The Freedom Bulletin

Reputed boss of the Irish mob James “Whitey” Bulger was officially arraigned today in Boston’s federal court and pled not guilty to charges related to the murders of 19 people.

I was not able to get into the courtroom for the 10-minute proceeding at 2 p.m. – the usual hordes of reporters and spectators were exacerbated by the fact that the arraignment was held, as arraignments usually are, in a magistrate judge courtroom, which is much smaller than a regular courtroom. But I watched the proceedings via a video feed in a second, “overflow” courtroom, and here are my observations.

Before the proceedings began, Bulger’s new lawyer, the renowned J.W. Carney, shook hands and chatted with federal prosecutors Fred Wyshak and Brian Kelly, and then shook hands with Bulger’s brothers, former Senate president William “Billy” Bulger and former clerk magistrate John “Jackie” Bulger. Then Whitey entered, wearing his usual orange jumpsuit, and his shackles were removed by a plainclothes agent. He sat all the way on the left of the table, with Carney to his right, an empty chair, and then the two prosecutors on the far right. Carney leaned over and whispered to Bulger, before Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler entered the courtroom and everyone stood.

Bowler asked Carney if he had showed his client the indictment and if he understood it. “In my opinion, yes he does,” Carney replied. He waived the reading of the indictments in their entirety, and prosecutor Kelly proceeded to simply read each charge and its maximum penalty. The charges are:

• Count 1: Conspiracy to commit RICO (life imprisonment)
• Count 2: RICO (life imprisonment)
• Count 3: Conspiracy to commit extortion (20 years)
• Count 4: Extortion (20 years)
• Count 5: Conspiracy to commit money laundering (20 years)
• Count 6-27: Money laundering (20 years)
• Count 39: Possession of firearms in furtherance of racketeering (5 years)
• Count 40: Possession of machine guns in furtherance of racketeering (30 years)
• Count 42: Possession of unregistered machine gun (10 years)
• Count 45: Transportation and possession of machine gun (10 years)
• Count 48: Possession of firearm with obliterated serial number (5 years)

The clerk asked Bulger how he wanted to plead. Bulger stood, his hands clasped in front of him. As the clerk read each count, he replied softly, calmly, and sounding slightly bored toward the end, “not guilty.”

Carney then mentioned a motion he filed to have his law partner, Janice Bassil, appointed as his co-counsel at public expense. Bowler declared his motion moot, explaining that Bassil does not need to be appointed. Since she and Carney are at the same firm, she can automatically be an attorney of record in the case and be paid for her work.

That was essentially it for the 15-minute hearing. Kelly stated that the trial is expected to last 4 weeks, with 30-40 witnesses. A status conference will be held on September 14 at 2:30, which Bulger is not required to attend, but should be able to if he wishes.

Thomas J. Mortimer IV was arraigned today in Middlesex Superior Court, pleading not guilty and agreeing to be held without bail. I attended today’s court proceedings, which began at around 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 440 at the Woburn office park that is the courthouse.

Clerk Magistrate Michael Sullivan presided over Mortimer’s arraignment. Two prosecutors, Adrienne Lynch and John McEvoy, represented the state, while defense attorney Denise Regan represented Mortimer. Many relatives and/or friends of the alleged victims sat in the front two rows, but surprisingly there were only a few reporters.

A court clerk read the indictment against Mortimer, charging that he “did assault and beat” and “by such assault and beating did kill and murder” his wife Laura Stone Mortimer (41), his mother-in-law Ragna E. Stone (64), his son Thomas Joseph David Mortimer V (4), and his daughter Charlotte Ellen Sandra Mortimer (2). Four times the clerk asked, “Mr. Mortimer, how do you plead to this indictment?” and four times he replied “not guilty.”

While all this happened, Mortimer was in a little room adjacent to the courtroom, but he could easily be seen and participate in the proceedings through an opening in the wall. His dark hair was shorter than at his district court arraignment, and he was wearing a light blue shirt and reddish-brown tie. His hands were handcuffed in front of him. Most of the time he somberly looked straight ahead and down, never glancing toward the gallery or his wife’s family members. As he pled not guilty, he spoke somewhat quietly and seemed a little nervous and hesitant at first. He didn’t show much emotion but was friendly and polite with his lawyer, nodding and smiling when she spoke privately to him.

