Posts in the category Local Government
 By Andy Marlette, Pensacola News Journal BONUS CARTOON  By Andy Marlette, Pensacola News Journal Progress Florida's Best of the Blogs for the week ending 2-12-10 I Suspect This Is Where We're Going By Gimleteye Eye on Miami In a 2 PM press conference, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorenson will announce that she will not run for re-election. The judge that initially tried Tommy Zeigler 35 years ago had a prior contentious relationship with him. In states that give a damn about justice, Tommy would have been granted a new trial on his first appeal.
Scripps Treasure Coast Palm publications granted me an opportunity to appear before their Board and pitch my case to have one of their reporters accept my research on wrongful convictions and do a story. They didn't find the horror and heartbreak compelling. They still don't. Below is the second Press Release I've sent them about Tommy; it'll probably be deleted, too. From: Susan Chandler Date: January 26, 2010 12:24:52 PM EST To: Larry Reisman , Ken Ward Subject: Fwd: Integrity of Judge in Death Row Case Compromised Dear Mr. Reisman and Mr. Ward: Please forward Ray McEachern's press release to the News Editor along with the following: In considering the Release's newsworthiness: James Bain ringing the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia on Martin Luther King Day reminded the nation that Florida indeed will persecute innocents for as long as 35 years; Zeigler's time behind bars isn't an indication of guilt. Bain's exoneration was not Polk's first - Juan Melendez is now working to help others and is aware of Leo Schofield's likely innocence. Polk's attempted, nearly successfully, to get Gov. Crist to execute Paul Beasley Johnson before the Supreme Court could discover the rampant prosecutorial misconduct in his case. Johnson's likely guilt made the misconduct all the more inexcusable. Gary Bennett's Brevard case in now in Lawson Lamar's unclean hands via Crist's Execute Order. Unless there was a John Preston-tainted conviction resulting in an execution in every Florida county, of itself the Order substantiates Crist's, Lamar's and Norm Wolfinger's moral bankruptcy in light of Linroy Bottoson's Orange County Preston-tainted conviction and subsequent execution. There appears to have been untoward cooperation between Orange and Brevard in locating "new witness" Sandra Weeks, who was set to testify against now exonerated Bill Dillon until Wolfinger was asked to confirm or deny that Weeks was a felon likely in need of prosecutorial favors, like James E. Gilmore, Clarence Zacke and Roger Dale Chapman. There appears to have been untoward cooperation between the DOC and Brevard in securing yet another early release for Chapman and discrepancies in Chapman's testimony at Dillon's exoneration compensation hearing that he would not have been available to offer without early release. Chapman's release without parole supervision allows the DOC to lawfully deny requests for information on his release. Brevard Sheriff Parker seems intent on keeping the public from knowing that Pauline Scandale's 1988 Canova Beach homicide was strikingly similar to the 1981 Canova Beach homicide Dillon was framed for. Mrs. Scandale was an 82-year-old widowed kindergarten teacher who likely deserved to be able to pass peacefully in her sleep. She died in terror, enduring blows that crushed her skull, just like James Dvorak died seven years earlier. John Preston had been discredited by Geraldo Rivera on ABC's "20/20" four years prior to Mrs. Scandale's murder; every investigation Preston participated in nationwide, including Dillon's, should have been reopened. John Walsh was provided confirmation that Ottis Toole was indeed his son Adam's slayer within a week of charges being dropped against Dillon. Adam was killed in the same timeframe as Dvorak and was spotted in Brevard with Toole; you know where Adam's head was found. Our government is so broken that activists free innocents and incidentally find actual perpetrators while public servants who are being paid to protect rights and liberties obstruct rather than assist, serving only themselves. Mrs. Scandale's murder was one of two within a week of an elderly woman home alone in Brevard. The second woman is not on the Sheriff's Unsolved Homicides webpage, which may be only a tip-off to another frame-up. Taxpayers paid for faux criminal investigations that incarcerated the wrong men for decades while the guilty found new victims, with Jeff Abramowski's Brevard frame-up proving that this century is no different than the prior; it's newsworthy that the media hasn't found it newsworthy. Thank you. Regards, Susan Chandler 3008 N 25th St Ft Pierce, FL 34946 772-466-9874 For Release Monday, January 25, 2010 Integrity of Judge in Death Row Case Compromised by Failure to Disclose Spouse is State Employee Contact: Ray McEachern, 813-294-6772 The Code of Judicial Conduct sternly warns judges not to allow even the "appearance of impropriety." In apparent disregard of this clear rule, Judge Reginald Whitehead of the Ninth Judicial Circuit assumed responsibility for the case of 33 year death row inmate William Thomas Zeigler in 2003 after another judge had authorized DNA testing in 2001. Zeigler’s attorneys were so confident that the results of the testing would prove his complete innocence that they immediately moved to have his sentence vacated. In 2004, Judge Whitehead, who, for unknown reasons, took over the case from Judge Grincewicz who had ordered the testing, denied Zeigler’s demand for a new trial. Five years later, Zeigler’s pro bono New York attorneys asked the court to test the DNA of the stains which were not tested in 2001. Judge Whitehead had ruled before the 2004 hearing that only evidence which had been a part of the trial record in 1976 would be allowed to be considered, effectively blocking Zeigler from proffering other exculpatory evidence which the state had withheld from defense at trial. The untested stains had not been a part of the trial in 1976, yet Whitehead allowed the state to use them to imply that the untested stains might prove Zeigler’s guilt. The new petition was assigned originally to Judge F. Rand Wallis, but, inexplicably, was taken over by Judge Whitehead. In a letter faxed to Chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr., Ray McEachern, Citizen Advocate for Tommy Zeigler, asked that the case be re-assigned to a different judge. In the letter, McEachern said that he verified with Chief Assistant State Attorney William Vose that ASA Esther Marie Whitehead was in fact the spouse of Judge Reginald Whitehead and that she was an employee of the state in 2004 when Judge Whitehead denied Zeigler’s petition for a new trial. In the letter McEachern states that the "integrity of the court has already been compromised by Judge Whitehead’s failure to disclose a relationship that can be exploited to the advantage of the state." An online petition to Florida Governor Charles Crist, which has garnered 400 names, points out that the 1976 trial judge, Maurice Paul, now a federal judge, refused to step aside even though he had been an opposing character witness to Zeigler in a racially charged trial four months before the murders for which Zeigler was convicted. Zeigler was shot in the abdomen during those murders but survived to call police. Zeigler was charged with the murders three days later while he was in hospital intensive care. For more information see www.freetommyz.com . The mayors are right:
More than 230 mayors are in Washington for the winter meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, and many said they had been forced to impose layoffs, furloughs, service reductions and fee increases to deal with falling municipal revenue. The next fiscal year looks even worse, they said. Indeed, the first stimulus passed by Congress last year was too small. Obama's chair of the council of economic advisers, Christina Romer, had said the stimulus needed to be around $1.2 trillion or more to be most effective, rather than the compromised $700 billion package that was eventually passed. With that said, the first stimulus wasn't useless. It bailed out Florida from incompetent Republican legislative "leadersihp", and saved countless jobs, particularly teachers. However, according to a recent report (.pdf) from the National League of Cities a $56 to $83 billion deficit is facing our cities. States, including our own, are facing down their own deficits. While progressives are urging Florida legislators to find new sources of revenue to overcome our latest $3 billion deficit, we could use one more package from the feds. This need becomes more clear as people like future House Speaker and Senate President Dean Cannon and Mike Haridopolos go around crowing about how "the government doesn't create wealth." Anyone who has a casual relationship with reality knows different. In fact, just 5 minutes with an American history book debunks Cannon and Haridopolos' far right pablum. The government (federal, state, local) employs millions of people, provides them benefits and discretionary income. This generates a great deal of economic prosperity boosting the private sector, and through an effective regulatory framework, can build shared prosperity. Duh. So with Cannon and Haridopolos continuing the same failed economic policies of the Jeb Bush/Charlie Crist eras, we clearly need some responsible adults to step in. Whether it's a second stimulus or reforms making our state and local tax systems more productive and more progressive, our cities and states simply can't afford to shed jobs and programs in this recession. We get so weary of the constant parade of depressing environmental news stories.
