Who Killed Theresa?: 03/01/2008

Monday, March 31, 2008

Congratulations Detective Dennis Delano!
You’ve got my vote!

I was watching America’s Most Wanted (AMW) tonight and was thrilled to see that my favourite cold case detective, Dennis Delano, was named the Week 5 Finalist for AMW’s “All-Star Hero”.

He is one of eight people who will compete in the show's All Star Competition which works to honor America's top first responders.

The final round of voting in the All Star Competition begins April 17th. Viewers can vote once a day until the contest winner is announced in May. That person will receive $10,000 and a trip to the Sprint Nascar race in Charlotte, North Carolina.

As you know, Det. Delano is part of the Buffalo Police Department’s Cold Case Squad. He was the man responsible for catching a serial killer and exonerating two people who were wrongfully convicted.

Unfortunately, Det. Delano was suspended last month for turning over video evidence from a murder trial to a local television station. His superiors say Dennis disobeyed repeated orders and didn’t follow departmental rules. (I say the police department should spend more time worrying about sending innocent people to jail rather than suspending good cops who bend the rules. I trust Dennis’ instincts more than theirs.)

Fortunately, Dennis has the support of the community behind him who obviously treat him like a hero.

I hope the Buffalo Police Department realizes Det. Delano is an asset and gets him back on the Force pronto! (It would be a MAJOR embarrassment for Buffalo to have Det. Delano get named top cop and still have him suspended.)

You can read more about Det. Delano’s nomination here:
http://www.amw.com/allstar/2008/nominee_detail.cfm?id=5274

Don’t forget to vote!
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Maritime Missy

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Yer Mourning Newz

Quebec 400

The Globe and Mail on Samuel de Champlain:

“That damned picture makes him look like Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame.”

Finger lickin' good

"With a legacy like this, you can almost see why the organizers of the Quebec 400 celebrations threw up their hands in exasperation and summoned Céline to centre stage. And you can start to appreciate the blunt dismissal by René Lévesque: “ Pas très stimulant, le fondateur” "

That's right, organisers caved and the show will end with a whimper: Celine Dion center stage: just what hundreds of Americans who have witnessed her Vegas act for the last 5 years would trek to Quebec to witness.

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Earth Hour

Fans are pressured to turn off Hockey Night In Canada on a Saturday showcase of the Habs v. Leafs: David Sazuki, haven't you some manure to spread on the plants?

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Earth Hour II - I'm all in

Despite it feeling gimmicky, despite none of the neighbors participating, would I pass up the chance to huddle in the dark and read The Three Musketeers to my kids? Priceless.

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Report: Easley Press Office Ordered E-mails Deleted

I long for Jim Hunt
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Breaking News: Sprite likes Coke and Pepsi:

Edwards Praises Both Clinton, Obama in First Political Speech

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Nelly Wants Springsteen Collaboration

Because that Tim Mcgraw collaboration worked out so well for you.

A word of advice, G... Remember MC Hammer and Deion Sanders, Straight To My Feet? Sinatra and Bono, Night and Day? Andrea Bocelli and Elmo? Enough with the dumbass collaborations already.

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"Un Nuage Noir": The Cost of Police Consolidation

The move to SQ consolidation can balloon municipal budgets, as more officers are needed to patrol expanding jurisdictions.

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Glad to see the Quebec Government taking on the tough justice issues in the province:

SI.com - NHL - Quebec government seeks to curb hockey violence

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Let Me Take You Down

Not that 4 generations of puke-inducing vegetarian recipes aren't scintillating reportage (what I wouldn't do for a sandwich), but there are some justice items of note to report:

1. Good news: a 1979 cold case is solved in Longueuil, Quebec.

2. Bad news: the headline reads as follows: Longueuil police crack cold case . "A-hem"... police did nothing of the sort. If it were not for the tip of a concerned citizen Diane Verret's murder would still be as cold as a stone. It took police 29-years to get up off their asses and finally re-interview witnesses. Way to be thorough boys. Keep up the slack work.

3. Bad news: 33-years-ago today Sharron Prior disappeared from Point Saint Charles, and turned up dead in Longueuil. Still no justice. (though Longueuil police might want to take a hint from the story above).

Sharron Prior (I'm a sucker for these 70s school pics)

4. Bad news: 30-years ago this week Manon Dube was found dead in stream near Magog, Quebec. Still no justice, though Manon's sister, Chantel is still on the case (read here). Whether the police are managing to still pay attention is anyone's guess.

Chantel at the school site where Manon disappeared (looking as thrilled with this photo as I would)

5. Good news: Bill Wildman just taped a segment for Todd Matthews' Missing Pieces on the disappearance of Deborah Key. (thanks to "you know who" for doing the transcript).

6. Bad news: (are you sensing the pattern here?) Deborah has been missing for 10+ years.

7. Good News: Doreen Drummond started a blog!

Doreen is the mother of Kelly-Anne Drummond, a star athlete and scholar whose life was cut short in 2004. Doreen is "lucky" in that Kelly-Anne's offender was caught and is serving a sentence of 13 years...

13 years for what I will only say was a brutal murder. Doreen is "lucky" in that the processing of this offender is now over; Doreen's price? Eternal vigilance. She can look forward to showing up at parole hearings 13-years hence and arguing that this awful human being shouldn't be let out (if she can muster the zeal, I can tell you I wouldn't be up to it).

KellyAnne and Doreen - nice photo

I digress. Doreen's blog isn't about that. Check it out for a celebration of Kelly-Anne's life.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Born of the grain like all good riddles

I'm making stuffed peppers for the girls for dinner tonight. I don't really like stuffed peppers, but last week I happened to cook a pepper. One of my daughters, Theresa said she really liked the taste.

This might surprise you: I really like cooking and I'm good at it.

This shouldn't surprise you: I am a keeper of historic, family recipes and I like to recreate meals from my past (my mother's eggnog recipe will knock you flat on your ass).

So... stuffed peppers, that's what my dad's grandmother made. The rice was always intermixed with some annoying spice or vegetable matter... something I hated then but suspect I would enjoy now. But I figure my kids would hate these morsel interruptions, so I'm going with just peppers with plain white rice tonight.

The same grandparents also had this freezer out in the garage - can you remember the extravagance back then of someone actually owning two refrigerators! There they kept - among the layered stacks of rump roasts, chickens and loaves of bread ('cause you never knew when the next crash would hit) - a stash of Good Humor treats... Strawberry Shortcake Bars, Nutty-Buddies. My brother now has a similar freezer in his garage minus the goodies.

