Thugs as guards, answering only under oath, the Church comes across like organized crime. Jeff Anderson on the brotherhood, on KCTU last week

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By Kay Ebeling

It’s not a church, it’s a compound. As you approach the LA cathedral downtown, you see organized crime at work. Thug security guards, who look like they can kill with their bare hands, stand at each entrance, barely two feet between them. The local don, Cardinal Roger Mahony, carries himself with the same sense of doomed destiny as does Godfather Michael Corleone. Both men live deep in the compound, separated from their foes by shields of concrete and state of the art security, living out their years in hiding.

The Catholic Church does not even try to hide its resemblance to the MAFIA anymore. Attorney Jeff Anderson spoke about the brotherhood that is Church heirarchy on KCTU Wichita last week:

“When I ask a bishop the question, why didn't you immediately report these crimes to the police and remove the priest, so often I get the answer, we thought we could handle it internally and we felt a loyalty to our fellow priest. They answer, It’s like a brotherhood it’s our family.”

Sounds like Michael Corleone in The Godfather to me.

The conversation with Jeff Anderson took place on Educating to End Abuse, and we have more quotes below. Peggy Warren hosts the caller participation webcast the third Thursday of each month.

December 18, the guest is Tom Doyle.

“Every month the Catholic Church gives us new stuff to talk about,” Warren, who is a predator priest survivor herself, said recently. “They really make it easy for us to come up with topics, but I wish we didn't have to have this conversation at all. What I do want to push/mention on every show is the importance of lengthening the statute of limitations on childhood sex abuse. The SOL needs to be at the top of everyone's list of priorities.”

Similarities between church hierarchy and The Sopranos slip out in depositions for civil lawsuits against different archdioceses around the country. Cardinals and bishops under subpoena have to answer civil plaintiff attorneys under oath, meet them eye to eye, one-on-one.

“There are documents that have surfaced in litigation, documents generated by the Vatican and maintained at every archdiocese. And every archdiocese shows a pattern.

"Bishops who know about these crimes are required to be complicit and protect themselves and perpetrators against scandal."

ME: So they are committing felonies, right?

Jeff Anderson on Educating to End Abuse, November 2008, continued:

“Not just priests offending children, but documented back hundreds of years, there is a pattern and a practice, a protocol that requires them (church heirarchy) to handle any criminal behavior in secret and keep it secret.

“Bishops have to respond the way they do because of orders from the Vatican. They are required to keep secrets by the Vatican. By Secret I mean not reporting the abuse, not making it public, and protecting themselves.

"The justification they give is, 'we didn't understand the scope of the problem.'"

Moderator Warren took a call from the father of a pedophile priest crime victim. The caller said, he feels the church is a place where pedophiles are protected.

Warren said, as long as statute of limitation changes are not passed, the criminals are off the hook.

CALLER: It’s a collective crime that comes from the pope down and anybody in the church who knows about it in the church is responsible, each and every one of them.

Caller (Cont'd):

“What, have people got rocks in their heads? Why do they still take their kids in there and give the church money?”

PEGGY WARREN : Lay people are living in denial. We need to convince them this is a real serious enormous problem that is continuing. It’s going to take victims’ stories, people like yourself, parents, saying enough is enough, we're not going to let our children be hurt anymore.

CALLER: The way the church has concealed the abuse, they've enabled these guys to avoid prosecution and they're probably serial abusers. These guys are out there. They've never been convicted. The only way to find them is to open SOL windows in other states like they did in California, so victims can come forward.

“Because these guys are out there."

The Caller to KCTU Educating to End Abuse continued:

“How does the church get away with having lobbyists. Isn’t that against the Constitution? Why does a church need lobbyists?”

JEFF ANDERSON: The observations about the SOL couldn't be more right on. In Legislatures across the country statute of limitation laws protect the offenders and those that protect them. SOL laws keep victims from being able to expose offenders through the criminal and civil courts. SOL reform is going to be necessary to protect children in the future.

“In California the one year period of time where survivors could come forward brought up close to a thousand lawsuits, just in California.

"250 Catholic priests, over two dozen bishops were exposed by that one year window in the Statute of Limitations in California.

“250 priests who committed abuse that had not been exposed before and two dozen bishops who took part in the coverup were exposed,” Anderson said.

“250 priests we found in California because the SOL was open and we were allowed to expose them.”

Warren commented about Denial:

"Why is this being allowed to happen. Catholic Church hierarchy denying that they are the problem. It’s not a few offending priests, as the pope suggested in America, there are a lot of offending priests, and the problem is the bishops in control of them are in denial. They're the ones responsible for not dealing with it.

