- A lot of convicted murderers and their families fight what they claim are wrongful convictions, many of them right up to the point they are executed for those very murders. Some are innocent, most aren’t. Still, no one that I know of has gone after an overturned conviction quite like New Yorker Doreen Giuliano. Guiliano was so consumed with saving her son from a life behind bars after he was convicted of murder that she gave herself an extreme makeover, complete with blonde dye job, fake tan, sexy wardrobe, phony name and went around spying on jurors from the trial in an attempt to find any possible misdeeds at the trial. She zeroed in on one male juror and together, they spent nearly eight months, drinking at bars, smoking pot and sharing meals in her tiny Brooklyn hideaway. Eventually, Guiliano was able to get the juror to open up about his experience as a member of the jury at her son’s case, although he had no clue as to who she was. Once Giuliano felt she had all the information she needed, she and her attorneys filed a defense motion demanding that the verdict be set aside. The juror she befriended, Jason Allo, isn't too happy about being duped and faceing the possibility of being hauled into court to explain conversations Giuliano made while wearing a wire. “He didn't do anything wrong," said his attorney, Salvatore Strazzullo. "We're going to defend Mr. Allo's actions to the full extent of the law.” Key among the claims made in the motion are accusations that Allo concealed that he had personal knowledge that Giuliano's son, John Giuca, ran with a rough crowd, and of that he defied orders to avoid news coverage once the highly publicized proceedings started. The motion claims that Allo "admitted the outside information he obtained about the case prejudiced him against Mr. Giuca.” In the original trial, the jury convicted Giuca of the 2003 murder of Mark Fisher, a 19-year-old college student from Andover, New Jersey, who had gone to an after-hours party Giuca hosted in Brooklyn. Prosecutors characterized Giuca as the leader of a gang called the Ghetto Mafia and said at trial that Fisher was targeted for showing "disrespect" by sitting on a table in Giuca's house. He allegedly ordered another member of the gang to teach Fisher a lesson and gave that gang member a .22-caliber handgun. Fisher’s body was found at dawn by police responding to a report of gunshots who found Fisher's body shot five times and dumped on a sidewalk. The search for the shooter lasted for over a year, with Giuca finally taken into custody based on the testimony of multiple witnesses. The case went to trial and the jury deliberated only two hours before convicting Giuca of second-degree murder in 2005, with a sentence 25 years to life being handed down to Giuca and the gunman. Doreen Giuliano clearly didn’t feel her son got a fair shake and so she began concocting her plan, eventually zeroing in on Allo, a construction worker living in Brooklyn. She tailed him for month before making her move, and in the mean time she slimmed down at the gym, rented an apartment in Allo's neighborhood and printed business cards with her assumed name: Dee Quinn. After that, she began compiling information and now it’s up to the courts to decide whether her actions were legal and if her son did indeed receive a fair trial. This could just be cynical me coming through here, but it doesn’t sound like there are any real quality individuals in this case, so I can’t say as I have a rooting interest here. I’m simply amazed at the depth and intricacy of the plan that Doreen Giuliano went to in order to attempt to overturn this conviction…..