So it is gratifying to see the Daytona Beach News Journal's veteran and caring environmental reporter, Dinah Voyles Pulver, actually follow up today on a great environmental sucees in Northeast Florida. Smart and forward-thinking conservationists have been planning and working for a wildlife corridor for years. The idea is to make sure that, as Florida grows, there's still room for wild things. As Pulver points out in the article below, the patience, vision, and hard work of conservationists -- both in and out of the government -- is finally paying off. Enjoy! Daytona Beach News Journal January 05, 2010 Talks in works to protect more corridor land By DINAH VOYLES PULVER Environment Writer When two local officials proposed preserving a wildlife corridor through the center of Volusia and Flagler counties in 1998, it seemed to some an impossible dream. Twelve years later, nearly two-thirds of the corridor is protected. A key piece was acquired by the St. Johns River Water Management District late last month and negotiations are under way for acquisition of another crucial parcel. Reid Hughes, a former water district governing board member, and the agency's director of land acquisition, Robert Christiansen, proposed the corridor. They envisioned a long ribbon of undeveloped land linking public property in South and Central Florida to the Ocala National Forest and other public lands to the north. Not only would it preserve a swath of relatively undisturbed habitat for large animals such as Florida black bears and panthers, but scientists said such corridors also would improve the genetic health of smaller animals and plants. The corridor also would help protect the region's water resources. Working in concert, the district and Volusia County acquired more than 48,000 acres of the planned 79,000-acre corridor. "I don't think anybody thought we'd be as successful as we've been," said Volusia County Councilwoman Pat Northey. The Volusia Forever land acquisition program, approved by county voters in 2000, helped move the corridor project forward. Officials bought some land outright and purchased development rights to other parcels, eventually securing more than 33,000 acres in Volusia and 15,000 acres in Flagler County. Northey said partnerships between the district and the county and other state and federal agencies have been critical to the significant progress made in protecting the "wild heart of Volusia County." At the height of the construction and land value boom, officials feared they might never link all the properties. An Orlando developer had acquired 3,321 acres in Osteen and a South Florida developer put the 4,700-acre Leffler Ranch under contract. Then land values plummeted, creating new opportunities. In December, the district spent $20 million to buy the 3,321-acre Carter Maytown property in Osteen, adding a key link on the corridor's southern end. Volusia County Chair Frank Bruno said the land sold for about half the original asking price. Now the county is negotiating with the Lefflers to buy the family's Osteen ranch. "We're real close," Bruno said. However, if the family and the county reach agreement, the purchase likely will use up much of the county's available land-buying money for the next year or so. The County Council recently voted not to add any other potential acquisitions to its priority list for a year. "We're not out of business, but we have to strategize what's really important to acquire," Northey said. "We'll have to evaluate how we get the rest of it." A decision by state legislators not to put any money into the state land-buying program, Florida Forever, also leaves the district and other agencies short on funds, said Ray Bunton, a land acquisition specialist for the district. But district officials have learned to be patient and wait for opportunities. "We've waited as long as 20 years to complete some projects," Bunton said. After Leffler, the largest remaining missing piece of the corridor is a 4,583-acre property known as Kemcho, along the south side of State Road 44. The county hopes one day to acquire the land, owned by an Orlando investor, but officials say the asking price is too high. If the agencies find a way to buy Kemcho, Bruno said, "that would pretty well wrap up the conservation corridor." A few smaller properties, less than 2,000 acres each, remain on the district's potential acquisition list in Volusia and Flagler counties. From early Spring of 2009 right through to the last days of the year, Florida's Attorney General and Republican candidate for governor, Bill McCollum, has been nothing - and I do mean nothing - if not consistent in peddling his self-serving, short-sighted, downright deceitful brand of politics. (Bill Mccollum pushing edge of the envelope of political distortion) Back in March, as he was preparing to abandon his current job and make a run for Governor, the state's leading law enforcement official doled out almost one-and-a-half million of our tax dollars to a former consultant-crony, to produce “public service” ads warning about online sexual predators - ads starring Bill McCollum as the heroic supposed protector of Florida's vulnerable children and endangered teens. Forget about the ethical questions surrounding awarding of the contract itself. Forget about the fact that the ads were shameless self-promotion (including a $550 taxpayer tab for his makeup!). Forget about the fact that the actual severity of the problem of online sexual predators was so exaggerated by McCollum in the ad and in related publicity efforts. Well, don't really forget any of that, not when election time rolls around. Rather, keep it in mind, then put it all aside for a moment and ask yourself: What kind of politician - what kind of a man - would claim to be fighting to protect the health and well-being of our children in the Spring, only to spend much of this Autumn and Winter trying to derail health reform efforts, efforts that would for the first time give hundreds of thousands of Florida's uninsured, at-risk children the kind of health care coverage and care they should have had all along? In September, McCollum joined the Republican drumbeat of deceit and disinformation about health reform, attacking the public option plan still on the table, lying about the importance and potential impact of medical malpractice reform on health care costs, and claiming his answer to health reform as governor would be creation of an advisory council. In October, we had to suffer through the following divisive, borderline Joe McCarthy-esque attack by McCollum on health reform, cloaked even more dishonorably in a personal attack on his Democratic rival in the governor's race, Florida's Chief Financial officer, Alex Sink: "Sink is siding with the unions and their bosses – they know where she stands. On government-run health care Sink is with the left wing unions.". Not long after that, McCollum went after health reform and Sink some more, challenging the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who was attending a health care town hall in Florida, to call out his competitor Sink on her health reform positions. But McCollum has saved his personal best of the worst for these last days of the year. This do-nothing Attorney General - the guy who has been in power, yet seemingly powerless during this infamous period of Florida political corruption and legislative lawlessness, during this period when so many Floridians have been bilked and duped and disowned by insurance companies and mortgage lenders and banks - this week, this servant of only the rich and powerful has announced that he is directing his staff to explore whether they can file a lawsuit declaring any new health reform bill that gets passed by the U.S. Congress as unconstitutional. The McCollum cover story this time, the pretext for killing health reform, is that there ought not to be any requirement that uninsured people have to get health insurance. It would be like a tax - Boo! - and just unfair, doggone it. Forget that these uninsured, at-risk people, if they have difficulty affording insurance, would get subsidized under a new reform bill. Forget that without such a mandate, all of us taxpayers will end up paying for their health care, at the most expensive levels, when they finally show up at emergency rooms seeking medical attention. Forget that such a mandate, even as part of this very imperfect health reform bill now being finalized, will still help to quickly, finally provide proper health care access and coverage for nearly 800,000 uninsured children in Florida - the children McCollum claimed to be looking out for way back in...the Spring. Forget that as Attorney General, Wild Bill is defending the state in efforts to maintain Medicaid reimbursement levels that are so low that poor, uninsured children can't find doctors who will treat them. Forget that McCollum's extremist anti-government, anti-entitlement views were in evidence during his years in the U.S. Congress, when he voted time and again to cut Medicare and Social Security. Forget that McCollum's extremist anti-government, anti-entitlement views not only pander shamelessly to, but in fact prey on some people's fear and ignorance, cultivating selfishness and inhumanity, rather than selflessness and humanity. NO. Do not forget any of the above, not when election time rolls around. Keep it all uppermost in your mind, in fact, as you listen to and watch McCollum peddling his politics of hypocrisy and heartlessness, divisiveness and duplicity, throughout this 2010 gubernatorial campaign. He will cloak it all the while in the guise of being some kind of moderate conservative who's trying to keep big government out of your life. He will be lying to and trying to deceive and distract you. The facts are the facts. The record is the record. You can look it up. Ask yourself. What kind of politician - what kind of human being - do you want as Florida's next governor? Hillsborough County Commission Fails to Provide for the Safety of LGBT Employees
(TAMPA) By a vote of 4 to 3, the Hillsborough County Commission today failed to extend non-discrimination protections to their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees. The proposed change would have modified the internal personnel policy, not amend to the county Human Rights Ordinance. “Today’s vote is a step away from progress but we are committed to continuing our work so that all employees in Hillsborough County are protected from discrimination and harassment, including gay and transgender employees,” said Nadine Smith, executive director for Equality Florida. In the wake of today's vote, Equality Florida is asking local elected officials to take a personal pledge that reads: Read More » Pdf documents supporting statements made in my letter to Florida Today are available by e-mailing studio8@infionline.net and putting "pdf please" in the subject line. I'm too ill and tired to address how asinine an Innocence Commission is with a mainstream media promoting incumbent thugs and peacocks with ongoing, glaring omissions of facts (peacocks as in Haridopolos and Crist, and thugs as in Wolfinger and Moxley). Exonerees don't confuse compensation with justice; they want and deserve both. Criminal prosecutions are the most visible of all activities for police, prosecutors and judges; true miscreants show the full spectrum of their behaviors in matters that get less attention, as previously addressed in my blog about Executive Orders in October. Only a full-fledged federal investigation and criminal prosecution will address all the harm done.
