In Middletown We Trust

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.