Divorce, Guns and Public Court Records

Chicago, IL—Before 1969 divorce was no simple process in most jurisdictions.  The laws were designed to make divorce difficult with the idea that couples could solve their differences and continue to responsibly raise their children.

There had to be specific grounds and the most popular was “extreme cruelty”. 

There was abandonment and adultery, however they were much more difficult to prove.  The petitioner had to prove that the marriage had not only failed but was dangerous! Without what we’d today call terroristic threats, a divorce would not be granted.

The lawyers would all tell their clients, “Don’t worry it’s only a formality, just sign here or no divorce.”

If you go to the court clerk’s office and pull random case files they’re all carbon copies of each other.

“The Respondent has repeatedly pulled a handgun on Petitioner threatening to kill her” was written right at the top of nearly every petition!

The respondent in most cases also wanted the divorce and simply failed to appear in court to guarantee the divorce was granted by default. 

The petition was always made under oath meaning that in all but an insignificant few cases perjury was committed.

The lawyers and judges all knew the petitions were perjured but they all played along in an exercise of pragmatism. 

I have had a few clients over the years ask me to obtain their parents divorce records to satisfy curiosity after they’d hear extreme cruelty was the basis for the divorce.  It would affect how they regarded their fathers.

In a very large percentage of these cases there was never a gun kept in these homes!

Finally in 1969 the no-fault divorce laws swept the nation to end the filing of these outrageous documents.

Thankfully I’m old enough to know how things were done.  I would have to reassure my clients that their fathers were not deranged gunslingers.  Sometimes it was a tough sell because it made a perjurer out of their mothers.

I can’t help but wonder how many divorce filings led to the rejection of security clearances, job rejections or promising romances after various background investigations.

Justifiable Use of Deadly Force by Civilians in America

Some of my visitors have asked me to explain the circumstances were deadly force may be used in self-defense or the defense of a third person. I will keep this very simple.

In every state, laws allow deadly force to stop violent felonies in progress. That’s murder, manslaughter, robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault, residential burglary, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and arson. There are others that vary somewhat from state to state.

In your own home or place of business there are certain legal and credible presumptions in your favor that you won’t enjoy on a public street.

If you are attacked by someone with a weapon or multiple attackers (even if they are unarmed) you may use any weapon to halt the assault. The same is true if your attacker is unarmed but there is an obvious disparity in size or strength and a reasonable person would believe this assailant could inflict permanent injury or death upon you.

The use of force must end the moment the attackers cease, surrender or flee. You do not shoot to warn, wound or kill. You only shoot to stop the crime. Use the best police style ammunition available. The police use hollow point bullets for the solid reason of public safety. Those bullets are less likely to injure bystanders because a ricochet. In court you can always make that point if needed.

Unlike in the movies you need not first threaten to use deadly force or order your attackers to drop their weapons. That may be much too dangerous anyway. You may simply draw a gun and begin firing until the threat is over. Sometimes your attacker may have quick reflexes and turn around sharply as a protective measure as he takes a bullet in the back. Things like that happen.

Those few states with unconstitutional laws against possessing or carrying arms cannot simply turn your justifiable self-defense act into a crime over some gun ban. They may however try to violate your Civil Rights to keep and bear arms by prosecuting you for a weapons offense with a somewhat small penalty. After the Heller and McDonald cases from our Supreme Court, that won’t be easy for prosecutors.

Avoid conflicts, don’t use more force than necessary and with any luck you won’t have to experience this kind of mayhem. If violence comes your way you must fight fiercely, decisively and for keeps. Hesitation may cost your life or that of someone you love.

As I have said before if you use such force especially away from your home you should collect all weapons and quickly flee to avoid conflict with the accomplices of anyone you’ve injured or killed. They may be out of your sight, but close enough to confront and kill you if you hang around. Taking the weapons from the scene is necessary for both yours and the public’s safety.