After Mortimer pled, Lynch requested that he be held without bail because of the nature of the crimes and his alleged flight to Western Massachusetts, and she also revealed a few new facts about the alleged murders. According to Lynch, the deaths took place between 9:10 p.m. on June 14 and 7:10 a.m. on June 15. Mortimer allegedly composed a confession letter between 11:16 p.m. and 3:19 a.m., when he shut down his computer. The letter was found in digital form on the computer, as well as two printed copies.

At 7:10 a.m. on the 15th, Mortimer called his workplace and his son’s day care to say that neither of them would be in. Later he answered his wife’s phone when her sister, Debra Sochat, called and told her that Laura would not be able to call her back for a long time. At some point that day he threw his and Laura’s phones away at a gas station on route 113.

On June 16, the bodies were found during a well-being check of the home at 2 Windsong Land in Winchester. The next day, Mortimer’s car battery died and he was arrested in Bernardston.

Regan did not contest Lynch’s request for no bail, so that was the end of the arraignment. She patted Mortimer’s shoulder before he was led away by officers.

But that was not the end of today’s court proceedings. After the arraignment, at 11:00, a hearing was held on a defense motion to seal the statement of the case, a document filed by the prosecution to summarize the allegations. This took place in the same courtroom but before a different judge, Thomas Billings.

Regan argued that the statement of the case should be temporarily impounded until the next hearing, on September 9, to give her time to make a written argument for it to be impounded permanently. She said that the last five pages of the nine-page document were “inflammatory” and that their release would be unfair to Mortimer and “detrimental to his right to a fair trial.” She added that no rule of court requires a statement of the case. “It has no bearing on the legal proceedings in the court,” she said.

Lynch, on the other hand, argued that “the defendant can’t pick and choose which information the commonwealth can present to the court.” She pointed out that prosecutors are required to file a statement of the case at arraignment.

Judge Billings then asked if anyone in the gallery wanted to be heard, and reporters John Ellement of the Boston Globe and Laurel Sweet of the Boston Herald both stood up and argued against impounding the statement of the case, saying that releasing it is customary and would not taint the jury pool because the trial will likely not take place until at least a year from now.

But Regan argued that a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial should win out over the media’s First Amendment right to report on the case and the public’s right to the information. She was surprised, she said, at the length and detail of the statement that she was shown today.

Judge Billings decided to impound the statement of the case until the 9th. The defense bears a heavy burden to show that the statement should be sealed, he said, but he is willing to give Regan a chance.

So the next court date for this case will be Thursday, September 9, at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 630.

More from the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Associated Press, and Winchester Star.

Thomas Mortimer IV was arraigned today at Woburn District Court for the murders of his wife, two children, and mother in law. As I wrote last night, the bodies of Laura Stone Mortimer, 41, Ellen Stone, 64, Thomas Mortimer V, 4, and Charlotte Mortimer, 2, were found on Wednesday in their Winchester home. It is still unclear exactly how they were killed and what the motive might have been if Mortimer is indeed guilty, which certainly hasn’t been proven yet.

I was there at the arraignment and got to get a good look at the defendant during the proceedings and as he was led out of the courthouse (more on that later). Woburn District Court is a small building, and Mortimer’s arraignment took place in what seemed to be the main courtroom on the first floor. After many short hearings and arraignments in much smaller, less important cases, Mortimer entered the room through a side door at around 10:30. He was surrounded by three court officers, and his hands were cuffed behind his back. He was wearing a gray suit and white shirt, and he appeared very calm, looking straight ahead and slightly down, not moving or fidgeting.

The Judge’s name was James Barretto, the prosecutor was Adrienne Lynch (who also prosecuted Alexander Pring-Wilson), and Mortimer’s defense lawyer, appointed by the Committee for Public Counsel Services, was Denise Regan.

The court entered four not guilty pleas on Mortimer’s behalf, and he showed no emotion as the charges against him were read. Throughout most of the proceedings, Regan placed her hand on Mortimer’s wrist or back. Lynch, not surprisingly, asked that he be held without bail, and Regan did not object.

Regan made four motions in court today:

• To have Mortimer be examined by a forensic psychiatrist
• To allow the presence of defense counsel during the examination
• To provide money for an investigator for the defense
• To provide money for a forensic mental health professional

Lynch had no objection to three of the motions, and those three were allowed. She did object to the motion for defense counsel to be present during the evaluation, arguing that this would give the defense an unfair advantage by providing them information about Mortimer’s mental state that would not be available to the prosecution, and also that it would put an undue burden on the Middlesex Sheriff’s department in scheduling the evaluation. Judge Barretto took this motion under advisement.

