It is 2020 and Paula Stitz, ex-cop fired for corruption, still runs the Arkansas Sex Offense Registry

"Once upon a time there was a Police Chief in the tiny backwater village of Eureka Springs named PaulaStitz(kin). Paulastitzkin was fired from her police chief job and she sued to get her job back, claiming of all things, "sexual discrimination." PaulaStitzKin failed in her lawsuit. What kind of job could a disgraced crooked cop do? That is when the kingdom of Arkansas offered PaulaStitzKin a new job working on the state sex offender registry. After all, the kingdom could care less about their peasants and figured a crooked cop made a perfect fit."

I told this fairy tale way back in 2012, and yet here we are in 2020 and Paula Stitz, disgraced corrupt ex-cop, STILL has a job. I guess Arkansas just has no standards whatsoever. 

https://katv.com/news/local/homeless-sex-offenders-sometimes-hard-to-manage-in-arkansas

Paula Stitz has been the sex offender registry manager at the Arkansas Crime Information Center for 20 years.

“There are groups of people that say that sex offenders don’t re-offend any more than any other group I disagree,” Stitz said. She said the biggest issues facing law enforcement right now are homeless sex offenders or those who are truck drivers and cross state lines.

“A sex offender person who declares himself homeless is a very difficult person to manage,” Stitz said.

There are over 300 local law enforcement agencies and 75 county sheriff's department in Arkansas. Stitz said she talks with dozens of them a day.

“When I’m talking to law enforcement there are more that declare they are homeless when they really are not because they don’t want you to know where they are living,” Stitz said. “They will come out from prison or come from another state and say ‘I don’t have any place to live I’m sleeping on this particular bench,’ when they’re actually living with mama and mama doesn’t want that community notification done in her neighborhood so he’s not going to tell anyone that he’s living there.”

Stitz said there are over 17,000 sex offenders on the registry. About 10,000 actually live among us in Arkansas. Records show that 166 sex offenders have declared they are homeless and 115 of them live in Arkansas. Out of those 115, 29 of them are not in compliance.

https://www.lovelycitizen.com/story/1206194.html

Stitz case against city dismissed

Thursday, January 17, 2002

By Bill King

The federal sexual discrimination lawsuit against the city of Eureka Springs, first filed more than five years ago by former police chief Paula Stitz, is over. Paul Bogas, administrative law judge for the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC), ruled in favor of the city and dismissed all complaints in a 20-page decision dated Jan. 4, and received by city officials Monday.

Stitz's suit alleged she was terminated Aug. 13, 1996, after eight years as police chief, because of her gender. It further claimed that after the firing, when she first filed a gender-bias suit, the city retaliated by not sending her an employment application for the police chief job; reopening an unsolved homicide investigation; and opening an investigation into missing parking meter money that occurred under her administration.

At the time she was fired, Stitz was the only female city department head. She was fired by a woman, former Mayor Barbara O'Harris, who became her boss when she took office in January, '96.

"I'm very pleased," O'Harris told the Citizen after hearing of the ruling. "They [the court] saw it wasn't sexual discrimination."

O'Harris testified Stitz was fired because of poor job performance, low morale and lax discipline in the police department, and fallout from the department's handling of the 1994 Blues Fest "riot." She made the decision to terminate on her own after discussing Stitz's job deficiencies with her on several occasions, the former mayor testified.

Stitz pointed to her employment file where she had been evaluated as "exceptional" and "outstanding" just a month before her termination by O'Harris's administrative assistant, Don Young. Young had only been on the job two months at the time of the favorable review.

Stitz's attorney, Steven Wood of Rogers, contended "all roads in this case lead back to Don Young - the sexist administrative assistant who could not abide to work for a city which had a female chief of police, and who quickly became the power behind O'Harris' throne."

The judge acknowledged that Young, whom O'Harris fired in 1997, may have been a sexist, but he didn't believe O'Harris' decision was influenced by Young. "By all accounts, Young proved to be a poor selection for the position," the judge wrote. "He had a confrontational, opinionated, impatient style that others found off-putting... he was known to make inappropriate remarks." Several instances of such remarks were referenced.

O'Harris, however, was her own woman and fired Stitz in spite of Young's glowing review, the judge found. "I found O'Harris a credible witness... During questioning she conveyed a forceful, confident, even willful personality that was inconsistent with the portrait the Complainant attempted to paint of a weak female mayor controlled by her male administrative assistant. This was no shrinking violet who did not know her own mind."

"They tried to portray me as a wimp," O'Harris told the Citizen. "I couldn't have survived four years in that office as a wimp."

According to the judge, the only evidence presented which would rebut O'Harris' testimony that Young wasn't involved in the firing was given by former police secretary Anna Epperly, who testified she heard O'Harris tell an officer, the late Bobby Weber, and an unidentified person at Holiday Island, that Young could not work with Stitz and she was forced to choose between the two. The judge listed several reasons for finding Epperly's testimony uncredible and biased.

The judge also dismissed the retaliation charges Stitz alleged. While acknowledging the advertisement for applications for police chief was vague and confusing, he noted that five other applicants who responded as Stitz had were treated exactly the same. Further, he wrote, "The notion that the mayor would have considered the Complainant to succeed herself as chief, had she not filed a complaint of discrimination, borders on fanciful."

He also wrote there was nothing unusual or retaliatory in calling in the state police on an unsolved homicide or conducting an investigation into missing meter money.

While dismissing the charges, the judge did find fault with Stitz being fired without explanation. O'Harris had testified she gave no reason on the "advice of counsel. I had given warnings and didn't feel I owed her anything more."

