The DiPietro Case: Alleged Victim Points Finger at Prosecutors
Jeanine Pirro
The investigation into the wrongful conviction of Angelo DiPietro has taken a startling turn. Recent court filings and investigative documents obtained by Rising Media have revealed that state and federal officials involved in the case may ultimately be the main culprits in the fabrication of the kidnapping story that landed DiPietro in prison for the rest of his life — according to alleged victim John Perazzo.
For the past year, DiPietro’s legal team, headed by Innocence Project Investigator Bill Clutter and prominent defense attorney Joseph Bondy, has uncovered critical pieces of evidence detailing DiPietro’s innocence. As reported previously in Rising’s “Search for Justice” series, the evidence of DiPietro’s innocence includes six exculpatory witnesses, documented letters, missing surveillance tapes, affidavits and phone records.
The investigation into the case has now also revealed that the alleged victim, Perazzo, has made numerous assertions claiming that federal and state officials knowingly allowed and influenced Maurizio Sanginiti to commit perjury in order to convict DiPietro in 2005.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
Sanginiti was the sole witness who testified at the trial (Perazzo, the alleged kidnapping victim, never testified), and whose testimony put DiPietro away for life for a crime that even the alleged victim admits never happened.
Similarly devastating to prosecutors, Perazzo has also recently declared that both federal prosecutors and those from former District Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office lied at DiPietro’s trial in order to conceal surveillance tapes that purportedly captured the events of the nights in question.
In conversation after conversation, Perazzo is caught adamantly stating that Maurizio Sanginiti’s trial testimony was false and made up. For example, when questioned whether Sanginiti told the truth that Perazzo was kidnapped in a white van on DiPietro’s orders on June 29, 2001, Perazzo stated “that is not true… that is a lie… that is a fabrication.” In addressing other aspects of Sanginiti’s testimony at DiPietro’s trial, Perazzo called it a “bunch of garbage and unbelievable.” He stated there “were no truths at all” as to what Sanginiti was saying.
The most devastating aspect to these conversations is Perazzo’s insinuation that the officials involved in the case were well aware of Sanginiti’s lies prior to DiPietro’s trial. Perazzo has been overheard stating that when he was first confronted with Sanginiti’s version of event, he told agents that it was a “bunch of bullsh*t.”
John Perazzo
In fact, according to Perazzo, he continued to converse with agents as late as April 26, 2010, in which he spoke to the lead FBI agent on the phone and declared that Sanginiti’s story was “untrue.” In that same conversation, Perazzo also claimed that he advised the agent of his ongoing frustration with the deceit and manipulation of former Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
Consistent with this trend, Perazzo was also captured on audio stating that he believed Sanginti’s trial testimony was fed to him. Specifically, one of the released recordings captures Perazzo describing Sanginiti’s testimony as “a farce of untruth” and that he was “probably fed and turned around and came out with it.”
Perazzo also alluded to the other alleged kidnappers involved in the case, and went onto explain that FBI agents were forceful in telling what version of events they wanted to hear, and who should be named as being involved.
The tactics of prosecutors described by Perazzo were corroborated by another witness, Frank Taddeo, who was also interviewed prior to DiPietro’s trial. In a recent statement, Taddeo also declared that “prosecutors did not want to hear the truth and became extremely angry when I told them that nothing happened that evening. Everyone in the room, including two United States Attorneys, continuously attempted to sway me into another story, as I was attacked by cursing and downgrading comments. They started yelling and asking questions, all implying a completely false story that they had obviously invented.”
The final blow to the prosecutor’s case from Perazzo comes when he dismantles their attempt to conceal surveillance tapes that have been sought by DiPietro’s defense team since the inception of the case. Perazzo has stated that federal prosecutors lied in claiming that the entire events of June and July 2001 were not captured and recorded on his video surveillance system. According to Perazzo, the surveillance tapes did record the summer of 2001 and were at his home when items of evidence were seized by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.
A Web site, www.hiddencasefiles.com, has been created to help inform the public about the DiPietro case and other wrongful conviction cases. Included on the site are Rising’s “Search for Justice” stories and the audio recordings of Perazzo mentioned in this story.
We hope the current U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is aware of this case, which was prosecuted year’s before was named to the post. Bharara is knee deep in the middle of his investigation into political corruption in Westchester and beyond, but he also needs to clean up this mess of a wrongful conviction and do the right thing.
After eight years, DiPietro is still in a Federal Prison in Pennsylvania, awaiting the outcome of his motion to vacate his conviction and life sentence. DiPietro’s defense team’s discovery motion is currently before U.S. Magistrate Henry Pittman.
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http://hiddencasefiles.com/investigation.html
I guess it is time to see where Mr. Bharara’s integrity really stands.
This case is an autrocity. What has the judicial system become when we are spending money to prosecute cases like this-curroption is the fruit of all evil
Hey Pret—Agree to overturn the case, before your office gets embarrassed any further. You never know, if this case gets a judge with any integrity you might have no attorneys left–disbar and and prosecute those involved Jeanine and crew
Go right to the new web site and listen to john Perrazzo ,tell Bill Clutter that this alleged KIDNAPPING was a LIE ,and made up by SANGINITI and the UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS.two men are sitting in prison for 8 years for alleged crime that was a made up story,LET THEM OUT! JP is out of jail, WHY would he lie ?the US ATTORNEYS never even let Perrazzo in the courtroom once, WHY! you have to go to court if you get a speeding ticket, yet from day one, the us attorneys never let Perrazzo in the court room to attend his own trial. I hope that every one knows why i was afraid of being set up by the govt.,they get a free pass to do and say what ever they feel . Thank You for your time, Rick WIELAND
amen ricky.
del
hey DEL,how have you been ,ipromise we will get together next week.antony gave me your messages,frankie antony myself and you will meet next week ,hank out for a while,ihope you and your are well ,i will give you my phone nunbers so you can get a hold of me any time you wantsee ya next week Rick
Did someone write awhile back that the Zherka’s were somehow involved in this? Or did I misread??
