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Old November 10th, 2011 #2312
Donald E. Pauly
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 4,130
Angry Cyndi's Planned Statement at Sentencing

I predict that -JC will duplicate this post as soon as he finds it online. Here is the statement by Cyndi which was cut short at her husband's sentencing.


Quote:
http://www.free-edgar-steele.com/?p=698#more-698

Text of Mrs. Cyndi Steele’s victim statement, sentencing hearing, 11/9/2011
2011 NOVEMBER 10
by admin
(Here is the full text of the statement Mrs. Steele had planned to present at her husband’s sentencing hearing. Due to constraint by Judge Winmill, not all of this was read into the court record.)


STATEMENT OF A VICTIM — CYNDI STEELE

YOUR HONOR

A. WHAT IS AT STAKE

THE TRUTH and JUSTICE are what’s at stake here today. It was my Mother’s life, my children’s lives and their futures and my life that were at stake according to the government. However, what is at stake is my husband and how this affects my Mother, our children and me. Also, how it affects my husband.

B. FAMILY AND MARITAL BACKGROUND

Ed and I first met on March 13th, 1984 and were married on April 27, 1985. To summarize our 26 years of marriage, I would have to say that we have a great marriage. We worked as a team in work, raising our children, helping out other family members whether it was his side or my side of the family, and in our dreams, whether they were our individual dreams or combined dreams as a couple. Perfect? No. Ed and I have done very well and had only one blip in our marriage 11 years ago. It was a rough time for so many reasons and we both made mistakes, which the counselor we saw was amazed that we were still together. Well, it was the strength of our love that kept us together, allowed us to forgive each other for our mistakes and to reestablish, as well as improve, our communications between each other. Without going into details, I will just refer to the Pina Colada song by Jimmy Buffett, which describes this blip in our marriage to a tea.

During the first 10 years, for me it was supporting my husband building his own law practice, where I worked a long side him as a receptionist, file clerk, paralegal, secretary and wherever he needed the help in his practice. It supported us financially and supported our desire to have and raise a family. At the same time, Ed supported my dancing, whether it was dancing with the Civic Light Opera or teaching, always giving me the time and space to pursue my dancing. And though these were really our individual dreams, they really became our dream. His dreams became mine and my dreams became his, because for the both of us the happiness of the other was a dream in itself. Yet, we had our common dream of us and raising a family, which was always our most valued dream in our hearts.

By 1990, we had 3 beautiful children. Our oldest daughter, who biologically was from my disastrous 1st marriage, Ed, of his own decision, asked and willingly adopted Nicole to raise, support and love her as his own. An unselfish act that I never even asked of him, for she was not his responsibility nor did he have a moral obligation to do so. However, out of his love for me and her, he chose to officially become her father; to raise, support and love her through all the good times and rough times of raising a child. As we added a son and another daughter to our family, most only knew Ed and I as the father and mother of 3 children. Ed and I strived together as a team to treat our children equally and fairly, to raise them as strong, moral, independent individuals, who would have the ability to successfully live happy, productive lives in whatever direction that their dreams would take them.

I stand here equally proud of the three children that Ed and I raised, though they are still at different stages and are on different paths they have become wonderful young adults and will be a credit to this world as they follow their own unique path. Our children’s accomplishments are their own, but Ed and I can humbly each take full credit for our teamwork in raising, supporting and loving them. We were an excellent team in raising our children. Raising our children was easy when we agreed, but when we didn’t, we communicated and decided the best approach to each issue together and then supported our mutual decision.

It was together that we left California in search of a better environment to raise our children and we moved to the beautiful state of Idaho. It was to be a place that was closer to the wholesome country that both Ed and I were raised in, instead of the city where there seemed to be so many more issues and potentially bad influences upon our children. This was a choice that Ed initiated because our family and our children’s welfare and best interests were far more important than any of the financial benefits to staying in California.

We, together, built a beautiful ranch and a place that we came to call “home.” As we had with our other homes, we worked together to make improvements, additions and this time, to build a place for horses, cows, pigs, chickens, dogs and cats. Actually, I should say that Ed did the work as I worked a long side him learning how to do the many things he already knew how to do. Ed performed the tilling, plumbing, drywall installation (including taping, sanding and mudding), building walls, clearing fields, building fences and anything else that a ranch requires. He hayed, he fed, ran a tractor and backhoe, shoveled and moved manure, he handled all aspects of horses and so many other jobs to list here. He, also, was involved with the cows, pigs and chickens we raised for a time. And, truth, the cows, pigs and chickens were more Ed’s dream, than mine, but we worked together. So, Mr. Haws lied about my husband when he stated, ED was “not much interested in, nor very adept at, taking care of the chores on a rural ranch property, a ranchette. He was not a rancher or a farmer.”

