Marisa L. Anton, 34, a former librarian at New Rochelle high school was back in court Monday for a brief appearance in front of New Rochelle City Court Judge Susan Kettner on charges related to a sex sting involving a student at the school.
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I have not had any communication with WVOX ownership, any WVOX employees, or their legal representatives, since lawyers for Jimmy Bonanno and Little Jimmy filed their defamation lawsuit back in June so I was surprised to receive a package in the mail yesterday from attorney Kenneth Norwick of Norwick, Schad and Goering in Manhattan. In the package was the Verified Answer he filed on behalf of WVOX along with record requests, interrogatories and deposition notices for both Bonannos. In reading through the rather voluminous and intrusive records requests and interrogatories, I can only wonder whether Jimmy Bonanno fully understand what he was getting himself into with his absurd lawsuit.
It should be interesting to see the response to the request for documents related to all criminal complaints, disciplinary actions, civil complaints, administrative investigations, school related disciplinary incidents and so forth brought against the Bonannos. I suppose that will bring into play things like Little Jimmy's arrest on drunk driving charges a couple of years and Jimmy's relatively recent divorce, to name a few. That is unfortunate because, to the best of my knowledge, Jimmy's wife, also a school district employee, had nothing to do with any of this.
It looks like WVOX wants information that would include Little Jimmy's CDL license. They also want everything about the Bonannos money -- every bank account, tax filing, earned income. I especially like the part where they want copies of all invoices related to mental health services. My favorite is the request to Little Jimmy for all documents related any Methadone Clinics he visited; as that was not part of the broadcast of Talk of the Sound or even part of the lawsuit it suggests that the lawyer has been reading Talk of the Sound.
I wonder if Jimmy has explained to his crew down at Cliff Street how many of them may well be dragged into this case (I have yet to file my own requests for records, provide a list of witnesses or serve deposition notices). I would expect any district employee associated with Jimmy Bonanno (and I have a complete list) is going to need to start thinking about hiring their own lawyer. Certainly school board members and administrators like Schools Superintendent Richard Organisciak, Assistant Superintendent Quinn and Building and Grounds Supervisor/Aramark Employee John Gallagher are aware but I suppose they will have taxpayer-funded lawyers (or, in the case of Gallagher, a lawyer provided by Aramark).
What is amusing is the reports I keep getting that Jimmy Bonanno is telling people that he is going to win the case. I think he must be either delusional of just whistling in the dark but knowing what I know about defamation law I do not believe he has even the remotest chance of winning his case -- in fact, I am pretty sure he has zero chance.
In any case, some readers might find it interesting to read the WVOX legal papers in the case, especially the Document Requests and Interrogatories (just read them for Little Jimmy as they are basically the same but for the Methadone Clinic).
WVOX Verified Answer Bonanno Case
James Vincent Bonanno
WVOX Document Request for James Vincent Bonanno
WVOX Interrogatories for James Vincent Bonanno
WVOX Deposition Notice for James Vincent Bonanno
Vincent James Bonanno
WVOX Document Request for Vincent James Bonanno
WVOX Interrogatories for Vincent James Bonanno
WVOX Deposition Notice for Vincent James Bonanno
Read moreOutside of a few vacation days for family trips and events, it was a very busy summer at my law firm, but Labor Day has come and gone, and it is time for a new legal blog post.
Before starting this firm, I worked at two large law firms in Manhattan for about eight years, and while I did have my own clients, I also worked for clients of the firm. Being a solo practitioner is different in that you must not only provide quality and affordable legal services to your clients, you must also attract clients through advertising and promotion of the firm. I have utilized social media, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Tumblr - along with this blog and my website (www.JamesMaisanoEsq.com), as integral parts of promoting the firm, and I am pleased to report it has been successful to the point that the firm is doing well in its second year, which is why it has been so busy.
So what kinds of legal work have clients brought to my firm recently - here is a brief summary:
Read moreLawyers for James Vincent Bonanno and Vincent James Bonanno filed a verified reply to counter claims I filed against them after they filed their absurd defamation lawsuit against me. The lawyers also sent along various trials demands. Yawn.
If you want a good laugh, you can download a copy here.
I am not going to bother intruding on the last weekend of summer by looking at it too closely but they want me to give them the names of my sources for my stories about them. This would appear to confirm my sense of what they are hoping to accomplish with what I believe to be an entirely frivolous lawsuit -- they imagine they can get me to divulge my sources to them so that they can try and exact some form of retribution on my sources. As anyone who knows me at all can tell you the odds of my divulging sources for a story is somewhere between zero and negative infinity. I will take a closer look next week.
