Today we get a look at our Kafkaesque federal justice system if things go as reported. Catherine Greig is scheduled to plead guilty to contempt of court. She refuses to testify before a federal grand jury about her relationship with Whitey. A note to all gangsters and their molls. if you are in love and going to live together and not otherwise married then do get married. You can save yourself a lot of trouble if you do. Catherine would never have gone to prison at all had she done that in the first place.
You know Catherine has been through this before. She has never committed a crime other than going off with Whitey and living with him and doing things a woman would do to help a guy who was a fugitive from justice. No doubt she knew he was on the lam. But the twisted minds in the federal court decided that somehow she knew she was harboring a murderer when there was no evidence, none, that when she left with him she knew he was accused of any murders because at that time no one ever said Whitey murdered anyone; nor is there any evidence that if she at some subsequent time learned he was charged with one, or some, she believed that he had murdered anyone.
She did what thousands of other women who have fallen in love with thugs and have lived with guys on the run from the law. She went off and lived with him. Unlike those others, because she came afoul of the Boston feds it was decided she should be punished uniquely harsh. She received for her non violent activity the greatest sentence of any non violent criminal with no prior record in the history of America who was not involved in a money crime. Now they want to double up on that and add more time.
After she was captured she was charged. She did not contest the charges but entered a plea of guilty. That was a huge mistake. The recommended sentence for her by the federal probation department was a little over two years — that is what would normally be given a person in her position. But revenge was on the minds of the vindictive federal prosecutors under the control of Fred Wyshak. They recommended she do ten years. The compliant federal judge Douglas Woodlock a former federal prosecutor gave her eight years.
But he went the extra mile to sate the blood lust of the prosecutors. He decided to open his courtroom to what became a little circus. He let the families of the victims of Whitey come into court, take the witness stand, and excoriate and otherwise yell at this woman as if she was involved in Whitey’s criminal acts. The truth was that for the 16 years she lived with him, twice the time of the marriages that end in divorce, Whitey committed no violent crimes. She actually performed a service for society if Whitey was this out of control monster he is supposed to have been.
That was the beginning of her ordeal. She is now going through the same routine again. It will be a time for her to be punished again by a federal judge. This is a routine practice of the Boston U.S. attorneys office under Fred Wyshak. Once a person is convicted to add additional punishment by impressing the person into service of one of his grand juries. He brings such people as John O’Brien and Sal DiMasi back before it again and again hoping he can then indict them for some type of perjury; or if not that, hoping to humiliate them by his questions or charge them with contempt if they balk at answering.
He has an extraordinary power that is abetted by the judges. He seeks not justice but a sordid type of extrajudicial punishment — something that usually is only done by the sadistic guards working for the Bureau of Prisons who get their hands on some unlucky soul. The idea of being punished once and doing your time for crime does not exist in Boston’s federal court. Here like the Eveready bunny the punishment never ceases.
Catherine has already been punished four times what a normal person in her situation has suffered. She has had been treated cruelly by the judges and prosecutors. Pay attention to her case today to see how our justice system really works and how our Bill of Rights designed to prevent double punishment can be easily circumvented.
A few more thoughts on Catherine Greig. I’m sure she loves Bulger, no doubt of that. But her silence may also mean she’s standing up for herself — showing herself to be a better person than the tough guys who became government rats. And she must had contact with members of her own family during her 16 years on the run. She may be fearful that her testimony would drag them into this mess.
Dan:
That’s so true what you write. I note that in a post I will put out tomorrow about her standing up. The rub is she is being asked to dime out people who may have helped her when she was with Whitey. The statute of limitations protects them from being prosecuted but it does not protect them from being harassed. What is so striking about this is that no other person who was related to any criminal has ever had to go through this type of procedure. Society would not put up with every person who was related to a criminal being called before a grand jury and required to disclose everything they knew about the criminal. This has gone from punishing a person for a crime which Greig has been overly punished to punishing her because it can be done. The event is quite beyond usual happenings.
After 16 years of living with Whitey would Catherine not be his wife under common law? Suppose that would be a matter of the jurisdictions involved.
What Wyshak is doing is a variety of torture. One should always remember that the goal of torture is not to find the truth. Torture aims at forcing the victim to say what the torturer wants said. Truth, at most, is a random, that is, accidental, accomplishment of the procedure. The results are mostly lies.
Thinking this one can easily arrive at the conclusion that Grieg is being punished for telling the truth, the truth being that she has no information to proffer. It is one perverted justice system that arrives at that result.
Tadzio:
I think it is a matter of jurisdictions. I know in California their relationship would be considered a common law one but I’m not sure tghat would give her the same rights as a married woman. You rightly describe torture not really to get at the truth but to hear what the torturer believe is the truth which puts a person in a difficult position if the prosecutor is in error because by telling the truth the prosecutor thinks the person is lying (and probably has in his stable witnesses getting deals for telling him what he believes even though it is a lie). Thus, the truth cannot set some people free.
There is another aspect to the torturer is that the person delights in the feeling of power he has that he can exercise such cruelty over another. It will be interesting to see today’s outcome to learn how much a person can be made to suffer.
Matt
It says a lot about Catherine Greig that she has not wilted under tremendous pressure to testify “against” Bulger. Why wouldnt she testify “against” bulger if she is in teh dark about a lot of his activities? What exactly is Whyshak after information wise that he believes she can provide? As crazy as this might sound how the BLEEP can Grieg plead guilty and not cut deals and do LESS time than Weeks? Weeks was an active participant in murder, extortion, loan sharking etc and he would not do his time but turned states evidence, no?
Catherine Grieg is one tough woman to not be compromised even though she is in prison. Agreed she never should have pled guilty and that indicates no lawyer or a an extremely crappy one.
