If you would like to join, feel free to conact me at 508-428-9329.

This blog will remain idle, probably throughout the summer months, while I remind myself why I live in this place which is so beautiful on the surface.

If you want to be notified of any new posts here, I believe you may sign up as a “follower”, and receive a notice by e-mail.

I won’t be checking this blog much, so feel free to contact me in writing with any questions, comments or concerns:

taryn@tarynsmirror.com

My best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy summer.

Today’s Cape Cod Times has reported the matter as a done deal, including a big smiling color picture of Tom Lynch, acting Town Manager at the moment.

Council President goat ass called a special executive session of the town council last Thursday night to con the new councilors into changing their minds about a wide search, monies for which has already been approved.

No reason was given for how the matter was presented, but by the time the meeting was over, the fix was in.  Goat ass claims that now no one will have to “feel rushed” about finding a new town manager. 

Closed door session.  Twelve hour notice to the voters.  Parade of good ole boys already lining up at town hall to sing Lynch’s praises.  I sure feel rushed.  I just found out about this yesterday, purely by accident.

The faces have changed, but the players are the same.  This “new” council has been gang banged, and is now in love with the rapists.  They’re apparently under the delusion that going along to get along with the status quo squad is the best way to do business. 

All the promises of transparency in government to the suckers who thought they were at the top of our town’s imaginary power pyramid are null and void.

There will be no vetting process for the new town manager, because he’s already promised to cover John Klimm’s political debts.  That alone makes him qualified.  It doesn’t matter that Mr. Lynch has been acting manager for all these months and hasn’t conducted an audit yet.  It only matters that Mark Milne gets those 1.8 million dollars worth of capital improvement projects off his books before a permanent manager is hired.

The credibility of the town council is now destroyed, again, and the new devils will regret having sold their souls to trash like joakim and the goat before the summer’s end.  

Disillusioned Barnstable Voters will throw their hands in the air again, and fall back into their apathetic comas, where they won’t have to lie awake at night wondering how people can be so damned evil.

Janice Barton can throw away her thinking cap and Tom Rugo can return to watching the Red Sox on his Iphone during council meetings.  

Barnstable had six glorious months of hope and change.  It needs to stop immediately because Tom Lynch needs a bigger pension, Janet Joakim needs to line up a hack job for one year from the date she terms out, and the parade of the ridiculous people you’ll hear singing Lynch’s praises tonight are tired of waiting for their perks, favors, and pockets otherwise lined.

If you go tonight, you might as well wear black. 

                         RIP transparent Barnstable. 

I’ll finish this post later, but want to get the word out NOW.  OMG WTF???

Curiously, what wasn’t reported was that Bernardo was arrested after being questioned by the Barnstable Police, several hours after the incident occurred:

12:32 pm – Domestic assault and battery was reported, arrest made. Police arrested Thomas Bernardo of 57 Johnny Cake Rd., Centerville for assault and battery domestic violence.

Apparently Bernardo’s male roommate was burning incense in the home at midnight, and an argument ensued. 

The alleged victim waited until the next day to go to the police station, where he claimed Bernardo had shoved him and knocked him to the ground.  Bernardo’s side of the story, according to the police report, is that the man tripped and fell. 

In Massachusetts, police have a mandatory arrest policy  police are strongly encouraged to make an arrest when they are called to a home for alleged domestic violence.   In other instances of assault and battery local police tend to file an application for a complaint and let the magistrate decide whether or not to go forward with a criminal charge. (Edited 2pm May 19, 2012, thanks to correction from “Jack”.)

Due to the highly political nature of the particular (domestic) charge, prosecutors generally pursue these cases, even if the alleged victim has a change of heart.

In other words, Tom Bernardo is in a lot of trouble.

Strangely, were the two men not “roommates”, but neighbors, the exact same set of circumstances would likely be of little interest to local police.

My husband was punched in the face by our rage-aholic neighbor and Janet Joakim’s hero, Ron Howell, and the cops did    n o t h i n g .     Rotten scoundrel about to be fired Robert E. Powers, former chief magistrate of the Barnstable District Court     d e n i e d      an application for a hearing on the assault & battery, even though there were photographs of the injury, a doctor’s report, and a video of the entire confrontation.

Amazingly, not one word about the Bernardo incident was printed in the Barnstable Patriot.

Robert E. Powers’ eight week decision to go forward with bogus harassment charges in my neighborhood dispute was FRONT PAGE NEWS in the Patri-rag some years ago, but the arrest of Tom Bernardo for a violent crime was not mentioned.  It seems David Still is too busy obsessing over whether or not it’s too early for white shoes to print actual relevant news stories these days.

Smarmy Still was tickled pretty pink to post salacious details from the sicko magistrate’s notes, slam my husband and put a color picture of my child in his fish wrap, but didn’t bother to follow up with the witch hunt by watching crazy scary Mary Clements thrown out of the courthouse for witness tampering, or Angry Ron Howell cussing at me from the witness stand in open court, or Christine Howell reciting her pitiful comments from Janet Joakim’s hate blog, or the comments from the judge, calling my actions in the matter ”reasonable”.

