Lori Drew MySpace Trial: Will There Be Justice For Megan?

Megan Meier's Mom, Tina Meier

There is no such thing as justice - in or out of court. ~Clarence Darrow, 1936

We wondered, will there finally be "justice" for Megan Meier in a Los Angeles Federal courthouse and the Lori Drew MySpace trial, as prosecutors rested their case Friday.

It was November of last year that DBKP first came across the story of Megan, of a cruel prank perpetrated upon her via the internet social site, MySpace.com., and its tragic aftermath.



According to the Los Angeles Times, Drew is accused of cyberbullying and setting up of a fake MySpace account in order to "deal" with Megan, a former friend of Drew's daughter, Sarah. A "plan" that was concocted by Drew, Drew's daughter, and an employee of Drew's, 18-yr-old Ashley Grills. A plan, that according to Lori Drew, was both "clever" and "funny", a plan that may have a hand in Megan's suicide.

It's been two years since the details of what actually occurred in the quiet town of Dardenne Prairie, located just west of St. Louis, have begun to emerge in the case against Lori Drew.





Dardenne Prairie is a short drive west of St. Louis on Interstate 70, across the multiple lane bridge built of steel and the broad expanse of the dark green waters of the Missouri river, to the smaller bedroom communities in St. Charles County. It's also the place where Megan Meier and Lori Drew's story riveted the nation.

Welcome to the City of Dardenne Prairie, the heart of the golden triangle in St. Charles County. Small and quaint, Dardenne Prairie maintains a rural flavor in a suburban setting. If you are considering moving your family or business to the St. Charles County area, you’ll find our City a great place to be. Our City boasts acres and acres of natural parks, beautiful residences, several thriving business plazas and an industrial park. With a new Downtown area, private high school and City Hall in the works, Dardenne Prairie is a wonderful place to live, work and play.

Megan Meier grew up in Dardenne Prairie, where subdivisions and strip malls dot the low rolling hills of lush green landscape and quiet, tree-lined streets just off the busy I-70 corridor that stretches from Baltimore, Md., to Cove Fort, Utah. The subdivisions come in different sizes, shapes, and status. Some come with covenants: rules and regulations for a fee, such as whether homeowners can or cannot put up a fence, or the "proper" color to paint a house. Some have their own pools and clubhouses, while others, only a few choices in floor plans and the style of houses built. It was in one these subdivisions, located in Dardenne Prairie, that Megan Meier grew up and then eventually took her own life just shy of her 14th birthday by hanging herself in her bedroom closet.

It was shortly after the start of a new school year and a new school when Megan asked her parents, Tina and Ron Meier, permission to set up another MySpace.com account. MySpace.com is a popular social internet site for teens, even though the site requires its members be 14 years of age. This wasn't the first time Megan had an account on the social site: Megan's Mom, Tina, had previously caught Megan and Sarah Drew with a MySpace page. The two had posted a photo of a "good looking" girl in order to "meet boys online". Megan's mom shut down the account. When Megan asked her parents for a new MySpace account, where she'd "be herself", her parents agreed, after all it was only a matter of a few months before Megan turned 14, and "all the other fifth grade kids were doing it", plus there'd be strict supervision by her parents: such as when she could get online and have access, while Ron and Tina would be the one who logged in.


Megan had attended Fort Zumwalt public schools before she began classes at her new school, Immaculate Conception, in Dardenne Prairie. She no longer attended the same school as Sarah. A "heavy-set" girl, Megan had dropped 20 pounds, and loved such activities as swimming, boating, fishing, dogs, and rap music. She also battled depression and thoughts of suicide since 3rd grade when she began seeing a therapist. You see, Megan had a problem with self-esteem. She thought she "wasn't pretty enough".

Megan had been off and on-again "best friends" with Sarah Drew. Sarah was the same age, and lived a few doors down. The same applied for Megan's family and the Drew's: both Tina Meier and Sarah Drew's families socialised together as they raised their families in the Midwest atmosphere of achieving the American dream.

Until the trial Sarah Drew had been shielded by the press, so there's no information as to the circumstances that ended the friendship between Megan and Sarah. One could surmise the relationship consisted of growing up together in surburia: of trips to Mid Rivers Mall and the movies, of riding the bus to school and sleep-overs at each other's houses. Of sharing confidences and of the trials and tribulations of being a preteen. One can also imagine the shifting and nefarious patterns of pre-teen relationships: of partnerships and groups which form and then dissolve faster than the super-charged thunderstorms that occasionally contain hail and tornadoes. Of the "coldness" between two "best" friends after a spat, that lasted as long as the ice storms that would cover the streets, electrical wires, and limbs of trees in winter. It was after one such "spat" that the plan to "mess" with Megan emerged. A plan, which eventually may have had a partial hand in Megan's death.

Megan had a hard time accepting who she was and felt she wasn't "pretty enough". At the time of Megan's death, she had been working on losing weight, changing schools, making new friends, and a new MySpace page on the internet and she was no longer friends with Sarah Drew.

"Mom! Mom! Mom! Look at him!" Tina Meier recalls her daughter saying.