The arraignment lasted only about 10 minutes. Afterward dozens of photographers, reporters, and spectators gathered around the back door of the courthouse to wait for Mortimer to come out. I decided to join them. After an hour and a half, Mortimer was finally led out of the courthouse and into a waiting van, surrounded by officers, chained, and wearing a bulletproof vest and what looked like it might have been a jail uniform. Two spectators yelled at him, saying that he should have hanged himself and probably would get hanged in jail. I managed to get two (probably not very good) pictures of him with my phone, and I will post them as soon as I figure out how to get them onto my computer. You can see the better one above. Sorry that I stink at taking pictures with my phone - you can see Mortimer all the way back in the doorway.

According to news reports, Mortimer’s parents were in attendance. It was hard to tell who was who in the courtroom filled with reporters, spectators, and defendants and lawyers in other cases, although two ladies sitting near me said that they were friends of Ellen.

Also according to news reports, this afternoon Judge Barretto ordered Mortimer to undergo a psychological evaluation today and allowed Regan to be present.

The next court date is scheduled for August 2. It should be interesting to see what happens as more details about the case come out.

Edit: Here are some links for further reading:

• Boston Globe
• NECN
• WHDH
• WHDH – a body language expert’s take on Mortimer
• Boston Herald – Mortimer’s job woes
• Calls for Justice - Mortimer enters not guilty plea

Alleged Craigslist killer Philip Markoff was arraigned this morning in Suffolk Superior Court. He is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, 2 counts of armed kidnapping, and 2 counts of illegal possession of a firearm, and he pleaded not guilty to all of them.

I made my way to the 7th floor at about 8:00. From about 9:00 to 11:15 hearings and arraignments took place for various other cases. Markoff’s mother, father, brother, and sister-in-law were present, as were about 7 or 8 relatives and friends of Julissa Brisman, the woman Markoff is accused of murdering.

When it was finally time for him to be arraigned, Markoff entered the courtroom through a side door at about 11:15. I could hear his chains clinking before he came through the door. He was wearing a white shirt with blue stripes, and his blond hair was shorter than at his last court appearance. He stood in the dock and looked toward the judge, never showing any emotion or looking at his family.

When Clerk Magistrate Gary Wilson asked Markoff how he pled to the murder charge, he answered “not guilty” in a clear, confident voice. He waived the right to a formal reading of the charges and also pled not guilty to the other six charges.

Prosecutor Edmond Zabin asked that Markoff be held without bail and summed up the crimes of which he is accused. Zabin described the crimes as three violent assaults against three female victims – a murder and a robbery in Boston and an attempted robbery in Rhode Island. He said that Markoff used a different Tracfone (which does not require identifying information to sign up) to contact each victim after replying to their ads in the “erotic services” section of Craigslist. This February, when his fiancee, Megan McAllister, was out of town, he allegedly went to Mason, New Hampshire, where he purchased a 9mm semiautomatic handgun made by Springfield Armory, using the driver’s license of a New York man named Andrew Miller.

On April 9 he allegedly set up an appointment through Craigslist with an escort named Patricia Leffler at the Westin hotel in Boston. According to Zabin, he forced her to the floor at gunpoint, tied her hands with flex-cuff restraints, and, wearing leather gloves, took her money and some personal belongings. He then removed the gloves and duct-taped her mouth. His fingerprints were found on the cuffs and duct tape.

At this point, defense attorney John Salsberg objected, arguing that listing the alleged crimes in such detail served no purpose, as he was not planning to argue for bail, and would taint the potential jury pool. Wilson dismissed the defense objection, saying that stopping Zabin would be unprecedented.

Zabin continued, saying that Markoff met Brisman at the Copley Marriot on April 14 after answering her Craigslist ad for massages. Shortly after he got to her room on the 20th floor, he allegedly hit her in the head with his gun with severe but not life-threatening force and then shot her three times in the upper torso. She was found with a flex-cuff on one wrist and bruising on the other and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The cause of death was the gunshot wounds.

