|
[Back to
Interviews & Articles]
David
v. Goliath:
Feds Take Up Thuggery; Fretting Over Tables Turned
By
Norm Pattis
Law Tribune Contributing Writer
Connecticut Law Tribune
reprint courtesy of Connecticut Law
Tribune
September 20, 2004
Nora Dannehy and the other members of La Cosa Federalista have a message
for you: Don't mess with our witnesses. Or, we'll haul you and your
client's raggedy fannies in before a grand jury. We'll sic agents - no,
make that special agents - on you, and search for every vagrant dime. But
surveill our witnesses and we'll beat the snot out of you. This is
Ashcroft's 'hood, ya know what I'm saying. And I'm the baddest broad
around.
Hey, Nora: To hell with you.
It seems like forever since federal prosecutors empanelled a grand jury of
ordinary citizens, swore them to secrecy and then started hauling folks
before the grand jury to make them sing about John Rowland. No lawyers
allowed, mind you. The grand jury, the people's protection against
government abuse of power, is now an accomplice to government secrecy.
So what to do if you are the target of such an investigation? Do you lay
low, stick your tail between your legs and hope, pray and beg for mercy?
Or do you turn the government's tactics on the government?
The Tomasso Group of New Britain decided to play hard ball. It apparently
hired some out-of-town tough guy who doesn't play lawn tennis, and he, in
turn, hired Andy Thibault.
What? The poison pen writer of these pages? A public relations campaign?
No, Andy Thibault and his partner Richard Murzin, a former Hartford cop.
Andy's playing lead foot now. He's a private investigator. A good one,
too. I have used him and learned interesting things about adversaries and
witnesses in criminal cases.
Andy's been pounding the pavement on behalf of the Tomasso group,
apparently. And the feds don't like it. It turns out Lawrence E. Alibozek,
a former aide to the governor, doesn't mind puking in front of a grand
jury, but start asking questions about him or watching his comings and
goings, and he goes to pieces. Same thing with Kristine Ragaglia, former
Rowland crony and commissioner of the Department of Children and Families.
She's upset that people have been poring through her trash.
So what do the feds do? Thuggery. Andy was stopped, detained, his camera
and notes seized, and his colleagues were roughed up some. La Cosa
Federalista used a little strong-arm tactics.
Of course, the Fourth Amendment prohibits such conduct. Even the war on
corruption, the new law enforcement sport in Connecticut, is not supposed
to violate the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures by
the federal government.
When a finger was pointed at rogue federal agents, a mouthpiece for the
feds was quick to step up to the microphone. "If anyone involved in
this incident, or their attorneys, are claiming that individuals were
mistreated or abused in any way, they are not being truthful," the
flack said. His comments had the sort of fairy-tale ring of the mob
lawyer's denial that the mafia existed.
Andy Thibault has chosen to wear several hats. He is a journalist and an
investigator. Lines get blurred and things can get confusing: Much like
practicing law and playing at journalist, as is done each week in this
column.
However, the truth remains in this case that Thibault was unlawfully
seized, his notes and papers - including his address book with the
telephone numbers of his sources, taken by federal agents without a
warrant.
Why? Because the feds can't play hard ball. Cowards all.
C'mon, Andy. Bring a civil suit. I know a lawyer who specializes in police
misconduct. He'd love to take a deposition or two …
Norm Pattis is a partner at Williams &Pattis in New Haven.
Back
to Top
|