The Micale Family Moves On

The Micale Family Moves on

On March 1, 2015, Anthony & Brent Micale, lost their Mother and Wife, respectively, and Kimberly Johnson was also killed, and taken from her family when a house fire tore through the Micale home. Brent was spared, escaping out of a window, and Anthony was at a friend’s house that night, thankfully.

Losing one’s home and possessions is one awful thing in itself, losing a Wife and Mother, and a friend only adds more weight to the grief. No one can ever know what Brent or Anthony have went through, but the community responded with as much love, help, and support as they could. Having raised tens of thousands of dollars, it made it easier to regain some of the material things lost, and provide a new, safer home for Anthony. Brent did just about as good, if not better than any other man put in that position.

In May, local business owners John & Judy Clark, owners of WCNX Radio Inc. here in Middletown, arranged it so that Anthony could go to White Plains, New York, to see the WWE Live, and meet with his hero, John Cena. Mr. Cena was incredibly generous with his time and autographed anything he wanted, and yes, Anthony even go to wear the WWE World Championship Belt, and take all the pictures they wanted. They all had a great time.

Nothing will bring back Cheryl or Kimberly, but we hold them in our hearts forever. It’s our profound memories of them that will get us through this world, until one day, we are reunited with them. Brent and Anthony are very close to us here at, In Middletown We Trust, and we love them, and wish the all the best in the new year to come.

Confusing Justice

Justice is what you would think everyone should be afforded, at the most basic of levels in our society. It’s expected. And yet, we hear stories time after time of people who are wrongly convicted. Executed for crimes they are found to have been innocent of. And at the very least, arrested for crimes they are not guilty of. That’s where we find ourselves in this story, and beyond actually. It starts with a nasty divorce, where accusations are made, and a family is destroyed. And it lands with a man going to prison, for what I am not convinced was a crime. In fact, I’m not sure what it was, but it certainly didn’t fit the definitions of the crimes they said this man was guilty of.

Ted Taupier is a friend of ours here at, In Middletown We Trust, which has exactly zero relevance, because we will go to the same lengths for anyone, provided they are cooperative, and provide us with all documentation of their story. Ted did do all of this, way beyond the minimum amount of information. It had got to a point where I had so much information, I was confounded how to proceed. So, for that, we thank Ted for the background information. I’m not going to bore all of you with every twist and turn of how this came to be where we are, though we need a starting point.

Ted’s story began with something so common, that occurs every day, without much notice; A Divorce. Yes, a very nasty divorce, brought upon by Ted’s wife, Tanya, and while Ted certainly wasn’t happy about the circumstances, he knew that it was bigger than Tanya, and himself. They had two beautiful children that were bound to suffer some of the fallout from the divorce. Tanya had hired a Criminal Defense Attorney as her Divorce Attorney, and this was evidently a calculated move, because she hired Chris Morano, the Ex- Chief States Attorney. Her opening shot in the divorce was to bring charges against Ted for Voyeurism. You see, during the course of their marriage, they had made many sex tapes, and now she claimed that they were made without her consent. Chris Morano pushed for the warrant in Middletown, Telling Barbara Hoffman that he had seen the evidence, and there was enough for an arrest. So yes, Ted was arrested on Voyeurism charges.

No actual evidence was ever produced, and this occurred in 2012. In the last 3 years, it has been kicked to 4 different prosecutors, and no charges were ever brought for a conviction. This becomes relevant later on as well. Ted managed to maintain some semblance of dignity through this, though he did lose some contracts for the company he owned. He also retained custody of his two children. The story takes an unusual turn on August 22, 2014 though. It was this date where Ted, emailed 6 people, allegedly in anger, and in a numbered list of 10 bullet points, stated different facts about distances from Judge Bozzuto’s house (The Judge handling his divorce), bullet drop rates, and other facts relating to the nature of ballistics of high power rifles. I’ve personally read the email, many times in fact. While I can say it may have been written in anger, and have an angered tone to it, it never threatened anyone. It surely mentioned Judge Bozzuto’s house. It never mentioned Judge Bozzuto though. This becomes important in a moment.

