The Day Before the 4th of July – Time For a Pause and an Update of Sorts

blackboardNo trial today. Judge Casper wisely gave the jurors a long break over this holiday time.

We’re half way through 2014  2013 and coming up to our national break time so it’s time to talk about some general things.

On Saturday each week I’ll be doing the Whitey Weekend Wrap. It’ll be my take on how the week went for each party, noting what I thought the jurors would remember based on what I remember. I’ll include in my thoughts this week the “machine gun” episode that apparently the newspapers have highlighting. I’ll announce the winner of the week and give a feel for the overall perception I’d have if a juror.

Keep in mind that I come to the matter with a lot of background. The jurors don’t. That obviously will color my opinion.

A juror is supposed to be a tabula rasa – one of those Latin words that pops its head up now and again which I sometimes use over my guilt at having taken 6 years of Latin and remembering not much more than 6 words. It means a clean blackboard or blank slate. (I also see some action figure has taken it as her name.)

What I try to do in the weekly review is to be a juror who only gets her information from the courtroom which each juror is supposed to do. This is almost impossible for a juror in a case that receives as much play as this has in the newspapers and on TV, much of it distorted. Since I can’t know what outside factors influence the jurors, I have to assume each juror is following her duty.

I’ve been asked what is my take on the jurors. I’ve tried lots of jury cases and never knew so I’m not about to start guessing now. Until we learn to read people’s minds, have inside information, or an ability to reach a juror, then trying to figure it out is too much pretend. I’ll try to get into the courtroom one of these days and tell you if some look like they are paying attention or dreaming of being at the beach.

Even then, you don’t know the force of an individual’s personality which will come to play in the jury room. The meek will follow the bold. Some will be conciliatory and others easy to take offense. The personalities may blend well or may clash. All the defense is looking for is one, hopefully two, stubborn jurors to go their way. A mistrial on all counts is a win for Whitey.

On Sundays I will be writing about the John Naimovich story and how it relates to some of the matters we are seeing unfolding in Whitey’s case. Naimovich was a good guy whereas one would be hard pressed to say that about the present defendant. There are some eerie similarities as to how the federals operated there and here. It points out the federals have no crystal ball when judging, investigating and prosecuting a person.

Since this will run over several Sundays I thought that if anyone is interested in reading the story from the start I will put it in one location and keep updating it. The 4th of July is a good date on which to begin that process.

You want to be around next Monday. The make or break match will come up, the one witness that really counts, Kevin Weeks, takes the stand. I’ll give you my thoughts on him this Friday.

My blog advisor (my son) thinks I should allow people to comment anonymously. I’ll do that and see how it works. I’d ask those of you who have been commenting for a while to keep doing what you now do, or at a minimum keep your handle the same.  If I get many more comments I may have to cut back since I look upon the comment section as an ongoing discussion so I like to respond to those who have given it some thought and take the time to write.

Some people write to me outside the comments, you can do that if you wish at the following  @yahoo.com sites:  uuxq, ooxq, and uvxq.  Don’t ask what the “xq” stands for. I’ve yet to figure it out.

I’ve done a little tweeting from the trial over the last week. I’m going to cut back on it.  It takes away from my ability to follow the witness like I would like to do.  Tweeting is distracting. Juror’s don’t tweet they listen. I’ll only tweet now at side bars and recess during the day.

Keep in mind the trial of Whitey, which is the name of the blog, is just a window through which we can view the operation of our government and how it protects or intrudes on our rights using the criminal justice system. There is always a pull and tug between the governed and the government, with the latter anxiously trying to take more and more away from the pesky people. We once had a media that sided with the people but now it has become a cheerleader for the government as we see when a POOF comes along.

Thus the burden to keep the balance falls upon a very few who will take the time to remember that is how it began with 56 signatures to the Declaration which we celebrate tomorrow. Those men indeed did pledge their lives and wealth since they were rebelling against the king in the days when it meant something to be a king. So we should do our little part today to speak out so that their sacrifice was not in vain.

Happy 4th and thanks for reading and participating.

 