Poster #7 get real please!
More to the point, don’t hold your breath waiting for the United States Attorney and his investigative arm, the FBI, to do the right thing here in Westchester. There are just far too many examples in the past two decades of their complicity with the crimes of Jeanine Pirro and Janet DiFiore and their taxpayer-financed, wretched henchmen, against clearly innocent individuals, prosecutions of opportunity. I could paint a very comprehensive picture if called upon to do so.
Suffice to say, nobody should fool themselves into believing that federal prosecutors are any less wrongheaded than the creatures in the Westchester DA’s Office. Cynthia Dunne is a duplicate of Patricia Murphy, both hatefilled, and self-serving criminals who destroy innocent individuals and their families, while protecting the Wayne Simoes of law enforcement. One wonders how they sleep nights, how they look into a mirror to put on their makeup. God knows they need a lot of mirror time.
I think A. Trumen is a hate-filled, self-serving individual. What’s his story anyway?
Anyone have any background on him?
To poster #7. I found this in a previous Rising Times article concerning this subject. You did see the Zherka name.
“Albanian gangster Din Celaj was part of DiPietro’s extortion group in the 2001 case, and cooperated with the feds against the others, earning him an early release. Celaj, however, was arrested again in 2007 in a RICO case along with Moheed Oasman, Xhavit Celaj, Besmir Boshnjaku, Ali Zherka and Arber Selimi. Rumor has it that Celaj is once again cooperating in another ongoing organized-crime-related investigation, and prosecutors are very interested in his testimony.”
A. Trumen, you should get real. And make sure you apoligize to Poster #7.
Thank you Mr. Batts. This A. Truman is much like the Consultant, the blogger who used to comment here but has been curiously been AWOL recently. Very arrogant and dismissive, willing to make charges against the government without having the facts to back them up. Much conjecture.
I won’t hold my breath waiting for an apology. People like him are above apoligies, if you know what I mean. What a stuffy little man this A. Truman is. Maybe he should get a job.
I like this Batts guy. He tells it like it is. Is not agraid to mix it up,
He even writes the responses for the maligned. He must be a lawyer. lol.
Like I said from the start, this case was and is a fixed case. Everyone knows the case was a setup. They just never thought people would care to expose it.I am by no means shocked.the us attorney for the sdny has been a curropted entity for years.-
HEY BILLY BATTS YOUR REAL NAME IS IT USDA ROGERS IS IT?
visit http://hiddencsefiles.com to get more info on this cse.
The trend of prosecutorial misconduct has become more frequent. I think it is time to lift the protections afforded to prosecutors and make them criminally responsible for obstructing justice. Any law enforcement agent or defense attorney are held to those standards. Why let those with the most power off the hook.
Murphy: Glad to have a better understanding of the case. I read the documents at that site and those recordings are powerful. I think the phone records also are very telling. Nice Job
Poster # 15 I don’t think you meant USDA unless Rogers is a piece of meat. You probably meant AUSA Rogers.
As for poster #12 you obviously know nothing about A.Truman to compare him to Mike Edelman. Truman was publicly exposing The Pirro “Power Couple” and the rest of the cabal “The Consultant” was apologizing for 10 years ago. And, what’s more, he was doing something more than running his mouth anonymously about it. He was out there in print signing his name to it, week after week, for ten years. So know your facts before you open your mouth.
The fact is poster #7 suggested the ZHERKAS, plural, were involved, and most people would take that to mean Sammy as well. That’s not his game.
boy this is some case of injustice and prosectorial misconduct. angelo dipietro should not be where he is. it is an amazing case of injustice. great job dan for bringing case out in the light of the day. great to hear from you, ricky. see you real soon. i look forward to seeing you guys. ricky never forget we have a great guardian angel watching over all of us, his name is james wieland, i miss him so very much each and everyday, that is why i continue to doing what i do in fighting injustice and corruption where i can find it all in memorial to my great friend James Wieland, i think of him everyday ricky.
del
Case will be overturned. The court has no choice as there has now been too much doubt raised by the evidence. There is no telling what a jury would do now. It is almost impoSsible to think they would convict had they known about everything.
Poster #21, under “normal” conditions I would agree with you. But we are not operating in the State of New York under anything that can reasonably be described as the dispensing of justice under the law. Please understand that the State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals in Albany, is led by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman who never tried a case in his entire legal career as a judge, but rather politically wormed his way up the ladder as an administrative judge, particularly under the influence of Judith Kaye and Sheldon Silver. Trust me when I tell you, because I was there to witness it, that court could care less what a jury of fact finders might think, or do. when confronted with police and prosecutorial misconduct, as witness the Richard DiGuglielmo case.
Confronted with the fact that the Westchester DA’s Office, and specifically ADA Patricia Murphy, under the supervision of Jeanine Pirro, concealed from the Defense, and thus from the jury, in 1997, until a hearing in 2008, the fact that the only three eye-witnesses to the self-defense shooting of Charles Campbell, a crazed, metal bat wielding assailant, were each put through four days and nights of harassment by the Dobbs Ferry Police Chief, George Longworth, and his three-man detective unit, until two of them changed their accounts to match the DA’s invented lies, the Appellate Division said it wouldn’t have affected the jury’s verdict had they known. And, more importantly, Lippman’s corrupt panel, the State Court of Appeals, affirmed that decision 7-0.
Then, on the Federal Court side, let us not forget the Paul Cote fiasco. A trial in which AUSA Cynthia Dunne used the Westchester County Correction Officer John Mark Reimer, the man actually responsible for the death of inmate Teodorovic as the chief prosecution witness against CO Paul Cote who had come to Reimer’s aid. The trial outcome, after Reimer adfmitted 17 hours of coaching from Dunne, was so out of touch with the evidence presented, that the great judge, for whom the courthouse is now named, Charles L. Brieant threw out the conviction. His brave, and absolutely right-headed action was overturned by Sotomayor and two other misguided judges under the political influence of then United States Attorney Michael J. Garcia, who, amongst other telltale sins, had accompanied Patricia Murphy and Janet DiFiore to Longworth’s retirement party, personally argued the Government’s appeal, and, on more than one occasion, spent time in the Hamptons at DiFiore’s husband’s, summer villa.
