholarships each year to graduating seniors,” Asaro said. “We have two scholarships for $1,000 per year for all four years of college and we try to give another two scholarships
of $1,000 each. But this is only one of our programs for young people.
We have a Head Start program to encourage children academically. We also have children from local schools visit. Within the past month, fifth grade students from Pound Ridge and Mt. Kisco schools visited us. They get to know people who are veterans of different wars”. The Legion also supports extracurricular activities for area children such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts events, and “Boys State” and “Girls
State” programs. “Every year we send two to four boys in their Junior year of high school in local schools to a two week program upstate in Morrisville to learn about government,” Asaro said.
“The Ladies Auxiliary sponsors two to four girls to attend this program”. Leticia Costas administers the scholarships awarded to Somers High School students and confirmed the breadth of awards available for students. “We get awards from so many local groups and businesses,” Costas said. “Our students receive scholarships from the Somers Historical Society, the local branch of JP Morgan Chase Bank, the Lincolndale Property Owners Association, the local Chamber of Commerce, the Somers Newcomers Club, the local branch of Astoria Federal Savings Bank, the Volunteer Fire-fighters, and Billingsley Real Estate, to name just a few.” Jerome Billingsley told The Guardian that offering scholarships to local students was a long-standing tradition in his family.
“My mother started this four decades ago,” Billingsley said. “We get kids who’ll come into our office years later telling us that we helped them with their education. I have mothers who’ll stop me in the supermarket to tell me how their child is doing in college. It’s such a wonderful feeling”.
Debbie Goodman, of Ardsley High School, also confirmed the volume and diversity of the groups providing the awards. “We have a variety of groups that support our students,” Goodman said. “We get awards from the Ardsley Garden Club, Hudson Valley Blood Services,
Sunnydale Farms, the Volunteer Ambulance Corps, the Ardsley Fire Department and Police Department, the Rivertown Lions Club, the Rotary Club, and the P.T.A. and the Ardsley Education Foundation”. Many high school administrators noted that it was not unusual for their annual awards dinners to last three to four hours in order to hand out all of the local awards and scholarships to their students. Bedford
High School provided The Guardian with their complete list of awards that is over four pages long. This list also denoted the varying qualifications for the awards – a student does not have to be the class valedictorian or a science whiz to qualify for many awards. There are
scholarships for students who exhibit patriotism, have culturally diverse interests, are pursuing nursing, are attending vocational school, completed an ESL program, work part-time, exhibit strong writing skills, have artistic talent, participated in drama, supports tolerance,
has strong community service, studies Latin, overcame obstacles, loves poetry, is a special education student, has athletic ability, displays musical talent, pursues social studies – in short, there is a scholarship for every area of interest.
The inspiration and reasons for the scholarships are as diversified as the scholarships themselves. The Women’s Civic Club of Katonah awarded 15 scholarships this year to area students. Mary Hart, the Chairman of the Club’s Education Committee, noted that the club was
founded in 1913 by local suffragettes to aid women. “Education is one of our original tenets,” Hart said. “We have a strong commitment to aiding students. Since 1996, we have awarded over $100,000 in scholarships locally. This year we gave 10 scholarships to John Jay
High School, one to John F. Kennedy High School, two nursing scholarships, one award to a young disabled man to attend a summer program, and one ‘alternative’ scholarship to a student pursuing an unusual course of study. This year’s winner of the alternative scholarship
wants to pursue film-making. She’s an incredible young woman who has high honors, is a math tutor, captain of her softball team, works two jobs, is a volunteer with the ambulance corps, involved with school clubs, and was an extra on a television show which sparked her interest in film”. Hart also noted that the club adapts their scholarships to changing needs. “We started the nursing scholarships a few years ago when the nursing shortage became acute”.
The one regret Hart had was the inability of the club to do even more for area students. “We use three criteria for awarding our scholarships: academic achievement, community service, and financial need. We find we have so many children who are worthy, we wish we could do more,” Hart noted. The funding for the Civic Club’s scholarships comes from two main sources – their thrift shop in Katonah, and their annual Beaux Arts Exhibit of county artists. “Our volunteers are wonderful,” Hart said. “We have over 150 women who work at our thrift store. They pledge at least one day a month to our fund-raising efforts. Our volunteers are committed to our goals”.
Equally committed are the friends and family members who manage the multitude of memorial funds that award scholarships each year. Paul Radomski manages the ‘Joe Radomski Memorial Fund’ which awards an annual $1,000 scholarship to an Ardsley High School student. “My father was involved with every aspect of the high school. He was a dedicated fan at the sports events and volunteered wherever he could, like working the concession stands. He loved participating in every way he could. When he died suddenly, we wanted to keep his spirit,
energy, and memory alive”. Radomski noted that the annual award goes to a student who is strong academically and athletically and has strong community service. “We ask the high school to provide nominations, and the fund’s board, dad’s friends and family, votes on this.
Every year we host a local event and sell raffle tickets to raise money. So far we’ve raised $20,000 – so that should keep the fund going for a while!” Hart acknowledged a personal advantage of the memorial fund: “When I meet with dad’s friends each year, it’s like my father is with us. We laugh and share stories. I look forward to our annual events. It keeps my dad’s spirit alive”.
Some memorial funds have a direct connection to the schools they assist. Many schools have funds in honor of past students, coaches, teachers, administrators, and more recently, funds in memory of 9/11 victims who attended local schools. These funds are often established to continue the efforts of the coach/teacher or the goals and dreams of the student honored. Peter Benson manages the ‘John Ouligian Excellence in Mathematics Award’ to honor an Ardsley teacher who is currently suffering from Alzheimer’s. At the 40th reunion of the Class of 1966, past students learned of the tragedy befalling their favorite teacher and decided to honor him with a scholarship fund.
