If the Age of Fritz's Rape Case is Irrelevant...

[Clem_Shady]

It seems many Fritz's defenders like to argue that the rape case is so old that it's irrelevant.

If that's the case, then why did the "Newspaper Caper" job happen 24 years after the rape?

What did Fritz and his "errands off suppression" coppers possibly have to fear 24 years later if the passage of time makes the rape irrelevant?

It cost you, the taxpayers, $435,000.00 to settle this fiasco, and it cost Fritz $10,000, so let's discuss the merits of the time frame.

"The facts of this case are largely undisputed. St. Mary’s Today is a weekly newspaper owned by Kenneth Rossignol and primarily serving St. Mary’s County in southern Maryland. It has reported exten-sively and often critically on local government and public officials, including County Sheriff Richard Voorhaar and his deputies, from "Captain [Steven] Doolan at the top of the rank . . . all the way to the bottom."

"The election day issue of St. Mary’s Today bore the front-page headline "Fritz Guilty of Rape." It accurately reported that in 1965, Fritz and three other men had pled guilty to carnal knowledge of a fifteen-year-old girl. Fritz, who was eighteen at the time of the rape, was sentenced to probation and a suspended sentence of eighteen months in state prison."

http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/021326.P.pdf

http://forums.somd.com/elections/213405-fritz-newspaper-caper-featuring-rogue-cops.html

 

[Aerogal]

Why don't you go to law school, get your degree, pass the state bar and then run for office yourself?

As long as the only 2 people that ever run for attorney in this county are closely related your choice is simple - do I want the SMIB or the SMIB?

 

[Clem_Shady]

Why don't you go to law school, get your degree, pass the state bar and then run for office yourself?

As long as the only 2 people that ever run for attorney in this county are closely related your choice is simple - do I want the SMIB or the SMIB?

Shouldn't you be using the old, famous IBM argument?

"We just spent $435,000.00 training him, why would we get rid of him?"

 

[tigerbug]

to tell the whole truth

The whole truth is that you hate fritz so much that you are mental - he is driving you nuts. You talk and write just like rossignol - lies, distortions, and hate for all - have you ever sought help? I would hate to think that your hatred will consume you just like rossignol has destroyed the town hall slate. They are over, the smart ones are out - those who remain will self destruct. Rossignol will remain a lonely person, he will enter into the role of a king maker. Clem you are heading that way also !

 

[Clem_Shady]

The whole truth is that you hate fritz so much that you are mental - he is driving you nuts. You talk and write just like rossignol - lies, distortions, and hate for all - have you ever sought help? I would hate to think that your hatred will consume you just like rossignol has destroyed the town hall slate. They are over, the smart ones are out - those who remain will self destruct. Rossignol will remain a lonely person, he will enter into the role of a king maker. Clem you are heading that way also !

To the contrary, he's not driving me nuts at all. The people going nuts are the folks like you trying to defend him as I continue to nail him to the proverbial cross.

Everytime I say something about him all I do is quote what's already been said about him in the news or court documents. And it's ugly stuff, that scares the heck out of anyone trying to defend him, because it's not defendable.

You should be scared, because the newcomers to St. Mary's County are reading the Fritz horror story that I've been laying out in here, and they're gonna vote based on what they believe is true.

So it comes down to Clem and bonafide news articles, and folks like you with nothing but a bunch of pyscho-babble rhetoric that is never supported by any facts.

See you at the polls!

 

[MMDad]

then why did the "Newspaper Caper" job happen 24 years after the rape?

Another newspaper caper? Why didn't you say so! That changes everything!

When was it? Least year? Nope, not an election year. 2008?

Wait, don't tell me you are still so obsessed with the 1998 caper, are you?

No, can't be. That would be seriously sick, to let Fritz control your emotions for 12 solid years. To plot decade after decade, yet never succeed in your greatest dream. And now, just when you thought you might be close to your revenge, the entire fabric of your house of cards is coming tumbling down.

Must suck to be you.

 

[vraiblonde]

If that's the case, then why did the "Newspaper Caper" job happen 24 years after the rape?

Probably because the local scandal rag plastered a huge headline "Fritz Guilty of Rape" the day of an election. I don't care what you say or how you try to talk your way out of it - that headline was erroneous and provocative. Fritz was guilty of *statutory* rape, 24 years previously, but the headline made it sound like he'd just been convicted in the last week.

And the editor of that paper knew exactly what he was doing, and the mistaken impression people would come to, because he's a smart guy and knows most dummies don't read past the headline, and many more people would see it who would never buy the paper. It was a classic example of yellow journalism and irresponsible use of the media.

And, PS, it also didn't work. Fritz was re-elected anyway. And it wasn't because the deputies bought up all the papers because I saw a whole stack of them at the 7-11 on 235 later that morning. I saw the headline and said to the clerk, "Well, I find that hard to believe," and she replied, "That's because it's a lie," and told me what it was about so I didn't have to buy the paper.