If it looks ugly, it is! The state and federal courts have never been more self-serving and corrupted than they are now. So temper your optimism.
Postscript.
Speaking about Police Officer Richard DiGughlielmo; Dan, when are certain people going to stand up on their hind legs and acknowledge that that particularly ugly miscarriage of justice engineered by Pirro & Company needs to be set straight. It was never an act of bias, nor was it really about a parking space.
It was an episode which lasted less than two minutes, sparked by a man, likely over-energized with anabolic steroids, a body builder, amateur boxer, who believed it was right to first attempt to beat up a middle-aged store owner with his fists, and then with a metal baseball bat, for having put a “NO PARKING” sticker on the passenger window of his Corvette. It was a tragic shooting; but, one not only justified, but also a response demanded as the sworn duty of Officer DiGuglielmo.
Under the present state of affairs in that case there isn’t a police officer, or peace officer, anywhere in New York State that is not under a terrible conflict imposed by the Appellate Division, and Affirmed by The Court of Appeals. Richard DiGuglielmo did precisely what he was sworn and trained to do when confronted by an assailant using deadly force against an unarmed civilian, be they a relative, or, more likely, a total stranger in distress. And yet he has already served more than 11 years in prison, for saving his father’s life because Pirro saw political opportunity in the fact that the assailant was a black man.
What should he have done in that split second that Campbell, enraged as he was, and having already struck his father “loudly” in the leg, and broken his father’s hand, was now swinging for his head to, as one witness put it, “Crush his head like a watermelon?” Should he have reacted as politically as Pirro and let Campbell kill his father simply because Campbell was black and he was white? Is that the calculation we as citizens must now accept from our police who are paid to protect us, regardless of color, when confronted by such circumstances?
Officer Richard DiGuglielmo is, in reality, a political prisoner in his own country, a victim of prosecutorial misconduct and the “politically correct brand” of true racism that holds people who should know better back from speaking out, speaking the truth!
A.truman..your concerns are valid. The difference is that he will be out and has light at the end of the tunnel.plus a life was taken no matter how the cake is sliced..here, dipetro will end up spending his life in prison and the alleged victim was not even beaten up.in any event many of us our on board to battle the curropt!
One way to “battle the corrupt” as you put it, is to put pressure on the United States Attorney’s Office, particularly their Office of Public Integrity in Manhattan. Public integrity is a phrase that is a virtual oxymoron in Westchester, particlarly since the installation of Jeanine Pirro as DA in 1993, and going forward.
Another way is to put pressure on U.S. Attorney General Holder, especially in light of Obama’s campaign references to “wrongful convictions.”
And, then there is Eric Schneiderman, who, as a state senator, seemed to understand the direct connection between prosecutorial misconduct and prosecutorial immunity. Now that he is State Attorney General he seems to have lost his memory a bit. Or maybe he’s compromised some after accepting Cuomo’s endorsement back in the primary against Rice.
Dan, you’ve certainly been pursuing a vital and fundamental issue with the DiPietro case, one which cries out for intense public awareness and scrutiny. And, for that you deserve recognition and praise. Unfortunately most people are unaware of the extreme miscarriages of justice that have occurred in both our state and federal courts, and, in fact, continue in the County Courthouse particularly, not merely in the Criminal Part, but also in the Matrimonial Part, Surrogates, and Family Courts. It is an indisputable fact that judge after judge in that courthouse responds differently when a knowledgable and dedicated journalist is in their courtroom than they do when the Journal News and News 12 sit there questioning nothing because of their incestuous “special relationships and privileges” with the DA’s Office, and the Administrative Judge.
And, Poster 20 is so right to remind us that many good people, sincere and well-meant representatives of the Fourth Estate have literally devoted, and in some instances laid down, their lives in the cause of informing the People of Westchester, in hopes of bringing about meaningful reform and justice. Keep up the good work! Ten months ago eight ordinary American citizens brought back a verdict in the Federal Courthouse in White Plains, against Yonkers Mayor Amicone & Company that made their appreciation of a “free and unfettered press” abundantly clear.
Dan Murphy is an exceptional investigative reporter. This case will put him on the map. Great job.
Great Article and website. Thank you for the update.
a decision on the discovery is being written now by Pittman and clerk. we will know soon, don’t kill yourself murph if it doesn’t go your way, you can always go back to attacking the Spano’s—-ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
I work in White Plains and I think I’ve seen Perazzo walking the streets, a real creepy looking guy. Mr. Murphy can you confirm that he is still around?
for more information, there is a website named http://hiddencasefiles.com
This site is for investigating wrongfully convicted cases and the first case listed is the Angelo Dipietro Story. Innoccence projects like this are getting the word out.
It has alot of info.
To Court Watcher–How would you know what is being written at this time in Pitman’s chambers? Are you implying that a fix will take place by Pitman? What is funny about your post is that if you think that this one will be fixed and go under a huge rug–than you are sadly mistaken. I guess, you are implying that you are actually one of the culprits in this case and that Pitman will simply overlook an Innocence project investigator reports, 6 eyewitnesses, phone records, and the alleged victim never testifying-now caught on audio stating it was a lie.
Anyways, I guess when another round of information is unleashed–including the recording of Sanginit, his brother and his buddy Joe Diaco having diarrhea of the mouth— you may not be laughing..hahahahaha….
