Criminal Law

February 16, 2009

Boston State Police Drop Appeal For Traffic Violation, Ending Defense Attorney’s Confusion

Welcome to Boston, Massachusetts, where there dwells, according to MSNBC-TV commentator Keith Olbermann, his “Worst Person in the World.” (video available at http://blogofbile.com/tag/michael-galluccio/). He is State Trooper Michel G. (hereinafter, “PO Nobreak”). And he has one local attorney, other than me, scratching his head in disbelief.

PO Nobreak gained unwelcome fame late last year for making a woman who was in labor wait to get to the hospital while he cited her husband for driving in the breakdown lane. The story, first reported in The Boston Globe, ricocheted around the country and sparked outrage. But all that notoriety was not enough for the State Police.

Even after the new father, John D. (hereinafter, the “Scourge” ), appealed the $100 ticket and a Cambridge clerk magistrate tossed it out, the department refused to give up. A lawyer for the State Police challenged the clerk magistrate’s decision and appealed to restore the ticket late last month. A hearing was scheduled before a Cambridge District Court judge March 18.

The Scourge’s attorney said that in a dozen years, he’d never seen the State Police appeal a traffic ticket. He couldn’t quite believe they were going to pursue one against a the husband of a woman in labor.

“When I asked, ‘Are you sure the State Police want to be on record as appealing this?’ what he said reportedly said was, “I just wouldn’t have any credibility if I did not appeal this,'”
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February 10, 2009

Boston Student Held Without Bail Despite Attorney’s Attempts

by Altman & Altman

This past weekend, there was a party on the campus of Amherst College.

There was a little trouble. The result?

One youth lies in a hospital bed recovering from multiple stab wounds. Another, Marcus S., 21 of Boston (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), actually a student of University of Massachusetts, appeared in court yesterday as his lawyer tried to get him released on bail.

That attempt was not successful.

Amherst police responded to the call for assistance from the Amherst College Police Department at about 1 a.m. on Sunday . There had been a stabbing at Crossett Dormitory on the Amherst College campus. Upon arrival, officers discovered that a 20-year-old Amherst College student had been stabbed multiple times in the back and chest. He was transported by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where he was treated for injuries that were not deemed to be life-threatening.

The police became suspicious of the Defendant, who was covered in blood, but only had a minor cut on his thumb. Upon investigation, according to the arresting officer, the two men had argued about a girl with whom the Defendant had been dancing.
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February 9, 2009

February ’09 Gets Early Recognition As “Weapons Gathering Month” By The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

by Altman & Altman

This February began as “Weapons Gathering Month” as far as local police are concerned. We return to two warnings often read in the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog. Namely…(1) different law enforcements agencies communicate and (2) you do not get advance notice that an investigation is going on.

No, I am not referring to the cache of weapons in a Worcester home that were discovered when police and an ambulance were called due to a medical emergency this weekend. The month’s gun-toting atmosphere predated that.

A joint investigation by five area towns resulted in the arrest and arraignment in the beginning days of February of a Maynard man on charges of stealing and trying to sell firearms, including some assault rifles.

Lawrence W., 24, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was arrested as a result of an ongoing investigation according to Marlborough Detective Lt. Robert Jusseaume, one of the investigators in the case. The investigation included police from Maynard, Marlborough, Hudson, Sudbury and Newton, he said.

“We were able to pool information and resources and we were able to, based on our investigation, establish probable cause that a cache of weapons was stored at house in Maynard,” Jusseaume said.

“It originated with a burglary in Newton over the summer,” Jusseaume said. “Numerous weapons, including assault rifles, were taken.”
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February 6, 2009

Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog’s Bad Week For Law Enforcement Ends As It Began, With Assaults On Police Officers

by Altman & Altman

This week, the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog ends its week as it began…with stories which demonstrate dangers faced by law enforcement and defendants applying to the “Hey, I’ll Bet I Can Make This Situation Worse” club.

Today, we have tales out of Springfield where two police officers suffered injuries Wednesday night while making two unrelated routine arrests.