From: Susan Chandler Date: December 14, 2009 12:18:48 PM EST To: John Glisch , letters@floridatoday.com Cc: Governor Charlie Crist , cig@eog.myflorida.com, Debbie Mayfield , larry.cretul@myfloridahouse.gov, Senator Mike Haridopolos , atwater.jeff.web@flsenate.gov, jrusso@pd18.net, Norm Wolfinger , Scott H Maxwell , TCPalm Daily Newsbreak , Gretl Plessinger , Sandy D'Alemberte , mschlakman@admin.fsu.edu, "Barry Scheck, Innocence Project" , "Maddy deLone, Innocence Project" , Seth Miller Subject: "Motion Denied in Dillon case" 12/4/09; "Lawyers call for a squad on innocence" 12/12/09, etc. Dear Florida Today: I write once again to document information that discounts Gannett's reporting. Roger Dale Chapman appeared at William Dillon's compensation hearing in Tallahassee, ostensibly to apologize to Dillon for lying about him on the stand and support Dillon's exoneration compensation claim, but noticeably more concerned with claiming he'd been coached to lie by former Brevard deputy Thomas Fair. As Chapman wasn't due to be rereleased until February, I've requested contact information for the appropriate records custodians to get the facts surrounding Chapman's somehow getting out early yet again, apparently without supervision this time. It's more than a little suspicious for a dangerous career felon to continually get early releases. Florida Today's December 4th article, "Motion denied in Dillon case," portrayed Fair successfully getting his "belief" on the record in Dillon's exoneration compensation hearings that supported State Attorney Wolfinger's spurious claims that Dillon was released on technicalities, belied by DNA tests, Chapman's lies, misrepresented evidence, witness intimidation, officer misconduct, the use of John Preston's phony scent evidence expertise, etc. Florida Today allowed Wolfinger to state that he had investigated cases involving Preston after Wilton Dedge's 2004 DNA exoneration in "Trials in which dog was used to be reviewed" on July 25th, 2009. Wolfinger did no such thing; I've known this since November of 2008 through asking Wolfinger's records custodian for his list of Preston's appearances. There isn't one. Wolfinger's custodian wrote that I was requesting an investigation, and that I would have to pay for it. According to Wolfinger's records custodian, no one from the media had requested a list. And that is not as bad as it gets. Florida Today reported on December 4th, "Fair, in his affidavit, calls Chapman's testimony "slanderous, libelous and defamatory to the good moral character of myself, Investigator Dan Wilmer and Judge Dean Moxley." Hanging Dillon out to dry - Florida Today did not print any of its archived information about Wilmer, Moxley or Fair, information that doesn't support Fair's glowing character endorsements. Dan Wilmer - perhaps there are two; one honest, one not. Florida Today challenged the Sheriff's office over Wilmer's denial of the existence of a memo linking a prostitute to another deputy, with that challenge proving that Wilmer lied, according to the November 1995 Brechner report. Judge John Dean Moxley - whether he's goes by John or Dean, there's but one Moxley involved, and he has a low moral character. Florida Today previously reported that he helped prosecute Juan Ramos, Wilton Dedge and others using untenable trial tactics like those listed above. Thomas Fair - according to Florida Today's October 27, 2008 article, "Ex-police tester says he got fired unjustly," Fair claimed he'd been dismissed for speaking up about financial mismanagement. It's feasible that Chapman's statements at Dillon's hearing were solicited to undermine Fair's credibility in fighting to get his job back; it's also feasible that Fair is playing along with a dark charade to get reinstated. The latter seems the likelier scenario; Moxley was the initial judicial assignment of Fair's employment lawsuit. Florida Today's ongoing disinterest in its own archives and public records remains married to its determination to steer the course of events away from a rule-of-law resolution of clouded convictions, as further evidenced by appending Annette Clifford's comment to John Torres December 4th article, implying a Grand Jury investigation of Preston cases is appropriate. Grand Juries conduct secret hearings with evidence and testimony requirements that are inferior to our courts. The public, nationwide, has been endangered by Preston's perjuries for close to thirty years. Secrecy is obviously not in the public's best interest when it leaves miscreants on the job and felons on the streets. When Preston's, Keith Pikett's and other DNA discredited dog handlers are scrupulously investigated, there will likely be a bloody body count resulting from putting the wrong men behind bars based on their "scent evidence." Florida's Chief Inspector General is obligated by statute to initiate investigations of public misconduct; CIG Miguel has refused to do so and Gov. Crist hasn't requested her resignation for nonfeasance. Florida's Bar and Judiciary aren't self-policing themselves. Florida's Legislature refused to step up and check and balance the Executive and Judicial branches despite knowledge of the scale of false expert testimony, including Preston's testimony in the 9th Judicial Circuit resulting in Linroy Bottoson's execution that gives that district a vested interest in upholding Preston-tainted convictions and makes Crist's Executive Order Number 09-147 yet another untenable tactic deployed against Gary Bennett, unless - of course - Preston testified in every judicial circuit in Florida. It's the FBI's job to investigate bogus scent evidence experts involvement in prosecutions, including at their behest. Through an issuance resulting from accepting a Petition for a Writ of Mandamus, the FBI can be compelled by the US Supreme Court to immediately adhere to its mandates. A Petition stands a good chance; one of my requests for an FBI investigation included reporting an Internet scam that abused the FBI logo; the FBI e-mailed a prompt response to the scam. Additionally, the FBI protected dogs ahead of men in investigating dogfighting operations in several states this year while men framed by canine scent evidence remained caged. Florida Today's December 12th article, "Lawyers call for a squad on innocence," suggests that there was a "mistake" involved in Willton Dedge's prosecution, as if there could possibly be no malice behind pressing for "finality" - the bizarre Brevard prosecutorial pretense that innocence has an expiration date - to hide the deployment of Preston and the same coached jailhouse informant used against Gerald Stano, the latter fact omitted by Florida Today in its graphics, "Cases involving Preston." That snitch recanted, too, but Florida Today didn't connect the dots from Clarence Zacke to Chapman. Nor is there any attempt of record, to my knowledge, of Florida Today trying to find out who coached James E. Gilmore to testify against Juan Ramos, or any mention of the two inmates who testified against Gary Bennett. Despite Gannett's contrary conviction, callousness is not contagious; those fighting for impunity for civil servants that ruined the lives of innocent men remain an aberrant minority. As the majority doesn't always remain silent and the US Supreme Court is unpredictable, Gannett would be wise to report factually before the finger-pointing Fair initiated becomes earnest. Relieving employees of being mired in misanthropic muck would undoubtedly be a welcome holiday bonus. Regards, Susan Chandler Abbott and Costello would have had a field day with Brevard County's comedic quagmire, "What's Fair?"
Not "fair" as is equitable; Fair as in former deputy Thomas Fair. At first, Roger Dale Chapman's appearance at Bill Dillon's exoneration compensation hearing last month seemed to be nothing but Chapman's personal emotional appeal for forgiveness for playing a dastardly role in Dillon's frame-up. Then, it seemed that Chapman's latest early release was engineered to damn Thomas Fair for coaching him to testify against Dillon. Fair had publicly bucked the system last year and lost his police "tester" job as a result, filing suit to get it back. Brevard-style retribution seemed likely. (05-2008-CA-059022-XXXX-XX, http://webinfo4.brevardclerk.us/facts/name_search.cfm) But the worm turned yet again. (Brevard is one big can of 'em.) Now it looks as if Chapman's umpteenth early-out was to allow Fair - through answering Chapman's coaching accusation - to wheedle his way onto the public record in Dillon's exoneration compensation hearing as personally believing Dillon guilty, propping up unsavory civil servants' reputations in the process. As one of the unsavory civil servants Fair praised was the initial judicial assignment in Fair's lawsuit, perhaps it's a behind-the-scenes way for him to get his job back. To be clear: Bill Dillon's innocence claim is based on DNA tests that clearly implicated others and witnesses that put him miles away at the time of the crime. Brevard's claims of guilt rely on a "scent evidence expert" who was discredited on national TV in 1984, revolving-door felon Chapman's lies, witness intimidation, admitted officer misconduct, admitted witness perjuries, acknowledged evidence misrepresentation and theatrics, theatrics, theatrics in Brevard's snow-job tradition that mimics show business -- "the snow must go on." So read the records request below and share your thoughts - What's Fair? Hardcore sell-out? Delusional? Combination of the two? Something I missed? P.S. As always, all referenced pdf's are available by request to studio8@infionline.net - just put "pdf please" in the subject line. The link for the referenced Brechner Report is http://brechner.org/reports/1995/rpt9511.htm. From: Susan Chandler Date: December 7, 2009 7:22:33 AM EST To: Gretl Plessinger Subject: Fwd: Roger Dale Chapman, DOC #049972 Dear Ms. Plessinger: A Florida Today article alerted me to Thomas Fair's success in disparaging Bill Dillon's innocence on the record. I have learned since writing to you on December 4th that Fair initially appeared before Judge John Dean Moxley in his Brevard suit to be reinstated as a police "tester" (pdf below), clouding Fair's endorsement of Moxley's character in Dillon's matter. I also found that the investigator Fair simultaneously defended - Dan Wilmer - was apparently found to have have lied about the existence of a memo tying a deputy to a prostitute, per a 1995 Brechner Report. Fair's statements disparaging William Dillon's innocence apparently went on the record without any attorney raising these points, although my finding them clearly indicates that they're easily learned. Apparently, no attorney asked Roger Dale Chapman how he came by yet another sentence reduction, one that allowed him to be present to open the door to Fair's floundering damnation of Dillon. Florida Today, although writing about Fair, Wilmer and Moxley in the past, did not check their archives before going to press, let alone any public records. Please rush my request for records custodian information to prevent more tangles being added to the web of deceit surrounding Brevard/Seminole prosecutions. Thank you. Regards, Susan Chandler Begin forwarded message: From: Susan Chandler Date: December 4, 2009 4:20:22 AM EST To: Gretl Plessinger Subject: Roger Dale Chapman, DOC #049972 Dear Ms. Plessinger: James E. Gilmore's recorded wrist-slaps prove the pattern that Brevard/Seminole has established for coached jailhouse informants - Gilmore swore falsely against Juan Ramos along with DNA disgraced dog handler John Preston; no one has stepped up to sponsor compensation for Ramos, whose five years on death row ruined his life, by his account. Some time ago, I pdf'd career felon Roger