Josh had contacted Megan Meier through her MySpace page and wanted to be added as a friend.Yes, he's cute, Tina Meier told her daughter. "Do you know who he is?"

"No, but look at him! He's hot! Please, please, can I add him?"

Mom said yes. And for six weeks Megan and Josh - under Tina's watchful eye - became acquainted in the virtual world of MySpace.

It was soon after Megan set up her MySpace account that she was "contacted" by a boy named Josh, which some claim was the catalyst which eventually drove Megan to take her own life.

Part of the reason for Megan's rosy outlook was Josh, Tina says. After school, Megan would rush to the computer.

"Megan had a lifelong struggle with weight and self-esteem," Tina says. "And now she finally had a boy who she thought really thought she was pretty."

Josh "told" Megan that he was "home-schooled". Megan's Mom, Tina, said it seemed "odd" that Josh never gave Megan his phone number. Josh claimed he lived the same area as Megan.

It was Sunday, October 15, 2006, that Megan's "relationship" with Josh changed. Before, he had shown an avid interest in being "friends" with Megan, on MySpace, a new Josh emerged:


Continue reading: Lori Drew MySpace Trial: Will There Be Justice For Megan? -pg 2

John Edwards Affair: How the Enquirer Beat Edwards in His Biggest Trial

Court of Public Opinion:
How the National Enquirer beat John Edwards in the biggest trial of his life





NE vs. JE


Clinton resurrectionist and spin doctor, Lanny Davis, wrote a book on resurrecting Bill Clinton, subtitled "Tell it early, Tell it all, Tell it yourself".

That Davis subtitle is an effective blueprint for dealing with public scandal.

John Edwards could've used that book two weeks ago, as his fifteen-minute confession to ABC's Bob Woodruff was debunked almost before it even aired, and may go down in history as the benchmark for insincere attempts at avoiding consequences of one's actions.

"What a strange and insincere admission," mused some.

"The timeline's doesn't match known events," said others.

Still others claimed Edwards had injected Botox into his face to prevent him from telegraphing true emotion that could be analyzed by experts.

[Background information: access over 100 DBKP stories on the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter affair, scandal and cover-up: John Edwards Love Child Scandal Library.]

John Edwards had been beaten by an opponent that had read his playbook and had analyzed every game he ever played. Not only had the Enquirer set the trap to collect evidence on Edwards, they laid the groundwork for Edwards to paint himself into a corner from which his political career and public image could never escape intact.

Edwards constructed an elaborate cover up, based on classic Prisoner's Dilemma game theoryif everyone kept their mouth shut and denied the facts until the end of time, nothing could be proven, and minimum penalties would accrue.

But there were too many players for Edwards to control, and in the end his website-scrubbing team of political cleanup hitters vastly underestimated both the sheer volume of evidence connecting Edwards to Rielle Hunter, and the sheer flakiness of his girlfriend and her network of yoga-loving, Hollywood wannabes.

But, there were two masterstrokes on the part of the National Enquirer: the first being the strategic underrepresentation of collected evidence; and the second being the blurred presentation of the "spy photo" of "former presidential contender holding his infant daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, at the Beverly Hilton hotel".

The Enquirer resurrected its Edwards Lovechild story on July 21 with eight-month-old stock photography and vague references of confirming sources. Edwards probably knew he'd left some evidence behind. Had he wiped all his fingerprints clean from the inside of the basement restroom door of the Beverly Hills Hilton? He left the restroom under guard with his coat covering his head… was there a telltale watch, freckle or scar? Had Enquirer photographers managed to take his picture in the brief moment before he'd run to the restroom?

Edwards needed more information before he made his next move and he curtailed public appearances, and refused comment other than to decry the "lies told by tabloid trash", a move cited widely by his supporters as a denial.

Then the other shoe fell.




The Enquirer ran the blurry "spy photo" of John Edwards holding the baby. Was it real? Was it fake?

Many Scandal followers cried "fake" in unison at a photo with the potential to be anyone from Bronson Pinchot to Janet Reno cradling, what was not necessarily, a human baby.

But John Edwards' heart had stopped.

He knew the photo was one of him holding the baby at the same hotel--only it had been taken five months earlier. Most likely it had been snapped on March 20, 2008, when Edwards had filmed a late night television appearance for The Tonight Show in California.

Edwards was exposed--or was he?

Was this the best evidence the Enquirer had to offer? Apparently, their July 21 pictures had been useless and this photo… Well, this photo could be anything that John claimed it was.

Maybe this fight wasn't over.

An image professional I consulted was able to quickly approximate the "John Edwards love child" effect using Adobe Photoshop and a three step combination (1. Smart Blur, 2. Pixellate Mosaic, and 3. Sharpen/Unsharpen mask) turning a crystal clear and good photo into a inconclusive 'spy photo'. Watching him repeat the effect in seconds on three separate photos immediately convinced me that the Enquirer was playing possum.

But Edwards' inner circle had either given him bad analysis of the March 20 photos, or he chose to ignore it, relying on his courtroom instincts. Anyone who's ever set up a video camera system can tell you how hard it is to capture a license plate, and Edwards apparently concluded that the Enquirer's photos of him holding Frances Quinn were either poorly lit or somehow corrupted.