He could and he did do chores and more around our place than Haws probably even thought of doing. Well, wait, I’ll take that statement back about Mr. Haws, because I have not been witness to his life and that statement is just as unfair as his was about my husband, because he was not a witness to who my husband is. It just served his purpose of making him look like a lesser of a person, though I know many that have never ranched and farmed and that certainly doesn’t make them any less worthy. In fact, my grandfather who owned and ran a prestigious, dairy farm in Oregon would have been proud to have my husband work by his side and would have accepted him as his grandson-in-law because of his good character whether he was a farmer or not. But no, you have the word of Larry Fairfax, the lying, “pipe-bomber” who was more than willing to provide you with the “anticipated testimony” you expected at my husband’s trial, in exchange for not being charged with attempted murder and a “soft” plea deal.

And YES, Ms. Whelan, it was together our ranch was developed. Not just because it was “my dream.” The ranch and all it is, was by far more my husband’s idea than mine. He wanted to find a place for me to be able to have horses, because he got as much joy at supporting my dream as I appreciated and enjoyed the dream that we built together. The barn with an inside arena was his idea and of his making. The horses were just as much him as me, as he looked, found and purchased some of the herd himself. When it became more than we could continue to support, we mutually agreed to disburse most of the herd. That is why on the day of his arrest, there was only 4 horses instead of the 20-30 horses we were managing in the previous years.

Plus 3 of the outer buildings were for what were Ed’s dreams; a shop for his building projects, an equipment shed for working on cars and a 5 car garage, which he had planned for some of the classic cars he wanted to invest in.

C. CONTROVERSIAL LAW PRACTICE

At the same time, Ed had my support as he became active in defending our Freedom of Speech and other rights, which led him to representing many clients pro bono, speaking out about injustices, writing a book and many articles. And though his topics were considered “politically incorrect” in today’s society, because so many viewed it as being racist, I can say that they really haven’t listened and don’t truly know him. If they did, they would know that at the core is his belief of Justice for All and Special Rights for None. They would know that even though he believes this country is in serious trouble and fears the day will come that this country will be up in arms, he always advocated change through speech and through legal avenues. He always spoke against violence and has never been violent.

He has been put on “hate” lists and had many negative labels thrown at him, but I can tell you that the hate I have witnessed is from those very groups. One of those groups being the ADL, who this court used in official court paperwork as one of its bases to deny my husband bail, among other reasons being his writings, his book and his internet presence. That means the US Government denied my husband bail because of the way he exercised his Constitutional right of freedom of speech; shame on all of you for doing that to him. Agent Sotka, told me that he knew nothing about my husband, and yet he had all this false information that was fed to him by hate groups such as the ADL and the SPLC. Did he lie to me to try and get me to testify on his side? Well, that is witness tampering by the Government? Where are the criminal charges against him for committing that crime? He told me he knew absolutely nothing of my husband, that my husband was just a local person and was not an important person. So how is it that Agent Sotka could tell me that my husband was a liar? Was it his attempt to dispel my knowledge of my husband being honest (actually brutally honest) or was he just taking the word of the likes of the ADL, who cheer the demise of my husband because they don’t like the way he exercises his free speech. And what about those death threats that the FBI investigated but now denies any knowledge of? The likes of which death threats came to our young children and I and my husband. The terrified look of our daughter, then 9 years old, is still etched in my mind.

D. GOVERNMENT MANUFACTURES A MOTIVE

From the beginning this was a case in search of a motive. Well, there was none. First, when I was contacted by the Government agents, they were claiming that Ed’s motive involved life insurance. I knew this was wrong. This claim by them also proved wrong. So…, they then accused me of having an affair. In order to get me to believe their made up plot, the government agents lied to me and said that they had photographs of me that would support this specious claim. I knew that was a lie, too, but it still hurts to know that they would make up a lie about me like that to me. So, I am a victim, but only a victim of the slander by government agents and the pipe bomb a government informant attached to my car. I am not a victim of my husband, because my husband did nothing wrong. The recordings were an elaborate fabrication.