"They are offenders themselves, thinking they could deal with it themselves instead of allowing law enforcement to handle it.

"The dynamic of denial is allowing molestations and rapes to continue in so many ways.

CALLER: Why doesn't the church handle these cases with more consideration for the parishioners? They’d have a lot more credibility if they’d take a hard line against the priests that are being reported.

ANDERSON: My answer to that is it’s baffling as to why the Church hasn’t taken a different approach.

“When I ask a bishop that question, why didn't you immediately report this to the police and remove the priest, so often I get the answer, we thought we could handle it internally and we felt a loyalty to our fellow priest. It’s like a brotherhood it’s our family

ME(at home listening): As in MAFIA
The bishops when forced to answer under oath, reveal it is a Mafia

ANDERSON: So that's the answer that they give, and as unsatisfactory as it is, that's the answer that I'm still getting from the church hierarchy when I ask them that question.

************

Security thugs glared into the group of eight advocates who showed up for a SNAP press conference in front of the cathedral late last month. Coincidentally all three Godfather movies have shown repeatedly on cable TV lately, and you can really feel the similarity between the LA Cathedral and Michael Corleone’s compound.

Everywhere inside and out the cathedral grounds are these thugs, either in maroon jackets to identify themselves as security or sitting solo, behind dark glasses, invisible receivers in their ears.

Nothing about the concrete slab of real estate that is the LA cathedral emanates anything resembling religion or church.

Why should it?

Onward. . .

Don't forget the High Five Campaign, please put five dollars or higher on City of Angels PayPal account, by using the Donate Button at the top of the left-hand column.

You can in that way pay for Readership.

Salesian compares sex abuse cases with burden and suffering of Christ. Salesian sex crime survivor writes, get out of your cesspool of denial

*******
A priest wrote: “The successful settlement with plaintiffs in the Los Angeles sexual abuse cases have (sic) been on the minds of all of us, especially with Father David Purdy, our provincial. I know for certain that these 17 cases have weighed heavily on him and have damaged his physical and psychological well being. With medication, rest, and conversation he seems to be doing much better.

"Didn’t St. Paul say we make up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, an enigmatic statement for sure, but so true for Fr. David and our province these last few years? At the news that we had settled in Los Angeles, Fr. Pascual Chávez emailed to say, 'Now that the nightmare is over, I hope that Fr. David Purdy will feel better, because this was a tremendous pressure on him, and also the Province will be able to move forwardmore purified.'" -- Fr. John Itzaina, SDB, Vice Provincial, in In Touch, 5.19.08

A Salesian sex crime survivor wrote: "The current mouthpiece for World Record holder Clergy molesters the Salesians of California is Fr. John Itzaina. Itzaina goes on record as attacking Attorney Ray Boucher, for “getting rich on the misery of the abuses.” (see May 22 CofA post.)

Letter from Joey Piscitelli continued:

This formidable statement is followed by Itzaina’s claim that Salesians Clergy’s lives are ruined by “allegations without proof.” How can Attorneys get rich on the misery of the abused, if , according to Itzaina, the false accusers were not abused?

If it were true that the Salesians were merely innocent Priests who have been falsely targeted, I could not go on record and state in writing that: The Salesians Dabbenne and Billante were convicted, Presenti and Miani are serial pedophiles, Whelan and Vitone were found guilty by juries, and of course, the Salesians are record holder accused molesters.

********************
'Itzaina now cries that the Salesians are the victims'
*******************************

If Fr. Itzaina, and his reckless gang of accused, convicted, and admitted sex offenders ever emerged from their cloud of self pity and denial, they would see that they are their own worst enemy. Itzaina now cries to the media that the Salesians are the victims, and they have to sell their Mansion in San Francisco, that has housed countless child rapists, to pay for their court settlement.

Apparently it has not occurred to the narcissist kingpin that generally, the public does not have sympathy for rapists, deviates, molesters, child sodomizers, and pedophiles who bask in the luxury of a San Francisco Mansion.

Fr. Itzaina has been immersed in a capacious pool of Salesian accused molesters for years on end, and amazingly, and not believably, he “knows nothing.” Predictably, he does not offer an apology in his statement, he typically denigrates the victims, and resumes denial.

********************
Empty files just like their empty souls
******************************

That is the Salesian way. Along with the Salesian “empty files” of their serial molesters histories, they come up empty with remorse for the damage and destruction they have caused to so many children.

Most importantly, as the Salesians continue to wallow in their cesspool of indulgent self pity, they should be reminded that they could have settled the claims against their Mammoth Molestation Machine years ago, and avoided all their court costs and attorneys’ fees.

