An Unsafe Haven

The big front-page story in Suffolk County, NY is now the quadruple homicide at Haven Drugs in Medford. It is too early to come down with too much in the way of definitive statements as to the motivation behind the crime, inasmuch as more and more facts seem to surface with time. It is the worst multiple homicide in Suffolk County since the now infamous six-victim Amityville Horror in 1974.

It seems that the alleged perpetuator, David Laffer, may well have had some accessory aid and abetment from his wife.

It is very disconcerting to me for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is that my after-school job during senior year of high school was at a local pharmacy. In those days -- well before HIPAA and the big deal that is now quite appropriately made over health care information confidentiality -- the Old Man told me in no uncertain terms that he would chew me out if I came in late or had a fender-bender with the delivery station wagon (which he did to me for the former, and to my successor for the latter), but that there would be no second chance if I were to disclose anything regarding what prescriptions were being dispensed to a customer.

In the big drug chains today, the pharmacy operation is basically separate and apart from the other retail business. Without in any way denigrating any of the pharmacists who are employed by a big chain pharmacy (the ones at the local big chain outlet where my wife and I have our prescriptions filled have, with few exceptions, proven to be quite knowledgeable), it takes a certain kind of person to be in the independent pharmacy business.

My observations:

1. The brutality of this crime should give opponents of the death penalty pause.

2. Would the incident have been quite as tragic if the perpetuator had tried to pull off something similar at the independent pharmacy establishment of Jerome Ersland?

The Late Martin Grossman

The Late Martin Grossman


As has made the news rounds by now, Martin Grossman, mentioned in this Blog's postings of posting of 24 January 2010 and 14 January 2010, has finally served his death sentence. He was executed by lethal injection yesterday (16 January 2010) at the Florida State Prison at Starke.

As mentioned in prior postings, I have received many missives attempting to enlist my support to supplicate Governor Crist to commute the death sentence, and have not gone along with them because I believe that Martin Grossman's crime well merited the sentence.

Now that Martin Grossman has passed on, I now set forth my thoughts (in no particular order):

1. My empathies are squarely with the family of the victim, Florida Wildlife Officer Margaret "Peggy" Park, who, by all accounts, was dedicated to the job she loved. I hope that they have found some sort of closure. And I hope that Officer Park can now repose in peace.


2. Most of the aforementioned appeals from various individuals and organizations contain the following quotation from Prof. Alan Dershowitz:

"Even those who strongly support capital punishment would limit it to recidivists or people who commit the most heinous of crimes. Martin Grossman fits neither of those categories. He does not belong on death row. His crime, committed when he was a teenager, was unplanned, unpremeditated and impulsive—the product of a serious mental illness, that can now be proved by medical technology that was unavailable at the time of his sentencing. He has been in prison for more than a quarter of a century, during which time he has been a model prisoner who has shown great remorse for what he did. All that he is seeking now is a 60 day postponement of his execution, so that his supporters can martial the evidence and present his case for clemency. No one should be rushed to execution while doubts remain unresolved. Justice demands that he be given the 60 days to prove that he does not deserve to die at the hands of the state."

Without going into my own reservations about Prof. Dershowitz, the following is noted:

A. Grossman WAS a recidivist. He murdered Officer Park while free on probation for another crime; and in violation of that probation he burglarized a house and took possession of a firearm from that house.

B. Re Dershowitz's phraseology "No one should be rushed to execution while doubts remain unresolved." Is 25 years on death row a rush to execution?


3. One of the organizations that strongly advocated for sparing Grossman's life was the Agudath Israel of America, of which I have blogged several times. The Agudath Israel, an organization with its own set of issues and problems, has compromised its ability to oppose future death sentences. This may well come back to haunt them.


4. I did not sleep well last night or the night before. This is not an uncommon occurrence with me, but some of my sleeplessness the last two night was connected to thoughts about Grossman. Actually, I should feel for my fellow Jews, even the likes of miscreants such as Grossman, so this was not necessarily a bad thing.