And so Edwards laid out his confessional strategy based on the assumption that he had a leak that was not Rielle Hunter, but the Enquirer probably had nothing other than a blurry picture.

The "Confession"



There were three important parts to the confession.

1. The affair was over before he announced his run for the 2008 presidency;

2. His wife, Elizabeth, was at peace with the turn of events and had full knowledge of the event during his 2008 campaign; and,

3. He'd admit he had a 'liason' with that woman, but he wouldn't admit a sexual relationship, paternity, or anything that could possibly bite him in the buttocks later in court.

The rest is history.

One of the least-sincere and least-believable confessions in public memory, newsmen everywhere retrieving Rielle Hunter photos that busted the timeline, plus a widespread public revulsion at the realization that, not only had Elizabeth Edwards' illness been exploited for political gain, she had been a willing co-conspirator in the cover-up.


John Edwards has a final chance at redemption, but time is of the essence.

Edwards has to come forth immediately, tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

He must then immediately enter a legitimate private rehabilitation center for either drug abuse or sexual addiction (doesn't matter which). Over time, he can gradually resume public life, maybe even starting a foundation to help deadbeat dads make amends.

Eventually Elizabeth and Rielle can even learn to be family. Would Jack and Emma love to have a little sister?

Let the healing begin.

Again.

by dossier
images: dbkp file; unbossed; National Enquirer

DBKP Today in Weird History: February 7, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTERS, TRIAL, RATIONING, IKE, WOMEN, SCIENCE, EXECUTION, QUACKS, POLITICS, BARE KNUCKLES, CLIMATE, CARTOONS, PREDICTIONS, MOVIES, WEDDINGS, JEWS, FLAVORS, MUSLIMS, SURGERY, NANNY STATE, UNREST, BUBBLE BOY, SHOCK JOCKS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH


1964 The Beatles began their first American tour as they arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.

WAR!

1861 The general council of the Choctaw Indian nation adopted a resolution declaring allegiance with the South "in the event a permanent dissolution of the American Union takes place."

1862 Federal fleet attack on Roanoke Island NC.

1864 Federal troops occupy Jacksonville FL.

2003 President Bush courted the leaders of France and China in an uphill struggle to win U.N. backing for war with Iraq.

2007 U.S. officials confirmed a new security operation was under way in Baghdad; U.S. armor rushed through streets, and Iraqi armored personnel carriers guarded bridges and major intersections. A Marine CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter was shot down by insurgents in Anbar, killing all seven people on board.

TERRORISM

1969 Al-Fatah-leader Yasser Arafat becomes president of PLO.

2003 The government raised its terror threat level to "high risk" orange, warning of a growing possibility that the al-Qaida network would launch an attack against the United States to coincide with Muslim holy days.

2003 Colombian guerillas bombed the exclusive El Nogal social club in Bogota, killing 36 people and injuring 160 others.

DISASTER

1812 8.2 earthquake shakes New Madrid MO; this is the last of Midwest quakes (see 12/16).

1904 A fire began in Baltimore that raged for about 30 hours and destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in 80 blocks.

1962 Gas explosion in Luisanthal coal mine Voelklingen Germany kills 298.

FLAVORS

1964 Baskin-Robbins introduces Beatle Nut ice cream.

RATIONING

1943 the government announced the start of shoe rationing, limiting consumers to buying three pairs per person for the remainder of the year.

QUACKS

1979 Josef Mengele concentration camp doctor, drowns.

WEDDINGS

1993 Pebbles Flintstone & Bamm Bamm Rubble wed.

SURGERY

1965 George Harrison of the Beatles, has his tonsils removed.

BUBBLE BOY

1984 David (born without immunity system) at 12, touches mom for 1st time.

SPORTS

1985 Marshall University's Bruce Morris scores a basket from 92'5¼".

UNREST

1990 Karachi police kill 22 anti-nationalistic demonstrators.

EXECUTIONS

1920 Alexander Koltsjak Admiral/leader Russian counter-revolutionary, executed.

SHOCK JOCKS

1994 Howard Stern stops a would-be jumper on the George Washington Bridge.

POLITICS

1839 Henry Clay declares in Senate "I had rather be right than president".

1905 Oklahoma admitted to statehood.

BARE KNUCKLES

1882 Last bare knuckle champion John L Sullivan KOs Paddy Ryan in Mississippi.

PREDICTIONS

1945 General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.

NANNY STATE

1976 FCC raids & shuts down pirate radio station WCPR (Brooklyn NY).

JEWS

1947 Arabs & Jews reject British proposal to split Palestine.

MUSLIMS

1964 Cassius Clay becomes a Muslim & adopts the name Muhammad Ali.

TRIAL

1857 A French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel "Madame Bovary."

CLIMATE

1891 Great Blizzard of 1891 begins.

COMMIES

1950 Senator Joe McCarthy finds communists in US Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

IKE

1948 Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by General Omar Bradley.