Dale Chapman's Inmate Population Information that portrayed a release date of February, 2010. Gain time is preposterous with Chapman's record of apparently recently violating parole (per another pdf), yet he was released in October, making him available to testify at William Dillon's exoneration compensation hearing, where he was markedly not as concerned about apologizing to Dillon so much as making sure the press damned a former deputy - Thom Fair - that likely had nothing to do with Chapman's perjuries against Dillon aside from recording what Chapman said after he'd been coached outside of Fair's knowledge. I would very much appreciate immediately receiving the name(s) and email address(es) of the appropriate records custodian(s) to approach with FPRA requests for documentation of the circumstances surrounding Chapman's early releases and the reason(s) why this latest release appears to be without supervision. Chapman is a violent, multi-county offender - it's beyond irresponsible for Floridians to be deluded by the lackadaisical media into believing he was repentant if he instead was released early in trade for framing Fair. And again, I would very much immediately appreciate the name and email address of a party that Threna Adams may approach to get her statement about Monte Adams adjusted to reality; she never said her son was violent. Monte Adams will likely be paroled if you cooperate; once free, Monte can begin to personally address the untenable trial tactics used against him. (DOC #914886) Monte wasn't the one found in possession of stolen goods; the prints found at the crime scene weren't "run" after a match with Monte was eliminated, being too inconvenient to the prosecutor's theory of the crime. There can't continue to be two justice systems running side-by-side, one catering to dangerous career felons, the other ridiculously railroading men with by ignoring inconvenient evidence and perjured testimony. On November 21st, I apprised one of Sen. Bill Nelson's aides, in person, that I intend to file a Petition for a Writ of Mandamus to have the US Supreme Court compel the FBI to immediately adhere to their mandate to investigate public corruption that affected trail and election outcomes nationwide surrounding DNA disgraced dog handlers. John Dean Moxley's long-time former assistant was married to a former Brevard Chief Deputy - Ron Clark - who likely had greater access to jail inmates to shop for snitches than Fair. Moxley is already implicated in coaching Clarence Zacke to testify against both Wilton Dedge and Gerald Stano, and of course, implicated in soliciting false testimony from DNA disgraced dog handler John Preston against both. Supposedly a handwritten case note by Moxley implicates Thom Fair. Framing Fair for coaching Chapman will have the effect of making Dillon appear guilty, which apparently is what miscreant State Attorney Norm Wolfinger is shooting for. Wolfinger lied to the press this year about having investigated all Preston cases after Wilton Dedge's 2004 exoneration, according to correspondence from his records custodian, Patty Crowell. When I requested a list of Preston cases, Crowell responded on November 19, 2008, " ... there is no list of cases. What you are actually requesting in your email is that this office conduct a research project." Time is of the essense. The press will continue to write at random without conducting research in hopeless "he said, she said" ravings, and William Dillon doesn't need additional years of drama atop the nearly three decades that were stolen from him. Florida taxpayers don't need to pay for Thom Fair to fight for his honor if Norm Wolfinger and/or John Dean Moxley are the ones that arranged for Chapman to besmirch it. Aside from Monte Adams, Crosley Green, Jeff Abramowski and likely many others were railroaded in Brevard - so far only Preston cases have gotten any attention, and that attention has been derelict; Wolfinger's record custodian wrote that the only other requests for a list of Preston victims aside from mine was from the Brevard/Seminole Publc Defender and the Innocence Project of Florida - no AP, no UPI, no Reuters, no Gannett publication, etc. The wrongfully convicted deserve hope for the holidays, and William Dillon needs immediate assurance that his days of being Brevard's pawn are over. Please respond immediately. Regards, Susan Chandler 1060 South Highway US 1 #99 Vero Beach, FL 32962 The Big Oil roundup: news and information about Big Oil’s push to rig Florida’s coastline for the two weeks ending 12-4-09:
 Faulty promises in bid to drill off Florida? By Jeremy Wallace Sarasota Herald-Tribune Take action now: Write Your State Senator: Big Oil's Promises Are "Empty" The oil industry makes its case for drilling within a few miles of Florida’s coast by trumpeting a new kind of drilling that is “virtually invisible” on the coast. Lobbyists pay out as oil issue heats up By Paul Flemming Gannett Florida Capital Bureau Related: Some leery of the revenue promised by oil Related: Energy industry political contributions database Money makes things happen in this capital city. Consider Florida Energy Associates LLC, the entity behind the current push for drilling in Florida waters. Drilling bill would likely pass House but not Senate By Bill Cotterell Gannett Florida Capital Bureau Related: Lawmakers are wary of oily beaches Related: Real prize could lie in waters controlled by US government Related: Oil drilling: the players The push for the Florida Legislature to approve near-shore Gulf Coast drilling in its 2010 session is like oil exploration itself — surveys and projections, expert opinions, test wells to take the political pulse and throwing around plenty of money in search of a gusher that ends in a positive vote. Gulf of Mexico drilling proposal worries conservationists, tourism officials By Jim Waymer Gannett Newspapers Related: Oil & Water: The debate over drilling in Florida Related: Military bases could feel drilling's impact Related: Where will they drill? ... and other questions Related column: Why risk damaging tourism? Oil spills kill fish, birds and tourist reservations. New report says oil drilling will harm Florida coasts (includes audio) By Lauren Martinez WMNF Community Radio Tampa The 3 to 10 miles the Florida Legislature controls off the state’s coastline has caught the attention of oil lobbyists who want to remove the drilling ban. Offshore oil drillers now looking at Florida's east coast By Jim Waymer Florida Today Wildcat wells might one day spring up off the Space Coast. Florida's move to drill could sway Congress By Jim Ash Pensacola News Journal The immediate debate in the Legislature is about drilling in waters controlled by the state in the narrow band up to 10.3 miles from the coast. St. Joe Company mum on offshore oil drilling By Jim Ash Ft. Myers News-Press Northwest Florida, proud home of turquoise waters and sugar-sand beaches, has become ground zero in the fight against the Legislature's push for offshore drilling. Lots of risk, no reward in drilling off the coast of Florida By Carter Hall TC Palm The siren song of big oil is seductive and enticing. It promises many things for Floridians: cheaper gas, more gas, new jobs, help with Florida’s budget problems and finally, safe technology with no spills. Paradise lost to oil drilling By Jonathan T. Baxter Pensacola News Journal I am a world traveler who, in a lighthearted way, has always said that if I find the perfect beach I would stop traveling. Oil drilling momentum stuns Graham By Jeremy Wallace Sarasota Herald-Tribune Former Florida Gov. Bob Graham is dismayed at how fast oil drilling advocates are gaining ground in their push to open the Gulf of Mexico to drilling. Old Florida needs to let go of old ways By Matthew Christ Independent Alligator The Gulf of Mexico may look calm from the porch I’ve perched myself on for the Thanksgiving holiday, but a contentious political storm is slowly brewing over efforts afoot in the Florida Legislature to repeal a ban on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore drilling resolution passes By Suzette Porter Tampa Bay Weekly Despite objections from one Largo resident, the Board of Pinellas County Commissioners approved, 6-1, on Nov. 17, a resolution opposing oil and gas drilling in Florida’s waters. Local elected officials urge opposition to drilling in gulf By Sara Kennedy Bradenton Herald In an effort to counter proposals to allow oil and gas drilling as close as three miles from shore, Manatee County commissioners have written a letter opposing drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, officials said. Southwest Florida's tourism industry OK with rigs, just not close to beach By Laura Ruane Ft. Myers News-Press Southwest Florida’s lifeblood tourism industry, which promotes itself as the “Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel,” has mixed views about offshore drilling. Florida's gulf drilling debate Editorial Northwest Florida Daily News In a few months, the Florida Legislature will debate whether to allow drilling for oil and natural gas as close as three miles from Gulf Coast beaches. It's just not worth it Editorial Pensacola News Journal The News Journal Editorial Board has long opposed drilling within 100 miles of Gulf Coast beaches — even 150 miles, as proposed during congressional negotiations in 2006. Certainly not in state waters, within 10 miles of the coastline. Atwater rejects rigged deck Editorial Palm Beach Post Fortunately, one of the three people who could stop the oil rush in Florida has done so. TAKE ACTION NOW  Click the picture above to urge Senate President Jeff Atwater to oppose state legislative efforts that would allow offshore oil drilling off Florida’s coast. LATEST ONLINE ACTIONS Write Your State Senator: Big Oil's Promises Are "Empty", via Progress Florida. Let us decide! Petition to Governor Charlie Crist, Senate President Jeff Atwater, and House Speaker Larry Cretul, via Civic Concern. Contact Your Officials About New Drilling Off Florida's Coasts, via Civic Concern. MORE ONLINE ACTIONS Ask your state legislators to keep the rigs out, via Save the Manatee Club. Write a letter to the editor, via Audubon of Florida. Write your state legislators, via Audubon of Florida. Tell Sen. Atwater Not To Allow Oil Drilling In Special Session, via Audubon of Florida. Sign the petition against oil drilling, via Protect Florida’s Beaches. Tell Salazar: No drilling off Florida's Coast, via Environment Florida. Tell new Senator LeMieux to Repower America, via Environment Florida. Related action: Don't go drill crazy in the Everglades, via Center for Biological Diversity. Related action: Keep oil drilling out of climate change legislation, via Oceana. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OF NOTE Protect Florida’s Beaches, recently launched coalition website. Protect Florida’s Beaches on Facebook. Think, Baby, Think blog via Protect Florida’s Beaches. Don’t Drill Florida website. Don’t Drill Florida Facebook page. Hands Across The Sand website. Environment Florida offshore drilling page. Skytruth blog, an excellent source of info. Not the Answer blog, courtesy Surfrider Foundation. EnergyFLA.com, online hub of drilling proponents; their Twitter page is here. Jeff Abramowski likely envisions Judy Foley and her son retracting their testimony, explaining why Brevard framed him and let them walk. I recently discovered Judy died last year, and Michael may follow soon, depending on whether he stopped doing drugs or stopped getting caught. He served about a month all told, with no sign that treatment was ordered. Perhaps eFACTS has inaccuracies, but Michael’s self-destruction would be convenient for officers, prosecutors and judges.