According to Benson “Mr. Ouligian was monumental in the lives of many of us.
Forty years after graduation we still remembered him and how incredible a teacher he was”. A fellow graduate, Pat Koslowe, confirmed this. “You could write a book about him. Half the girls were probably in love with him! He was very handsome, very personable, and was like a movie star. But he was a man of great learning and patience.” Ouligian’s students did more than just honor him with a scholarship fund; they gathered their recollections and photographs of him into a booklet and set their reminiscences to the Armenian music of his heritage and presented this to Ouligian’s wife.
The efforts of these grateful students were published in a national Armenian newspaper in an article honoring their teacher. The fund’s administrators try to emulate the spirit of their teacher in this award. “We leave the selection of the student up to the school,” Benson acknowledged. “But we ask that the recipient display an enthusiasm, a real love of math”. The fund hopes to keep this award going for years.
“Our first year out we raised over $2,500,” Koslowe said. “And many of the emails and letters we received said to count the donors in every year.” All of the individuals involved with awarding scholarships to our local students had one trait in common – incredible enthusiasm for their efforts. They couldn’t wait to tell Guardian readers about their goals and programs of their organizations, or how remarkable the individual being honored was and why they deserved a fund in their memory. This writer spoke with incredible individuals for this article – all were warm, friendly, and enthusiastic. With supporters like these people, our local students are off to a good start in their careers.
Hopefully they will be able to support future students in turn. Every local high school has a Senior Advisor or Counselor who is responsible
for the administration of their community’s scholarships. Any local resident who wishes to support a deserving student can contact their
local High School for a list of the organizations and foundations offering scholarships.
Westchester Guardian.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Advocate
Richard Blassberg
Community Voices Heard Strikes Again
Amicone Absent As Low-Income Residents Meet With Yonkers City
Council Members To Express Housing Preservation And Job Concerns
Last Thursday night, June 26, The Guardian was present at the Riverfront Library in Yonkers when a well-rehearsed, somewhat agitated
group of Yonkers residents, low - income, public, and affordable housing advocates, put four City Councilmembers and the City’s Commissioner of Planning and Development through their paces, individually responding to six specific questions designed to
reveal what each of them intended to do with respect to the following:
• Passage of a resolution to preserve public housing;
• Putting $25 million aside to fix up existing affordable housing;
• Preserving Mitchell-Lama and Section 8 buildings;
• Hiring Yonkers residents primarily to build new developments;
• Committing to 25 percent affordable units in new developments;
• Passage of a new affordable housing ordinance.
Clearly not a spontaneous gathering, merely composed of local, concerned residents, the group was joined by professional advocates from the statewide tenants organization known as Community Voices Heard, the same group that marched in the snow in mid-February,
from Chicken Island to drop keys on the steps of Yonkers City Hall. A large scoreboard of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses was kept in full view.
The group’s stated position is that, “Yonkers’ present rapid development is causing displacement of low-income people;” many of them, long-standing Yonkers families, hard-working, taxpaying families, who simply want a say in their community’s future, but who feel left out, disenfranchised, by the Amicone Administration’s unilateral dealings with Stuever Fidelco Capelli Development.
The not-so-popular perception of the more-than 75 persons in attendance was that the Mayor has cut deals with developers who are building on City land and using $159 million of taxpayer money while pushing out low- and moderate-income families. The City Council members in attendance included Council President Chuck Lesnick, Dee Barbato, Joan Gronowski, and Pat McDow, who arrived 45 minutes late, having been at another function. Also present, and questioned, was Lou Kirven, Amicone’s Commissioner of Planning and Development, standing in for the Mayor. The moderator, and the audience, were somewhat hair-triggered, demanding, “Yes” or “No,” in unison, or saying, “Blah, blah, blah,” when a public official was unprepared to immediately respond with a “Yes” or “No” answer.
Also absent, in addition to the Mayor, were Councilwoman Sandy Annabi, and Councilmen Liam McLaughlin and John Murtaugh. Commissioner Kirven, essentially taking heat intended for Amicone, tried to reassure his questioners, declaring, “There’s no plan to tear
down public housing now.” One unconvinced woman in the audience was heard to remark, “The key word is now.”
Dee Barbato, when asked the same question, responded, “As far as I know, there is no plan to tear down public housing.” It was obvious
to this observer that those in attendance, predominately mature women, were somewhat cyni-cal in light of previous disappointments and the failure of the Amicone Administration to embrace their needs, or solicit their input.
Council President Lesnick, the first to face questioning, appeared genuinely taken aback by the moderator’s unwillingness to accept anything but a “Yes” or “No” response. Nevertheless, he retained his sense of humor, and over the course of the next several questions,
managed to answer, candidly, if somewhat long-winded than desired.
Joan Gronowski, arriving a few minutes into the questioning, was somewhat distressed by the group’s uncompromising quest for simple “Yes” or “No” responses. She strained to point out to her inquisitors that she was a lifetime Yonkers resident who grew up and lived in
the same low-income neighborhood they were questioning about. In response to whether she would “commit to demanding that 80 percent
of the jobs generated by the new luxury housing be set aside for Yonkers residents,” she responded, “While I can’t honestly commit to
80 percent, if the developer won’t set aside a significant portion, I will want to know why.”
