Sunday, March 24, 2013

Is a DA Railroad of "John Doe Duffel Bag" - "Son of Sal" getting Express-ed Service on a Home-court in Brooklyn ?

In spite of what Judge Alan Marrus and a few newspaper guys might think, it’s not very nutty for a criminal defendant, like Salvatore Parrone, to try very hard have some communications with his closest family members, and for Perrone to ask for a lawyer in whom he can trust to try very hard to do that and everything else


For those of you who lost track of the 2012  “John Doe Duffel Bag” –  “Son of Sal” murder cases, like I have, let me bring you up to speed. In December, Salvatore Perrone pleaded “Not Guilty” to the three charges of murder and three charges of attempted murder three charges of first degree murder and three charges of second degree murder that the Brooklyn DA has brought against him (“‘Son of Sal’ accused serial killer Salvatore Perrone grins as he pleads not guilty to three Brooklyn shopkeeper slays ...” by Oren Yaniv & Ginger Adams Otis, 12/12/12,  NY Daily News  [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/son-sal-grins-pleads-guilty-murders-article-1.1218589#ixzz2ORJoDuR8].). At the start of that arraignment hearing, Perrone, supposedly initiated a tirade against the judge the moment that he took the bench. Parrone is reported to have said, “I have not been given any access to the outside world....  Are we in the United States of America?” Dressed in a bright orange jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him, it was reported that Mr. Perrone  repeatedly interrupted the arraignment with his rambling; and that William Martin, Sal Perrone’s court-appointed attorney, had asked the court to order a psychiatric evaluation of his client. In response, the judge noted, “I’m going to check off the box that says ‘disruptive, confused or bizarre’ behavior....”; then the judge referred the matter for psychiatric evaluation and adjourned the case until February 22, 2013 for a hearing.

About a month ago, a competency hearing was conducted by the same judge, Alan Marrus. According to a Wall Street Journal reporter, Sal Perrone “...spent more than 10 minutes sparring with [Supreme Court Justice Alan] Marrus, rejecting advice from the judge not to speak and to listen to his attorney” ( “Suspect in Shopkeeper Slayings Fit to Stand Trial” by Pervaiz Shallwani, 2/22/13, WSJ – Metropolis Blogs [http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/02/22/suspect-in-shopkeeper-slayings-fit-to-stand-trial/]). However, if you had listened to and watched the video clip of the February 22, 2013 competency hearing conducted by Judge Marcus, you might just as easily have said, “Judge Marrus spent more than 10 minutes sparring with the defendant Salvatore Perrone, refusing to really listen to what Perrone was saying about his lawyer William Martin’s lack of work on the case and inability to get in touch with Perrone’s family members.”

In the courtroom drama that played out on February 22nd, everybody had a part to play and Alan Marrus was playing the part of “Dispatcher” on the Brooklyn DA-Supreme Court Railroad of Bensonhurst Sal Perrone, most recently of Clove Lake, SI.  Judge Marcus isn’t letting the prosecution and trial of “Son of Sal” Perrone get sidetracked by issues like the diligence of defense counsel and the cooperation between a criminal defendant and his lawyer. As far as Judge Marrus was concerned, February 22, 2013 was scheduled in order to get a couple of psychiatric reports completed and admitted into the record, and then to determine that Sal Perrone was competent to participate in his own defense; on February 22nd that part on  Judge Marrus’ Dispatcher’s schedule was checked-off with dispatch.

As a result, Sal Perrone must now defend himself with an attorney, William Martin, a man in whom Sal Perrone has no faith; and one of the reasons for that is that Martin had not been able to reach certain members of Perrone’s family. Even though it really looks like the police and prosecutors had been able to do that early on in the case, and that there have been some other specific communications with those family members by the DA's office since then.

Since his arrest, Salvatore Perrone, 64, has repeatedly asked to see his daughter. According to the accused killer, “She’s the only person I trust who can clear me in this matter.”  However, people in the Brooklyn DA’s office have said that just won’t happen. “It’s my understanding that his ex-wife and his daughter do not want any contact with him,” said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Melissa Carvajal.  On February 22nd, when Perrone again made his pitch to the judge to get in touch with his family, Prosecutor Melissa Carvajal told the judge that she had communicated with Perrone’s family members and that "they don't want to have any contact with Mr. Perrone." After much back and forth, between the defendant and the judge, Judge Marrus accepted the representations of the Brooklyn DA’s office at face value and  told Perrone, "Apparently, your family members are not interested in coming to court or to assist you.” ( “Accused serial killer ‘Son of Sal’ Salvatore Perrone mentally fit to stand trial....” by Oren Yaniv, 2/22/13, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/son-sal-salvatore-perrone-mentally-fit-stand-trial-article-1.1270861#ixzz2OR8OBp6k]). For some reason, it didn't occur to the judge, or anybody else in court on February 22nd, to see if Perrone's relations would at least talk to Perrone's lawyer.

