Re: "Railroading" McMartin Prosecutor (Lael Rubin) Gets Appointed by New LA County DA Steve Cooley

On Friday, December 8, 2000 2:00:00 AM UTC-6, Jim Morris wrote:
http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20001206/t000116739.html

http://www.ags.uci.edu/~dehill/witchhunt/cases/mcmartin.htm


Cooley Announces Staff Changes on 1st Day in Office
Courts: He retains some Garcetti appointees and vows to release a plan on
handling three-strikes cases.


By TWILA DECKER, Times Staff Writer

On his first full day on the job Tuesday, Los Angeles County Dist.
Atty. Steve Cooley announced highly anticipated changes in his executive
management staff.
The appointees include two holdovers from the administration of former
Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, career prosecutors, former ranking members of the
district attorney's office and a former Municipal Court judge.
The job of second-in-command went to Curt Livesay, who will be interim
chief deputy. Livesay, who has 35 years experience as a prosecutor and
defense attorney, also served as chief deputy under former Dist. Atty. John
Van de Kamp.
The appointment that drew the most questions at the news conference was
that of Senior Trial Deputy Lael Rubin as special counsel.
Rubin will oversee Cooley's promised changes in the enforcement of
California's three-strikes law.
Rubin prosecuted the McMartin Pre-School case, an unsuccessful
three-year prosecution that was the most costly in county history. The
highly publicized case changed the way law enforcement officers across the
country question children who may have been sexually abused.
But Rubin said her entire career should not be summed up by one case..
"I concluded my work on the McMartin case more than 10 years ago," she
said. She noted that she had won a murder conviction just a few weeks ago..
The district attorney said he and Rubin will present a three-strikes
plan in 10 days.
Cooley named retired Montebello Police Chief George Stephen Simonian as
chief of the district attorney's bureau of investigation.
He appointed three assistant district attorneys:
* Former Inglewood Municipal Judge Lawrence E. Mason will be in charge
of line operations. Mason was a deputy district attorney from 1975 to 1997
and legal advisor to the Los Angeles County Grand Jury from 1989 to 1991.
* Head Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter Bozanich will direct special
operations. Bozanich, who joined the office in 1971, most recently ran the
south juvenile division.
* Assistant Dist. Atty. Sharon Matsumoto will keep her job as head of
administration. She began the job in 1998.
Cooley also named eight bureau directors:
* Jacquelyn Lacey will be in charge of central operations. Lacey joined
the office in 1986. She has been part of the hate crimes suppression unit
for the past year.
* Head Deputy Dist. Atty. Curt Hazell will direct special operations..
Hazell has been with the office since 1976.
* David Guthman will oversee fraud and prosecutions. He has been with
the office since 1977. During the past two years, Guthman has served as
director of the bureau of management and budget.
* Deputy Dist. Atty. Janice Maurizi will direct Region I of branch and
area operations. She has been with the office since 1984.
* Deputy Dist. Atty. John Allen will remain as head of Region II of
branch and area operations. Allen has been with the district attorney's
office since 1983.
* Former journalist Joseph Scott, who helped run Cooley's campaign,
will serve as director of communications.
* William R. Mangan, a commander in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department, will direct the Bureau of Management and Budget.
* Former journalist Carol Baker will remain as acting director of crime
prevention and youth services. She has served in that job since 1998.

AP 18 Dec 95 20:02 EST V0140

Virginia McMartin Dead At 88

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) -- Virginia McMartin, the grandmother acquitted of
molesting children at her pre-school in the nation's longest and costliest
criminal case, has died. She was 88.
McMartin, who bitterly denied the charges leveled against her, her
daughter, her grandson and pre-school staff, was pronounced dead Sunday in
the emergency room at Little Company of Mary Hospital.
"It was natural causes. She apparently had a series of strokes lately,"
said police Lt. David Marsden.
McMartin founded the now-defunct McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach,
which became the focus of a child abuse investigation in 1983 when a mother
later diagnosed as mentally ill told police she suspected her 2 1/2-year-old
son had been molested.
McMartin was arrested in 1984 with her daughter, Peggy McMartin Buckey,
and grandchildren, Ray and Peggy Ann Buckey, and three teachers.
In the months that followed, allegations were made that teachers at the
school had molested dozens of children, often during bizarre rituals.
McMartin became a familiar figure in the heavily-publicized case as she went
to court in her wheelchair.
In 1986, felony child molestation charges were dismissed against all but
Peggy McMartin Buckey and her son. They were charged with molesting 11
children over a five-year period.
Mrs. Buckey was acquitted in 1990 after a three-year trial. The same
year, Raymond Buckey was acquitted of 40 counts and a jury deadlocked on
another eight counts against him in a second trial.
The entire case lasted seven years and cost Los Angeles County $13
million, making it the longest and costliest criminal prosecution in U.S.
history. The O.J. Simpson trial cost $9 million.


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 22:58:51 -0500
From: "Laura E. Pasley" <LEPasley@xxxxxxx
Subject: Virginia McMartin
To: Multiple recipients of list WITCHHNT <WITCHHNT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm sure you all have heard Virginia (the grandmother)
and owner of the McMartin Pre-School died in her
sleep today.

