Whitman will face challenge on immigration issue in California general election

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Now that Meg Whitman has won Tuesday's Republican primary for California governor, the former eBay chief will have to figure out how to navigate an issue that was foisted on her in her effort to secure the nomination: illegal immigration.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, her Republican opponent, was making headway among conservative voters by casting her as too liberal on the issue. She regained support by fighting back, saying that she opposes amnesty and will be "tough as nails" on those without papers.

It is a dicey issue in California, which has fought this battle before. In 1994, voters approved a controversial referendum that would have denied services to illegal immigrants. The measure was thrown out by the courts. Those old battle lines still exist, and Whitman will have to soften her rhetoric to avoid provoking the wrath of groups that vociferously opposed the 1994 proposition.

But she will also have to face those voters who took her at her word that she would take a hard line similar to that of Arizona's governor.

"It's time that politicians accepted the facts instead of trying to be liked by everyone," said Lorraine Kirsch, 61, a retired sales representative from Bakersfield. Migrant labor is a mainstay in this agricultural community and the industry has attracted legal and illegal workers. "I like to see them working. However, I don't like to see them milking the system."

The sentiment was equally strong three hours south in Newport Beach, an upscale community without a strong immigrant presence. "We're drowning under the weight of it right now," said Virginia Wilcox, 55, a retired teacher and nurse. "It's real nice around here but if you go over to Costa Mesa or Santa Ana, you think you're in T.J.," she added, referring to Tijuana.

Whitman will also be under pressure from immigrant advocacy groups, and some say they are reserving judgment on Whitman because she did not come across as stridently on the issue as Poizner. "With Poizner we knew he was a lost cause," said Jorge-Mario Cabrera, spokesman for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. "Whitman is trying to sound like a tough Republican but she's gone back and forth so you can't really believe her."

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Police: Traffic stop yields Yaris full of pot plants, 5th DWI arrest for driver

BOSCAWEN – Officers pulled over a 2009 Toyota Yaris on Monday night for a taillight infraction and discovered the driver had been drinking and the car was jam-packed with 51 marijuana plants, according to police.
Edouard Starbuck, 54, of Hyannis, Mass., was charged with DWI, two counts of manufacturing a controlled drug and one count of transportation of a controlled drug.

STARBUCK
Police Chief Sean Sweeney said this is Starbuck's fifth DWI arrest. He has four prior DWI convictions dating back to 1990 and six previous convictions on drug-related offenses dating back to 1986. He said Starbuck was convicted in Boston Federal Court in 1997 of possession with the intent to distribute.
Sweeney said Starbuck's car was packed with 8 to 9 boxes containing 51 marijuana plants "in the beginning stages of growth," as well as a large amount of cultivating equipment including plastic growing pots, heat lamps and a five-gallon bucket of manure.


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Jefferson gets 40 hours of service for DWI guilty plea

Timberwolves star Al Jefferson must perform 40 hours of community service and participate in a one-day drunken driving seminar for his guilty plea to misdemeanor drunken driving Thursday.

Lawyer Emanuel Serstock entered the plea on behalf of Jefferson, who wasn't required to attend the hearing in front of Hennepin County Judge Mel Dickstein.

The judge sentenced the Wolves center to 30 days in jail, but he won't have to serve the time if he performs the community service, attends the seminar and stays out of trouble. He also must pay a $300 fine.

Jefferson was arrested at 1:08 a.m. on Feb. 28, just three hours after he scored 19 points in a Wolves loss to Portland. Jefferson, who earned $12 million last season, had to sit out two games, which cost him about $293,000 in lost wages.

He immediately apologized to team owner Glen Taylor, his teammate and fans. "I made a very poor decision and I am truly sorry for that," he said.

Jefferson was pulled over for speeding as he left downtown Minneapolis, heading west on Interstate 394, after a trooper clocked his Range Rover traveling 56 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone, said State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske. The trooper also reported observing the car drifting left over the edge of the lane, then changing to the center lane without signaling, prompting him to pull over the car.

Roeske said Jefferson was alone and cooperative, but failed a field sobriety test and a breath test registered above the .08 blood- alcohol content legal limit. He was taken to jail where he was booked on the misdemeanor charge. A blood test revealed his alcohol level at .12 percent.

A fourth-degree DWI is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, but first-time offenders such as Jefferson generally receive lighter sentences.

In 2000, Wolves forward Malik Sealy was killed when a drunken driver crashed into his car going the wrong way on Hwy. 100 in St. Louis Park.