I guess you should study the art of war and realize that this game ended a long time ago. Quick Lessons (1) never underestimate your opponent. Lesson (2) never underestimate a person’s will.
court watcher ,with all the inside information you have ,on what a judge and his clerk are thinking and writing,i wonder what else you think you know. I bet you do your best work when you are on your knees. Now that is FUNNY hahahahahahaha
Notwithstanding the last poster’s need to be vile, nobody knows exactly what any judge, or panel of judges is likel.y to do these days. However, one thing is disappointingly clear. In the competition between the facilitation of truth and justice, as against that which will best serve his political advancement, few judges can honestly be expected to do the right thing. Time and again the majority have established that they are not public servants, but rather, self-servants.
truman,from the very first article that Dan did on depietro there has been nothing but vile on this blog,people makings threats,talking about thing they have no idea what they are talking about,just like you,10 out10 people who read#29 would agree that person was saying they already knew the outcome#32gave it right back to that vile person,he asked for it and he got it. and as far as you go you dont see the things people are saying about you.maybe you are playing both sides of the fence,if some body writes and it has nothing to do with you ,see if you can learn to keep your mouth shut,#32great answer to that clown
It’s is quite obvious from some of these posts that some people might be very nervous that DiPietro might be given a new trial – and be back out on the street again.
Who could those people be?
In answer to Poster #36: Unfortunately, given the judicial climate under Jeanine Pirro, both state, and federal, in Westchester, then, and to a large extent now, certainly those who sat at the Prosecution table, and their witnesses, may well be increasingly uncomfortable. However, we discover, all too frequently, upon deep examination, that Judges, and even so-called Defense Attorneys may be as well.
Another example why the Justice System is in dire need of reform….I never heard of a case where the alleged victim does not testify to his own kidnapping, especially when he has a cooperation agreement. (Perazzo, the alleged kidnapping victim, never testified)….
#38 Listen to his tape, never testify,on tape Perazzo said it was a lie,this story should be on channel 7 news,today DEPIETRO next week ,maybe it will be YOU.
Blogging about injustice is akind to whistling past the cemetary.
I’m sure it makes you feel better, but nothing has changed.
CA Governor Signs Jailhouse Informant Bill to Prevent Wrongful Convictions
Posted: August 2, 2011 5:46 pm
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law yesterday that aims to prevent wrongful convictions by requiring that jailhouse informant testimony be corroborated.
The new law will prevent juries in the state from convicting a defendant based on informant testimony unless corroborating evidence is presented by prosecutors.
Dozens of Los Angeles County criminal convictions based on the testimony of jailhouse informants have been overturned over the last quarter-century because appeals courts found the key witnesses to be unreliable or self-serving, reported the Los Angeles Times.
In more than 15% of wrongful conviction cases overturned by DNA testing, an informant or jailhouse informant testified against the defendant. Often, statements from people with incentives to testify – particularly incentives that are not disclosed to the jury – are the central evidence in convicting an innocent person.
The bill was supported by defense attorneys and the San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorneys.
Does anyone suppose Jeanine Pirro, her arch enemy Janet DiFiore, Richard Brown, Chuck Hines, or Robert Morganthau would actually support such a measure? In the DeRosario case tried in 2005, for which, after six years Pirro could not produce even one shred of material evidence that the Defendant, despite being an admitted pediphile,
had any connection whatsoever to the “kidnapping” or murder of 12-year-old Orlandito Maldonado Rosario, she used four different snitches each of whom told a different story to the jury no two of which coincided.
Nevertheless, DeRosario is doing 50 years for a criome he plainly could not have committed.
Truman- Why did Sanginiti testify at DerRosario’s grand jury?
Sanginti led the police to where that boys body was found,i read this in court paper work,Pirro claimed they didnot need Sanginiti to testify ,because there office had many people with no police records who could testify. What i would like to know is how did sanginiti know where that poor kid was dumped like apiece of garbage, and sanginiti walked away from the whole case.#42is 100% right Pirros citizens with no records were all in jail at the time.IN the the depietro case the judge was told thatSanginiti suppiled the key piece of imformation ,that was needed to find DerDosario<quilty,the AUSA told the judge at the summation of Depietros case that ,at great personal danger ,sanginiti felt he had to come forward and tell the truth,what the jury and most citizens donot know is if you are thee sole witness,then you have to plead guilty to all crimes,so if you are sitting on a jury ,and sanginiti tells that I took part in all of these crimes,you would have to believe he is telling the truth,mean while no one is telling that by law he has to say that ,this man put 10 to 12 men in prison,all by himself ,Depietro gets 100+ years, and Sanginiti walks out of the court a free man. get a copy of the Sanginiti summation ,and read it for your self.
The fact that Jeanine Pirro has never been indicted by the SDNY speaks volumes about that office’s integrity. They have aided and abetted the corruption in Westchester for years.
they will never brother Jeanine Pirro ,she has to much dirt on everyone ,do you think that she disposed years of tape recordings ,who knows what could be on those tapes and with who,you can bet they are in a very safe place
Jeanine Pirro began secretly taping all of her incoming calls, and many of her outgoing in late December of 1997, when United Sates Attorney for the Southern District of New York, MaryJo White purposely leaked out the fact that the Pirros were under federal investigation for joint tax fraud. Since even the IRS is subject to a statute of limitations, (10 years), that meant the years 1988 thru 1997, a tax period in which Jeanine had signed jointly with Al nine times.
MaryJo lacked the balls to indict them together, because Jeanine had just won her second (very fixed) election to the DA’s Office one month earlier, by a 2 to 1 margin over Joann Norton, who spent exactly $3,000 to Jeanine’s $1.2 million; a “Larry Schwartz Special.” She feared that Jeanine was so popular she might lose the case if she included her; and, so she merely went after Al, and his brother Anthony who had prepared the returns under Al’s instructions.
Anthony, a really nice person did a 38 month stretch, while slimeball Al got out in eleven.
In late 2005 she ordered her driver, the investigator who famously was earning $252,000 taking her to nighttime T.V. appearances as well as to bed, to destroy a box full of secretly recorded tapes. However he was smart enough not to.
The tapes that have surfaced were amongst those. It was also in late 2005, before she would be leaving office that she pulled off the DeRosario bogus trial and conviction, having been unable in six years since charging him, to make any physical connection between him and Orlandito.