WOMEN

1983 Elizabeth H. Dole was sworn in as the first female secretary of transportation by the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

SCIENCE

1984 Space shuttle astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered space walk.

CARTOONS

1936 Felix the Cat, Cartoon Character, by Van Beuren from Otto Messmer.

MOVIES

1940 Walt Disney's 2nd feature-length movie, "Pinocchio", premieres (New York NY).

1974 Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" opens in movie theaters.

BORN

1478 Sir Thomas More lawyer/lord chancellor of England/saint (Utopia).

1804 John Deere pioneer manufacturer of agricultural implements.

1812 Author Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England.

1817 Frederick Douglass Maryland, 1st high ranking black in US government.

1885 Sinclair Lewis novelist/social critic (Main Street, Nobel 1930).

1908 Clarence Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe Oakland CA, swimmer (Olympics-gold-1932)/actor (Tarzan the Fearless, Flash Gordon).

BIRTHDAYS

Country singer Wilma Lee Cooper is 87. Author Gay Talese is 76. Actor Miguel Ferrer is 53. Reggae musician Brian Travers (UB40) is 49. Actor James Spader is 48. Country singer Garth Brooks is 46. Rock musician David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 46. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 46. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is 43. Actor Jason Gedrick is 41. Actor Ashton Kutcher is 30. Actress Tina Majorino is 23.

DEATH

1993 Arthur Ashe tennis star (Wimbledon 1975), dies of AIDS at 49.

1998 It was announced that Carl Wilson, a founding member of The Beach Boys, had died in Los Angeles from complications of lung cancer; he was 51.

2003 Tom Christerson, the longest-living recipient of a fully self-contained artificial heart, died at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky., after 512 days on the AbioCor; he was 71.

February 7, the 38th day of 2008. There are 328 days left in the year. This is the Lunar New Year of the Rat.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: rhythms-riffs
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Gary Zerola Rape Trial: Courtroom Scorecard

Who is Gary Zerola? What are the various charges?

What does his attorney say? What does the District Attorney say?

What does the accuser say? What facts won't the jury hear?

What decision would you render if you were on the jury?


The Gary Zerola rape trial is no game, certainly not to the accused or accuser.

But in one way, the trial might be likened to a ballgame.

You can't tell the players without a scorecard.

So here's your DBKP Gary Zerola Rape Trial Scorecard.

BASIC STATISTICS


WHO:

Gary Zerola, 36, former People Magazine 2001 "Most Eligible Bachelor" list, attorney and assistant prosecutor, and was once under consideration for TV's "The Bachelor".
Zerola’s good looks and work with foster children were big pluses with the ladies.

Zerola, who is temporarily suspended from practicing law - or as his Web site words it, “not currently accepting new clients or practicing law” - faces a state Board of Bar Overseers disciplinary hearing before Supreme Judicial Court Justice John M. Greaney.

THE CHARGES:

On trial for the first of two separate sets of charges in Suffolk Superior Court on charges he charmed, then raped two 19-year-old women in Boston in 2004 and 2006.

Zerola is accused of attempted rape and kidnapping in the Aug. 18, 2006, incident, when the girl in question was 19.

Zerola faces another, separate trial in the 2004 rape of another 19-year-old woman. He also faces additional charges in Florida, where he is accused of raping an 18-year-old woman at a Miami Beach hotel in October.

Zerola, who is free on bail, has pleaded not guilty to rape, assault to rape, kidnapping, assault and battery, witness intimidation and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor.


WHAT ZEROLA AND HIS ATTORNEY SAY:

In the present case, Zerola has denied the charges and his lawyer says his accuser made up the story.

Zerola’s lawyer, Janice Bassil, said his accuser has changed her account of the incident several times.

"She couldn’t tell the truth if her life depended upon it, let alone Gary Zerola’s life," Janice Bassil, Zerola's attorney said.

“She liked to party, she liked to drink and she did like to do drugs,” Bassil said of the Newton woman who was 19 and a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

She said the woman allowed Zerola to buy her the expensive dress, holding the silk, leopard-print dress trimmed in black lace in front of the jury.

The defense counsel for a suspected serial rapist depicted Zerola as “a sap” being railroaded by a boozy, gold-digging wild child.

In the case of the Florida teen-age accuser, he has denied he had sex with her.


WHAT HIS ACCUSER HAS TO SAY ABOUT GARY ZEROLA

The alleged victim entered the courtroom in a prim gray suit, glasses and her blond hair swept back in a ponytail. She told Kontz she is learning disabled.

The accuser in the 2006 case said she first met Zerola at a Boston nightclub in July that year. She said they talked on the phone and exchanged text messages over the next month, then went shopping together on Aug. 18.

The 20-year-old accuser said that at first, she found Zerola fun, even charming. He bought her a $450 Dolce & Gabbana designer dress and $200 shoes at Neimann Marcus.

She said she felt awkward about Zerola buying her the gifts, but accepted them.

Zerola then let her drive his Porsche and bought her drinks at several Boston bars and clubs.

Zerola, she said, giggling, thought she was “amazing.”

“I thought he was really funny,” she said. “He seemed nice.”

Her date with Zerola, whom she’d met a month earlier while out clubbing with a fake ID, began with a shopping trip to Newbury Street the afternoon of Aug. 17, 2006.