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Attorney General Eric Holder Praises Nation’s Drug Courts

Holder’s speech followed moving comments from successful Drug Court graduates who told the packed audience the story of their addiction, involvement with the criminal justice system and ultimate restoration in Drug Court. Holder called them a “testament” to the fact that Drug Courts significantly reduce crime and save the criminal justice system money.

The economic benefit of the nation’s 2,400 Drug Courts was a central theme of the day. Drug Court’s save communities from $3,000 up to $13,000 per participant. Holder said that if Drug Courts were expanded to serve every individual in the criminal justice system who qualifies, the savings would exceed $1 billion a year. “It is time to determine how we will put Drug Courts within reach of every individual who needs the program,” he said.

In introducing Holder, Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson said that the rise of Drug Courts over the last twenty-one years has “changed the way we think about criminal justice” and initiated a “movement toward collaboration, community engagement and accountability.”

“Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson and Attorney General Eric Holder are true champions of Drug Courts,” said NADCP CEO West Huddleston. Their leadership and innovation have advanced the notion that our criminal justice system can be a solution for those who desperately need treatment for addiction. After two decades of research, it has never been clearer that Drug Courts are this country’s most successful strategy for restoring lives, reuniting families and making communities safer. The incredible graduates we heard from today represent only a fraction of the one million individuals whose lives have been saved by Drug Court. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals and the 27,000 Drug Court graduates we represent, stand with the Attorney General in support of putting a Drug Court within reach of every American in need.”

NADCP’s 16th Annual Training Conference will run through Saturday, June 5.

About The National Association of Drug Court Professionals
It takes innovation, teamwork and strong judicial leadership to achieve success addressing drug-using offenders in a community. That’s why since 1994 the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) has worked tirelessly at the national, state and local level to create and enhance Drug Courts, which use a combination of accountability and treatment to compel and support drug-using offenders to change their lives.

Now a national movement, Drug Courts are the shining example of what works in the justice system. Today, there are over 2,300 Drug Courts operating in the U.S., and another thirteen countries have implemented the model. Drug Courts are widely applied to adult criminal cases, juvenile delinquency and truancy cases, and family court cases involving parents at risk of losing custody of their children due to drug abuse. Drug Court improves communities by successfully getting offenders off drugs and stopping drug-related crime, reuniting broken families, intervening with juveniles before they embark on a debilitating life of addiction and crime, and reducing impaired driving.

Now 20 years since the first Drug Court was founded in Miami/Dade County, Florida, more research has been published on the effects of Drug Courts than on virtually all other criminal justice programs combined. The scientific community has put Drug Courts under a microscope and concluded that Drug Courts significantly reduce drug abuse and crime and do so at less expense than any other justice strategy. NADCP has further championed new generations of the Drug Court model. These include Veteran’s Treatment Courts, Reentry Courts, and Mental Health Courts, among others. Veteran’s Treatment Courts, for example, are adapting to the needs of our heroes from the armed services, who sometimes have difficulty adjusting to civilian life or coping with combat-related stress, and may become involved with the justice system due to substance abuse or mental illness. Rather than ignore their plight, Veteran’s Treatment Courts provide the treatment and structure they need to resume productive lives. Reentry Courts assist individuals leaving our nation’s jails and prisons to succeed on parole and avoid a recurrence of drug abuse and crime. And Mental Health Courts monitor those with mental illness who find their way into the justice system.

Today, the award-winning NADCP is the premier national membership, training, and advocacy organization for Drug Courts, representing over 27,000 multi-disciplinary Drug Court professionals. NADCP hosts the largest annual training conference on drugs and crime in the nation and provides 130 training and technical assistance events each year through its professional service branches, the National Drug Court Institute and the National Center for DWI Courts. NADCP also publishes numerous scholastic and practical publications critical to the ongoing growth and fidelity of the Drug Court model. NADCP works tirelessly in the media, on Capitol Hill, and in state legislatures to transform the American justice system through policy, legislation, and appropriations.