I was very troubled by the short bleep on CNN. It
stated she was at the "heart of the McMartin"
situation and although they made mention she, nor
any one else was ever convicted on that case - there
was more time spend telling about the charges.

I think the world owes Virginia McMartin an apology.
Through everything this family went thru - this woman
held her head up with dignity. This woman, her daughter
and grandchildren remind me constantly of the system
that went terribly wrong. Nothing could counter the
injustice done to them. It was the beginning of the
reason we need a witchhunt board in the first place to
debate this issue on. This case continues to haunt me
and always will. It's the first case I dealt with that made
me ashamed of the American justice system - a system
I have worked in since being a teenager.

Today - 10 years later - the witchhunts march on.

Laura Pasley


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 23:35:18 -0500
Reply-To: Falsealleg@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Virginia McMartin
To: Multiple recipients of list WITCHHNT <WITCHHNT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I agree they are due an apology. I also believe we owe them many thanks for
being strong and fighting like they did. Although we still suffer through
the witch hunts today, there was much learned during the McMartin trials
which have helped others.


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 21:19:31 -0800
From: George Hero <ghero@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Virginia McMartin dies
To: Multiple recipients of list WITCHHNT <WITCHHNT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Grandmother cleared in molestation case dies

TORRANCE, California (CNN) -- Virginia McMartin, a central figure in a
child molestation case that became the nation's longest criminal
prosecution,
died Sunday. Authorities attributed the death of the 88-year-old grandmother
to natural causes.

The saga of the McMartin Pre-School began in 1983, when a mother -- later
diagnosed as mentally ill -- called Los Angeles police to say she suspected
her
2-year-old son had been molested. Mrs. McMartin was arrested in March 1984
with her daughter, Peggy McMartin Buckey, and grandchildren, Ray and Peggy
Ann Buckey, along with three teachers.

In the months that followed, allegations were made that teachers at the
school had
molested dozens of the children. In 1986, felony child molestation charges
were
dismissed against all but Peggy McMartin Buckey and her son. They were
charged
with molesting 11 children over a five-year period. Mrs. Buckey was
acquitted in
January 1990 after a three-year trial. Raymond Buckey was acquitted of 40
counts
and a jury deadlocked on another eight counts against him in a second trial.

The entire case lasted seven years and cost Los Angeles County $13 million.



On Friday, December 8, 2000 2:00:00 AM UTC-6, Jim Morris wrote:
http://www.latimes.com/news/state/20001206/t000116739.html

http://www.ags.uci.edu/~dehill/witchhunt/cases/mcmartin.htm


Cooley Announces Staff Changes on 1st Day in Office
Courts: He retains some Garcetti appointees and vows to release a plan on
handling three-strikes cases.


By TWILA DECKER, Times Staff Writer

On his first full day on the job Tuesday, Los Angeles County Dist.
Atty. Steve Cooley announced highly anticipated changes in his executive
management staff.
The appointees include two holdovers from the administration of former
Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, career prosecutors, former ranking members of the
district attorney's office and a former Municipal Court judge.
The job of second-in-command went to Curt Livesay, who will be interim
chief deputy. Livesay, who has 35 years experience as a prosecutor and
defense attorney, also served as chief deputy under former Dist. Atty. John
Van de Kamp.
The appointment that drew the most questions at the news conference was
that of Senior Trial Deputy Lael Rubin as special counsel.
Rubin will oversee Cooley's promised changes in the enforcement of
California's three-strikes law.
Rubin prosecuted the McMartin Pre-School case, an unsuccessful
three-year prosecution that was the most costly in county history. The
highly publicized case changed the way law enforcement officers across the
country question children who may have been sexually abused.
But Rubin said her entire career should not be summed up by one case..
"I concluded my work on the McMartin case more than 10 years ago," she
said. She noted that she had won a murder conviction just a few weeks ago..
The district attorney said he and Rubin will present a three-strikes
plan in 10 days.
Cooley named retired Montebello Police Chief George Stephen Simonian as
chief of the district attorney's bureau of investigation.
He appointed three assistant district attorneys:
* Former Inglewood Municipal Judge Lawrence E. Mason will be in charge
of line operations. Mason was a deputy district attorney from 1975 to 1997
and legal advisor to the Los Angeles County Grand Jury from 1989 to 1991.
* Head Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter Bozanich will direct special
operations. Bozanich, who joined the office in 1971, most recently ran the
south juvenile division.
* Assistant Dist. Atty. Sharon Matsumoto will keep her job as head of
administration. She began the job in 1998.
Cooley also named eight bureau directors:
* Jacquelyn Lacey will be in charge of central operations. Lacey joined
the office in 1986. She has been part of the hate crimes suppression unit
for the past year.
* Head Deputy Dist. Atty. Curt Hazell will direct special operations..
Hazell has been with the office since 1976.
* David Guthman will oversee fraud and prosecutions. He has been with
the office since 1977. During the past two years, Guthman has served as
director of the bureau of management and budget.
* Deputy Dist. Atty. Janice Maurizi will direct Region I of branch and
area operations. She has been with the office since 1984.
* Deputy Dist. Atty. John Allen will remain as head of Region II of
branch and area operations. Allen has been with the district attorney's
office since 1983.
* Former journalist Joseph Scott, who helped run Cooley's campaign,
will serve as director of communications.
* William R. Mangan, a commander in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department, will direct the Bureau of Management and Budget.
* Former journalist Carol Baker will remain as acting director of crime
prevention and youth services. She has served in that job since 1998.