All lame brain Still bothered to do for a follow up was have Ed Maroney write a couple of sentences that basically said “not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”, inferring that there was some, but not enough, guilt……on page 3.

There is a special place in hell for David Still, and those of his ilk.

I’ve never heard anything good about Tom Bernardo, and probably wouldn’t like him if I got to know him.   However that doesn’t change the fact that something smells about this story.

Burning incense is a major cause of house fires. 

Why was the roommate/tenant burning incense at midnight?  There’s only one reason that comes to my mind, and that’s to mask the smell of pot.  I’d rather have a roommate smoke dope openly in my house than worry about him being stoned and setting the house on fire with nag champa.

The alleged victim will have a problem explaining why he didn’t call the police at the time of the incident.  If he were truly as frightened as he claimed, why didn’t he either call or go straight to the police department?

I am skeptical of this whole story (all sides), but hope it serves as a warning that you really have to be careful about with whom you share your home.  If the cops are called about violence in your home, they’re going to come with the intent to arrest someone.  Make sure it’s not you, dear reader!

Peace.

The Pledge of Allegiance has been recited at those meetings for the past one hundred and something weeks, but only added in writing to the agenda last week, after vice-chair Melissa Freitag, sitting in for absent chair Mary Pat Flynn, said she’d “rather not” recite the pledge.

In an apparent effort to seize the moment, Freitag recited a poem before getting down to business at the April 23rd meeting:

On average, it only takes about fourteen seconds to say the pledge, so it could hardly be argued that Freitag was worried about time.

It’s easy for some to dismiss the matter as much ado about nothing, but a thousand people rallied on the Falmouth Town Hall Green Monday night in support of the pledge, or in protest of Frietag’s action.

No one is forcing HER to say the plegdge, but why deny the majority of folks who want to spend a whopping 14 seconds reciting America’s nod to “one nation, indivisible, with liberty & justice for all”?

While the incident was only a few seconds long, it should have been longer.  Freitag had the right not to say the pledge herself, but she did not have any right to refuse others from saying it.

The real test of her commitment to her anti-pledge principle would have been if one of her fellow selectmen summoned the genital fortitude to start the pledge without her.  I know a whole lot of people who’d have jumped all over that stunt, but maybe here in Barnstable we’ve seen so much of this bully behavior that we no longer let it slide.

It’s all well and good that the wussbags made a bunch of noise after the fact, but what was going on in their heads (or pants) while they were being bullied by this snooty control freak?

In bully talk, the guys who did not take action to stop Freitag in her bossy tracks are called ”bystanders”. 

Bystanders are different from victims or bullies because they make a decision to stay outside of the situation.  Bullies and victims are directly involved.  These would be Freitag and people at home, screaming at the television.

Bystanders think that avoiding the conflict altogether is in their own best interests.  You can see the heads turn in disbelief on the video, but not one person had the guts to do anything about it.

I’ve seen these fearful bystander types countless times in my dealings with bullies.  Ironically, the first place I saw this behavior around here was when Janice Barton, chair of the “No Place for Hate” committee, ran for the hills when Calvary Baptist Church was vandalized.  It was not in her best political interest to follow the procedure to help the victims, so she simply refused to respond for over a week.  When she finally did respond, she had eliminated the response sub-committe and the accepted protocol to help the victims.  When several members publicly asked her to explain her failure to act, Barton said it was best left unaddressed.  Several members quit after that, saying the committee was “in name only”. 

To this day Barton has never explained her fears about helping the church.  At least Freitag offered a half-assed apology.  She is sorry if she “offended anyone”.  Kind of lame considering there was clearly no “if” to the matter.  She absolutely offended thousands, and now that her story has gone national, it’ll be more like millions.  It doesn’t help that she comes off like a slightly more educated version of Janet Joakim in the video. 

I’ve read all the arguments against reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, at public meetings, etc…, and have filed them in the “get a life” box.  Seriously, if you don’t want to say the pledge, don’t! 

I hope I’m wrong, but if it wasn’t her, she has a twin.   There was no mistaking the court sticker on the back of the car.  Clearly this woman has serious emotional issues, which makes her a perfect fit for a job at a district court that can’t afford to lose a single body, even a crazy one.  If there’s one thing they know all about at BDC, it’s crazy!

By the time I arrived at Barnstable Superior Court (9:45 am), former chief clerk magistrate Robert Powers was again in the witness chair, talking about his suffering from daily injections for Multiple Sclerosis, a neurogenic bladder condition which kept him awake at night, an apparently recent divorce, and some problems with “renters” he was having at a family owned home, for which he is trustee.

Committee prosecutor Bean appropriately pointed out that Powers was conveniently able to immediately learn to handle his problems once charges had been filed against him, and only then was he able to get himself to work on time.