After Zerola and the girl made the rounds of drinking at various Boston nightclubs and bars, the woman said, she told Zerola she wanted to take a cab back to her parents’ home in Newton.

She said Zerola insisted on giving her a ride. After they stopped at his apartment to use the bathroom, he attacked her, she said.

"He started to be really aggressive ... I said, ’Seriously, Gary, what are you doing?’ " she testified.

"He was scaring me," she said. "I was like, ’Gary, you’re really scaring me.’ "

"He clearly was not letting me leave. I was now, like, basically crying. He was not letting me go," she said.

She said the two struggled, but he pinned her on the couch with his knees and tried to unzip her dress.

Around 3 a.m. Aug. 18, the woman was calling 911 as she allegedly tried to escape Zerola’s clutches while stark naked.



WHAT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY HAS TO SAY ABOUT GARY ZEROLA

Earlier, during opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Kontz told the jury that Zerola ripped the woman’s dress off, then slammed her head against the wall as she struggled with him. She said the woman eventually dialed 911 on her cell phone and got away when Zerola saw blue police lights outside the window of his apartment.

Koontz painted a picture of Zerola as someone who tried different tactics, each one turning up the pressure on the accused to have sex, until at last, he used force to try and subdue her.

Limited by the court as to how she can portray Zerola, Kontz hinted yesterday at her serial-rapist theory by telling jurors he “tried flashing” money at the 19-year-old to get sex, “tried to use pressure” and finally “tried to use force to take the sex from her.”

Kontz said Zerola decided he wanted to have sex with woman and became violent when she refused.

"He made the decision to use force, and tried to take sex from her," Kontz said.

WHAT THE JURY WON'T HEAR FROM EITHER SIDE

What jurors won’t hear, per court order, is that last October Zerola violated the terms of his probation by skipping town to Miami Beach to see a Patriots [team stats] game. While there, he allegedly drugged and raped an 18-year-old college student he met in a bar. Zerola claims he’s innocent.

Zerola is scheduled to go to trial in Miami on sexual battery charges Feb. 25.

Zerola reportedly met all three of his alleged victims in clubs, where the teens had gotten in with fake IDs.

There you have it.

What's been said so far on both sides.

What the reader knows that the jury doesn't is that Gary Zerola has other rape charges pending, all involving teenage girls have were plied with gifts, drinks and, in one case, alleged drugs.

One further thing the jury won't know is that Zerola skipped town and violated his probation terms when the alleged third rape took place, over 1000 miles away from the first two.

How would you decide if you were a member of the Gary Zerola jury?

by Mondoreb
[images: AP]
Source:
* Zerola Defense Paints Accuser as "Gold digger"
* DA aims to show Hunk is a Skunk
* Attempted Rape Trial Begins for Zerola





Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Gary Zerola: Former 'Eligible Bachelor' Rape Trial Starts Tomorrow

A Look at How an Adoring Media--And one Pissed-off Girl--Saw Gary Zerola: the Last 7 years

''To be honest, I was shocked to see the preppy style coming back, but I'm into it. I wear the clothes, but I put my own spin on it. I think my look is more urban, less country club."

--Gary Zerola, accused teen rapist in the Boston Globe story, "Pink and Green and Worn all Over: The return of the preppy look"

Gary Zerola, preppy style no longer
working for alleged teen rapist

Former 'Most Eligible Bachelor' and attorney Gary Zerola's trial for rape starts tomorrow.

A look at Gary Zerola: how others saw him in the media, before his sensationalized first arrest for rape, and his subsequent rape charges after being released on bail.

We'll begin with this story 2 1/2 years ago in the Boston Globe, which described Gary Zerola thus:

"Gary Zerola, 34, an attorney and self-proclaimed fashion zealot from Boston, said he reads Italian fashion magazines to bone up on the latest trends. From the August 18, 2005 Boston Globe story on fashion styles.

Considerably different than the tagline now seen accompanying any news of the Boston attorney. The ever-present new tagline would read something like:

"Ex-Most Eligible Bachelor, attorney, fugitive from justice
and accused multiple teen rapist"

Zerola certainly had his fans--and not all were teen-age females.

Shortly after his first charges were made against the Boston attorney and the news appeared in the papers, someone wrote the following to the editor of the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly with the heading of "Gary Zerola Deserves Better".

To the editor:

I am writing to express my dismay at a recent item published by Lawyers Weekly detailing the unfortunate allegations that a woman made against attorney Gary Zerola ("Boston defense lawyer arraigned on sexual assault charges," Sept. 18).

Lawyers Weekly has always been dedicated to keeping lawyers appraised of the developments in the law and the accomplishments of the Massachusetts...

To read the rest of the letter, one must subscribe to the publication and we weren't that interested in hearing what sounded like one lawyer defending another in the early stages of what was to become a burgeoning, very-public crime career.

Zerola was proficient in more than just one venue. It appears he was just as persuasive at the bar as he was at the bar scene.

From an early 2007 Salem News story:

Alfie Troche knew the odds were against him when he and his lawyer set out to convince a jury that he never would have had a kilogram of cocaine in the trunk of his car if he hadn't been entrapped by an informant.

