Brennan has done a good job to this point in cross-examining Steven Flemmi (Benji Ditchman) beginning with and staying with his involvement with his step-daughter Deborah Hussey who he admits sexually molesting, twice but not intercourse, and whose murder he was involved in. Flemmi finds it difficult to say she’s his daughter – in his mind it is easier to accept what he did to her if he can push her as far away from him as possible. Brennan did an excellent job wrapping the relationship around his neck.
“She called you daddy, didn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever tell her not to call you daddy?”
“No.”
Brennan asked one question that included the idea that he strangled her. Flemmi quickly said I didn’t strangle her, Whitey did.
Brennan now is in the position to drive home to the jury what this man is all about. He’s cornered him right off the start and he can’t let the rat out. His first job has to be to pin the murder squarely on the shoulders of who is responsible for it. I’d do that now and then go back to the reason. Brennan might see it otherwise but let me tell you what I’d do.
I’d next ask him. “Mr. Flemmi who murdered the girl who called you daddy (or your daughter either driving home the point)? He’ll say Whitey. You have to then ask, “Who led the girl who called you daddy to her death?” He’ll have to admit he did. Then say “if you took the girl who called you daddy out in a canoe knowing she couldn’t swim and tipped it over, who would you say killed her, the water? Fire the next one, “if you walked her into field of quick sand where she sunk in and died, would you say the quicksand killed her? “Isn’t it true when you lead a person to a place where they will be killed you are the one responsible for the murder?” “If you didn’t bring her there she would not have been killed, would she?”
The answers aren’t important,the questions are. You want the jury to hate the man because you are just starting your cross-examination and you want him totally exposed, as if standing nude, in front of the jury.
You then go on with the murder after reinforcing he stood by and did nothing while Deborah was murdered. Brennan asks:”How did you take the girl who called you daddy to the basement.” “When you got there, you took off her clothes, I believe you testified.” “Did you do that before or after you started extracting the teeth from the mouth of the girl who called you daddy.” “Now I checked my note, I don’t see that you told us how many teeth you took out of her mouth, can you tell us.” He won’t be able to and will try to avoid the question. He’ll say he can’t remember.
Brennan now has the chance for the coup de grâce. “You buried her body in the cellar of the murder house at 799 East Broadway, isn’t that so?” “You then moved her to Dorchester across from Florian Hall, didn’t you?” “You buried your daughter a second time in an unmarked grave throwing her body next to the bodies of two men she never knew.” “You know her body was eventually retrieved from the grave you threw her into, don’t you.” “The girl who called you daddy was identified through a forensic examination by a forensic anthropologist which I assume you know.”
“Now I want to show you exhibit (the number) that shows the skull of your daughter and the teeth that have been extracted and ask you if that refreshes you memory as to how many teeth you tore out of her mouth when she was in the basement.” It’s the point you want to reach to have the jurors see this man facing the remains of a young women he murdered. There is no way he can do it in any civilized manner. But whatever he does he’ll show his vileness. If he refuses to look Brennan suggests, “you had no trouble murdering her but you now have trouble seeing the results of you handiwork.” If he looks at it without batting an eye, the jurors will see the closest thing they have ever seen to pure evil.
Depending on how this plays out, Brennan has to get into the trite reasons for Deborah’s murder. Right now she’s causing some trouble in Triple O’s, Brennan has to delve into the specifics of what she had done. He told about a bookie complaining Deborah stole eight hundred dollars from him. Try to have him use that as a main reason for killing her, because she was costing him money.
Wyshak will try to preempt most of this with his absurd objection “asked and answered.” The judge will tell Brennan to rephrase the question. He’ll ask just about the same question again.
Brennan should have the right to continue beating up Flemmi over Deborah’s murder. Let’s hope the judge does not cut him short. Then he can continue the rest of his cross-examination.
After my eyes started bleeding from yesterday’s tweets, I decided to do a little research into those halcyon days of newly elected Governors Romney and Fehrnstrom.
Take a stroll back:
http://abraham.cs.uml.edu/~heines/postings/umass/restructuring.htm
So, our savior from Salt Lake (remember this?)
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Mitt Romney’s Pork Barrel Olympics
The GOP candidate pried $1.5 billion out of the federal government to bankroll his Olympic turnaround. Millions went to questionable projects that benefited well-connected Utahns.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mitt-romney-expensive-olympics-federal-funding
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decided that the University of Massachusetts education system needed to restructured pronto, William Bulger’s office needed to be eliminated immediately; no dorms built in Boston, Mass Art and UMass Medical to be privatized, no law school for heaven’s sakes.
When, unsurprisingly, Massachusetts legislators weren’t going along with the attack on the Commonwealth, Romney announced his new way to get what he wanted: he’d replace three outgoing Board members with his own.
Please, consider one of his brilliant choices to lead our universities, Howie Carr.
Yes, if you’ve forgotten, that Howie Carr.
The one who gives away tee shirts with pictures of serial killers on them to sell his book.