Recently I reconnected with a cousin who I hadn't seen in 30 years. This was on Facebook. He commented that the last time he remembered seeing me was at our grandparents. We were all flying kites he said. "Theresa's wake", I replied. "I'm not sure," he said, "If you say so."

Theresa's wake. I'm sure.

My grandparents lived in a farm house outside Stirling, Ontario. They had well-water. One day I'm going to go back to that house, knock on that door, and ask for a glass of water.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Rock-N-Roll Tea Cups and Heirloom Sweaters

(Continue to rest in peace, Pete de Freitas)

Never forget that this...

And this...

Is just this:

Also, note the absence of cymbals. At the apex of heavy metal pounding, who else would think to play an entire album with brushes.

I've lost and I've gained and while I was thinking

You cut off my hands when I wanted to twist

If you know how to dance to Boney Maroney

He's doing the ballet on both of his wrists
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Ok, I'll spell it out for you... I like Radiohead, I think Coldplay has over-extended themselves, but they should both give an appreciative nod to Echo and the Bunnymen. Ocean Rain holds up and still sounds fresh 25 years later. The Bunnymen's drummer died in a motorcycle accident shortly after recording it. Echo & The Bunnymen are back performing.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A Most Extraordinary Convergence

I'm thinking tonight of November 2nd, 2003. This was the eve of the 25th anniversary of Theresa's murder. I was in a hotel room in Ottawa preparing to hijack The Policy Center for Victims' Issues first national conference for Canadian crime victims. I was mad, which is my typical frame-of-mind when I confront these things.

And I was nervous. I was preparing to walk across the Ottawa river into Hull to meet a man who I admired, knew by reputation, but had never actually met. Pierre Hugues Boisvenu was fresh from the murder of his daughter, Julie, and he was mad too. We were both principally mad because the Canadian government had decided to to throw a party for crime victims, but didn't bother to invite us - and thus Quebec - to the shindig. Oh yes, they had invited the usual suspects of Quebec dilettantes - the policy makers, the victim mouth-pieces, the criminal justice wonks and NGOs - but no victims. I found the insult particularly galling - and was admittedly over sensitive - because the day that the conference was set to open, November 3rd, 2003, happened to be the 25th anniversary of Theresa's death. So who did they invite as their keynote? Some renegade rape victim. Never mind that the renegade rape victim happened to be the author of a recently released book on victims rights; the keynote should have been me.

As I say, I was sensitive. I was so unsure of things that I had invited Patricia Pearson to the party. She was now writing for MacLeans, it was my hope she would write a follow up article to her National Post articles from the previous summer, though I knew I was wearing out my welcome, and Patricia was ready to move on from being a bell-ringer for my cause.

The next twenty-four hours were so stressful to me that, before meeting with Pierre I promptly ate a half a bag of Coffee Crisp candy bars stashed in my hotel room (purchased from Shoppers at a post-Halloween discount rate). So after downing the Coffee Crisps I make the trek to Hull, to some pre-determined Italian restaurant where Pierre suggests we meet. I'm expecting a guy as frazzled as me. In walks Pierre... in his very French turtle-neck... cool as a silk-cucumber. The guy is all grace. He orders for me, suggests the wine, proceeds to lay out a plan-of-attack to deal with the conference planners in the morning. You would never guess that this guy had lost his eldest child less than six months ago.

The plan is thus: the morning plenary - with close to 1,000 conference attendees held hostage - will no doubt have a question and answer period from the floor. The floor will no doubt have microphones on opposing ends of the conference hall available for questions. In sync, Pierre and I will approach the two microphones, then in tandem we will denounce the conference - in French and English - for its hypocritical position of claiming to speak for victims, but failing to allow the bereaved to speak for their dead relatives.

The plan was executed exactly as Pierre suggested. The usual suspects blanched, shucked-and-jived, defended themselves. The hijack was covered by the national news, tipped to what would occur by the fact that the National Post carried a full page article on Theresa's anniversary on the morning of the conference. This should have spelled success but it didn't. In fact this was the nexus where I first was introduced to the notion that gorilla tactics ultimately don't work, or rather... they might work for the French, but they don't work for me.

That evening - after a day of butting heads I had drinks with Patricia Pearson's parents. The experience was unusual to say the least. When I had last seen them I had been Patricia's boyfriend. Now I was this guy coming to Ottawa, looking for justice, without a clue as to how power works in the Nation's capital - a little more than slightly pathetic. Patricia's father sat to the side and cracked jokes at my expense (just like old times). Patricia's mother - who is a former senator, asked bluntly, "who have you talked to?". I rattled off a list of nobodies. "You need to talk to Priscilla de Villiers.". The next morning I did. Without going into it now, Priscilla opened up the door and let me see exactly what this victims' business is all about.

A day of extraordinary convergences, but that was not the end. I got back to my hotel room that night very late, feeling defeated and very confused. Greeting me was this email subject heading:

"I knew your sister"

An old friend of Theresa's had read the National Post article and found the courage to contact me.

His name is Terry Roth. I can assure you he was very close to Theresa. At a time in her teenage years where Theresa was moving away from her family, Terry became a close friend and confidant, he probably knew her as well as anybody in the final months of her life. Terry knew me as Theresa's snotty-nosed little brother. In the last 5 years we have been reacquainted. Terry and I are friends. He is a wonderful confidante, and keeper of Theresa's memory.

I find it extraordinary - thirty years on - that a "friend" would still hold vigil to Theresa's memory.

I knew your sister: what better affirmation could anyone ask for?

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Post Script:

1. Pierre Hugues Boisvenu is now the president of Quebec's victims' advocacy group, AFPAD

2. Priscilla de Villiers introduced me to the producers of W-Five, and to Steve Sullivan who is now the first Federal ombudsman for crime victims in Canada.

3. Geoffrey Pearson died last week at his home in Ottawa.

4. Patricia Pearson's last writings on Theresa's case can be read here

5. Facing graduation in less than 5 weeks from NC State's Public Administration program, I have now become one of those dilettante wonks - armed with a graduate degree in justice administration, I can blow hot air on public policy with the best of them.

6. Canada's Policy Center for Victims' Issues does good work on public policy: the right tool for the right situation.

7. Terry Roth can remember all the jokes that made Theresa laugh.

Fresh Perspective Needed

After 25 years, Sue Huppelsberg can finally breathe a sigh of relief. On March 21, Kenneth West was convicted of her mother’s sexual assault and homicide.