But when the Salem Superior Court jury decided yesterday that they believed him - and found him not guilty of cocaine trafficking - Troche, 35, was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared the afternoon before, while jurors were deliberating.

And because of that, Troche could end up exactly where he didn't want to be - in state prison - for up to five years.

Troche showed up at the courthouse yesterday just before 4 p.m., about six hours after the jury's verdict, and was promptly taken into custody on a new charge of failing to appear during a felony trial. He will be arraigned on the charge this morning in Salem District Court.

Troche's lawyer, Gary Zerola, told a judge Troche suffered a panic attack and a momentary lapse of reason - then downed four mood-stabilizer pills, walked almost all the way to Gloucester and passed out in the back of a car until about 2 p.m.

Zerola told Judge Thomas Billings that Troche mistakenly believed he had been convicted. He urged the judge to send Troche on his way.

Zerola was more than vocal when the above-named client was judged innocent. According to the reporter, "[j]ust hours earlier, Zerola had pumped his fist in victory as the jury forewoman read the verdict."

The new stories were sympathethic to the attorney with the "dark, brooding looks" (AP)

This comment affixed to a Florida International University Beacon remembered Gary much differently.

I Know Gary
Gary Zerola raped two friends of mine about 9 years ago. The last thing they remember was Gary buying them drinks at West St. Bar. They woke up naked next to Gary in the morning. Gary made sure he put enough drugs in their drinks so they wouldn't remember how they got there. They do know that they were raped. Neither of them had ever blacked out before in their lives. Read the blogs on Gary Zerola.... other's have similar stories.

Of course, anyone who reads Mainstream Media newspapers know what they think of citizen journalism in general, and blogs in particular.

So the MSM wasn't blowing any whistles.

AT DBKP.com:
* Gary Zerola: Most Eligible Bachelor Rape Trial Starts Tomorrow
* Gary Zerola: Acquitted in 2nd Rape Charge Trial
* Boston Lawyer Faces Teen Rape Charges: Former People Magazine “Eligible Bachelor”
* Gary Zerola Rape Trial: Courtroom Scorecard

From Gary Zerola.com

According to Gary Zerola.com:

A highly regarded speaker at the state and national levels, Mr. Zerola's extensive speaking engagements include lectures for various public and private foster care organizations. In addition, Mr. Zerola been a legal commentator on New England Cable News and has appeared on the nationally syndicated television shows Power of Attorney and Judge Hatchett. Mr. Zerola's law practice and high-profile clients have been highlighted in several news articles and feature stories.

Also according to the site:

"Attorney Zerola is not accepting new clients at this time."

At the same website, if one clicks on "Criminal Profile", a blank page is displayed.

If one is looking for information on the site for "Sexual Assault Crimes", the following information can be found at Gary Zerola.com.

When a person participates in a sex act that is illegal, he/she can be charged with committing a sex crime. In Massachusetts, all sex crimes are taken very seriously and are also subject to vigorous investigations by law enforcement. Any person that is accused of committing a sex crime faces aggressive prosecution by state district attorneys. Even if the person that is accused is innocent, has done nothing wrong, and has never been accused of any crime before, he/she will face negative stereotyping, will be unfairly named and persecuted in the media - essentially handing down a social sentence even if no conviction ever results, and stressful day-to-day interactions with friends, family, neighbors, and peers.

And further:

Once you have been charged with a sex crime in Boston or anywhere else in Massachusetts, you need to immediately retain the services of a professional, experienced criminal defense attorney who has a successful track record when it comes to fighting sexually related charges in the state of Massachusetts. When you face such life-altering legal consequences, you cannot risk being without reliable, aggressive legal representation.

Gary did have his fans.

On Mindsay (a MySpace-type site) Charisma P wrote in September 8, 2003:

Charisma P.: Hey Ann! What happened to Gary Zerola? He used to be up there! He's the sweetest guy. Please put him back on the list! He deserves to be on it!Ann Stewart: Dear Charisma, I do want Gary back too. I so admire him and his family for the wonderful work they do for “One For The Kids.” It would be an honor to have Gary on this site. Gary, I just want to let you know somebody loves you.

Gary responded in November of the same year with "Just wanted to say, I'm flattered.Remember One for the Kids 6 is Thursday, December 4th at 5:30 at Club venu on Warrenton Street in Beantown, USA.Regards, Gary Z."

AOL Visitors Guide asked the question: "Are you ready to see what Zerola Gary Boston, MA has to offer?"

Zerola was also described as "People magazine's list of America's "Most Eligible Bachelors" and a tryout for the TV reality show "The Bachelor."

Zerola's trials start tomorrow.

He awaits back-to-back trials beginning Tuesday in Boston on charges he attacked two 19-year-olds in 2004 and 2006. He also faces charges in Florida, where authorities say he force-fed drugs to an 18-year-old woman, then raped her in a Miami Beach hotel in October while free on bail in the Massachusetts assaults.

Prosecutors say Zerola met all three women in bars, charmed them, then attacked them when they refused to have sex. In the 2006 case, he allegedly took the woman shopping at Neiman Marcus, where he bought her a $700 dress and $250 shoes before trying to rape her in his Boston apartment.