Com-missioner Kirven , speaking for Mayor Amicone, on the same subject, responded firmly, “We are not going to restrict Yonkers
jobs to Yonkers residents.” On the same subject, Council President Lesnick told his questioners, “With regard to the job issue, I must tell you “No” to the letter of what you’re looking for, but “Yes” to the spirit.” As the meeting drew to a close, one public official who had not been invited, showed up. State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, freshly returned from Albany, stopped by to look in on the event. Her arrival was somewhat tranquilizing to several rather dissatisfied and anxious members of the audience. Within a few seconds of her entry into the room, constituents began to line up, most to embrace and greet her, while several waited patiently to discuss their concerns. It was obvious that much more will need to be said going forward and that Community Voices Heard, no doubt, will continue to be.
The Advocate
Richard Blassberg
Community Voices Heard Strikes Again
Amicone Absent As Low-Income Residents Meet With Yonkers City
Council Members To Express Housing Preservation And Job Concerns
Last Thursday night, June 26, The Guardian was present at the Riverfront Library in Yonkers when a well-rehearsed, somewhat agitated
group of Yonkers residents, low - income, public, and affordable housing advocates, put four City Councilmembers and the City’s Commissioner of Planning and Development through their paces, individually responding to six specific questions designed to
reveal what each of them intended to do with respect to the following:
• Passage of a resolution to preserve public housing;
• Putting $25 million aside to fix up existing affordable housing;
• Preserving Mitchell-Lama and Section 8 buildings;
• Hiring Yonkers residents primarily to build new developments;
• Committing to 25 percent affordable units in new developments;
• Passage of a new affordable housing ordinance.
Clearly not a spontaneous gathering, merely composed of local, concerned residents, the group was joined by professional advocates from the statewide tenants organization known as Community Voices Heard, the same group that marched in the snow in mid-February,
from Chicken Island to drop keys on the steps of Yonkers City Hall. A large scoreboard of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses was kept in full view.
The group’s stated position is that, “Yonkers’ present rapid development is causing displacement of low-income people;” many of them, long-standing Yonkers families, hard-working, taxpaying families, who simply want a say in their community’s future, but who feel left out, disenfranchised, by the Amicone Administration’s unilateral dealings with Stuever Fidelco Capelli Development.
The not-so-popular perception of the more-than 75 persons in attendance was that the Mayor has cut deals with developers who are building on City land and using $159 million of taxpayer money while pushing out low- and moderate-income families. The City Council members in attendance included Council President Chuck Lesnick, Dee Barbato, Joan Gronowski, and Pat McDow, who arrived 45 minutes late, having been at another function. Also present, and questioned, was Lou Kirven, Amicone’s Commissioner of Planning and Development, standing in for the Mayor. The moderator, and the audience, were somewhat hair-triggered, demanding, “Yes” or “No,” in unison, or saying, “Blah, blah, blah,” when a public official was unprepared to immediately respond with a “Yes” or “No” answer.
Also absent, in addition to the Mayor, were Councilwoman Sandy Annabi, and Councilmen Liam McLaughlin and John Murtaugh. Commissioner Kirven, essentially taking heat intended for Amicone, tried to reassure his questioners, declaring, “There’s no plan to tear
down public housing now.” One unconvinced woman in the audience was heard to remark, “The key word is now.”
Dee Barbato, when asked the same question, responded, “As far as I know, there is no plan to tear down public housing.” It was obvious
to this observer that those in attendance, predominately mature women, were somewhat cyni-cal in light of previous disappointments and the failure of the Amicone Administration to embrace their needs, or solicit their input.
Council President Lesnick, the first to face questioning, appeared genuinely taken aback by the moderator’s unwillingness to accept anything but a “Yes” or “No” response. Nevertheless, he retained his sense of humor, and over the course of the next several questions,
managed to answer, candidly, if somewhat long-winded than desired.
Joan Gronowski, arriving a few minutes into the questioning, was somewhat distressed by the group’s uncompromising quest for simple “Yes” or “No” responses. She strained to point out to her inquisitors that she was a lifetime Yonkers resident who grew up and lived in
the same low-income neighborhood they were questioning about. In response to whether she would “commit to demanding that 80 percent
of the jobs generated by the new luxury housing be set aside for Yonkers residents,” she responded, “While I can’t honestly commit to
80 percent, if the developer won’t set aside a significant portion, I will want to know why.”
Com-missioner Kirven , speaking for Mayor Amicone, on the same subject, responded firmly, “We are not going to restrict Yonkers
jobs to Yonkers residents.” On the same subject, Council President Lesnick told his questioners, “With regard to the job issue, I must tell you “No” to the letter of what you’re looking for, but “Yes” to the spirit.” As the meeting drew to a close, one public official who had not been invited, showed up. State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, freshly returned from Albany, stopped by to look in on the event. Her arrival was somewhat tranquilizing to several rather dissatisfied and anxious members of the audience. Within a few seconds of her entry into the room, constituents began to line up, most to embrace and greet her, while several waited patiently to discuss their concerns. It was obvious that much more will need to be said going forward and that Community Voices Heard, no doubt, will continue to be.
Westchester Guardian.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
In Our Opinion...
So Long As Law-Abiding Yonkers Citizens Fear And Distrust Their Police
We believe that last Monday morning’s press conference in the Reception Room of Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone was little more than “window dressing” designed to give the impression that the Mayor’s Administration is really concerned about issues of public safety, even as the Federal Bureau of Investigation intensifies its more than year-long investigation into police brutality. Given the subject matter, Operation Speak-Up, “A Partnership Between The Yonkers Board of Education And The Yonkers Police Department,” the press conference seemed ill-timed and questionably motivated to several members of the media who attended.