When that all failed, they latched onto information and selectively utilized Ed’s book research to manufacture a motive. The “Russian Bride” claim is so bogus as four witnesses testified. I knew that Ed was using these communications as his research and saw confirmation of the consistency between many different Russian women who were being exploited as a part of a human trafficking scam. Of course, it suited the government’s needs to single out only one of these women and then McAllister failed to put into evidence the many other women my husband had investigated as part of this scam. I am not as shallow as Ms. Whelan enjoys portraying, for if it was anything else other than an investigation that I knew it to be, I would have freed Ed and moved on. But, this was the background work for his next book to show how they prayed on older men in America. How every one of the 25 or so women he contacted made the same requests, in order, using the same language, send me candy for $25, send me flowers for $50, send me English lessons for $500; and thousands to pay for a trip for the woman to come to America. It was a repeated pattern, like a broken record and he was getting the goods on this scam. He had tracked it to a Florida company that was making a huge profit out of this and had talked to one of the translators sufficient to be able to expose the fraud; that is, until his arrest.

Oh yes, Agent Sotka, there was, also, his claim that my husband was cashing in silver without my knowledge. Just another lie, for it was for the purpose of paying down our debt which Ed and I had agreed upon from our discussions. Then Agent Sotka and Ms. Whelan claimed this silver we sold was the same $45,000 of silver that Fairfax had stolen. They knew better, because I had accounted for the silver the FBI had confiscated and I accounted for the silver that we sold, which matched my theft report. What was still missing was the $45,000 stolen by Fairfax. My husband sold $50,000 of silver and then he paid $15,000 in bills by the time he was arrested. The remaining $35,000 was still in our account, which gave me money to survive. But Ms. Whelan presented this to the jury and made it appear that the $45,000 Fairfax stole was somehow the same as the $50,000 my husband sold, when they knew it wasn’t.

The timing of when the government claims this plot began does not add up. They initially claimed it began on December 9, 2009, the very day my husband was checking out of the hospital from surviving the aortic aneurysm that almost killed him. He was still not thinking clear and was in such poor physical condition that he was brought home in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, this was 2 weeks before he was expected to be released and I was in Oregon taking care of my Mom who was also in the hospital. So our son came home from college and then we got a live in nurse to be with him until I could get back home. Then during trial they claimed it began in January and that doesn’t add up, either. I was home all of January, Fairfax was not around and the phone records show there were no conversations between Fairfax and my husband. My husband had 3 more procedures, with the last one on May 5th, which was another life threatening aneurysm nasal cavity and required emergency surgery. Again I was in Oregon taking care of my mom’s medical needs following surgery when Ed called to tell me that he was headed to the hospital for this emergency surgery. He bravely tried to convince me that my mom needed me more. However, knowing him very well, I could hear how scared he was, so I got someone to take care of my mom and immediately flew home. He didn’t know I was coming, because I didn’t want him to worry if I didn’t get there before his surgery. Especially since I wasn’t sure I could make it in the 5 hours I had from when he called. I managed to get there just as he was being taken to the operating room and the big smile and tears of relief streaming down his face when he saw me walk-in was priceless. He couldn’t have been any happier seeing me and knowing that I was going to be there when he woke up. This was not a reaction from a person who was supposedly plotting to have me killed. During his recovery, about the only thing he was able to do was sit and work at his computer as he suffered major headaches from the last surgery. It was only that last week in May that he was starting to be more mobile, but was still on a lot of medications to help with pain and sleeping, including the day of his arrest. Unfortunately, he was unable to follow through with the proper follow-up care and to this day suffers from headaches from the titanium clips in his head.

E. AGENT SOTKA/RECORDINGS

Before, during and after I listened to the recordings in June 2010, I was continually pressured by Agent Sotka as to what I was to believe, think and say, no matter what I knew to be true. I felt like I was being pressured to buy into the government’s story, weather I agreed or not and before I was provided any proof. It was evident from his tampering that he wanted me to fall in line with what the government was trying to get me to believe, that my husband intended to kill me. There was only one thing I was interested in, and that was the TRUTH and I was not making any decision on the authenticity of those recordings one way or the other, until I could hear them. I knew what I believed, but I know that belief is not necessarily truth. I thank God that I have had an excellent up-bringing, have strong morals and the strength to stand up for what is morally right, in spite of the pressure being put on me by the government to do otherwise.

