Black Lives Didn’t Matter When It Came To Working Out A Deal With A Serial Murderer 1/2

Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker on September 9, 1999, sensed something was not right. He was commenting on the deal that John Martorano had made with the government where he would end up doing 12 years for admitting to 20 murders. He noted how the three black victims seemed to be invisible. He wrote: Federal prosecutors had a chance to restore their humanity, to say that even after all the years that have passed their lives and death mattered. And yesterday they blew it.” 

He note Martorano was not charge with their murders but racketeering, race fixing and extortion. He wrote: “You can commit one of the worst massacres in this city’s bloody history and pay not price at all. The lives of Smith. Dickson, and Barrett meant virtually nothing.”

He quoted retired Boston Police detective Eddie Walsh who said: “John Martorano killed an awful lot of black people. He practically used black people for target practice in Roxbury.” 

Where Adrian Walker had it wrong was putting in all on the federal prosecutors. The whole community made them into non-persons. Where was the follow-up by the media asking questions about it? Or, the other law enforcement community? Or, anyone in the white community?

He’d write: “The families of the three 1968 victims have been silent since the case was resurrected. Unlike the survivors of some of Martorano’s other victims, they have asked for no meetings, held no  new conferences, taken no public position on the price Martorano should have to pay. But it’s hard to believe they could be satisfied with the deal.”

Why, I wondered didn’t Walker reach out to them? Wasn’t his failure to do so just another shovel of dirt onto the grave into which their killings had been buried. Did no one else in the media care? Did anyone ever reach out to them? If they did how would it go:

Set the scene in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston. It’s late summer of 1999. The survivors, the siblings of Elizabeth Dickson and Douglas Barrett, are sitting at a desk. They have agreed that Shirley will be their spokesperson. They have  sense of what it is about. They are in their late forties. Three men in suits walk in and take a seat. They introduce themselves as assistant U.S. attorneys. Freddy will do all the talking.

Freddy:          Thank you for coming in. I suppose you know why we wanted to see you.

Shirley:           We think so. We met just a while ago. We have one thing in common. It was our sibling was murdered back in 1968. We assume that is why we are here.

Freddy:          Yes, that is correct. We have been able to solve the murder. A man has confessed to murdering Elizabeth Dickson, Douglas Barrett and the man they were with Herbert Smith.

Shirley:           So you know who murdered them, is that what you are saying?

Freddy:          That is correct. It is John Martorano. He confessed.

Shirley:           Did he say why he did it?

Freddy:          Yes, he was angry at Herbert Smith. He wrongly believed he had beaten up his friend so he wanted to murder him. Unfortunately, Elizabeth and Douglas happened to be with him when he shot Smith.

Shirley:           Yes, that was very unfortunate for them and us. We’ve all suffered over these years trying to understand what happened and why nothing was ever done about it.

Freddy:          I understand. It must have been hard.

Shirley:           What are we supposed to do now? We’re relieved to know their murderer had been caught. Do you want anything from us?

Freddy:          Nothing at this time, we just wanted to bring you in here and let you know we had solved the case. The question should be though, what can we do for you.

Shirley:           Nothing, really. It’s been so long and we’ve gone on with our lives. A little sadder but we’ve gone on.

Freddy:          Well, then thanks for coming in. We have your telephones and addresses so if there’s anything else we will be in contact with you.

Shirley:           When will that be? I mean. Will we have to be there when he is sentenced? Don’t we have to give a statement or something like that?

Freddy:          If you are needed, I’ll let you know.

Shirley:           I think we all want to be there. We want to be able to talk to the judge and see that this man Martorano  get what is coming to him. He should be in prison forever, don’t you think.

Freddy:         It may not work out that way. You see for us to get Martorano to confess to murdering Elizabeth, Douglas and Mr. Smith we had to make a deal with him.