Howie Carr to sit. on. the. Board. of. the University of Massachusetts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha7Q8qzEJYU
This “adult” sat in congressional hearings and made faces for two hours.
Firefly:
We were all snookered by the media with this Romney “he saved the Olympics” nonsense when the truth was we taxpayers saved it with our infusion of money. What’s wrong with this country that a man like him could be a major party nominee for president. Couldn’t people see if he got in the bankers would have free run at what’s left of the common weal.
Billy was on the way to making the University of Massachusetts into a brilliant (that’s the word of the day) institution of higher learning, something everyone in Massachusetts would benefit from having a first class university to send our children to. Then Romney came in intent on only one thing, his ultimate run for the presidency and the stole from us all that was good to further his ambitions. His whole term was dedicated to that one thing.
And he was abetted by the media, yes, he floated the name Howie Carr out as a trustee for the school. Bring in the clowns.
Is Pat Nee related to Tommy Nee, president of the Boston police union BPPA?
No GOK they are not related. I was wondering that myself and just found out
yes reading some of the lamestream medias tweets,compared to this site and matts are hilarious,outlandish and false. they sensationalize a look,fiction,they do it for a living,eg:black mass and others,agenda based gangster book! what a gross man flemmi is,His own daughter,stepdaughter doesnt matter you were her dad,in all the forms that matter,and you had a moment of weakness???? you sir are worse than anyone here,and you too will prob be walking the streets in ariz named jed one day,the justice system is a crock,i didnt need this to tell me it just re-emphasized it for me, letting all theese scumbags go to get one man,bostons nuremburg where hitler made them do it. yes mr wyshak i ran the gas chamber and lured kids w clowns but hitler was scary,so i did what he told me to! GROSS MISCARRIAGE OF JUST-US
PAT2E:
Good Comment – good analogy – the Nuremberg trials should have been run differently – all the Nazi chieftans should have been able to pin the blame on Hitler and been given light sentences for their cooperation. We now have Josef Rudolf Mengele testifying he did nothing but follow orders.
That Mengele nickname Whitey pinned on Flemmi is looking more apropos with every day that passes.
Steeley:
Even Mengele didn’t experiment on a woman he raised as his daughter.
The number 1 question i have coming out of this trial is this. Why have the boston globe and the boston herald not been writing articles about Pat Nee? Pat Nee is in on many murders in a hands on way. You would never know it by reading the globe or herald. Is pat nee protected by the fbi just like whitey and stevi were? I guess Howie Carr must not have a book coming out with Pat Nees face on it. Where is the Congressman from South Boston as yet another multi murderer stll does buisness in his district? regards,
I have the same question. In the case of Cullen et al. at the Globe, I wonder if they’re too cozy with sources/pals in the US Atty.’s office. I don’t sense any appetite on Cullen’s part to look at the prosecution critically. Even today, minutes after the Flemmi cross, Cullen’s tweeting that it doesn’t help Whitey’s defense. Huh?
Steely:
Cullen was on NPR telling its audience there are 19 counts of murder when in fact there is one RiCO count that has the 19 murders as predicate acts. He’s got a script to follow. He thinks there is some drama in the case as to whether Whitey will be convicted. That like the blind man touching the elephant’s trunk and getting an idea of what the elephant is all about. I don’t think there has ever been a closer relationship between an major city newspaper and the US attorney than the Boston Globe and the Boston US Attorney over the last 25 years. Not that I want yu to take the time but I’m sure you’d find nothing critical of that office by that paper; it even missed the Caswell Motel case. The game is the Globe does a Spotlight and the US attorney will follow up on it to keep the story going. The most recent taxi cab non-story is typical.
Norwood:
Good questions. The Globe and Herald are so anti-Whitey they’d empty out every jail in Massachusetts if it was necessary to make sure he is convicted. When this case is done they’ll be more than six known murderers walking the street of Boston – can you think of that happening anywhere else the people who commit murder do either short terms or don’t even get charged?
The Cogressman from Southie demanded an investigation two years ago into the FBI’s use of Mark Rossetti as a top level informant. He’s still waiting for an answer. He’s pretty inept when it comes to the FBI.
congressman Lynch from South Boston has been supportive of Bulger’s former associate Edward MacKenzie the sexual offender who sexually assaulted young girls to include in his room that he dubbed “the Dog Room” – unacceptable on the part of the Congressman.
Jan:
Congressman Lynch is also looking into the FBI’s use of Mark Rossetti as a top level informant. It has been two years since he demanded an answer and we’ll heard nothing from his for well over a year and a half.
Congressman Lynch has persons known to be murderers running around in his district who are protected by the federals. He has done nothing about it. Congressman Lynch is a busy man. Too busy for some things.
Great post!
It’s a little unconventional, maybe, to start cross with the ace up your sleeve, but what you outlined would completely destroy Flemmi.
Steely:
He’s the type of guy you have to go after in the beginnning. That throws off the rest of his day. Brennan will have more aces.