Sue never stopped pressuring police to find Josephine O’Keefe’s killer but it wasn’t until 2001, when Sue asked the Pelham Village Police to call in the Westchester County major case detectives into the investigation, that breaks in the case started to surface.

“(Huppelsberg) urged other families seeking justice in cold-case homicides to never give up, never be satisfied with "not enough witnesses, not enough evidence" and to ask for new investigators for a fresh perspective that could solve the crime.”

Good advice Sue. That’s what I believe too.

Theresa’s case has been unsolved for 30 years. Her family hasn’t given up hope that Theresa’s killer would eventually be found. The only people who appear to have given up are the Sûreté du Quebec. Even though a new “investigator” was recently assigned to the case, no new activity is underway. I doubt Theresa’s file has been seriously looked at. I doubt that any witnesses/suspects have been interviewed. I doubt that any leads have been followed up.

Why can’t the SQ just admit that they need a fresh perspective? Why can’t they bring in a specialist with the resolve to at least interview some suspects, re-examine the file and follow up on the leads that have been forwarded to them?

Other police forces take homicide and cold cases seriously. It’s 2008. It’s time that the SQ set aside past mistakes, egos, laziness, whatever, and get on with the business of who killed Theresa Allore.

To read more about Sue Huppelsberg’s long wait for justice, visit:
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080322/NEWS02/803220361

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Maritime Missy

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Yer Mourning Newz

Donnie Darko's Washington Easter Surprise:

Easter at the White House: 15000 eggs

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Former Durham City Manager Indicted in SC

NC WANTED, NC - A grand jury indicted Marcia Conner Thursday on two charges of misconduct in office and one charge of violation of an employer's obligation to a police ...

Yes, I was working for Durham while Conner served as City Manager. And yes, as a story it's a strangler, though I thought this was the more telling headline:

Outside assistance requested for fifth time in 20 years Myrtle Beach Sun News

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Fresh Fruit Waterboarding:

FDA detains Honduran producer's cantaloupes

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I was wondering this myself:

What does the Fed actually do?

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Ok, let's settle down. The man murdered his father; he's not an eminent threat to all society:

Manhunt rages for murderer

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Steers and Queers:

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Love da Man:

Kevin Parent: un loup dans son élément (entrevue)

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And we wonder why Americans openly mock us:

Size does matter for mating moose
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Go Habs! Go Heals!

Friday, March 21, 2008

Only in Quebec? Kaff, the whole country's turning to sod

Canada's national security files discovered in rubbish bin

By Dan Karpenchuk Posted

Canadian security officials have been left red-faced after the blueprints for an elite national security unit were found on a pile of rubbish in Ottawa.The blueprints were stamped with the markings of the Department of National Defence. They show the location of security fences, the electrical grid system and the layout of offices and other rooms at a new security headquarters, located at Canadian Forces Base Trenton on the north shore of Lake Ontario. It is the home of the Canadian Joint Incident Response Unit, a military counter-terrorism group which was created after the attacks in the US on September 11, 2001.

The 26 blueprints were contained in one of seven defence department files that a passer-by found on top of garbage bags on an Ottawa street, and then handed in to a city newspaper. The other six files are believed to be missing. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has launched an investigation into the incident.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/21/2196453.htm?section=justin

Crikey, only in Quebec:

Convicted murdered escapes from Laval prison
Paul Cherry, The GazettePublished: 3 hours ago

A federal inmate serving time for murdering his father is on the loose after he escaped from a correctional institution in Laval. Neil Stewart, 34, went missing from the Federal Training Centre on Thursday. The minimum-security facility, in Laval's St. Vincent de Paul district, is used to train inmates for work.

According to a release from Correctional Service of Canada, Stewart left the centre sometime around 5 p.m. Thursday. Stewart is serving a life sentence he received after being convicted of first-degree murder in the 1999 death of his father Lindsay Stewart, a western Quebec cattle farmer. Evidence presented during a jury trial held in 2000, revealed Stewart shot his father while he was asleep in their home in Grand Calumet Island, 200 kilometres west of Montreal.
Stewart was not eligible for parole until he served 25 years of the sentence. He tried to appeal his conviction but the Quebec Court of Appeal rejected the case in 2004.

The Sûreté du Québec has been asked to investigate. Stewart is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. He has blue eyes and brown hair.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Civilization and its Discontents

I thought Frank Stasio did a good job yesterday on The State of Things sorting through the criminal justice issues surrounding the Eve Carson case. Among Frank's guests were North Carolina Central University Law Professor Irving Joyner, Lewis Pitts, an attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina, Tamar Birckhead, assistant professor of law at UNC-CH, and Keith Woods, Dean of Faculty at the Poynter Institute, discussing media coverage of the case (the program is archived here).

I was "curious" about this comment played from District Court Judge Craig Brown:

"It is curious to me that because the victim in one of these cases was such an amazing young lady -- I'm told she was white -- that the media has taken so much attention, but I guess I'm not surprised. But I also wonder, when there's so many black victims to crimes, why that is not necessarily the case."

I don't think Eve Carson is getting all this attention just because she was young, gifted and white, though I certainly agree that this is a controversy starting to boil locally. Murder is a rare occurrence in Chapel Hill, you have to go back to 1995 to find the last time a UNC student was murdered. My interest comes, not only in that I live in Chapel Hill and work in Durham, but because my recent history is deeply rooted in the geography of Chapel Hill. I was married at The Horace Williams House, the past three months I've spent Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the UNC School of Government as a guest student, The Bolin Creek Trail - which I frequent regularly - weaves through Chapel Hill and eventually ends at my backyard. All of these personal landmarks can be found within a stone's throw of where Eve Carson lived and died. It's difficult for me not to pay attention.

Still I understand Judge Brown's frustration. The region that envelopes Chapel Hill is much more susceptible to violent crime, adequate tools to address this problem have been sorely lacking, and Chapel Hill has remained relatively insulated from this experience. This is why you see Judge Brown using the Eve Carson case as a spring-board to jump start anti-gang legislation; even though the case isn't necessarily related to gang activities. It is why guests on the State of Things used their time to call for probation reform, and more assistance to meet mental health needs. Legislation, reform, assistance... this is all none-too-subtly coded language calling on the State for more money.

