Friday – forgot how delightful a Friday could be – the last day of the routine – struggle through it and then spend a couple of days doing something different. Today, if you wanted rain you’ve got it in Boston. It’s one of those steady rains that has edged its way up along the Atlantic Coast clutching on to the eastern edges of our continent as it slowly wends its way over to Europe.
As you can tell from the first paragraph, there’s not too much to discuss about what is ahead for the day. Prosecutor Kelly told Judge Casper he had two witnesses, one an FBI person from the West Coast who took the guns and money from Whitey’s Santa Monica apartment, and another one, whose identity I don’t know. There shouldn’t be much to ask the gun and money guy on cross-examination, nor perhaps the other witness. So we can expect the government to end its case today, perhaps even before the morning recess.
Then I expect there will be a legal argument on whether the government has produced enough evidence to support the allegations in the indictments. That can be short or long, depending on the judge but it will be of no moment. The government has well proven most of its indictments if not all. The judge will give counsel time to make their points, deny the motion, and then say: “Mr Carney?”
As you know the defense is under no obligation to do anything in a criminal case. Carney with the consent of his client could stand up and say: “the defense is offering no evidence.” He could then argue to the jury, who’d have the same looks on their face as Judge Casper had when Carney suggested to her that Pat Nee had no Fifth Amendment rights, that the government failed to prove its case. But that won’t happen.
Keep in mind, Whitey isn’t dumb so he knows he’ll be found guilty by the jury. He has to switch over to plan B, which is delay. His goal under that plan is to drag out the trial for as long as possible so that he can stay incarcerated at Plymouth. He knows that is as good as it is ever going to be. Carney and Brennan, his lawyers, have gotten the brutal sadistic guards off his back so he doesn’t have to worry about the sub-human treatment he had received when he first arrived there – five or more strip searches a day among other things. Don’t understand the mentality of these guards who do that. Must have been school yard bullies picking on an 80-year-old defenseless guy.
He is smart enough to know he buried under a landfill of evidence. For all the government’s excursions into fields of unimportance, he still knows he has no chance. The evidence is too great even though those who brought it into the courtroom and took the stand are the worst of the worst. The biggest evidence against him – which the prosecutor cleverly points out here and there – is these despicable men are his buddies. The worse he makes them look, the worse he looks. You make Flemmi a pedophile, you look to see who is Flemmi’s best friend.
There is no general defense he can offer. He can’t claim Jeremiah O’Sullivan gave him immunity to commit the crimes. For what? He says he was not an informant. So what great benefit could he have offered O’Sullivan. Even if he could conjure up something, it wouldn’t matter, that defense has been ruled out.
He can’t expect the jury to throw everything out on jury nullification type finding. The sense that the government’s conduct in bringing this case was outrageous has not come across, at least I didn’t feel there was anything close to a huge injustice. The best that can be said is the FBI had a few bad men but the prosecutors have distanced the government from them sufficiently to avoid being tainted by them.
Add to that, the defendant is putting on a case which is usually not done if you expect jury nullification. To get it, I’d think that you must be able to throw up your hands in utter disgust and suggest to the jury that the government’s case is so blatantly bogus and corrupt that it would insult them to put on any evidence and if they seek to convict the defendant they will become partners in the government’s ill deeds. The jurors may be tired of Wyshak’s overbearing whining act but not to the extent they’ll want to give Whitey a pass.
Whitey goes into the second part of the case devoid of hope. All he can do is delay his day of demise. Nothing will change. There is one little thing that he can grasp for and I expect he will. It is to tell his story. This is the last chance he’ll ever have to speak.
It is as if he is standing on the gallows and watching the hangman adjusting the knot and seeing the man holding the hood walking toward him. The head jailer in accordance with tradition says to him, “ya got any last words ya wanta say? Speak now or forever hold your peace.” For where Whitey is going no words of his will emanate beyond the walls of his cell.
The four car state police caravan carrying Whitey, sirens blaring, just passed me in their mad rush to bring him to the courthouse. It’s sort of fitting that it did as I’m writing these words.