23 Comments

  1. Afraid of FBI: thank you for sharing. Very riveting post.

  2. Dear Matt,
    This is in response to your last post. The government conspiracy is still going strong. My brother witnessed the Michael Donahue and Brian Halloran murders. He testified in front of Judge Reginald Lindsay about those murders. Kevin Weeks also testified under-oath concerning the Michael Donahue and Brian Halloran murders.
    Kevin Weeks was inside Anthoney’s Pier 4 Restaurant parking lot watching the Pier Restaurant with binoculars. When Brian Halloran left the Pier Restaurant he said in a walkie talkie, “The balloon’s in the air.” Brian Halloran got in Michael Donahue’s car. A car close to the Pier Restaurant hit Michael Donahue’s car with a machine gun. The machine gun used a silencer because nobody heard any shots.
    My brother was returning to my boat moored in the Fort Point Channel. Earlier that day, we enjoyed a boat ride. Now my brother had girlfriend and children in his car. Michael Donahue’s car drifted across the street. It hit a parked car and almost hit my brother’s car.
    Whitey and his accomplice walked past my brother’s car. They parked behind him in the alley beside the Stop and Shop fish company. Whitey carried an AK-47. My brother recognized that gun because he legally owned an AK-47.
    Whitey’s accomplice jumped on the Michael Donahue’s car. He shot through the windshield and killed Michael Donahue. Brian Halloran leaped from the passenger door and Whitey dropped him with bullets. A car (most likely the car that first shot Michael Donahue’s car) boxed in my brother’s car. My brother watched Whitey torture Brian Halloran.
    Brian Halloran wore white pants. My brother watched red dots rise up Brian Halloran’s legs. My brother said he flapped like a flounder.
    When Michael Donahue’s car drifted across the street, it drifted in front of three buildings. Kevin Weeks couldn’t see those murders. Unless he’s Superman with X-ray vision and can see through buildings!
    They put a federal seal on my brother’s Boston Police Incident Report. The DOJ using Barboza as a witness after they knew he committed perjury cost the taxpayers a $100 million dollar settlement. They are doing the same thing with Kevin Weeks. They used Kevin Weeks in a number of trials and will use him against Whitey.
    Kevin Weeks helped kill five people. He’s also indirectly responsible for killing others. For example, Bucky Barrett’s two sons committed suicide by jumping in front of Redline subway trains after Weeks helped kill their father. Kevin Weeks’ victims are rotting. But he’s enjoying the wonderful Fourth of July.
    If my brother didn’t have children in his car, I’m sure they would have killed him. Whitey wore no wig and Whitey’s accomplice wore no mask.
    Two FBI agents found my brother at his girlfriend’s Dorchester apartment within 40 minutes of the murders. My brother’s car was registered to our mother’s house. Either the FBI followed my brother from the murder scene, or one of Whitey’s gang followed my brother and contacted the FBI. There is no statute of limitations for accessory to murder. Those two FBI agents should be indicted for accessory to murder and Kevin Weeks should be indicted for perjury.
    The DOJ knows all of the above. In 1985, the FBI asked me for criminal information. Whitey killed all Southie FBI informants. Since I lived in Southie, giving the FBI criminal information meant my death. Both my brother and filed federal lawsuits. These lawsuits have never been mentioned by any press. You should be able to figure the reason.

    • Afraid:

      That is quite a story. Weeks is on the stand this Monday. I’m sure Carney knows about it. We’ll see what happens. However, Carney may skip the whole thing since it is not in his client’s interest to have that story come out. We can’t control what the media does but at least this is a forum where people can tell another story.

  3. Happy Independence Day, Matt, and thanks for your almost obsessive blogging.

    I follow the trial in the Globe as well and you would be shocked (shocked!) at the difference.

    Not having to follow the party line really gives your coverage an advantage.

    JR

    • Jeff:

      How are you? It’s nice to see you’ve found the blog. I used to tell people I was related to “Roy Rogers” and “Ginger Rogers” and told my kids they were related to “Mr. Rogers.” It’s good the internet was not around so that they could check on it.

      I mentioned earlier that Kevin Cullen of the Globe was on NPR news last night updating the trial. He said that the defense team has wasted 90% of its time on an issue (informant) that doesn’t matter. I was amazed. He thinks he knows more about trying the case than Carney and Brennan. He has no idea of their strategy and he and his colleagues are supposed to be the experts.

      The Globe decided the line back in the early ’90s and has clung to it ever sense. Sort of like the NY Times when it decided that Joe Stalin was a good man and let its reporter Walter Durante mislead the American people for years about events in the Soviet Union. People forget how strong the Communists were in the 1930s in America.

      It is good being able to tell the story straight up as I see it, the same way I like my single malt scotch. I should also add Irish. Here’s something I found recently in Wikipedia: “The word “whiskey” is an Anglicisation of “uisce beatha/uisge beatha” a phrase from the Goidelic branch of languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx) meaning “water of life”. (Intoxicating liquor, and especially whiskey, is also sometimes referred to in Ireland as “the craythur”.

      Thanks for writing.

  4. glad you are backing off the twitter. it is not for the big leagues. we need you to keep your head in the game and your eyes on the ball watching for the curves.

  5. wait its 2014? im so slow i actually had to check, that typo sent my wirld spinning, where did the time go! lol happy 4th

  6. I don’t see how allowing the option to post anonymously could hurt. Just wanted to post a link to the audio files of the two jailhouse recordings as were introduced this week:

    http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/07/02/bulger-day-15-whitey-speaks-on-tape/

    • John:

      Thanks for the audio link. I’ll include it in my Saturday update and give you credit for letting all hear it.

  7. Thank you and Happy 4th Matt.

  8. Jimmy the rat sold out the cause! Erin Go Bragh!

  9. When does the Good Friday stuff surface? Yihaa!

    • Anonymous:

      Good Friday is usually before Easter. Don’t know when it comes next year but pretty sure it is on Sunday.

  10. Happy 4th.