The Guardian questioned Police Commissioner Hartnett, asking if perhaps the little palm cards which were distributed in the City’s schools, encouraging students to overcome the ‘Code Of Silence’, the admonition not to snitch, wouldn’t, in fact, end up in the hands of parents, and if it wouldn’t have been better to have incorporated Speak-Up into the more comprehensive Neighborhood Watch program as proposed by Virginia Perez many months ago.
Ms. Perez is the sister of Martin Perez, who was slain last December 17 in a failed robbery attempt as he delivered food from the Emerald Diner, opposite Yonkers City Hall, to a public housing project nearby. Although there was an early arrest in the killing, Yonkers Police, and the District Attorney’s Office, have failed, to date, to charge anyone as the shooter.
Commissioner Hartnett’s response to our question was that he expected that civic associations would organize and run Neighborhood Watch programs. We do not believe a network of Neighborhood Watch programs is likely to emerge in the City of Yonkers so long as residents, particularly in the Inner City, but elsewhere as well, continue to live in fear and distrust of their police.
Mayor Amicone and Commissioner Hartnett, standing before the cameras, with the Superintendent of Schools as well as Council President Lesnick and Majority Leader Annabi, will not convince very many city residents that they can trust the Yonkers Police Department so long as cases of police brutality against innocent individuals such as Rui Florim, Irma Marquez, and Tina and Mary Bostwick continue to go
unacknowledged and unprosecuted by the Westchester District Attorney, Janet Di-Fiore, and denied and swept under the rug by the Yonkers Police Department.
In point of fact, the details of what was done to the Bostwicks, 72 and 49 years of age, in 2005, if known, would discourage any citizen from participating in Neighborhood Watch. After all, it was the mere act of calling the police to report that a youth was severely injured by their neighbor, and was in need of emergency medical attention, that resulted in the physical brutalizing of Mary Bostwick, and the roughing up of her mother, three years ago. And, as if that weren’t outrageous enough, Mary was arrested, booked, and charged with several bogus offenses as is the standard policy and practice of the Yonkers Police Department in order to cover up their unjustifiable brutality.
We know for a fact that the FBI has actually conducted numerous lengthy interviews and investigations into any number of such instances of Yonkers Police brutality, and that there is more than ample evidence in a number of cases to bring charges against several rogue police officers. We are not talking about minor assaults here. Victims such as Florim and Marquez came very close to losing their lives.
Our Readers Respond...
Re: Initiative And Referendum Procedures
Dear Editor:
Earlier this year the New York State Commission on Ef-ficiency In Local Government recommended that local governments consolidate, share services, and look for ways to reduce property taxes. A suggestion that might enhance the chances of getting results quickly:
The New York State Legislature should provide voters in New York State with the ability to circulate petitions and to place consolidation/shared service proposals on the ballot. If elected officials are not responsive to efforts to make government more efficient – the voters (who will be impacted by proposed savings) should have the ability to vote on specific recommendations. Initiatives that address sharing, efficiency, making government more competitive, consolidation should be placed on the ballot, if voters collect a specific number of petition signatures.
Currently, in New York State, there are no initiative and referendum procedures. If elected officials are unresponsive, voters can’t take any action to overturn the decisions or non-decisions elected officials make. If the taxpayers have the ability to circulate petitions to get government efficiency measures on the ballot, I believe that the recommendations of the Commission will not gather dust.
I intend to urge the members of the New York State Legislature and the members of the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness, to support state legislation to authorize voters to initiate government reforms and to get the voter reforms placed on the ballot.
Paul Feiner,
Greenburgh, NY Town Supervisor
Reader Reminds Us Of Historical Roots Of Our Freedoms
Dear Editor:
June 30, 2008 may be remembered in history as the day Americans began, in earnest, the moral and solemn process of holding their (servant) Government accountable to the Constitution, under threat of withdrawal of allegiance, support and tax money.
To secure this end, the People have begun to claim and exercise a little-known, but unalienable, “Right of Redress,” rather than depending upon the will of the majority as de-fined by precinct voters, those who cast votes on Capitol Hill, and those that vote from the inner sanctums of our Courthouses.
Most do not know that this profound natural Right, first articulated 800 years ago in the Magna Carta, is embodied and protected by the Petition clause of the First Amendment, the same Amendment which protects your voice in the defense of Freedom. Very importantly, academic research since 1986 makes clear the Right to Petition for Redress is NOT a redundant statement of the Right of Speech. It is, in fact, the individual exercise of Popular Sovereignty.
In Our Opinion...
So Long As Law-Abiding Yonkers Citizens Fear And Distrust Their Police
We believe that last Monday morning’s press conference in the Reception Room of Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone was little more than “window dressing” designed to give the impression that the Mayor’s Administration is really concerned about issues of public safety, even as the Federal Bureau of Investigation intensifies its more than year-long investigation into police brutality. Given the subject matter, Operation Speak-Up, “A Partnership Between The Yonkers Board of Education And The Yonkers Police Department,” the press conference seemed ill-timed and questionably motivated to several members of the media who attended.
The Guardian questioned Police Commissioner Hartnett, asking if perhaps the little palm cards which were distributed in the City’s schools, encouraging students to overcome the ‘Code Of Silence’, the admonition not to snitch, wouldn’t, in fact, end up in the hands of parents, and if it wouldn’t have been better to have incorporated Speak-Up into the more comprehensive Neighborhood Watch program as proposed by Virginia Perez many months ago.