Bogas acknowledged the mayor was under no legal obligation to state a reason, but "In my view, the Complainant was shabbily treated. Common courtesy would dictate that a 16-year veteran of the police department with eight years as chief was entitled to be formally presented with the reasons why discharge was being contemplated and [given] a chance to respond." He blamed the counsel's advice to withhold reason as being partly responsible for the protracted litigation. "However, shabby treatment is not necessarily discriminatory treatment."

Former Alderman Sheila Seratt, who was the lone council member to attempt to override O'Harris' decision and who testified for the former chief, agreed Stitz was treated shabbily, " My whole objection was the way it was done," she said, "and the way it continues to be done today."

"Personally, I think Paula is a wonderful person," O'Harris said Monday, "I just didn't think she was doing her job. We tried to be as fair as we could and help her. We gave her two or three months severance and vacation pay - we didn't have to do that.

"It's wonderful that righteousness came through. I'm glad the city won't have to pay a lot of money." No monetary damages were stated in the suit.

Stitz now works for the Arkansas Crime Information Center in Little Rock. She said she just learned of the decision and had not had time to absorb it or talk with her attorney about possible recourse.

Stitz speculated two factors lead to her dismissal: that she arrested O'Harris' son on an alcohol related charge, and "the fact that Don Young hated women in any shape or form." She said last week's firing of the fire chief without explanation shows that people will continue to lose their jobs without cause as long as Arkansas remains an "at will employer" state.

"It's like anti-climactic now," said the former police chief. "I always say the best revenge is living well, and I'm doing that."

Loose Cannon: Desperate claim by Charleston SC Republican Sheriff Al Cannon claims ACLU wants to abolish registry

Abolishing the registry would be a good thing, Al. It is useless and does not work, apparently except when you need to scare some undecideds to vote for you. 

https://abcnews4.com/news/local/sheriff-al-cannon-makes-multiple-claims-about-aclu-says-thy-endorse-kristen-graziano

Sheriff Al Cannon makes multiple claims about ACLU, says it endorses Kristin Graziano

by Daniella DeRobbio

Sunday, October 25th 2020

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — In a post on his Facebook page on Saturday, Sheriff Al Cannon made multiple claims about the ACLU.

"The ACLU is spending over $100,000 attacking me and backing my opponent," he wrote. "The ACLU wants to eliminate the sex offender registry. The ACLU wants to defund police. The ACLU attacks Christians and supports neo-Nazi groups. The ACLU is backing my opponent. Those are just the FACTS (sic)."

In a statement to ABC News 4, ACLU SC Executive Director, Frank Knaack said:

Sheriff Al Cannon, Charleston’s top law enforcement official, is claiming that the ACLU has endorsed and is fundraising for his opponent.

The ACLU does not endorse candidates. What we do support, however, is meaningful criminal justice reform that deeply impacts our lives. This reform includes banning no-knock warrants, ending Charleston’s 287g agreement which promotes the separation of families through deportation, increasing community oversight and accountability over law enforcement, and ending racial bias in policing. Most Charleston county voters agree with our position on these issues, and they deserve to make an informed choice in this election, which is why we’re educating them on the candidates’ positions.

We will never back away from our work to guarantee that Charleston's public safety system ensures the safety and well-being of all.

On Sunday, Sheriff Cannon's Democratic opponent, Kristin Graziano, released the following statement:

I am surprised at his attack on the ACLU, and I don’t understand why he is making those accusations. We filled out the same questionnaire, and I have no control as to how that organization choses to inform voters on the issues and how we are different. In all honesty, I don’t think his dirty attack makes him or his supporters look good, because he’s spreading falsehoods. People know exactly what I stand for: integrity, transparency, and honesty. I look forward to serving and protecting Charleston County as its first new sheriff in 32 years.

"These desperate and false attacks against the ACLU show how afraid Al Cannon is of the momentum Kristin Graziano is building," Lauren Brown, the communications director for the South Carolina Democratic Part said. "And he should be. His position and approach to public service are completely out of touch with the voters of Charleston County and why Lowcountry Democrats are excited to elect Kristin as their next Sheriff."

Maurice Washington, the chair of the Charleston County Republican Party, told ABC News 4 that despite the ACLU's claims "It's not secret that the ACLU supports Kristen."

Washington called Sheriff Cannon, "solid" and "the best in the business."

ABC News 4 has reached out to Sheriff Al Cannon for comment. We have not yet heard back.

DAP Smear - Sandusky Co., OH law enforcement agencies issue stern warning to vigilante group "Dads Against Predators"

Here's an idea-- instead of idle threats, how about arresting these thugs?

(Not that the cops are doing much better, bragging about their own entrapment operations.)

I'd love to see these thugs in prison where they belong. 

https://nbc24.com/news/local/law-enforcement-calling-on-dads-against-predators-to-cease-operations

Law enforcement calling on Dads Against Predators to cease operations

by Aaron LeedyMonday, October 19th 2020

FREMONT, Ohio — A group of people made up of police chiefs, a prosecutor and a sheriff are calling on the organization Dads Against Predators, also known as Dap, Inc., to cease operations because they say it affects their ability to properly capture and prosecute people accused of sex crimes against children.

The Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office says Dap, Inc. posts several videos showing themselves encountering people in various community locations and exposing them as child predators.

Authorities said in a news release issued October 19 that after luring individuals to meet with Dap, Inc. members at a location for a potential sexual encounter, DAP records and publishes the chat communication, as well as the-face-to-face encounter on their Facebook page and YouTube channel.