- Stoners, you are slowly but surely losing your biggest, most mellow haven. The one place potheads of all shapes, sizes and nationalities have always been able to chill out, get baked and munch on Cheetos together has been Amsterdam, courtesy of some of the most liberal drugs laws in any civilized corner of the world. However, The Man is looking to change that and so city officials in Amsterdam have unveiled plans to close brothels, sex shops and marijuana cafes in the city’s ancient city center as part of a major effort to drive organized crime out. Allegedly, the city is targeting businesses that "generate criminality," including gambling parlors, and the "coffee shops" where marijuana is sold openly. You call is targeting organized crime, I call it an attack on stoners and a bad one at that. What did stoners ever do to you, Amsterdam? If anything, they help you and boost your economy – well, when they are actually able to muster enough energy to put down the bong, get off the couch and wander outside to spend what little money they have. "I think that the new reality will be more in line with our image as a tolerant and crazy place, rather than a free zone for criminals," said Lodewijk Asscher, a city council member and one of the main proponents of the plan. Really? Is that what you think, Lodewijk? Here’s what I think: you’re making it harder and harder for potheads to score their weed in your city and I don’t like it. The measures you have announced would affect about 36 coffee shops in the center itself, nearly 20 percent of the city total. But here you are, trying to insist that Amsterdam is going to remain true to its permissive, open reputation. "It'll be a place with 200 windows [for hookers] and 30 coffee shops, which you can't find anywhere else in the world -- very exciting, but also with cultural attractions," he said. "And you won't have to be embarrassed to say you came." No, L., I would be embarrassed because you’re doing one thing, saying another and I don’t patronize cities run by hypocrites. Bottom line here is that you are shutting down places where people can score some pot. Adding hotels, restaurants, art galleries and boutiques in place of these businesses will ruin the atmosphere, you jerk. And by atmosphere I mean to perpetual fog of the hippie lettuce and other drugs that hangs over the area. On top of that, prostitution will be allowed only in two areas in the district, meaning it is also going to be tougher to find dirty, STD-laden, gap-toothed hookers in fishnet stockings as well. Same old Amsterdam, my ass……
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Today’s edition takes us to a place I would very much like to be vacationing and/or living right now, Athens, Greece. These are some extra-special riots because they involve hundreds of my favorite type of protestor: young, angry anarchists. Good times! Nothing beats a wronged, maniacal, hostile young anarchist when it comes to pure rage and uncontrollability in a riot setting. The angry young anarchists in question here are enraged by the death of one of their own, a teenager killed by police on Saturday. That led these kids to take it to the streets and brawl with police, staging demonstrations that raged throughout the night and led The Man to fight back with tear gas and riot gear. It’s a scene that was replicated in other cities throughout Greece, with one observer noting “lots of burning bins and debris in the street and a huge amount of tear gas in the air.” The fighting was so severe that tourists in downtown Athens hotels were told by hotel staff not to leave their rooms. Actually, it was severe enough for both the U.S. and British embassies to issue warnings to employees and tourists on Sunday, instructing them to avoid downtown Athens and other major cities until rioting subsides. That tends to happen when some trigger-happy cop needlessly and fatally shoots a teenager, leading officials to charge that officer with "manslaughter with intent" and suspend him from duty. Somehow, I don’t think those charges and the fact that a second police officer was arrested Saturday on criminal accessory charges for the shooting are going to placate hundreds of rioting anarchists. I can’t emphasize enough how much these riots are pumping me up, as the rioters are barricading city streets Sunday in Athens and Thessaloniki, hurling petrol bombs as they battle with police, and fighting against tear gas. All that was needed to elevate this to a Grade-A, Level 5 riot would be some property destruction, maybe a few things set on fire, both of which were accomplished on the second day of riots when rampaging rioters smashed storefronts and burned businesses, leaving shattered glass and burnt debris scattered across both cities. One especially explosive part of the social unrest came at an apartment building in central Athens, where residents were evacuated after demonstrators torched a car dealership on the basement floor. Arson and property destruction all in one, that is bonus points on the Riot-O-Meter there, amigos! And for all of you aspiring protestors out there, this who situation is evidence that great things can have humble beginnings. Police claim that this entire mess began when six young protesters pelted a police patrol car with stones. After the initial incident in which the victim was shot and killed, the social unrest quickly spread across Greece thanks to websites and text messages among the young anarchists, commonly called the “known unknowns” in Greece. I may not agree with everything these guys stand for, but they sure know how to riot and in my book, that makes them aces…..