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Fatal DUI nets 18 years for Myrtle Beach woman

CONWAY -- When Donna Sheedy pleaded guilty Thursday to DUI in the death of motorcyclist Kenneth Temple, she told his family she knows the pain she caused because a drunken driver killed her brother while he was riding a motorcycle.
"I have some understanding of how the family feels. I feel so sorry that it happened," the 61-year-old Myrtle Beach woman said during the hearing on the charge of felony driving under the influence. "It's terrible. I made a very bad decision. I can't bring him back, and I have to live with that."
Temple, 47, from Centereach, New York, was killed May 15 while riding with family and friends on S.C. 544 near the Boardwalk shopping complex during the Harley-Davidson Cruisin' the Coast spring rally.
Police said Sheedy was eastbound in a Mitsubishi when she crossed the center line into the westbound lanes and struck Temple, his nephew who was riding another motorcycle and then a pickup truck. At the hospital a blood sample showed Sheedy's blood alcohol content was 0.27, assistant solicitor Scott Graustein said. The legal blood alcohol limit is .08.
Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Culbertson sentenced Sheedy to 18 years in prison and ordered her to pay a $25,100 fine. She must report to jail by 9 a.m. March 4 to begin serving the sentence. Sheedy, who also had a DUI conviction in 2007, faced between one to 25 years in prison.
"It was hoped she would've learned her lesson at that point," Graustein said of her prior conviction.
"This was a horrific felony DUI. This is the poster case for felony DUI."
Temple's family said they were sad that it took Temple's death to make Sheedy change. Sheedy's friends said during the hearing she now helps the elderly and volunteers at her church.
"She would have never gone to lengths to help others if it hadn't occurred," Temple's mother, Regina Temple, said after the hearing. "We're happy with the outcome. It's well deserved."
Sheedy moved to the area from Boston in 2000 and retired in 2005 after 36 years as an engineer, and opened a restaurant along the Grand Strand.
She clasped her hands together and kept her eyes shut as several of Kenneth Temple's family members spoke during Thursday's hearing. They included Temple's fiancee, Carol Schultz, who had dinner with him before the crash. The couple was set to marry this year.
Richard Temple, Kenneth Temple's brother, told the judge that most of his family members ride motorcycles and they have not recovered from his loss. Family members sobbed in the courtroom during the hearing.
"Kenny made me what I am today because of the competition between us. I need a big brother to push me," Richard Temple said.
Both men joined the military, volunteered at their local fire departments, rode motorcycles and were raising their families.
Kenneth Temple's 19-year-old daughter, Christina Temple, told Culbertson she cannot express her anger toward Sheedy for killing her father.
"He did nothing to deserve to be taken from us. He was doing what he loved, and she took him away," she said. "I know no amount of sentence will ever bring my dad back, but it will keep her off the street so no other family will have to suffer as mine has."
Matt Temple, Kenneth Temple's 17-year-old son, told the judge his father will be missed at important life events such as graduations, weddings and for grandchildren.
"My father was a firefighter, a Marine and he was my hero," Matt Temple said before he read a poem about being at a concert and learning of his dad's death.
Sheedy's attorney, Russell Long, said he and Sheedy are sympathetic to Kenneth Temple's family.
"I know she is truly remorseful. My heart goes out to that family and I know her heart goes out to them as well," Long said. "It's a very difficult day for Donna, but she understands it's a more difficult day for the family."
Long said Sheedy pleaded guilty because it was the first opportunity she had to give Kenneth Temple's family a resolution to the case.
"She has accepted responsibility for the crime. The destruction of a family is something she doesn't take lightly," Long said. "When Donna left her home on this particular day she did not intent to kill anybody. There was no malice, no hate, no intention accompanied her crime. It was an accident. An accident for which she is very sorry for."



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Home confinement ordered for DUI suspect with 5 prior convictions

WAREHAM — A judge has ordered home confinement, GPS monitoring and alcohol testing for Carlos J. Owen Jr., a five-time OUI offender arrested Christmas Eve on charges of driving drunk and injuring three people after crashing into their vehicle on Cranberry Highway.

Owen, 51, will only be allowed to leave his Bourne home to go to work. His son will have to drive him to and from work as Owen’s driver’s license was revoked for life this week by the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

During a dangerousness hearing Thursday in Wareham District Court, Assistant District Attorney Catherine Ham asked Judge Beverly J. Cannone to hold Owen without bail for 90 days as the dangerousness statute allows.

Ham said Owen’s five prior drunken driving conditions and his initial denials last week to police that he was involved in an accident demonstrated that bail and release conditions were not enough to ensure the community’s safety.

“He will endanger the safety of others if he is out,” Ham said.

Defense lawyer Jack Atwood asked for a “modest” bail, and highlighted testimony Thursday from Owen’s son that the defendant always reports to work on time and sober.