5. Along similar lines, the arguments proffered by the various Jewish organizations all boiled down to two rationales: (A) Grossman was a fellow Jew; and (B) Grossman became a changed man during his 25+ years of imprisonment. The former should be irrelevant to the administration of justice. As for the latter, if indeed Grossman became a changed man it was because (i) it is more difficult to obtain recreational drugs when one resides on death row in a prison; and (ii) the Aleph Institute organization, which reaches out to Jews who are not in proximity to Jewish communities (including the military and prisons), had a positive effect upon Grossman. The "fellow Jew" and "changed man" arguments, while not viewed as valid by me or by Governor Crist, are the natural, logical and inescapable results of the fact that the Jewish people strive for the ideal of helping our own in need. This is not a bad thing, and indeed, it is why we are still alive and thriving on this earth after thousands of years of persecutions, physical and spiritual. And it is why we will remain here, whether our enemies like it or not!

6. I don't see nearly as much in the media about other murderers who have been executed thus far during the year 2010: Vernon Smith and Mark Brown in Ohio; Gerald Bordelon in Louisiana; Kenneth Mosley and Gary Johnson in Texas; and Julius Young in Ohio. When a Gentile murders someone it is not nearly the big news story that it is when a Jew commits a serious crime like Grossman did. The story of a dog biting a man is of minimal newsworthiness, but the story of a man biting a dog puts ink on newsprint. And there is no doubt that of all the stories of fallen law enforcement officers on the Officer Down Memorial Page, the Jewish cop killers are well outnumbered by the Jewish officers who were killed in the line of duty. Heroes with names such as Marshalik, Galapo, Weiner, Gadell, Rakow, Kramer, Mirell, Schiffries, Fox, Astell, Rosenfeld, Cantor, Bloomfield, Borkin, Seiden or Katz!

7. It certainly distresses me that one of my fellow Jews died last evening. But it distresses me even more that one of my fellow Jews would commit acts as brutal as those committed by Grossman.

8. Bottom Line: Martin Grossman made some bad decisions. He has now borne the consequences of his decisions. Unfortunately, his decisions have resulted in the waste of two lives, his own and his victim's, and in untold anguish to his victim's friends and family, and to Grossman's friends and family, and to the Jewish community.

Justice has been served. A senseless tragedy has finally drawn to a close. I mourn the loss of Officer Peggy Park, and I mourn the loss of Martin E. Grossman.

The Man Behind the Curtain

As mentioned in the posting of 24 January 2010, Martin Grossman is scheduled to die by lethal injection in Florida this coming Tuesday, 16 February 2010, for the murder of Florida Wildlife Officer Margaret "Peggy" Park.

There seems to be some controversy over whether the curtain should be drawn when the lethal injection is administered. I can see arguments pro and con. I am not totally sold on the broadcast of live (or delay embargoed) executions, but there definitely should be witnesses to the process, whether victim's family or randomly-selected jurors.

I am informed that in Florida the curtain is still drawn when the injection is given, so that if the execution goes on as planned, Martin Grossman will be the Man Behind the Curtain.


The "Save Martin Grossman" appeals have been coming into my e-mail in-box (and, for that matter, my snail mail mailbox), and many organizations have jumped onto the bandwagon.

I note that one name associated with many if not most of the appeals I have received is "Alan Dershowitz."

Call me a conspiracy-minded paranoid if you wish, but I read a lot into Prof. Dershowitz's involvement in this and any other case. Because Dershowitz always has some sort of agenda, which may or may not be, to one extent or another, compatible and concurrent with the interests of the Jewish community at large and/or with the personal interest of the individuals in power at the various organizations that purport to represent the Jewish community.

It's not that I don't respect Prof. Alan Dershowitz, for indeed, he has done much of the right thing. But whenever Dershowitz is in on anything, he is in it for Alan Dershowitz.

My hunch: Although Martin Grossman is likely a financial pauper, perhaps some of the community-minded individuals and organizations might be willing to pony up for Dershowitz's retainer fee.

In the movie "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy, the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow are admonished: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"

In the case of Martin E. Grossman, there are two men behind the curtain, Grossman and Dershowitz. Certain interests want to draw public attention to Grossman, but do not want anyone to pay attention to Dershowitz. Which is why I am doing the opposite.