 

4 Comments

  1. Remember the men, Brian Joyce, Aaron Scwartz, driven to the grave by the power-abusing federal prosecutors in Boston.
    Remember all the men and women, and their families, persecuted by federal prosecutors abetted by federal judges abusing federal prosecutorial power.

    Pause, for one minute, and remember the link between stress and disease, stress and heart failure, prolonged, intense stress and or even sudden intense overpowering stress and suicide, between stress and cancer, the effect of prolonged unrelieved stress on the immune system. A weakened immune system can’t fight off disease. A family under stress can’t fight off addictions, drugs, sedatives.

    Now point to a Federal Statute that says the Punishment is Crushing with Stones, Crushing the life out of families, Crushing until Dead, Crushing with the Weight of the Federal Prosecutors Office until every drop of blood is crushed out of the victim we choose to prosecute and his family, friends and associates, WE the FEDS.

    Now show me a FEDERAL STATUTE that says the punishment is BANKRUPTCY . . .bankruptcy of a lifetime of savings, of all family savings, of all family income, of loss of college tuitions for the kids and grandkids, of loss of house and home . . . .Can’t find it? Look at the 100-plus nebulous federal counts the FEDs piled on Brian Joyce for the crime of Practicing Law while a State Senator . . . .100-plus counts and the corrupt FEDs even tried to have his lawyer fired so the corrupt FED Prosecutors could then use his lawyer as a witness against him . . . .Even Sterns and the ACLU opposed THAT move of our corrupt FED Prosecutors . . .

    Shakespeare has words for such Persecutors who abuse Federal Prosecutorial Power . . . . . .

    I, your humble correspondent, Billy C, just another Savin Hill Billy, born in Southie raised in Savie, Savin Hill by the Sea, have written a half-dozen books addressing Corrupt FED/STATE POWER . . . .the evil men do . . . .I’ve also written a two volume book (Shots Heard Round the World: Americans Answer the Call to Arms) addressing the all the good that Americans have done.

    The Time to Hesitate is through . . . .

    Prosecute the Persecutors who abuse Federal Prosecutorial Power or who abuse any Federal or State Power . . .

    I see that Third Lamp lit in the Old North Church . . . .

    Peace to persons of good will; to persons not of good will, Special Forces.

  2. ” …… another shovel of dirt onto the graves in which their killings are buried.”

    See …That is a very literary line. Extremely well turned. And it is of note because the poesy of imagination too thoroughly pervades this entire genre of writing. If T.J. English had written that he had it on reliable authority that John Martorano used Black people for target practice in the Berry you would cite him for insupportable hyperbole.

    OFF TARGET BUT ON THE MARK !!!

    Paradoxes

  3. Apologies for being off the subject, but I believe stress is the primary cause of premature deaths, which calls to mind today’s news about Senator Brian Joyce. How many premature deaths can we ascribe to the abusive indictments and accusations of. Wyshak et. al. ???

  4. True, Matt.
    The imagined re-enactment reveals the callous depraved zealotry of federal prosecutors.
    If Wyshak had been patient, he’d have Weeks and Salemme to finger Flemmi and Martorano, and all of them to finger each other . . .if any deal, it shoulda been Life In Prison, no Execution . . . .better still, Flemmi and Martorano shoulda been executed, Weeks given life, and Salemme, an extension, not parole, as the Sterns Gang (Sterns, Durham, Wyshak et al) gave.

    You see, the FED Prosecutors didn’t care about the victims or the serial killers, Mafiosa killers . . .Fred the FED and his cohorts cared about getting John Connolly the lowest man on the ladder, an honest cop, so they could get their Big Prize: Bill Bulger.

    It is tyrranny. It is the similar twisting of justice/process that the DEMs just applied to Judge Kavanaugh. To the FEDs and today’s liberal-leftist DEMS, the end justifies any means.

    Tyrannical abuses of prosecutorial power and Congressional power.

    Reputation Murdering and Character Assassination disguised as Due Process.