DNA identified the hair found on Cortney Crandall’s body as Judy’s; DNA found in a sink trap matched Michael. Their fingerprints were present, Jeff’s weren’t. There were two murder weapons; burly young Jeff wouldn’t have needed one. The FDLE DNA expert said that Jeff’s DNA - hitting on two of 15 markers - was a match due to the uniqueness of 17.3 at D18S51; government sites say it’s present in one in 16,500 males. Testimony regarding a knife purchase placed Jeff in Melbourne. Former SEAL Chief “Patches” Watson hooked me up with the former Gerber knife sales manager, employed when Crandall when killed. Wal-Marts didn’t sell black-bladed knives (too expensive, too military), but indeed there had been a cutlery shop in the Orlando mall Jeff named that sold Gerber knives, next to a Foot Locker, as Jeff described. The knife turning out to be a knock-off means nothing. Watson, author of “Point Man” and designer of SEAL equipment aside from his knives that Gerber manufactures, confirmed that retailers frequently foist knock-offs on customers (in shorter, saltier words appropriate to lost incomes). Brevard prosecutors attempted to get two incarcerated men to lie on the stand about Jeff. One made it all the way to the courthouse before backing down. My blog gets hit hard enough to stay near the top on Google, Yahoo and Bing - if you're reading this, Michael, flip on Brevard. Email A.G. Eric Holder. Make a mark; don’t leave a stain. http://webinfo4.brevardclerk.us/facts/name_search.cfm I Inter-tripped over a means to compel the FBI to investigate clouded convictions and the media’s related manipulation of information that affected the outcome of elections, including the number of candidates.
After some research and collaboration to assure airtight arguments and proper format, I’ll file a Petition for a Writ of Mandamus requesting that the U. S. Supreme Court direct the FBI to immediately investigate DNA-discredited scent experts, clouded convictions within the same judicial jurisdictions and the media omissions of fact that recklessly endangered the public, artificially enhancing the reputations of public servants while forestalling their investigation and prosecution. It’s fitting to go straight to the Supreme Court, even if bogus crime scene dog handlers aside from John Preston are addressed as footnotes; Stephen Epperly is still incarcerated in Virginia from a Preston no-body homicide conviction, making it beside the point whether or not all other remedies in lower courts have been exhausted. A portrayal of related coached informant testimony will cement the need to address clouded convictions related only by virtue of arrests, prosecutions or trials conducted by the same civil servants, with Jeff Abramowski’s being a case in point. Questionable case transfers, like Gary Bennett’s, will more concretely tie in other jurisdictions that superficially seem benign. Other Executive Orders portraying suspicious jurisdictional changes resulting in wrist slaps will be supplemented with other cases that are unrelated to incarcerations, opening the door for justice for all, at long last. That the media made no mention of many dereliction dots, making it impossible to connect them, will be inherently apparent, but explained, none-the-less. With a little help from political cronies and the media, State Attorney Wolfinger ran unopposed last year, although betraying his constituents since taking office in 1985, and Sen. Haridopolos is in line for Senate President. Florida Today fails the public again in reporting on the pandemic of violence against women.
From: Susan Chandler Date: November 10, 2009 7:47:17 AM EST To: ksummers@floridatoday.com, John Glisch , letters@floridatoday.com Cc: cig@eog.myflorida.com, Governor Charlie Crist , Senator Mike Haridopolos , Debbie Mayfield Subject: "Victim's assistance is vital in campaign against domestic abuse" Florida Today, October 27, 2009 Dear Florida Today: The theme of this article is the theme of many Florida Today articles - blame the victim. Yolanda Garvin-Williams had formerly dropped domestic violence charges against her estranged husband, so - according to Florida Today - it's her fault that he killed her. There's no interviews of family members to ascertain her reasons - women frequently drop the charges when their domestic partners threaten to kill them if they don't. Ms. Garvin-Williams may have dropped the charges out of sheer terror. There's conveniently no interviews of domestic violence shelter workers, because they could detail the reasons that women drop DV charges, and the subplot of the story is to make tarnished officers, prosecutors and judges shine, another recurring theme in Florida Today articles. There are more women killed by their domestic partners every year then there are law enforcment officers who lose their lives on the job, including officer lives lost in traffic accidents. Roughly three women per day die from domestic violence in the land of the free and home of the brave. Hundreds per day are seriously injured. What the police, prosecutors and judiciary say about domestic violence in interviews and what they actually do about domestic violence on the job every day do not match, and all that Florida Today would have had to do to discern and report as much would be to interview women currently residing in domestic violence shelters. Florida Today is already well aware of the need to interview actual victims; I'm sure they've received many emails similar to the one I sent to John Glisch on June 18, 2004. Further proof of Florida Today's bias is supplied through reading Gov. Crist's Executive Orders, which I assume that someone at the newspaper is assigned to do. The Orders tell a tale of state employees (or their relatives) perpetrating domestic violence and having their cases transferred to another jurisdiction for wrist slaps. If Floridians want real news, they have to read blogs like CourtWatcher; a November 8th post tells of a Castleberry police officer who now has no domestic violence record, if he completed a diversion program as directed. [http://courtwatchflorida.blogspot.com/2009/11/whatever-happened-to.html] My June, 2004 email to Glisch detailed my personal concerns about Judge John Dean Moxley, who was quoted in the subject article, "While it's just a piece of paper and won't stop a bullet, it stops rational people who had a temporary aberration." Moxley was speaking of injunctions, and he spoke with his typical dishonesty. Most perpetrators of domestic violence exhibit an escalating pattern, not a singular outburst. Drawing Moxley into the article is blatantly spit-polishing a hopelessly tarnished reputation. Moxley was involved in the lawless persecutions of Juan Ramos, Wilton Dedge, Gerald Stano, William Dillon and likely many others, deploying coached jailhouse informants and bogus "scent evidence expert" John Preston. Jailhouse informant Clarence Zacke named Moxley as one of the prosecutors who coached him to lie on the stand about Dedge and Stano. As a judge, Moxley retained his penchant for perjury and his affinity for ridiculous "scent evidence," and developed a propensity for predation of taxpayers' money. The proof is in my case file. And Crosley Green's. And in Glenda Carlin Busick's book "Brevard Good Ole Boys." And the St. Petersburg Times DROP double dipper database. Throughout most of his career as a prosecutor and judge, Vicki Clark served as Moxley's assistant. My intuition says that the shortest distance between coached jailhouse informants and courthouses will eventually prove to be Ms. Clark's husband, a former Brevard Sheriff's deputy. At the turn of the century, the Melbourne Police Department was a mess. There were internal and external investigations of officer misconduct, including domestic violence. Chief Chandler resigned; Chief Carey took over. Both chiefs thought domestic violence was no big deal. The FDLE was content with their attitude. The advice I received in a domestic violence shelter was to be grateful that I got out alive and to just forget about recovering my home and possessions. I was told to hide. I didn't heed that advice, but in group sessions I learned that most women did, especially the women who had children. They relayed tales of officers laughing at them while they cried; officers refusing to respond to calls when injunctions were violated, let alone make arrests. I didn't find out till years later that the day the MPD finally allowed me to file a complaint was the day after my then-husband had been arrested in a prostitution sting. Violating procedure, the Palm Bay Police Department had released an impounded vehicle titled solely in my name without notifying me, blaming the towing company, much to the owner of the company's ire. He gave me the officer's name who authorized the release. The MPD covered for the PBPD, and the FDLE covered for both, and the Attorney General, Chief Inspector General and Governor covered for them all. Brevard isn't a safe place to live because Florida Today finds most truths inconvenient. If we don't have laws like other states that allow officers to make arrests and prosecutors to file charges based on visible evidence of domestic violence, we should. And our legislators won't address that need until newspapers make it clear. So who's fault is it - really - that Yolanda Garvin-Williams is dead - hers, or yours? Sincerely, Susan Chandler Never thought I'd write that admonishment. But I never though I'd keep tripping over the wrongfully convicted like just so many askew stepping stones, either.