The price the Salesians have to pay was driven by their vindictive hatred, and their spiteful arrogance for their victims. The next time you go before the altar in front of Jesus Christ, Fr. Itzaina, I want you to light one candle for each of the victims the Salesians have sexually molested in California.

I am sure the light from the candles will illuminate the entire West Coast.

Joey Piscitelli

(Piscitelli is Northern California director of SNAP.)

Correction: Salesian Mansion is not squatty and it IS to be sold along with a camp to pay 17 LA plaintiffs. Plus, the LA Times gets it wrong again

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By Kay Ebeling
Good morning, folks, it’s time for some corrections. Re the Salesian mansion, which YES will be sold to pay the LA settlements, the Provincial House in San Francisco only looks "squatty" from the front where the public sees it, a faithful reader tells me. The mansion is “huge” and from side views it stretches w-a-a-a-ay back and takes up an entire city block.

Another correction: The Itzaina letter in the May 22nd post, where the Vice Provincial takes Ray Boucher to task and claims all Salesian priests are innocent, was not written last month as reported here, but less than 48 hours before the May 14th settlement, which included an admission that Titian Miani DID rape four plaintiffs. Also, Itzaina is not just "a Vice Provincial," but THE Vice-Provincial, my source emailed me scolding.

The camp to be sold is likely Camp Salesian, in Middletown, California, north of Santa Rosa, my source, who says he has to stay anonymous as that's how things are with the Salesians, said.

The Salesians have two camps, Camp St. Francis for boys age 7 to 13 featured in a post here last week, and Camp Salesian. “No activities appear to be planned at Camp Salesian in Middletown this summer,” said my source, “whereas a full summer camp program staffed by Salesians is scheduled at Camp St. Francis for this summer.”

So Camp St. Francis, with Salesian brothers running it, will be stock full of vulnerable boys age 7 to 13 along beachfront property outside Santa Cruz again this summer.

From the Camp St. Francis website:

Camp St Francis provides a wholesome Catholic setting for boys ages 7 - 13 to experience a meaningful and enjoyable summer with their peers

Camp Address:
Camp St. Francis
2320 Sumner Ave.
Aptos, CA 95003

I think there should be protesters where the parents drop the kids off for camp this summer every weekend, or at the camp entrance address above.

To warn the parents they are practically feeding their children to preying pedophiles.

The Salesian Religious Order has more pedophiles per capita than any other religious order in the United States.

And you want to send your pre-pubescent boys to be practically imprisoned no way out at summer camp with these predators?

***************
God knows what goes on in those cabins.
*************************

Here’s another idea. Just an idea:

TO GET THE BALL ROLLING toward Congressional hearings about sex crimes in the Catholic Church

Something to Do:
Send letters to:

Lisa Pinto
District Director
Office of Henry Waxman
8436 W. Third St. #600
LA CA 90048

She is in Henry Waxman’s office here in LA.

Henry Waxman chairs the Congressional Oversight Committee.

So write Lisa Pinto and US Rep Waxman a letter and explain the problem of sex crimes in the Catholic Church

Include Evidence with your Letter. Articles from the paper, documents, etc.

Tell them the 140,000 to 500,000 victims of pedohpile priests have yet to experience justice.

Settlements across the country the last 10 years did nothing but further hide the truth, as hierarchy in the church never had to testify.

We need Congressional hearings.

We need guys like Cardinal Roger Mahony to testify, and since the bishops avoided speaking in public under oath with settlements across the country, let the bishops sweat it out in front of national cameras and the teeth and claws of fresh Democrats in the US Congress next year.

We need Congressional Hearings on Sex Crimes in the Catholic Church. And other clergy.

This is a great time to approach Congress for hearings, with the recent FLDS raids in Utah and Texas.

We can start by sending a lot of letters to Lisa Pinto in Henry Waxman’s office at:

Lisa Pinto
District Director
Office of Henry Waxman
8436 W. Third St. #600
LA CA 90048

If you can, cc me your letters.

Please also mention City of Angels blog and A Matter of Truth in Boston, as we are all working together to get national level hearings, either in the Senate or the US Congress, sometime soon.

It starts with small steps.

If Lisa Pinto is inundated with letters, all of them from clergy abuse survivors wanting Congressional hearings, it might help get the ball rolling. Send copies of your letters to me as well, so I can relish in their wordsmithery. . .

It's late I need sleep...