Do not call or talk to police. Words like, “I just shot a carjacker!” on a 911 recording may well incriminate you and be used as a confession. The absolute worst thing you can do is lie to police. That won’t be a problem since you will say no more to police than, “I want a lawyer.”

Take the collected weapon/s to a criminal lawyer and ask him to turn them over to police. I don’t know a single criminal lawyer that would let you say anything at all to police anyway. The lawyer can tell police whatever he wants and he cannot and will not tell police what you’ve told him. The lawyer may tell police that his anonymous client was a victim of a violent crime and used self-defense.

Your lawyer will tell police that the gun, knife, club, or whatever belongs to the dead or injured criminal/s. The police will impound the weapon for examination by the crime laboratory and later evidentiary purposes. They may be able to recover DNA from the weapons or somehow trace it to your attackers. Fingerprints are almost never recovered from handguns.

Don’t expect to be allowed by your lawyer to tell anyone, including family members about this incident. The first and only time you should tell your story is to a criminal court jury deciding if your actions were justifiable as you claim.

Avoid all publicity. The media will no matter what either make a hero or a vigilante killer out of you. If the person/s you shot survive they can be counted on to claim they were only asking you for a ride not committing a carjacking. Your assailants will claim it was you that planted any weapons that you’ve recovered.

There will only be a swearing contest about the facts in court if the person/s you shoot survive to testify against you.

Beating A Robot Camera Traffic Ticket in Court—A New Court Ruling!

Los Angeles, CA—In a court of law there are few hearsay exceptions. Photographs and documents can’t simply jump up on to a witness stand and testify. Foundation must be established and a live witness that saw the event must testify that the photograph accurately depicts what he saw with his own eyes.

Judges around the country have let the Extortion Camera Photo Enforcement Mafia get away with, Hearsay Murder. Not anymore, at least in California.

Since Arizona judge’s retirement is actually attached to traffic fine collections they have a significant conflict of interest every time they hear a traffic case. I will never understand how that kind of crap can stand in America.

That California Camera Hearsay Ruling should get the attention of every lawyer and judge in all 50 states since we are dealing with the same Constitution.

The problem with the camera enforcement evidence is that denies the accused the Constitutional rights to face and cross-examine his accuser. It is insufficient for some clerical person or cop to claim the evidence presented is accurate. The contract providers of the extortion cameras are simply not set up to deal with American Due Process of law.

There are significant additional helpful roadblocks that exist but of course they need to be argued by an experienced lawyer. Top notch Los Angeles, personal injury lawyer and my friend Lowell Steiger put all the sordid details on his law blog.

Courts, Personal Injuries, the Jury System and those Insurance Companies…

Civilization requires some kind of justice system to right the wrongs that happen in society. If through simple negligence or recklessness we cause injury and damages, the law, courts and our juries fix responsibility.

When people are injured there are often damages that go far beyond medical bills. Unfortunately those causing the damage rarely reimburse those they injure without court intervention or the specter of it.  

To cover such unforeseen accidents we buy insurance.  Insurance companies don’t enjoy their huge profits because of their fairness or prompt payment of legitimate claims. They generally deny everything they can because they know cases most often take years to go to trial in most jurisdictions.

When a claim is made, the insurance company assigns their lawyer to represent the defendant in court.  It is somewhat of a conflict since their real master is not the defendant but his insurance company.  Should the case go to trial the jury is lead to believe the lawyer representing the defendant is his when in fact he the insurance company’s lawyer.

Insurance is the forbidden word in personal injury court trials. Insurance companies have horrible reputations and know that they are not popular with the average juror. If you hear that word during a trial the defense will always demand and get a mistrial. They want jurors to believe the defendant is paying out of his own pocket.  

Insurance companies exploit the fact that plaintiffs die, forget important facts or can no longer pursue their claims. Witnesses disappear, die, and forget what they saw or just decide they no longer want to cooperate. Claims simply go away when trials are delayed. Denying or putting off claims saves insurance companies billions. The delay game always helps insurance companies avoid responsibility.