I can enumerate a long list of the lies that were told by one government official or another, but for this moment I’m going to directly address the recordings. Recordings that I was to eventually learn were pure fabrications and were not true, continuous conversations between my husband and Larry Fairfax. And, though I have been accused differently, I took what the FBI told me seriously and did not align myself with my husband until after I had listened to the recordings and learned for myself that those recordings were not trustworthy because they were highly suspicious and unreliable.

Of course, it was 10 days before I was allowed to hear those recordings – well, that is 2 of the recordings, since I was repeatedly told by Agent Sotka that a 3rd recording wasn’t “ready,” yet. That is the recording from the day of my husband’s arrest. Apparently, that 3rd recording never has been ready, because to this day I have NOT heard it. Though, a recording is a recording and once recorded there is nothing to get “ready” other than push the play button, I was repeatedly denied the opportunity to listen to it. Since the official transcript of that 3rd recording showed that one whole hour had been lost due to technical difficulties, it is apparent to me that the government was again covering up evidence that could harm its case. Either they were not able to re-make the 3rd recording into an incriminating discussion the way that the recordings of June 9th and 10th were manipulated or there was actually proof of my husband’s innocence. There was only testimony by Agent Sotka and Officer Spike about this. However, Agent Sotka lied on the stand about me and probably lied about my husband as well.

When I finally was allowed to hear the recordings, I went in with an open mind, because there was only one thing I wanted, and that was the truth. I listened carefully and very attentively to both recordings and when all was said and done, I ended up leaving more horrified by my observation that the voices on the recording had been manipulated than by anything else. Frankly, I didn’t think that was possible after discovering a bomb on my car. But these police state tactics of fabricating evidence against an innocent person to make him a political prisoner just became a reality and I was then scared of the power of the FBI to create crimes that never occurred and blame my husband for them. A concept that I had never bought into, because I always think the best of people and never think bad about anybody until it is proven to me.

I was horrified, because of what I feared was going to prove that my husband wanted me dead, proved to me that I had just finished listening to two recordings that were fabricated to falsely convict my husband. A relief on one hand to know my husband wasn’t out to kill me, but, horrified that my government was out to get him. Yet, knowing that people who didn’t know my husband’s voice would be the ones to determine his innocence or guilt made me fear that my husband would not get a just trial. No one else was going to know his voice as well as I.

I was horrified, because I heard the word “bomb,” which was on the June 9th recording, which made me realize that the government had to know about a bomb as early as June 9th and that they were lying to me saying they didn’t know until June 15th. What scared me also was the fact that the government did nothing to search for a bomb or even warn me about the potential of a bomb when they knew on June 9th and sent FBI agents to my mother’s house on the morning of June 11th, which means they were willing to let that bomb continue to be attached to my car, at the risk of my life and the lives of everyone around me, so that they could make an example out of my husband. I was stunned when Agent Sotka’s excuse was because “he didn’t hear it,” since he had told me, on June 12th that he had listened closely to the recordings as they were being recorded and had taken notes of all the important statements, listing the ones he thought were threatening, but never any mention of a bomb.

Under the false impression that he only listened to the recording once, I had no choice but to accept that he missed that important detail. Of course, now I know that was a lie, since Agent Sotka testified he didn’t listen at the time the recordings were supposedly made. The point is, he testified that he listened to the recording three times before he sent out Larry Fairfax on June 10th. Twice after the download to his computer on June 9th and once the next morning in the presence of his FBI Supervisor Don Robinson and Traci Whelan. The testimony was that all three listened to the recording of June 9th on the morning of June 10th at the US Attorney’s Office in Coeur d’Alene.

How can anyone who is trained in law enforcement investigation say that the word “bomb” wasn’t heard on the recording after being listened to a total of 5 times, 3 times by Sotka, once by Whelan and once by Robinson? That is not just carelessness, it is criminal negligence for them to have missed it; or maybe he and Agent Robinson and Ms. Whelan did not want to admit they knew about the word “bomb” because that would defeat their little scheme to point the finger at my husband and put them in a precarious position.

