Posted on 07/20/2025 4:17:35 PM PDT by george76
Politician says his family member’s mafia ties allowed him to walk free. APennsylvania Democrat made a chilling confession during a Wednesday city council meeting that may invite a criminal investigation.
The Erie City Council held its bi-monthly meeting earlier this week, during which council members addressed the recent death of Marchello Woodard, a man who was fatally shot.
'You know, Nick, I could blow your head off.'
During the meeting, council President Mel Witherspoon (D) explained why he had not attended the man's funeral or the rally held in his honor, claiming that the events "brought some things back to me that I thought was gone."
Witherspoon stated that when he was 17 years old, he lost a friend who was "shot with a double-barrel shotgun at close range."
He noted his involvement at the time with "the largest gang in Newark, New Jersey."
"I organize. We go over [to] Jersey City looking for the person," Witherspoon said, likely referring to the suspect. "Well, when we got there, we didn't realize it was a family. And when you talk Jersey City, and you talk family, you're talking the mafia."
...
He explained that at the time of his high school graduation, he "had" to move, leaving the city and his parents, presumably because he was unable to cope with the death of his friend.
Witherspoon said that he went to Nebraska, where he continued going to school. He also noted that he purchased a gun once he arrived in the state.
"I played football and basketball. And the tackle, good guy, nice guy. And the guys came to my room, and we got high," he continued. "They left. I had the clip in my gun."
"Nick came in my room. I said, 'You know, Nick, I could blow your head off.' He said, 'Go ahead.' And I did," Witherspoon admitted.
“I shot him in the head point-blank," he declared.
Witherspoon did not provide Nick's full name or clarify his relationship to the individual.
...
Witherspoon claimed that he spent only one night in jail and never went to court due to his familial connections.
"I went back to basketball. How did that happen? Because I had a family member, one of my uncles, he was involved with one of the [mafia] families. That family made a call from Newark, to New York, to Omaha ... where I was at, and I was out the next day," he said. "So that's having the right contact at the right time."
Witherspoon stated that it "all came back" to him when he heard about the death of Woodard.
Gannon University in Erie lists Witherspoon as one of its basketball hall of famers, noting that he played on the team for two years after transferring from Nebraska's Scottsbluff Junior College.
This will make him a rock star in the Democrat Party.
Well there you go. Another violent Democrat. No corpus delicti = no prosecution
Bad people in a bad collective...bad things happen. RIP Nick.
It looks like the victim didn’t die. The bullet went through his face, behind his nasal passage, and was lodged behind his cheekbone. It didn’t hit his brain. He was lucky (I guess.)
Nancy piglousy has Mafia heritage also
Baltimore mob family.
WOW! Thanks.
Wonder how ‘the maf’ feels about him telling his little story?
The statute of limitations never ends for murder. Apparently the dope doesn’t know that.
Here we go again...guessing what a post/reply means. What victim didn’t die? The one in the college years? Where did you get that info? Certainly not from the article....Another FReeper wrote last week that articles and posts should not be puzzles for the reader to figure out and he/she was absolutely correct.
You KNOW what that post meant? Tell us, please! What victim is the post talking about? And where did that information come from?
Why does everyone think this Democrat Politician is telling the truth.
Sorry, the story s overly embellished.
Ay Tone. This mook pops a guy in da amelon, den talks about it in a city council meetin.
😆
And the Clintons are another crime family, along with the Bidens.
Ping.
Thankfully, Nick survived and lived a good life to age 76. But, his obituary notes: "His football career was cut short by a campus accident." Obituary
Here's the news article with that link and more information: Mel Witherspoon: 'I Shot Him' NJ Mafia Got Me Off
In that article, a councilmember says Witherspoon has told the story before to young people when talking about "second chances."
Here's a link to the 1962 newspaper story: College Youth Suffers Shot Wound in Dormitory Hotel
Here's the news article with that last link and more information: Newspaper from 1962 recounts shooting involving Erie City Council president
If Witherspoon's version of the story is true, it sounds like Nick covered for him.
Pennsylvania Ping!
Please ping me with articles of interest.
FReepmail me to be added to the list.
Fun fact: Eire County borders Ontario.
No statute of limitations on murder in most places.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.