"He spent some time grooming these girls," prosecutor Suzanne Kontz said during a hearing in November.

Zerola is free on $100,000 bail. He and his attorney, Janice Bassil, did not return calls seeking comment.

The Gary Zerola described by prosecutors is far different from the man friends say dedicated himself to helping children.

The youngest of seven children, Zerola was placed in foster care at age 3 after his parents split up and his mother became ill. Over the next decade, he was shuffled among a dozen foster families until he was placed permanently with a suburban Boston lawyer and his wife.

Zerola, 36, attended Suffolk University, where he earned degrees in law and public administration. He delivered his law school commencement address.

"He was bright and articulate," said John E. Fenton Jr., one of Zerola's law professors. "I don't remember what he spoke about, but I can tell you he gave an excellent speech."

He worked as a state prosecutor on child abuse and domestic violence cases and became well-known in philanthropic circles as an advocate for foster children. He started a volunteer group that raised money to buy clothing and gifts for foster kids.

The Fashionable Gary Zerola

Zerola was regularly mentioned in newspaper gossip columns and fetched an $800 bid in a charity dating auction. In 2001, at age 29, Zerola was named one of People's 50 most eligible bachelors.

That information seems to be always included in any Gary Zerola stories.

And this chilling self-fulfilling prophetic quote from 2001 from his People profile, when he spoke of his troubled youth.

"Statistically speaking, I should be in debt or in jail

because of the upbringing I had."

In 2000, Zerola opened his own law practice as a criminal defense attorney. His clients included drug dealers and rape defendants. In court, he was known for his well-tailored suits, flashy style and the frequent compliments he paid female court employees.

"It's a rare instance that you see a kid who has been through as many foster family situations as Gary who was able to rise above all of that, not to get into trouble as a kid, not to turn to substance abuse, but to go to college and then to go on and become a lawyer," said Michael Natola, a Boston defense attorney who is a close friend.

"He never, ever forgot his experiences as a child and as a young man, and he always wanted to make it easier for kids who were in similar situations as he was."

In the 2004 case, Zerola stands accused of repeatedly raping a woman in his apartment.

In 2006, a woman told police that after the two went out on their first date, she went back to his apartment to use the bathroom. She said that after she turned down Zerola's sexual advances, he ripped off her dress and underwear, slammed her head against the wall and refused to let her leave.

The woman dialed 911 on her cell phone and police tracked the call to Zerola's apartment using a GPS system.

Recommended reading?Hiding his face during am earlier court appearance

While awaiting trial in those two attacks, Zerola violated the conditions of his bail and flew to Florida this past fall to see the New England Patriots play the Miami Dolphins.

A woman told police she had several drinks with Zerola at a club, then went to his hotel room, where Zerola stuffed pills down her throat. The woman, who told police she was a virgin, said she awoke naked and bleeding in bed beside Zerola.

Zerola told police, "I never had sex with her." He would not submit to a DNA test, prosecutors said.

Zerola's law license has been suspended. On his Web site, where he is described as a "highly regarded speaker" and legal commentator who has appeared on TV's "Power of Attorney" and "Judge Hatchett," there is now a message noting that he is not accepting new clients or practicing law.


But Suzanne Kontz, who is prosecuting Zerola for the rape and attempted rape of two 19-year-old women in 2004 and 2006, painted a sinister picture of the high-cheekboned criminal defense attorney ABC once wooed to star in “The Bachelor”: that of a predator who grooms victims before he gropes them.

Zerola's trial begins tomorrow and interest in the one-time Most Eligible Bachelor will begin to peak.

Gary Zerola should be thankful that he's charged in America for his crimes and not some foreign country--say Saudi Arabia.

As a member of the Saudi-American Exchange Program, he presented a topic at their 2003 International Academy of Business Disciplines, where his topic was listed as

5. "The Challenges of Telling the Saudi Story on The Today Show: Reality in an Era of Soundbytes" Gary Zerola, attorney and member of the Saudi American Exchange Program, Boston Skye Schulte, Tufts University.

One wonders how Zerola would have fared in Saudi Arabia.

Conviction for rape is much harder in the Saudi system, but the penalties are much more severe.

Here in America, though, for Gary Zerola, the words to remember going into tomorrow's trial are still

"Innocent until proven guilty"

by Mondoreb
[image: ap,bostonglobe]
Sources:
* Eligible Bachelor Accused of Rapes
* What's pink and green and worn all over
* Gary Zerola Deserves Better
* Suspect Beats the Rap--and then is arrested Again for Fleeing
* Editorial: Rape- Take Precautions, No One is Immune
* Saudi American Exchange Program





Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Additional Charges, Additional Questions

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."--Albert Einstein

2-year-old Riley Sawyers was savagely and repeatedly beaten and tortured until she was dead. The punishment was inflicted on her by her alleged mother--the one person a defenseless toddler turns to for protection and comfort.

Kimberly Dawn Trenor and her accomplice/boyfriend/husband completed their vile deed and then stashed the little girl's body in a storage shed. After many days, they took a trip to buy their Wal-Mart version of Riley's casket: a cooler commonly used for picnics.