Jeanine Pirro began secretly taping all of her incoming calls, and many of her outgoing in late December of 1997, when United Sates Attorney for the Southern District of New York, MaryJo White purposely leaked out the fact that the Pirros were under federal investigation for joint tax fraud, cleverly prompting the Pirros to amend ten years of returns, a virtual confession of guilt. Since even the IRS is subject to a statute of limitations, (10 years), that meant the years 1988 thru 1997, a tax period in which Jeanine had signed jointly with Al nine times.
MaryJo lacked the balls to indict them together, because Jeanine had just won her second (very fixed) election to the DA’s Office one month earlier, by a 2 to 1 margin over Joann Norton, who spent exactly $3,000 to Jeanine’s $1.2 million; a “Larry Schwartz Special.” She feared that Jeanine was so popular she might lose the case if she included her; and, so she merely went after Al, and his brother Anthony who had prepared the returns under Al’s instructions.
Anthony, a really nice person did a 38 month stretch, while slimeball Al got out in eleven.
In late 2005 she ordered her driver, the investigator who famously was earning $252,000 taking her to nighttime T.V. appearances as well as to bed, to destroy a box full of secretly recorded tapes. However he was smart enough not to.
The tapes that have surfaced were amongst those. It was also in late 2005, before she would be leaving office that she pulled off the DeRosario bogus trial and conviction, having been unable in six years since charging him, to make any physical connection between him and Orlandito.
The not-so-subtle message from the Feds in todays drug and violence roundup story goes something like,”See, we’re getting along just fine with Amicone and his violent cops. Look, they’re wearing name tags, aren’t they? Don’t expect miracles and arrests here on Janet’s turf just because we’ve been conducting a five-year investigation into the YPD and allegations of beating up innocent men women and children. The Simoes thing? You heard what the (idiotic cowardly) jury said; “Not guilty!”
Unbelievable website!
This A. Truman guy is a real angry nut job. Does he like anyone?
Poster #51 your comment says much more about who you are. If anger is all you get from my contributions to this site you need a good eye exam. Don’t be judging the messenger severely because you are unprepared to accept the real torment and injustice decent, innocent individuals and their families have been made to endure over the past three decades in Westchester, because persons like yourself elected, and re-elected self-promoting creatures like Jeanine Pirro, never once questioning how, if for no other reason, they could vote to make someone the District Attorney who was married to the most notorious white-collar criminal, and tax cheat in the County.
Perhaps, as Jack Nicholson told Tom Cruise, “You can’t handle the truth.”
Corruption can be destroyed only by the numbers that oppose it. TRUE ADVOCATES need to stop drawing lines and advocate TOGETHER for each and every cause vigorously. Otherwise, allot of people should just stop talking a good game. It all begins by protecting the rights of those labeled by the corrupt as unworthy of public sorrow or lacking the championing image. A corruption is a corruption, as one wrongful conviction is as to another.
I totally agree with Poster # 53, and would add that posters who offer personal attacks against those truly engaged in the effort are either apologists for, and/or beneficiaries of those who have violated human and civil rights, or just too naive to accept the fact that their icons were truly evil and self-promoting.
I still say A. Truman is an angry nut job. With his own personal axes to grind. The Consultant Revisted.
hey55 sounds like you have axe to grind,i respect him ,he tells it like it is,he must have been,or is a very important person, the point is what he is saying is getting under your skin,why?keep up the good work Mr Trueman.Ihave read other blogs you wrote on,there is no question you have been around,
by the way no hard feelings,you thought i made a vile statement,i am like you i believe in what i say, good work ,keep it up
The Consultant Revisted. Just an angry blowhard.
I loved the website Murphy!! This case is as good as burnt toast. Break out the skewers and start roasting marshmallows, because no one will uphold it-not even Adolf himself. Tell the US Attorney and the fed involved to get new hobbies, because writing high school plays are apparently not working out well.
Dan, given the snail’s pace with which the Feds have proceeded in Westchester despite having mountains of evidence against the likes of Andy Spano, and Larry Schwartz, Tony Scarpino and the Hudson Valley Bank, Louis Capelli and everybody, Phil Amicone, Edmund Hartnett and two dozen violent rogue Yonkers cops, a bunch of really bad Harrison cops, lying Doctors Roh and Hyland, District Attorneys Pirro and DiFiore, and at least two dozen civil rights violating, perjury suborning, assistants, not to mention Election Commissioner Reginald LaFayette, Nick and Mike Spano, etc. etc., why don’t you take an informal, unscientific poll of the readers of all of your newspapers and your blog to determine the level of their confidence that the US Attorney and the FBI are likely to clean up the ugly mess, the way Chris Christy did in New Jersey?
Incidently, in answer to Poster #57, as far as I can tell, the only relevant aspects the Consultant and I share in common is that we each have a law degree, we each once held a position in County law enforcement, though not the same position, and we are each opposed to political cross-endorsement. But this site is not about me, nor about him, but rather, about some long-standing problems here in Westchester County that clearly deserve the prompt attention of federal authorities given their deep roots in failed public integrity, and their disastrous impact on so many innocent lives.
I was talking to frank Taddeo last night, about the events of this case. There are a numbers of things ,that just make no sense to me , i just found out last night,that John Perrazzo never signed a complaint ,against anyone for kidnapping. how is it possible that this trial even took place,I will be the first to say i no nothing about the law ,buts this is nuts,can some please tell me how Perrazzo,telling everyone from the US Attorneys to the FBI this never happened ,and Sanginiti ,who i also found out last night was the first to be arrested,so that tells me he got caught doin something else,or the police would have made a number of arrest at the same, but that is not what happened,JP right is right,you had nothing to do with this,it was Sanginiti and now i know why John Perrazzo was not in the court room for that trail,i heard that tape of john saying the last they wanted was him on the stand . His words not mine Thank RICK
A federal judge ruled Friday that prosecutors withheld key evidence in a 1977 double-murder case, and she ordered a new trial.