I did mention the Atlantic Coast, I guess my mind must have slipped over to the Atlantic Coast Conference football, which is about to gear up again. BC will play its first game before the end of next month, by then Whitey’s trial will have ended no matter how much delay his counsel can bring about.
I don’t expect there will be much happening today that will give you something to think about over the weekend. Tomorrow, rather than a weekly wrap I’ll write a wrap up of the prosecution’s case.
Matt, Thanks for answering every comment that we post, while managing to tweet and post expert blogs daily. I will miss this dialogue when it’s all over. I know the best is yet to come in this trial and I also know that you will be right there covering it for us thoroughly, as always. I, for one, thank you for that. I know the jury probably doesn’t have the courage to send a strong message to the government, but they will put Whitey away for the rest of his natural life. But what about the taste that is left in the public’s mouth, post-trial? Wouldn’t reopening investigations into murders that were written about in books and so forth go a long way towards restoring the public’s confidence?
Rather:
Thanks for the nice words. Yes, reopening things might restore the public confidence but the people who are the one who can reopen them want to keep them shut. Whitey will go away and he deserves to go away. Much more was made of him than need to have been. But he did represent an unusual aspect of our City’s history where there were so many people eganged in so many murders and most of them are out of prison.
The government with the aid of the media will believe it did everything right. Most people will be pleased with the result and will move on. It seems to me one of the big lessons in this case was the FBI’s ability to protect people allowed much of the criminal activity to continue. It is still doing the same thing and right now in our communities there are top level informants being protected who are taking money from the drug dealers and running the gambling empires and enforcing thier rule by violent means. We can never believe crime began, existed and ended with Whitey. So I’ll keep this site up and post on things from time to time.
There’s much to continue pointing out about our decrepid criminal justice system – I’d somehow have to change the blogs title but those are things for down the road. It has been a good experience because of people like yourself who came here to discuss the issues. In that sense I was extremely fortunate that so many engaged us on these issues
When this two sided sordid affair is over can you continue to deliver climatological updates on some regular basis. Do you think that BC will show up this year?
He could cover the Edward MacKenzie trial. Lol just a suggestion.
Jan, is Edward on trial? Last I saw him he was tearing up the Christian (not Catholic)circuit on Beacon Hill in ’08. Said he went straight (to the extreme.)
Not on trial now but said to be soon enough,
Hopalong:
It’s a good idea. I can sit in front of the federal courthouse in Boston each work day and report on the weather. I’m glad you appreciated it.
As for BC, I’m looking forward to this season just to get a sense of the new coach and his sideline antics. They start off with the powerhouse Villanova – August 30 – as far as the season goes – I have no idea but it would be nice if they won a game or two. – I just hope if the stink out the house they win less than 6 games because there is nothing worse than hearing that an incompetent coach took them to a bowl game.
Weather reporting would be similar to the trial, we can’t always believe what we hear.
Classic.
Rather”
Thanks
bisexuality is certainly not a crime. Either way, I would say that rumor was a bad lead for investigators.
No last stand-on the stand- for Whitey, sounds like. Too bad.
Steely:
He’ll testify.
I hope he testifies. BTW, do you recall the source of that ridiculous allegation that he was supposedly in gay nudist colonies while on the lam?
Jan, I think Howard “The Coward” Carr started that rumor, along with Whitey playing “Hide the Irish Sausage” at Blinstrub’s with Sal Mineo. I don’t mean this to be unpolitically correct, but Whitey does kind of have that hint of an effeminate twang in his voice….just saying.
Jan:
That would probably come from Howie CArr who seems to get involved in that type of rumor.
Matthew, In light of the testimony that has been given, and books that have been written….do you think any new ivestigations will open up for murders that were previously unsolved, but now have light shed on them. This is a VERY IMPORTANT question, and I am POSITIVE that I am not the only one who would like to hear your answer. Can we spur Carmen to action?