Ms. Perez is the sister of Martin Perez, who was slain last December 17 in a failed robbery attempt as he delivered food from the Emerald Diner, opposite Yonkers City Hall, to a public housing project nearby. Although there was an early arrest in the killing, Yonkers Police, and the District Attorney’s Office, have failed, to date, to charge anyone as the shooter.
Commissioner Hartnett’s response to our question was that he expected that civic associations would organize and run Neighborhood Watch programs. We do not believe a network of Neighborhood Watch programs is likely to emerge in the City of Yonkers so long as residents, particularly in the Inner City, but elsewhere as well, continue to live in fear and distrust of their police.
Mayor Amicone and Commissioner Hartnett, standing before the cameras, with the Superintendent of Schools as well as Council President Lesnick and Majority Leader Annabi, will not convince very many city residents that they can trust the Yonkers Police Department so long as cases of police brutality against innocent individuals such as Rui Florim, Irma Marquez, and Tina and Mary Bostwick continue to go
unacknowledged and unprosecuted by the Westchester District Attorney, Janet Di-Fiore, and denied and swept under the rug by the Yonkers Police Department.
In point of fact, the details of what was done to the Bostwicks, 72 and 49 years of age, in 2005, if known, would discourage any citizen from participating in Neighborhood Watch. After all, it was the mere act of calling the police to report that a youth was severely injured by their neighbor, and was in need of emergency medical attention, that resulted in the physical brutalizing of Mary Bostwick, and the roughing up of her mother, three years ago. And, as if that weren’t outrageous enough, Mary was arrested, booked, and charged with several bogus offenses as is the standard policy and practice of the Yonkers Police Department in order to cover up their unjustifiable brutality.
We know for a fact that the FBI has actually conducted numerous lengthy interviews and investigations into any number of such instances of Yonkers Police brutality, and that there is more than ample evidence in a number of cases to bring charges against several rogue police officers. We are not talking about minor assaults here. Victims such as Florim and Marquez came very close to losing their lives.
Our Readers Respond...
Re: Initiative And Referendum Procedures
Dear Editor:
Earlier this year the New York State Commission on Ef-ficiency In Local Government recommended that local governments consolidate, share services, and look for ways to reduce property taxes. A suggestion that might enhance the chances of getting results quickly:
The New York State Legislature should provide voters in New York State with the ability to circulate petitions and to place consolidation/shared service proposals on the ballot. If elected officials are not responsive to efforts to make government more efficient – the voters (who will be impacted by proposed savings) should have the ability to vote on specific recommendations. Initiatives that address sharing, efficiency, making government more competitive, consolidation should be placed on the ballot, if voters collect a specific number of petition signatures.
Currently, in New York State, there are no initiative and referendum procedures. If elected officials are unresponsive, voters can’t take any action to overturn the decisions or non-decisions elected officials make. If the taxpayers have the ability to circulate petitions to get government efficiency measures on the ballot, I believe that the recommendations of the Commission will not gather dust.
I intend to urge the members of the New York State Legislature and the members of the Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness, to support state legislation to authorize voters to initiate government reforms and to get the voter reforms placed on the ballot.
Paul Feiner,
Greenburgh, NY Town Supervisor
Reader Reminds Us Of Historical Roots Of Our Freedoms
Dear Editor:
June 30, 2008 may be remembered in history as the day Americans began, in earnest, the moral and solemn process of holding their (servant) Government accountable to the Constitution, under threat of withdrawal of allegiance, support and tax money.
To secure this end, the People have begun to claim and exercise a little-known, but unalienable, “Right of Redress,” rather than depending upon the will of the majority as de-fined by precinct voters, those who cast votes on Capitol Hill, and those that vote from the inner sanctums of our Courthouses.
Most do not know that this profound natural Right, first articulated 800 years ago in the Magna Carta, is embodied and protected by the Petition clause of the First Amendment, the same Amendment which protects your voice in the defense of Freedom. Very importantly, academic research since 1986 makes clear the Right to Petition for Redress is NOT a redundant statement of the Right of Speech. It is, in fact, the individual exercise of Popular Sovereignty.
To be sure, the widespread exercise of this Right holds significant implications for our nation and are most worthy of your interest. Here’s what the Founders sitting as the first Congress had to say: “If money is wanted by Rulers who have in any manner oppressed the People, they may retain it until their grievances are redressed, and thus peaceably procure relief, without trusting to despised petitions or disturbing the public tranquility.”
On June 30, 2008, approximately 1200 American citizens will begin the process of exercising the Right by formally serving a Legal Notice
and Demand for Redress upon the President, the Attorney General and every member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate at their local district offices. Demanding an official response within forty (40) days, the Notice includes seven (7) Petitions for Redress of Grievances regarding substantial violations of the Constitution:
• The Iraq invasion, in violation of the war powers clauses;
• The Federal Reserve System’s violation of the money clauses;
• The USA Patriot Act’s violation of the privacy clauses;
• The direct, un-apportioned taxes on labor in violation of the tax clauses;
• The federal gun control laws in violation of the Second Amendment;
• The failure to enforce immigration laws in violation of the “faithfully execute” clause;
• The construction, by stealth, of a “North American Union” without Constitutional authority.
We, the People, cannot elect our way out of tyranny. Any assertion that by electing either McCain or Obama we can cure the ills that now plague America is simply naïve or based on a lack of information regarding the corrupting forces that truly influence and control our government and political process.
We urge you, the media, to learn about this profound Right and to cover this event. Our Republic faces a watershed moment no less historically compelling or newsworthy than, e.g., the emergence of the Civil Rights movement. If Liberty is to survive through peaceful means, you must embrace your obligation, both moral and Constitutional, to bring this critical information to your readers, viewers and listeners. For details about the Plan to Restore Constitutional Order, visit www.givemeliberty.org/revolution.