David Joseph Munchinski was convicted of first-degree murder in 1986 for the slayings of James Alford and Raymond Gierke and was sentenced to two life terms without parole. The killings took place in Bears Rock, a rural community full of expensive A-frame homes. Trial records indicate the killings may have been drug-related.
Judge Lisa Lenihan wrote in the opinion that the “outrageous misconduct” of prosecutors during previous trials “casts a pall of doubt over every single piece of evidence presented by the prosecution in support of its case.”
Munchinski’s attorney, Noah Geary, said the ruling gives prosecutors 120 days to decide whether to proceed with a new trial. If they don’t, Munchinski would be released from prison.
“We’re prepared to re-try the case tomorrow,” Geary said. “He’s maintained from day one that he’s innocent.”
Munchinski’s appeal claimed former prosecutors Ralph Warman and Gerald Solomon hid evidence that was favorable to him, including a police report that suggests a purported witness was in Oklahoma when the killings occurred. Both Warman and Solomon are now western Pennsylvania judges.
Calls to phone numbers listed for Warman and Solomon rang unanswered Friday.
State attorneys opposed Munchinski’s request for a new trial, arguing that the verdict wouldn’t have changed even with some of the hidden evidence.
But Lenihan’s ruling disputed that, concluding that no reasonable jury could have convicted Munchinski without the benefit of “the multitude of constitutional violations that occurred in this case.” She also noted “the utter lack of physical evidence” tying Munchinski to the crimes.
The ruling also noted that Judge Barry Feudale had previously overturned the conviction in 2004, and that he found the actions of prosecutors were so egregious that “no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.”
But a three-judge Superior Court panel overturned Feudale’s ruling in 2005, disagreeing with many of his factual findings and other procedural matters.
Lenihan’s ruling found that the Superior Court panel used “an unreasonable interpretation of the clearly-established precedent of the United States Supreme Court.”
A key factor in Munchinski’s conviction was testimony by a witness named Richard Bowen. But Lenihan said with Bowen’s extensive criminal record and other credibility issues, “it is a wonder that the prosecution attempted to base a case around Bowen?s testimony at all.”
A federal judge ruled Friday that prosecutors withheld key evidence in a 1977 double-murder case, and she ordered a new trial.
David Joseph Munchinski was convicted of first-degree murder in 1986 for the slayings of James Alford and Raymond Gierke and was sentenced to two life terms without parole. The killings took place in Bears Rock, a rural community full of expensive A-frame homes. Trial records indicate the killings may have been drug-related.
Judge Lisa Lenihan wrote in the opinion that the “outrageous misconduct” of prosecutors during previous trials “casts a pall of doubt over every single piece of evidence presented by the prosecution in support of its case.”
Munchinski’s attorney, Noah Geary, said the ruling gives prosecutors 120 days to decide whether to proceed with a new trial. If they don’t, Munchinski would be released from prison.
“We’re prepared to re-try the case tomorrow,” Geary said. “He’s maintained from day one that he’s innocent.”
Munchinski’s appeal claimed former prosecutors Ralph Warman and Gerald Solomon hid evidence that was favorable to him, including a police report that suggests a purported witness was in Oklahoma when the killings occurred. Both Warman and Solomon are now western Pennsylvania judges.
Calls to phone numbers listed for Warman and Solomon rang unanswered Friday.
State attorneys opposed Munchinski’s request for a new trial, arguing that the verdict wouldn’t have changed even with some of the hidden evidence.
But Lenihan’s ruling disputed that, concluding that no reasonable jury could have convicted Munchinski without the benefit of “the multitude of constitutional violations that occurred in this case.” She also noted “the utter lack of physical evidence” tying Munchinski to the crimes.
The ruling also noted that Judge Barry Feudale had previously overturned the conviction in 2004, and that he found the actions of prosecutors were so egregious that “no reliable adjudication of guilt or innocence could have taken place.”
But a three-judge Superior Court panel overturned Feudale’s ruling in 2005, disagreeing with many of his factual findings and other procedural matters.
Lenihan’s ruling found that the Superior Court panel used “an unreasonable interpretation of the clearly-established precedent of the United States Supreme Court.”
A key factor in Munchinski’s conviction was testimony by a witness named Richard Bowen. But Lenihan said with Bowen’s extensive criminal record and other credibility issues, “it is a wonder that the prosecution attempted to base a case around Bowen?s testimony at all.”
To Ponder: In light of Judge Lenihan’s wonderment and assessment in the Munchinski case, what would she say if handed the DeRosario case where Pirro took six years to bring him to trial; all the while damning the accused in the Journal News and on NEWS 12, and yet, coming up without a single piece of tangible evidence connecting him to the crime or the body; and,finally, in desperation, using four “jailhouse” and drug implicated incentivized snitches all of whom gave a significantly different account, to convict him of kidnap and murder for which he is doing 50 years?
Let us not lose sight of the fact that these “fast and loose” tactics by which prosecutors get away with such wrongful convictions could never occur but for the willing cooperation of judges such as Barbara Zambelli, often referred to by defense attorneys as “the third prosecutor in the room”, who presided over DeRosario. Consider too, Judge Nicolas Colabella’s role in the Jeffrey Deskovic disaster, and all that he allowed the ‘tagteam’ of ADA George Bolen and Medical Examiner Dr. Luis Roh to get away with, this one under the control of DA Carl Vergari, 26 years in office, 1968-1994. Remember, Colabella and everyone involved in the case knew damned well 16-year-old Jeffrey was innocent, seven months before bringing him to trial, because neither the DNA found in the young victim’s vagina, nor the hairs found on her body, matched him.
Truman,,,Why did Sanginiti testify in his grand jury?
I haven’t any idea, and would rather not speculate.
Why not? You speculate on everything else.
What’s the matter A. Truman? Cat got your angry, speculative tongue?
