I thought we would kick off the day learning the judge’s decision on the prosecutors’ motion to cut down on the number of defense witness the defendant could call. The judge kicked it down to after Flemmi finished his testimony.
I wrote earlier “enough already” well I was wrong. Brennan made some more headway in important ways with Flemmi.
But first let me say this. I’ve been saying that Wyshak is on this crusade, aided by the media, to damage Billy Bulger’s reputation. Any opportunity he has to mention Billy’s name he will jump at. Again he did it today which should lay aside any thought that he is otherwise motivated by his hatred of “the Bulgers and Southie. “
On redirect examination he asked Flemmi if Billy Bulger showed up at the house of Flemmi’s mother when he was meeting there with FBI agents Ring and Connolly. His witness had been beaten down to a bloody pulp and during the chance he has to put a few bandages back on him he want to get a headline out of smearing Billy again. Leave all doubts aside as to what motivates this man.
But back to Brennan. He quickly went into the plea agreements with Flemmi and dragged out of Flemmi that in the first agreement he was allowed to keep about five or six condos, a couple of houses, a business and the land it sat on, and several bank accounts. He then showed that was incorporated into the 2003 agreement to show Flemmi’s incentive to testify. He emphasized that both the Florida and Oklahoma DAs agreed not to seek the death penalty when he entered a plea of guilty.
As part of the agreements Brennan asked Flemmi if he knew about Rule 35 motions. Those motions allow the government to reduce a person’s sentence if he gives substantial cooperation to the government. Flemmi said everyone in the system knew about them. Brennan then pointed out that the Florida plea that Flemmi made to the first degree charge would be changed if the government filed a Rule 35 motion to time served.
Wyshak made the point that such a motion has to be filed within one year and that there was no agreement between him and Flemmi about filing such a motion. Wyshak made it clear that Flemmi expected to spend the rest of his life in prison but Brennan pointed out that Flemmi still had a hope of getting out some day.
He also got into Flemmi having different stories about whether he spoke to Nee about the Halloran murder. Flemmi testified that he never talked about it; and he also testified that Nee told him the gun jammed. He insisted that both statements are true. I guess as he told us, we don’t know what it is like in the real world. Apparently in that world opposites can be the same.
That was a good point to leave it at and that’s what Brennan did.
Then, as mentioned, Wyshak got up on redirect. He seemed more intent on having Flemmi say negative things about the FBI than any issues which may have come up at trial. At least he had enough sense to realize Flemmi had enough holes in him from Trigger Brennan,or as some others call him Machine Gun Brennan, that he had bled out and there was only one thing left to do. He called for the stretcher bearers to come in and have that presence taken from our sight.
We took a short recess after that and the government presented its next witness who was Kevin O’Neill – most of the questions dealt with his real estate transactions and the washing of money to Whitey through bank accounts – I sometimes get confused here wondering why so much time is being spent on Whitey’s money laundering activities. O’Neil is a tough guy – he’s big and close to obese – but he gives one world answers to the questions.
When asked why he put Whitey on the payroll when he didn’t work he said: “It was not smart not to.” When asked about Whitey’s reputation he said, “he was not a guy to fool with.” Later asked why he didn’t take him off the payroll, he said “it would be foolish to take him off.” Asked to describe the type of business Whitey and Stevie were partners in, he answered: “Whatever.”
I’m not sure what O’Neill adds to the case but he helps prolong the time to the date of judgment for Whitey which I’m not sure is in the government’s interest.
I find Kevin Oneil interesting and this is why. As a convicted felon whitey could not own triple os and yet he did thru kevin oneil. The same goes with the liquor store at the rotary.Without someone like kevin oneil it becomes harder for whitey to wash his money. I read where the congressman from south boston is at the hearings considering the future of the post office. Perhaps people in his district would hope he would take an interest as to the timing of stippo rakes death.Perhaps a future book idea for you would be the life of Pat Nee. I would be interested to know where he was born, how he grew up, what led him into crime etc. I will NEVER read about any of that in the so called boston globe and the so called boston herald. I write socalled because the globe and the herald share something in common. What they chose to print is oftentimes far away from what the facts are not just regarding whitey but other issues as well regards,
Norwood:
Pat Nee did write a book called an Irishman and a Criminal where he brags about being both of them. He was born in Ireland, came to Southie as a young teenager, hung around with the Mullens gang, went to Vietnam and saw combat, and came back ready for a life of crime.
The bill bulger questions guarantees the headline and puts the fact tha flemmi has millions on criminal money and will probably get out, or at least thinks he will, on the back pages if at all.
Well played by the whack job. Sen Joe. McCarthy aka
Wyshak show cased another symptom and manifestation of his psychosis.
If the man didn’t have unilateral subpoena, indictment, immunity, sentencing, and prison condition powers he would be an amusingly pathetic creature.
But not only does he have those unilateral powers, some given him by law, others by a corrupt, lazy and scared system made up of people like u and me and wyshak, he can do it to innocent families and friends of those he targets.
This power in the hanfs of a whackjob like wyshak cam be devastating to a community.
Killers on the street knowingly protected by the feds and a state govt afraid to do honest and usual business because of the abuse the whackjob has inflicted and is willing to inflict.
FreddyJoe McCarthy Wyshak needs to be investigated like Annie Doukhan.
Annie wasn’t the problem. She’s a whackjob. Dime a dozen. They’re all over the place and it usually shows in their work. Only the worst mangement along with willing prosecutors would not catch it.
Unlike Joe McCarthy Fred Wyshak has real bosses. But unlike Annie Dookhan he had subpoena powers.
He’s a hybrid that should have been reigned in years ago.
But they can’t because he has a history of criminally targetting those from within who question his methods.
After this is over mass congressmen should hold headings in D.C.
Ernie:
All that Wyshak does has the approval of the DOJ. He’s one of their stars.
More reason for congress to look at why the feds put seriel killers on the streets of Boston
No one is watching the FEDs and they are literally getting away with murdering the constitution, equitable principles, due process rights, and fair trial rights of all of us. Some people question whether the FEDs themselves, having partnered with an Unscrupulous Press and with Serial Killers (TEIs), is also in the gestapo propaganda business and involved directly or indirectly with crime itself. Has an element within the FEDs become Murder, Inc., or has an element within the FEDs become just simple accessories to Murder, Inc. by sanctioning, implicitly condoning or authorizing, or by keeping a too loose reign on the murdering done by killers under their control or auspices? How are those investigations going of recent killings, gun running, narcotic trafficking, terrorist attacks, etc, both at home here in Boston and in other parts of the good old USA and abroad? It seems to me that We the People are not pleased with the current state of affairs within our DOJ.
2. I read recently that six deans of Schools of Public Health have lambasted the CIA for using International Vaccinations programs to gather secretly DNA evidence on potential terrorists: the results: scores of vaccination workers worldwide have been killed by Taliban-types and the Public Health Experts predict 100,000 excess deaths from preventable diseases per year because people now fear Western Vaccination Programs. Good going CIA!! You’ve mixed spying with medicine!!! and on point, Good going DOJ, you’ve mixed justice with protecting killers and some say it’s for political or sociopolitical reasons that you’ve done so.