I mentioned yesterday that Orange County was much more likely to communicate with crime victims than Durham County. That comment was a little unfair to Durham; the Durham DA handles a far greater volume of court cases; it simply does not have the resources to respond to the volume of need. And these problems with the justice system in North Carolina have been going on probably since before Eve Carson was born. This is why people are so frustrated, and are calling on the State to make changes to a laundry list of problems. So if Eve Carson can be the catalyst to justice reform in the State (larger state budget appropriations for the courts, for mental health, to combat gang activity) so be it, even though the events surrounding her case have a marginal relationship to some of these issues.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Moral Panic!!!!!!!!!

Email I received today from my daughter's preschool:

"In light of recent events in Chapel Hill, please read:

PIN NUMBER REVERSAL (GOOD TO KNOW) If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM machine, you can notify the police by entering your Pin # in reverse. For example if your pin number is 1234 then you would put in 4321. The ATM recognizes that your pin number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in machine. The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to help you. This information was recently broadcast on FOX TV and it states that it is seldom used because people don't know it exists."

Thanks FOX... it's seldom used because it doesn't exist. Think through the logic here: can you imagine banks taking on the liability issue created with such a system? Can you imagine law enforcement having to realistically respond to such a protocol? This of course is an urban myth, and one more knee jerk response to the tragic death of a high profile Chapel Hill resident.

Falling through the Justice Web

There has been no shortage of criminal justice officials falling on their swords over administrative foul-ups leading up to the death of Eve Carson. I'm not sure whether I'm impressed with the candor, or suspicious and cynical seeing political appointees rushing to get ahead of the story. Robert Guy, head of corrections in North Carolina has acknowledged that probation supervision for Demario James Atwater was far too minimal given the severe nature of his offenses. The Raleigh courts admitted, "We did a number of things wrong" in allowing the suspect to skip a sentencing hearing when he should have been locked up. This morning the Herald Sun reports that a plea deal brokered by the Durham DA's office for Laurence Alvin Lovette, Jr. shouldn't have happened in the first place; Lovette should have been convicted with a felony, but had his case plead down to a misdemeanor. Had the felony stuck, Lovette would have been in jail and never had the opportunity to cross paths with Carson.

The case involved a breaking-and-entering in the Hope Valley district of Durham. Had the felony stuck, the victims of the theft would have been notified of any pending actions against Lovette. The the homeowners argue that they would have then been sure to warn the DA that Lovette was an at-risk offender. Because the case was plead down to a misdemeanor - and because of inconsistencies in interpretation of state victim rights legislation - Durham does not have to notify misdemeanors victims of any pending actions against offenders.

How inconsistent is the victims' legislation? Consider this: had the breaking-and-entering occurred ten miles away in Orange county, Eve Carson would possibly be alive today. That's because the Orange county DA sends notification to all victims of crime regardless of the severity of the offense. Whether its your life or your sandwich that is stolen; if the DA has a case file, the victim or their representative will be notified of any movement on that file. As a victims representative in Orange DA Jim Woodall's office explained to me, "we send notifications out to 100% of all victims, whether they want to be notified or not".

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Note: I'm not particularly obsessed with this, I just coincidentally happen to be writing a research paper on victim rights legislation. Another lucky coincidence: head of corrections, Robert Guy is speaking in my graduate seminar class in two weeks. I'd be happy to pose any questions you'd propose.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

AAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

My former partner in crime, Patricia Pearson has a new book out. It's a return to non-fiction called, A Brief History of Anxiety (Yours and Mine), and you can buy it right here like I did.

And if you haven't read it yet I urge you to pick up When She Was Bad, Patricia's book about Woman offenders.

Monday, March 17, 2008

18-year-old Carleton University student missing...

Nadia Kajouji, an 18-year-old public affairs student attending Ottawa's Carleton University has been missing since March 9th. Her parents, understandably, are frantic and say "something really bad happened."

Response from the Ottawa Police? They say foul play is not suspected at this time. "There's no exact place to search . . . she just hasn't returned home," (said) Const. Alain Boucher of the Ottawa Police Service.

Other news reports say the police have done a perimeter search of the area, taken her computer, checked phone records and interviewed friends. There's no sign of Nadia.

According to those who knew her, Nadia seemed to be depressed lately but her family says the disappearance is entirely out of character for her.

Hopefully, there will be a happy ending to the disappearance of this student. But history suggests otherwise. And her grief-stricken father, Mohamed Kajouji, says tearfully, "In my heart, I think my daughter is dead. I really do. I'm holding out hope, but my hope is limited. "

Here are two links to news stories about Nadia's disappearance:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080314/missing_girl_080314/20080314?hub=Canada

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/03/16/5018371-sun.html

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Maritime Missy

Saturday, March 15, 2008

What-The-Hell is a Random Crime Anyway?

Seems MacLeans Magazine is now tackling crime with the same pin-point accuracy it handled university rankings. You remember MacLeans? With its annual The Best Universities in Canada issue? The Spring publication that struck fear in the hearts of college administrators across the country? (Do they still even do those ratings?) I think they stopped when everyone dropped out and they reached a sample size of N=3. They once rated McGill the top university in the country at the height of the separatist movement and a language crisis.

Anywho... MacLeans has taken its ratings and questionable survey methodology to greener pastures: Crime. That's right, from the people who brought you The University of Kamloops: A Bargain In The Rough, its The MacLeans Magazine Most Dangerous Cities in Canada!

Toronto and Montreal? They don't even rate, baby... the murder capital of Canada? Arthabaska, Quebec. I had to look it up. And I'm still pondering what sore-thumb outlier caused it to register on a MacLeans flunky's radar. Canada's most dangerous city? That would be the queen city, Regina, Saskatchewan (say it without stuttering? Cripes, say it without laughing!). Anyway, some folks are hopping mad. Check out University of Regina Department of Justice Studies professor, Hirsch Greenberg:

"The article is the worst form of fearmongering... Crime is not that random. The opportunity has to be there -- whether it's breaking and entering or killing somebody and the method to do it has to be available at the same time. That's what's missing from the article -- the understanding that crime is not as random as it appears."

And a big Who Killed Theresa? Attaboy to Professor Greenberg, again we come back to the utter pointlessness of the moniker, "random crime". What-the-hell is a random crime anyway? In Chapel Hill we have the police arguing that a random crime is a criminal long-shot, something that rarely happens to anyone; yet MacLeans, it appears, has argued that a random crime is just the opposite: a chance occurrence that can happen to anyone, exactly the sort of thing that should scare the bejezzus out of you. Can we put a moratorium on the term "random crime" until someone figures out what it actually means?