One of the 6 people whom the email was sent to, grew concerned and forwarded it to the Judicial Marshals, who immediately classified it as a threatening letter, and began proceedings to pass it on to the State Police, so they could arrest Mr. Taupier. On August 27^th, record timing it seems, the Cromwell Police removed the Taupier Children from the Cromwell School System, so that they could be transferred to their mother’s custody. I can’t make these things up, so here’s the YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/JMDdceGIbrM

Ted Taupier was arrested by the Connecticut State Police on August 30, 2014 for Breach of Peace, and 2^nd Degree Threatening, of which he bailed out on $35,000 Cash, and had no bail conditions. On September 2, Ted’s bail was raised to $1.25 Million Dollars, and 47 Bail Conditions were added. Though it took some time, Ted was able to post bond, and two of those bail conditions where that he have GPS Monitoring, and he be placed on house arrest.

This all seems quite extreme for a case with questionable evidence. The evidence was actually very simple: It was the email that Ted sent on August 22^nd, and if you use that to put up against the actual state statute for threatening, it doesn’t qualify. It doesn’t meet the burden of proof, at all. Given this, when Ted was given the option to Plead Guilty on a Plea Bargain, he said absolutely not! And I can’t blame him. He took it to trial, and in front of Judge David Gold, who I know to be a fair Judge typically, he was summarily found guilty, taking the option of having the Judge decide his innocence or guilt, instead of going through the lengthy process of jury selection. As I said, even to this writer, a layperson, the email did not define a threat. His sentencing was due to have been on December 8^th, 2015, though it has been continued a number of times now for reasons I’m not clear on.

What is also still hanging out there, is the Voyeurism Charge, that nothing was ever done with. Still, nothing has ever been done with it. Perhaps it will get thrown out once Ted is sentenced, but no one really knows. The real question is, what happened to justice? Ted Taupier is a homeowner and tax payer, and a former business owner. He can certainly become one again, but at the moment he has been tried and convicted, for threatening, when he clearly did not do the actual crime. What this smells of is one Judge covering for another, just because they’re all part of the same good ol’ boys club, and justice be damned. Ted Taupier’s life was already being negatively affected when this divorce began, and now, apparently he has no rights, laws have been specially written for him, and when his sentencing comes up- whenever that actually is- Ted will be going to prison, where you the taxpayers will pay $138 per day to care for him, for up to 6 years. A man ruined. A family ruined. A father ruined. And children left without their father when they need him the most.

I’m not writing this because I want you to feel sorry for one man, rather I want you to feel sorry for society, because when judges can convict people and send them to prison on a whim, just because he wants to, more or less, I want you to feel sorry for society, because this isn’t the America I grew up in.

Inmate’s Food Post Raises Hell

Earlier today, we posted a picture on Facebook, of food, that an inmate in a Correctional Facility could purchase, and is popular around the holiday’s, and the long and short of it: People went ape shit! We regularly share our posts in different groups, relating in everything from “I grew up in Middletown, CT”, to “CT Conservatives”, and everything in between. It gets our posts out there for people to read, and at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. What became very clear, very quickly, is nobody really gives a damn about inmates, or what they eat, and basically they’re sub- human, and should be fed gruel and toilet water.

The other resounding feeling that was related, was we wouldn’t feel that way if we were victims of these criminals. I’m sorry, did I miss something? How does anyone know that any of us here at, In Middletown We Trust, aren’t victims of violent crime?

Speaking for myself, someone attempted to murder me in 2012, and that person received 22 years in prison for it. But I forgave that person before he was sentenced, and I said it to his face. It wasn’t one of those I’ll forgive him to God, and he’ll get his punishment. No, that man is going to serve his punishment knowing he doesn’t hold that power over me, and he’ll remember me forgiving him before he was sentenced.

The original goal of that post wasn’t to raise all sorts of hell before Christmas, but to get people to be thankful for what they have. Most of you failed miserably. You showed what is wrong with this world. Hate. You didn’t even show common decency for the simple fact that inmates are people too. Human Beings that make mistakes, the same as you and me. The difference? They got caught, and you didn’t. Everyone, everyday, breaks laws that people are sitting in prison for right now. In a world full of problems, you added to them, instead of trying to show kindness, and maybe create some peace.

But you don’t need me to tell you this, because deep down you already know it, and the forgiveness you seek is between you and God. I’ve said my peace. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday. Merry Christmas.

Connecticut to open prison for inmates of ages 18 to 25

So, we shared this story this afternoon from the Hartford Courant, and then the Middletown Press came out with the story as well. I agree, the prisons in Connecticut, are just that, prisons. In no way are they Correctional Institutions, as they would have you believe by the name of basically every facility in the state, and yes, they are terribly overcrowded, due mainly to the Judicial System’s malicious use of incarceration for low level, non- violent, offenders, causing said overcrowding.