If the word bomb was not on the recording, and Agent Sotka was being honest and Agent Robinson did not hear it and act irresponsible and AUSA Whelan didn’t hear it because it wasn’t there, then, I must ask, just exactly when did the word “bomb” get added to the recording, your honor? During the 6 days between June 15th when I discovered the bomb on my car and when I finally was allowed to hear the recordings on June 21st? Of course, when did the word “car” show up in front of the word “bomb,” because it wasn’t on the recording when I first heard it in June, and was not there until I heard the recording again in March?

So, if the word “bomb” was on the recording, on June 9th and 10th, then your honor, why wasn’t I warned about being in danger and a search for a bomb done immediately? Does this mean the government deliberately put my life and anyone around me in danger for a minimum of 5 days. Well, maybe less, since there is no proof as to when that bomb was put on my car. It’s claimed that Ed left the back door unlocked for Fairfax to put the bomb on my car May 27th. That’s a lie. I was the last one out of the house that day and the last thing I did was lock all the doors. Then there was Fairfax’ trip to Oregon on May 30th, which testimony didn’t prove that there was a bomb on my car at that time – it was testified that it wasn’t seen on my car. Was his trip to Oregon to actually cash in the additional $35,000 of silver, so it couldn’t be discovered as the $10,000 of silver he sold locally was discovered? Anyway, the two FBI agents didn’t witness any bomb on my car on June 11th, either. The only thing known for sure is that the bomb was on my car on June 15th when I was in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

I was back in Idaho, (June 13th and 14th), 2 days before discovering the bomb and there were plenty of times that my car was out of my sight for long periods of time. Of course, this follows more closely to the anonymous tips we’ve had, including the one that Ms. Whelan so crudely laughed at, when presented the recording by my attorney at that time. The government knowing about the bomb all along, would go a long way towards explaining to me why a U.S. Marshal told me in this court on June 15th that the government wouldn’t be providing me protection just a few hours after I discovered a bomb on my car, and that didn’t make any sense because that was before they got Fairfax to come forward with a confession. How did they know I was no longer in danger, because I had just discovered the bomb, unless they knew about it all along and it was the only one?

I thank God every day that I decided to have my oil changed that day, just to pass time, to avoid further complications with car problems and that bomb didn’t explode. I still have nightmares over the mere thought of what could have happened if it had exploded. Then, what if I hadn’t discovered the bomb before pulling into the Federal Courthouse that day? Would it have been discovered by security and I would have found myself falsely arrested, too? Was that the plan all along? After all, Sotka admitted on June 15th that they were checking me out, so was Fairfax just their fall guy, because they weren’t expecting me to discover the bomb before my husband’s hearing? Is this why Fairfax claims he was stabbed in the back by the FBI, because he wasn’t supposed to get any jail time for his deeds, but was forced to accept some jail time since someone had to take the blame after I mistakenly found the bomb?

Even with all the above, and even though I was the best expert on my husband’s voice (with 25, now 26, years of marriage), the attorneys and I knew the recordings needed to be analyzed by audio experts. I wanted the recordings analyzed as to whether or not the recordings were authentic. As much as Agent Sotka was telling me that I had to believe the recordings were authentic, when (after hearing the recordings) I didn’t believe them to be authentic, I knew that my testimony wasn’t going to be good enough, despite it being the truth. Besides, with all the pressure and accusations being thrown at me, Ed needed solid verification. After all, I was well aware of what was at stake. If they were authentic, it was my life and I value my life first and foremost and will not put my life at risk for anyone. If they were not authentic, it was my husband’s freedom. My alignment is always with truth and justice, which is the way I have always done throughout my life.

In the end it didn’t matter, because the experts who could verify that the recordings were fabricated were denied from testifying, so the jury never heard the proof that the evidence against my husband was false. And, then the prosecution did its best to destroy me on the stand with their lies; Sotka testified I didn’t cooperate – yes I did, which the FBI Agent from Oregon testified that I did cooperate, making Agent Sotka a liar. The problem Sotka had was that I just wasn’t willing to lie for him. For instance, my husband did not threaten to divorce me – no, Sotka added the wording of divorce to my statement. When I tried to explain when the word “divorce” occurred in, I got cut-off, I was not allowed to tell the truth. Then Ed’s ineffective assistance of counsel did nothing to see that the whole truth was heard by the jury. Because Ed used the word divorce when he had just come off being on a respirator for 9 days and was hallucinating about a lot of things, because of the medical effects he was suffering from after the aortic aneurysm that almost killed him. And this was only one of the many truths that McAllister didn’t bother to elicit from me on the witness stand.