“Unfortunately, DAP fails to potentially realize that it is creating seriously hazardous and potentially dangerous situations in community settings,” the news release stated. “By conducting these ‘operations’ in the manner that they do, it renders law enforcement unable to criminally charge these individuals and prosecutors unable to prosecute. Therefore, these potential predators are able to walk away with no repercussions for what they had the intent to do. DAP has, in essence, educated these people on ways to not get caught in the future, thus creating the potential for future victims of sexual assault. These victims are the very people we, as law enforcement, prosecutors and mental health professionals, are here to help and protect."

The news release was signed by Sandusky County Sheriff Christopher Hilton, Mental Health and Recovery Services Board Executive Director Mircea Handru, Sandusky County Prosecutor Beth Tischler, City of Fremont Law Director Jim Melle, Fremont Police Chief Dean Bliss, Green Springs Police Chief Charles Home, Clyde Police Chief Monti Campbell and Bellevue Police Chief Marc Linder.

"Local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors of Sandusky County and the City of Fremont cannot and will not sit back anymore and watch as DAP continues to parade its form of vigilante justice. Its intentions may be well intended, but their methods and outcomes are improper and unacceptable. The 'exposed' individuals may be exactly what DAP says they are, but they also may not be. DAP's careless and reckless regard for law and order and due process has resulted in the loss of life, and the situation has gotten out of hand," the news release stated.

"We ask DAP to stop, step aside and let law enforcement do what they are trained to do, which is to successfully find, investigate, arrest and prosecute those who would attempt to harm the most vulnerable of our society, our children. The judicial system shall decide whether these individuals are in fact guilty or not guilty; and everyone has the right to a due process. We will fight for them as we fight for all victims of abuse and crime. We will help those who have been victimized. In Fremont and Sandusky County, we have the resources available to help victims and will do so at a moment's notice. We are dedicated to protecting and serving everyone," authorities said. "Should DAP continue their vigilante efforts, we may be forced to prosecute them for their actions."

DAP creator Joshua Mundy says the organization started in January of this year. DAP's website is a single page directing people to a donation page. The website claims DAP has caught more than 46 predators. DAP's social media pages are more active, featuring videos of encounters.

"We were surprised by it. I didn't see it coming," said Mundy in response to the announcement from law enforcement.

Mundy told NBC 24 in a phone interview he wished authorities would have spoken privately with him first before making a public statement. He said he plans to go to the sheriff's office and speak with the sheriff directly.

"If I'm doing something illegal, then I need to be prosecuted already. If you're not going to prosecute me, then I feel like you're playing a silly game with justice," said Mundy. "I feel like there's nothing they can prosecute me with because I've worked within the law this whole time," said Mundy. "Go and watch the videos for yourself and you'll see that we have nothing but proof. By them saying it's impossible for them to work with us is a flat-out lie." he said.

Mundy said he has had success working with certain law enforcement agencies, specifically the Woodville Police Department.

Sandusky County authorities say so far this year, their own efforts led to several arrests and highlighted several initiatives and sting operations spanning several months. Two of those initiatives were an undercover sting that resulted in 15 arrests and a sex offender registration sweep that resulted in eight arrests.

https://www.13abc.com/2020/10/19/sandusky-sheriff-threatens-to-prosecute-dap-vigilantes-after-multiple-suicides-connected-to-sting-videos/

Sandusky Sheriff threatens to prosecute DAP after multiple suicides connected to sting videos

Multiple law enforcement agencies warning the Dads Against Predators group to stop entrapping, recording men they track on the internet.

By WTVG Staff

Published: Oct. 19, 2020 at 5:17 PM CDT|Updated: 15 hours ago

FREMONT, Ohio (WTVG) - A vigilante group that records videos of men allegedly looking to meet minors for sex is being warned by multiple law enforcement agencies to stop what they’re doing or face potential prosecution after two suicides.

The group, the Fremont chapter of Dads Against Predators, was specifically targeted in a letter signed by the Sandusky County Sheriff and County Prosecutor, as well as multiple police chiefs in the county.

“Local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors of Sandusky County and the City of Fremont cannot and will not sit back anymore and watch as DAP continues to parade its form of vigilante justice,” the letter, released Monday, read. “Its intentions may be well-intended, but their methods and outcomes are improper and unacceptable. The ‘exposed’ individuals may be exactly what DAP says they are, but they also may not be. DAP’s careless and reckless regard for law and order and due process has resulted in the loss of life, and the situation has gotten out of hand.”

Sandusky County Sheriff Chris Hilton said “loss of life” was a reference to two individuals who died by suicide after DAP posted videos of them on YouTube, and third suspected suicide, where a man died a day after his DAP video was posted online.

The letter lists multiple actions law enforcement has taken in 2020 to combat sex offenders, including dozens of arrests.

RNCC doubles down on false claim that Rep. Tom Malinowski lobbied against sex offense registry

What is the RNCC? "The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is a political committee devoted to increasing the number of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives."

As piss poor as Dems have been on criminal justice reform, remember that Repubs are just that much worse. 

The short version is Rep. Malinowski once worked with the Human Rights Watch. The HRW wrote a report critical of the controversial Adam Walsh Act, though Malinowski had no part in that effort. So the RNCC is trying to link him to the report in hopes to scare the public. To that end, they made this horrible, Shiitake-worthy video:

WaPo gave their claim Four Pinocchios, but the RNCC has doubled down on their blatantly false claims. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/22/attack-ad-falsely-claims-lawmaker-helped-sexual-predators-hide-shadows/

“Malinowski tried to make it easier for predators to hide in the shadows. Malinowski worked as the top lobbyist for a radical group that strongly opposed the national sex offender registry. Law enforcement praised the national sex offender registry that Tom Malinowski led an effort to stop.”