Of course there are exaggerated claims or plaintiffs that think the hangnail they suffered is worth millions. That’s why we have the jury system.  The jurors protect the rights of the plaintiff to collect for their injuries and damages and stop fraudulent claims cold.

Those rare million dollar verdicts come as a result of deception, cover-ups or other misconduct by defendants or their lawyers in their efforts to avoid fair compensation.

Jurors have wide latitude in awarding more money than they’ve been asked to by a plaintiff. If a jury goes overboard with a verdict the judge will always reduce those verdicts.  Large verdicts always send strong messages to those insurance companies that try to further victimize plaintiffs.

When you get called for jury duty you must put your feet in the shoes of the plaintiff and defendant. That plaintiff or defendant could be you or someone you love.  Of course the defendant will never have to pay from their own pockets because that's why they had insurance.  Hear the case, take you position, stick to it and be proud. 

Remember whatever you award the plaintiff he will have to share as much as 50% with his lawyer.  Of course medical bills, expert witness fees along with significant costs must be paid by the plaintiff in addition to the percentage that goes to the lawyer.  

If the insurance company gets stuck with a generous jury award perhaps next time they will avoid a trial settling the claim in a fair and prompt manner.

Note:  I will follow up with criminal, juvenile and family law courts in future articles.  

Why Cameras in Courtrooms Are a Terrible Idea

Chicago, IL—In the Windy city where corruption in the courts has been a way of life, cameras have been precluded for at least 70 years. I’m not sure the camera prohibition is related to judicial corruption but the prohibition does have advantages that are conducive to fairness.

There are pictures of Al Capone inside a courtroom a 2600 S. California Avenue. There was movie and still pictures taken during the sensational Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb murder trial also in that era. It was sometime later when cameras were eventually outlawed.

Transparency dictates open government and court proceedings be public except in rare cases and to protect juveniles. The public cannot be excluded from courtrooms unless they are witnesses that have not yet testified in the case before the court. That important prohibition is to prevent witnesses from influencing each other during trials or hearings.

The real harm with bringing cameras into courtrooms is when justice is reduced to cheap entertainment. The most horrific examples of televised trials gone wrong was the O.J Simpson murder trial and then later in the murder trial of Scott Peterson.

The Romans showcased crime and punishment in their coliseum. Blood thirsty crowds over-filled this venue for the shockingly ghoulish public slaughter of people whose crime was that of being Christian.

Adolph Hitler and his propaganda minister Josef Goebbels made sure that the People’s Court of The Third Reich was shown on newsreels in every movie house in Germany.

The German people could watch Nazi Judge Roland Frisler holding a show trial where he tried, convicted and sentenced 16 year-old boy scout, Helmuth Hübener to the guillotine. Young Hübener’s capital conviction was for daring to pass out anti-Hitler leaflets in Hamburg.

The Hübener lad was just one of 5,000 German men and women known to have been murdered under the color of law for resting National Socialism.

We must not let American courts degenerate into a most garish form of entertainment for the idle. We simply can't allow courts to be used for propaganda or to terrorize the population.

On the other hand the courts are public and should always remain open for the public to observe.

If there is a TV show I loathe more than any other in the history of television it’d the Judge Judy Show. Yes, her cases are of little consequence but none the less the show reduces our court to the status of a third rate circus.

As for the unbridled horror of the Helmuth Hübener story, a movie is being filmed in Germany right now with, Haley Joel Osment playing the lead character.

Chicago Gun Ban Will Be Shot Down Monday!

Washington, DC—There can be little doubt now that the Supreme Court’s parting shot before the summer recess will hit Mayor Richard M. Daley right in the butt. Monday will be the last day the court issues opinions until their next term.

For the first time in 30 years, law-abiding Chicagoans will have a level playing field with the criminals to defend themselves, families and their property.