Powers again testified that 99% of the show cause cases were brought by police, and again I was reminded that this figure, like many others, did not exist “pre-Powers”.

Powers claimed that people who called in with health, child care, transportation or other urgent issues were put on the “top of the pile”, and that his relationship with office staff was “pretty good”.    I leaned forward to see if his pants were on fire, but they appeared to be flame resistant.

Asked to characterize his relationship with Chief Justice O’Neill of the Barnstable District Court, Powers called it an “evolving issue”, and submitted that they were probably “too alike”, although he believes they share the same goals at work.  Ugh.  The sum total of what Powers and O’Neill have in common is that they are white men with similar jobs who speak with different regions of a Massachusetts accent. 

There was more testimony from Powers about his “personal and professional baggage”, how he “underestimated the commute” time to get to work for four years, the infamous “upside down day” he was put on leave from his job, and four psychological counseling sessions after which this outrageously abusive tyrant supposedly transformed into an introspective seeker, looking to become “a more complete clerk”. 

And the Academy Award goes to…………somebody else!  Little Bobby Powers is a real bad actor.  I couldn’t help but recall how merciless Powers was in regard to my health problems, and hope that he gets an equal amount of sympathy when his case is reviewed. 

Bean pressed Powers about whether or not he could have figured out how to get to work on time before the hammer came down, and Bobby finally admitteed “I supppose I could have”.

It’s real clear that Bob’s a guy who makes his own rules.  Work hours, deadlines and common courtesy are for the “little people”.   To bring home the point one more time, Bean played another tape of yet another hearing where Powers inserted himself into a case and ignored the law about ex-parte communications.

On April 13th last year, Mrs. Wolf was in court with Best Buy over an issue with her computer.  She was very upset, and told Powers he didn’t have the ability to make himself clear.  Her repeated question “Can I appeal your decisions?” was never answered.  Instead, Powers had Wolf physically removed from the courtroom.

Afterwards Powers could be heard chuckling on the tape, and giving advice to the Best Buy guys on how to handle the matter.

When questioned about the case, Powers recalled all the details, yet he couldn’t remember stuff that happened 30-40 days ago.

As for his screaming, Powers claimed that he had trouble figuring out how the mics worked, and as it turned out, he was right on top of them.  Soooooo, when he was really using his inside voice, the sensitive mics made it sound like he had rasied his voice.  I wondered if his fire retardant pants were also full of cookies from the cookie jar.  Who can’t figure out how or where a microphone functions after four years on the job?

Nearly everyone in the room was clearly trying to keep their facial expressions as blank as possible.   The prosecutor appeared to be trying the hardest, and during a few of the bigger, fatter lies that Powers was telling his attorney from the stand, I caught Bean’s eyes as he looked like he was quietly trying to hold his breath so he wouldn’t laugh or otherwise burst.

Mercifully the lawyers were finished with Bobby by about 10:30, at which point Denise Messier, a licensed social worker who specializes in mental health and substance abuse issues, was called to the stand. 

I’ve never been able to serve on a jury around here because I’ve always known someone – a victim, witness, defendant or cop – involved in the case.  While I wasn’t surprised to see Shelly Nunes had problems with Powers, I was surprised to see Denise.  She’d worked at my doctor’s office in Yarmouth for several years before she started doing evaluations at the court in 2000.  She worked with the mom of one of my employees there, was always courteous and efficient, devoted to her job, and had the respect of everyone in the office. 

Powers was all smiles before Denise took the stand, but as she described his first meeting with her, Bobby’s lips pursed, and he began furiously scribbling notes on his legal pad.

According to Denise, Powers told her, rather than invited her, to come into his office.  Without pleasantries he “sternly” informed her that she was no longer permitted to use the clerk’s office for her meetings, use the office equipment, or have contact with any of his employees.

Messier, who said Powers had “frightened” her, went straight to the judge’s lobby to “express concern” about the new chief magistrate.  As a result she was able to regain use of the office equipment, but nothing else.

A few years later, Powers charged into the office and yelled at Denise “You – Come with me!”.  Once in his office he screamed at her again: “Do you remember what I told you?  I don’t want you in my office!”

Denise, who is a small, frail-ish, gentle woman in her sixties, yelled back “You’re not my boss”.  She testified that she “got scared”, so she “went immediately to the judge’s office” for fear that Powers would follow her if she’d gone downstairs, where she says there’s no security.

Messier further testified that for the rest of that day she was “non-functioning”, and cried “all day long”.  She was not there under subpoena, but there because she feels “he needs to be stopped, and can’t be doing this to people”.

Retired clerk magistrate Richard Dwyer was helped to the witness chair next, accompanied by his oxygen tank.  He described a 40 year career in the court system, much of it as a probation officer.