— voice-over of ad released by the National Republican Congressional Committee, released Sept. 15, 2020

This is an eerie ad that starts off with the chilling words: “In every city, in every neighborhood, around every corner, sex offenders are living among us.” It has dark images and subtitles that claim “Tom Malinowski, helping sexual predators hide in the shadows” and “Tom Malinowski chose sex offenders over your family.”

Malinowski (D-N.J.) is a first-term member of Congress. He won a seat previously held by a Republican and so is high on the list for Republicans to win back the House. The Cook Political Report currently rates the race “lean Democrat.”

But this ad is not attacking Malinowski for anything he may have done in Congress; it makes these charges based on his tenure as an official at Human Rights Watch, a leading nongovernmental organization that exposes human rights abuses around the world.

In his first race, Malinowski was falsely attacked for supposedly lobbying for terrorist rights. (He argued that Guantánamo detainees had a right to a hearing to challenge the basis for their detention — a position later held up by the Supreme Court.)

Somehow, this detail in his past must have escaped GOP researchers in 2018. Let’s take a look.

Disclosure: The writer of this fact check was The Washington Post’s chief State Department correspondent for nine years, 2002 to 2011, and quoted Malinowski 18 times during that period on various human rights issues. During that period, he once met Malinowski for a few minutes in the green room at “PBS NewsHour.”

The Facts

Malinowski is a longtime foreign policy maven. Before joining HRW, he worked at the State Department and the White House National Security Council. During Barack Obama’s second term, Malinowski was named assistant secretary of state for human rights. Interestingly, his registering as a lobbyist — on behalf of the victims of genocide in Darfur and Myanmar, among other issues — prevented his appointment in Obama’s first term because of rules adopted by the new president.

So it was surprising to see the claim that Malinowski was involved in a domestic issue such as the national sex offender registry.

Michael McAdam, NRCC national press secretary, said the ad is based on solid facts: “His name is on the lobbying disclosure lobbying against the sex offender registry.” Moreover, he said, Malinowski’s title was Washington advocacy director, indicating he headed the organization’s Washington activities.

Pages 2 and 3 of the 2006 lobbying form list dozens of issues, including “sex offender legislation.” Malinowski is listed, but so is Jennifer Daskal.

Daskal, a professor at American University, said in an interview that she was the HRW lobbyist for U.S. domestic issues while Malinowski handled the foreign policy side. “I was not working Darfur,” she said. “He was not working these issues,” referring to the sex offender registry.

In media interviews at the time, Daskal was identified as U.S. program advocacy director for HRW.

Daskal contributed $500 to Malinowski’s House campaign in 2017, a fact that McAdam cited to rebut her as a credible witness. But Daskal noted that in the Congressional Record, a letter on behalf of HRW was published under her name and title (“Advocacy Director, U.S. Program”), raising concerns about the legislation. McAdam did not respond to queries about the letter.

Emma Daly, an HRW spokeswoman, also confirmed that Malinowski was not involved in legislation. “HRW’s job titles can be a bit confusing, but the Washington director role covers foreign policy,” Daly said. “Jen Daskal worked for the U.S. program, which focuses on U.S. domestic issues.”

Both Daly and Daskal objected to the way the ad framed HRW’s concerns about the legislation. “HRW advocated for laws that better protect children and the public by reforming sex offense registries and focusing law enforcement resources to tackle those most at risk of offending,” Daly said. “The ad wrongly portrays this position as helping ‘predators hide in the shadows’ and otherwise being in favor of sex offenses. That’s false.”

The ad claims HRW was “strongly opposed” to a national sex offender registry. But the letter signed by Daskal did not object to creating one.

Instead, the letter said HRW opposed the bill because the language was so sweeping that it included low-level or misdemeanor offenders, such as people charged with public urination, who were attempting to reintegrate into the community after serving their sentences. “Registration requirements put these individuals at risk of retaliation and discrimination and make it extremely difficult for these individuals to find employment, housing, and to rebuild their lives,” Daskal wrote.

Daskal said it was originally Malinowski’s idea to submit lobbying forms, a fact confirmed by a Malinowski aide. He said Malinowski read about new lobbying requirements and decided to submit a lobbying disclosure form out of an abundance of caution.

“They opted not to hire a consulting firm to help with the process. This led them to fill out the forms by listing every lobbying activity undertaken by the organization and signing all lobbyists to the form,” the aide said. “Eventually, they did hire an out-of-house specialist who informed HRW they were not legally obligated to submit these lobbying forms and so they stopped.”

Ironically, that decision led to a delay in Malinowski’s appointment to the Obama administration and now at least two attack ads.

(Note: The ad describes HRW as a “radical” organization. That may be a matter of opinion — in 2019 Israel expelled the HRW director for Israel and Palestinians — but the group won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its work fighting land mines. The group has been criticized by two other Nobel laureates for having “close ties” and a “revolving door” with the U.S. government, such as Malinowski’s appointment in the Obama administration.)

The Pinocchio Test

This ad makes some bold claims that put Malinowski at the center of the action: “Tom Malinowski tried to make it easier for predators to hide in the shadows. … Law enforcement praised the national sex offender registry that Tom Malinowski led an effort to stop. … Tom Malinowski chose sex offenders over your family.”

The supposed evidence is a lobbying disclosure form that lists Malinowski and Daskal as handling dozens of issues, not identifying who was the point person on any of them. But Daskal said she was in charge of domestic issues — a claim backed by her signature on the letter to lawmakers on the issue. Malinowski had the title of Washington advocacy director, but HRW says that means he did foreign policy — which makes sense, given HRW is primarily a foreign policy organization.

