Posted on 08/13/2005 5:17:52 PM PDT by jimboster
And who's behind an ad trolling for dirt on the dead cabbie?
Last week's edition of Gay Chicago ran something creepy. It was an ad that began "Help Us Fight Cab Violence! Have you had a memorable, unusual or bad experience with a cab driver?" If you had, there was a number to call and a Web site to visit. In passing, the ad mentioned that on February 4 an "unfortunate incident happened between a cab driver and a Lakeview resident." The ad didn't say what, though presumably it was a choice example of abusiveness.
The Web site, endcabviolence.com, revealed that a particular cabbie was the focus of the crusade's concerns. "Haroon Paryani -- a history of violent & aggressive behavior?" it wondered, and alongside Paryani's picture asked, "Has this man threatened you or made you feel uncomfortable? Have you witnessed him being aggressive or threatening to someone else? Are you not sure? We want to hear about it and talk to you. . . . Any info shared will be kept completely private & confidential."
The ad didn't accuse Paryani of being violent, aggressive, or threatening. It just raised the possibility. One other thing it didn't do was point out that since February 4 Paryani has been dead. Early that day he got into a screaming match with a fare near the corner of Briar and Cambridge in Lakeview, fell face first into the street, and was run over by his own cab. The fare -- Michael Jackson, a policy specialist in the sexually transmitted diseases division of Chicago's public health department -- allegedly took the wheel, drove over Paryani, backed over him, and then drove over him a third time, dragging his body into the intersection. Jackson turned himself in to the police later that day, and he's now in jail, held without bond.
Neither the ad nor the Web site mentions Jackson or drops a hint as to who's behind the campaign. Jackson's life partner, John Castronovo, told me the Web site "is a collaborative effort of the friends of Mike Jackson, a group of over a dozen." When I asked if he was part of the group, Castronovo replied, "I'm a friend of Mike Jackson."
The general manager of Gay Chicago had told me the ad was bought by someone he wasn't allowed to name. Was that you? I asked Castronovo.
"The person who took it out asked to remain anonymous," he said.
But for all the secrecy -- gay champions of a gay accused killer can get a little paranoid -- Castronovo insisted there's been "absolutely no intent to seem devious in any way."
Maybe so. But gay activist Rick Garcia told me that when he saw the Web site he felt like throwing up. "This is sort of like taking out an ad that says 'End gay violence!'" he said. "And when you click on the Web site there's a picture of Matthew Shepard, and the questions are 'Has this kid ever flirted with you?' 'Has this kid ever tried to pick you up?' 'Has this kid ever made you uncomfortable?' This is disgusting."
I passed along that comparison between Paryani and Shepard, the gay college student who was robbed and beaten in Wyoming in 1998 and left tied to a fence to die. (His two killers were sentenced to life without parole.)
"All I can say," Castronovo replied, "is that everybody has different views, and I would understand if some people found it offensive. But once the truth is known, I hope it would be a lot less offensive."
What truth?
Castronovo told me to talk to Jackson's lawyer.
When I asked Thomas Breen about the Web site he said, "I know it's causing a lot of consternation." But had I seen the Mike Royko column? "I think that will explain what's going on here," he said. "I know what's going on is intended in good faith." Hot Type, for the week of August 12, 2005 -- continued
He faxed me the column, which ran in the Tribune on December 6, 1989.
"I'm not sure what the ethnic background of Haroon Paryani is," Royko wrote, "but based on a pending lawsuit, it's likely that he is not an Alan Alda type." The suit had been filed against Paryani and Checker Taxi by Josine Plooy, a model and real estate student. By Royko's account, she and her roommate, Lisa Christiansen, climbed into Paryani's cab and noted that the meter was running before the cab drove off. They protested.
Royko went on: "Paryani turned around and screamed, 'You bitches, you're going to pay.' Plooy then demanded that Paryani stop the cab. Paryani refused and shouted, 'You bimbos, I'm going to make you pay.'" The two women jumped out when the cab slowed for a red light at Clark and LaSalle. "Paryani then got out of the cab, tackled Plooy, dragged her across three lanes of LaSalle, and proceeded to slam her against his cab. Paryani slammed Plooy against the cab for several minutes, shouting, 'You bitch; you bimbo, you're going to pay.'" According to Royko, Paryani attempted to stuff Plooy back into the cab, slamming the door on her legs. Plooy and Christiansen managed to run to safety when a passerby pulled a gun.
The suit dragged on. At one point Paryani acted as his own attorney and filed a brief in longhand. "This is my answer," he wrote. "All the allegations of woman is wrong. She abused the public service -- abused me beat me up -- said the most bad words against me & my appearance -- this is the case of discrimination & theft both." He concluded, "Rodney King had scars & videotape. What do I have. You know what I got 'God.' I am sure He will help me."
A verdict awarding Plooy $300,000 in damages was overturned on a technicality, and then she, Paryani, and Checker settled out of court.
"That's where all this is coming from," said Breen. "In fact, people were originally telling us that this guy had been very mean to several other customers." Breen's job is to save his client, which means giving a jury reason to believe that whatever Jackson did, he was provoked. Breen said he hadn't seen the Web site and had nothing to do with it, but he won't ignore what turns up: "I'm interested if there are any leads, but I'm doing a more traditional investigation."
I thought michael jackson was into little boys, um....literally.
Ooookay. What's Jackson's history of altercation like? This doesn't sound like an innocuous fellow, who does this while the person supposedly threatening him lies in the gutter.
He was a city worker with no apparent criminal record- until the cops discovered he was apparently a meth addict and dealer. His bond was revoked after he attacked a nurse in a hospital.
"He is not just merely dead, he is most sincerely dead". Wizard of Oz.
I'm going to steal that line.
I have no idea why it popped into my head but you're welcome to it. LOL
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