Shortly after Powers began his reign of terror in Barnstable District Court, he sent a “directive” to Dwyer, who was helping out as a part-time clerk-magistrate, some of which was on a volunteer basis.  According to Dwyer, the directive indicated that he “wasn’t assigned to do anything” other than review arrests, in the clerk’s office.

The directive came at a time when Assistant Clerk Magistrate Ardito was about to go on vacation.  Powers wasn’t aware of it, and before Dwyer could inform him, Bobby screamed “You’re not gonna tell me what to do.  I was appointed by the Governor, and I’m in charge!”.  Dwyer said Powers was screaming at the top of his lungs and waving his hands.

Powers fired Dwyer “due to recent developments” by written notice immediately following his rantapalooza, and demanded the return of all court property, including keys.

Dwyer also did not testify under subpoena.  “I feel I owe it to the clerk’s department.  They’re best served if Mr. Powers isn’t there.” He said matter of factly.

After a short cross examination, Judge W. James O’Neill finally, after sitting through days of testimony, took the stand.

O’Neill was appoionted by Dukakis in 1987.  He served as first justice in Nantucket for 13 years, but as that is a part-time job, he also worked as what he described a “road kill”, roving around district courts in southern Massachusetts. 

Just as the islanders were forming “multiple petitions” calling for O’Neill’s removal from the bench, he was appointed first justice of the Barnstable District Court.  (See http://www.ack.net/JudgeONeill020107.html)

I’ve watched O’Neill a handful of times in Barnstable, and for the most part believe he’s done a reasonably decent job trying to fill the giant shoes of his predecessor, Judge Joseph Reardon. 

It’s possible O’Neill could have been doing a better job if he wasn’t wasting so much time fielding complaints about Powers, or documenting Bobby’s bad behaviors for Chief of Operations Phil McCue.

O’Neill lives a 1/4 mile from the court, and said he gets there, “generally speaking”, between 8:45-9:00 am, and testified that Powers, whose parking space he could see from his office window, rarely got to work before 9:45, because he felt “he didn’t have to keep regular court hours”.

O’Neill made a credible witness, answered questions directly, with a seemingly appropriate amount of consideration.  He didn’t appear to have a personal gripe with Powers, but did seem desperate to have a competent Clerk Magistrate working with him – not for him or beneath him – but with him as much as possible.

In May of 2011, O’Neill took a picture of Powers’ desk filled with files “piled high beyond description” and sent it to McCue.    He also documented arrival times of Powers over a period of a couple of weeks before sending them “up to mission control”.  When he didn’t call in sick, which seemed to be a lot, Powers arrived generally around 9:45, and O’Neill e-mailed the info to McCue, using his personal e-mail address.

I don’t see what the big deal is about using his personal e-mail, but some point was apparently being made, as O’Neill disclosed the address in open court.  Send me eight billion dollars, and it’s yours!

O’Neill described his confrontations with Powers, which always included Powers screaming, denials,  blaming everyone else, his “reddened” face, and the always “You’re not the boss of me!” response he gave to anyone who tried to resolve anything ever with naughty Bobby.  In every case but one, O’Neill said he was “unable to calm him down”.

From his testimony, it was clear that the judge knew Powers was a bully, but he didn’t know how to handle him.

By his own admission, O’Neill knew that Powers was effectively crippiling the ability of his court to function.  He’d fired the mediators, who worked for free and dealt with most of the landlord/tenant cases, failed to make timely deposits, failed to implement the new 209A form, intentionally failed to send notices when “no issuance” of a charge would be filed in criminal complaints (denying possibility of timely appeal), arbitrarily eliminated Messier and the “pretty profound function” she had with the court, and was absent during the most critical time of the day, compromising the “administration of justice” for the people whose tax dollars pay for the services of the court.

This didn’t go on for a few days or a week like it may have for the rest of us in the real world before we were fired.  This went on for four and a half years, and O’Neill witnessed nearly all of it.  He knew Powers didn’t record a lot of his hearings, so that there’d be no empirical evidence of what happened to many of his victims who aren’t the subject of this hearing.

I never filed a formal complaint against Powers, although both my husband and I had plenty of cause.  I knew Powers was a sick puppy, but also knew that my complaints would be dismissed as “crazy” or “sour grapes”, because the power of chief clerk magistrate trumps every single person who walks through the doors of that courthouse.  No one has proved that reality better than Robert E. Powers.

However even though O’Neill was not “the boss” of Powers, he has just as much access to those who are.  Why didn’t O’Neill act sooner?  After all, Powers began chopping heads almost immediately upon his arrival in Barnstable. 

What about after the hiring freeze in 2008?  O’Neill knew that Powers was an explosive guy, and whomever was next on the chopping block would not be replaced.   Any “proud traditions” Barnstable District Court may have had were rent pretty quickly after Powers first busted through the doors.

This may not be the ultimate bully story, but it’s right up there with the biggies.  I was afraid I might do or say something regrettable, so I left when they broke for lunch, and will probably not return.  I’ve heard enough.