Moreover, HRW did not oppose a national sex offender registry as the ad implies.

The bulk of the evidence shows Malinowski played no role in this debate. But he did work for an organization that objected to a type of national sex offender registry created in legislation. That fact might have kept this ad at Three Pinocchios. But the NRCC’s over-the-top language — such as “Tom Malinowski chose sex offenders over your family” — tipped our rating to Four. Such inflammatory claims should not be made on such flimsy evidence.

Four Pinocchios

https://www.nrcc.org/2020/10/06/new-nj-07-ad-malinowski-defended-sex-offenders-put-nj-families-at-risk/

NEW NJ-07 AD: Malinowski Defended Sex Offenders & Put NJ Families at Risk

MICHAEL MCADAMS | OCTOBER 6, 2020

The NRCC released a new ad today hammering Tom Malinowski for his two-decade record in Washington, including working for a group that fought to protect sexual predators and opposed the national sex offender registry.

NRCC Comment: “Public record confirms Tom Malinowski was a high-paid DC lobbyist who worked on behalf of sexual predators and put New Jersey families at risk. It’s absolutely disgusting and New Jersey voters deserve better.” – NRCC Spokesman Michael McAdams

https://www.nrcc.org/2020/09/30/nrcc-response-to-tom-malinowski-denying-he-lobbied-on-behalf-of-sex-offenders/

NRCC response to Tom Malinowski denying he lobbied on behalf of sex offenders 

MAGGIE ABBOUD | SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

WASHINGTON – The National Republican Congressional Committee today released the following statement in response to Tom Malinowski denying he lobbied on behalf of sex offenders:

“The only person who bears responsibility here is Tom Malinowski for his decision to lobby against the creation of a national sex offender registry. It is a matter of public record archived on the US Senate website that Malinowski lobbied against this bill. It is disgusting. And now Congressman Malinowski must live with the consequences of his actions,” said NRCC Communications Director Chris Pack.

The NRCC has released an ad highlighting Tom Malinowski’s record lobbying against the national sex offender registry.

Gladys Mezrahi and Rachel Saltzman Friedland are political rivals in Aventura FL but are running together for a Shiitake Award nomination

 I've seen plenty of weird things while running the Shiitake Awards over the years, but this may be the first time I've posted political opponents together for a single nomination. However, this story makes both candidates Shiitake-worthy. I truly cannot decide who is worse here. Quite frankly, I think one is just as bad as the other. I'm not King Solomon here; therefore, these two political rivals are running together for worst politician of 2020.

The short version is these two candidates for the Aventura City Commission live in the same complex, and both are falling over each other trying to be the one to take credit for forcing a Registered Person out of the building while claiming her opponent is the friend of the registrant. 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/aventura/article246000700.html

This candidate claimed she kept a child molester out of her community. Not exactly.

BY AARON LEIBOWITZ

OCTOBER 02, 2020 06:00 AM, 

The Aventura City Commission race between incumbent Gladys Mezrahi and challenger Rachel Saltzman Friedland has featured some of the mudslinging that’s typical in local politics: allegations of improper campaigning, disputes over who deserves credit for getting things done — including, in this race, ensuring there wouldn’t be school on Yom Kippur at a local charter school.

But the battle between Mezrahi and Friedland reached more unusual territory recently when Friedland brought up a 2018 effort to drive a convicted child molester out of The Point, a community of condo towers and townhouses where both candidates live. In an email that was shared with the city commission, Friedland accused Mezrahi of refusing to engage in the community effort because she knew the sex offender personally from their time growing up in Colombia.

Mezrahi hit back hard, filing a complaint with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust that alleged Friedland had violated the county’s Fair Campaign Practices ordinance by making various false statements in her email. She said that Friedland’s statement about the situation at The Point was “a fabricated lie,” and that “what really happened was the total opposite.”

But Mezrahi’s description of “what really happened” stretches the truth. Mezrahi makes several claims about how the debacle played out in 2018 that are directly contradicted by records from the county’s Department of Corrections, statements from people involved, and messages from a community WhatsApp chat where the issue was discussed at the time.

For example, Mezrahi writes that she “helped this family arrange to move out of the building prior to the husband returning home from his [prison] sentence in order to make sure the sex offender never stepped foot into The Point again.”

“Within 24 hours of the announcement that he was released from his sentence, the incident was resolved without anyone being hurt or put in danger,” Mezrahi’s complaint says.

ut that timeline doesn’t check out. A Miami-Dade Corrections spokesman said Ricardo Moreno — who was sentenced to two years in prison in 2015 after being convicted of molesting multiple teenage boys while working as a golf instructor in Hollywood — moved into The Point immediately after his release in June 2017. He then moved into a different unit in the same building eight months later, which is when a group of residents learned he lived there and pushed to change that.

Mezrahi also says in her complaint that “the reason that the family was able to move out of our complex quickly was because of my help.”

And she went even further in attacking Friedland in an email to the Herald, saying Friedland “is the one who knew Ricardo Moreno, knew he was a sex offender, and did absolutely nothing about it when she knew he moved into our community. She knew he was a resident of The Point, but allowed him to stay at The Point and kept silent. What was she hiding?”

But that’s also not accurate. Messages from a community WhatsApp chat show that Friedland and other residents started discussing Moreno’s presence in the community on Feb. 20, 2018, one week after Moreno had moved from a rental unit into a condo that his wife bought in the same building, according to property records.

“Spoke to Linda [Marks] and sent her the statute,” Friedland said in a WhatsApp message that night, referring to a city commissioner who was also the president of The Point’s master condo association at the time. “She’s looking into all. It’s late now but let’s see if there is progress tomorrow.”