Believe it or not, there are, on a regular basis, inmates sleeping on the floor of gymnasiums, and other larger rooms, that they may or may not describe as “Dorms”. What this is in reality is, 120 Men or Women, grouped together, sleeping in a 4 inch thick mattress, on the floor, and they share 3 toilets, and the same number of showers. You can say what you want, that these are criminals, and they deserve what they get, and so on and so forth, but we tend to forget one major thing: They’re human beings!!!

As much as it may pain you all to hear this, 95% of Inmates are going to get out of Prison at one point or another. When you “Warehouse” Inmates instead of actually reforming them, you contribute to the problem, not solve it. Prison is not, and it never was intended, to be a place to warehouse people that broke the law, and remove them from society. Here’s a reality check; Prisons, or Correctional Institutions, are part of Society whether you agree or not. It’s a fact. And as part of society, we have a responsibility to reform these men and women, through programs in drug rehabilitation, domestic violence, mental health, sexual behavior, or whatever other issue that bring people to break the law, and end up in prison in the first place. Currently, we don’t do that, and we have a recidivism rate of 50%. It there a wonder why? Absolutely not. Because no one cares.

Now, we are going to build a prison for Inmates between the ages of 18 and 25 years old, for what Connecticut’s Correctional Commissioner, Scott Semple, says “The prison also would protect those inmates from abuse and manipulation by older prisoners.”

I’m sorry, Mr. Semple, but perhaps you just landed in that job straight out of high school or college, because that reasoning, is f!$%ing idiotic! I can imagine that the average person doesn’t know what it’s like in Connecticut’s Prison’s, and that’s about the most unfortunate thing about this whole thing, because if you did, as Mr. Semple I hope would, you would know that that kind of thing rarely happens anymore. Again, I’m sorry to disappoint, but prison in Connecticut is nothing like you’ve ever seen on TV or in the Movies. Connecticut Prison’s are businesses, where employee’s go to work, mostly the Correctional Officer’s themselves, and their job is to watch over, and respond to any problems. Period. Other than that, prison’s, from an inmates point of view, operate like any other community. There are rules and lines you just don’t cross, and you live your life in accordance with those rules, until your time is done. Then you go home, hopefully to never return. No one there is taking advantage of anyone. Fights do happen rarely, because let’s face it, disagreements happen, like they do anywhere. As to other heinous acts that you’d imagine happening; it really doesn’t, because it isn’t tolerated by those same “older inmates” that Mr. Semple is trying to protect the younger ones from.

My prediction: Well, ask anyone who works, or has worked at Manson Youth Institute in Cheshire, CT. That facility is the same type of facility that’s being described here, and the overwhelming opinion is that the “Kids” at M.Y.I., as it’s often referred to as, is pure anarchy. The kids there only have so much oversight from the Correctional Officer’s, and staff, and left to run their own “community”, I’ll go out on a limb and say that the most fights, assaults, thefts, and overall Administrative Directive Violation’s, occur at this facility. And now you want to make another one. Good luck with that.

Well, no one is bothering to reform any inmates anyway, so why should anyone be worried that the State is building another facility, where, if it runs anything like M.Y.I., parents may not get their “kids” back, because someone serving a life sentence, and happens to be under 25, has now stabbed another inmate to death. This is the reality we are dealing with people. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. 

Christmas is That Crazy Time of Year!

Christmas, as I see it

 By Libertatem Orator

Yeah, I’m not immune to it either. I’m feeling the Christmas spirit lately, but it’s caused me to reflect on Christmas’ from the past. Make no mistake, Christmas is a commercial holiday. Yes, there is the traditional Catholic and Christian view that December 25^th marks the birth of Jesus, the Christ, or Messiah (for those of you not in the theological know), although it’s widely debated that Jesus was born actually in later March, or Early April. Well, for those that don’t know, Christmas is what it is, when it is, due mainly to the Winter Solstice, and the pagan holiday where the sun remains along the same horizontal line for 3 days. So, the Church hitched on to this, and bang! December 25^th it is!