But for the fact that these rating can mean big economic dollars to cities and towns competing for recognition on the tourism / growth map I would conclude that the MacLeans rankings are something, not to be angered by, but openly mocked. Ridicule them and hopefully they'll lose all credibility... just like their arcane college rankings.

"Records show about 117,000 convicts are on probation in North Carolina, meaning each of the 2,000 or so probation officers must handle 58 cases."

Is 58 case per probation officer a lot? Look at it this way, it is not uncommon for some probation officers' case loads to exceed a thousand (1,000) probationers (Petersilia). Probation is a cheap, fast and easy method of managing the court systems, chiefly because it is cheaper than imprisonment ($1,000 / year / probationer vs. $26,000 / year / prisoner (Walker)).

The real question is how likely will an offender recidivate who is out on probation?, and the numbers don't look good. Probationers convicted of violent crime took an average of 8 months to recidivate; property crime probationers took even less time (5 months (Rand)).

The main reason for the failure is that we set these offenders free, but without any of the support networks necessary to ensure their success: an insufficient number of homeless shelters, no job referrals, and definitely no enought mental health clinics (that fact isn't "speculative" Governor Easley).

And it doesn't help that from 1979 to 2003 the probation population in this country ballooned from 1 to 4 million (all the while experiencing cutbacks in social welfare programs). Thus the flotsam and jetsam of the war-on-crime, war-on-drugs, war-on-meth - whatever war a current administration is waging - are these probation zombies drifting through the legal-justice system continuing to commit crimes while they wait for their next meeting with the PO.

If you look at Demario James Atwater's records, his parole history goes waaaayyyyy back to February 2005 where he was given a suspended sentence / probation for breaking and entering.

I don't think the probation officers are over worked. But they have nothing positive to refer their clients to; no job, no home, no drug clinic, no support system to get them out of the hole they've dug for themselves. Without that support probationers will continue to revert back to the line of work they know best; committing more crimes.

Friday, March 14, 2008

"I feel if the police had taken property crimes more seriously and the court had taken this more seriously, two people would be alive today,"

Now it is all coming out. People should have been in jail instead of trolling the streets of Chapel Hill, but for some paper work error. There was a wave of burglaries in Durham in January; the police chief should have taken this more seriously.

I'm not going to spend too much time probing the loop-holes and inadequacies of our criminal justice system; there is a dearth of literature on the subject, and certain Triangle city councils will do a thorough job of cannibalizing themselves.

I will merely point out two things:

1. The economy is in the crapper; it has been for some time, and it will continue to decline for the immediate future. Though the Triangle is well insulated from suffering the worst brunts of a full-blown, national recession, there is an underclass here that is hurting - and will continue to hurt as gas prices rise, foreclosures increase and a base-level lifestyle becomes increasingly unobtainable. In this environment don't be surprised when the bikes in your garage go missing, your wallet gets pinched, or your car is stolen. Property crimes are not only a leading indicator of economic woe, they are an early warning - as criminals become more bold and ambitious - of worse crimes to come. The police should have been on alert that that notice had been served some months ago.

2. The murderers of Eve Carson and Abhijit Mahato have now been implicated in crimes in all three Triangle counties; Wake, Orange, and Durham. The major cities in those three counties - Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham - all have new police chiefs. Harry Dolan came from Grand Rapids and assumed duties in Raleigh last August. Brian Curran was promoted from withing the Chapel Hill force in September. Durham head, Jose Lopez also became chief in July, after serving as assistant police chief in Hartford, Connecticut.

Sometimes during transitions, systems break down, lines of authority get blurred, staff let down their guard waiting for leadership to get acclimated to the new environment. Arrests for property crimes are a pain in the butt. Patrol officers know that it is more than likely that the offenders will be right back on the streets, either because the justice system can't widdle out a case, or from questionable bail setting practices. Who knows if patrol officers in the region have been a little lax in the pursuit of property crimes of late because management was looking the other way.

Last month I did a "ride along" with an officer from the Raleigh police department. I asked the young officer how the new chief was working out,

"Great, I had him directing traffic for me the other day."

The officer was serious. And though his answer was humorous, I might have preferred to hear that tax dollars were being better put to work for a job with such massive responsibilities.

And let's not let Chapel Hill officials off the hook just yet, not by a long shot.

I applaud the swift apprehension of Atwater and Lovette (though I suspect police secretly knew they were already in hot water, and the murder of a high profile UNC student demanded that they act fast). Brian Curran, when you said this felt like a "fairly random crime" what did you mean? Eve Carson's murderers left a trail of "bread crumbs" dating back three months?

Orange County DA Jim Woodall, when you said,

"This might be unprecedented for us... It's a concern, it's tragic, but I don't know that there's a pattern there."

What informed position was this based on? Is this still unprecedented? Because the pattern appears to lead back months, and over three counties.
-----------------------

Post Script:

"Do I smell budget appropriations?" : Nice try Judge Brown, but anti-gang legislation ain't the remedy for this problem.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Who would kill someone for an ATM card and a joyride in a SUV?

This question has lead to a lot of loopy theories concerning the death of Eve Carson. The first is the idea that her murder was some arranged "hit" by a former lover. The second involves gangs and some vague initiation ritual. While there is absolutely no evidence supporting the former theory, the latter theory appears to be argued solely by the facts that Atwater and Lovette are young, black and from Durham (ignore the Houston Astros hat, which points to two different gangs, opposed to each other). Both theories border on moral panics, and are flawed because they are borne of the erroneous assumption that people do not take such high risks for such a marginal return.

Don't they? If you are a proponent of crime deterrence theory then you believe that criminals are rational actors in a process wherein they weigh the costs and benefits of their actions before committing a crime. If you offer a big enough deterrent (Three-Strikes law say), criminals will weigh the options and think twice about stealing a sandwich in exchange for life in prison.

But in their analysis of the 1980s Rand Inmate Survey data, researchers Wilson and Abrahamse determined that burglars and robbers do not act on the basis of a rational decision model. Wilson and Abrahamse found that these criminals consistently over-estimated the financial rewards of crimes, underestimated the consequences, and perceived no positive rewards for a law abiding way of life. These findings are supported by the criminologist, Scott Decker whose research has consistently demonstrated that burglars are not "significantly affected by the severity of the threatened penalty on its own".

In this light, there was no rational process involved in stealing the victim's car, using her debit card, getting caught on film, and ultimately murdering Eve Carson for a very paltry return. These are the actions of reckless offenders, with a history of irrational behavior, who gave little thought to the consequences of their actions.