George W. Bush appointee, Associate Justice Samuel Alito is expected to write the opinion for the majority in the McDonald case.

The issue is whether the Second Amendment is incorporated by the 14th Amendment to the States. In simpler terms, the McDonald decision will determine whether state and local governments can infringe on American’s right to keep and bear arms.

We have to see is just how narrow this opinion will be. The next big issues on the line deal with the ability of states to restrict the bearing of arms or to ban certain types of arms. I think the conventional wisdom is obvious and lower courts should begin to recognize that Americans have a right, not to just the keep firearms but also to bear them.

Another issue is whether states can ban firearms over cosmetic appearances or the number of rounds they hold. Again the lower courts may begin with a presumption that they are simply ARMS and Americans have the right to keep and bear them.

Just because the Second Amendment is the law of the land won’t prevent un-American freedom hating politicians like Daley from violating their oaths to defend the constitution.

Beauty Bailout! Free Cosmetics!

Okay most of my readers are guys, but they all have wives, daughters and girlfriends. Of course there are lots of delightful ladies that would never miss reading anything I write!

Crimefile has learned that as a result of a price-fixing lawsuit many high end department stores must give away $175 million in free cosmetics.

There are no rules other than giving your name and telling them you bought these products before, during the period of: May 29, 1994 and July 16, 2003. No receipts or other proof is required.

I would be really upset if my Right thinking lady readers missed out on anything free. This all begins on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 until supplies are exhausted at the following stores: Bergdorf Goodman, Bergner’s, Bloomingdale’s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Dillard’s, Gottschalks, Herberger’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Parisian, Saks Fifth Avenue and Younkers.

The exact settlement details can be found here.

Crime Punishment And Susan Atkins

Corona, CA-Susan Atkins was exactly what nightmares were made of. The reign of terror inflicted upon innocent citizens by Atkins and the Manson Family almost stand alone in history’s most depraved killings 39 years ago.

Atkins escaped the death penalty imposed on her by the trial court. Before and after the Manson rampage thousands of men and women have been executed for lesser crimes.

Since her murder rampage Atkins slowly rejected her mentor, Charles Manson and became a well-behaved prison inmate. Atkins has done all those things we want criminals to do and is no threat today. Atkins is now incarcerated only for punishment rather than rehabilitation. Atkins will not survive more than several months.

Atkins contracted cancer. The disease has brought the amputation of one of her legs. Now she has months to live because of untreatable brain cancer and she is no longer capable of walking or even sitting up in bed.

Prison officials told L.A. Times reporters that the state has spent $1.4 million on Atkins just since last March on medical care and security costs.

I will spare the hearts and flowers crap for another day. The cost of keeping Atkins in custody is an extravagant exercise that taxpayers don’t need. This is beyond punishment for Atkins. The only people being punished are Atkins’ family and friends who are in no way involved in the events that happened so long ago.

Detroit News Editorial Asks That Fugitive Soccer Mom Be Set Free.

This extraordinary case needs to run through the Michigan Parole Board and Governor’s commutation program at a record speed. I hope that the parole board sees things the way I do and so many kind people that have stepped in to help Marie Walsh.

Read today’s editorial here.

International Extradition And The Death Penalty

Fugitive Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean was bagged by Mexican cops in San Juan De La Vina, Mexico. Laureau was on the lam after being accused first of rape and then later killing the very pregnant, Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20. Police believe the killing was an ill-fated attempt to silence Lauterbach’s testimony against Laurean.

There is a simple lesson for all people on the run from a capital offense in the United States. International extradition has a price in most of the civilized world. That price is there will be no extraditions without a guarantee that the death penalty wont be sought or imposed on the accused.

Most convicted killers don’t live to see a prison death chamber because of the decades long chain of appeals involved in these cases. However spending time on Death Row is really hard time compared to even super maximum state prison general population housing units.

