Posted on 08/26/2006 9:33:29 PM PDT by Ken H
Tony Soprano Channeling Sam Spade
I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble. If I did, would you find me in those dark hours, eyeing some broad at Blinco's, about to find myself in the middle of the biggest story to hit town in years?
I'm Tony Soprano of the Court TV discussion board fame. No, not the guy on that TV show. I just took his moniker cause it gave me cover like a cheap toupee when a fella's follicles are few. I'm not afraid of cops like Gottlieb. I was there the night the caper with the fry cook went down.
Did I see it? No.
Gottlieb and I rub each other the wrong way, like a cheap wool suit you've had one year too long. Things were tense that night, my friends. I shot off my mouth a few times.
As Gottlieb passed my barstool, he leaned in close. I could see the oily sweat on his shiny bald head. "Keep riding on me and they're gonna be picking iron out of your liver." He straightened up and, with his posse following him, sauntered out the door into the alley. What happened next, well, that's the most baffling mystery story in years.
A friend of mine, a newsie, was in Blinco's a few nights later. "Tony, Have the barkeep pour me some of that booze you're drinking, and I'll tell you a story you might want to hear." "Good booze makes any tale you're going to tell one I want to hear." I motioned for him to pull out the barstool beside me. We waited till the dame serving us gave me a wink and sauntered back to the bar.
"Did you see Gottlieb's picture on the front page of the local rag. Did you read the piece saying his boss Nifong should be worried he's going down for the Blinco's gig?'
"Yeah, me and half the town saw that. What's your beef? Gottlieb's days as a Big Shot Bully are as numbered as a Currier and Ives calendar. The cook ratted him out, said the "Bald guy" was the instigator. Of the coppers here that night, Gottlieb fit that description like a Hong Kong suit you had made to order. He's as finished as a Dame from an East Coast Boarding school. He's going down.
The newsie smiled, took another sip of his drink. "Not so fast, Tony, Gottlieb may have hired a lawyer, but he ain't gonna take the fall. Our big story tomorrow is two young cops will take the rap for him. No way bossman Nifong will let his boy Gottlieb go down till the Dukies are duked out." I took a drag on my cigarette and watched the smoke curl across the table. The newsie leaned in and pushed copy of the morning's paper my way.
Our eyes met again as I glanced at the photos of the two cops charged."
But they have hair! Their heads look like lucky sheep who ran from a careless shearer. No way they fit the Cook's description. And Gottlieb lawyered up faster than a railroad car on an icy stretch of track!"
"Exactly. Nifong's the boss. He ain't gonna let no stinking fry cook ruin the best campaign strategy since Washington rowed across a frosty river in Delaware. Gottlieb's the chief investigator. Three months later, he turned in ...pages of notes. His recollection of events added details to Nifong's case like a New York seamstress adds sequins to a songbird's gown. Gottlieb's in solid with the boss."
I sat in stunned silence, not even a come hither look from the comely barmaid could stop my thoughts. The newsie took another sip of the bourbon I bought him.
"It ain't the first time either. One morning. around 6AM, Gottlieb ran a red light and rammed his car into another guy's ride right here in Raleigh. When the smoke cleared, Mr.Nobody's car had $7000 worth of damage. Our man Gottlieb didn't even get a ticket. Tony, if that was you or me, think the Raleigh cops would let it slide like a fried egg on a greasy stove?"
I leaned back. The newsie smiled a knowing smile. "Ain't gonna happen, Tony. Watch and see. The guy with the smashed car, the poor fry cook here that got knocked around? They are NOBODYS, Tony. And NOBODY cares." My beat can be ugly, my friends. The night can be cold. But this story chilled me like a eager bridegroom's champagne waiting to be uncorked. But it's not over yet. Tony Soprano doesn't go down easy.
******Footnote: Unlike some OTHER fiction writers LieStoppers feels the need to distinguish fiction from fact. Should the NYT wish to carry this story, LieStoppers will insist they disclose the difference. Tony Soprano was NOT in Blinco's the night of the Fry Cook beating, but we link to the basic facts of the story that ARE true.
[Links are at Liestoppers, and will be listed in posts to follow]
My risk/benefit analysis shows there's probably more downside than upside in teasing him right now.
http://liestoppers.blogspot.com/2006/08/supplemental-to-what.html
I find it extraordinary that the Seligman motion for a bill of particulars filed in June hasn't been ruled on yet.
Why is it important? Because his first demand is for the who, what, where, when and time of the alleged attack. The prosecution's timeline will then become one they have to commit to and will provide the framework for the defense. (Actually, I find it extraordinary that one has to make a motion for a bill of particulars ... it is device that the defense should be free to send to the prosection independent of any court action.)
And while the prosecution is very well aware of Seligman's evidentiary timeline, they are unaware of that of the other two.
9:24 PM
For once I had the good luck to miss her routine.
