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]
Lol, maybe Gottlieb is also a bipolar and was in a manic phase that morning.
Gotta love this - in direct contradiction to GOTTLIEB:
"Reid's photographs of the accuser's face and neck show NO bruises."
I take it your feeling a bit better about this NYT article now. ;)
If this case ever gets to trial, Gottlieb is going to get his hat handed to him. The defense is probably salivating to get at him. I don't think he has any idea of how serious this whole thing is.
As the pressure mounts, we need to watch in case Gottlieb goes off on another druken bender.
I feeling better period. Like most of us, I've been waiting
for this thing to get exposed. Progress is being made, my friend.
. .. ... Check Out this from Liestoppers (In the Comments):
Anonymous said...
When pondering Gottlieb, we must consider his creative genius!
Many believe alcohol cures Writer's Block. Gottlieb blessed with great creativity and artistic ability may have been trying to reach into the depths of his soul.
From a Washington Post article titled "Writers and Alcohol:"
"Do writers drink more than other people? It would seem so. Raymond Carver, acclaimed author of stories about America's working poor, died last August at the age of 50. "He began achieving recognition as a writer in 1967 when his story Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? was selected for the anthology Best American Short Stories, his obituary said. "But that was also the year he began to drink heavily...After being hospitalized for the fourth time, he turned to Alcoholics Anonymous..."
http://www.unhooked.com/sep/writers.htm
His wife is Jacqueline.
If you look closely at page two of the accident report it appears both the "Estimate of Original Travel speed" and "Distance Traveled After Impact" for Gottlieb's vehicle #2 have been altered. Different writing too.
See this link to view the full version of the report:
http://rpd.carolinasimaging.com/index.htm
Wow! Who'd 'a thunk it? ;-)
Someone reduced Gottlieb's traveling speed.
Wonder what the parameters are for reckless driving.
You know, Nifong isn't really in any trouble in any of this.
HE didn't write the application for the warrants.
HE didn't write Gottlieb's report.
He is the DA; he has to rely on the investigations performed by the police, and the info they bring him.
If THEY were fabricating evidence and giving it to him, then--hey, then he was deceived, too. He was the victim.
He operated on good faith, never suspecting that his cops were fibbing to him.
watch Nifong indict Himan and Gottlieb. . .
Do you think it's possible the Blinco's cook has lawyered up? As a witness for the defense he could greatly discredit Gottlieb's character. That would be must-see-TV.
It could benefit the cook to file his own suit against the DPD after he testifies, if indeed he does, in the LAX case. Look what they did to the cabbie.
Nifong could skate but he is the one that directed the controversial lineups, etc.
http://www.wral.com/news/9139366/detail.html
"Nifong could skate but he is the one that directed the controversial lineups"
Ah, but that's a "he-said she-said" question.
And who are you going to believe? We already know that Gottlieb can manufacture "facts" when it suits him.
So who is to say he didn't "manufacture" the claim that
it was Nifong who directed him to conduct the line-ups a certain way?
Nifong will go before a presser and be revealed as a victim of a corrupt police investigation. . .
Possible, I guess. But, the cook has gone totally silent.
Personally, I don't think he wants anything more to do with the case. Why invite trouble? I think this is all out of his league.
Very Interesting.
Some are very suspicious that the RPD officer overlooked something else that morning.
thanks
I don't think Nifong is giving up the fight.
And Nifong may be cooked because he said HE READ the Medical Report - when it was Not compiled or provided yet.
Further, I think it's his responsibility to independently review the evidence. I think that responsibility lies solely within his office.
One would think this case would not be his first choice for unprotected prosecution.
thanks
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