***************
IF THE LA TIMES HAD BEEN THERE
They Would Have Gotten It Right
*************************

No one was there from the LA Times the day of the Salesian settlement hearing last week. However, the Times ran a story the next day and it was obviously written by someone at a desk in an office who, after getting the assignment, spent 15 minutes on the Internet, made a few phone calls, then wrote the story. The reporter may not even have been in Los Angeles, from what I hear about corporate run newspapers today. He could have been in San Francisco, or Arizona, and it would not have made a difference in the story.

AND THE LA TIMES GOT IT WRONG

The Los Angeles Times Insulted the 17 Salesian Plaintiffs, all victims of pedophile priest crimes in Los Angeles, by getting the story wrong.

We Don’t have a newspaper in Los Angeles anymore.
We have blogs.

The Times wrote:

Father Titian Miani, now 81, had been accused of preying on youths when they assigned him to St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, where he allegedly molested four children

Had the Times bothered to send a reporter to the courtroom that day, they would have known that the Salesians admitted in open court, in front of the jury and the judge and the two reporters who were there, me and a woman from The Daily Journal--

That Titian Miani DID molest the four plaintiffs and that Edward Anthony Rodrigue IS guilty of raping other plaintiffs.

It’s not alleged anymore after they admit their guilt in court.

The LA Times still referred to the crimes of Titian Miani

As "alleged molestation."

That's what happens when you do beat reporting by last minute phone calls after the fact, instead of getting down and dirty and going document diving like we do here almost weekly at City of Angels Network.

An Epidemic of Pedophiles thriving in Southern California Catholic Churches for more than 50 years

And the LA Times is absent and then inaccurate for one of the critical hearings on the issue.

We Do Not have a newspaper in this city anymore.

Just blogs like mine.

(I work in TV. That's why I repeat myself so much.)

Here is the beginning of the LA Times story:

Salesians settle final L.A. Archdiocese priest abuse case for $19.5 million

By Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 15, 2008

The Salesian Society agreed Wednesday to pay $19.5 million to 17 childhood molestation victims, ending the last unresolved case involving the Los Angeles Archdiocese's sexual abuse crisis.

The settlement came after jurors were seated to hear allegations that the Salesians knew Father Titian Miani, now 81, had been accused of preying on youths when they assigned him to St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, where he allegedly molested four children

AAARGGGGGHHHH

I know, all newspapers always say allege until someone is locked up in prison.

They are more worried about getting sued than delivering the news.
*******
My head is in Chicago already.
I'm going to my perp church to look for clues.
Just Like Nancy Drew pictured at left holding The Clock. As I work here in LA the mind drifts and I'm in Chicago on the Metra, riding from the city out to the western suburbs.

I’ll get off at Bartlett and go straight to my perp church St. Peter Damian, and see what I can find out about Fr. Thomas Barry Horne, did he leave behind more crime victims than me and my sister. . . .

I’ve been looking at Bartlett from Google maps. The Chicago Metra stops downtown Bartlett in exactly the same place as the old train station in the town in the 1950s.

I know exactly how to get from the train station to the church, it’s only a few blocks. I’ll wear walking shoes.

I'm also taking my laptop and camera and the entire story will be here at City of Angels Blog, day to day. . .blow by blow...

I know Father Horne took kid porn pictures of me and my sister.

I know he was a baccanalian type who was doing my mother in order to get to her daughters. Or maybe he just liked doing it with all of us, I don't know, maybe I'll find out. . .

I hope I will find more victims of Thomas Barry Horne, predator priest.

Or some other thing that will help me prove my case, like Nancy Drew.

My head is in Chicago already.

Even the SNAP conference sounds exciting and I don't usually like conferences, as I can't sit still. So I'm going to be squirming and twitching at SNAP in July this year, the first year I've been able to go to a SNAP conference.

The trip to Chicago is happening thanks to hits on my PayPal button.

And I still don't have quite enough, need to raise about $450 dollars more.

Every five dollars helps. Please click my PayPal and help me get to Chicago and stay long enough to do the research I need to write this story and live it at the same time here on the blog.

***************
Life goes on.
************************

Meanwhile, still working on one of the most bizarre reality TV shows in history, called America’s Greatest Dog.

Like so many reality shows, people come and live in a house with a group of strangers with video cameras going all the time.

Except these people are there with their dogs. Now they're fighting over who’s got the best training techniques, and you're abusing your dog, and oh boy.

Wish I could retire and just work on the blog. Maybe next year.

Onward . . . More to Come. . .