---------------------

(with a nod to Samuel Walker)

It Happens Every Spring

I'm going to move away from the Eve Carson case for now. It has CNN national coverage now, no need for lil' old me (I prefer the smaller cases).

Kim Rossmo's book, Criminal Investigative Failures is going to print. It should be out in time for the American Society of Criminology meeting in St. Louis this November, where Kim has been asked to be on a panel on police decision making because of the book. Apparently there are already advanced sales, and the chapter I did, What Happened To Theresa Allore? is getting a lot of positive response. Thanks to all of you who helped (you know who you are).

On another note, not to be too coy, but there could be some potentially explosive news in the coming weeks regarding another failure on the part of Quebec police to do a thorough job of investigating Theresa's murder. Why is it that every Spring the SQ seems to be in hot water?

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Any Questions?

Atwater has a criminal record dating to 2004, including charges of robbery, drug possession and resisting arrest. He was due in court earlier this month on a breaking-and-entering charge. In 2006, he was sentenced to 24 months' probation for possession of a firearm as a felon. He had a court date on that charge the week before Carson's death.

Court records also show Lovette has a criminal background, with charges of breaking and entering and larceny. He is on probation for larceny and is due in Durham court this month on charges of first-degree burglary, felony larceny of a motor vehicle and felony larceny after breaking and entering.

Gang killing my ankles. I'm glad the police caught these two "career criminals". Question: Why did Eve Carson have to die?

Eve Carson Murder - Two charged with murder, One Suspect Still At Large

So I'm driving home from work in Durham. I decide to take the route through the neighborhood where Demario James Atwater was arrested this morning by the Durham PD SWAT squad (it's next to Lyon Park... we were discussing Lyon park in this morning's meeting, I justify it as work-related).

So I'm driving and there's this chopper hovering over the neighborhood. And there's all sorts of people on the streets on cell phones. Then the guy on the radio announces that the second suspect is still at large in Lyon Park and is the subject of a police manhunt...

Time to get out of Durham.

Seriously, I hope police catch Lawrence Alvin Lovette Jr. before nightfall.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Kudos to the citizens of Buffalo...

According to news stories posted a few days ago, I am thrilled to report that cold case Detective Dennis Delano of Buffalo has the overwhelming support of his community. (Thanks Doreen Prior for updating me on this story!)

"More than 250 people paid $20 each in a show of support for the renowned and rumpled cold-case detective who was suspended without pay 12 days ago. .."

The fundraiser collected approximately $10,000 and Det. Delano says, “It’s not about the money,” Delano said. “It’s about the people who are here, and the caliber of people who are here. These are all beautiful people. The money. . . . I’ll help as many people as I can with it.”

Yes. Det. Delano broke the rules when he handed over a crime scene video and a tape of a suspect taking a lie detector test to a local tv station. But his actions pale in comparison to what the State of New York did when it wrongfully convicted two people. How come the DA and his superiors aren't suspended without pay for their involvement in TWO miscarriages of justice?

As everyone who reads this blog probably already knows, I am a huge fan of Det. Delano. He works for the victims, not his bosses. And I'd love to see someone on the SQ demonstrate the same passion and ferocity for truth and justice as Dennis Delano does.

Here's the Buffalo News story about Det. Delano's fundraiser:

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/295614.html

====
Maritime Missy

Monday, March 10, 2008

UNC Student Murder

Read this and you'll get a flavor for they type of crime I think lead to the death of Eve Carson:

18-year-old cold case solved, Martin detectives say
By Joe Crankshaw Friday, February 15, 2008

STUART — Thanks to a letter from a South Carolina prisoner, the Martin County Sheriff's Office finally arrested suspects 18 years after Allan Dale Matzek was shot and killed along Interstate 95.

On Wednesday, Martin County Sheriff's Office investigators arrested two men and charged them with murder in what investigators claim was a carjacking/robbery effort to recover money after a drug deal gone bad. Sheriff's officials also announced they are interested in three other men.

"They probably never expected they would be caught," said Lt. John Silvas of the Martin County Sheriff's Office cold crimes unit.

Matzek, who was 34 at the time, had no connection to the drug deal and, investigators say, was regarded as a good worker and model citizen in his hometown of Jacksonville.

The break for investigators came when one of the suspects ended up in a federal prison in Bennettsville, S.C., in 2006, where he recounted details of the crime to his cellmate, who then wrote a letter to the Martin County Sheriff's Office, offering the information in return for a deal.
Silvas said no deals where made, but investigators pursued the case, and that led to the arrest of Omar Cortez Johnson and Darryl Lamont Cheatham, whom Silvas described as "career criminals."

The other men are in state or federal prisons and will be returned to Florida, possibly for a grand jury hearing March 11 in Fort Pierce.

Silvas said the chain of events that led to Matzek's death Nov. 25, 1991, began when Johnson, 34, now an inmate of the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, Ga., borrowed $5,000 from a Myrtle Beach, S.C., drug dealer to buy drugs in Miami.

Johnson took along Cheatham, 33, of Durham, N.C.; and South Carolina residents Ren Able Gause, 35, Kareem Lafayette Long, 34, William Craig Chestnut, 37; and a fifth man known only as "Corain," to find the Miami drug dealers in Florida City, Silvas said.

The drug dealers beat up Johnson and robbed him. According to statements by two of the men in Sheriff's Office reports, the five men went looking for the drug dealers to try to get the money back. They found them at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, where a gunfight ensued. The drug dealers escaped and Johnson's group fled north on I-95.

Matzek, a truck driver who had been visiting a friend in West Palm Beach, was headed home to Jacksonville. He was suffering from the flu and stopped at the Martin County I-95 rest stop.
It was there the five men found him sleeping in his blue 1992 rental Cadillac, Silvas said.
According to Sheriff's Office reports, Johnson said he wanted to steal the car and sell it to a Winter Garden chop shop for money to pay back the South Carolina drug dealer. They broke out the passenger-side window fired at least one shot into the vehicle's door and forced Matzek into the passenger seat, demanding his wallet, which contained $15 and a credit card. Then, according to statements made by the men in the report, Johnson fired a single shot into Matzek's head, instantly killing him.

The body was dumped on the side of I-95, and the men drove off in the Cadillac and a gray Chevrolet Spectrum in which they had been traveling, Silvas said. Realizing they could not sell the bloodied vehicle, they dumped it on the side of Jenkins Road in Fort Pierce and returned north.

