Jordan’s letter was the first from a government official writing in an official capacity to Judge Tauro who was to sentence Connolly. He closed saying due to Connolly’s betrayal, “the FBI suggests that the Court seriously consider the upper range of the sentencing guidelines in this matter.”     

I do not suggest Connolly was an angel. His letter to Judge Wolf, his attempts to help Steve Flemmi and others get out of prison I find abhorrent. (Although I must admit Durham and Wyshak have managed to keep Flemmi out of federal Bureau of Prisons and let him keep much of his money.) It is not only those things but others that make me realize Connolly made some big mistakes and recognize he deserved some punishment.

But to be sentenced to prison for life for what he did based on the words of murderers is something far beyond any understanding of how the American justice system should  work. Consider the story Salemme told the CS. He said the prosecutors dealt with him in such a manner that he felt to get his deal he had to tell them what they wanted to hear, not the truth, and that “he had never seen anyone so ‘obsessed’ with getting someone” and “the prosecutors wanted Connolly more than Gotti and they considered Connolly ‘public enemy number 1” and that he “could not understand why the prosecutors were so worried about getting [Connolly] . . .that they were willing to let him go on his murders. . . . “

Durham is a prosecutor without a conscience. He is now used by Attorney General Barr to come up with some charges against Obama’s people. For the first time in American history an attack is being made on a predecessor president by a man who is not bothered with perjury and an attorney general who had a lawyer put back into jail because he did not want him exercising his First Amendment rights. Trump said: “I look forward to Bull Durham’s report — that’s the one I look forward to.”

Perhaps we could overlook all this if Connolly was not still in prison. But what the justice system can do to the least of us it can do to any of us. Connolly was a scapegoat for the malfeasance of the FBI. I noted in the beginning in my book about his trial, Don’t Embarrass The Family that was the main reason for his prosecution. To understand Durham, that book provides insight into his manner as a prosecutor.

John Durham and the Plight of John Connolly

By the way, Connolly would be tried in Florida based on the testimony of Martorano, Flemmi and Weeks and be convicted of murder by gun. Wyshak at that time was the lead prosecutor.

He was not originally charged with murder by gun. He was charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to murder of which he was acquitted. His lawyer erred in not filing a motion after the verdict within the proper time. Had he done it, the conviction would not have stood.

An unnerving part of the trial itself was when Wyshak had Flemmi on the stand. Flemmi who had murdered his stepdaughter and girlfriend among many others was giving testimony about the murder of Brian Halloran. Whitey Bulger, Flemmi’s partner called Halloran “balloon head.” Wyshak and Flemmi found it somewhat humorous smiling together when taking about the murder as if they had joked about it previously. It was frightening to see how close the prosecutor had come to this vile man as we saw with Durham and Mafia king Salemme.

The Court of Appeals Considers Salemme’s Story to Confidential Informant

How then does Judge Selya work to make this into an asthenic showing? First he said Salemme’s testimony received substantial corroboration. The corroboration was not of his critical testimony but only that he was seen with Connolly. Obviously far from substantial.

Next he writes that even if the “CS faithfully recounted Salemme’s rodomontade, the district court easily could have found that the recantation unworthy of credence and insufficient to shake its confidence in the jury’s verdict.” Unfortunately, as noted, we don’t know what reason the district court refused to consider it because it wrote no decision.

As to that, this was not really a recantation which is defined as “a term that means to take back or to withdraw a statement that has been made, to repudiate.” It is usually done when the person who testified comes back into court and says his prior testimony is false. This is immediately suspect because of the myriad of pressures that could have been put on a person afterward or because the person has something to gain by it. Here, Salemme was not recanting, he was voluntarily telling why he testified as he did. He would not dare recant because the prosecutors enforce his silence by threat of prosecution.

Salemme’s Prison Story

This case took a weird turn in 2004. Durham used Salemme as a witness in 2002 and deposed him in 2003. On September 16, 2004, the FBI submitted a report of a conversation that one of its informants, called a confidential source (CS), had with Frank Salemme while in prison. He was willing to testify.  Put this in perspective, Salemme has nothing to gain by making these statements to a fellow prisoner. He does not know the CS is an informant. Hardly does he expect that the information he gives the CS will become public.

You can be sure that Durham with his intimate involvement in the case and the handling of Salemme was quickly notified of this statement. The highlights of the CS’s talk with the FBI agent were:

a: Salemme cooperated with the FBI when he was in Lexington. Inmates did not care because he was doing it against an FBI agent. They believe it is okay to do and not be a rat. CS showed he was aware of Winter Hill, Bulger, Connolly, Bulger’s lottery win, and other things he could only have learned from Salemme.

I just suppose you figure Boston College athletics is run by some slow learners. How long did they hang on to Football Coach Steve Addazio with his pathetic and boorish performance year after year. Five. Six years?

They finally dumped him and the stupid folk at Colorado State picked him up. He went there at the end of December. He took his BC act there.

They’re not going to play football this year. It’s  not the virus. It’s  the coach. He’s accused of being a rube and racist. Destroyed a program in less than 8 months.

You have to feel sorry for all the kids at BC who had to put up with him. Where was Father Walsh that he did not care? What a disgrace.At least Addazio’s record at Colorado State will be better than at BC. It is a solid 50%. 0 – 0.  He’ll now go on to better Heights.

The Court of Appeals Considers Connolly’s Contentions on Salemme’s Perjury

Connolly would file a motion for a new trial based on discovering Salemme lied and also other material. Judge Tauro denied the motion without giving any reason. Connolly then brought the case to the Appeals Court.

That court indicated in its opening line that Connolly was not going to get a fair hearing. Judge Selya wrote the federal courts “are by now painfully familiar with the Winter Hill gang and its corrupt relationship with the Boston office of the FBI.” Hard to escape the feeling that it had slammed the door on Connolly before it heard a word of his appeal. In other words, no matter how egregious his conviction may have been they are just tired of listening about it.

As to the issue of Salemme lies at trial, the appeals court, as expected from its opening line, gave that short shrift. It agreed Salemme was not wholly truthful at his trial. Then it says “this possible perjury is . . . of minor moment.” Why, because the jurors knew of Salemme’s nefarious past and had “good reason to believe that is every word was not deserving of unqualified respect.”

The Charges Against Connolly

As usual with the federal prosecutors they loaded up on charges against Connolly. It is necessary to spell them out for a full understanding of the situation and the deals given to those murderers and his supervisor.

There was a racketeering count that had 14 different acts that the prosecutors alleged Connolly had committed. If only two of these acts were proven then Connolly would be convicted of racketeering. There were 4 counts of bribery, 1 count of extortion, and 9 of obstruction of justice.

The bribery involved receiving a ring from gangsters, giving $1,000 to Agent Morris’s girlfriend to meet him on a trip; giving his FBI supervisor a case of wine; and giving his FBI supervisor a case of wine with $1000 in it. The jury found only the last one was proven.

The extortion count of a liquor store was not proven.

The obstruction charges involved not reporting the extortion; two charges of leaking the identity of informants who were later murdered; one charge of leaking the identity of a person (Callahan) who was to be questioned, and one of leaking information about a telephone wiretap. These were considered the most serious charges. The jury found none were proven.