Release of perpetrator priest files: Document Protocol begins now and hearings coming. LA Archdiocese still pays legal fees for priests to object

*****
WED: 5.21.08 UPDATE: I am slammed at work, all RUSH jobs (because they are about Britney Spears) so can't even look at the blog for a few days. All will be continued shortly. Hopefully soon. -- KE -
*****
By Kay Ebeling
When I sat in on a meeting between a plaintiff and Roger Mahony this month, she asked the cardinal, “Where are the documents that you're supposed to release as part of the settlement?” The cardinal said she’d have to go to her lawyer and request the files, and then expect objections from the priests, a process which most plaintiffs would find daunting after six years of legal issues.

The cardinal was wrong. What he told the plaintiff, who was meeting with him for healing and renewed trust, was incorrect. The archbishop said the priests on their own object to release of their files, claiming privacy rights (see May 12 post). Mahony told the plaintiff she’d see the priests’ attorney Donald Steier in court if she pursued this legal action.

Cardinal Mahony archbishop of Los Angeles assured my friend, as I sat there listening, that he had nothing at all to do with release of documents on perpetrator priests, which was part of the settlement of the LA Clergy Cases.

For one, the archdiocese pays legal costs for the priests to object to release of their documents. “Steier admitted in testimony in the court of appeals that he was paid by the Los Angeles archdiocese to represent the priests.” Quotes here are from a phone conversation last week with Tony DeMarco, of Kiesel Boucher Larson, lead plaintiff attorneys in the LA cases against the Archdiocese.

DeMarco took issue with Mahony's words; “Steier does not work for free and those priests are not the ones who are paying him hourly. Where do you think the money is coming from?”

“They're trying to say it’s all the priests objecting to release of documents, but the archdiocese is paying the lion’s share of the bill for Donald Steier to represent them.”

Here is the Document Protocol:
“I’ll be doing an en masse request,” DeMarco said last week. “I’m getting all the signatures now, putting together the applications to the court.” Then when and if the priests object, hearings on their objections will be public.

City of Angels will watch for the hearings on release of these documents:

Here is how it will be done:

“We don’t know for sure that it will be Justice Edward A. Panelli (retired from the California Supreme Court), who will review the files, but his name is even written into the settlement agreement.

“First it has to wait for an order from Judge Emilie Elias,” DeMarco said, “then we'll have to figure out the process with Panelli.

The Priests' Objections:

"It’s my understanding, Panelli will hear the legal challenges by the priests," DeMarco said.

I said, that's the kind of hearing a lot of survivors would want to attend.

DeMarco said, “They should. This is what a lot of us were fighting for. The compensation was important, but we had almost every perspective juror in the Salesians cases raising their hand that the church was lying. There’s a lot of details in those files.”

He added: “Depositions regarding these cases are part of the protective order Judge Fromholz issued. He issued a guideline for what has to be under seal. He didn't say each one is under seal, he said everything is under seal.

“So now I have to go back and figure it all out. We'll have hearings with Judge Elias next,” he said, adding they would be in a matter of months.

The motion DeMarco files will mark the first time anyone has compiled and calculated how many perpetrator priests there were in the LA and San Diego settlements last year, and who is connected to which plaintiffs. DeMarco is putting together this “en masse request” by putting together for the first time each perpetrator and the plaintiffs in their cases.

“Then I’ll be the one getting the files to the judge for review." Panelli lives now in Santa Clara, CA.

“We have to make sure there will be public hearings,” DeMarco said.

Again, City of Angels will keep an eye on the calendar and as soon as these hearings on release of documents on perpetrator priests in LA are announced, we'll post the dates here. The first hearings will be in Judge Emilie Elias’ court on Commonwealth and Sixth near Lafayette Park.

The money is already there, DeMarco said: “Enough has been put away to make sure the judge who will be reviewing the files on an hourly basis can be paid.” Panelli, retired from the California Supreme Court, is the name that is actually written into the settlement to review the files, DeMarco said. “Enough money has been put away to make sure the judge who will be reviewing the files on an hourly basis can be paid.”

With the application DeMarco will file shortly, if priests object, there will also be hearings Judge Emilie Elias’ court.

“Once she gives her okay, these files can be sent to Panelli for review,” DeMarco said.

Plaintiff attorney Tony DeMarco will file en masse request, then hearings will be public, re the release of files of perpetrator priests in LA and San Diego cases.

DeMarco said it states in the 2004 Report to the People of God that the Archdiocese will pay for priests’ attorneys, as long as the priest is never convicted of a crime: Of course the priests are conveniently never totally convicted: I think the quote from LA Archdiocese report he’s referring to is this under Legal Expenses:

“In the context of the recent criminal and civil complaints against the priests, the Archdiocese has provided certain individual priests with loans to enable them to obtain legal representation in criminal investigations prior to being charged. Following indictment, the Archdiocese no longer provides legal support and will not provide bail. In civil cases, the Archdiocese provides limited funds for an initial review of the matter and has provided loans when needed by the priest for the assertion of certain constitutional rights prior to trial.