As I was leaving, Denise Messier was sobbing into Judge O’Neill’s suit, clearly shaken by having to stand up to her bully again. 

After lunch the prosecution estimated they’d have another half hour with Judge O’Neill, and would rest.

The defense will call a few clerk magistrates and a state trooper before they rest, probably tomorrow.  After that the presiding judge will make a recommendation and “kick it up to mission control”, who will decide what to do with Barnstable’s bully Bobby, baggage and all.

I’ve read stories about this guy (http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Investigations/Investigative-Reports/2011/Spring/Reigning-supreme.aspx  and http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/undercover/court-official-hidden-away-20110519), and was not surprised when he admitted that he and Powers are friends.  They are two in a club of 62 Massachusetts magistrates who were appointed by a governor, confirmed by the useless Governor’s council, have no retirement age, and, according to according to Mary-Ellen Manning of the Governor’s council, will get a paycheck as long as they ”have a pulse”. 

Hogan called Powers a “decent guy” involved in an “unfortunate incident” who “needs to get to work on time”.  He characterized the blowout Powers had with Barnstable District Court First Justice Judge James O’Neill as “excitable”, and said he followed Powers when he stormed out of the office and advised him to go back in and take a “calm approach”.

Hogan claimed both men “were passionate” , that the meeting “went well” and that Mr. Powers had changed his performance “significantly for the better” after the meeting.  Pal Hogan also claimed that he did, “without hesitation”, believe that Powers could effectively perform his duties in Barnstable if reinstated to the chief magistrate’s position.

Defense attorney Peter Haley did a good job objecting to alleged attempts to introduce character and hearsay evidence by rattling off the statues from memory.  I sure hope Powers is paying a fortune for the guy.  Except for the occasional furrowed brow, I never saw him look uncomfortable.

Hogan was asked about his opinion of retired magistrate Richard Dwyer, who used to help out in Barnstable.   He said: “I would fire Dwyer” and tell him his services were “no longer necessary”.  Dwyer is expected to testify sometime next week.

Chirigotis showed up around 1pm, about the time the headliner took the stage.   The power went out about twenty minutes later, and Powers and the goat were all smiles and joked about a hamster in a wheel.  What is it about scumbags and jokes about hamsters in Barnstable, anyway?

I’d wondered how Powers, a former prosecutor, would choose to comport himself while on the witness stand.  One would think that the best way to “play it” would be to act respectful, answer directly, and create an image that the matter was indeed ”unfortunate”, but Powers amazingly decided to play it “cute”.   

For example, Bean asked Powers if he’d read the cannons of professional responsibility before starting as clerk magistrate, and Powers claimed he couldn’t recall if he’d read it.

“You’re aware that the busiest time in district court is between 8:30 and 9:30 in the morning, aren’t you?”  Powers replied in a barely audible voice, “Not necessarily”. 

Frustrated, Bean said “There are no trick questions here”, and kept pulling out the deposition from a month ago.

This went on for hours.  Bean would ask a question and Powers would reply with stuff like “you’re asking broad questions”, “I need you to be more specific”, “I don’t recall”, “I’m not sure”, “honestly, I don’t remember”, until the special prosecutor finally asked the judge to declare Powers an “adverse witness”, which he did.

I don’t think there’s any difference between the more familiar “hostile witness” and an adverse witness, but the latter is defined as:

 “technically an “adverse witness” in a trial who is found by the judge to be hostile (adverse) to the position of the party whose attorney is questioning the witness, even though the attorney called the witness to testify on behalf of his/her client.

Powers claimed he did not terminate magistrate Dwyer, but the prosecution produced a letter from 2007 in which he stated: “therefore I’m terminating your relationship with this office”. 

Asked if he had been told to get to work on time (8:30 am) by Judge Minehan in 2007, Judge Connolly in 2009, and Judge O’Neill in 2009, Powers repeatedly played the “I don’t recall” card.

Bean would repeat, rephrase, and redirect his questions, and Powers was intentionally vague and cute with his answers, like: “I’m confused”, or “I don’t understand the question”.

It was very much like grilling my ten year old kid about the empty bag of cookies on the kitchen counter – exhausting!

Mr. Bean was showing signs of fatigue.  He’d started sweating and his face had reddened.  Powers had forced him to refer to his deposition statements to choke the answer out of him with nearly every question, and he had to be careful because Haley had sucessfully objected to the use of the deposition as testimony, rather than to “impeach” testimony.

Powers did admit that he “may have” raised his voice to O’Neill when he stressed the importance of getting to work on time.

He also admitted that he said “words to the effect” that “I was appointed by the Governer, and I’ll do what I want with MY office”.

After the hiring freeze of 2008, one of the Barnstable Magistrates (Ardito) was appointed to Orleans district court.  Powers had fired Dwyer and the mediators, and wasn’t coming in until well after the morning rush.  This left a great burden on the staff of the clerk’s office and the only remaining magistrate, Marion Broiderick.