Touching foreign soil did much more than save Laurean’s life. Even if he serves a maximum term he will have his custody status reviewed and reduced with good behavior. That would never happen if he was under a death sentence.

I won’t comment on just what Laurean deserves more than a fair trial and conviction only after guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Laurean has already been convicted by blood thirsty television and blog offerings in their usual rush to judgment.

Spending most or all of your useful life in prison has to be pure Hell with the crappy food, an end to hetro-sexual relations, and any form privacy. Being subjected to victimization at the hands of career criminals with nothing to lose does not enhance the quality of life. Life in prison may be much worse than death.

I hate the death penalty because it gives government the ability to kill its own citizens. Sooner or later that power gets out-of-control as we have seen in Europe, Asia and the Middle East in recent history. Can we trust the politicians we were never that fond of not to abuse their power?

Releasing Prisoners Because Of A Government Fiscal Crisis

This is a no brainer for me. We all know that dangerous and violent criminals are young. As criminals age their crimes decrease accordingly. A purse snatcher for example can’t do those escape sprints at 45 or 50 like he could at 25. Maturity also tames those who like to engage in risky behavior.

Life in prison is supposed to be just that. However the truth is life or at least the quality of life is really over for prison inmates and everyone for that matter when, disease, blindness, hearing loss and the inability to simply walk brings disability.

Our prisons have become nursing homes with significant health care costs. That’s over and above the cost of security over senior citizens behind bars.

The solution is simple if prisoners are so old or so disabled they are no longer a threat let them out. That’s far better than letting out a 25 to 45 year old burglar, robber or rapist early. That means people like Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan, other high profile ageing convicts will get their diapers changed in a nursing home.

There are thousands of dangerous young criminals that society needs protection from. We should not waste valuable prison real estate on anyone who is feeble and helpless.

It Looks Like Plea Agreement Time For Howard Morgan

No, I still don’t know what sparked this wild mess. The news here for Howard Morgan is not good. A Chicago jury voted 11-1 for conviction on the most serious charges. Racially charged cases seem to end in acquittal if the cops were White and the defendant Black. Here the jury must have found compelling evidence that Morgan tried to unlawfully open fire on uniformed cops after a minor traffic violation.

Morgan can count on being retried and barring some new evidence for the defense it looks like a long prison sentence for Morgan is in the cards. Howard Morgan needs to fold his cards and get the best deal he can get. Whatever happens now won’t be pretty.

Emotions have run very high on this tale of extreme violence and accusations. For my merely asking questions about what happened on this blog I’ve received a few very offensive anonymous comments that had to be deleted because of the language alone. I hope they did not come from cops.

I never took sides on this story because I could never figure a motive for the total war that took place. On any given day this kind of traffic stop would have become a time for cops including Morgan to all give each other the secret FOP handshake and all continuing with a smile.

Big Gun TV News Producer Seated On Spector Jury

As the jury selection is nearing completion the big buzz is about a person selected that lists his occupation as a high profile TV news producer. Apparently this journalist’s duties caused him to gather information about the Spector case. The defense has not run scared and allowed the journalist to stay and judge Spector. The defense is obviously totally convinced the facts and evidence will clear the legendary record producer of charges he murdered the beautiful Lana Clarkson.

Many legal experts say this is risky for the defense, kind of like seating a cop on the jury. I suggest that a journalist will be more inclined to deal with the facts and not guess his way to a verdict.

All along I’ve said the facts and evidence are on Spector’s side. The same cannot be said for thirty-year old allegations made by people who had failed relationships with Spector. Judge Larry Fidler has allowed ancient accusations that were not deemed worthy of a court intervention back then to be tried in his courtroom today in order to sway the jury on the current matter being examined.

In the end we will find that this prosecution was a giant waste of taxpayer’s money and that Spector was outrageously victimized by the system. My safe bet is that Spector will walk free and live out the remainder of his life, watching strangers pointing their fingers at him wherever he goes. Our world is far from a perfect one.