A Good Name for Tefillin

The story has already saturated the internet news: Chautauqua Airlines Flight 3079 from New York (LaGuardia) to Louisville was diverted to Philadelphia, where Calev Liebowitz and his little sister were handcuffed and taken the plane. Why? Because Calev was praying his morning prayers with his tefillin ("phylacteries" in English/Greek), of which the stewardess was totally clueless. Once the Philadelphia Police realized what had happened, Calev and sister were released and sent on their merry way to Louisville.

Because I myself have a pair of tefillin which I lay on every day (except the Sabbath and Jewish festivals), I know exactly what they are and how they are used. But the fact is that most of the American population does not know what tefillin are. Accordingly, the stewardess was suspicious, and the pilot acted on the side of caution (he probably didn't know too much about tefillin either).

Of course, I now hear everyone in my own socioreligious circles screaming "anti-Semitism" and calling for the stewardess's termination. But the way I call it, everyone acted properly under the circumstances:

The Stewardess on Flight 3079: She saw Calev wrap two black boxes with long straps around his arm and over his head, respectively. She didn't know what they were. She said something. This was appropriate behavior (given that she didn't know what tefillin were).

The Pilot on Flight 3079: He decided to err on the side of caution after hearing the story second-hand from the Stewardess. This was an appropriate decision.

The Law Enforcement Officers: Working on a third-hand story, they handcuffed the suspected would-be bomber. Once they realized that he was just a religious Jew praying with his tefillin, they immediately released him. This was quite appropriate.

Calev Liebowitz: (A) He properly said his morning prayers with his tefillin. (B) He did it unobtrusively in his seat and didn't disrupt other passengers by trying to gather 10 or more Jewish men (a "minyan") all together in the aisles. (C) He totally cooperated with the cops and apparently didn't give them any backtalk. He behaved appropriately.

And so, all individuals involved appropriately (although the whole thing was certainly a collective over-reaction). But Chautauqua Airlines, the Philadelphia International Airport, the law enforcement authorities and the other passengers on Flight 3079 could have been spared the expenditure of much time, money and aggravation if only Chautauqua Airlines would have instructed its flight crews as to what tefillin are.


At the other end of the spectrum is some totally inappropriate behavior. Martin Grossman, now residing on death row in Florida, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on 16 February 2010. Martin Grossman is Jewish, and so, I am now being beseeched by certain groups to ask Governor Crist to spare Grossman's life. My gut reaction is that whenever a fellow Jew is in danger, I must go and help him or her. But under the circumstances, I must now ask myself what I would advocate if it were, instead of a Jewish criminal killing a Gentile victim, the situation were reversed. And so, stripping everyone of all religious and ethnic and gender labels, we have the following:

A 19-year-old person on probation from jail for a felony burglary and theft offense is high on drugs, has gone outside of the county and is in possession of a firearm, all in contravention of the terms of the person's probation. The person encounters a law enforcement officer, whom the person brutally beats because the law enforcement officer is about to report the person's misdeeds. The person then takes the law enforcement officer's weapon, and, while the law enforcement officer is forcibly wedged into the patrol car, shoots the law enforcement officer in the back of the head with the weapon, killing the law enforcement officer. The person and the person's accomplice then try to destroy and hide the evidence.

I really, really hate to see another Jew die, but Martin Grossman has given me damn little to work with in constructing an argument for mercy or lenity on his behalf.


Well now, it seems that Rabbi Menachem Katz of the Aleph Institute has been visiting Martin Grossman in prison. [This is appropriate behavior if, as I believe to be the case here, the visitor is not smuggling any contraband and is visiting in compliance with the prison visitation rules. The Aleph Institute is a credible organization, which offers its outreach services to Jews who are removed from the mainstream community. This obviously includes prison inmates, but Aleph Institute also reaches out to Jewish military personnel who are not in ready touch with Jewish communities.].