From: Susan Chandler Date: November 9, 2009 5:43:19 PM EST To: ACLUFLCentralPresident@gmail.com Subject: Fwd: Police Ban Banner in Front of Courthouse Dear Central Florida ACLU: A small group of Floridians are attempting to address Florida's wrongful convictions; some of us have been laboring for years. While in Orlando to file an Amicus Brief in Tommy Zeigler's case, Ray McEachern tried to stage a protest today to increase public awareness of our efforts and garner more support. His email, below, apprised the group of what happened. I believe that Ray should have been able to peacefully protest anything he wanted without interference from the police. William "Tommy" Zeigler has been on death row - wrongfully - for 33 years. Eschewing the old saw "silence is golden," Francis Bacon said, "Silence is the virtue of fools." Please do something about the police stopping Ray from telling Orlando about Tommy. Regards, Susan Chandler -------------------------------------------------------------- Police Order Courthouse Banner Removed Contact: Ray McEachern 813-909-0217 Orlando - The grassroots Committee for Justice for Tommy Zeigler was ordered by police today to remove the table displaying the above banner 15 minutes after it was put up on the public sidewalk several hundred feet from the Orange County Courthose. The goup was at the court house to file an amicus curiae brief in support of a petition to test DNA that they say will prove Zeigler is innocent of the murders he has spent 33 years on death row for. The Amicus brief questioned why the state attorney would accuse Zeigler of sucking the genitals of a dead man Zeigler was convicted of killing when there was no evidence of such an act. Assistant state attorney, Jeff Ashton made the claim in a hearing before Judge Whitehead to try to excuse the state's error at the original trial. At the trial in 1976, State Attorney Robert Eagan demonstrated his theory of how the blood stain got on Zeigler's shirt by telling Zeigler in front of the jury, " You can't tell me how you held Perry Edwards around the neck and clubbed him with your right hand as you held him with your left?" Perry Edwards was also killed in the attack as were Zeigler's wife and her mother. The DNA proved it was Charlie Mays blood whom Zeigler had claimed was the man who shot him in the stomach as he entered his furniture store in Winter Garden on Christmas Eve, 1975. A recent deposition by a retired detective found evidence that Mays was the shooter in the murder of another store owner by the name of Jacob Reddick. That murder was never solved. For more information, go to www.freetommyz.com .. ---------------------------------------------- P.S. for a pdf copy of the banner, email studio8@infionline with "banner" in the subject line Screaming gets attention. So does writing about screaming. It's one of the artifices in Florida Today's arsenal; artifices that are wearing thinner by the day.
From: Susan Chandler Date: November 8, 2009 3:31:59 AM EST To: John Glisch , letters@floridatoday.com Cc: Governor Charlie Crist , cig@eog.myflorida.com, Senator Mike Haridopolos , Debbie Mayfield Subject: Our Views: Justice ignored - Florida Today 11/6/09 Dear Florida Today: I'm frankly amazed at FT's Editorial Board's pernicious persistence in misinforming the public on "what still must happen" in investigating John Preston's participation in criminal investigations and trials over 25 years ago, resulting in three upset convictions to date, with perhaps scores to follow. Your November 6th editorial, "Our Views: Justice ignored," says "Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum have shamefully ignored mounting evidence since 2006 that screams for a broader investigation." As I've previously pointed out to FT, in different words, screams for oversight are - by law - unnecessary. Florida Statute, Title IV, Chapter 14, 14.32 Office of Chief Inspector General, (2)(a), states, "The Chief Inspector General shall: initiate, supervise and coordinate investigations, recommend policies, and carry out other activities designed to deter, detect, prevent, and eradicate fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement and misconduct in government." FT has yet to publish any attempts to contact Chief Inspector Miguel to see why she hasn't initiated an investigation of already detected misconduct. And although I suspect FT printed "since 2006" for a purpose, the year has no special significance. Geraldo Rivera discredited Preston in 1984 on ABC's "20/20;" the same year State Attorney Norm Wolfinger won his first election. Upon taking office in 1985, Wolfinger did nothing to ensure that there had been candor before the tribunal in regards to Preston and coached jailhouse informants such as he'd encountered in defending Juan Ramos and Gary Bennett. 1998 is more significant. Gerald Stano fried in Old Sparky that year, although the coached jailhouse snitch recanted in time to save him, retracting testimony against Wilton Dedge simultaneously (DNA exonerated, 2004), and naming those that coached him - prosecutors Chris White and John Dean Moxley. Moxley is now an elected judge, and he still has a provable penchant for perjury. "What still must happen" is that Florida Today must start telling the truth, either to the public now, or the FBI later. (The FBI's mandate to investigate public corruption affecting trial and election outcomes is published at http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/pubcorrupt/pubcorrupt.htm.) Sincerely, Susan Chandler Brevard's Sheriff Parker is getting a lot of help from Florida Today in making it seem rational that he take a hard look at just one of a reported 100 investigations to which John Preston lent his DNA discredited "scent evidence" expertise. There are people crying themselves to sleep every night in Brevard over John Preston's perjuries, and they've been weeping for at least 25 years. There are killers and rapists that are laughing every day over eluding prosecution, and they've been laughing for at least 25 years.
From: Susan Chandler Date: November 7, 2009 9:04:39 AM EST To: admin@bcso.us Cc: Governor Charlie Crist , cig@eog.myflorida.com Subject: "Sheriff reopens '81 murder case that sent innocent man to prison" Florida Today 11/4/09 Dear Sheriff Parker: Hours before the above captioned article became available on the Internet, I wrote to Florida Today and copied Gov. Crist and Chief Inspector General Miguel in regards to a rumor I'd heard that the article solidified; your agency will reinvestigate James Dvorak's 1981 homicide. Here is part of what I wrote: "Through the electronic grapevine, rumor reached me that James Dvorak's homicide, for which Bill Dillon served 27 years, will be re-investigated. I rechecked the Brevard County Sheriff's Office cold case web page recently, expecting it to show some new sign of order since a cold case had been reportedly resolved. It's still in disarray. The Canova Beach homicide of an elderly woman - Pauline Scandale - still bears no information that could possibly bring resolution. Perhaps there was an inconvenience factor to posting the date of the Ms. Scandale's homicide, as Dvorak was bludgeoned to death on Canova Beach. Perhaps it's mere carelessness. Either way, the BCSO looks bad. John Dean Moxley is now four-for-four in involvement in resolved Preston matters. He served as a prosecutor against Juan Ramos, Wilton Dedge and Gerald Stano, and was in the background on Bill Dillon's case. Moxley's former long-time assistant, Vicki Clark, is married to former BCSO Deputy Ron Clark. Through Roger Dale Chapman's public apology to Bill Dillon, Thom Fair has been mentioned in connection with obtaining coached informant testimony, but my intuition says that Fair won't prove to be the shortest distance between coached informants and the courthouse. It very much matters that resolution for Stano took the form of being fried alive in Old Sparky, with evidence lawfully allowed to be destroyed after 60 days. It very much matters that Gannett took the low road and did not reveal in it's summation of Preston cases that the same coached snitch testified against Dedge and Stano, and had recanted prior to Stano's 1998 state-sanctioned homicide." Sir, I don't know you, and can only guess at the content of your character. I do know that the BCSO had as much information on the incredibility of John Preston's testimony and the entrenched use of coached jailhouse informants when Wilton Dedge was exonerated as it does right now. All that's new is increasing public awareness of what individual public servants knew about Preston and snitches, and when. I've tried to add to that awareness, given that the media is determined to deliver information piecemeal, with frequent omissions. It is likely that such reporting affected the outcome of elections, and the likelihood of it being deliberate - in Florida Today's case - becomes ever more apparent with every article cheerleading Sen. Mike Haridopolos. I interviewed Bill Dillon and Jeff Abramowski behind bars. I believed both men's claims of innocence; Bill's story echoed that told by Juan Ramos, Wilton Dedge and Gerald Stano. Jeff's story was equally credible - two loci out of 15 is never a "hit," and 17.3 at D18S51 is nearly as common among males as head colds. My SEAL friends helped me get to the bottom of the Gerber knock-off knife purchase that supposedly placed Jeff in Melbourne when he was in Orlando. Wal-Mart doesn't sell black-bladed knives, sir, they're too expensive and too military. I "followed the money," too; it wasn't very difficult, and it didn't lead to Jeff. Crosley Green changed his mind when I arrived at the prison for his interview, afraid that his lawyers would desert him if he spoke with me. He was still on death row then. The D.C. firm representing him typically limits their pro bono work to domestic violence cases; they defend agencies against whistleblowers, help corporations get the best of the EPA, represent public servants accused of misconduct. There's no case remaining against Crosley now that it's been established that his brother had previously driven the vehicle involved in the commission