Watch complete trial coverage via live video right here.

Aide To Sen. James Webb D-VA Busted For Gun Law SNAFU

An executive assistant to Senator Jim Webb was arrested for packing a loaded by Capitol Hill Police while entering the Russell Senate Office Building. Just what was the violated law? Why none other that the one recently struck down by the Court of Appeals.

What’s beyond funny that congressmen and senators can carry guns under the rules they made for themselves. I guess our politicians should never, ever have to suffer from the same laws that they demand all other Americans must live under. The same royal rules did not help Webb’s staff member carrying the good senator’s gun for him while he parked his car.

It will be fun watching this case float through the legal system.

Horrific Beating By Chicago Policemen Caught On Tape

An off duty 20th District tactical officer is in very hot water today for his Feb. 19th, apparently unprovoked attack on a lady bartender on Chicago’s Northwest side. I like to avoid these stories but this one needs attention.

Officer Anthony Abbate, 38 faces a two to five-year prison term for Aggravated Battery along with swift and certain firing from the position of public trust he’s held for over 12 years.

In addition to the Aggravated Battery felony charge is an allegation of witness tampering.

Officer Abbate has destroyed his own future and brought tremendous embarrassment down on all of his fellow officers with his shocking behavior.

I will be following this case through the court system and you can learn the results right here.


A Chicago Tribune with security video can be seen here.

District Of Columbia Handgun Ban Struck Down.

Washington DC--It’s a great day for the Bill of Rights in America! A three judge appellate court panel just ruled that the Second Amendment is a right of the people, not just militias. The decision overturned a low court ruling that upheld the ban in light of a legal challenge by area residents.

This has strong implications for the entire nation and will affect gun bans in California, New York, and Illinois. The next step is an appeal by gun ban proponents to the United States Supreme Court.

Read the opinion here!

With other pro-freedom rulings made in recent years it may well mean that American’s right to keep and bear arms has real meaning.

Tales From The Twilight Zone?

Orlando- Astronaut Lisa M. Nowak was on one more, way-out mission. This time not in space but in her overactive imagination which was overloaded with intrigue and perhaps thoughts of homicide.

Police say Nowak wore diapers for her 12-hour drive from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida so she would not have to stop just like she always did on her space missions. This time her program may well been to abduct and kill her rival, Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman who Nowak believed was in a relationship with Bill Oefelein, another NASA astronaut. Nowak followed Shipman to an airport parking lot and sprayed her with a defense chemical.

A steel mallet, several feet of rubber tubing and hand-written directions to Shipman's home were recovered by police from Nowak's car, which was parked at a nearby Orlando LaQuinta Inn.

Apparently the lovesick space-lady told Orlando police detectives her tale that we can count on to be developed into a major motion picture. Could it be time for yet another Twilight Zone movie?

Actor Ryan O’Neal Arrested After Malibu Family Disturbance

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officers responded to a call for help from this actor’s palatial Malibu estate involving a rhubarb between Ryan O’Neal, 65 and his son Griffin O’Neal, 42. An unidentified 22 year-old, pregnant girlfriend of the younger O’Neal was somehow injured in the melee.

The younger O’Neal purportedly went after his dad with a fireplace poker. The elder O’Neal allegedly fired a single shot that sent the younger O’Neal running away.

Let’s review this… A younger, stronger man assaults an older weaker man. The younger man has converted a fireplace poker into a deadly weapon. The elder man stops the attack with a shot that injures nobody. The elder man owns the house. So far nobody has been charged with causing injury to the pregnant female. Add to this that the younger man has a criminal record and the senior man does not.

I’m sorry, but I can’t see a valid reason to arrest Ryan O’Neal for anything at all. I always thought they sent every Los Angeles County deputy sheriff to police academies. Where did they teach those officers to arrest senior citizens for defending themselves? Perhaps they were trained in Red China or maybe Cuba rather than in the USA?