Then, as I learned after the trial, McAllister too, was lying to me. The most outrageous was that McAllister said that my husband did not want him to subpoena Dr. Papcun to trial, but assured me that he would be available to testify if allowed. Of course, then the flip-flop rulings, that he could not testify, then he could testify by video conference, then he could not testify by video conference, then he had to be there by 8:30 a.m to testify or he would be excluded as a witness, these rulings in sequence, hammered the final nail in the coffin, which denied the jury the opportunity to hear at least one audio expert; an audio expert that was prepared to be at trial, was willing to appear by video conference and then when that was ruled out, was willing to come back to the USA, which he could have made just a few hours later than 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 4th, 2011. He would have been there except for McAllister’s failure to follow his client’s orders and the flip-flop rulings and unwillingness to allow 8 more hours which would have been enough to get Dr. Papcun to the courthouse. Of course, if we would have had the time from when you ruled the audio expert could testify by video conference on Monday, May 2, 2011, by simply ruling that he had to be there in person to testify by Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 8:30 a.m., he could easily have made it.

One last point regarding the recordings presented at trial, they did not match the copies given to the defense. When I heard the recordings again at trial, I was flabbergasted that the recordings were yet again manipulated. I had informed McAllister, so he knew this, but again did nothing. At trial, there was the noise of a pack of tic tacs shaking, creating background noise that made it hard to hear portions of the recording, which clearly was a cover up for some defect that the government wanted to hide from the jury. I know this tic tac noise was not on the recordings previously given to the defense by the government, because I listened to those recordings many times. But, you judge would not do your job by holding a hearing on the motion for new trial and so that you could consider the evidence that the tic-tac noise was added after copies were made for the defense, which evidence proves the government was tampering with the evidence and the recordings were not authentic. May I ask: What does it take to get you to do your job?

F. MR. McALLISTER DID NOT DO HIS JOB.

Mr. McAllister literally missed every opportunity to present the threads of evidence that would have shown the Jury the entire story and proven Agent Sotka was lying on critical points. I do not know what it would have taken for Mr. McAllister to have done his job, but he certainly was preoccupied by his own grief over having taken bankruptcy and the prospect of losing his bar license after 37 years and a distinguished career. At least he was man enough to admit that he was incapable of defending my husband because of his personal problems. Isn’t that what the doctrine of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel is all about? Shouldn’t my husband have a new trial when his own attorney screws up so badly that he can’t even tell the difference between questions and answers, that he starts reading the answer from his preparation sheet, instead of the question? He got so flustered he could barely continue and almost immediately sat down without asking important questions that would have provided valuable evidence. This is what I would call pathetic – and a great travesty of justice. No one can ever say that my husband received a fair trial when his own attorney failed to perform as a trial lawyer – all Mr. McAllister did was show up and rely upon his reflexes developed after 37 years of practice as a veteran, but he did not offer one shred of the evidence available to prove my husband’s innocence. Why wasn’t there a hearing on the question of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel? From the Affidavits there was sufficient evidence to raise the issue to a moral certainty. How is it that the Government has such a strong hold on the court that it can’t seem to make an independent decision and only does what the prosecutor allows it to do? This court knows in its heart that my husband was cheated out of a meaningful defense by an attorney who was about to go under, like a drowning man, he could not help himself because he knew the disbarment was coming, yet he took the money and came to court every day to put on the pretense that he was defending my husband, deluding himself and fooling all of us who were watching. Mr. McAllister should have recognized his predicament and asked for help. The court should order that my husband is entitled to a new trial because his attorney, by his own admission, could not and did not effectively represent him.

F. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE WHALEN

As shown by Ms. Whelan’s malicious attempts to portray me as someone who suffers from “Stockholm Syndrome,” and a slew of other false accusations and insults reveals her lack of ethics, immaturity and ignorance. In fact, no one, outside of the government’s attempt that is, influenced me on what position I was to take, because I had ONLY one interest – THE TRUTH.

Ms. Whelan’s accusation that they couldn’t deal with me because I had an attorney, was not true, either. I did not have an attorney until after June 15th. The attorneys I was calling that weekend, were for my husband, because no matter what the truth was, he had the right to representation. In fact, Agent Sotka knew the night of the 15th as he was giving my car back, that I hadn’t hired an attorney yet, because he advised me that there was no need for me to hire an attorney and told me that if it was his mother in my situation, he would advise her to not hire an attorney; he was using psychological tactics to try and convince me that he cared about me as much as he cared about his mother, which was very unprofessional and manipulative. Where was his care for me in regards to the bomb? Where was his care for me in telling the truth about me?