Next: Salesian Real Estate

How many believe Catholic priests will lie under oath to cover up sex crimes? Every potential juror raised their hands

*****
By Kay Ebeling

One of the questions was, “How many of you believe the Catholic Church has covered up sex crimes?” Every potential juror in the first day of voir dire raised their hand, in the Salesian cases which settled before going to trial this week in LA. At another point attorneys asked, how many of you think a Catholic priest will lie under oath to protect the church and, again, every one of them raised their hands.

Emilie Elias is a no-nonsense judge who was really glaring down from the bench just like the picture at left in the settlement hearing Wednesday in LA Superior Court. She presides in a community full of no-nonsense people. I looked at that jury and they were ready, savage with pencils poised to find a hundred reasons to award punitive damages if the cases went to trial. The Salesian defense was not going to be able to do the dance around justice they pulled off in San Francisco in 2006. Wayne Morse slouched home to Texas in tears.

The day before the settlement in LA, a jury in Vermont came back with the largest civil award in the state's history, $7,750,000 in punitive damages against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, which might have been on the Salesians attorneys' mind Tuesday night when they agreed to settle. One altar boy from Vermont held out, refused to settle with about 18 other cases earlier this year, insisted on a jury trial, and was awarded $950,000 compensatory along with the record breaking $7.75 million award in punitive damages. The Burlington verdict, reached by the jury in less than five hours, is a signal to the Roman Catholic Church. People who serve on juries are ready to award massive amounts to plaintiffs when given the chance to decide punitive damages.

In a phone interview Friday morning, plaintiff attorney Tony DeMarco described voir dire: “The judge’s perspective was, okay, everybody knows about the settlements in LA last year, that's a given.”

The judge instructed the jury: “You've got to ask about the facts of this case, this particular case. The jury has to be fair on the facts of this case, listen to evidence and render on the facts here. Not on the other cases in LA last year.”

It’s likely impossible to find 11 people in Los Angeles who wouldn't find the archdiocese and all its Manchurian responders guilty.

The judge realized the predicament and resolved it with a legal swipe which is apparently Emilie Elias’ style. Earlier I observed that instead of pretrial hearings, Judge Emilie Elias did away with about 27 motions in limine from the defendants for these cases by bringing all the attorneys into her chambers to talk over refreshments, then looking at each of them squarely and saying, Listen. . .

DeMarco said. Sure it was likely there would be a huge award from the jury as in Vermont if we went to trial, but then the cases would spend years in appeals.

In Vermont less than 24 hours after the 7 plus million in punitives to one altar boy, the case was under appeal.

Evidence from the 2008 Salesian cases in LA will dribble out.
And be reported here at City of Angels

In other deposition testimony, Howse had revealed that all the boys at St. Mary's in Edmonton avoided the infirmary. They knew if you went to the infirmary, you were going to be sexually molested by Father Jim Miani or one of the others. (See Lester Howse in the video at top of page.)

Howse said kids would vomit in the closet and have raging fevers but refuse to go to the infirmary because of the sexual abuse at St. Mary’s in Edmonton, negligenty supervised by the Salesians who have to pay $19.5 million to 17 plaintiffs after the decision in LA Superior Court this week.

In the settlement hearing Ray Boucher for the plaintiffs told the jury that their very presence weighed on defense attorneys, just their being there had power in the move to settle the cases.

Me, I saw that jury, and I think they couldn't wait to go for punitive damages in the triple millions, I could see the rage in their faces as they sat there, they were looking forward to passing judgment on the Salesians.

The plaintiff in the Salesian cases that settled spoke to me about sitting in on voir dire:

“I got the feeling immediately that the jury connected with me. Still it wasn’t easy to know that my life was going to be out there.

"All of a sudden you realize what depths they will go to, to not be held accountable, to make me look guilty instead."

“They weren't going to get away with it," she said, "because I said to my family, look I made some mistakes and you're going to hear about them in the trial. I'm not perfect.”

DeMarco said, “Steve McFeely stands up and starts asking questions and he is not someone people like. He was trying to get the jury riled. But then they all raised their hands. I thought he was trying to get the whole jury pool booted.”

DeMarco said, “With the evidence we had, all the evidence we were going to be able to present, and I think Judge Elias would have let all of it in, the jury could have put the Salesians out of business.”

COMING THIS WEEKEND :

The Salesians Society say they will sell the mansion on Franklin Street in San Francisco to pay for the settlement in LA.