It has been reported that Grossman has requested a proper Jewish burial in the event that the execution is carried out. This I can endorse. Every Jew is entitled to a proper Jewish burial. The Hebrew Free Burial Association does precisely that for indigent Jewish decedents in the New York area (I myself send a check to HFBA every year). Surely a proper Jewish burial can be arranged for Grossman. They probably can dispense with the autopsy. And I do not doubt that there are Jewish law enforcement officers in Florida who would be willing to stand watch over the body between the time of death and the time of burial.

And, as further detailed per this Blog's 19 August 2009 posting, Grossman is entitled to a memorial plaque on a Yahrzeit board. The Jewish community of Florida is quite affluent, so I'm sure that they will find a way to underwrite Grossman's proper Jewish burial and Yahrzeit plaque.


Rabbi Katz also reports that he arranged for "special permission from the warden to allow Grossman to put on Tefillin." This I certainly favor, but hope and pray that Grossman doesn't give tefillin (and those of us who pray with them) a bad name.

John Allen Muhammad: By the Numbers:

The personal "chemistry" between me and the man who was my 10th and 12th Grade Math teacher was often dysfunctional, due to our differing backgrounds, viewpoints and personal values (and, dare I say, my own less than optimal attitude). Nevertheless, I did learn much Math -- and more -- under his tutelage, and look back upon him as one of my better secondary school mentors (and almost all of the teachers I had in Junior and Senior High School were quite good). In fact, I have been known on more than one occasion to utilize some of his classroom humor in teaching my own students.

One of the stories Ms S told us dealt with the sailor sitting at the end of a bench, with a young and beautiful woman at the other end. The sailor moves to the middle of the bench, that is, half-way towards the woman. He then moves to a point three-quarters of the way down the bench, that is, half-way along the remaining space now separating him from the woman. He then moves half-way, and half of that half-way, and so on. Will the sailor ever get all the way to the woman at the other end of the bench?

The answer is not, he will never exactly reach the woman. He will, however, come close enough for all practical purposes!

The statistics now to be cited are not necessarily exact, but, for the purposes of this analysis, they are close enough for all practical purposes:

The African-American population of the United States now stands at about 45 million, or about 14% of the population. Approximately 5% of them are now incarcerated in a Federal, State or local prison.

Which brings us to John Allen Muhammad.

According to Muhammad's boy toy and collaborator, Lee Boyd Malvo, Muhammad convinced Malvo that "violence was the only way to correct perceived injustices to African-Americans."

I count 2 African-Americans among the 10 murder victims of John Allen Muhammad. That's 20%. Okay, so if the African-Americans are indeed 14% of the population, then one would expect 1 or 2 out of a sample of 10. The best that can be said is that Muhammad did no less of an injustice to African-Americans than whatever force or institution it was that he was crusading against.

As for incarceration, well now there is another Black person incarcerated. His name is Lee Boyd Malvo. He killed 10 people (including 2 African-Americans) and the cost of it was the (hopefully) permanent incarceration of another Black person.

Whatever dysfunctions the American establishment has perpetuated upon the Black people, John Allen Muhammad has, proportionally speaking, performed far worse!

Going Ape over Travis the Chimpanzee

The Travis the Chimpanzee story is making the rounds around the world and on the Internet.

Whether Sandra Herold, the late chimp's owner, will be criminally charged, is a question I will leave to the local Connecticut State Attorney's office to answer. Whether or not Ms. Herold's relationship with her pet ape did or did not get a fair report in the media, and/or whether it included sexual penetration, has yet to be proven one way or the other, and I book no bets either way. There almost certainly will be a lawsuit; where it will settle depends upon diverse factors, including but not limited to the extent of Herold's liability insurance coverage, and her equity in her own home and business.

I leave it to the psychiatrists (or, perhaps, the mechanics) to confirm my suspicions that Herold, and/or the victim, Charla Nash, were working with a few sockets missing from their wrench sets.

While the news media busies itself with such questions, this Blog will pose the following three:


A. Where does the ACLU stand on the apparent disregard of Travis the Chimp's civil rights by the Stamford, Connecticut Police Department?

