I see that I've got a number of very interested repeat visitors who obviously have an interest in this case and I want to make it clear that I'm very accessible and willing to talk about it. That said, I'm not big on publishing my contact info on the internet, but if there's anything you'd like to discuss, you can email me via the "Email me" link in the right sidebar. From there, it doesn't take much to get my phone number out of me.
If there's anything you'd like to discuss, just pull the trigger on an email. I'm easy like that.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
To Whom It May Concern
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The Documents: 209A violation charge
On July 18, 2003 a 209A (restraining order) violation charge was filed against me by Foxboro police officer Scott Hodson, at the request of Cynthia Whelahan. The best summary of the situation was published in Massachussetts Lawyers Weekly and can be found here. The report, along with the police log entry (which comes into play again later in this story) is here. Hodson's testimony at trial is here. Whelahan's testimony is here: Part 1 and Part 2. My testimony is here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
If you've read all that, please consider two questions. First, who do you believe as to what the content of the message left was? Second, would you hire Scott Hodson to pick up dog crap from your lawn? That boy is dumb as a stump, ain't he?
One more question: Does it strike you as odd that this message on an answering machine wasn't preserved as evidence? If you were going to charge someone with leaving a message, wouldn't you keep it to prove that they did it? Of course you would...if you weren't lying about what was said. And if you didn't think the question would ever get to trial. But, as she testified on pages 63-64 of the trial transcript (Part 2 link above), she didn't keep the tape and it was conveniently unavailable to be played at trial. Or was it?
I'm going to get into this document in much more detail later in the story, but this is a letter to me from Foxboro police chief Edward O'Leary explaining the outcome of an "investigation" conducted by FPD Internal Affairs on several complaints that I filed immediately after the July 2004 trial. Look at page 3 of that document, in the paragraph numbered 4 which states as a finding of this "investigation": "That recording was preserved by Ms. Whelahan and could be produced for court presentation if needed." This is an official finding of a police investigation conducted after Whelahan gave sworn testimony indicating that she did not have the recording and didn't keep it because a Foxboro cop, Scott Hodson, told her she didn't need to.
Most people plead these things out for fear of a bad outcome at trial. I had (and declined) the opportunity to have the charges "Continued Without a Finding" which would have had them dismissed after a year. But that requires an "admission to sufficient facts" to prove guilt, and I wasn't guilty of anything, so that was out. Still, most people take the deal. Most people. The cops and DA's count on it. If everyone exercised their right to a jury trial, this corrupt system would be brought to its knees in short order and this sort of nonsense would stop.
UPDATE: Memo to Cindy, since she's reading. Remember that smug, condescending attitude and that smirk on your face on the day in question when I was at the house getting some of my things and learning that you'd decided to steal the rest from me? You know, that attitude you were throwing at me while you were charming your new buddy Scott Hodson who somehow couldn't remember having been there an hour or so before the two of you decided to dummy up a new criminal charge to hang on me. How's that holding up these days, Boots? Do you still find all this funny?
Addendum: It also bears noting that the 10 day hearing on this restraining order was conducted first thing on a Monday morning, piggybacked on the A&B arraignment, less than 24 hours after the order was served leaving me no opportunity to get a lawyer or to really understand the implications of the order, let alone prepare a proper defense, gather witnesses, etc. This thing was extended for a year without me having any real opportunity to fight it. They pass these things out like candy, and they really don't care about having any sort of fair, reasonable hearing on them.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The beginning
OK, three documents here, all in PDF files. First, Cynthia Whelahan's Voluntary Statement written just after having me arrested. Second, Foxboro Police officer McDonald's narrative from the police report. Then we have Page 164 of the trial transcript, which includes the contents of Whelahan's 911 call, the tape of which was played at trial.
I'll be editing this post later to add some commentary and connect some dots. For now, I just want to get these out there and make sure it works.
The Documents
I started this blog with the intention of creating a historical record of my trials and tribulations at the hands of the courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That was two years ago and several forces have played a part in suspending that project. First, I thought this thing was over at the time. That turned out not to be the case and the prospect of further litigation made it unwise to continue at the time. That is no longer an issue. The case is done, and I have been completely exonerated. Second, personal revulsion played a part. Seriously, going through this enormous pile of crap turns my stomach. But it's too important that this be fully documented to let that get in the way. Several requests have renewed my motivation, and I'm going to dedicate some time to scanning and posting the documents related to this case. Well, a lot of them, anyway. There has to be 1000 pages here, but I'm going to endeavor to get the relevant stuff posted. Third, there are some technical issues related to the limits of the Blogger software, but I think I have those worked out. Last, there's the part about me being something of a procrastinator, which is compounded by the second point. I can think of a hundred ways I'd rather spend my time, but I'm feeling a moral obligation to get this done, so I'm going to try to be disciplined about doing it.
Some of the commentary that will accompany this effort is is going to read like an attack on Cindy Whelahan, and by necessity, it will be. She started this nonsense and she pursued it, with malice in mind and lying every step of the way, and that will be made perfectly clear in great detail. But I want to make it clear that that is not my purpose here. What I mean to expose is the system, from the police to the courts to the DA's, that allowed and enabled this travesty to happen with no regard whatsoever for the truth or for the law itself. This system continues to do such things to innocent people every day, and they're spending millions of taxpayer dollars in this pursuit of rank sexism. That is what must be detailed, and that is why I chose the name I did when I started this blog.
For those who'd like a summary, there's a narrative here and there's a more detailed chronology of events here. Someone once quipped after reading those that this story sounds a lot like Franz Kafka's "The Trial" I think that "Kafkaesque" is a fairly accurate descriptor.
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