The OC Serial Killer Who Became the County's Top Snitch

Holy Shit!!

"I have absolutely no influence over the outcomes of the trials within these courtrooms". - Judge Derek Johnson Harbor Court (overheard him say this to court clerk in public area.)

"The courts are corrupted".

"The police report and the DA's complaint against you had all sorts of holes in it". - a Public Defender to me in elder abuse case.

"The citizens have a right to protect themselves from the police". - OCDA Tony Rackaukas.

It would be sad to hear that Judge Goethals isn't reelected over this in the future for doing the right thing.  Won't surprise me.

I'm kind of mixed on this issue.  I think that if by circumstance you reveal more than you should to someone and they use it as a bargaining chip in their own defense then I think it's fair game.   I don't agree with the DA using informants to set someone up and also not fully revealing what they are doing.  However, one should have enough common sense to not talk about the specifics of their charges while awaiting trial but that would be hard to do I would guess.  Anyone in jail you talk to could be your worst enemy when it comes to them knowing what you did.  What else is there to do in jail but talk?  As far as keeping inmates/informants housed in jail for this purpose for years on end isn't right.  There have been many recent cases where a defendant has been convicted and then a year has gone by without sentencing so that they can bargain on the back end or testify against their codefendant when they previously didn't agree to.  I am just suspicious of any inmate, whether convicted or awaiting trial that is in county jail for an extremely extended period of time and the agency itself for keeping them there.

Reality check folks. Our favorite TV Show "Let's Make A Deal" is alive and well in the American Criminal Justice System.  This article deals with the truth about one southern California dirt bag criminal, but there are worse stories out there in the Country, the Country that never sleeps.  .  

One such story is that of James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger, Jr.  who is an American convicted murderer and former organized crime figure.  U.S. prosecutors indicted Bulger for 19 murders. Beginning in 1975, Bulger served as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). As a result, the Bureau largely ignored his organization in exchange for information about the inner workings of the Italian American Patriarca crime family.  Beginning in 1997, the New England media exposed criminal actions by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials tied to Bulger. For the FBI especially, this has caused great embarrassment.  In 1994, after being tipped off by his former FBI handler about a pending indictment under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Bulger fled Boston and went into hiding. For 16 years, he remained at large. For 12 of those years, Bulger was prominently listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Moral of the story is as long as there are criminals to be caught and promotions to be gained, the Criminal Justice System will continue to make deals with bad guys.  While this practice may be acceptable at the lower levels of the food chain, somewhere the line has to be drawn and criminals held accountable for what they have done.    

::shudders:: I think I need to wash. :-( 

Excellent muckraking, as usual, Mr. Moxley. We need more reporters like you.

@949girl 

It wouldn't surprise me, either. It's really disheartening to consider that Judge Goethals would essentially be punished for doing his job right. :-(

@949girl  This guy has been in OCJ for 9 years doing this.

@ltpar  and how many murders have the prosecutors allowed the police to get away with when they are paid criminals while on duty and are violating the laws.

@fishwithoutbicycle Thank you, FWB. Much appreciated. 

@paullucas714 @949girl Wouldn't that be a red flag to other inmates to not talk to him?  I know someone who was housed with a known snitch in Theo Lacy and it was a known fact that he was a snitch.  It's surprising that anyone would talk to one.

@Dweezle @949girl Yes, agreed.  Seeing a witness called up to testify in their orange jailhouse uniform would make me go hhmmmm.

@tongue_twister_for_t @ltpar You need to pull your head out of your ass and get in touch with reality.   Your assinine comment doesn't merit a response and merely magnifies your anit-Police attitude.  

@Anonymous @fishwithoutbicycle 

I don't know how these people sleep at night...but, then again, I'm not a narcissistic sociopath. I, personally, would need a volley of powerful drugs...because I have this pesky little thing called a conscience.

@mrbelmont2000  Cops get away with far less than the average John Doe citizen.  Contrary to your uninformed opinion, screening standards for Officer Applicants are tougher than any thing you have ever gone through, assuming of course you have a job.  Only 1 out of ever 100 Applicants makes the cut.  Lastly, from Day 1 on the job, and reinforced throughout their career, each is reminded that by the nature of the "trust" position, they are being held to a higher standard of conduct both professionally and personally.  You get away with things that an Officer would be disciplined or fired for doing.  I know because of having recommended such discipline on occasion during my 35 years on the job.  

Lots of things are changing in America, most for the worst.  Many people have abandoned the principles and ideals the country was founded on.  They have substituted the "feel good" philosophy for the  Moral Code we used to live by.  Corruption and other gross misconduct  is rampant in both government and the private sector, leading to an all time lack of confidence by those who still believe in God, Constitution, Mother and Apple Pie.  Cops by God's design are still human beings and regardless of how well we screen them a percent of "bad actors" slip through.  It is when one of those ass holes screws the pooch that all of law enforcement gets broad brushed and a black eye.  This is what the slanted media likes to play up to sell newspapers.  How often do you see them giving the same coverage to the many good things Officers all over the country do above and beyond their job helping the people they serve?

In conclusion, I make no excuses for bad Cops and have helped remove a few over the years.  At the same time, others continue with their misconduct and are yet to be purged.  At the same time however, I believe from personal experience a majority of citizens still trust and support their local Cops.  On this, we can agree to disagree.     

@Dweezle @ltpar @tongue_twister_for_t My retirement has clouded nothing about the job, the people I worked with, or how I conducted myself.  Since you asked a legitimate question, rather than casting stones, I will try and give you an answer.  

I must have missed something, because I started law enforcement in Costa Mesa in the mid-1960's and did not experience the contempt you reference.  Costa Mesa was very PR oriented and we had a good relationship with our citizens.  Inside the department, I was sheltered for years and it wasn't until becoming an Investigator that I discovered the magnitude of corruption both from the politicans and a few within the Police Department.  I was in no position to make a case against any of those people, even though I would have done it in a heartbeat.  Even the Feds tried and were unsuccessful.  Unfortunately, the bookmaker, the major fence of stolen property and the corrupt Cops never got the justice thy deserved.  That I still regret today.  

Then I moved on to Irvine, a new department in a relatively new city.  Very PR oriented and the Chief, Leo Peart implemented a concept called Community Policing, long before the title existed.  We worked on building a problem solving partnership with the stakeholders in the community and it worked well. Again there was no contempt or hostility and the citizens respected the job we were doing together.  There was also no corruption at City Hall or within the department and it was a good place to work.  That partnership with the citizens continued to grow for the next twenty seven years (until I retired) and is still going today.  Did all citizens love the Officers, nope and that will never happen anywhere short of utopia.  Those who did not were in a small minority and I believe that percentage holds today, even with the national distrust of government.  

On the question of looking the other way.  We give the men and women of law enforcement a great deal of discretion in handling incidents, making arrests and issuing traffic tickets.  I always had the option of writing a citation to a motorist, sending a borderline drunk driver home in a cab or mediating a family fight so neither party went to jail.  I used that discretion from time to time and do not see it as looking the other way.  While you might disagree, the people I gave a break to always got a warning and we never met again in the future.  This is the nature of the job and why when hiring new Officers judgement and discretion must be critical elements for them to have.  

Not making any excuses here and fully acknowledge that regardless of how tough we screen new Cops, a few bad apples slip through the process, do something stupid and we all get a black eye from it.  I can tell you without hesitation, the majority of honest, dedicated Officers do not support these people and find them as disgusting as you do.