Anthony Futia, N. White Plains
Tired Of Being Ignored Like I Was Dead
Dear Editor:
If you read the Legal Notice on page 6E of the 6/19/08 Journal News I believe one must ask if the council approved $5,167,556.14 for fiscal
year 2008/2009 in court ordered certiorari cases, was also signed off by the Board of Assessment Review.
In all my experience as a member of the Board I know that generally neither body knew what they were signing. The only councilmember
who ever questioned a settlement, was Dee Barbato because the party appeared on the settlement listing with no dollar amount and she
would not accept that.
What are “compromised claims” and “settled claims”? What do they have to do with 2008/2009 fiscal year court ordered property settlements? To me this appears to be a back door means of getting more funds to spread around for God knows what, and impose more debt on the poor totally unaware taxpayers, at a time when Yonkers taxpayers have all the debt they can handle.
I think the public is due an explanation and I am sick and tired of writing FOI requests and being ignored like I was dead. When over $8 million dollars is to be bonded for unspeci-fied “claims” this is something that should be looked into by someone.
For the past decade the occupants of the 2nd floor of City Hall cannot comprehend that whatever they spend is TAXPAYER MONEY.
Try as you may it can not be honestly spun any other way.
Who gets the Valet money from the island in the middle of the street occupied by Xaviers and the resturant blocking the parking meters?
Is that piece of land private property or did Cappelli take over that also?
Sid Sloves, Yonkers
More Misery In Harrison
Dear Editor:
I wanted to thank you for trying to clean up the corruption in Harrison. I have a story to tell; nobody wants to hear me. On the night of November 12, 2004, I was crossing the street (First St.) going to move my car. As I went to cross the street, I tripped over something and found myself lying in the street. As I fell I also slid back into something. My leg was in so much pain. I looked down to see my leg was
in the sewer and caught on something.
The street was very dark because the street light was out also. Here I was crying because of the pain and yelling out for somebody to help me. I was right on the corner of First Street and Franklin. A man did see me only because I had on a white jacket. He called the police and everything came into play. The officer was also a friend of mine who covered me with a blanket from my house. The officer tried to get
my leg out from the sewer but couldn’t.
The ambulance came and they finally set my leg free. I was put in the ambulance, in pain, cold and soaking wet from the rain. They had to cut off my clothes to take my vital signs and to cover me with blankets to warm me up. The officer who helped me was also the officer who put a barricade up near the sewer (years prior) because so many people got flat tires from this very chopped up sewer. I spent two years with a cast on my leg from a broken ankle and many (16) cortisone shots. I had two ankle surgeries with hardware put in. The Town sees nothing wrong with this sewer and says nobody reported anything wrong with it.
I have pictures of this sewer and it shows how bad it is. Also, the officer (retired) stated when he first got on the job he did put the barricades up. The Town denies everything! They did fix the street light.
I have a daughter who has Cerebral Palsy (mild) who I take care of. I do have a lawyer, Mr. Peck, and he doesn’t mind me telling my story. The lawyers for the Town act like this is a joke. The Town is covering up about this sewer. Can you help me?
Karen DiLeo, Harrison
Bemoaning Oil Company Skewing
Dear Editor:
Oil companies can raise and lower prices while still making huge profits. Furthermore, they have interlocking directorates with other multinational corporations. They manipulate consumer prices not only for their own profit but also for the other corporations’ profit and to encourage socioeconomic and political developments that corporate top leaders and other powerful people want.
True, one reason for today’s high gas prices is demand. Often that demand has been forced. Over the past 30 years, people have lost alternates to lower-fuel-per-passenger transportation. Rail systems have shut down around the world (often despite high patronage), and bicycles have been banned from many Asian streets. Another reason is to channel people, through costs and pricing, into making choices the corporations want. An example of a “success” is a recent letter to the Journal News where the writer announced that high gas prices left him no choice but to buy food from supermarkets rather than smaller enterprises.
More immediate reasons include to get rid of the gas tax (forever), to impose fluorescent lights and nuclear power, and to start oil drilling in
more places. And another seems to be to encourage discontent so that Americans vote for “change”. Corporate leaders and powerful people,
secure that fiscal “conservative” (ie, anti-environmental) and hawkish politicians are firmly in place (no matter who’s president), now want
to “move ahead” with the “cultural liberal” aspects of their agenda.
When these goals are achieved, by a Democratic president and/or judicial rulings, gas prices still probably go down, at least somewhat.
In the early 1970s gas prices were raised to make Alaska an oil field. In the late 1970s they were raised to create discontent, in order to choreograph Americans into submitting to a planned-for-years authoritarian “savior”. In the late 1980s they were lowered, as choreographed, in order to create contentment, to celebrate the American authoritarian, and to get the rest of the world committed to a high-oil-consumption lifestyle. The way to avoid manipulation by oil companies is to develop habits of using less petroleum even when prices are low.
Jeanette Wolfberg, Mount Kisco
Calls Guardian “Pushover”
Dear Editor:
When does the Westchester Guardian start acting like a newspaper and not as a billboard for politicians to promote themselves? The worst offender is Timothy Idoni, the County Clerk, who sends press releases and photos to all the free newspapers to promote himself as
he tries to be Andy Spano’s successor.
This is outrageous! He makes $158,000 a year but does nothing but promote himself via pushover editions like you. It’s time to call a halt to this self-promotion. Start acting like a newspaper or your paper will end up in the trash bin as soon as it comes out.