At that moment, Trenor's mothering instinct apparently asserted itself: Riley Sawyer's body was found wrapped in plastic and laid in her temporary resting place. It was set adrift in Galveston Bay, to be found on a sandbar by a fisherman.

It's a mystery why they treated Riley's body more gently after she was dead than when she was living through what must have been her last confused, hurting, terror-filled moments.

Her mother described to police how she "beat the child with leather belts and held her head under water in the bathtub. She said Zeigler picked the girl up by her hair and also threw her across the room, slamming her head into the tile floor."

Speculation

The charges currently against the pair consist of tampering with evidence and injuring the child. What additional charges they face is speculation at this moment.

The final scene described by Trenor is one where acts were committed that were devoid of any human emotion.

That would seem to rule out various "done in haste" or "in the heat of the moment" defenses. What the charges will be and what kind of defense will be offered, if any, is again speculation.

Zigler reportedly tried to end his life last week as the police closed in, leaving behind a note that "his wife was not responsible". He was less successful at ending his own life than that of his companion's 2-year-old.

Was that an attempt at achieving a nobility in death that was missing in his life?

The questions heard most often asked by readers who emailed or commented at this point: How could a mother do this to her baby? Why did it have to be so violent? Why not give the child to someone who loved her?

It's hard to say why little Riley death was so gruesome.

If the child was a bother, why not contact the grandmother in Ohio or the father?

Both made repeated efforts to contact Kimberly Dawn Trenor.

There has been talk of a custody struggle between the Kimberly Dawn Trenor and Riley's father.

The final sadistic acts committed on the person of Riley Sawyers are easier to understand if Riley isn't viewed as a human being; as a little, defenseless child.

Those acts are a little easier to understand if one sees her two-year-old daughter, Riley Sawyers, not as most would view her--a helpless toddler, crying out in fear and panic at her final treatment--but as Kimberly Dawn Trenor apparently saw her.

Not as a child, but as a pawn.

by Mondoreb

Sources:
Mother's Grim Tale of Abuse and Death
Toddler Tortured: Little Riley Never Had a Chance




Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

The HLF Mistrial & The NY Times: How About a Serious Discussion For Once

by Mondoreb

The Holy Land Foundation mistrial was seen in the New York Times as an exoneration. But was it? Or was it a signal that a different approach is needed. Libertarians, War on Terror warriors and others will now square off.

From the New York Times:

A federal judge declared a mistrial on Monday in what was widely seen as the government’s flagship terrorism-financing case after prosecutors failed to persuade a jury to convict five leaders of a Muslim charity on any charges, or even to reach a verdict on many of the 197 counts.

The case, involving the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and five of its backers, is the government’s largest and most complex legal effort to shut down what it contends is American financing for terrorist organizations in the Middle East.

The story goes on to hint that the trial was a failure for the proscecution. Although there will be many takes on this, Lawhawk's is one of the best I've read. He provided a blow-by-blow account and provides a different conclusion:

This was not a stunning defeat, but it definitely is a wakeup call for the Justice Department to do a far better job prosecuting these cases than it has up til now.

This is yet another example as to why you cannot simply trust the law enforcement approach to solely defend the nation against terrorism and terrorist attacks. HLF was busy providing aid and comfort to enemies that seek to do America and its interests harm and because all the members of a jury could not find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, a mistrial had to be declared.

As Lawhawk sums up, this is not innocence, no matter how hard the Islamo-apologists spin it. The cheers at CAIR, the New York Times and Hamas notwithstanding, they were not declared "innocent", although you can bet that you'll hear plenty of that in the coming days.

Civil liberties must always be guarded, but so must the country. When agents of a foreign group that is working against America operate in this country, they have to be brought to justice. This is different from hauling the Average Joe up in court.
The next 9/11 incident to occur in the U.S. will silence the CAIR crowd as long as the victims are being shown on TVs; then the attacks on any who want to take action will resume.

It's just more proof why the Left/Islamofacsist alliance wants the War on Terror to be fought as a crime problem instead of what it is: an attack on America, her citizens and her interests.




Back to Front Page.

Holy Land Verdict Reached: Will Be Announced on Monday

[wfaa photo]

Unindicted Co-Conspirator & 'Voice of Moderate Muslims' CAIR Awaits Verdict
by Little Baby Ginn

Fears of a mistrial were abated when the Holy Land Foundation jury reached a verdict after 19 days of deliberations. The verdict was immediately sealed until the case’s presiding judge, U.S. District Judge A. Joe Fish returns to town. The verdict will be read Monday morning.

The five Holy Land defendants, all but one a U.S. citizen, are accused of raising more than $12 million and wiring it to Palestinian charity committees, who prosecutors say were controlled by a terrorist group, Hamas.

Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, said that after two months of testimony and four weeks of deliberations, Holy Land organizers and their families have been anxiously waiting for resolution.
"It's really putting a lot of stress on the family," he said after the verdict was sealed. "It has been for some time."

The trial highlighted the web of terrorist connections between Hamas, CAIR and other groups bankrolled or given seed money by the terrorist group. CAIR, in particular, long has tried to portray itself as the voice of "moderate" Muslims in the United States. CAIR was an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial.



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