What are they going to do with the other several million they'll make on the real estate sale?

ALSO:

Document protocol.

Now that all the cases are settled, DeMarco is preparing a motion for release of personnel documents of every perpetrator in the LA and San Diego cases settled last year.

All to be explained in posts coming up this weekend. . .

Miani came out covering his face, the boy was pulling up his pants, witness from Canada tells what he would have testified in Salesian trial

*****
By Kay Ebeling
Lead plaintiff witness Lester Howse carried a memory for 50 years of Titian Miani coming out of an infirmary red faced, after several boys said he was hurting them from behind, one boy pulling up his pants as Miani left. (Trancript below, watch raw video above.)

Howse traveled from eastern Canada to Los Angeles to testify in the Salesian trial, cases which settled this morning. Below he says what he would have said if he’d testified.

Q: Mr. Howse, what were you going to say in your testimony?

A: I would like to tell the story as best I remember it from 50 years, from A to Z but of course courts do not allow that. After 50 years it’s touch and go remembering everything around the incident that happened.

Q: What was the incident that happened?

A: Why they asked me to come down here was to bear witness to the sexual assault on a part of Father Jim Miani, at the institute I was in in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, and I did witness that he sexually assaulted a young boy.

It took place at St. Mary’s Boys Home, it was a cross section of population, primarily poor Indian and there were also white non Indian white boys, from poor families. That was about it, it was primarily Indian and white.

Q: What was the incident that you observed?

A: Father Miani, it was I believe 1957, we were in an area where you were only allowed for about 10 minutes after coming into the institute from recreation. You had about 10 minutes before what they call a write up, you have a write up if the bell rings.

And in that 10 minutes I was in an area near what you call the sick bay, some would call it, and the priests were right next door, where they were housed, where their rooms were. So I came out of the dormitory which is next to the infirmary. The infirmary is between the priests’ quarters and the boys’ dormitory.

And I heard a noise in there and there was a couple boys, three boys, standing by the door of the infirmary. And I heard them talking, there was something going on it was a half whisper. So I went down to see what was going on I thought it was a fight perhaps. But one of the boys backed up and he said that Father Jim was hurting him from behind. And when Father Jim came first of all the young boy came out because the bell had rung, so we had to be in assembly or lineup. So when I looked I started to move away.

It was Father Jim who came out with his, trying to cover his face and he immediately went into the priests’ quarters. A young boy was walking out pulling up his pants. So we know it was Father Jim. That's, see this is the one, and I know I witnessed, I know it’s Father Jim. There were other incidents that Father Jim’s name came up but I could not verify that one way or the other.

But I do believe those boys who had experienced sexual abuse on the part of Father Jim Miani.

Q: How many others do you know of?

A: That I know of? Well to my knowledge, I was a victim of the late [SOUNDS LIKE] Father Telek at the same school, and he was appointed as Father Confessor. We were forced to go to confession once a week to this man who attacked me sexually.

But I fought him, I fought back. He had me down, he had his hand on my crotch and he was breathing hard. This was right in what they call a sanctuary. I just finished serving his Mass as an altar boy. I still had the cossack on and he still had the cossack on and he attacked me. I kicked him, I fought, I just kept kicking and I know he was bleeding. He never bothered me again, but he did disturb others.

Q: Did boys at the school talk about Father Jim?

A: We did pass the word because at that time I was classified as a medium boy. See there was boys, medium boys, and little boys or small boys. So us medium boys had a ward, we had to take care of the little ones, so we would pass the word among us to watch out for Father Jim, watch out for Father John Telek, watch out for [SOUNDS LIKE] Father Ralph Simioni?

Q: There were three predator priests at the school at the same time?

A: Well Father Ralph I don't know about his sexual activities but he was very mean, he used to beat on people. He’d pull you out of the line and beat on people, he never did me. He’d slap you around a couple of times.

Q: I understand you've done activist work around this issue?

A: Yes I did an interview similar to this in the 1970s and also in 92 and that's how Cheryl (Buchanan, plaintiff attorney) became aware of me.

Q: Who interviewed you in 1972 about this?

A: A journalist from the Edmonton Journal and apparently the article had an effect on quite a few people, people writing in, in favor of and against what I had to say. But for me it was very disturbing in a good way for some of the boys who’d been in there, because they began to write in to the (Edmonton) Journal and respond.

I was so glad to hear from them and read and know that they're still alive.

Q: So in the Edmonton Journal is the archives with that story and the letters to the editor as well?

A: Yes.

Q: What did you have to go through to come to court today for the trial?