Powers was suspended on May 27, 2011, but in February 2012, maintained “multiple times” that the need for him to get to work on time was “debatable”.

As for time standards in rendering decisions taken under advisement, Powers was all huh? and what? and fumbling with papers.  He even tried to blame all the lousy paperwork on the staff stating “I don’t know what clerks do after I hand them the files”, and “my office does it”.

When getting down to the facts that Powers took as long as a YEAR to give a decision, and that he asked his clerk Sarah Bach to backdate the file,  Powers kept it up with: “I’m confused.”  “You’re talking generalities.”  “You use one language, I use another.” “You need to rephrase.” “I’m still confused.”  “I don’t know if that’s true.” “That’s kind of a trick question.” “I’m confused.”  “I’m still confused.”

At that point it didn’t really matter if Powers was guilty of all the charges or not.  Anyone not able to remember things that happened a month ago, and not able understand a simple direct question fifty times in a row does not belong in a position of such great responsibility as clerk magistrate.

When asked if he’d handled about 20,000 cases during his tenure in Barnstable, Powers said he hadn’t done calculations in his head, but it was “a wad of cases”.

It turns out that 40% of small claims cases are defaults, which means they get stamped by his assistant and sent upstairs without him having to do a thing.

When asked about show cause hearings, Powers testified that “99% of them are presented by police departments”.   

If that is true, then it’s because Powers REFUSED to hear complaints brought by citizens, and this is another example of abuse of power that Powers has apparently gotten away with.

Theoretically anyone is supposed to be able to go to the district court and file a complaint for a magistrate’s hearing.  In fact, there are many instances when police will advise you to take out your own charges, especially with assaults they did not personally witness.

Powers refused to grant me a hearing when Janet Joakim’s punk husband, whom I’d never met, followed me from my house in Marstons Mills, to the bank, the CVS and finally in and around Shaw’s market in Hyannis, and threatened me in front of my son. 

Powers also refused to grant hearings about the neighbors, including an assault and a false police report, for which we had video evidence.

When dragged into hearings initiated by lying and beholding pigs of the Barnstable Police Department, Powers refused to look at evidence that impeached the testimony of the bullies in the hood.

At least that part of our nightmare finally made sense, Powers not only had contempt for “black people”, he had contempt for anyone not represented by the cops, and refused to hear their cases.  

Before Powers, anyone could acuse anyone of anything, and at least be granted a hearing.  This was especially necessary before the harassment law of 2010, because the only way to stop a person who was not somehow related to you from harassing you was to file suit in Superior Court.  Most folks don’t have the money for protracted civil suits, so a charge of criminal harassment was the only avenue to stop stalkers up to that time.

Powers was asked about taking so long to decide criminal complaint hearings taken under advisement. “Dont you think defendants might lose sleep over being charged with a crime?” asked Bean.  “I don’t know”, replied the coiffed ,suited, pathologically lying narcissist.

When Powers decided against issuing probable cause to a criminal complaint, he had a standing order in the office that no notice be sent.  By not giving notice, Powers denied possibility of appeals, as they are time sensitive.

It occurs to me that one person who should be testifying in this case is Sgt. Aurthur Caiado of the Barnstable Police Department.  He worked closely with Powers and had to have seen the little Napoleon in action.  If he does not testify, a fair question is “why not?”.

It’s clear that Powers liked inserting himself into trials, as the prosecution played several tapes of him badgering witnesses and attorneys.   

As the afternoon wore on, some of the witnesses from the clerk’s office who’d testified previously, including Shelley Nunes, arrived to hear what their former boss had to say.

Powers repeatedly referred to the day he was suspended as an “upside down day”, whatever the hell  that means.  He later said ”I was off my game that day”, and “It was the most confusing and unsettling days of my life”.  I’m always amazed when bullies are shocked when they’re called on their behavior.

Justice Connollly provided Powers with contact information for a councilor, and he testified he sought counseling for his “personal and professional baggage”.

Powers admitted to writing a four page letter to Connolly regarding a complaint about calling a guy “crazy”.   In part he stated “I know you think it’s a big deal, but I disagree”.  He signed it “Bobby Powers”.

I looked over at Judge O’Neill a few times, as he spent the entire afternoon listening to little lord lying face and never emitted a sound or expression in five and a half hours.  I am really looking forward to his testimony.

There were more stories, more lies,  and more feigned confusion.

At some point throughout his communications with Judge Connolly about his behavior issues Powers wrote “Do you really believe that a leopard can change its spots?”.   When questioned about it Powers said “It’s getting late and my mind’s not as quick as it was two hours ago”.

Wanting to wrap up, Bean asked Powers if he were able to return to Barnstable District Court as a clerk magistrate and not removed, he’d be free to run the office knowing he could do whatever he wants, wouldn’t he? Powers claimed he was losing his concentration, but ultimately answered “I think I’d be a better magistrate and do a great job”.  

