There was a film series back about a hundred years ago about a young woman named Pauline who’d get herself in jams that she really could have avoided with a little forethought. As Wikipedia states: “Although each episode placed Pauline in a situation that looked sure to result in her imminent death, the end of each installment showed how she was rescued or otherwise escaped the danger.”
That series from a long time ago comes to mind as I watch Fred Wyshak try this case, or perhaps a better word would be, over try the case. If there will ever be a historic example 100 years from now of someone pulling defeat from the jaws of victory it will be people talking about this case if Whitey manages to beat it. Wyshak has put together a wonderful case with solid evidence. He acts as if he doesn’t know this. I don’t see any indication that he has stepped back and looked at the full picture and proceed with a plan. In fact, I see just the opposite.
I had a chance to talk to a person who has been attending the trial since its inception. I asked her what she thought of the points that Wyshak brought out in his re-direct examination of Colonel Foley and Lieutenant Bobby Long last week. She looked at me quizzically as she tried to remember what I was talking about. She said she didn’t remember them. She asked me what I thought of them. I told her I didn’t remember them. I added , “that was just late last week – how many people are going to remember them in July or after that.” She got my point. Wyshak is wasting time trying to correct, amplify or explain on redirect examination every situation where his witness may not have given the precise answer that he wanted. We are in June – there’s hardly a woman alive who remembers what happened last week.
Wyshak doesn’t seem to get the idea that in this case there are a few things that have to be highlighted and banged away at and the rest is of as much importance or use as the weeds that grown on the sides of the highway.
But it is worse than that. In going on with his unnecessary re-direct Wyshak has actually damaged his case from my point of view. He is losing credibility with the jury. His constant talking objections (I didn’t hear any today, maybe he’s learning); his foray into trying to deceive the jury which I mentioned yesterday pretending Martorano changed his story on the O’Toole shooting on the same day when it was clear he did it later; his suggesting Martorano testified against his brother Jimmy, Howie Winter and Pat Nee in a setting that mattered when it didn’t; has me shaking my head wondering what is he about.
Then today he decides to re-direct after the long time criminal Ralph DiMasi finished his testimony. Is Wyshak so tight that he loses the sense of the witness’s purpose seeking to win every single point. Didn’t he understand the purpose of DiMasi’s testimony which was simply to show the brutality of the shooting of William O’Brien? Apparently not.
He asks him something like “you never cooperated but you know that it is necessary for the government to have witnesses who do cooperate.” Why is he asking a guy who just got out of prison after twenty-one years something that everyone knows — it’s so well-known you could take judicial notice of it especially in this of all cases. What did that ridiculous question do?
It opened the door for Carney to unload on the whole case – that’s when Ralph DiMasi talks about how ridiculous the government is making deals with guys who have committed 20 murders who are now walking the street while on the other hand grabbing a guy who committed one murder and trying to get him the chair. DiMasi reminded the jury about Martorano’s deal. DiMasi is a guy who wouldn’t cooperate and did his time and the jury wonders why Martorano doesn’t have to. That’s what the jury will take away from today’s trial how ridiculous it is what the federals are doing.
And sadly for the prosecution it was all unnecessary. It had made a small Pyrrhic victory at the cost of losing the war. Wyshak needs a team back and should listen to the lawyers who are working with him who should tell him that what he is doing isn’t smart. I’m surprised he doesn’t see it.
Patty,
Thanks for the information. When I started studying mob history about a year ago, I had no idea I’d come across what appears to be amazing perversions of justice. It is true the Feds have managed to gradually weaken and almost destroy the power once held by LCN, starting with the the development of informants starting in the 1960s and continuing through RICO in 1970 and Joe Pistone in the late 70s and the Commission case in the 80s and so on. And so there have been major successes.
But in Boston I’ve been blown away by the perversions of justice. Matt and you and other commenters seem to have been studying this stuff for years, and it’s been extraordinarily helpful keeping up with this blog. But I am still studying and researching and need to think about this some more. I just cannot yet reconcile myself to what is emerging as an unfathomable travesty of justice.
I had forgotten about the bookies and particularly the women. So, you’ve got bookies, some of them obviously not the nicest guys but basically just taking bets, so breaking the law but not pulling any triggers, and you’ve got the women who got trapped by gullibility or innocent mistakes. And they get the heavy sentences. Then Weeks and Martorano and Winter and Nee, the big hitters, are walking free!!!
Plus I’m still trying to understand how it was that Tameleo, Grieco, Limone, and especially Salvati were sentenced to life (death row for Limone and Tameleo and Grieco) for the Deegan murder though it appears they were not at all involved (not totally convinced about Tameleo, Grieco, and Limone), and when it all came out that they were innocent it appeared that we were talking about rogue agents (Rico, Condon). And now it’s not clear to me at all whether these guys were rogue agents or bureaucratic fall guys. The more I dig, the more I find, and it ain’t gold. I have not yet gotten to reading Matt’s book (but I will in due time), but the theme of “don’t embarrass the family” and the implied theme that the bureaucracy is protecting itself, though no one seems to no where the buck stops, except maybe this guy Margolis, it’s becoming like a Kafkaesque nightmare of a federal bureaucracy where fall guys and gullible small-timers get sucked into a vortex of perverted justice and seem to have no recourse.