LET’S GO TO THE TAPE MEASURE

The conversation continued over several days, with Friedland and others discussing the need to measure the distance between Moreno’s home and the nearest playground. Florida law prohibits child sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of certain locations where children congregate, including schools, parks and playgrounds.

On Feb. 21, 2018, Friedland sent an update: “[Attorney] Raquel Rothman did the research. [Building] only 666.65 feet from playground in violation of statute.” That night, a group of residents held an in-person meeting to discuss their next steps.

Then, on Feb. 26, a resident shared an email her husband had received from Marks. “Please be advised that the convicted sex offender has been given notice that he is no longer permitted to reside in the North Tower,” the email said, adding that Moreno would have “visitation rights during the day” and that, unless he appealed the decision, “he must vacate in the next few days.”

Two days later, records show, Moreno moved into a hotel in Doral, where he stayed for about a month before moving to an address in Miami.

Marks confirmed that version of events in a statement to the Herald. She said Friedland provided her with a copy of the relevant Florida statute, and Marks passed that information on to the city attorney “and made it very clear that time was of the essence.”

“Within about a week, all legal steps were taken, and the authorities prohibited the pedophile from residing at The Point,” Marks said.

In her ethics complaint, Mezrahi said she contacted Marks to inform her that she was helping the family “move out of the community as seamlessly as possible.” Marks declined to address whether Mezrahi contacted her.

The true nature of Mezrahi’s involvement isn’t quite clear. In an interview with the Herald, she softened her stance after a reporter pointed out apparent discrepancies in her previous statements.

Mezrahi acknowledged that she knew Moreno and his wife from attending the same synagogue in Colombia, but she said she wasn’t aware in 2018 that Moreno had been released from prison and was living in The Point, nor that Friedland and others were working to have him removed.

“My involvement was very simple,” she said. “I just did a phone call to the wife, told them to move away and that was it. She told me to give her a couple of weeks to move away and that was it.”

Moreno’s wife didn’t respond to a request for comment from the Herald. An Aventura resident who Mezrahi said could corroborate her account — Rothman, the former law partner of Friedland who helped The Point residents with legal research — declined to comment.

Mezrahi withdrew her ethics complaint Sept. 17, saying the city attorney had asked her to do so “and not create any scandal for the city.” But she re-filed it Sept. 24, despite acknowledging in an interview that she wasn’t sure if certain statements in it were accurate. The complaint was submitted with a signed oath swearing it was true to the best of Mezrahi’s knowledge.

The ethics commission has yet to rule on the complaint.

A RARE PUBLIC SPAT IN AVENTURA

The dispute’s spill into public view is unusual for Aventura, whose officials make a point of closely guarding the city’s reputation.

Friedland’s email in early September that first brought up the issue at The Point was sent in response to an email from Commissioner Bob Shelley, who had scolded Friedland for sending a campaign email that touted her work to reverse the city’s decision to have school on Yom Kippur at the Aventura Charter School and Don Soffer Aventura High School.

“When there are issues to be resolved we deal with them in a professional private manor [sic] so as to not insult or disrespect those that work hard for the good of our city,” Shelley wrote.

Mezrahi, who works in event planning and marketing, was elected to her first four-year term in 2016. She’s endorsed by Democratic State Sen. Annette Taddeo, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman, and three sitting commissioners in Aventura, according to her website.

Marks, the city commissioner and former condo association president, was previously listed among those endorsing Mezrahi, but her name was removed from the website last week. She didn’t respond to a request for comment on why it was pulled.

Friedland is an attorney who is seeking public office for the first time. She’s endorsed by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, as well as Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Congressman Ted Deutch.

Friedland was previously engaged to Jeremy Ring, a former Democratic state senator and Democratic nominee for chief financial officer of Florida in 2018. Ring has donated to Friedland’s campaign.

Another candidate, Joshua Mandall, is also running for Mezrahi’s seat. Mandall faced Mezrahi for an open seat in 2016 and received 44% of votes.

Allison Black Cornelius stalks Registered Person she accused of abusing her almost 50 years ago, lobbies to interfere with pardon

I have always disagreed that alleged victims should be allowed an opinion on the right to be pardoned. After all, what we are seeing with Ms. Cornelius's campaign is a prime example of abuse of that privilege. A man has served his time and yet is continuously unable to be given the chance to be restored because a person labeled a victim will not let go nearly 50 years after the fact.

I say alleged because an accusation that old is hard to prove, and knowing the conviction came during the height of the Satanic Panic scares, when many people were falsely accused of multiple rapes of children as part of some kind of underground Satanic cabal. This conspiracy theory was recently revived with the Pizzagate/ QAnon conspiracies, something completely fabricated by the online troll community 4Chan. I have to wonder if this alleged victim didn't fall for the SRA hoax as well. Plenty of people back then believed they were abused when they were not actually abused.

None of these things should be considered for Mr. Prince's pardon hearing. This hearing should be on the merits of Leon's time since his release and nothing more. Leon was already judged and convicted and served time. What has he done since that time? He at least tried to work to help others, which is more han I can say for Ms. Corneluis. She has stalked this man with the blessings of the state of Alabama for 14 years since Leon's release, including lobbying to have him placed on the registry through an unconstitutional ex post facto law.

Allison, if you read this, I sent MY OWN email to the pardon board in opposition to your campaign. I think you should be arrested for harassment. 

