Early Morning Report – Tuesday July 16, 2013

Today I have to listen closely to the cross-examination of FBI Agent Gerald Montinari (retired). It may give us a clue as to the defense that Whitey intends to put up. There are several that he may be interested in putting forth. As I see them they are:

The Sick Stomach Supplication: Carney will throw up his hands in the air as he does quite well and say, “the government’s use of such a decrepit crew of witnesses should turn you stomachs. If you vote to convict my client you are telling the government it is all right to make these sordid and shabby deals with murderous criminals such as Murderman, Fortnight, Benji Ditchman and all the others you have heard about like Pat Nee and Jimmy Martorano and Howie Winter. That it is all right to let these murderers roam the streets of our neighborhoods looking for what, more people to murder? It is all right to give a lifetime pension to the corrupt supervisor who greedily pocketed money and drowned himself in wine and deceit. It is all right to let these enemies of all that is true and just in America to receive your hard-earned money so they can continue to tear at the fabric of our society. For what was this done. To save our Republic? No, just for the sake of convicting my guy, Jimmy Boy, who is the old man sitting there. True, he was a big bookie, controlled the drug rackets, extorted money and washed it in Southie but he did this, and this is important to keep in mind, he did it but made sure the kids were not involved, limited the drug sales to consenting adults and to only those drugs he decided were recreational and not addictive. But never forget, he kept the streets of Southie safe for old women and stray puppy dogs. Just tell the government no! We are sick to our stomachs with your dealings.

The Total O’Sullivan Slide By: Carney will solemnly approach the jurors and say: “Sometimes deals have to be made that seem not to be in the public interest but in the long run turn out to be well justified. President John F. Kennedy, may he rest in peace (if Carney was real good he’d reach for his handkerchief to rub the tears from his eyes and his rosary beads would slip to the floor), made a side deal with the Soviets that the US would take its missiles out of Turkey to avoid a nuclear war over Cuba. The people would not have tolerated that at the time but now we see its wisdom. So too did Jeremiah O’Sullivan make a deal with my client, James, this deal which (I don’t know the terms of it yet but by the time Carney presents his closing argument we will) allowed James to do whatever he thought was necessary as long as he stuck with the deal. O’Sullivan, an assistant US attorney, acting on behalf of the American government, just like JFK did, promised James that he would not be prosecuted for any crimes he committed both before the deal was enacted, similar to what you’ve seen the government do here with its witnesses, and into the future. This is like a plenary indulgence or complete absolution. James did his part of the deal and the government did its part but as soon as O’Sullivan left his position the government decided to abrogate the deal. This cannot be allowed to stand! It would be like LBJ putting the missiles back into Turkey. It couldn’t be done and you should not let it happen now.

The Partial O’Sullivan Slide By: This can be in one or two ways.  First, it is to suggest that Whitey committed none of the murders so the deal with O’Sullivan is a little more palatable since it only involved the consenting adult stuff and the necessary incidents to those such as threats of violence and money laundering;  or to say he only committed some of the murders but those were in self-defense but never, ever, did he kill the young women.

The Irish Whitey Argument: I have to admit I’m still trying to figure out whether this is a stand alone argument or part of one of those mentioned above. It involves saying Whitey was Irish therefore as a proud Irishman he would not be an informant. I’m in the middle of reading past Supreme Court cases to see if whether one is or is not an informant has a bearing on one’s guilt. I guess you could use it is as part of the Sick Stomach Supplication but it seems a stretch.

The Appeal To Common Sense: Carney would say: “look at this old man sitting here in the chair – you’ve watched him day after day and you’ve probably noticed certain things. One, he stares off into space a lot, what does that tell you about him? Also, you may have heard him speak on occasion – did you notice how limited his vocabulary is?  He seems to be able to utter no more than two words at a time and they are the same two words. Is that the type of man who could have done the things you are told he did? Have you noticed those two men who sit off the side behind him? They are here to help him in and out of the court. All I ask you who would be afraid of a man like that. Use your common sense and ask yourself, would you be afraid of one who stares as if lost and when inquired of can only say “FU.”

I may be able to eliminate one or two of these at the end of the day; or I may see he has another defense in mind.