I'm pretty sure everyone in St. Mary's County, if not the whole state of Maryland, knows about Fritz's rape charge by now. They'd have to be living under a rock not to. So your obsession with it is pointless.

 

[Clem_Shady]

Probably because the local scandal rag plastered a huge headline "Fritz Guilty of Rape" the day of an election. I don't care what you say or how you try to talk your way out of it - that headline was erroneous and provocative. Fritz was guilty of *statutory* rape, 24 years previously, but the headline made it sound like he'd just been convicted in the last week.

And the editor of that paper knew exactly what he was doing, and the mistaken impression people would come to, because he's a smart guy and knows most dummies don't read past the headline, and many more people would see it who would never buy the paper. It was a classic example of yellow journalism and irresponsible use of the media.

And, PS, it also didn't work. Fritz was re-elected anyway. And it wasn't because the deputies bought up all the papers because I saw a whole stack of them at the 7-11 on 235 later that morning. I saw the headline and said to the clerk, "Well, I find that hard to believe," and she replied, "That's because it's a lie," and told me what it was about so I didn't have to buy the paper.

I'm pretty sure everyone in St. Mary's County, if not the whole state of Maryland, knows about Fritz's rape charge by now. They'd have to be living under a rock not to. So your obsession with it is pointless.

Themis,

Can you break that down into a couple of sentences for me?

TIA

 

[Gilligan]

Themis,

Can you break that down into a couple of sentences for me?

TIA

Here let me: Vrai said you have OCD.

Thank me later.

 

[Themis]

Themis,

Can you break that down into a couple of sentences for me?

TIA

I'm not the one to ask for a brief answer to anything.

 

[vraiblonde]

A better headline would have been:

FRITZ PLEADS GUILTY TO SEX WITH 15 YEAR OLD

If you're going to do it, do it right.

 

[Clem_Shady]

Yellow Forumism

Probably because the local scandal rag plastered a huge headline "Fritz Guilty of Rape" the day of an election. I don't care what you say or how you try to talk your way out of it - that headline was erroneous and provocative. Fritz was guilty of *statutory* rape, 24 years previously, but the headline made it sound like he'd just been convicted in the last week.

And the editor of that paper knew exactly what he was doing, and the mistaken impression people would come to, because he's a smart guy and knows most dummies don't read past the headline, and many more people would see it who would never buy the paper. It was a classic example of yellow journalism and irresponsible use of the media.

And, PS, it also didn't work. Fritz was re-elected anyway. And it wasn't because the deputies bought up all the papers because I saw a whole stack of them at the 7-11 on 235 later that morning. I saw the headline and said to the clerk, "Well, I find that hard to believe," and she replied, "That's because it's a lie," and told me what it was about so I didn't have to buy the paper.

I'm pretty sure everyone in St. Mary's County, if not the whole state of Maryland, knows about Fritz's rape charge by now. They'd have to be living under a rock not to. So your obsession with it is pointless.

I'm going to coin a new term: Yellow Forumism

Definition: Committing Yellow Journalism in a Internet Forum

Let's clear up a couple of things here, feel free to reference the provided court document at any time.

Your simple case of *statutory* rape was actually a plea bargain of three guys taking turns gang raping a 15 year old. It wasn't Dick picked up Jane, took her to the drive-in, had sex, and then got into an argument about whether it was consentual or rape because she got home past 12.

Victim:"It was forcible, it was a gang rape. He tried to make it sound like it was three separate times, not the same time."

Victim: "I am 5’ 1" and about 105 pounds and give or take a couple of pounds I am the same size as at that age of 15."

"Victim: One of them was in his 20’s, Fritz was 18 and the other was 17, that one was a big kid who played football and Fritz is big next to me, about 5’10 and I remember the older one as being fat."

According tothe court case, you may have visited a 7-11 that Rossignol had re-supplied, because this is the testimony a 7-11 clerk provided:

"Later that night, Rossignol discovered defendants’ plan and drove through the county attempting to resupply the stores and newsboxes. But defendants followed him around the county, buying up the fresh inventory as soon as it was replenished."

And here's a different 7-11 clerk, one that provided testimony, not chat:

"Many local clerks were quite familiar with county law enforcement personnel because of 7-Eleven’s policy of giving free coffee and soft drinks to police officers, even those out of uniform. Thus, many of the clerks who interacted with defendants during the night knew that they were sheriff’s deputies. One clerk testified that he sold the full supply of the paper to defendants because they were police officers, had a "real intimidating attitude," and made it "real apparent [that] they could make my life here a living hell."

"The effect of a police presence on a store owner or clerk is not hard to imagine. Proprietors of small stores often feel a keen need to stay on the right side of local law enforcement. They depend heavily on prompt responses by the police to their calls, as well as on freedom from harassment and other unnecessary difficulties with the police."