Let’s keep things more honest here. By attacking me in a personal way you merely demonstrate your kinship with, and your need to protect, those who have wrongfully prosecuted and incarcerated innocent individuals for sport and financial advancement. Further, you can not find speculation in my posts, but rather specific statements of fact that you cannot refute, naming names of prosecutors and judges, and victims of the system because I was present in the courtrooms and in the County Offices where the corrupt events took place. If you could produce contrary information you would!
Stop wasting readers’ timw with your irrelevant remarks.
Truman. i agree 100 percent and am sick of the corruption. Throw all these bastards in prison like the people that they framed. Put the prosecutors and dirty law enforcement behind bars and hold them accountable. If a prosecutor destroy evidence or suborns perjury than he should be prosecuted for obstruction of justice. Moreover, stop wasting our tax money to enhance your own careers. I would start with the prosecutor in the DiPietro case-who made his career off the case that he invented with a lowlife.
Dan your picture looks great on the site, keep up the good work. Your doing the right thing, and do not let anyone get in your way. I wish you had a bigger outreach, because the Westchester people should now the depths of evil that have tormented this county.
Dan your picture looks great on the site, keep up the good work. Your doing the right thing, and do not let anyone get in your way. I wish you had a bigger outreach, because the Westchester people should now the depths of evil that have tormented this county.
SAMUEL ZHERKA where did you go?. Do you have any relationship with the feds? Your paper has never attacked the feds or AUSA’s–seems weird to me? Never talked about this case at all—seems weird to me? Never talked about the DIn Celaj case with the feds—seems weird to me? Never talked about the Anabi, Jereis, Mangone case going on right now—seem weird to me?
Where have you been SAMMY since Blassberg has left (Not one wrongful conviction case has been written)? Oh that is right–you dedicated your front page to trying to attack Dan Murphy –why because the feds told you to or your felt that was a compelling story?
Just to set the record straight: Sammy’s actual first name, as many people know, is Selim.
As far as criticizing the United States Attorney and the FBI, there was plenty of that under Blassberg, when it was called for. As far as wrongful convictions and the courts generally that was how Blassberg used his law degree.
To each his own. No doubt, things are more peaceful in his absence.
A. Truman has become ‘The Consultant.’ Borrowed his “speaking in the third person” schtick and his ‘will not speculate’ thing also. What a phony.
He went from Zherka’s trained puppy to his chief critic. Along the way Zherka made him somebody, but he never gave Sammy the credit.
Now he’s like Terry Malloy, spending his useless hours in front of a laptop, weighing in on mundane local events while he forecloses on his life. What a loser.
You should live so long my friend.
I will. Just to watch what Mr. Zherka has in store for you.
That is my point. When Blassberg left, the Guardian died and will never be the same!. Selim, Samuel, or Sammy-whatever name you want for this guy to have—tell him that his buddy Din Celaj says hello. Also, tell him that when certain things get straightened out, he is the next fraud to be exposed and his alleged relationship with the feds will become the forefront of that exposure.
THE JUDGEMENT OF CONVICTION IS VACATED.
What judgement??
Folks, there’s only one E in judgment.
That was enlightning. You sure you weren’t speculating about that?
A Trueman,not trying to be funny,but did you steal this guys wife,this guy sounds like he hates you.
The Consultant doesn’t post here any longer because bloggers outed him for both his past associatioins anf for being the egotistical liar that he is. Now he posts under a new name on YTrib.
The same will be done to A. Truman, a carbon copy of The Consultant just with a different speculative bone to pick. I would guess he’s pissed because he recently found out he’s going to need to get a job after all. lol.
Even if this conviction was vacated, wasn’t DiPietro convicted of two other Albanian mafia crimes, including one in front of Judge Cote in 2006 for being a member of Alex Rudaj’s ‘The Corporation.’ Wasn’t he sentenced by Judge Cote to decades in jail on the other cases? What will it mean if this conviction is vacated?
With that said, and for all I’ve read about DiPietro, Rudaj, Colotti and company, DiPietro doesn’t exactly sound like he’s worth all the effort Murphy. He’s a hardened criminal. Maybe you should read up on DiPietro and put your efforts into real innocent people.
hey battes thats right ask questions you have no idea what your talking about.it was Sanginiti once again who was the star of that trail.,you know all the answers ,then i will ask once again ask how joe and DePietro were charged with KIDNAPPING,and found quilty but JOHN PERAZZO never filed criminal charges against anyone,for kidnapping i would also like to read the paper work that you read that DePietro is a hardened criminal,the man was never arrested before, he met Sanginiti and perazzo,if Sanginiti committed perjury in the first trail, then what do you think he did in the second one,but you know every thing,i am waiting for you to tell all the readers, what a great guy MO Sanginiti was ,is that going to be in next weeks blog,i can hardly wait,maybe you could tell the readers about Sanginitis ex wife coming home home, and catching him raping his niece, but as smart as you are ,you must know all these stories. maybe if you can get the votes, you can name him man of the year.
Are the feds and AUSA’s blogging again? Or is that one of the Westchester DA cronies? Hey Murph, put the audio tapes on news 12 so Batts can fart them out of his while he drinks his coffee. I guess were living in a new age–if the government says your not a good person than your guilty of crimes that never occurred. hahahaha….hey battts stops trying to be someone your not–where the nickname come from-agent falsone or Mr. treanor
I guess upon Mr. Batts advice we should start a vigilante justice system. In fact, Truman you should give up on the Derosario case. He was a convicted child pedophile, so according to Mr. Batts we can convict him for murder even if he did not do it…He is not exactly a good guy, so what is the difference. To digress, I wonder what Mr. Batts skeleton’s are- I bet he never watches porn, has pure thoughts 24 hours a day, never lies, never cheated. I bet he stands side by side at the gates next to Saint Peter.
Those who honestly believe that “The Consultant” was actually driven from this blog are sadly mistaken. He has given himself away with a recent “Anonymous” posting saying something only he would/could say. Of course, he is misinformed with respect to his comment.