On my way out of the courtroom I had to get past Shelley Nunes, who chose to sit next to me rather than any of the dozen or so empty chairs in the room.  She was telling a woman the story about working for me over 20 years ago, when I had the audacity to ask her to do some work for her paycheck.  It’s been over two decades, and poor Shelley hasn’t changed her spots.

The next hearing is April 10th, and Mr. Bean said he expects the matter to last three or four days.  Judge O’Neill is scheduled to be the next witness. 

It appears spotty Bobby is trying to sell the court on the idea that he suffered from “emotional baggage”, but he’s all better now and ready to return to work.  If his goal was to convince the court that he is recovered from “emotional problems” that caused his abuse, then Powers failed.

Playing semantic games to wear down the prosecutor also wore on the  retired Judge Gordon Doerfer.  Powers has insulted the intelligence and the integrity of every facet of the Massachusetts court system.  He’s still doing it, which means he’ll continue to do it if he’s allowed to keep his job under any circumstances. 

Little Bobby Powers still thinks he can beat the system.  A person who’d truly found the error of his ways would have shown more respect for the very process that keeps six figures rolling in his bank account every year.    Bobby’s not interested.  Most bullies aren’t interested in having conversations that resolve differences. They are interested in gaining power over another person. 

Rather than answering simple questions with simple answers, little Bobby used his skills as a former prosecutor turned abusive magistrate to make the prosecutor jump through his hoops, and drag everyone in the courtroom through his childish games.  Bullies don’t often change, leopards don’t change their spots, and sinister clerk magistrates with too much power are only interested in more power……especially Powers.

Most folks in the courtroom were either reporters, witnesses or parties to the matter.   There did not appear to be a single person in support of Powers, but there were at least half a dozen women from the clerk’s office of the district court summoned to testify against him.

I’m not sure what Mr. Doane’s reasons are for omitting much of the more interesting testimony from yesterday’s hearing, but I suspect it has to do with the freakonomics of the Cape Cod Times/editors. http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120329/NEWS/203290323

Powers took notes throughout most of the witness testimony, and often handed them off to his attorney before cross examination.

Most of the witness testimony would be considered highly credible by just about anyone, and while all of the witnesses had worked in the courthouse for several years, few had ever testified in court before.  Most admitted to being nervous because they were uncomfortable testifying against “the boss”.

Most of the witnesses were long time (roughly 20 year) employees of the clerk’s office.  All testified that they found the magistrate’s behaviors “embarassing”, and several gave their versions of the time Powers screamed at retired clerk magistrate Richard Dwyer, who left after the incident and never returned.

“I am the clerk magistrate, and this is MY office!” is what he allegedly yelled at Dwyer, before he chased him out of the courthouse.

Another recurring testimony was about how Power’s screamed at the kindly old volunteer mediators in small claims court.  Powers actually fired the volunteers because they couldn’t take cases after a certain time in the afternoon.  The defense attorney was able to record the fact that Powers rehired the volunteers, shortly after he was initially disciplined last year.

A social worker named Denise Messier used to work out of Powers’ office to talk with clients, but Bobby also had a blowout with her and declared at the top of his lungs that she was “not allowed” in the clerk’s office, and instructed the clerk cashiers to charge her for copies.

When asked to describe the tantrum Powers had with Messier, one of the younger clerks stated “I just remember -the angry voice-”.

Clerks spoke of endless complaints from litigants who often said “he wouldn’t let me speak”.

Powers usually took matters from hearings “under advisement”, meaning he would look over the evidence or lack thereof, and render a written decision after the hearing.  Witnesses testified that other magistrates would generally render such decisions in a day or even the same day, while Powers would take anywhere from a month to a year!

A civil department clerk  testified that Powers would regularly ask her to call lawyers from particular cases and ask them what happened during hearings several months earlier.  Embarassed to make such calls, the clerk said she’d pull out the recording, review the hearings herself, and often heard Powers abuse witnesses, calling them “stupid” and being otherwise agressive and “aggravated”. 

Powers asked a clerk to back date files to cover up the fact that they’d been laying around his office for up to a year, but the system didn’t allow it.

He sat mostly expressionless throughout Wednesday’s hearing,  but did turn his head ninety degrees to meet my gaze three times.  He appeared to be trying to register my identity but I don’t think it clicked. 

The special prosecutors asked each witness whether or not they liked Powers as a person, and if they thought he was an effective magistrate.  They all said he was not effective, but oddly, all but one said they liked him as a person.  This was particularly strange coming from the retired office worker who testified that she felt Powers was “prejudiced” against “black” people, and told a story about the day she promised a man desperate to be on time to meet his mentally challenged child at the bus, that she would have the magistrate hear his case first.  She informed Powers that the man was quite anxious that his son would be alone at the bus stop, and she personally asked him to please put the man first.  Powers grabbed the file and stuck it at the bottom of the pile. 

