Mark Walhlberg: Lies and Distortion Are Hurting His Chance for a Pardon
Judith Beals wrote an op-ed in the Boston Globe on January 12, 2015, headlined: “Don’t Pardon Mark Wahlberg.”
Why the Boston Globe decided to publish an op-ed written by her on Mark Wahlberg’s pursuit of a pardon is baffling. She writes: “I prosecuted Mark Wahlberg for his actions 26 years ago when I was an assistant attorney general.” She was admitted to the bar on December 17, 1985. She is now a resident at the Harvard Divinity School. She states she has retired from the practice of law. The end of the article says she “served in the civil rights division under Attorney Generals Jim Shannon and Scott Harshbarger.” I find many problems with accepting her views on Mark Wahlberg’s request for a pardon.
Here’s the first problem I found. The incident occurred on June 15 and 16, 1986. The attorney general at the time was Frank Bellotti. I wondered if she knew that.
Here’s the next problem: if she was involved in the case under Bellotti, her role was pretty much no more than that of a secretary. That was six months after she passed the bar. It was Assistant Attorney Gen. Joan Entmacher, the chief of Bellotti’s Civil Rights Division, who brought the case. Why did Beals exaggerate her role? Aren’t there any checks made on specious claims?
Another problem is neither she nor anyone in the attorney general’s office ever prosecuted Mark Wahlberg for a criminal act. Bellotti filed a civil complaint (not criminal). A civil trial was held on September 4, 1986, after which an injunction issued finding that “15-year-old Dorchester boy” violated the state’s Civil Rights Act. In the Boston Globe article about this they did not name the boy because he was a juvenile. Beals tells us the boy is Wahlberg having little problem disclosing his identity.
Then she says about the incident that happened in 1986 was at a time “when Boston was still under court order to desegregate its public school system and racial tension was high” which is not really correct. I represented the Boston Schools in the busing case and that was back in 1974 to 1976; by 1986 the racial tensions in the city had mostly disappeared and Judge Garrity who imposed the busing ended his day-to-day supervision in December 1982, and on May 31, 1985 withdrew from monitoring the case.
Why Beals tangential involvement in a Wahlberg civil matter give her a forum is beyond me. Wahlberg is not asking for any relief from the civil prosecution, It is the criminal case from which he seeks a pardon. Beals had nothing to do with that. Beals never prosecuted Wahlberg for any criminal act. Yet her story has been carried in the media portraying her as a former prosecutor of Wahlberg which she claims to be. A civil case is not a prosecution. The Washington Post, the Independent, and Time, among others, perpetuate this misconception.
The civil case with which Beals may or may not have had a slight connection occurred at Savin Hill Beach. At the time of its happening it made no news in the media that I can find. The attorney general learned about it because it was reported by a teacher afterwards. In the one newspaper article about it on November 13, 1986, no mention is made of any child being injured as alleged by Beals. (It is behind a fire wall)
I spent my teenage years in Savin Hill. Mark Wahlberg did not have the good fortune to live there. In my day, which was quite a few years before Mark’s, we’d never let kids from his neighborhood come to our beach and they usually stayed away. When I was 15 hanging around the beach in the summer my friends and I did lots of things, not the least was blowing up a PT boat, and got in lots of fights all of which were stupid and wrong. That is the why we have a juvenile court system to recognize that youngsters, especially boys, act irresponsibly. We try to protect them from being stigmatized for life because of their juvenile ignorance.
I was fortunate because the marijuana and cocaine and other drug culture had not set in. Mark Wahlberg who was 15-years-old in 1986 was not so lucky. He did some evil things abetted by youth and drugs such as harassing the black kids; even later when he was sixteen he committed violence on an Asian man. For the latter he was prosecuted and punished which Beals had nothing to do with.
Since that time he has become rich and a famous movie actor. He is married with four kids. He has established the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation to help out kids and works with charities assisting homeless women and children contributing millions to help out.
He has asked for a pardon for his crimes. Judith Beals from of all places the Divinity School opposes his request. She continues to dissemble saying “hate crime remain so high in Boston” when they don’t. She says hate crimes should never be forgiven or wiped off the record even when done by a 15-year-old boy which seems to me is the total opposite mindset of a person in residence at that school.
Wahlberg is not asking that the incident at Savin Hill be forgotten or wiped away as Beals suggests. That was never part of his criminal record. He is asking that he be pardoned for his crimes. It is tragic that a woman telling half-truths has been given such a prominent role in opposing him. I suggest that Mark Wahlberg should be given a pardon as an example to all that you can turn your life around, do good for others, and you will be recognized and forgiven.
I hope the Parole Board recommends this and is not effected by the animus behind the writer of the op-ed or the people who gave her the forum on which to try to obfuscate the truth.