Surveillance footage from both hotels shows that the suspect wore similar clothing on both the 10th and the 14th. When police searched Markoff’s apartment at the High Point complex in Quincy, they found a gun in a hollowed-out copy of Gray’s Anatomy, spare ammunition and magazines, flex-cuffs, Tracfones, and laptop computers, one of which contained remnants of an email sent in reply to Brisman’s Craigslist ad. Markoff had Andrew Miller’s driver’s license on him at the time of his arrest on April 20, when he was driving to Foxwoods with his fiancee, and his fingerprints were found on the paperwork that accompanied the gun purchase.

Zabin asked that Markoff be held without bail “given the brutal nature of these crimes…and the strength of the evidence.” Salsberg did not argue otherwise, so Wilson ordered Markoff held without bail.

Wilson called this a “track C” homicide case and set the trial date about a year from now, on June 1st, 2010.

There will be a hearing tomorrow on some defense motions before Judge Frank Gaziano (the same judge as in the Rockefeller case!) at 2:00, which I unfortunately won’t be able to attend. Markoff has waived his right to be present tomorrow, which means he probably won’t be there either. I’ll try to make an update about that if anything of interest happens.

Here’s a list (subject to change) of important dates coming up in this case:

• June 23, 2009 at 2:00 – hearing on defense motions
• December 10, 2009 – hearing
• May 11, 2010 – final pretrial hearing
• June 1, 2010 – trial begins

Edit (6/23): There’s also a hearing scheduled for August 11 of this year.

Philip Markoff, better known as the alleged Craigslist killer, was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court today, and I decided to attend. In case you haven’t heard of this case, Markoff is a 22-year-old (or 23-year-old, depending on the source) Boston University medical student who is accused of murdering Julissa Brisman, a masseuse and aspiring actress, at the Marriott Copley Place in an attempted robbery. He is also accused of robbing another woman at the Westin Copley Place. Both women advertised massage/erotic services on Craigslist, which is how they allegedly came into contact with Markoff.  Surveillance photos of the suspect at both hotels were released by the Boston Police, and yesterday Markoff was taken into custody and his identity was disclosed.

I got to Courtroom 10, on the fifth floor of the building, at 9:00 this morning, but before Markoff’s arraignment there were about a dozen hearings for various defendants charged with relatively minor crimes such as driving with an expired license, larceny, possession of a firearm without a license, drunk driving, et cetera. On a side note, I saw defense lawyer Stephen Hrones, who initially represented Clark Rockefeller, in court today, representing a man charged with larceny.

At a little before 12:30, Markoff was finally brought into the courtroom through a side door. He has blond hair and was wearing a blue button-down shirt and khaki pants. By that time the room was absolutely packed with reporters and other observers. There was relatively little seating, so many people had to stand, filling basically every possible space.

Markoff was charged with kidnapping and armed robbery for the incident that took place at the Westin on April 10, and murder for the killing of Brisman on April 14. He was also charged with possession of a firearm without a license. The prosecutor, Jennifer Hickman, asked that he be held without bail and then described the details of the crimes Markoff is charged with. She mentioned that Brisman was shot three times and suffered blunt force trauma to her head, and said that Markoff bound the other woman’s wrists with plastic ties, tied her to the hotel room door, pointed a gun at her, and stole over $800. Last night, said Hickman, the police executed a search warrant on Markoff’s Quincy home, where they found a gun and ammunition.

Markoff’s lawyer, John Salsberg, made a motion to preserve evidence and requested that the bail decision be made without prejudice. Judge Paul Leary agreed to both requests, and then ordered Markoff to be held without bail for the murder charge and set bail at $250,000 for the kidnapping and armed robbery, which doesn’t really matter since he is held without bail for the murder charge anyway.

According to news reports, a procedural plea of not guilty was entered for Markoff. I don’t believe any plea was entered aloud during the arraignment, so this must have been done either before or after.

A grand jury is currently investigating the case, and a hearing is set for May 21.

For more info on the Craigslist killer case, check out these articles:

• Weapons Found in Home of Boston Murder Suspect – New York Times
• Police Say Accused Craigslist Killer Owed Gambling Debts – ABC
• Alleged “Craigslist killer” was heading to Foxwoods with fiancee - Boston Globe
• Craigslist victim died of gunshot to the heart – Boston Herald
• Med student held without bail in possible Craigslist killing – CNN
• Boston University Medical Student Charged in Craigslist Killing Held Without Bail – Fox News
• Craigslist murder suspect held without bail – MSNBC