G. MY MOM

Due to the numerous and serious health issues my mom has suffered the past two years, with cancer and multiple surgeries, including a major bypass for which she is still in recovery for, she is unable to be here. She wanted to be here and was willing to risk her health, but the doctors said “no” and I did too, for this has taken enough of a toll on her already failing health as it is. If she was here, though, she would tell you about the care that Ed always provided generously throughout our marriage, including the month prior to his arrest. The amount of approximately $3,000 that he paid to allow her to have a short sale on her house and be able to stay in it until closing, so she didn’t have to try to move while she was so ill. He did this out of care and respect for her as she was an important part of our family. It is why he had a building site created on our place for a small manufactured home for if and when the day she would choose to move to be with us. His care for my mom is why he supported my trips to Oregon during those 6 months prior to his arrest, and even when he too was in need of care because of all his health issues. So, it was 6 months of going back and forth, tending to the one with the most critical needs for two people who I loved a lot. He knew mom needed help because of her being in and out of the hospital from multiple surgeries. He knew I was working to get her home fixed and sold for her. He knew I was teaching dance at her studio trying to keep her business a float for her, so hopefully she could return to her source of income when she recovered. He knew that it was important for me to spend some time with my mom, because he well understood how hard it would have been on me if she didn’t recover.

Those six month were not easy, but we were making the best of the situation and talking about when I returned home and when he was recovered from his last surgery in May about all the things we wanted to do. Ed even suggested that we take up ballroom dancing as we both had a passion for Dancing with the Stars and other activities we could enjoy together. We talked about finally doing some more traveling and seeing the world. When I wasn’t home, the phone became our best companion and treasured moments such as a card or flowers showing up at my mom’s doorstep for me, from my sweetie. When I was home, our time together was treasured with long talks and just being together. We would have done more, but he was still recovering from all the surgeries he had in those 6 months.

H. CONCLUSION

So a year and a half has brought us to this day where I’m supposed to stand here as a victim… a victim of my husband. How do I do that, when he is not the one that has victimized me. How do I do that, when the only ones I have been victimized by is Larry Fairfax, our own government agents, an overly aggressive woman prosecutor, and yes your honor, even this court system itself with its own prejudices has victimized me. Of course, this means that my husband is a victim as well.

Yet, no matter what I have said here today, there is only one thing that matters. Today, there is great injustice being done. As the alleged victim and the wife of the falsely accused, I have to ask your honor, that a stop is put to this injustice and the court free my husband so he can come home, where he belongs and so our family can be whole again. Otherwise, at least grant him a new trial so he gets a trial that is fair. He is innocent and has wrongly been convicted of crimes he did NOT commit. Otherwise, the court is condemning an innocent man and destroying his family. The court will not only be sentencing an innocent man to what is a death sentence, but it will wrongly be sentencing his children to live without their father and wrongly be sentencing me, his wife, to live without her husband. How am I supposed to see that as justice?

It has been the lies, the misconduct, the violations of my statutory crime victim rights, violations of the constitution, the unfair trial, ineffective assistance of counsel by McAllister and the false conviction that is causing my family to be destroyed, my finances (including retirement savings) to deplete such that I fear bankruptcy and a host of other issues, too long to list here. It is because of all these injustices that has made me a VICTIM!

Your honor, I understand that this court does not honestly know me, and what little is known of me has been under what I consider to be the worst circumstances ever. However, as Agent Sotka well knows, I will go out of my way to always do the morally right thing; as he witnessed when I went out of my way and expense to return an inexpensive pair of reading glasses that I forgot to return after they were loaned to me, but he wouldn’t let that be known because that would portray my good moral character. No, he had to lie about me. Well, fine, because I know who I am and can hold my head up high because I know the only thing I have stood up for is the truth. And if the truth was as the government claims, I wouldn’t be standing up for my husband here today, because as I have said, I will not put my life at risk for anyone. So the reason I’m standing here today, is because I know my husband is innocent and he rightfully should be at home or after all the misconduct, he at the very least deserves a new trial with counsel who can and will present his case.