Officer Francisco Otero suffered a severely injured shoulder while subduing a shoplifter during a violent struggle at Wal-Mart and Officer Maciej Jasinski suffered a severely injured knee while tackling a suspect in an icy parking lot.

Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said both officers required hospital treatment and have been relieved from duty.

Otero was sent to the Boston Road Wal-Mart, at about 8 p.m., for a report of a shoplifting in progress, Delaney said. Once inside, Otero was greeted by the store manager and security who stated they were monitoring a suspect who had a straight razor and was removing cell phones from their packaging and placing them in his pocket.
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February 5, 2009

Madoff Associate And Lawyer Come To Boston As Fraud Probe(s) Continue

by Altman & Altman

As the “Madoff Wars”, fought by investigators, attorneys and accountants, rage, score one for lawyers of the Commonwealth. They finally got Robert Jaffe, a crucial witness to Madoff’s operation, to the Hub where he finally spoke to regulators. The result? Boston regulators are ramping up a probe into Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

As any loyal reader to this daily blog knows, we have been “checking in” with the Madoff Nightmare since the beginning. In our last episode, January 27ths Boston Secretary Of State Tells Madoff Associate To Visit; Attorney Says “Nope”., the Commonwealth and the court were telling him to come up from Florida to talk. Through counsel, his response had been in the negative.
Apparently, he has changed his mind. Yesterday, he met with state investigators. It is not clear whether Jaffe, who went to court last month in a failed bid to block the state’s subpoena, told regulators anything of value, however.

Jaffe, a vice president at Madoff’s Cohmad Securities unit, introduced many alleged Massachusetts scam victims to Madoff. However, the 64-year-old has denied any knowledge of the reputed Ponzi scheme. Rather, Jaffe – the son-in-law of Hub philanthropist Carl Shapiro, who allegedly lost some $300 million in the scam – has said that he and his family are among Madoff’s victims.

“The responsiveness of Mr. Jaffe to (our) subpoena is presently being evaluated,” said State Secretary Galvin, whose office regulates Massachusetts securities sales. However, Galvin did say that his probe has expanded to include other “feeder firms” – companies that lined up Madoff investors.
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February 3, 2009

The Battle Between Cruisers And Drivers Continue, Inside And Out Of Boston On A One-Way Road To The Defense Attorney

by Altman & Altman

This Massachusetts Dangerous Driving tale did not begin in Boston…it did not even begin in Massachusetts. But it ended there. In Springfield. In court. With a defense lawyer by his side trying to explain why his out-of-state allegedly reckless client should go home after his arraignment.

When 33-year-old Rogelio V. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) entered the Commonwealth on Monday morning, he was not alone. He was leading a kind of law enforcement parade. By “parade”, I mean “chase”. State and local police had been led on a wild ride that ended when the Defendant allegedly intentionally rammed a cruiser on Center Street, Captain Eugene C. Dexheimer said.

“He wasn’t going to stop for anybody,” Dexheimer said.

The chase began in Hartford, Connecticut after the Defendant was involved in a hit and run accident there, Longmeadow Police Sgt. John D. Stankiewicz said. Longmeadow police first spotted the Defendant, northbound on Route 5, shortly before 2:30 a.m. Until that point, Hartford and Enfield police had been involved in the chase, police said.

When the Defendant, refused to stop, Longmeadow police deployed spike strips, blowing out all four of his vehicle’s tires, police said.

The “never say die” Defendant, eventually driving on his rims, continued to flee at speeds below 30 mph Dexheimer said. “Sparks were flying from the tires that now were wheels,” Dexheimer said.
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February 2, 2009

Boston-area Law Enforcement Endangered By Drivers Needing Defense Lawyers

by Altman & Altman

It has been a difficult and dangerous time for Boston-area police officers. While perhaps not intentional, recent tragedies and near-tragedies remind us that some of those we represent as defense attorneys often endanger not only themselves, but everyone around them when driving dangerously.

Including police officers. Let’s look at two recent examples.

You have probably already heard about State Police Captain Richard J. Cashin, 52, father of four, who died last Wednesday when his cruiser crashed into a utility pole. It has now been determined that he was likely enroute to help Saugus police pull over a car that was reportedly driving erratically.