RELATED ARTICLES:
Talk of the Sound Files Reply to Bonanno Defamation Lawsuit
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The Rev. Richard McCormick was arrested Thursday in New Rochelle and is expected to be arraigned in Massachusetts on allegations he molested a child three decades ago. He is to be arraigned on 5 counts of child rape. McCormick, who is in his 70's was the former director of the Marian Shrine in Stony Point.
Police allege that the 5 counts took place in Ipswich, MA in 1981 and 1982 when the alleged victim was 11 and 12 years old.
Boston Globe:
McCormick, 71, the former provincial of the Salesian Brothers of Don Bosco for the eastern United States and Canada, has already been sued by nine people who alleged he sexually molested them as boys.
According to the Globe, McCormick will be returning to New Rochelle: blockquote>Attending today’s arraignment was the Reverend Steve Dumais, who is the current vice provincial for the Salesians order in New Rochelle and who told the court he would be McCormick’s “custodian” when he returns to New York.
“Our whole reason is to work with young people, especially the poor. So these charges are very egregious,’’ Dumais said. “The reality of it is that it’s sad, certainly, that one of our own has been arrested and charged with a criminal complaint. We are doing our very best to support the work of the authorities the best we can.’’
The St. Petersburg Times, in 2002, reported on an incident involving McCormick at St. Petersburg Catholic High School:
A priest at St. Petersburg Catholic High School has resigned after a female student complained that he greeted her with a hug and a kiss. The Rev. Richard McCormick, 61, who taught theology and English, was granted a leave of absence while the complaint was investigated. Later, the school and McCormick "mutually agreed that it is in the best interest of the school community that Father McCormick not return," according to a statement by the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
Road to Recovery Media Alert, after the jump.
ALSO IN THE NEWS: New Rochelle Police Respond to Trespassing Call Against Eyewitness News Reporter; Prominent Priest Portrayed Child Sex Abusers Like Jerry Sandusky As Victims
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Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that Akeem Lindsay, 32, of 309 North Avenue, New Rochelle, New York was sentenced today to 30 years to life in state prison on his May 7th, 2012 conviction following a jury trial on one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a class “A-I” Felony, one count of Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a class “C” Violent Felony, one count of Assault in the Second Degree, a class “D” Violent Felony, one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, a class “D” Felony, relating to the death of his girlfriend and the assault of a male roommate.
On February 11, 2011 at approximately 11:56 pm, New Rochelle Police responded to a 911 call from a neighbor at 309 North Avenue.
Upon arrival, officers observed the defendant covered in blood in a hallway inside an apartment being held down by the roommate who told police the defendant murdered his girlfriend.
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A response was filed yesterday with the Westchester County Clerk to the lawsuit filed by James Vincent Bonanno and Vincent James Bonanno alleging that they were defamed, primarily by my reporting on two incidents: the "Bob Cox Sleeps with the Fishes" boat incident and the Orange County home renovation article. For good measure, counterclaims were filed against them.
You can read their complaint here.
You can read the reply I filed here.
These two have tried this sort of thing before:
I am going to go out on a limb here and predict they will have as much success in the New York State Supreme Court as they had with the New Rochelle Police Department and the Westchester County District Attorney.
I have to admit this has been fun so far. I can't wait to start filing my discovery motions and getting their bosses under oath in depositions! I am going to especially enjoy deposing Schools Superintendent Richard Organisciak, his cabinet and school board members.
If the Bonannos want to dump a lot of money into a losing cause that's fine by me. My goal is to counter that by spending as little money as possible. I am "pro se" in this case, meaning I am representing myself. I fully intend to report out the entire process, step by step, and get a lot of great material out of this for the web site.
I will, however, need to raise some money to pay for things like depositions so expect I will have a legal defense fund in place once things get rolling this fall.
Read moreOn my legal blog (www.JamesMaisanoEsq.wordpress.com) and my firm’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/JamesMaisanoEsq), I have been focusing on a few important U.S. Supreme Court decisions that were being closely watched by the legal and political worlds. Over the past week, the Supreme Court has released three of these decisions:
Arizona v. U.S.
The Court confirmed that “the Government of the United States has broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration and the regulation of aliens . . . the federal power to determine immigration policy is well settled.” However, the Court did open the door for states to assist the federal government in the enforcement of immigration laws.
A unanimous Court (8-0 with Justice Kagan not taking part) upheld Section 2(B) of the Arizona law requiring police officers to check the immigration status of anyone arrested or detained and allowing them to stop and arrest a person if the officers have “reasonable suspicion” that the person is an illegal immigrant (known as “show me your papers”). The Court stated there was no showing that this section conflicted with federal immigration law.
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