Thoroughly confused yet? Sorry about that. But yes, that is how Christmas came to be December 25^th. Back to what I originally said though, today, it is a commercial holiday. We are more concerned about celebrating the birth of the newest X-Box, rather than the birth of Jesus. And just recently, within the last couple decades at least, Black Friday has proved it, hands down. Or hands in fists, if you want that Tickle-Me-Elmo. Ok, I’ll admit, I went one year, just because I had to see the insanity for myself. And when I pulled up to Best Buy at 4am, and there was a row of tents already lined down the front of the store, I knew the proverbial cheese, had slid off the cracker of humanity.

The good news though, friends, is I believe, with this passing year, we are seeing the demise of Black Friday, because it’s just not what it was anymore. So, I predict, that Black Friday is suffering from a slow death. Perhaps we can get back to celebrating good times with friends and family once again, without worrying about having to take a second mortgage to finance your child’s must have toy’s. After all, that’s what Santa is for anyway, right? Let him foot some of the bill!

Now, don’t jump on me, because the whole, “Is he real, or isn’t he real? Thing. All I have to say is that guy did miracles for the 7 year old Autistic Child on Facebook yesterday. So, he’s real. Case closed. Now, this whole organization, In Middletown We Trust, is a politically motivated website, mainly conservative, but we’re all for the greater good, no matter the side. So, with that said, you can’t think of Christmas’s past, without thinking about what happened in 1989. I was a younger man back then (weren’t we all?), but right before Christmas, the Berlin Wall came down, and with it the Iron Curtain fell. Until very recently, my family had a very elderly relative that lived in Bremen, Germany, and she lived to the great age of 99, God Bless her. This of course means that she was exposed to all the unfortunate realities of being German in the 20^th Century. So, I know it’s been 26 years now, but let’s be glad that among all the other problems we have in this world, communism really isn’t on our radar much anymore.

This Christmas, I thank God for being an American. I thank him for giving me the freedoms given me; to write articles like this. To argue my case, and be granted due process when I have a grievance. To be free to say, Thank you God! Many people in this world don’t have these most basic of freedoms. I’m thankful that I’m able to give back where I can, and maybe make someone smile once in a while. I’m thankful to have a job, and a roof over my head, and food in the fridge, when so many others have none of that. Maybe you don’t have a lot, but be thankful for what you do have, and if you have the ability, pay it forward and help out someone else. So, it’s with great pleasure that I have the freedom, to say may you all have a Merry Christmas!

(And if you’re offended by the Starbucks Cup- get a Sharpie, and some Creativity!)

Remembering Pearl Harbor

Remembering Pearl Harbor

By Brian E. Clark

This isn’t going to be a long diatribe on how great of a loss we suffered on that fateful Sunday Morning, December 7^th, 1941. It is true, it was a national tragedy, and 2,403 men and women died that day. It was this unfortunate incident that finally pushed us in to World War II, where, again, hundreds of thousands of American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines were killed and wounded, with many more civilians senselessly murdered for no purpose but evil. But it was our participation in this war that ended that tyranny, and stopped that evil, and restored freedom around the world once again. It’s this day, among many others, that remind us, that freedom comes at a cost. God Bless those that served.

Books Through Bars

 Books Through Bars

By Brian E. Clark

As we covered yesterday, I am an Advocate for anyone who finds themselves behind a Defense Table in a Courtroom. My Advocacy doesn’t stop there, because I may be one of the last people on the face of the earth that recognizes if Society takes the measures to lock someone up, that society has a responsibility to reform that person in a Correctional setting. Unfortunately, our current situation with the Connecticut Department of Corrections, no one is being reformed, and certainly no one is being corrected. People are being warehoused. Plain and simple, and I wish I could say otherwise, but that’s the facts.

The total population counts as of 12/1/2015, is 16,025 incarcerated inmates, and at a cost of $138 per inmate, per day, our cost is $2,211,450 per day. And that is a cost to “warehouse” people. And let us not forget that fact, these are people. These are mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters. Somehow, we as a society have gotten away from our responsibility to actually reform these people. However, that is a story for another time. Now that I’ve wowed you with some insane numbers and costs. Let’s get to why we are really here: Books.

I’m only going to concentrate on one facility, Hartford Correctional Center, where I have the most contacts, and where most inmates are pre-trial, meaning they are waiting for a disposition in their case. Hartford CC, however, is one of the facilities with the least amount of services. There is no school unless for GED, and you have to be under 21 years old. There is no library, and besides Religious Programs, there are few other services available.