About a mile and a half from the crash site, Saugus police had pulled over the driver who, police later found out, was texting while driving, said Saugus Lt. Michael Annese. He believes it’s likely that is where Cashin was headed.

State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said “Based on the proximity of the time and location and the type of police officer Capt. Cashin was – always looking to assist other officers – you could draw a reasonable inference that he had begun traveling up Route 1 to look for an erratic driver, who posed a threat to the public, at the time he lost his life,” Procopio said.

Witnesses told police the car’s lights and sirens were not on prior to the crash, Procopio said.
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January 14, 2009

Murder Trial Finally Begins After North Of Boston Lawyer And Doctors Examine Client And Her Statements

by Altman & Altman

As a defense lawyer, one occasionally handles cases that seemingly will not end. Through my years in Boston and environs, I have had more than my share.

This case was probably regarded as one of those cases.

62- year-old Kathleen H. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is finally going to trial. She is charged with setting a fire that killed five people ten years ago. The trial started this week in Lawrence Superior Court.

Prosecutors say that she set a fire at a Lynn home where her son’s ex-girlfriend lived because she wouldn’t let him see his two kids. The ex-girlfriend and the Defendant’s grandchildren survived, but members of another family that lived in the same building died. The deaths included Heriberto Feliciano, 34, his wife, Sonia Hernandez, 32; their daughters, Sonia, 12, and Maria, 13; and their niece, Glorimar Santiago,11, who was sleeping over. All died from smoke inhalation.

The Defendant is charged with five counts of second-degree murder as well as a single count of arson.

She has been held in jail for a decade while her lawyer fought to keep the jury from hearing an alleged confession she made after the February. 24, 1999, blaze, as well as to determine her competency to stand trial.
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December 29, 2008

Boston Area Nanny Accused Of Kidnapping Baby, But It Is Not Her Who Needs The Criminal Lawyer

by Altman & Altman

It may be that the Boston area is simply a dangerous place for a nanny. Several years ago, we had that case in Cambridge where a British nanny was accused (and, actually, convicted) of killing a baby. The case made international headlines. She did have an extremely experienced criminal lawyer on her side and…guess what? She ended up going home when it was all over.

Well, this case is a tad different and the attorney ends up not being needed for the nanny after all. In fact, there was no nanny. Not even a baby. And the outer-Massachusetts part of the drama did not take place overseas, but in Miami, Florida.

You remember Florida, don’t you? Another fraud, to the tune of billions of dollars, was recently discovered there.

Meagan M., 22 (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is a Miami woman who is alleged to have come up with an inventive way to try to keep her man. She made up a baby.

Well, kinda. She tried to do it the regular way, but did not suceed. Apparently, she lost the baby due to a miscarriage three months into the pregnancy. However, Miami police said the Defendant pretended to carry the baby to full term in order to keep her boyfriend, John B., 26, (hereinafter, “Big John”) from breaking up with her. She even named the phantom child, giving it Big John’s last name.

The real problems began when Big John wanted to see the child after its alleged birth. So, the Defendant did what seemed to be the logical thing…she reported that the baby had been kidnapped, and then reported the baby missing to police.

Now, what could be more romantic than that?
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December 23, 2008

North Of Boston, A Convicted Drunk Driver Believes She Has Gotten A Gift…But Turns Out To Need A Defense Attorney To Go Along With It

by Altman & Altman

North of Boston, Evelyn C., 74, (hereinafter the “Defendant”) thought she had reason to celebrate. Instead, she found that the gift she thought received from the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) necessitated a little something extra…namely, a criminal defense lawyer
You see, like many of us, she was driving around the morning of December 17th. Unlike many of us, however, she was not supposed to be behind the wheel at all until 2015.

That’s what a Salem District Court judge had told her last August when he sentenced her after her third operating under the influence conviction.

She knew it and the court knew it…but, the RMV…not so much.

Just last month, in fact, they issued a brand new shiny driver’s license for the Defendant.

An isolated occurrence?

Again, not so much.

You see, her case is one of what the state auditor last summer estimated as thousands of drivers whose licenses were never yanked by the RMV despite court orders following drunken driving and other motor vehicle convictions.
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