Jerome:
Wyshak enjoys torturing people who are defenseless. There is no criminal activity that Greig can give him since she has been in prison for five years and the statute has run. Wyshak would be happy if she lied about some people he would like to get and have her allege the activity happened within the five year period so he could get beyond the statute of limitations. Perhaps he is looking to find out where Whitey’s loot is hidden or trying to learn who contacted her during her flight. He can come up with a million reasons but the bottom line with Greig it is beyond the pale.
Weeks did cooperated and was involved in murders and he did less time than Greig; she may do as much time as Martorano who murdered twenty people. She is doing it in worse conditions since Martorano did his time in a Florida prison that had an open door policy that let him come and go as he wished as long as he came back at night. There is prison and there are places where it is more like a Club Me.
Catherine has a good lawyer. He was blindsided by the judge in the beginning. Now he know there is no defense so he hopes she won’t get hurt this time around. We don’t know what the discussions were between him and Catherine but he must be following her wishes.
Matt
Thanks for the feedback. Is the book you are working on the book about Whitey Bulger, Flemmi, and the corrupt FBI? If I get a chance I will go to some of the Fitzpatrick trial. Have a good and safe time on the road and it goes without saying Ia m looking forward to your analysis and commentray on ALL 19 murders Whitey Bulger was charged with at his trial.
Its really sad, pathetic, and alarming how easily the judges give Whyshak so much power. What a miserable yet hard working guy he really is as a person.
Jerome:
Yes, my book is about the FBI and Whitey – but I have to get away from blogging to make any progress in it because there are only so many hours in a day and there are other demands on me.
Matt
The Robert Fitzpatrick pretrial is on Thursday (2/4/2016) at 1:45 pm. Will you be attending the trial? Also, when are the trial dates set so that one can attend? How in advance is the public notified. Disgusting and disturbing that Fitzpatrick may end up in jail for not being Whyshak’s puppet and B(female dog)
Jerome:
I’m on the road and will not be in Boston for that event. I’ll try to keep track of the Fitzpatrick’s trial dates. One way to find out is to call the clerk’s office and I think they will tell you (don’t know for sure) – another way is to look through the comments for a Bob Fitz who has written comments here and send him an email. Yes, the Fitzpatrick case is another disgrace.
Matt: I agree 100 percent. Two or three years in prison would have been a reasonable punishment for this woman. Eight years in jail is ridiculous. Now the prosecutor is pushing for still more time in the hope of somehow nailing 84-year-old Billy Bulger. Wyshak is guilty of elder abuse, and is living in the past himself. I don’t care if Billy Bulger secretly sent his brother a Christmas present in 2002, blah, blah, blah. I hate to keep repeating the same thoughts, but Wyshak just won’t give it up. He’s certainly giving career prosecutors a bad name.
By the way, I don’t find the family members of the victims to be at all sympathetic. It seems to me that instead of sorrow and grief, we see hatred and greed. I think the whole notion of Whitey’s hidden treasure is a myth. They found $800,000 in cash in the walls of his apartment — a tidy sum really, after 16 years on the run. I don’t think there’s anything more to be found. Free Catherine Greig!
Dan:
Good comment. Wyshak is determined to destroy everything Bulger. Not only Billy but if possible all his children and if he lived long enough his grandchildren. This has become very personal with him and there is no one to stop him. Yes, he is a horrid example of life long prosecutors – first cardinal rule is nothing is personal since you don’t work for yourself but the people. Wyshak never had to live in the real world and all his life has been a public employee. He is being surrounded by sycophantic defense lawyers looking for good deals or cops who covet his favors so they tell him how great he is and he believes it because of the claustrophobic and monastic-type world in which he lives.
Matt
I posted this comment before and you did not respond. I will make a second attempt to get my question(s) answered. Are you STILL going to go through ALL 19 murders Whitey was accused of in court one by one? Forgive me for my ignornace but didnt you say you would do just that in the beginning of 2016 on the days of Monday through Wednesday?
THANKS again Matt.
Jerome:
You are right that I have not kept to my word or my schedule. The best made plans of mice and men as you know are subject to disruption and the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I’ve been travelling and working on a book which have taken up just about all my extra time. I hope to get back to the murders – I will be doing McIntyre’s next – perhaps as early as next week.
Matt
The Oklahoma cop who was recently sentenced to 250 years in prison for abusing his authority to rape dozens of black women has all of a sudden vanishes from the states inmate database ala flemmi .. There is no logical explanation for this unless he is somehow ratting out misdeeds of fellow and higher up officers. He is also the son of a police officer. This is all too shady. http://newsone.com/3349301/daniel-holtzclaw-disappears-prison-database/
Jim:
I saw that. It is strange. I would think that there should be some who would have to answer for his whereabouts. It is not the FBI which we are dealing with which is answerable to no one. It is the state people. Those interested would want to start at the governor’s office. I hope they do.
The Feds want something. Maybe, JB was still actively pulling strings from his hide. Could be, the G wants to know who was on the other end of those strings, and, they think if they keep piling on, she’ll eventually break. JB’s banked, but, a lot of the people he worked with are still active. The Feds are at a dead-end, unless, she folds. Sadism, a sexual disorder, might explain the actions of individuals, but, is an unlikely motive for a bureaucracy. G-men want to make new cases. Breaking Catherine seems the quickest route to that end.
Khalid:
There is such a thing as a statute of limitations. Whatever she could tell them has to fall outside of that or are we know letting prosecutors investigate anything they like whether they are crimes or not. Greig has been in prison for five years; the statute is five years for most crimes. They are not looking for evidence but for the pleasure of beating up on her.