Cannone ordered Owen to home confinement with GPS monitoring, and allowed him to leave his house from 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during the week to go to work.

Owen, who owns a painting business and works with his son, must also provide the court with his weekly work schedule and can only leave his house during the weekends for work. He also cannot drink alcohol and will be tested regularly at home with a breathalyzer connected to the Probation Department’s computer system.

Owen’s son, Jarrod Shiek, said Thursday that until recently he had not known how many prior drunken driving offenses his father had. Shiek said he had seen his father drink on occasion, but never heavily, and that he had never shown up to work drunk.

“He drinks, but I didn’t see it as a problem,” Shiek said. “I’ve never seen him go out and get smashed.”

According to court records, Owen’s five prior convictions for drunken driving occurred in 1977, 1980, 1985, 1993 and 2002.

Owen’s driving history shows a two-year revocation of his license, along with two lengthy suspensions. His license was revoked from 2003 to 2005 after his fifth conviction, and was reinstated in March 2005.

The registry also suspended Owen’s license for 120 days in 1993 and again in 2002 for refusing to take an alcohol test, according to his driving history.

On Dec. 24, just after 8:30 p.m., Wareham police received a report of a crash at the intersection of Cranberry Highway and Elm Street. Witnesses said a black Jeep Cherokee rear-ended the victims’ vehicle and took off.

The accident injured three people, including a passenger who was pried from the mangled wreckage and flown by medical helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was released on Christmas Day.

Wareham Police Sgt. Kevin Walsh found the Jeep Cherokee at the Mill Pond Diner parking lot and saw Owen walking from behind the diner. Walsh said Owen smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred. Walsh said Owen at first denied driving the Cherokee, but then said: “Okay, I’ll tell the truth. I just came from the bar down the street. I was driving.”

Wareham Police Officer Karl Baptiste said Owen told him he had drank four to six beers prior to getting behind the wheel. Baptiste said Owen failed a field sobriety test because he was swaying, smelled of alcohol and could not say the alphabet. Owen later refused to submit to an alcohol breath test.

Owen is charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol; driving while under the influence of alcohol with serious bodily injury resulting; negligent operation of a motor vehicle; and leaving the scene of an accident after causing serious bodily injury.

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The downfall of Galluccio: ex-senator goes to jail, resigns from seat

Cambridge —
Former state Sen. Anthony Galluccio has traded in his tailored garbs and political title for a jailhouse jumpsuit and an inmate number.

The embattled politician from Cambridge has been sentenced to one year in the Middlesex House of Correction in Billerica after failing Breathalyzer tests while undergoing a six-month house arrest in connection with a hit-and-run last October.

The 42-year-old Cambridge resident has since resigned his seat at the State House, announced his intent to appeal the violation, must follow a strict schedule behind bars, and has the potential to lose the pension he has been collecting from his city and state jobs for the past 17 years.

The Senate announced plans for a special election to fill his seat on Wednesday. Senate President Therese Murray has 14 days to set the date.

After six hours of courtroom debate Monday over whether or not Galluccio violated his probation — using toothpaste as his defense — Cambridge District Court Judge Matthew Nestor ruled to revoke his probation.

“He didn’t even last a week,” Nestor said about the probation violation. “I don’t have any reason to believe the [Breathalyzer] machine is not working.”

Galluccio sat expressionless in his chair as a court official placed him in handcuffs.

The career politician, in a dark blue suit and red tie, was immediately taken out of the courtroom as a roomful of reporters, lawyers, public relations representatives, family members and friends looked on.

As for his time in Billerica — where former Middlesex County Register of Probate John Buonomo is also staying after being convicted for stealing his own campaign money and pocketing change from a his taxpayer-funded office — Middlesex Sheriff’s office spokesman Michael Hartigan said Galluccio will most likely be staying in either a 48- or 78-square-foot, double-bunked cell.

“Any inmate goes through a three-day assessment, and will be classified after that as to what section of the facilities [they will be staying],” he said, referring to a number of housing “pods” located inside. Galluccio will also abide by a specific schedule for visitors.

Galluccio announced his resignation Tuesday night from the Middlesex County House of Correction in Billerica, ending his brief career on Beacon Hill.

“My decision today is not out of hopelessness, but rather one of hope and opportunity,” said Galluccio in the letter. “In the end I make this decision out of admiration and respect for each and everyone of my Senate colleagues.”

In the letter, Galluccio also said he would appeal the probation violation in order to maintain his “innocence regarding this violation.”