A Fed-Up Reader
Dear Reader: We are sorry if we have been soft on self-promotion and spineless in the name of public information. We promise to toughen up and will try to expose corruption, powerlust and greed wherever it rears its ugly head. Thank you so much for setting us back on track. -Ed.
P.S. We’re taking the gloves off.
Westchester Guardian.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Court Report
By Richard Blassberg
Judge Candidate’s Startling Allegations
About Westchester Courthouse
Editor’s Note: The following ‘White Paper’ statement by Court Attorney/Referee James Montagnino, candidate for Saratoga City Court Judge, originally forwarded to the Saratogian newspaper and published as a Reader’s View feature, is produced here with the author’s consent for the relevance of its claims with regard to the Westchester Courthouse.
By James Montagnino
I worked my way through law school as a mechanic and a truck driver. My legal career began 22 years ago in the Bronx D.A.’s Office, after which I served as an assistant D.A. in Westchester County. I prosecuted cases that ranged from DWI to the murder of a Yonkers police officer. Later, doing public defense work, I had the opportunity to see the other side of the justice system.
In 1995, I began my judicial career as principal law clerk to a county judge. Then, in 1999, I was asked to serve as a court attorney and referee in the matrimonial part in Westchester County. I presided over contested divorce cases for seven years from commencement to final judgment. I learned how difficult and challenging it is to make decisions that impact upon people’s lives. I also learned that with every ruling, a judge makes one temporary friend and one permanent enemy.
I saw the dark side of the downstate court system. Litigants with the right connections were able to get cases transferred away from judges who didn’t see things their way. On more than one occasion, a judge was even directed to change rulings that he had made because one of the parties had secretly contacted that judge’s superior to ask for a favor. With great reluctance, I did what I saw as my duty and reported this misconduct to the authorities in the court system.
“Litigants with the right connections were able to get cases transferred away from judges who didn’t see things their way. On more than one occasion, a judge was even directed to change rulings that he had made because one of the parties had secretly contacted that judge’s superior to ask for a favor.”
Within days of my complaint, some of the people involved in this “steering” and “fixing” of cases dug up a handful of litigants who were unhappy with rulings I had made. In retaliation for my having reported their wrongdoing, they tried to discredit me with claims of bias. After a full investigation, however, I was exonerated. As to my complaints of misconduct, they led to sweeping changes made in the way in which matrimonial cases were to be assigned and handled in the future.
I now work as a Court Attorney/Referee in the Supreme Court in the Capital District. My wife Nancy, whom I met and married in law school 22 years ago, is also an attorney. She now works with the mentally ill in the Adirondack Region. Our daughter Alexandra, 14, and our son Max, 11, are enjoying school here. Alex just completed a series of performances in a play at Caffe Lena, while Max is a patrol leader and first class scout in Troop 24.
My campaign committee will not seek or accept contributions from lawyers who practice in Saratoga. Instead, I am grateful for the support of people like former Mayor Valerie Keehn and the Skidmore Democrats, who have given this campaign their heartfelt endorsement.
I want to bring my years of judicial experience into service for our community. I believe that there’s no “small claim” when it’s your claim, there’s no “simple assault” when it’s your nose, and there’s no “petit larceny” when it’s your property.
Feds: “Enough Is Enough” With Yonkers Police Brutality
MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and MARK J. MERSHON, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that WAYNE SIMOES, a police officer with the Yonkers Police Department, was charged in a criminal Complaint with violating the civil rights of Irma Marquez by using excessive force against her, resulting in bodily injury According to the Complaint filed in White Plains federal court:
On the early morning of March 3, 2007, SIMOES and several other police officers responded to a radio call to assist an injured person at a restaurant in Yonkers, New York. When Marquez leaned over the injured person, one of the officers moved her out of the way to the other side of the room. SIMOES then walked over to Marquez, grabbed her around the waist from behind, lifted her into the air, and threw her to the floor, face down, before handcuffing her. Marquez was hospitalized and suffered a broken jaw as well as lacerations and contusions to her face and body as a result of SIMOES’ use of force. SIMOES’ conduct was captured on videotape and witnessed by other officers.
The Complaint charges SIMOES with violation of federal civil rights laws, which make it a crime to willfully deprive a person of rights secured and protected by the Constitution of the United States, in this case 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.
SIMOES was presented today before United States Magistrate Judge GEORGE A. YANTHIS in White Plains federal court and released on a $300,000 personal recognizance bond. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for July 23, 2008, at 9a.m. SIMOES, 38, lives in Yonkers, New York. If convicted, SIMOES faces a maximum penalty of 10years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorneys JASON P.W. HALPERIN, ANNA M. SKOTKO, and BENJAMIN H. TORRANCE are in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Analysis:Yonkers Police Officer Wayne Simoes, 38, accused by the United States Attorney’s Office of violating the Civil Rights of Irma Marquez in the early morning hours of March 3, 2007, is represented by Attorney Andrew Quinn, of White Plains. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
Upon posting $300,000 bail bond, Simoes surrendered his firearms and passport. The Yonkers Police Department, as of Friday, indicated that he had been placed on modified duty, pending further review of the incident. Ms. Marquez’ lawyer, Gary T. Certain, of Certain and Zilberg, P.L.L.C., who also represented Marquez in the criminal case brought against her by the Westchester District Attorney following the incident, was quoted as stating, “This case suggests that Janet DiFiore’s Office may not be capable of honestly prosecuting egregious police misconduct.”
In light of the facts surrounding this case, and numerous other cases of police brutality in the City of Yonkers and elsewhere in the County of Westchester that have gone uninvestigated and unprosecuted by Westchester District Attorney DiFiore despite receipt of ample and credible evidence, we must concur with Attorney Certain’s assertion.