How the hell is this possible? There must be something I’m missing. The research continues…
Jon:
Good post. Keep researching. Try to look at it this way, the way the local media and prosecutors look at it. The worst people that ever existed were “the Bulgers” and the worst hell-hole in the world was “South Boston , Southie.” It goes way back to busing when Judge Garrity decided to take on Southie to the cheers of all; there were several other sections of Boston much closer to the areas where the mostly black schools were located but they had more middle class people in it while Southie with its mostly blue collar workers was chosen. It was almost chosen because the federals wanted a fight. Southie reacted, some of it was ugly and racists, but much was by parents who were frightened that their kids were going to be shipped out of their neighborhood schools and into the schools that were deemed academically inferior. Judge Garrity became a fanatic in the case. I know because I represented the Boston School Committee. I’d get a call in the early afternoon telling me to go to court to appear before Garrity. The court room would be filled and he’d hold up an article from a newspaper article and demand I explain what was said in it. It was madness where I had six or seven parties against me all acting to the cheers of the local media.
Everyone outside Southie felt good an noble that the poor black kids and poor white kids were being shuffled around for some greater good while they kept their kids safely out of the fray. Billy Bulger was a local Southie politician who fought against the busing affecting mainly his neighborhood. He incurred the wrath of the liberal press. As he rose in power in politics, he paid the media back by not giving interviews or being open to it. In 1988 the Globe did a series very complimentary of Billy; then a month or two later in a case involving 75 State Street, a suit by Billy’s law partner against a Harold Brown for an agreed upon commission that had been sitting in court for a year or so suddenly had an answer filed that alleged as a defense that the suit was based on extortion. It was filed by lawyers friendly with Alan Dershowitz a hard core enemy of Billy’s, Harvey Silverglate and Andrew Good. The Globe highlighted this filing doing a 180 degree turn on Billy and the rest is history, Billy became a target even though there has never been any evidence he did anything wrong despite two federal and a state investigation into the matter.
Wyshak comes to town. He’s the new hot shot. The Globe loves him. He rightfully goes after some of these guys including Whitey, but he focuses on only one thing – getting the Bulgers and blackening Southie – that to him justifies the extensive deals he has given out – anyone willing to help in the crusade is welcome. The media abets it with its blind reporting.
It will be a sad day when this blogs ends..Im hoping to keep learning a lot more through Matt and all the Great commentators. Anybody purchase ”brutal” by Weeks? We will have another opportunity to see if that testimony matches the book and what Freddy does to mold him into an acceptable evil witness. Flemmi is eligible after 20??
Doubting,
I’m planning to read Brutal at some point, unless Matt or someone else gives me a reason to believe it’d be a waste of time. I figure it’d have value just to get a feel for how these guys think.
Jon:
I didn’t find it a waste of time. It gave another look at things. Get it out of the library
Doubting:
Thanks – at least a few of us will be aware of what went on – I bought Brutal – it’s worth taking out of the library – Weeks will testify in July – he was a formidable witness against Connolly – he’ll be a challenge for Carney – we’ll see if he’s up to it.
after they put weeks serial killing bum up there and carneys says you are free today for your cooperation “yes”, then flemmi saying im here to take a stang against whitey to hopefully one day get be a free man. I think whitey goes down on all the racket counts but beats all if not most of the murders. its sick how many guys got deals and the dead peoples familys in court. and I think 1 day flemmi will be free, maybe 2 yrs off to florida on the hush. he’s been in 18yrs he’s getting out in 2.
Pat:
Wyshak killed his case in a sense with Ralph DiMasi – did 21 years, 50% more than Martorano for planning a bank robbery. How is he going to justify the Martorano deal after that. N called him a moron. I’ll let you consider that.
Yeah, Flemmi got a deal to get out, no doubt about it. He was also allowed to keep half of his condominiums – the prosecutor’s credibiilty is empty after him because he didn’t have to deal with Flemmi at all.
It is just sickening and appalling that the Feds made so many deals with absolute scumbag murdering lowlifes, and Whitey lives out his golden years in Santa Monica unti 2011, while “never pulled a trigger” Connolly gets 40 years and Dimasi gets 21 for planning a bank robbery.
How do Wyshak et al sleep at night? Wasn’t 10 years enough for Connolly when Weeks served 5? It’s like Connolly was hooked on a RICO charge himself, as if allegedly passing information was actually issuing an order to kill. The Southie mafia with Whitey as the front and Connolly as Fat Tony Salerno’s Vincent Gigante (Gigante was the head of the Genovese family while Salerno was the one prosecuted in the Commission case. Yup, the feds got outfoxed on that one, though Salerno needed to be in jail anyway).
Of course that is ridiculous but Connolly as the secret godfather is the the only way 40 years seems to make sense.