Rather:
They want to put an end to this as quickly as a seaman wants to batten down the hatches when a sudden squal springs up. Feds have already washed their hands of all the murders saying that they have no jurisdiction over murders and the RICO charge has a five year statute of limitations. The Suffolk DA has jurisdiction but no desire to do anything. This is the last hurrah. When Whitey is dragged out after being handed to the Burau of Prisons to the jubilation of all, the curtain will fall and so will the idea of justice.
Matt et al, Howard the Coward Carr has attempted to destroy more reputations of more innocent people than any person in the Media history, as I perceive it. He is the rat. He’s also the one who has started calling “rats” good citizens who cooperate with law enforcement, more of us should inform on the felons/drug pushers in our neighborhoods. (2) Carr lacerates public servants, good bureaucrats, whom he calls “hacks” living off the public teat; yet it is he who makes his $$$ on our federal licensed public airways. I consider Carr not just a flawed man but an evil one, who knowingly destroys reputations and knowingly and needlessly hurts people and their families. I’ve heard him attack politicians’ wives and children. Big bully-man with a big mouth devoid of character. Howard the Coward is his appropriate Appellation. I’d also call him Howie Cur, but dogs’ have some nobility, loyalty, etc; he has no redeeming qualities. An obscene man!!!!
William:
1. Howie Carr is a man who works hard at making money. He goes around weekends to sign books so he can put more coins in his pockets. He comes up with schemes for enriching himself and works hard at them. He leads a small contingent of our society who are trapped in their own benightedness. You understand him more if you recognize it is all about money and if he has to walk over anyone to get it he’ll do it. A big audience is money. Along with that he has the typical American lust to associate with gangsters and looks upon them with rose colored glasses. He has hurt many good people and perhaps he’ll learn that it wasn’t worth it to do so.
2. Howie doesn’t pretend he is anything other than he is. He does work against a good society by holding parts of it up to ridicule like when he plays the Mexican wedding song after a Latin name is mentioned. It is all part of his show business routine. He attacks anyone who leaves themselves open for criticism; he does attack the hacks but even though a percentage into the high nineties of workers on the public payroll do a good job there will always be some, like in any profession, who try to beat or cheat the system.
3. I don’t particularly like Howie’s opinion and how he had damaged the reputation of people but I don’t consider him a criminal so I limit my nicknames to them.
For crying out loud, with all this extortion talk, I went poking around and came up with this memory.
It reads differently to me now:
http://www.harveysilverglate.com/Books/ThreeFeloniesaDay/BHTFDExcerpt.aspx
And to make it complete, there’s Howie in the picture on the bottom right.
Firefly:
Some things never change – force people to save themselves by telling the federals what they want to hear.
Here’s hoping his handwritten manuscripts get entered into the record by the defense.
Rather:
Better yet, have him testify and have the prosecutors use his manuscripts to cross.
that would suffice, but I want to hear them verbatim.
Rather:
If I ever get them I’ll let you know,
I realize your comments about the FBI and DOJ are in relation to jury nullification, as you are knowledgeable about that, I completely accept and understand your point.
From a pragmatic “citizen” point of view, one of the most shocking things to come out of this trial is the FBI conduct, which I believe is far more than just a few bad guys. The whole scheme required complicity at many levels. Furthermore, the fact that someone can be an informant without consent is very chilling. This speaks to a fundamental rule of the whole FBI, who then put in financial reward for acquiring these contacts. In essence, the FBI writes the rules and the interpretation of the rules. It is similar to when I play a game with my 5 year old that he made up. As we are playing, the rules are changing so that he is always winning. It is not nearly as adorable when the FBI does it.
The second most shocking aspect is the lengths the DOJ felt they had to go to secure the testimony. Just from an arithmetic standpoint, more criminal counts are going out the front door of the courtroom than the back door. It is a shame that this is not a bigger topic in the media, I imagine that many members are fearful of losing their info/contacts. Another example of how the government holds the checks and the balances.
Once again, not arguing your point about jury nullification. I really haven’t learned anything new about the defendant, he was as bad as he was reported to be and consistent with the profession he chose to pursue. What I didn’t expect was to learn so many new things about the people who have taken oaths to uphold the law and protect the public. I am sure there are a few people living in an upscale area of Milford that will agree.