It remains to be seen how this mess shakes out. I’d like to think the O’Neal family bonds might well be stronger than whatever caused this Malibu mini-riot. In any event I’d like to think that the Los Angeles County D.A. is smarter than these Malibu gendarmes and quickly drops the case.

An update: Griffin O’Neal’s injured, pregnant girlfriend has been identified as 22 year-old Joanna Berry. Both Berry and Griffin O’Neal are represented by, The Queen Of The Bottom Feeders, lawyer Gloria Allred. Allred is asking for problems with the California State Bar since her two new clients have competing interests.

It looks like Allred is going to make a claim for injuries caused by Griffin O’Neal because they happened in Ryan O’Neal’s home. Figure that one out. Of course Allred is always looking for piece of another sleazy book deal.

Erickson Case Figure Up For Re-Sentencing

Chicago--Two Deputy U.S. Marshals were killed during a wild 1992 escape attempt by bank robber Jeffrey Erickson. One was retired Chicago police officer Harry A. Belluomini and fellow marshal Roy Frakes.

Now an accomplice to the escape, Robert Burke is being re-sentenced for his part in this horrible crime. The family of hero, Harry A. Belluomini is asking for assistance from fellow coppers to let the trial Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer the gravity and impact of this crime on this close-knit police family and the entire community.

Below is a letter from Belluomini’s family:

Re: Robert BURKE 01CR1049

We are asking for your help, in writing letters of concern to Federal Judge Rebecca PALLMEYER, who will be presiding over a re-sentencing hearing on March 7th, 2007, regarding convicted federal prisoner Robert BURKE.

Our father, Harry A. BELLUOMINI was a retired Chicago Police Detective working at the Dirksen Federal Building for the U.S. Marshal Service, when on July 20th, 1992 he was shot and killed by Jeffery ERICKSON, an escaping bank robber. ERICKSON had used a smuggled handcuff key to release his handcuffs. He then disarmed a Marshal’s intern, shot and killed Deputy US Marshal Roy FRAKES, and shot our father, all occurring in the basement of the Federal Building. Our father was able to return fire before dying, mortally wounding ERICKSON. ERICKSON realizing that he was dying, took his own life on the ramp leading from the basement to Jackson Blvd that fateful afternoon.

During 2005 Robert BURKE was convicted of supplying the handcuff key, that facilitated ERICKSON’S attempted escape. (BURKE had been a fugitive, before his arrest, hiding in England before his extradition.) Judge Rebecca PALLMEYER presided over this trial and sentenced BURKE to the maximum penalty allowed by law. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction, and suggested that the case go back to the trial judge for possible reconsideration of the sentence.

We are asking that letters be sent to Judge Rebecca PALLMEYER, requesting that her initial sentence be maintained, and that BURKE be sentenced again to the maximum allowed by law.

Please address your letters as follows:
U.S. Probation Office
219 South Dearborn Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60604

With heart felt thanks,

Police Officer Karen BELLUOMINI-BLANC, assigned to Unit 050,
Police Officer Michael BELLUOMINI, assigned to Unit 059, and
Police Officer Anne BELLUOMINI, assigned to the 025th District.

BLA Cop Killers Nabbed After 36 Years!

SAN FRANCISCO- 51 year-old, Sergeant John V. Young was murdered on August 29, 1971 during a racist attack on a police station.

The police station was emptied of officers who had responded to an earlier bombing at another location, two men entered the police station and stuck a 12-gauge shotgun through an opening in the bullet proof glass that separated the waiting area from the rest of the police station. The suspects fired between five and ten shotgun blasts, killing Sergeant Young and wounding a civilian employee of the department. Both gunmen then fled from the station house and into a waiting getaway car. Both suspects were later determined to be members of the Black Liberation Army.

Now eight suspects were arrested and charged in connection with Sergeant Young's murder. Advances in forensic investigation and renewed efforts to solve cold cases netted this group of urban terrorists.