Silvas characterized Long, Gause and Chestnut as witnesses, but said the state attorney might decide to file other charges against them because they helped dispose of the body.

-----------------

Post Script: I would be circulating that ATM suspect photo all over Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina, and especially Florida. I'd also be talking to anyone recently arrested for operating in any car theft rings.

Sunday, March 09, 2008

My Definition of Random Crime

Actually, I wouldn't even use the term, and you'd be hard pressed to find it used in any policing literature. Chapel Hill Police yesterday released a photo of the possible suspect in the murder of Eve Carson. Apparently the young man was spotted by a security camera. He was attempting to use the victim's bank card at a drive-through ATM.

Chapel Hill Police Chief, Brian Curran yesterday again repeated the assertion that "...it feels like a random crime". Yes, I get the interpretation that the murder was "random" in the sense that the offender didn't know the victim. But random implies that the victim and offenders' points of intersection were wholly unpredictable; that there was no way of preventing this horrible tragedy. Again, I'm not so sure. Take a look at last week's crime blotter just released in The Chapel Hill News:

"Residential break-ins occurred last week on the 700 block of Bolinwood Drive, the 500 block of Hillsborough Street...."

Put these together with these and you have a gradual progression of break-ins and car thefts that have escalated in the course of the last month in the area where Eve Carson lived and died. This isn't random, it is a predictable pattern. These types of crimes have been on the rise. I believe it is premature and possibly disingenuous for the Orange County District Attorney to imply anything to the contrary.

Bread Wine Thou

I am a friend to Eric Muller, and a reader of his blog, Is That Legal?. Eric teaches me the finer subtleties of constitutional law, peppered with an appreciation of 80s pop.

Recently Eric suffered a setback; the death of his mother. But it's nice to see him on the rebound. And this is evident in today's post about baking bread. You always know Eric is on the upswing when he posts about bread.

Yer Mourning Newz

Mom charged after using car wash hose on toddler

------------------------------------------------

There's something not quite right about naming your homeless shelter The Old Brewery Mission?

---------------------------------------------

"Bill C-10 would prevent government funding for films with gratuitous violence"

Ya mean like this?:

--------------------------------------

Barf-Bag Express forced to make emergency landing in Edmonton

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Oh geee... just what I didn't want for the holidays. Another useless gift card. What's that you say? The gift card is literally useless?

--------------------------------------

Oh no, you wouldn't want to let business owners make the call whether to stay open or not on holidays. No, let that be a government decision. Canada: the last bastion of communism.

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If the ADQ throw more police officers at the provincial budget, will they stick?

---------------------------------

In December, the RCMP watchdog said "usage creep" of Tasers by police forces is a "major concern." It argued the weapons were often being used to subdue people who "do not pose a threat of grievous bodily harm or death.":

Comforting. I recently did a "ride along" with the Raleigh PD. The young officer I rode with was excited about his new Taser and "couldn't wait to use it."

-----------------------------

I wanna go:

Aretha Franklin et Steely Dan au Festival de jazz

-------------------------------
CBC axes Hockey Wives

"The secret lives of curling husbands": There's a hit, a bunch of white guys watching Hockey Night in Canada. It's like anti-TV.

On a related note:

CBC raciste? Who cares?

Ya got that right. Didn't CBC Jump the Shark 10 years before Fonzie? About as culturally relevant as an English Muffin.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Let the spin begin

Earlier Friday, Curran backed away from calling Carson's death random, instead saying investigators simply don't have evidence to the contrary. "There are criminals that roam among society on a fairly regular basis," he said. "It's not just Chapel Hill. ... Our officers are out there just doing the normal job that they do every day."

-------------------

Chapel Hill police are working with UNC Chapel Hill police on the investigation and have declined help from other law enforcement agencies, Curran said.

"At this point, our investigators are handling the volume of work they have," he said. It's possible they may eventually seek outside assistance, he said.

Meanwhile, two UNC students who were friends of Carson's and live across the street from her house, said Friday afternoon that no investigators had visited their house to question them.

"My roommates would have said something," said Cameron Rosenow, a 21-year-old junior at UNC, who said he had not talked to police. "I don't think anyone who lives around here [has] had cops come by."

-----------------------------------------

"This might be unprecedented for us," District Attorney James Woodall said. "It's a concern, it's tragic, but I don't know that there's a pattern there."

------------------------
Footnote:

Task Force Formed In Auburn University Murder

Friday, March 07, 2008

Police call UNC student's death random

There's a real danger with this strategy. At best this is a none-too-subtle tactic to calm the nerves of a jittery public:

"Please continue to go about your lives. No need to presume anything out of the ordinary has disrupted the pace of our sleepy college town. Nothing to see here."

More cynically, by "random" the police create a subtle message that there was nothing they could have done to prevent this murder. And that may be so, time will tell. But the more you start to produce these messages, the more you begin to believe your own press. The police can make themselves vulnerable by playing this gambit, and thereby fail to recognize what is in plain view before their eyes.

This case is too much in the early phases of investigation to call into question the police. But we should all pay very close attention to law enforcement's motives and public statements in the coming days of the Eve Carson murder investigation.

The Murder of Eve Carson - I'm not convinced this is random:

View Larger Map

Chapel Hill News / February 20th:

"Three automobiles were reported stolen last week: a Honda Pilot from the 100 block of Falkner Drive, a Jeep from the first block of Glade Street and a Ford Taurus from the 200 block of Elizabeth Street. "

Chapel Hill News / February 10th:
"Cars were reported broken into on the 100 block of Kenan Street and the 100 block of East Franklin Street. "

Chapel Hill News, February 6th:

"A vehicle theft and arson were reported Sunday. According to a police report, a 1998 Ford Expedition valued at $6,579 was reported stolen Sunday from the 200 block of South Elliott Road. It was later found burned. "

"It feels like a fairly random crime,"

I have a lot of respect for new Chapel Hill police chief, Brian Curran. He has worked for the force for nearly 30 years. But I would not characterize this as a random crime.

Unpredictable, given the low homicide rate in Chapel Hill? Yes. Shocking given the victim's apparent low risk behavior, and the high risk behavior of the offender? Definitely.

But not random.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

I'm Willing To Talk About It

It shouldn't be some deep, guilt-ridden secret that some of us get lost in struggles with the past, and take our vengeance out on the current justice systems.

My advice for standing up to 'da man:

1st: Get a good shrink.

2nd: Take up a sport, preferably a team sport that will stave off isolation.

3rd: Put you family and career ahead of everything; if you find yourself wavering, re-assess what you're doing.