If my readers with to be a voice of reason against this campaign of unforgiveness and hatemongering, email pardons@paroles.alabama.gov

https://www.al.com/news/2020/10/you-destroyed-our-lives-alabama-woman-opposes-pardon-for-sunday-school-teacher-who-raped-her-in-1972.html

'You destroyed our lives’: Alabama woman opposes pardon for Sunday School teacher who raped her in 1972

Updated Oct 05, 2020; Posted Oct 05, 2020

By Carol Robinson | crobinson@al.com

It’s been nearly 50 years since Leon Albert Prince raped a 7-year-old girl who was a student in his Sunday School class and now, 14 years after he walked out of prison, he is seeking a pardon from the state of Alabama.

However, the 76-year-old Prince, who served 15 years of a 30-year sentence, isn’t asking his victim or victims for forgiveness. Prince has requested a state pardon and will go before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles in two weeks to plead his case.

It’s a move that infuriates his victim, Allison Black Cornelius, who has long been outspoken about the horrendous crimes committed against her and remains devoted to the fight for her abuser to be held accountable. "It seems to me the very first person he would want to get a pardon from would be me or one of his other 52 victims,'' Cornelius said. “It makes me angry.”

Repeated efforts to reach Prince for comment have been unsuccessful.

In an emotional Facebook Live video, Cornelius delivered a “message to my rapist” which she said she knew Prince would be watching.

A message to my rapist.... (please send your opposition to email below) and SHARE THIS! Join me in opposing Leon Albert Prince’s request for a pardon. His hearing is October 20, 2020 Please email your opposition to pardons@paroles.alabama.gov Alabama Board of Pardons & Paroles

Posted by Allison Black Cornelius on Thursday, October 1, 2020

“I wanted to say to you personally, I am so tired of having to monitor and babysit you," she said in the Facebook video. "I have heard from 52 of your victims since you were convicted in 1991. I don’t understand, why did you think it was a good idea to ask the state of Alabama for a pardon before you asked me, or my mom, or dad. You were my youth pastor at Tarrant First Baptist Church when you did that. My dad and my mom trusted you. When you did this, you destroyed our lives.”

It was the national attention surrounding Prince’s trial that brought out dozens of victims – both boys and girls – who told of similar abuse by Prince. Cornelius, however, was the only one to take him to court.

“If you really deserve a pardon it would seem to me to you would have the asked us first," Cornelius said on Facebook. "You’ve never once looked me in the eye and acknowledged what you did. I’m going to tell you something Leon and I hate to admit it, but you dropped a bomb in our family when you did what you did. And you dropped a bomb in a lot of other children’s lives when you did what you did to them.”

Cornelius, now the executive director of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, was 7 years old in 1972 when Prince, her Sunday school teacher, molested and raped her. She has said in previous interviews that he headed the bus ministry at Tarrant First Baptist Church and told her if she did not do what he wanted her to, and if she told anyone what he was doing, he would kill her dog.

It wasn’t until 20 years later, when Cornelius could no long bear the thought that he could be harming other children, that she came forward. It became a landmark case that made national headlines when she testified against Prince in a Jefferson County court.

Prince was convicted, sentenced to 30 years and served 15, leaving prison in November 2006.

Just a year after his release, Cornelius discovered that Prince was working as a volunteer with Montgomery’s Frazer Memorial Baptist Church, and volunteering with youth male sex offenders at the state’s Mount Meigs Youth Center. A required background check was never conducted, and Prince had not been required to register as a sex offender under a loophole in the law.

Prince had been convicted of “carnal knowledge of a child” which was not explicitly listed as a crime under the Community Notification Act. Cornelius and lawmakers fought that, and won and, in 2008, a state administrative law judge said a state law that requires neighbors to be notified about a sex offender living nearby applied Prince. He is now registered as a sex offender and living in Deatsville.

Cornelius said she was recently notified that Prince had applied for a state pardon. All that is required to do so is to fill out a form on the agency’s website. Prince did so, and an Oct. 20 hearing was scheduled.

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles can grant a full pardon, or can grant a pardon with restrictions, such as the right to possess a firearm or registering as a sex offender. During Fiscal Year 2020, which began on Oct. 1, 2019 and ended on Sept. 30, 2020, there were a total of 509 pardon hearings. Of those, 210 pardons were granted and 299 were denied.

Cornelius said she was floored, and because Prince did not list a reason for his request on his application, she has no idea why he wants one now. "It set off alarm bells for me because there would be one reason he wants a pardon and that’s because he’s trying to something that he cannot do because he is a registered sex offender,'' Cornelius said.

"I asked the (board) is he applying for nursing school? Is he wishing to carry a firearm? We just don’t know why he’s up and asked for a pardon out of the blue,'' she said.

“I would think he would start with atonement of his victims and then once all of us were convinced of his incredible transformation, then we would all join him in going down to the parole board to ask to pardon it. I would think he would need a letter of support from us.”

Though Cornelius says she has forgiven Prince, she does not support a pardon.

"I don’t know if it’s a great idea if he’s walking around and nobody knows about his past,'' she said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hoping that when someone who has abused a child gets out of prison they can’t move anywhere or walk around safely without people hurting them. I’m not wishing that on anybody, but I do think it’s important for people to know who these folks are and what their background is.”

Forgiveness, Cornelius said, doesn’t erase consequences. "President Nixon has been forgiven but he can’t be president anymore,'' she said. “There are some things you do in life that you lose the privilege of getting to do what you want to do.”

“Absolutely you’re forgiven, especially if you’re a person who believes in Christ, but I don’t know that Christ says, ‘I forgive you and yes you can now back and work with children.’ He can’t live his life in a way that puts him around children – that can never happen again. Everywhere he went, he left vast destruction.”

In her video, in which she asked that those opposed to a pardon voice their concerns by either writing a letter to the board or make a donation to their favorite charity, Cornelius addressed Prince directly.