A: When the date was set I accepted and I started with a friend to come down and his car messed up, got another friend, crossed the border no problem. It was great. I met my granddaughter in North Dakota along the way, my daughter was there. So it was wonderful, it was a good journey.

Then a friend drove me to Denver to Grand Junction I believe it’s called and from there I took a Greyhound Bus. [LAUGHS]

More coverage in the post below. . .

Cut and pasted:

(Howse mentioned more than one boy.)

Q: How many young boys?

A: To my knowledge there was one. And I know there was others but I was not a witness to any of that, so for me to say any of that would only be hearsay as the court would consider it.

Salesians admit today Fr. Titian Miani DID molest plaintiffs, ending global cases in LA re pedophile priests from 2003 SOL window. More to come

*****
By Kay Ebeling
“The Salesians admit these plaintiffs have been abused by Father Miani.” Ray Boucher spoke to jurors this morning. The lead plaintiff attorney said settlement talks began during jury selection and the jurors' presence, ready to hear the case after four days of voir dire, urged the settlement forward. Having the Salesians admit Father Miani raped these four persons as children and likely others “will have an impact on the plaintiffs’ lives forever,” Boucher said, thanking jurors as the 17 cases settled this morning for $19.4 million dollars.

Wayne Mason, who flies in from Texas to litigate for the Salesian Religious Order was tearful, saying, “the conduct of this particular priest was something awful the men of the Salesians Society were ashamed of.” He turned to the plaintiffs and said, “I’m sorry,” with sadness. Morse added there are so many men in the Salesians who are not like Miani.

The "mansion" in San Francisco, the Salesian Provincial House, will be sold to cover part of the cost of the settlement.

Lead plaintiff witness Lester Howse, came all the way from Winnipeg on the east coast of Canada to LA Superior Court this morning, determined to testify about his knowledge of Miani molesting a boy in 1957. What Lester Howse would have said on the stand, he said to my camera, and the video will be up at City of Angels Network as soon as it processes through YouTube, stay tuned.

The number of witnesses, the amount of evidence, plus the presence of a jury ready after four days of voir dire undoubtedly pressured the Salesians to settle these remaining cases. The same team of attorneys here to defend the Salesians in LA are still fighting plaintiffs in San Francisco, continuing to appeal and delay a settlement that was ordered by a jury to Joey Piscitelli in 2006.

What Ray Boucher was going to say in opening statements was “point out the 1948 letter from Italy” which would have been a key piece of evidence in the trial. The letter proves the Salesians Society knew of Miani's proclivities before sending him to North America in the late 1940s.

The 1948 letter will be attached as evidence in the case files, which City of Angels will dive in and start perusing over the next weeks.

“The Salesians were aware of at least one molestation by Miani as far back as 1948,” Boucher said.

He had more witnesses ready to come down from Canada to testify about “Father Jim” at St. Mary’s School in Edmonton, the number of witnesses who would come depended on how long the trial went on, Boucher said after the hearing, implying the list of witnesses would have gone on and on.

“The Salesians are admitting they need to bring about change,” said Boucher.

This morning’s actions end the global settlement, the 500 plus cases that came about after a window of opportunity opened in 2003. For that one year the state suspended the statute of limitations on child sex crimes, and persons in the state of California who had been raped at any time as children could file civil lawsuits, no matter how far in the past the episodes took place.

The 17 cases that settled this morning are the last of the cases from Los Angeles that resulted from the 2003 window in the statute of limitations in California.

However, several lawyers from Kiesel Boucher Larson said there are more clients coming forward, more cases against the LA Archdiocese coming.

The state of Pennsylvania is currently hearing and considering the Child Victim Act, HB 1137, which will open a similar window for two years for persons raped as children, and permanently put the window for reporting abuse at the age of 50. We'll be reporting more about HB 1137 in Pennsylvania shortly here at City of Angels.

I was saving that picture above of Leila Nourani for the trial. She was one of the defense attorneys who fascinated me, and I was so looking forward to drawing her and Helen and Cheryl, but I really don't have the wardrobe to cover a jury trial. Also I have these two other jobs that pay the bills and they were going to have to go on the back burner.

Don't worry. Now that the Salesians have settled I will be able to access all the documents, even the ones squirreled away by the "research attorney" during most of the pretrial months. All the documents from the Salesians cases will be there in the 6th and Commonwealth courthouse on the 14th floor under the care of Javier.

Will be document diving by next week about Miani and all the rest of them. For now have to go back to work on raw videos for America's Greatest Dog, another brain challenging reality TV show in development here in East Hollywood.

Putting in time codes when they bark...

Onward. . .