My first sign that there may have been danger ahead:

I was / am a big admirer of Marcel Bolduc. After the murder of his daughter, Isabelle in 1996, Marcel became a vocal advocate for reform. His name was everywhere in the press and then, pffft!... nothing. Marcel vanished. So what happened? I won't speak for Marcel, but my suspicion is that he burned out, worn down by the system (please note: that Marcel has recently rebounded, becoming a pillar of Pierre Boisvenu's Afpad.) I should have been fully cognizant of the lessons of this story, but I wasn't... or rather, I conveniently chose to ignore the lesson.

Before you embark on a conquest against the establishment? Please consider the math. The current government institutions will outlast capitalism. You will be long in the grave before they are worn down. It's not a race, it's a marathon. So take a deep breath and prepare for the long, hard war. And keep a smile on your face. Pettiness is a sure fire weapon to drive a hole through your own heart.

Look: I know a little about PTSD: PTSD regressed me to the state of a child. I time-travelled 30-years into my past and found myself stamping my feet like a 13-year-old boy. That's understandable, but society will only allow you so much grace-time to behave that way: you've got to pull it together and re-join society... play by the rules... maintain some dignity. Otherwise, you wide-up the basketcase everyone is trying to avoid.

Listen: you're not crazy, you're just driven. There's nothing wrong with that (just remember to occasionally eat-a-peach). Stay socially involved. Read the occasional novel in lieu of crime statistics. And if you still have problems, drop me an email.

John Allore

Monday, March 03, 2008

Why was an honest cop silenced?

I’ll tell you why. Because Det. Dennis Delano of the Buffalo Cold Case Squad is a whistleblower…and warriors for truth get sacrificed in political battles. Whistleblowers scare the higher-ups. C. Fred Alford, author of the book “Whistleblowers” says, “the organization as an institution is dedicated to the destruction of the moral individualist…”

I sincerely hope the good people of Buffalo will make sure that Det. Delano doesn’t get “destroyed” because of his passion for truth and justice. We can’t afford to lose good cops like him to the herd mentality. If he is silenced, then so is the voice of the victims.

(And Det. Delano, if you’re reading this and have some spare time on your hands because of your suspension, I’m sure our little group would be thrilled to have someone of your caliber lend your expertise to this case.)

Buffalo Detective Speaks Out On Local Airwaves
About Suspension
WIVB TV
Buffalo, NY
March 1, 2008

A veteran cold case detective took to the local airwaves today to speak out about his controversial suspension. As news 4's Michele McClintick reports, detective Dennis Delano says he did nothing wrong.

He was stripped of his badge and is speaking out about his suspension.

Dennis Delano, "I don't think there's any substance to what their claims are, but they're going to inconvenience me as much as possible."

Veteran Police Detective Dennis Delano appeared on WBEN airwaves to shed some light on his troubles with the Buffalo Police Department.

Dennis Delano, "I didn't just wake up some morning and go 'hey I'm gonna go violate a bunch of laws, rules and regulations"

Delano says Friday he was given four pages worth of charges, including one he's still trying to figure out.

Police Commissioner McCarthy Gipson says Dennis Delano ignored direct orders from his superiors.

Dennis Delano, "They told me for starters insubordination."

Delano maintains he did nothing wrong and believes he's being targeted for continuing to work on the Crystalyn Girard investigation, even after being told it's a closed case. It was a similar situation over a year ago, when he wouldn't give up on the case of the bike path rapist, which led to the exhonoration of Anthony Capozzi.

Dennis Delano, "The important thing is Lynn is standing here free and Anthony Capozzi is free." After a medical examiner ruled Crystalyn Girards death was a cocaine overdose, Delano went on the attack.

Dennis Delano, "I believe he's totally wrong."

He maintains, based on the evidence from the crime scene, that the 13 year old's death was a homicide, and doesn't regret speaking out about what he calls serious flaws in the case.

Dennis Delano, "I don't know where it's coming from the administration has turned on me, I have no idea why."

Dennis Delano will have to give a formal statement at a hearing on Tuesday.

He says he's already been contacted by several attorneys, but says he's going in on his own and just telling the truth, he says, like he always has.

Meanwhile members of the bike path task force are holding a fundraiser next weekend for Dennis Delano, since he's suspended without pay. The fundraiser takes place March 9 at Level Club in Downtown, 5-8 PM and is $20 per person. More information is on our website.

A woman now free because of Delano's hard work is outraged at the accusations against him. Lynn DeJac also spoke on WBEN this afternoon.

DeJac sat in prison for 13 years for the death of her daughter, Crystallyn Girard. It's a crime Delano proved she did not commit.

Lynn Dejac--Delano supporter, "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for him. I don't think I would be alive today if it weren't for him. Who do you know who is going to go and possibly lose their job to tell the truth. “

You can read more about the case that got Det. Delano suspended here: http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=55873

====
Maritime Missy

P.S. Check out my Sept. 20, 2007, blog entry about Det. Dennis Delano
----------------------
NOTE:
It happened to Kim Rossmo. And he sued Vancouver Police for wrongful dismissal. Keep the faith, Dennis!

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Yer Mourning Newz

Surprise! I'm Alan Alda's Love Child!

BC man ‘betrayed' as mother denies JFK link

"Did I say JFK? I meant MLK."

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I got a bigger one:

Winnipeg rink beats out Rideau Canal

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Alcool? Mess? SQ?

L'ADQ appuie la non-consommation d'alcool dans les «mess» de la SQ

Again, in English:

Last call for cops: SQ shuts its bars after employee arrested in ...

"These are places officers can go to have a beer or a glass of wine after working hours," he said. Officers gather there for social occasions, he explained, and it is often the only way they can drink together unhindered."

Give 'em Enough Rope

-------------------------------

Oh yawn, just give him the match:

Quebec Linguistic Powderkeg! Author promises to douse fire with gasoline and burn all his books if bill 101 is extinguished! An explosive development in the Quebec language wars!

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Say what now?:

Quebec frogs join other amphibians in global population crisis

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Not to be confused with "Retarded Calgary traffic":

Crazy Edmonton weather

Who Killed Theresa?

Monday, March 31, 2008

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Friday, March 28, 2008

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Friday, March 21, 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Monday, March 17, 2008

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Friday, March 14, 2008

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Monday, March 10, 2008

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Saturday, March 08, 2008

Friday, March 07, 2008

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Monday, March 03, 2008

Sunday, March 02, 2008

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