As an Advocate, I work closely with the Catholic Chaplain, Sister Jerilyn Hunihan, to provide paperback books for the inmates there. We both accept donations of Paperback Books, and I’m here to break it down how you can help us out during the Holiday season. If you have any amount of Paper Back Books; It doesn’t matter the topic. Fiction & Non- Fiction, please contact me at clarkofmiddletown@live.com, and I will arrange with you either you dropping them off to me locally, or I can come to you, or we can meet. The other option is the Sister lives in Higganum, and we can arrange for you to meet with her. We really need books! All books that enter Hartford Correctional Center, come through Sr. Jerilyn, who then distributes the books to the inmates. Please help us this Holiday season! These inmates are hungry for knowledge, and reading helps to educate them, and can possibly change the way they live their lives after they are released. We would appreciate it greatly! Thank you, and have a Blessed Christmas Season! 

Business as Usual...

Business as Usual…

By Brian E. Clark

Something people may not know about me, is that I’m a Human Rights Advocate, in regards to prisoners, or inmates, if you will. What I’m ultimately referring to is the person that ends up at the defense table in a courtroom. Now that all said, I came in to doing this because I have witnessed through the years, that our Criminal Justice System is broken at its most fundamental of levels. Some, at this point, may be saying “What are you talking about? Bad people commit crimes and go to jail. The End. What’s so broken about that?” Well, that’s only a small responsibility of our Judicial system, and while we could expand on that, we’re going to take a different view of how things are today.

I had the pleasure of witnessing a Family Court Division Courtroom in full operation today, and this is where, post- divorce, and dealing with child support; be it contempt motions, or modifications, or custody issues, this is the section of the courthouse where nerves are raw, and drama is at the highest. And rightfully so, the decisions being made here are affecting families, mothers, fathers, and especially children. Now, that all said, I chose to write about this as opposed to Criminal Part A, or Part B Courts, exactly why I just said; the decisions made here, effect families. Real people, that are just trying to live their lives to the best of their abilities, and frankly, I’m not sure the court does everyone justice in these cases. But, I’ll explain, don’t worry.

Family Court is only one way I provide my advocacy services, I do criminal as well, in fact as recent as last night. But today, I found myself in Family Court, and let us keep in mind the season we are in; Christmas and the Holidays. Most of the cases called had to do with Child support, and in any given day, that is extremely typical. Sometimes one party hasn’t paid in sometime due to whatever reason, be it joblessness, or underemployment. Other times, one party is looking for more in the way of financial support, due to the change in work status with the other party. Either way, it always comes down to money. And I’ll say this: Kids cost money. I know, I have two myself. They’re not cheap. So, I get it.

Here’s what confuses the living daylights out of me though (And I saw it happen twice today), because (In these cases, the fathers were unemployed) and they could not pay their child support, due to their obvious unemployment situation, they were then incarcerated. Thrown in jail. I’m sorry, did I miss something? Because two men, did not have jobs, and therefore could not pay their child support, they were then, thrown in jail. In this case, until they could then pay, or 30 days, whichever came first. If someone is having difficulty securing employment, I’m pretty sure that throwing them in jail, may add a bump in that road. I can understand the reasoning behind incarceration for failure to pay, if there is evidence that they are just unwilling to pay. But it boggles my mind, how incarcerating someone is going to encourage someone in to paying child support. In fact, let’s leave alone the financial implications. Now, the child in question, has a father, that has been put in jail, ultimately removing a parent from that child’s life. I do not see how this can be productive in “achieving justice” for the child in question.

The second item I’d like to bring up, just because it’s been a concern of a lot of folks I’ve advocated for in cases such as this. The money that is paid in child support; that is cash money that can be spent on anything, and I do mean anything. How do we know that that money is being spent on the child it is intended for? For example: If you receive SNAP Benefits: That can only be spent on food, because that is what it is intended for. Though Child Support is free and clear cash, that has itemized list on what it can be spent on. In all reality, that money could buy cases of Scotch, and the child would never see a dime of it. What I propose is a system like the SNAP Program, where Child Support Payments that go through Child Support Enforcement, be limited to only be able be spent on items for the child.  Call it far- fetched, but it’s yet another example of how the system is broken.

The examples I brought up are small, small, examples of how the system is broken in my view. You may agree or not, but that’s what makes us a great nation. But the conversation needs to be started so we can move in the direction of correcting the wrongs. I’m sure these systems were put in place with the best intentions, but there’s always someone who will exploit, and circumvent the system, and turn it in to the crooked system it is. All I ask is we begin the conversation. Thank you.