AP 18 Dec 95 20:02 EST V0140

Virginia McMartin Dead At 88

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) -- Virginia McMartin, the grandmother acquitted of
molesting children at her pre-school in the nation's longest and costliest
criminal case, has died. She was 88.
McMartin, who bitterly denied the charges leveled against her, her
daughter, her grandson and pre-school staff, was pronounced dead Sunday in
the emergency room at Little Company of Mary Hospital.
"It was natural causes. She apparently had a series of strokes lately,"
said police Lt. David Marsden.
McMartin founded the now-defunct McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach,
which became the focus of a child abuse investigation in 1983 when a mother
later diagnosed as mentally ill told police she suspected her 2 1/2-year-old
son had been molested.
McMartin was arrested in 1984 with her daughter, Peggy McMartin Buckey,
and grandchildren, Ray and Peggy Ann Buckey, and three teachers.
In the months that followed, allegations were made that teachers at the
school had molested dozens of children, often during bizarre rituals.
McMartin became a familiar figure in the heavily-publicized case as she went
to court in her wheelchair.
In 1986, felony child molestation charges were dismissed against all but
Peggy McMartin Buckey and her son. They were charged with molesting 11
children over a five-year period.
Mrs. Buckey was acquitted in 1990 after a three-year trial. The same
year, Raymond Buckey was acquitted of 40 counts and a jury deadlocked on
another eight counts against him in a second trial.
The entire case lasted seven years and cost Los Angeles County $13
million, making it the longest and costliest criminal prosecution in U.S.
history. The O.J. Simpson trial cost $9 million.


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 22:58:51 -0500
From: "Laura E. Pasley" <LEPasley@xxxxxxx
Subject: Virginia McMartin
To: Multiple recipients of list WITCHHNT <WITCHHNT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm sure you all have heard Virginia (the grandmother)
and owner of the McMartin Pre-School died in her
sleep today.

I was very troubled by the short bleep on CNN. It
stated she was at the "heart of the McMartin"
situation and although they made mention she, nor
any one else was ever convicted on that case - there
was more time spend telling about the charges.

I think the world owes Virginia McMartin an apology.
Through everything this family went thru - this woman
held her head up with dignity. This woman, her daughter
and grandchildren remind me constantly of the system
that went terribly wrong. Nothing could counter the
injustice done to them. It was the beginning of the
reason we need a witchhunt board in the first place to
debate this issue on. This case continues to haunt me
and always will. It's the first case I dealt with that made
me ashamed of the American justice system - a system
I have worked in since being a teenager.

Today - 10 years later - the witchhunts march on.

Laura Pasley


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 23:35:18 -0500
Reply-To: Falsealleg@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Virginia McMartin
To: Multiple recipients of list WITCHHNT <WITCHHNT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I agree they are due an apology. I also believe we owe them many thanks for
being strong and fighting like they did. Although we still suffer through
the witch hunts today, there was much learned during the McMartin trials
which have helped others.


Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 21:19:31 -0800
From: George Hero <ghero@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Virginia McMartin dies
To: Multiple recipients of list WITCHHNT <WITCHHNT@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Grandmother cleared in molestation case dies

TORRANCE, California (CNN) -- Virginia McMartin, a central figure in a
child molestation case that became the nation's longest criminal
prosecution,
died Sunday. Authorities attributed the death of the 88-year-old grandmother
to natural causes.

The saga of the McMartin Pre-School began in 1983, when a mother -- later
diagnosed as mentally ill -- called Los Angeles police to say she suspected
her
2-year-old son had been molested. Mrs. McMartin was arrested in March 1984
with her daughter, Peggy McMartin Buckey, and grandchildren, Ray and Peggy
Ann Buckey, along with three teachers.

In the months that followed, allegations were made that teachers at the
school had
molested dozens of the children. In 1986, felony child molestation charges
were
dismissed against all but Peggy McMartin Buckey and her son. They were
charged
with molesting 11 children over a five-year period. Mrs. Buckey was
acquitted in
January 1990 after a three-year trial. Raymond Buckey was acquitted of 40
counts
and a jury deadlocked on another eight counts against him in a second trial.

The entire case lasted seven years and cost Los Angeles County $13 million.

I think that Lael Rubin should have not only been fired and disbarred. There is a difference between conduct by the DA and defense attorneys: the defense is not guided by the same rules as prosecutors, some go way beyond the stratosphere. However, the prosecutor is suppose to find the truth and go by facts and yet they fail in this all the time. She violated ethics by her own actions and whatever happens to her, she did to herself. Until she makes it right by the entire McMartin family, her life will never be right. What she and others caused ruined the lives of so many people and put others through hell. Speaking of hell, I hope there is an extra hot place for her.
.