Maybe Fritz should have brought you in as a 7-11 witness, huh?

Also in the article are law cases that specifically state the timing and actions of the way Rossignol delivered his message is perfectly legal.

"Finally, both the First Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 exist in significant part to deter the kind of misdeeds perpetrated by defendants on election day. The First Amendment was drafted in the context of a lengthy history of censorship carried out by private organizations with complicated ties to the state apparatus and compelling motives to suppress speech unfavorable to the Crown. The Stationers’ Company was a private guild of printers with its origins in medieval England; it was granted valuable monopolies and privileges by the government. Fredrick Seaton Siebert, Freedom of the Press in England, 1476-1776, at 64-66, 135 (1952)."

In summary, Rossignol is really a hero for bringing this stuff to the public's attention with his newspaper, because in 1998, you simply didn't click on case search and read about candidate's misdeeds.

Congratulations on your "yellow forumism!"

 

[Clem_Shady]

A better headline would have been:

FRITZ PLEADS GUILTY TO SEX WITH 15 YEAR OLD

If you're going to do it, do it right.

So journalism is based on "what you plead to," and not what you actually did?

That's a new standard. A very disturbing one at that.

 

[Gilligan]

So journalism is based on "what you plead to," and not what you actually did?

That's a new standard. A very disturbing one at that.

No ..that is quite typical of journalism. As is also the adhering to concepts like the presumption of innocence and routine use of words like 'alleged'..

But this discussion, I thought, was about Rosiggnol's old rag and therefore nothing to do with journalism. ??

 

[vraiblonde]

So journalism is based on "what you plead to," and not what you actually did?

Tut tut. You do not know what actually took place because you were not there. The *fact* is that Fritz plead guilty to sex with a 15 year old girl. If you really wanted to be honest, you could add, "...in 1964."

Journalism should be based on the facts. Not that it is, but it should be.

 

[vraiblonde]

According tothe court case, you may have visited a 7-11 that Rossignol had re-supplied,

That is entirely possible.

Congratulations on your "yellow forumism!"

The difference, of course, is that you cannot rebut a newspaper within it's own medium. There is no discussion, no clarification, no argument. Also a forum poster is not a journalist, nor are they considered a credible source - they are merely a stranger with a pseudonym. So there is a huge difference between a newspaper and an online forum.

 

[Clem_Shady]

Tut tut. You do not know what actually took place because you were not there. The *fact* is that Fritz plead guilty to sex with a 15 year old girl. If you really wanted to be honest, you could add, "...in 1964."

Journalism should be based on the facts. Not that it is, but it should be.

What does it say clearly in the first post of this thread?

Let me help you out:

"The election day issue of St. Mary’s Today bore the front-page headline "Fritz Guilty of Rape." It accurately reported that in 1965, Fritz and three other men had pled guilty to carnal knowledge of a fifteen-year-old girl. Fritz, who was eighteen at the time of the rape, was sentenced to probation and a suspended sentence of eighteen months in state prison."

 

[vraiblonde]

What does it say clearly in the first post of this thread?

Let me help you out:

"The election day issue of St. Mary’s Today bore the front-page headline "Fritz Guilty of Rape." It accurately reported that in 1965, Fritz and three other men had pled guilty to carnal knowledge of a fifteen-year-old girl. Fritz, who was eighteen at the time of the rape, was sentenced to probation and a suspended sentence of eighteen months in state prison."

And let me help you out: I was referring to the newspaper headline, not the forum thread. Read for context.

 

[Clem_Shady]

And let me help you out: I was referring to the newspaper headline, not the forum thread. Read for context.

And let me help you out with free speech:

"The incident in this case may have taken place in America, but it
belongs to a society much different and more oppressive than our
own. If we were to sanction this conduct, we would point the way for
other state officials to stifle public criticism of their policies and their performance. And we would leave particularly vulnerable this kind of paper in this kind of community. Alternative weeklies such as St. Mary’s Today may stir deep ire in the objects of their irreverence, but we can hardly say on that account that they play no useful part in the political dialogue. No doubt the public has formed over time its opinion of the paper’s responsibility and reputation. If defendants believed its attacks to be scurrilous, their remedy was either to undertake their own response or to initiate a defamation action. It was not for law enforcement to summon the organized force of the sheriff’s office to the cause of censorship and dispatch deputies on the errands of suppression in the dead of night."

I guess how I'm confused about how you're confused that a one-man band who self admittedly runs a tabloid uses tabloid type headlines to sell newspapers? It's not like he has a grocery store with high prices so he can give them away, is it?

 

[vraiblonde]

I guess how I'm confused about how you're confused that a one-man band who self admittedly runs a tabloid uses tabloid type headlines to sell newspapers?

And I'm confused that you're confused that I am allowed my opinion on said one-man band and his tactics and shall voice that opinion as I see fit.

Welcome to America. Please enjoy your stay.