I just came across your post on Bucky Barrett murder. f****t ? Grew up on same street as Whitey and John Connolly. But younger.
Just re-read it on a keypad miscue. It is an excellent post. Facts speak eloquently. Just presenting them unadorned, as above, is a persuasive exercise of truth !
Matt: It occurs to me that you’re half of the way home with Judith Beals. Might she have handled the case for the Commonwealth when Wahlberg pled to beating up the Vietnamese men?
Dan:
I’m about to slide in over the plate. The attorney general’s office of which Beals was a member does not and did not prosecute the type of cases like assault with a dangerous weapon or assault to kill which resulted in Wahlberg’s conviction. Beals never said she was part of that case which occurred later and you can be sure that she would have done so had she been. That case would have been a routine matter prosecuted in the Dorchester Municipal Court by an assistant district attorney out of the Suffolk DA’s office. What’s more, Beals was not even in the criminal division of the AG’s office which would be the only one that would handle such a case in rare circumstances. I just slid under the tag. I’m safe and Beals is out.
AS AN EX MARINE I’M CASUALLY INTERESTED IN HOW YOU BLEW UP A PT BOAT. ALSO, AS YOUR COUSIN I NEVER GOT THE WORD ON THIS INCIDENT. USUALLY MY MOTHER , THROUGH MA AND ALL THE SISTERS HAD THE SKINNY ON ALL FAMILY AFFAIRS.
FORGIVE WAHLBERG,
SEMPER FI, JIM AMBROSE
Jimmy:
The reason Ma and her daughters never found out about it was that the family news usually was spread through Honey. I never brought tales home being one of those who answered whenever asked by my mother “where were you last night?” I’d respond “nowhere”, then “well what did you do?” and I’d say “nothing.” I’m sure it drove her crazy especially since she’d find out what I was doing from others. She’d always be saying to me. “Honey told me you were at the Beachcomber (or some other joint) drinking beer.” I’d admit I may have been there for a moment or two but would deny having had any alcohol even when I’d come home smelling like a brewery. The beer at the table always belonged to someone else. How Honey got the information you’ll have to figure out.
Now to the boat. Here’s an article in the Boston Globe on July 5, 1955, on page 5. (I just looked it up to find out the year.)The headline reads: “$10,000 Blast Rips PT Hull in Dorchester.” The story is: “An explosion ripped the hull of a former PT boat in Dorchester Bay last night and rocked the neighborhood around Freeport St. The vessel was tied up at the wharf behind the Beacon Pipe Company on Freeport Street and was empty at the time of the explosion. The blast and fire tore a 20-foot hole in the bow. The boat is owned by Willilam Clerkin of 20 Calumet Street, Roxbury. Fire officials gave no cause for the blast. Damage was set at #10,000.”
$10,000 at that time is about $84,000 now.
Here’s the story. It seemed for years the PT boat stood tied up across the bay from Savin Hill Beach. The guys I hung around with who will remain nameless always talked about it and the way it was used in the war. They also wondered what it would look like if they blew it up. Plans were made to do it on the night of the 4th of July. There were no fireworks displays in Boston at the time although some places in Dorchester had them years earlier but stopped after the nearby houses started going up in fire. I never thought that they would carry it out because they were always planning it and not doing it so I took off with a couple of friends and thumbed up to New Found Lake that weekend.
The ones designated to do it were the best swimmers who could quickly swim across the bay with the gasoline, dynamite caps and some type of fuse. Three of them went. The rest of the gang sat and watched. They set it up and never got to see their handy work because it blew up just as they were diving off the boat. They actually were lucky they were not killed.
I was upset as were the guys that went to New Hampshire with me that we missed the event. It was not something that we went about talking about. We knew how to keep our mouths shut as well as the Mafia guys with their Omerta. Fortunately nothing ever came off it. I do remember some of the ones who set it off had to go to confession. I forget their penance. It is just a small example of how dense we were as kids.
Nice job!
Dan:
Thanks
Matt:
Thanks for the excellent post about the Mark Wahlberg matter. Have you sent it to the Globe?
I know that it might be hard for a triple eagle to understand but it seems like the HDS probably isn’t spending a lot of time on the Lord’s prayer and the “go and sin no more” lessons.
Ed
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Ed:
The Globe doesn’t like my stuff. You must be right about the Harvard Divinity School. I’ve heard stories about that place and her attitude seems to give credence to them that forgiveness is out and the revenge of the reverends is in. See you on Super Bowl Sunday if not before since as I’ve explained earlier I found the script for the year that was put out earlier in the season and it shows the Patriots playing the Sea Hawks. By the way it also has on it the name of the winner and the final score but I’m keeping that secret because if I disclosed it the odds would shift especially on the over/under. Hope you have a safe trip.