Being obsessed with the need to express his opinion, merely being outed doesn’t stop him. It’s really always about him, regardless of the good intentions of other posters
Answer the question. Is DiPietro a convicted member of Alex Rudaj’s ‘The Corporation’ or not. Don’t avoid the question. And how many times has DiPietro been convicted in federal court? Sorry folks. No saint here.
And A. Truman. Quit defending The Consultant. It’s below even you. Besides, you have a hard enough time defending yourself. lol.
Yes DiPietro was convicted in another case and if you could please upload the transcripts to show it was upon the same exact testimony–Mo Sanginiti–Who, by the way, has now been indefinitely proven by an Innocence project investigator to have framed DiPietro in a bunch of crimes that he did not commit. Attacking his alleged character does not refute the facts–which is 6 witnesses, phone records, missing surveillance tapes agents actually watching at the alleged time, and, lets forget, the alleged victim now caught on tape saying it was all a lie. I think the recording went something like this–”were you kidnapped at Applebee’s as Mo Sanginti testified at Dipietro’s trial…”No..that is a lie..like I told you Monday..that is a lie that is a fabrication.” Have fun listening http://hiddencasefiles.com/investigation.html
As for him being a saint, no one ever said he was. By the way, are you a saint? If so, please post when the church recognized you as one. If you can not attack the actual case, which it does not seem you were present that night, than I would skirt that tail of yours.
Poster # 90, do you suffer from some kind of comprehension problem? Do you live in an alternate universe, or simply
go around in total denial? Not one thing I have ever said on this blog or anywhere else would lead even a moderately intelligent observer to conclude that I support the positions, associates, or apologies of the so-called “Consultant.” So get real!
In the DiPietro case the “prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers recently claimed to have caught a convenient case of memory loss, as she wrote to Federal Magistrate Judge Henry Pitman that the government could not “recall” whether they took notes during the interviews of critical witnesses that could have helped prove DiPietro’s innocence.” In the past, AUSA Rodgers had been cited by a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, Charles S. Sims, as making skeptical claims when litigating. In a New York Times interview, Mr. Sims spoke about one of Ms. Rodgers’ letters to a federal judge claiming—“virtually every factoid in that presentation is entirely false.”
Nothing added in four days. Looks like time for a new subject.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS
Name Register # Age-Race-Sex Release Date Location
1. ALI ZHERKA 81067-054 44-White-M 04-14-2011 RELEASED
How’d that happen? I thought he was looking at 25 to Life just last year?
Ask A. Truman. He seems to know about everything.
In reality, who would have the slightest interest in Ali Zherka, but for his locally high-profile brother Selim (Sammy Z.) Zherka? There is the biblical question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In all fairness one should not be held responsible for the actions, or the lifepath of their siblings.
How fair would such a burden be for Nick Spano’s 15 brothers and sisters? Consider how unfairly Anthony Pirro, Al’s brother, eight years his junior; and, a sweetheart of a guy, was treated by both the federal prosecutors and court, as well as the press, back in 2000. With a “big brother” the likes of Al, he, and his wonderful wife and daughter, didn’t need any further abuse.
Time for a new subject.
The consultant was exposed as a fraud and liar in putnam county. And for the company he keeps, only a loser would hire him.
Good article. Commend the writer for it.
sam zherka
i agree.
When Judges take off their Blindfold: A look at Federal Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman
By Andrea Caccese’s & Delia Canne
The same system that is supposed to shield citizens from injustice can easily twist and turn the legal processes into controversy. A shocking episode that illustrates all the faults behind a really “blind justice” (not in a positive sense) is the case of Angelo DiPietro, a 54 years old Italian American that is currently serving a life sentence in a high security prison, after being found guilty of kidnapping a man in 2001.
The victim, a convicted Ponzi scheme operating fraudster, claimed that someone abducted him from a restaurant in a busy mall, forced him into a van, and was taken to an unknown location to be tortured.
Here is when everything gets weird: there is not one single bit of reliable and solid evidence that Mr. DiPietro is the kidnapper, moreover, there is not one single bit of evidence that the abduction happened at all. In fact, all the evidence in the case show that the victim surfaced a few hours later form the allegd time of his abduction, safe and sound, without showcasing a single sign of violence on his body.
Despite this lack of certainty, DiPietro is now facing a life sentence based upon nothing more than prosecutorial whims: The victim refused to ever testify and federal prosecutors are neglecting to properly analyze any trail of misconduct.
If all of this wasn’t strange enough, the only thing that apparently links between Angelo DiPietro and the victim is the account of Maurizio Sanginiti, a convicted man that received money and a pardon in exchange for his testimony against Mr. DiPietro.
DiPietro started his long battle against the system with the help of investigator Bill Clutter and defense attorney Joseph A. Bondy, both known for their work with similar cases and wrongful convictions.
Eventually two reliable witnesses who confirmed DiPietro’s accounts surfaced, but outrageously, the court altered or ignored their reports, keeping a now obviously innocent man behind the bars despite the untruthful testimony of Sanginiti, who had nothing but a windfall to gain from testifying against DiPietro.
This case has carried on for a long time, mostly because of a justice system that instead of admitting a mistake, carries on covering up obvious flaws in the system. Making it worse is the fact that one of the reviewing judges in the DiPietro case, Henry B. Pitman, is a former United States Attorney from the same office responsible for the misconduct. His actions, thus far, has revealed a lack of “blindness,” as he apparently has taken off his blind fold and has done nothing to either investigate or rectify the injustice that has been sitting on his lap for last two years.
The media hurricane generated by this case and all the resources spent demand a fair investigative and burocratic process. The perpetuation of such an abusive modus operandi of the authorities, and ignorance by judges is a vile stain to the image of American values as a nation of morals and laws.
http://nhpw.com/when-judges-take-off-their-blindfold-a-look-at-federal-magistrate-judge-henry-b-pitman/