As to the questions raised by Perrone in his application to obtain new defense counsel – mostly about his counsel’s not diligently pursuing Perrone’s interests in the case, a video clip that is part of the Daily News article of 2/22/13 above shows Judge Marrus telling Salvatore Perrone that the judge knows that Perrone’s attorney, Mr. Williams, is diligently working because Williams  had filed an “Omnibus Discovery Motion that the DA had to answer” and that Williams had called the DA's office for contact information about Mr. Perrone’s family members, which was not available.

By these remarks, the court is showing that it is obviously intent on making a fool out of the defendant.  The first item, about the “...Omnibus Motion...” is literally one of the meanings of  “...going through the motions...”,  which implies routine and perfunctory treatment. The second, about attempting to obtain contact information for Perrone’s family from the DA’s office was specifically contradicted by ADA Melissa Carvajal’s statements on February 22nd. On the main matter before the court on February 22nd, Perrone’s competency, which had been established on the record by the psychiatric reports and confirmed by the court’s decision, William T. Martin who is still Perrone’s court-appointed defense attorney said this about his client’s fitness:  “He’s been found fit to proceed.... Based upon my investigation, he’ll likely be found competent even by an independent examiner.”

One can only guess what that “investigation” might have uncovered that makes Mr. Martin so certain, since he hasn’t even reached Perrone’s family.

According to the papers, Perrone’s next scheduled court appearance is set for April 12, 2013.

A major part of the prosecution strategy going forward has already been accomplished thanks to Judge Marrus  —  Perrone has been made to look like both a  nut and a fool, but as a matter of law, he has been ruled fully competent to “proceed with his defense” with a lawyer that he doesn’t trust and doesn’t want representing him. That’s a great formula to get a guilty plea out of Perrone, which avoids all the troublesome evidentiary questions, like those mentioned back in 2012, that can be swept under the rug with a plea.

If you were in the same situation, how would you feel at this stage of the criminal case  —  probably a lot like Sal Perrone.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

He wants a lawyer and speak to his family. This case looks like another Hynes frame up.

Galewyn Massey said...

REPLY to "Anonymous... Hynes frame up." I think I know who you are. You have had a particular axe to grind with "your friend, Mr Hynes" for a very long time; and I believe you are supporting one of his opponents in the 2013 race for Brooklyn DA. The use of the term "Frame-up" is yours -- not mine.

I am not saying that the suspect, Salvatore Perrone, didn’t commit these three murders, or any one of them. I’m am saying that a lot of what has been REPORTED as coming from official sources concerning these three murder cases, and the stories of Sal Perrone’s having committed them, don’t add up.

That includes news stories about various different suspects right up to the singling out of "John Doe Duffel Bag"; the police investigation of Sal Perrone including: how the suspect was brought in, questioned and arrested, taking almost two whole days; the circumstances surrounding key pieces of physical evidence, especially the "duffel bag" and what was in it, ie., how it was obtained, maintained and tested; and the remarks of various politicians including the NYC Police Commissioner and the Brooklyn DA since last July.

My most recent post above was mostly some recent history about what has gone on in court; and what looked like a bit of a "Railroad" being run over the triple-murder suspect, Salvatore Perrone.

fyi the meaning of "railroad": railroad >noun N Amer. a railway. >verb informal 1. rush or coerce into doing something. 2. cause (a measure) to be approved quickly by applying pressure

_________________________

Please note: I have recently urged that the Brooklyn Republican Party support the re-election of the incumbent DA, Hon. Charles Hynes in 2013; including giving him the GOP line.

That is still my position, irrespective of any possible problematic handling of the Sal Perrone case by some members of DA Hynes' office.

Anonymous said...

What everybody is missing is not the issue of the sanity of the client “Son of Sal.” It’s the sanity of the defense counsel that counts. What is William T. Martin, Esq., going to do for this client who isn’t just some “John Doe Duffel Bag” he’s also a “Son of Sal”? Is he going to push this case to show this “Son of Sal” guy is innocent? Now, don’t you be crazy too ! No sane lawyer wants to go to trial with a “Son of Sal” for a client.

Anonymous said...

Billy Martin is Sals lawyer. Wasn't he a disgraced Judge?

Galewyn Massey said...

Always chirping grasshopper --- trying so hard to be a cricket.

Try harder to be an ant and you won't need to depend on ants for your sustenance when winter comes.

Galewyn Massey said...

William T. Martin, Esq., does have a very complicated "professional" biography.

Based on what I've seen in the video clips and read in the news and blog coverage of the December and February appearances in court, Salvatore Perrone has made it clear that he doesn't want William T. Martin, Esq., to be his attorney; and he made an application to Judge Alan Marrus to change his counsel.

Anonymous said...

Even though the crimes are more than twenty years apart. There are lots of things that make this Salvatore Perrone's case like this David Ranta’s case. Both are very high profile murder cases with members of the Jewish businessmen pushing for the arrests in each case. Detectives for the Brooklyn District Attorney supposedly got confessions from the Ranta and Perrone in their cases after more than a day questioning for each suspect. David Ranta was convicted of shooting a Jewish merchant in the head in 1991 and he spent 23 years in prisons for crimes he almost certainly did not commit. Ranta’s conviction came after investigators helped witnesses and doctored evidence that didn’t really add up against Ranta. Twice on appeal representatives from District Attorney Hynes Office said that justice had been done in convicting David Ranta.