Murphy sees rapists and pedophiles behind every tree. She needs to get a grip on herself. Maybe she needs to be sued. It would do her good to be forced to temper her words with some reserve and objectivity.
I don't think this was planned in advance. If it was, they'd have put together some evidence - found a way to get some DNA. Crystal really was out of it. Either she couldn't get address information out of Crystal or she didn't want to take her to the boyfriend/pimp with no money to hand over because the pimp would suspect her (Kim) of taking it. Kim may have pulled over up the street to watch the cops go to the lax house while thinking about where to dump Crystal, then gone onto the Kroger store after the cops left the lax house. IIRC, the cops were at the lax house something like 19 minutes, and it's less than 10 minutes from there to the Kroger. The cops arrived at the lax house at 12:55, so they would have left about 1:15. Angel called at 1:22, so that may be where she was. Further, remember, Crystal wouldn't get out and hung onto the brake or gear shift lever, so maybe Kim just couldn't get her to get out and had to get the cops because she either couldn't or wouldn't take her somewhere else. Crystal may have thought Kim had her money and that's why she wouldn't get out. Kim wouldn't have wanted her telling her boyfriend/pimp that right on the spot with her still there or just about to drive off from dropping Crystal because she'd be afraid he'd come after her right then and there.
I think Kim took advantage of Crystal's inebriated condition and robbed her. She also wanted to get even with the guys so she called the cops to get them in trouble - notice she didn't give her name and didn't stick around in plain sight for that police call - then got rid of Crystal. After the cops found out who Kim was - that she had a warrant out for her arrest - they located her and arrested her. I think it's just too intricate and too slip-shod and illogical a series of events for those two lame-brains to have planned it, and Kim would have had no advance way to know that her co-dancer would be drunk off her butt. If Kim and Gottlieb were going to concoct a rape story, she would have claimed she was the victim so she herself, not Crystal, might be able to sue, and would have had her wits about her when she made the report. A conspiracy before the fact just doesn't add up in any way, shape or form.
When the cops found out who she was, they went after her and served the outstanding warrant. Cops don't run checks on everybody who calls in for assistance. Most likely all they did was ask her her name and how this woman came to be in her car. It's already come out that she told the cops that she picked Crystal up walking for her own safety. There would have been no reason to hassle Kim or run her for warrants as long as she was polite and didn't seem to be under the influence or causing trouble herself. She would have just gone on her way.
Right on all three counts, and well stated.
If this was a conspiracy, it should be made into a comedy - something like "Ruthless People 2" or "Ruthless People Do Durham" - because it would be just about the stupidest operation one could imagine.
But this is the first time Mike Nifong ran for DA, right?
Yep. He was good in traffic court.
First attempt.
Occam's Razor, my friend.
He was a ADA before that trying cases - I see what you meant.
He had a caseload - but not as THE District Attorney
Bingo!
The defense will deconstruct Gottlieb's story, piece by piece, then burn him to the ground in a blaze of humiliation and corruption. Gottlieb doesn't know it yet, but he is the gift that keeps on giving. The new "notes" and "report" are a treasure trove. The defense will obliterate him. After about ten minutes of cross, he'll be begging the judge for a recess/comfort break so he can go to the men's room to change his shorts.
Gottlieb strikes me as a big Neanderthal bully. He's a legend in his own mind and thinks he's invincible. But he's really painted himself into a very lonely corner, and the defense is going to put him and his story through the ol' wood chipper.
Stick a fork in him.
LOL! :>
The time frame on that hearing is becoming a bit strained, isn't it?
One can almost see Gottlieb reading it (or maybe he had somebody read it to him), and then sitting down, putting pen to paper and commencing his "notes" and "report".
I don't know why the poster is shocked that a motion for Bill of Particulars had to be filed. With the indicting GJ system they use there instead of an Information and warrant, no probable cause hearing available, the DA running the calendar, and a virtual abandonment of the Sixth Amendment, difficulty in getting a written survey of the exact charges as to what crime is alleged to have occurred at whose hand, when and where, should not be a surprise.
I also doubt that this is the first time they've railroaded somebody, but I don't think it's ever been something remotely close to this magnitude before.
This is about Nifong and the election. He's a stupid, plodding oaf who had no other options. He was going to lose to Freda Black until Crystal came along.
Well, you said, "The willingness of these people to handle this case like this and boldy, repeatedly go before cameras and persist in the pursuit of the players in the face of contradictory evidence - I can't believe this case is an abberration.
That they've been law and order by the book guys and suddenly there's all these contrary indications in this one case. A mistake is one time. There's a distinct pattern in this case."
When you consider that this is the first time Nifong's ever run for DA (or any office), we don't have anything to really compare his conduct to - that was my point.
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DURHAM PD and the FBI are having a Joint Press Conference at 10:30 am today!
Subject: PROSTITUTION and Human trafficing
My guess: announce some Bust
Damage Control and PR
I doubt that they'll address why Durham has had 30% less prostitution arrests than surrounding areas.
(your figures may vary)
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