“I ask that my colleagues support my effort to appeal the recent violation with respect to alcohol on the strongest possible terms. I maintain my innocence regarding this violation. I assure you I have kept faith with the court, the Senate, my family and myself with my decision in early October to eliminate alcohol from my live,” he said.

There’s no word on whether Galluccio will lose his pension, accumulated over 17 1/2 years of city and state work.

Catherine Gropp, a spokesperson for the State Retirement Board, said the agency is actively looking at Galluccio’s case. Currently, Galluccio is not eligible to collect his combined city and state pensions, since the requirements are to be on the books for 20 years or be 55 years of age. Since Galluccio has been sent to jail and charged, the board could revoke his pension.

“The board will make a determination on how it will proceed regarding the [former] Senator’s retirement benefits,” said the board in a statement.

During Monday’s hearing, after analyzing evidence and listening to arguments and testimonies about the reliability of the court-issued Breathalyzer installed in his Trowbridge Street home, Nestor said he had reason to believe the senator consumed alcohol around the time he failed the first test on Dec. 21.

Galluccio was issued six months of home confinement on Dec. 18 after he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of property damage and personal injury, stemming from a hit-and-run incident Oct. 4 in which a 13-year-old boy was injured.

While attending his court hearing, Galluccio was flanked by two women from the Boston and Washington, D.C.-based public relations powerhouse Rasky Barelein — a firm that provides a variety of services, including working on ballot initiatives and providing “crisis and litigation support.”

Galluccio’s attorney, George Hassett, attempted to convince the judge to avoid any jail time and maintain the senator’s two-year probation.

“He’s a hard-working young man,” Hassett said.

Since the failed Breathalyzer test, Hassett noted that Galluccio took 58 additional tests that came up with a zero reading, indicating no consumption of alcohol.

The prosecution called one witness to the stand — Michael Jacobs, who works at the office of Commission on Probation — and discussed his experience installing “sobrietors” manufactured by BI, including the machine at Galluccio’s home on Dec. 21.

Jacobs said the Breathalyzer device works using voice imprint technology. Jacobs said he made Galluccio repeat the words “America,” “Ohio” and “Blue” repeatedly into the machine so it recognized him.

The first official test came back positive for alcohol consumption — 0.037 blood-alcohol content — a second test did the same, but with a lower test result at 0.033.

Jacobs did not suspect that the senator was intoxicated at the time. Galluccio told him he had only chicken soup, a turkey sandwich and coffee that day, and mentioned that it might have been his Sensodyne toothpaste that set off the Breathalyzer’s results. Galluccio said he brushed his teeth three times before he took the first test that day.

“I explained to him I was not familiar with toothpaste use causing problems with the test,” Jacobs said at the stand.

Witnesses for the defense included Robert Fournier, a legislative aide to Galluccio and senior at Salem State; Sean Thomas Murphy, a good friend of Galluccio’s for the past 25 years; and James Demetropoulos, a friend of Galluccio’s for 15 years and owner of Mamagoos Pizza in Fresh Pond. Galluccio said they all came to visit him at his home between Dec. 18 and 21.

They all testified that they did not see Galluccio drink in their presence.

When Galluccio took the stand, he repeatedly stated he has not been under the influence since his probation.

“I had no idea what could have made that machine have that reading. All I know is that I did not ingest any alcohol,” he said in court. “I was very concerned about a record of any elevated or positive reading.”

Hassett weighed heavily on the argument that the Breathalyzer reading produced a “false positive.” He brought in the scientific opinion of Dr. Ernest Lykissa, the director of ExperTox lab in Houston, Texas, that did hair and urine sample tests on Galluccio following probation violation.

Lykissa said tests for “ethyl glucuronide” — an indicator of alcohol consumption — came back negative.

Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Catherine Ham questioned how much Lykissa was paid by Galluccio, and challenged the validity of his test results.

“No one saw him drink, but the BI Sobrietor is reliable and there is no evidence showing that it is not,” Ham said during closing arguments. “[The decreasing Breathalyzer results on Dec. 21] indicates a body metabolizing alcohol.”

Galluccio is not a stranger to facing intense media scrutiny. In December 2005, he dealt with accusations that he caused a car accident in December 2005 while allegedly driving drunk. The case was later dismissed.

He had been charged with drunken driving twice before. Former Governor Bill Weld pardoned him for a 1984 DUI, before his license was suspended for the same offense in 1997.

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