B. Where does PETA stand on the treatment of Travis the Chimp?

C. Where do the staunch opponents of capital punishment stand on execution of Travis the Chimp?

No Tip for This Waiter

The story in Newsday (to which I unhappily subscribe because it is (maybe) a half-step better the New York Times, the only other viable daily rag on Long Island now that the New York Sun has folded) is "Waiter Serves Fear at Wedding" by Matthew Chayes, Newsday, 10 January 2009, p. A13.

The first paragraph is as follows:

"A waiter at a Jewish wedding who is considering converting to Islam interrupted the celebration's final prayers with recorded Arabic chants of "God is great," sparking fear among the 700 guests of a terrorist attack, Nassau police said Friday."

And now Thomas H. Spreer, Esq., Stephen Buttafuoco's lawyer, trained in the art of criminal defense, is calling the felony aggravated harassment charge "heavy-handed."

My first impulse is to agree with Mr. Spreer. Buttafuoco claims, and not without credibility, that he wasn't aware that the sound bite would be piped over the PA system throughout the building. Seems like a sophomoric prank by a 23-year-old of teenage maturity. It's kind of picayune and penny-ass.

But the deeper I read, the more convinced I am that the DA is coddling Buttafuoco a bit too much. Specifically, (1) Buttafuoco admits that he was trying to privately disrespect Judaism; and (2) Buttafuoco is now curious about converting to Islam.

Those of you from Denmark might correct me if I am mistaken, but it is my understanding that according to Islamic teachings, Muslims are required to kill those who insult Islam.

But this is America, where there should be no religious favoritism. Accordingly, Buttafuoco should be charged not merely with a felony, but with a capital offense!

Unfortunately, even wanton premeditating cop-killers are not subject to capital punishment in New York, thanks to the sob sisters on the New York Court of Appeals.

Probably the most realistic scenario is that Buttafuoco will exhibit enough contrition (or at least appear sufficiently contrite) to do a plea deal for no jail time. And if the hosts of the wedding (and/or the bride and groom) are so inclined, they might file a purely civil lawsuit against Buttafuoco and sue the beitzim off of him.

Prison for the Clueless

This New York taxpayer will be supporting one more clueless nitwit for at least 19 more years. And that suits me just fine!

Edwin Frazier just got a 19-to-life sentence for his role in a home invasion that turned fatal.

Frazier, Ernest Johnson, Jovan Phillips and mastermind Eric Calace (spoiled rich kid whose father and grandfather are noted real estate developers) went to burglarize the home of Dane Aulak, Calace's cannabis connection. Aulak was home at the time, and accordingly, a struggle ensued with him. Aulak was fatally shot by Johnson and/or Phillips, but, in the struggle, managed to flip a gun away from Johnson or Phillips. Aulak's brother Jesse caught the gun and, in self defense, fatally shot Johnson and Phillips.

Here is the Suffolk County DA's press release, with all its updates at the bottom.

Calace, who was waiting in the car when it all happened, cut a plea deal for 17 years in exchange for his cooperation with the Suffolk County. [Eric the Spoiled Rich Kid Calace actually has something resembling a chance. His sentence ends in 2024, but he might get out in 2021 if he behaves well. If Dear Old Dad's real estate empire survives, then Eric might actually have a job to go to when he gets out. But I suspect that Calace, Sr. did his share to facilitate Junior's descent into hell long before he sprung for Junior's defense attorney.].

Frazier pleaded guilty to Murder II and was formally sentenced to a 19-years-to-life term.

So now, Frazier is whining to the Judge "How come I have to take their fall? … Why couldn't I plead to a burglary charge?"

To which I say, "Boo Freakin' Hoo," to borrow a quote my 2nd favorite Filipina, Michelle Malkin (my No. 1 favorite Filipina, now retired and doting on her grandchildren, is a Jewish girl from Manila who lost a brother during the Japanese occupation).

The exchange at the sentencing hearing between Judge Hudson and Frazier's mother is very telling:

"You didn't fire the weapon, but you held it," Hudson told Frazier. "Ready at your leader's command to kill."

"But he didn't!" the suspect's mother, Pamela Mays-Frazier, 40, shouted at the judge.


The way I read this, Frazier received, during his formative years, precious little guidance on how to be responsible for his own actions. And very few clues in matters of other common everyday wisdom. He certainly didn't get much from Mom.