“I’m not saying you don’t deserve forgiveness, because the one thing you didn’t take from during that entire time you were raping and molesting and torturing me over those three month in 1972, you did not kill my faith. I have always had a strong faith. You didn’t take that from me. I have always had a purpose and I live that purpose because I knew if I didn’t, then I would probably succumb to all manner of addiction and brokenness and that would be me living on your purpose and that wasn’t going to happen.”

She said the pardon request had drudged up the issue all over again – though it never strays far from her thoughts, unfortunately.

“It just wears me out and I wanted you to know from me that I will do everything in my power if you want to continue to go public then I’m going to go public and talk about what you did to me and those other children. As much as it pains me and as hard as it is to be this vulnerable on a medium like this, I will do whatever I have to do to keep you from going under the radar ever again.”

Phil Gianficaro follows up Shiitake-Worthy performance with follow-up OpEd full of lies

Phil Gianficaro is already a Shiitake Award nominee, but he followed up his stupid and blatantly false claim that 40% of registered persons commit a sex offense within a year of release with an even worse OpEd filled with numerous lies from dubious sources. In just this short OpEd, he includes:

1. The intentional use of the erroneous term "convicted pedophile";

2. The misuse of the term pedophile when the offender's intended target was a teenager;

3. The dubious claim that "pedophiles molest hundreds of children on average"

4. Making the 17-year old claim of 100,000 "missing sex offenders"

5. Citing such resources as "A Secure Life", a home security business that completely pulled their stats out of the ether to sell their home security products. 

https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/story/opinion/2020/10/02/gianficaro-readers-say-longer-prison-sentences-child-sex-predators/5890283002/

Gianficaro: Readers demand longer prison sentences for child sex predators

Phil Gianficaro

Burlington County Times

Dana Harter is absolutely certain I was wrong to suggest in a recent column that convicted pedophile William Singleton, 25, of Pemberton Township, should not get the four-year prison sentence he recently received, but 10 years for attempting to lure 14-year-old girls to meet him for sex. 

“He should’ve gotten 20, maybe 30 years!” said the Burlington City resident and mother of two. “You were too lenient. Scum balls like him should be off the street and away from our kids for as long as possible. 

“Like you said, he gets out in four years and what do you think he’s gonna do? Why the law believes a guy who wants to trick young girls into having sex with him doesn’t deserve more time behind bars than four years makes my head hurt.”

Singleton was among 24 men arrested in September 2018 during “Operation Open House.” Detectives with the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force posed online as underage girls. The defendants, believing the undercover detective was a 14-year-old girl, asked the "girl" to meet him at a Toms River house for sexual activity.

Jayne Marie Bardo is certain Harter is wrong to suggest Singleton should get 20 or 30 years.  

“Throw away the key on guys like that — or worse!” the Willingboro resident said in her best hanging judge voice. “They shouldn’t be on the street.”  

Unfortunately, predators like Singleton are not on the street, but in our children’s chatrooms, sometimes pretending to be teenage boys trying to convince them to meet for sex.  

But a more common strategy applied by predators, experts say, is to manipulate teenage girls or boys into having sex by taking advantage of inexperienced and vulnerable young teens by appealing to the teens’ desire to be appreciated, understood, take risks, and find out about sex.  

What’s more shocking to some of us than creeps like Singleton getting only four years in prison for using social media to lure children for sexual activity?   

 • According to riseaboveabuse.org, the average pedophile molests 260 victims during their lifetime. Other sites that monitor such data believe the number is closer to 400.  

• Of the 750,000 registered sex offenders in the US, an estimated 80,000-100,000 are non-compliant or missing, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The good news for New Jersey: The state has the eighth-lowest rate of convicted sex offenders in the nation, with 183 per 100,000 people, according to asecurelife.com.  

The bad news: We have no idea how many pedophiles like Singleton are out there who have never been caught. We have no idea how many live in your town or, more frighteningly, in your neighborhood. What's a parent to do?

"I trust my kids," Harter said. "But I do everything I can to track what they do online, who they're communicating with, what's their online history like. They don't like it, but I don't care. I see stories like the one about Singleton and it worries me to no end. I show them what can happen when you get tricked by a grown-up. I tell them that if they don't know the person, don't talk to the person. I tell them one bad decision is all it takes and they could be gone forever.

"I respect their privacy, but only to a degree. I love them too much to worry about them being mad at me for snooping. Guys like Singleton force me to snoop."

Columnist Phil Gianficaro can be reached at 215-345-3078, pgianficaro@theintell.com, and @philgianficaro on Twitter.  

Just in time for October: FloriDUH Rep. Alcee Hastings claims sex dolls violate children's privacy rights

It is October, so it is time to start with the scary movies. I'm sure Alcee Hastings could write a script that'd make Freddy Krueger do a double take.  

I would like to hear an explanation as to how an inanimate object violates the privacy rights of children. I think this FloriDUH rep has seen one too many "Child's Play" or maybe "Puppet Master" movies. I guess Annabelle and those clown dolls from the Saw franchise can rest easy, too, huh?

This comment is so dumb, even the idiots posting in the Faux News comment section is scratching their heads. 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/epstein-victims-group-endorse-florida-legislation-to-ban-lifelike-sex-dolls-used-by-child

Experts say pedophiles use the lifelike dolls to "normalize" sex acts against children and prey on minors.

"These dolls not only violate children mentally and emotionally but also deny their privacy rights. We cannot permit these products to make their way into Americans’ homes, potentially enabling a first step to even more heinous crimes against our children,” co-chair of the Florida congressional delegation, Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fort Lauderdale, said in a statement.