Matt,
Am I right that all the Feds got was Flemmi in jail for life? It seems they made deals with like 10 murdering lowlifes and only got life for Flemmi and de facto life for Connolly? Is this really what it comes down to? Tell me there’s more and some kind of bargain was got that served the cause of justice.
Jon:
Flemmi in jail for life but an easy jail and keeping 1/2 his illegally gained assets. Six murderers, maybe more, walking the street, some not even prosecuted. Whitey will end up in prison for life as is Connolly. And some poor guy who dis 21 years on an attempted bank robbery is dragged into court by the prosecutors to testify because he was in a car that got shot up by Martorano. It all seems so unusual yet few seem to care.
Jon,
A lot more justice was doled out by Wyshak than just Flemmi getting life. Remember they put Cathy Greig in solitary in RI for a year before sentencing her to an outrageous 8 years in a secure lockdown. That was after they put her sister, Margaret in the perjury trap against Kevin Weeks. Ditto for a young single mother Kathy McD. Weeks was used to convict and sentence all of these women. Between these women alone, They did more time than John Martorano! That’s the new justice.
In addition, Wyshak used Weeks to convict many other people, mostly minor bookies.
These deals with Weeks and Martorano are made worse by the fact Wyshak allowed them to perjure themselves, protect other murderers, keep their assets, and likely continue their lives of crime with Wyshaks protection.
Not a small matter was the fact that Martorano admitted to lying to the gov about owning the house in Florida. Instead of calling his lie a material obstruction of justice, Wyshak gave him the house to sell and give the proceeds to his wife. When Cathy Greig was arrested in CA, she too told the gov she had no assets. She believed that after having abandoned them 16 yes earlier they would have been forfeited like the lottery money. She didn’t learn the assets still existed until she days later when she was returned to the East Coast. The government has a recording of the conversation in which she learned she still had a small Cape in Quincy and a bank account that had grown with interest. Despite possessing this evidence, AUSA Jack Pirazolo improperly argued that Grieg knowingly lied and obstructed justice. As a result, Greig was given an enhanced sentence for stating her belief that she didn’t have assets left after 16 yrs away. So Martorano was rewarded handsomely for lying about his assets yet Grieg improperly received an enhanced sentence. Justice in federal court is completely upside down.
Patty:
Freddy thinks Kathy can give him some information to sink Billy, that’s why she got hit so hard. Freddy can’t be bothered ot even indict three of the murderers on the Boston streets but is hell bent on going after those others without criminal records likes Greig and her friends. Yeah, Wyshak did all that you say.
You’re right, no enhancement for Martorano for all his lives, his 200,000 plus in his house goes to his wife and kids, and she better spend it on his kids or you know what. The enhancement for Greig’s sentence was a joke but everyone plays along with it in Club Federals. How not disclosing all one’s assets amounts to obstruction of justice is quite surprising but we’re dealing with the federals. I never knew why she pleaded guilty.
Remember Ralph DiBona – federal justice is letting a guy with 20 murders walk the street and a guy with one go to the chair – disappointed with the defense not going after Martorano on his suggestion that Schneidrhan was his informant. That was a good area to give up.
Jon:
No Connolly is the secret under-boss. Billy Bulger is the godfather in the minds of the prosecutors.
Does anyone know where the winery that the martorano brother owns is at?
Doubting:
Probably in the federal vineyard.
Shouldn’t the Smith family, the teenagers families, The Veranis family and the O’Toole family contact Sgt. Doogan ( a good guy and a good cop) at the cold case office and ask them to prosecute Gucci and Winter. Have the Boston Police pressure the D.A. into charging the murderers. You have sworn testimony as to who killed their relatives. 2. Coach Bellichik has announced that he has signed two free agents to replace TE Hernandez. Weeks and Martorano. He only wants nice guys of good character on the team. 3. What’s more harmful to the governments case? The foul overbearing prosecutor ( once a moron always a moron) or the serial killer witnesses? 4. What’s transparently false in Carney’s opening is the large sums purportedly given to Connolly. How does he get $50 G plus yet his boss takes only 7 G? WB could easily be convicted of first degree parsimony.
Neal, another great comment. I’m almost ashamed to give into the humor given the seriousness of the case, but this had me laughing.
N.
1. Absolutely – but why isn’t the public pressuring the DA
2. Belechick has a lot of class – I’ve already said that – didn’t I?
3. Neither – the government’s case is a lock. Whitey gave up in his opening. Expect him to testify and admit some murders in self defense. He knew some day Pauli McGonable or Tommy King would kill him so he gave them a preemptive strike, sort of like the Iraq war justification.
4.
Whitey was too cheap to give Connolly more than a hearty handshake. Agree on the parsimony charge.
The fear of not being able to crush the defendant is haunting the prosecution. They flail away in this thicket of sordidness for fear that they might miss dotting an i or crossing a t. It has been theirs to blow from day one
Hopalong:
Whitey has no chance. I don’t know what their fear is about.