Even Frazier's lawyer conceded, afterwards, that if Frazier didn't take the plea deal for Murder II, he likely would have gotten slapped with the maximum.

Frazier is lucky. His two accomplices got what amounts to the back door death penalty -- they were "victims" of justifiable homicide. It's the best we can do for capital punishment in New York, now that the sob sisters on the Court of Appeals have taken that prerogative away from the prosecution.

Frazier now has 19 years to get a clue or two before his first parole hearing. But I wouldn't bet that it will happen.

Meanwhile, we taxpayers will be footing the bill for Frazier's room and board. But that's a cheap and economical alternative to having Frazier out walking on the streets.

Susan Atkins

The Los Angeles Times reports that Susan Atkins is now being considered for "compassionate release" from the California prison system, due to what is supposed to be a terminal medical condition.

If you were not born before the early 1970's, you might not recall that Susan Atkins is one of the Charles Manson Gang who committed several brutal murders. She is California's female prisoner with the most seniority, having been incarcerated since her 1969 arrest.

I have mixed feelings about this so-called "compassionate release." Atkins didn't just commit murder on a single occasion. She actively and zealously participated in at least three brutal and grisly murder incidents. She has little to show to recommend compassionate treatment.

The Bloomberg article by Charlotte Porter states that Atkins "was sentenced to life in prison." What neither the Los Angeles Times article nor the Bloomberg article mention is that Atkins was initially sentenced to death in 1971, but that Pollyanna's sob sisters on the bench of the California Supreme Court invalidated all pre-1972 California death sentences a year later in the Anderson case. By all rights, she shouldn't even be alive today!

But if indeed, as reported, she has brain cancer and her leg in fact has been amputated, then she arguably no longer presents any threat to society, and allowing her to go out and die with her family would provide a small modicum of relief to the taxpayers of California.

Justice for Pekearo, Marshalik and Romero

Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Yevgeniy "Eugene" Marshalik were the two New York City Auxiliary Police officers killed in the line of duty last week on 14 March 2007. The actions of these heroes quite likely prevented even more deaths and injuries from the rampant gunman. As Auxiliary Police Officers, they were unarmed. Details of their cold-blooded murder, and of their respective funerals, are reported elsewhere.

In addition to the condolences to the families of APOs Pekearo and Marshalik, condolences are due to the third victim of the shooting rampage, bartender Alfredo Romero Morales. May they all rest in peace!

This posting spotlights two side issues to the aftermath of these fallen officers' heroic actions.


1. The assailant, David Garvin, is identified in many news reports as a "former Marine." Only a few news outlets, such as the New York Sun, bother to report that Garvin was discharged from the Marine Corps under less than honorable circumstances and that NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly is himself a retired USMC officer. Why are the Marines being given such negative spin?

2. The fact that two of the murder victims were police officers on duty is, to say the least, an aggravating circumstance which, all else being equal, should weigh very heavily towards imposition of the death penalty. But in New York there is no official death penalty (and even when the now-invalidated statute was on the books, Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau specifically had a policy against its use. Morgy has his reasons, apparently from his own near-death experience as a Navy officer during WWII, and I will not now castigate him for it. But society does lose something by not applying the capital punishment in the most egregious cases which scream out for it.

Even in those jurisdictions which do have an effective death penalty, it is a protracted and expensive process. The price of justice for a fallen police officer is very high indeed.

But in this instance here, other NYPDers who arrived on the scene, and who were armed, shot Garvin dead. On the plus side, the people of New York were saved the expense of bringing the killer to trial and then, supplying him with legal counsel, food, water, recreation, health care and oxygen for the remainder of his life. The families of APOs Pekearo and Marshalik were spared the agony of reliving the murder at the trial.

But death at the hands of a police officer, without the due process of the legal system, is in many respects the antithesis of justice. It is a leg-on to a totalitarian police state.

It is unfortunate that the justice these two fallen police officer received (and let us not forget Mr. Morales as well) from the barrel of a cop's service firearm was a better quality of justice than the New York court and penal system is now capable of providing.