- Not often a U.S. senator is going to stand tall beside business festooning their products with images from porn magazines, but now longtime Vermont Sen. Pat Leahy isn’t most senators, it would seem. His home state has been burning up with debate on the controversial Primo and Love line of snowboards made by outdoor equipment manufacturer Burton, boards featuring graphics of vintage Playboy centerfolds, and self-mutilation. So leave it to a distinguished lawmaker like Sen. Leahy to weigh in with a thoughtful, eloquent, insightful take on the issue: “If you don't like 'em, don't buy 'em.” Hmm, verrrry thoughtful, Senator. That statement came ahe arrived home in Burlington and was asked about the controversy surrounding the Vermont-based company's snowboards. Then again, how thoughtful of a response could Leahy craft when he admittedly hasn’t seen pictures of the boards and has only read about them. Best of all is the reasoning he used to prop up his position on the issue: appreciation for what the owners of Burton Snowboard founders, Jake and Donna Burton Carpenter of Stowe, have done for the state of Vermont. “Let me say this ... Jake and Donna have done a huge amount for this state,” Leahy said. “They've hired lots of people. They've employed people who have never been employed before. They're huge taxpayers in this state. I don't have any involvement in that because I'm a federal official, not a state official. But if people don't like 'em don't buy 'em.” To be fair….drug dealers fulfill several of those requirements, as do pimps. They too do a lot for their hoem states (whether those things are good or bad, you judge), they too employ a lot of people, people who have never been employed before. They don’t pay taxes, no, but other than that there’s not a huge difference based on Leahy’s criteria. But not everyone shares the senator’s views on the issue, as nonprofit organizations including the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Vermont Business and Professional Women, the Girl Scout Council of Vermont and the White Ribbon Campaign of Vermont have already asked the company to remove the Love and Primo collections from store shelves. Additionally,
the city of Burlington has also requested a meeting with Burton and several protests have been held at the Vermont factory. I’m not a snowboarder and I’m not a member of an nonprofit or women’s rights groups, but that doesn’t mean I agree with Sen. Leahy here. I think the boards are trashy and sleazy, just as I think any dude who patronizes Playboy is pretty pathetic. Putting images from that skin rag on snowboards any taking that board to the slopes doesn’t say anything good about you, whether it’s acceptable or not…..
- There were a lot of pissed off people in and around today’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Most notable was me, as I was livid for much of the game at the Lions’ insistence on trying, competing and having the audacity to lead the Vikings most of the game. They showed no regard for my dream of an 0-16 season and nearly pissed away that dream before unlikely hero Tarvaris Jackson of the Vikings rode to the rescue by directing two late scoring drives to help his team secure a 20-16 win to keep the Lions winless. But also angry was Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen, who looked like he was ready to kill Detroit rookie offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus after Cherilus lunged from his knees to hit on his Allen on his left knee as the defensive end pursued Detroit quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Allen went down hard and when he was able to pick himself off the turf, he angrily limped toward Cherilus, pointing and screaming, before teammate Ray Edwards held him back. “Obviously I was pretty upset," Allen said after the game. "Stuff happens. I take care of it on the field." He did say that Cherilus attempted an apology later in the game, although Allen didn’t seem to buy the attempt. The hostilities continued on the very next play, spreading to Cherilus’ and Allen’s teammates as Detroit fullback Moran Norris was ejected for swiping at linebacker Napoleon Harris after they tangled. Having seen the play between Cherilus and Allen, I suppose it would upset me a bit if I were Allen, but I take greater offense to the comments Cherilus made after the game when asked about the incident. “I get paid by the Detroit Lions so it's my job to protect, do whatever I got to do. I don't care what it takes to protect my quarterback, play for my teammates and be in a position to win. That's what I want to do." See that? Right there, I have a big, big problem with the following part of that comment: “….be in a position to win.” My man, I know you are a rookie and all, but that is the absolute wrong perspective to have and hearing you talk like that infuriates me. How dare you say you will do whatever it takes to be in a position to win! Your team is making a run at history, trying to go 0-16 and set a record for futility. You talking like that and actually trying to make plays isn’t helping your team; it’s hurting them and you need to stop it immediately…..
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