of Flynn's homicide, yet somehow Crosley is still behind bars. Crosley initially appeared before John Dean Moxley, and we both know what that means - the "scent evidence" is ridiculous - despite a different dog handler, given that Crosley's prints were nowhere to be found. Kim Hallock's "the black man did it" nonsense is just that - Crosley had a buzz cut, not Jheri Curls, and no ability to change his size. Statistically, Hallock is the prime suspect given her prior relationship to Flynn, and her convoluted, conflicting statements seem to make the statistic bear out. I haven't been well enough to travel to interview Monte Adams. His parents are in hell. They know that fingerprint evidence is in the Clerk's possession that points to someone else other than their son, prints that were never run. They likely belong to the key witness against Monte, Johnny Galvin, who was found in possession of a TV set from the crime scene. After years of trying, they can't even get enough cooperation from the state to get Threna Adams' portrayal of her son altered to suit reality so that he will be eligible for parole. She never said her son was violent - Monte had no history of violence. Johnny Galvin did. Gary Bennett apparently didn't receive the letter I sent to him when I was searching for additional Preston victims, which isn't surprising. Although the media won't publish the conflict in transferring his case to a jurisdiction where Preston testified, resulting in Linroy Bottoson's execution, I will. Over and over again. From where I sit, State Attorney Lamar's reputation is as tarnished as State Attorney Wolfinger's; I'm familiar with William "Tommy" Zeigler's and John Dobbs' cases and I'm familiar with other untoward Executive Orders aside from Bennett's that trade cases between Wolfinger and Lamar. You accepted the campaign reelection endorsements of Wolfinger and Brevard's community of retired federal agents, including Sen. Haridopolos' father. From defending Ramos and Bennett, Wolfinger knew all about Preston and coached informants when he was sworn in and did nothing credible, in 1985 or since, to ensure that there had been candor before the tribunal. The retired FBI agents know that their agency is mandated to address public corruption that affects trial outcomes, yet ignore continuing coverage of contrived convictions, doing nothing to kick-start the Brevard field office, and all the while Sen. Haridopolos pretends that he's unaware of the FBI's mandates and the duty of the Legislature to check and balance the Executive and Judicial branches, even though he teaches politics as his day job at a pay rate that matches his academic aspirations, not his credentials. It would be odd if the information he pretends no knowledge of appeared in his "book" that belied the collegiate tradition of payment from publishing companies rather than taxpayers. The more legitimate books "Fatal Flaw" and "Brevard Good Ole Boys" are still out there for anyone to read, and so is my blog, and others. Don't just investigate Dvorak's homicide, sir; investigate your entire department. And not just the Preston cases. I know who attempted to get inmates to testify falsely against Jeff Abramowski, so should you. Failure to run the prints in the Adams' case is a big deal. Please don't stop at clouded convictions; I've heard from non-incarcerated persons claiming to have been abused by your agency. If you can't investigate clouded convictions and citizen complaints out of determination to make Brevard safe, then by all means act out of fear of disgrace. A growing number of people won't settle for the even the national media's accounts of anything having to do with Brevard law enforcement, the State Attorney's office or the judiciary. The AP's related articles have enough holes in them to steer an aircraft carrier through. Anderson Cooper couldn't bother his staff to correct the years Bill was incarcerated from 26 to 27, having considerable time to do so during the delay caused by Michael Jackson's death. Instead of doing a follow-up story of his discrediting John Preston in 1985 when charges were dropped against Bill in December, Geraldo Rivera went to Charlie Crist's wedding. Instead of being incensed at the apparent link between delayed confirmation that Ottis Toole killed his son and Bill's release, John Walsh instead publicly endorsed Charlie Crist's and Bill McCollum's political ambitions. The avowed victims' advocate didn't advocate for Preston's victims and inform his viewers that Florida's Chief Inspector General is obligated by statute to investigate complaints of public misconduct, calling in whatever agencies are necessary. Eddie Joe Lloyd, a now-deceased exonerated gentleman once said of DNA, "That's God's signature ... God's signature is never a forgery." Fox frequently films your agency in action for "Cops," but all the footage in the world isn't going to nullify God's signature. I've repeatedly requested that the FBI adhere to their public corruption mandate. They're going to show up, sir, and it's going to be soon, and they're going to look at Orange County and Tallahassee, too. Sincerely, Susan Chandler Okay, the title is a lie.
But Altman did weight in on something that will make Brevard a safer place to live. Okay, that was another lie. What Altman weighed in on was gun control. Kind of. Florida Today reported in their November 6th article from staff and wire reports, "Altman: Don't ask about guns in home" that Floridians seeking to adopt children shouldn't have to disclose gun ownership to an adoption agency. Whoever the heck "staff and wire reports" are, they took the time to have NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer explain why adoption workers have to back off: "An adoption agency has no right to subvert the privacy of gun owners." My daughter is adopted. I answered questions about guns. Adoption workers ask about them to make sure you're aware of how to make it safe to have guns and children under the same roof. They ask because they want to make sure an arsenal of AK47's doesn't betray that you're a whacko that somehow knows how to pass the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory with flying colors. Or have they stopped checking prospective parents' health, mental and otherwise, because those requirements, too, are invasive? In the late 70's, the hoops were numerous. They safety checked the house, they even tested our well water. Our friends and relatives had to fill out forms. They made us describe what we'd do if the child developed criminal tendencies; what we'd do if the child turned out to be gay. They even - gasp - inquired about our religious beliefs. They popped in at odd hours to make sure we weren't doing odd things. They poked and prodded and snooped like a child's life was at stake. Because it was. Sen. Altman should get a grip and borrow a clue. There are rapists and killers roaming Brevard because prosecutors and law enforcement don't give a damn if they get the right guy - any guy will do; and, to put that guy away, they'll release a career felon willing to tell lies on the stand. Ask Juan Ramos, Wilton Dedge, William Dillon and Gerald Stano. Oh, wait. You can't ask Gerald Stano. He was executed in '98 even though the coached snitch recanted his testimony against Stano and Dedge in time to keep Stano from being fried in Old Sparky. Dedge didn't get out for another six years. Sen. Altman should sponsor Juan Ramos' exoneration compensation. Immediately. The Legislature may disqualify Dillon for compensation if the legislators are allowed to continue to pretend to the public, through disingenuous "staff and wire reports," that they don't know that wrongful convictions are habitual in Brevard. In response to teachers protesting hikes in their health insurance costs, in "Our Views: Tone it down" on October 27th, Florida Today's editors said, "We’re strong supporters of Brevard educators, as we’ve proven in advocating better state funding for schools and better pay for teachers."
Florida Today's argument boils down to this: the rest of the working world is having a tougher time than all youse teachers, so just shut up, already. Here's my version of showing strong support for the teachers - providing a resource naming the Brevard School Board members that were collecting wages and retirement benefits simultaneously at the time the St. Petersburg Times printed their double dipper database in 2008. Simply go to the main web page [http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2008/interactives/retirement-loophole/], and then select Brevard Co School Board under "Refine results by." Hopefully, some of the double dippers have actually retired by now. Peruse the database, read the other articles it references and all the while keep in mind the SPT disclaimer that some civil servants' wages are allowed to be kept secret, by law; see just how many Brevard civil servants are riding the gravy train - there seems to be more in Brevard than the county non-residents confuse it with - big, bad Broward. Most of the rest of the working world had to actually retire to collect retirement benefits, and had their retirement benefits reduced reflecting economic losses specific to their industry. Not so with Florida's double dippers. Puzzling SBA financial losses, now under formal investigation by the SEC, have done nothing to inspire Florida's legislators to close the welfare-for-the-wealthly loophole they created. Don't shut up, Brevard teachers and support staff. You've endured a two year pay freeze, according to the article, and now you're going to face increased health care costs and reduced coverage on top of inflation. An either/or isn't unreasonable -- unfreeze wages or freeze health care premiums. Even though taxpayers can be mislead into opposing you in the absence of all the applicable facts - as the comments on Florida Today's editorial indicates - they likely don't want to overpay the Board while underpaying y'all. Although Florida Today asked "how" and "where" questions in their editorial and I in turn posed a "what" question, the crux of Brevard's corruption conundrum remains a question of "when."