That same clerk, who has since retired, also testified that she was embarassed by Powers, kept her “head low” to avoid being “next”, was often nervous, frightened, uncomfortable, walking on eggshells, and felt Powers was “bad for morale” in the office.  Yet she “liked him as a person”?  How does that work?

Apparently the prosecutors wanted to avoid the perception of a “vendetta” or that the problems with Powers were anything less than professional.  However it appeared staged and insincere, and I don’t understand why the issue of “liking” him or not had anything to do with his obvious incompetence and abuse of power.

The judge called for a shortened lunch break – about 40 minutes.  I had to run to the scout shop in Yarmouth to pick up a few badges, and returned to the courtroom about ten minutes into criminal case liason Shelley Nunes’ testimony.  I’m not sure what her title is, but she’s basically another one of the secretaries in the clerk’s office of the district court. Nunes is a poster child for unfirable public employees.

Shelley was a regular customer in the early days of my shop, and one day about twenty something years ago, she applied to work nights in my store.  I felt she was a good fit because she didn’t need the paycheck (she had her day job at the courthouse) as much as she wanted the employee discount on jewelry.

Unlike the college kids who would do just about anything for a paycheck, Shelley needed constant cigarette breaks, and insisted on leaving the store for half an hour every four hours, which presented a security issue, especially at night.  There was a long list of tasks around the store that Shelley simply refused to do (mostly cleaning and organizing), and on busy summer nights with customers jammed in every corner of the store, I’d find Shelley in a chair complaining about her aching back.

After a few weeks of suffering her endless sense of entitlement and criticism, Shelley came into my office with a woman I’d never met and gave me her notice, effective immediately.  She accused me of belittling and abusing her by asking her to dust the shelves, and her “friend” appeared to be there to witness my response.

The accusation came as a complete surprise, but I was so relieved to be rid of her that I profusely apologized, handed her the final paycheck, and wished her all the best.

The years have not been kind to Shelley, who we knew as ”Robin” at the shop.  She still smokes, has put on about fifty or sixty pounds, and her victim mentality has eroded what little personality she had 20 years ago.

Ten minutes into her testimony Shelley was sobbing that Powers had belittled her, made her feel inadequate, degraded, and she subsequently suffered stomach problems, sleepless nights, loss of appetite, and crying jags before work in the morning.

Late in 2007 Powers told Shelly to take a demotion or “there’s the door”.  After consulting with her union representative, Nunes said she took the demotion on January 25, 2008, which happened to be her birthday. 

Knowing how crippling the chip on Shelley’s shoulder is, I couldn’t help but wonder WHY the special prosecutors bothered to put her on the stand.

The Times reporter failed to mention that on cross-examination Nunes admitted to filing complaints against Magistrate Eldredge, fellow office workers Lopez, Howland, Dunning, Fein, and so many others that she didn’t recall them all.

Nunes also testified that she went to Powers at some point and told him that staff members were “conspiring against him”.

When asked if she “liked” Powers, Shelley said “I respect him”.

WHAT THE HELL?????????

Barbara Winslow, a retired 22+ year veteran of the clerk’s office testified later that she believes “Shelley Nunes is a troubled individual”, and she tried to avoid her.  Smart lady.

It’s pretty clear that Powers is a psychopath, and despite the outrageous amount of power he has as a magistrate, I believe he will be put out to pasture, with or without his pension.

The most disturbing element of this story is that Powers got away with so much for so long. 

It appears his defense will be that he was under some sort of stress for awhile, but he’s better now, blah, blah, blah.  I sure hope the powers ruling on Powers don’t buy that load.

Crazy gets medication, it doesn’t get better.  Powers is a scary, crazy, rapid-fire synapse brained, perfectly manicured, cufflinked, slick, wise-guy, southy, son-of-a-bitch who has destroyed the credibility of the court system for countless individuals.

My family  was put through unnecessary hardship because of this magistrate’s perverse sadism.   My world view forever changed because of it.  I don’t believe in real justice anymore.  Even if Powers loses his job, little will change.  There are 62 more clerk magistrates where he comes from with equally stupid amounts of power which they are free to abuse with little fear of consequence.  They don’t have to be fair, they just have to be slightly more polite than Powers.

Barnstable District Court Chief Justice James O’Neill is scheduled to testify at today’s hearing, which is supposed to begin at noon.  Powers’ attorney is flying in from Florida, and may or may not make it.  

I wonder if Jim O’Neill likes Bob Powers as a person……

I decided to take a ride over to the courthouse and sit in on a few minutes of the proceedings.  Minutes turned to hours, and I was there all afternoon.

Family business is my priority tonight, but by early tomorrow morning I should have some of the crazy details posted.

For the moment let me assure you that Robert E. Powers is a mean old bully, who has thrown away “the job of a lifetime” with both hands.

Here he is today, on his way down….. and out.