The Court Report
By Richard Blassberg
Judge Candidate’s Startling Allegations
About Westchester Courthouse
Editor’s Note: The following ‘White Paper’ statement by Court Attorney/Referee James Montagnino, candidate for Saratoga City Court Judge, originally forwarded to the Saratogian newspaper and published as a Reader’s View feature, is produced here with the author’s consent for the relevance of its claims with regard to the Westchester Courthouse.
By James Montagnino
I worked my way through law school as a mechanic and a truck driver. My legal career began 22 years ago in the Bronx D.A.’s Office, after which I served as an assistant D.A. in Westchester County. I prosecuted cases that ranged from DWI to the murder of a Yonkers police officer. Later, doing public defense work, I had the opportunity to see the other side of the justice system.
In 1995, I began my judicial career as principal law clerk to a county judge. Then, in 1999, I was asked to serve as a court attorney and referee in the matrimonial part in Westchester County. I presided over contested divorce cases for seven years from commencement to final judgment. I learned how difficult and challenging it is to make decisions that impact upon people’s lives. I also learned that with every ruling, a judge makes one temporary friend and one permanent enemy.
I saw the dark side of the downstate court system. Litigants with the right connections were able to get cases transferred away from judges who didn’t see things their way. On more than one occasion, a judge was even directed to change rulings that he had made because one of the parties had secretly contacted that judge’s superior to ask for a favor. With great reluctance, I did what I saw as my duty and reported this misconduct to the authorities in the court system.
“Litigants with the right connections were able to get cases transferred away from judges who didn’t see things their way. On more than one occasion, a judge was even directed to change rulings that he had made because one of the parties had secretly contacted that judge’s superior to ask for a favor.”
Within days of my complaint, some of the people involved in this “steering” and “fixing” of cases dug up a handful of litigants who were unhappy with rulings I had made. In retaliation for my having reported their wrongdoing, they tried to discredit me with claims of bias. After a full investigation, however, I was exonerated. As to my complaints of misconduct, they led to sweeping changes made in the way in which matrimonial cases were to be assigned and handled in the future.
I now work as a Court Attorney/Referee in the Supreme Court in the Capital District. My wife Nancy, whom I met and married in law school 22 years ago, is also an attorney. She now works with the mentally ill in the Adirondack Region. Our daughter Alexandra, 14, and our son Max, 11, are enjoying school here. Alex just completed a series of performances in a play at Caffe Lena, while Max is a patrol leader and first class scout in Troop 24.
My campaign committee will not seek or accept contributions from lawyers who practice in Saratoga. Instead, I am grateful for the support of people like former Mayor Valerie Keehn and the Skidmore Democrats, who have given this campaign their heartfelt endorsement.
I want to bring my years of judicial experience into service for our community. I believe that there’s no “small claim” when it’s your claim, there’s no “simple assault” when it’s your nose, and there’s no “petit larceny” when it’s your property.
Feds: “Enough Is Enough” With Yonkers Police Brutality
MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and MARK J. MERSHON, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today that WAYNE SIMOES, a police officer with the Yonkers Police Department, was charged in a criminal Complaint with violating the civil rights of Irma Marquez by using excessive force against her, resulting in bodily injury According to the Complaint filed in White Plains federal court:
On the early morning of March 3, 2007, SIMOES and several other police officers responded to a radio call to assist an injured person at a restaurant in Yonkers, New York. When Marquez leaned over the injured person, one of the officers moved her out of the way to the other side of the room. SIMOES then walked over to Marquez, grabbed her around the waist from behind, lifted her into the air, and threw her to the floor, face down, before handcuffing her. Marquez was hospitalized and suffered a broken jaw as well as lacerations and contusions to her face and body as a result of SIMOES’ use of force. SIMOES’ conduct was captured on videotape and witnessed by other officers.
The Complaint charges SIMOES with violation of federal civil rights laws, which make it a crime to willfully deprive a person of rights secured and protected by the Constitution of the United States, in this case 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.
SIMOES was presented today before United States Magistrate Judge GEORGE A. YANTHIS in White Plains federal court and released on a $300,000 personal recognizance bond. A preliminary hearing in the case was set for July 23, 2008, at 9a.m. SIMOES, 38, lives in Yonkers, New York. If convicted, SIMOES faces a maximum penalty of 10years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorneys JASON P.W. HALPERIN, ANNA M. SKOTKO, and BENJAMIN H. TORRANCE are in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Analysis:Yonkers Police Officer Wayne Simoes, 38, accused by the United States Attorney’s Office of violating the Civil Rights of Irma Marquez in the early morning hours of March 3, 2007, is represented by Attorney Andrew Quinn, of White Plains. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
Upon posting $300,000 bail bond, Simoes surrendered his firearms and passport. The Yonkers Police Department, as of Friday, indicated that he had been placed on modified duty, pending further review of the incident. Ms. Marquez’ lawyer, Gary T. Certain, of Certain and Zilberg, P.L.L.C., who also represented Marquez in the criminal case brought against her by the Westchester District Attorney following the incident, was quoted as stating, “This case suggests that Janet DiFiore’s Office may not be capable of honestly prosecuting egregious police misconduct.”
In light of the facts surrounding this case, and numerous other cases of police brutality in the City of Yonkers and elsewhere in the County of Westchester that have gone uninvestigated and unprosecuted by Westchester District Attorney DiFiore despite receipt of ample and credible evidence, we must concur with Attorney Certain’s assertion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