Quando, quando, quando. When is anyone going to do the job they're paid to do, and swore to do, in providing oversight that's decades overdue? From: Susan Chandler Date: November 4, 2009 12:19:14 AM EST To: John Glisch , letters@floridatoday.com Cc: Governor Charlie Crist , cig@eog.myflorida.com Subject: "Our Views: Travesties of justice" Florida Today 11/3/09 Dear Florida Today: Once again, Gannett is sparing no ink in establishing the appearance of outrage over injustices, "State leaders must stop ignoring the glaring examples of misconduct in the 1980s-era trials and order a full probe. Where are you, Gov. Charlie Crist? Where are you, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum? How many travesties of justice will it take to win your attention?" I have a hunch that the number of travesties it takes to win Charlie Crist's attention is exactly the same number of travesties it will take for you to report that it is the statutory obligation of Florida's Chief Inspector General to initiate investigations of complaints regarding public servant misconduct. That number will match, according to my intuition, the number of travesties it will take for you to report that the FBI is mandated to investigate public misconduct that affects the outcome of trials, and that the local field office, along with a covey of retired agents, including Sen. Haridopolos' father, believe that mandates are optional - the former by arrogant declaration, the latter by spurious public support of an incumbent Sheriff who's failed to internally investigate his agency's role in frame-ups. My intuition tells me, too, that the exact number of travesties will have you report that Florida's Legislature is obliged to check and balance the Executive and Judicial branches' callous indifference to clouded convictions, not simply cheerlead select survivors of decades-old frame-ups. None have lifted a finger to secure Juan Ramos' compensation. Through the electronic grapevine, rumor reached me that James Dvorak's homicide, for which Bill Dillon served 27 years, will be re-investigated. I rechecked the Brevard County Sheriff's Office cold case web page recently, expecting it to show some new sign of order since a cold case had been reportedly resolved. It's still in disarray. The Canova Beach homicide of an elderly woman - Pauline Scandale - still bears no information that could possibly bring resolution. Perhaps there was an inconvenience factor to posting the date of the Ms. Scandale's homicide, as Dvorak was bludgeoned to death on Canova Beach. Perhaps it's mere carelessness. Either way, the BCSO looks bad. John Dean Moxley is now four-for-four in involvement in resolved Preston matters. He served as a prosecutor against Juan Ramos, Wilton Dedge and Gerald Stano, and was in the background on Bill Dillon's case. Moxley's former long-time assistant, Vicki Clark, is married to former BCSO Deputy Ron Clark. Through Roger Dale Chapman's public apology to Bill Dillon, Thom Fair has been mentioned in connection with obtaining coached informant testimony, but my intuition says that Fair won't prove to be the shortest distance between coached informants and the courthouse. It very much matters that resolution for Stano took the form of being fried alive in Old Sparky, with evidence lawfully allowed to be destroyed after 60 days. It very much matters that Gannett took the low road and did not reveal in it's summation of Preston cases that the same coached snitch testified against Dedge and Stano, and had recanted prior to Stano's 1998 state-sanctioned homicide. Gary Bennett's Preston-related case should not have been transferred by Gov. Crist's Execuctive Order to the 9th Judicial Circuit, where Linroy Bottoson was convicted after John Preston testified against him. As Bottoson was subsequently executed, the 9th has a vested interest in making Preston frame-ups stick. Gannett gave no ink whatsoever to Bennett being transferred from one set of unclean hands to another; State Attorney Lawson Lamar's reputation for fairness is the equivalent of State Attorney Norm Wolfinger's, it is only through sporadic, artificial outrage that either double dipper gets reelected - there's been as little in print about William "Tommy" Zeigler bogus Orange County capital conviction as there has Gerald Stano's Brevard County capital conviction. The only difference is that Tommy is still alive, and enough of us are working on freeing him that it is very likely to happen, despite the congealed corruption that has kept him on death row for 33 years. There will never be enough travesties for Gannett to stop playing politics and start reporting news that keeps those they have a fiduciary relationship with safe - subscribers, advertisers and still others (public notice incomes). Gannett will continue "he said, she said" reporting as though State Attorney Norm Wolfinger and Sen. Mike Haridopolos have equal credibility to Bill Dillon and Wilton Dedge. It'll take a lawsuit that challenges Gannett's actions as interfering in the election process and/or obstructing justice, in defiance of requirements that corporations behave as would a prudent person in the same circumstances - and ordinary prudent persons do not willfully facilitate the persecution of innocents, decades-long cover-ups, etc. Somewhere out there, there's an attorney with the right stuff who will see the potential for immortality and go for it. And once the attorney finds out that the corruption is ongoing, resulting in Jeff Abramowski's life sentence, he or she will be "loaded for bear." But in the meantime ... The question I pose of Gannett isn't "Where are you?" - because you're everywhere - it's instead "What are you?" Your feigned outrage has kept innocents behind bars for decades while rapists and killers found new victims; it's kept callous, corrupt public servants on the job to do further harm; it's kept Brevardians crying themselves to sleep at night over persecuted loved ones; it's put Brevardians in exile, unable to bear memories of persecution - Bill Dillon moved to Ohio to see if distance could provide peace. You're certainly not a news organization, so, seriously, Gannett, what are you? Sincerely, Susan Chandler I received a personal plea from a well-intentioned lady looking to have others join her in entreating Gov. Crist to exhibit the spirit of Christmas by pardoning William "Tommy" Zeigler, who has wrongfully spent 33 years on death row. She's clearly under the impression that Gov. Crist is being treated unfairly by the media, when the truth is that the media's inattention to Crist's failed oversight borders on election tampering.
Here is my response to the kind-hearted Christian so very mistaken in believing she was addressing another in writing to Gov. Crist: From: Susan Chandler Date: October 29, 2009 2:29:22 AM EDT To: "V... Subject: Re: an early Christmas gift for Tommy? Dear V...: Gov. Crist's email address is Charlie.Crist@eog.myflorida.com. I copy him on emails frequently, probably twice a week on average. I can't honor your request to approach him directly requesting that he pardon Tommy Z in time for Christmas. Please bear with me if my pain medication makes my explanation less coherent than it should be. Two Christmases ago, I repeatedly requested via email that Gov. Crist release Bill Dillon on recognizance pending the outcome of DNA results. Bill's mother has an inoperable brain tumor. It's stable now; it wasn't then. Just as A. G. Crist ignored my pleas concerning Wilton Dedge (freed, 2004) and others that I believe to have been wrongfully convicted or executed, Gov. Crist ignored my Christmas plea for Bill. I believe it's a miracle, from so many of us praying, that Amy Dillon lived to see Bill walk free and has had almost a year to get reacquainted with her gentle giant of a son, so grievously harmed in prison - raped within the first hour and knowing no peace in the 27 years behind layers of razor wire that followed - and knowing no peace even now. Bill's essentially serving a second undeserved sentence, this one imposed on him by his conscience and Gov. Crist's callousness. Hearing Bill personally tell his story breaks the hearts of those that have them; he shouldn't have had to make one public appearance to spread the word that there are many innocents behind bars, let alone travel the state. I'm fighting for peace of mind for Bill, Wilton, Juan Ramos, Alan Crotzer and others who have already won their freedom, and fighting for freedom for Crosley Green, Jeff Abramowski, John Dobbs, Gary Bennett and scores of others aside from Tommy that appear to have been wrongfully convicted, and fighting to clear the names of those that were wrongfully executed. I'm fighting for other Floridians that have gotten in touch with me after reading my blogs or letters to the editor. They were harmed by the same civil servants involved in the clouded convictions, who logically behave just as improperly in other aspects of their public employment. I fear for the safety of some that have reached out. Gov. Crist knows that he is obligated by statute to protect the life, liberty and property of Florida's inhabitants. While ignoring Bill, Tommy and perhaps 100 others, Crist rapidly acted to pardon disabled attorney Richard Paey, who apparently had no basis for an innocence claim. This established Crist's belief in a caste system wherein precious few, if any, deserving Floridians will receive the benefit of Crist's adherence to his sworn and fiduciary responsibilities. When Crist won his bid for Governor, I said, "Forgive them, Lord, they know not what they do." I will pray the same prayer if he's successful in winning a Senate seat, which I will continue to try to prevent by reminding the FBI of their mandate to investigate public corruption that affects the outcome of trials. The FBI busted dogfighting rings in several states while ignoring over 1,000 clouded convictions related to DNA discredited "scent evidence experts" John Preston and Keith Pikett. They protected man's best friend ahead of actual men, keeping innocents locked up while killers and rapists found additional victims. Too many people are crying themselves to sleep tonight because Crist has unlawfully decided that oversight is optional, V.... His caste system endangers the public and persecutes innocents, ruining or taking their lives and ripping their families apart. It is our Legislature's job to hold Crist in check; they have demonstrated rare cowardice in failing to do so. The criticisms of Crist, if earnest prayers are answered, will become increasingly harsh - Crist knows that State Attorney Lawson Lamar is disinterested in justice for Tommy, John Dobbs and others; it is why Crist transferred Gary Bennett's case to Lamar's jurisdiction. Sadly, the only reason that Crist wound honor your request, or any other request for oversight, is out of fear that he will soon be held accountable. It's a very reasonable fear, many of us are working very hard to have justice prevail over politics. Warm regards, Susan Posts By Month
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