Good Cop, Bad Cop Redux Pt 2

(By American Zen's Mike Flannigan, on loan from Ari)  

(Disclaimer: The proprietor of this blog and Mr. Wilson have an ongoing years-long friendship, in which the former has benefited on several occasions by the generosity of the latter. However, that in no way, shape or form has influenced the blog owner’s decision to post articles about his case nor the content of what is written below.)

Q:  We haven't discussed your case in almost two years; then we revisit it and, as if on cue, this big story about corruption in the union breaks. Coincidence?

A: Well, I always knew that there was more to the story when Dana Pullman abruptly resigned, As the other stories-the Turnpike Overtime story and Leigha Genduso were playing out, there were hints that there were bigger stories to come. I always felt the question was how closely the Boston-area media going to follow them?

Q: The former head of the union, SPAM, Dana Pullman seems like a mob boss out of central casting in a Dennis Lehane movie.

A: Full disclosure, I went to middle school with Dana in Natick and we were friends then. We actually sat together in history class and would cut up while the teacher tried to teach. I feel bad about it now because she was a great teacher and she spent more time dealing with my disruptions than teaching the class. What I remember about Dana was that he was really funny, a great natural sense of humor. He kept us all laughing. Back then he was only slightly taller than average. He went on to a private high school and I didn't see him again until a few years after high school. By then he was this big, hulking guy; maybe 6'4' and built like an NFL lineman. We haven't spoken in about 30 years and, when we did, it was only a few words.  We were both police officers by then but he didn't seem too keen on having a conversation with me.

Q: The stories about him imply that he used intimidation to get his way as union head. 

A: Well, again, he is a very imposing guy. You said he seems like he was out of central casting. If Martin Scorcese was making a movie about mobbed-up union guys and they sent Dana to audition he'd be rejected as too cliché. He's almost too perfect. He looks like a professional leg-breaker. But, as I said last time, the public is increasingly referring to the State Police as mobsters and crooks and this story is definitely a bad look.  

Q: Does this story help your case at all?

A: ABSOLUTELY. The union, SPAM, played a huge role in my case and the way it ultimately played out. These recent developments put my case in a clearer perspective than even I imagined. I mentioned, last time, that the police abuse I suffered and the subsequent legal malpractice and conflicts of interest would probably be downplayed because my case, in its most recent iteration, had to be reported as a wrongful termination case. I wanted to be seen as a military reservist who honorably served during wartime and then was wrongly refused reinstatement to my civilian job. Once that fact was established then events leading up to that point would become more relevant. The problem with my case, the whole story, is that it is so complex an outsider does not immediately understand how to approach it. Is it about police abuse, a discriminatory malicious prosecution, legal malpractice, wrongful termination? Well, it is all those things and they all fit together seamlessly but, when I tell people the story their eyes glaze over. It is, literally, too much to digest, to the point that there are some aspects that I haven't addressed. 

Q: You didn't say much about the NAACP piece until a few days ago. What else hadn't you told me, Tony?

A: This is where the recent story comes into play, Mike. With all this talk about kickbacks and pay-offs it has made a theory I held close much more plausible. I tried to convey, with the documents I provided you, that it was pretty obvious that the Franklin Police stories were egregious fabrications that didn't agree on any point of contention. Yet, Internal Affairs went forward and recommended disciplinary action against me despite the obvious contradictions. And, the entire investigation was done, well, ass-backwards, in such a way that it was formatted to keep my side of the story, written or verbal, off the record before any formal hearing. My attorneys acted as if this was perfectly acceptable and spent all their time trying to coerce  me into accepting a measure of blame a plea bargain, like some disinterested, over-worked, public defender. The problems arose when I made it clear that I considered myself a whistle-blower and that I was going to bring lawsuits against the State Police and the Franklin Police. Well, my lawyers by then were panicked and it was all very fishy and, of course, I found out later, much later, that the counsel that SPAM kept on retainer had an irreconcilable conflict of interest, as they also represented the Franklin Police. 

So, of course, the focus of my disciplinary hearing was to protect their client, the Franklin Police, from self-incrimination. That failed. But I couldn't understand why they were so intent on going forward with a such a weak case in the first place. Reading the interview transcripts you can actually sense that the IA officers are twisting facts and statements so they could come up with chargeable offenses. I was convinced that the disciplinary process was, or is, a billable hours scam. 

When I told you my story a few years ago I said that the legal process was like being on a train you cannot stop. From the outset, with the initial complaint against me, a process initiates where a union rep contacts you ; then  you meet an attorney and he implies that you are in big trouble and that he is going to help resolve everything, if  you concede. The case then evolves, very much like a real legal proceeding, with formal charges and back-channel negotiations leading, ultimately, to a settlement where a threatened suspension is negotiated down to a few days lost vacation. Everyone is happy and, more importantly, everyone gets paid. I'm now convinced everyone affiliated with the process does get paid. The most recent allegations against SPAM imply that nearly every high-stakes transaction they were involved in featured kick-backs and pay-offs. In my case, and others I'm sure, disciplinary actions were brought against some unfortunate, unconnected schlep Trooper so that attorneys on retainer could, ahem, litigate. One can only imagine how the legal fees were split. The State Police reputation for "arbitrary", "vicious" and "vindictive" prosecutions and punishments, that's a quote from a consultant's study, by the way, makes more sense. We rank and file have always said: "the State Police eat its own"; if you're a schlub without connections to command or a politician. What is clear, now, is that lots of people are getting paid. 

Q: There does seem to be some smoke but how does this change things fit into the bigger picture?

A: Well, my case is still primarily a wrongful termination case but the actions, or inaction, of SPAM come to the forefront. I was on active Army duty when I was informed that I would not be reinstated because of my "PTSD" diagnosis. Remember, I had been cleared to return to work by a clinical psychologist. When I learned I was terminated I, of course, called the union to determine my legal strategy.  Again, I'm no lawyer but I knew that they could not refuse to reinstate me at that point. The union rep I spoke to told me, and this is the absolute truth, that he could not represent since I was no longer on the State Police. I'm not on the State Police, terminated, so I am no longer in the union. Now anyone knows that is bullshit, and that's the only thing to call it. A police union's primary function is to take up the cause for members who are improperly terminated. So, going back to the most recent developments in the Pullman case, the question that the federal authorities are asking is: what is the quality of service SPAM members are getting for their misappropriated dues? My response, of course, is shitty. Shitty service. In fact, my case makes it clear that the union worked against me to the point that it was criminal. I didn't pay union dues for 21 years so that my union could provide me with compromised legal assistance while being persecuted and working against me in my hour of need.  So, yeah, the Pullman case takes my case in a different direction.

Q: Well, yes, if the media even reports it.

A: That's true and we are back where we were a few days ago. My story is trickling out, archived and available to anyone who does a Google search. The media may or may not fully report the story but I did notice that The Boston Institute for Non-Profit Journalism is tackling the story and digging deeper than the mainstream Boston media. It will be interesting to see if the mainstream media does some real journalism or will they spike the story. But this case is seemingly going to the upper echelons of the political structure, as my case does. I'm hoping that, as I work to get the story into the alternative media in the next few weeks and months, that these investigators realize that my story is a big piece of that complex puzzle. 

Q: You said, last week, that you don’t believe the State Police should be abolished or reconfigured despite all the allegations of misconduct and a myriad of scandals. Has your opinion changed at all?

A: I do think, when these scandals are resolved, that there are going to be some changes, perhaps revolutionary ones. I won't elaborate, though. 

Q: Do you still want your job back?

A: One issue at a time, brother. One issue at a time.