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An Open Letter To The Washington Post.

 
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
Posts: 2136
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 8:08 am    Post subject: An Open Letter To The Washington Post. Reply with quote

An Open Letter To The Washington Post.

Did the Minister really lie, or did the Congressman lie?

Alan Lengel: Metro staff writer.

Dear Mr. Lengel:

I have tried emailing you before but evidently had the wrong email address.. I don't have a computer printer at the present time to send you postal mail. I may have to write you in longhand. Someone on the discussion board where I post at www.justiceforchandra.com said that I could phone you, that he had phoned you a few times; but phoning is sort of tricky to exchange much information.

I am writing about the Chandra Levy murder investigation. It is easy to see some gaps in the investigation, but I have not been able to contact anyone who is interested.

I will get this over briefly. What makes you think that the minister in Ceres, California, Otis Thomas lied? I read a 2001 news report by WUSA tv yesterday that said that "California investigators have determined that the minister fabricated the story." (that is paraphrased.)

If they think that they don't know anything about the investigation. There have never been any California investigators as far as I know. The FBI talked to Rev. Otis Thomas and said that he had not told the truth. They never did talk to Thomas's daughter. If that is fact and that is news, no wonder the Chandra Levy case is going nowhere. A little murder is all right I guess as long as you don't embarrass anyone. Giving a paternity test to Thomas's grandson might embarrass someone, but Chandra was embarrassed when she was murdered??

A paternity test, if made legitimately, could prove that former Rep. Gary Condit is not the father of the Thomas grandson, or that Condit is the father. That is very simple and very scientific, if no one gets to the evidence to mix it up on purpose. I know those kinds of things happen having read Gene Neil's book, "I'm going to bury you." Neil did some of those things himself, or at least he writes about them, mixing up the evidence.

At www.justiceforchandra.com right now we are improving the Chandra Levy timeline before she disappeared May 1. Most of the media (maybe all of the media) are completely ignoring events that took place in the month of April and previous to that, before Chandra disappeared. Whether the Otis Thomas story was true or not, other things happened that were very important. Susan Levy and Otis Thomas did talk to each other, and I understand that Thomas also talked to other members of Levy family. Susan told Chandra about the supposed affair that Condit was supposed to have had with Thomas's daughter.

The result of that was that Chandra talked to Condit and phoned her mother back and said, "he explained it all."

"he explained it all" should get anyone's attention who has studied the Chandra Levy case, but not many listen. For Chandra to question Condit about a possible affair that he might have had with a teenager might have been a dangerous thing for her to do.

From the accounts of several women who dated Condit, he had strict secrecy rules. One way he enforced his rules was to break off with the girl, or woman, who started to break his rules. One girl supposedly asked Condit about meeting her family at a gathering of some kind, and Condit left in a huff immediately and that affair was over.

But what kind of rules did Condit have if the girl refused to be intimidated by his breaking off an affair, and continued to talk. Some have said that they received calls over the phone to never say anything to anybody about him. How could he have enforced that rule if the girl did not do what Condit said. Was Condit making threats?

Anyway Chandra asked Condit about the story that Otis Thomas had told Susan Levy (this has nothing to do with the truth of the story, the story does not have to be true). Susan and Chandra talked about the story, as evidently did other members of the Levy family. The only difference there would be if the story is proved true by a paternity test is that Thomas would have been shown to have told the truth, and Condit would have been shown to have lied about the affair. A paternity test could prove that Condit lied and not Thomas.

Anyway Condit knew that Chandra was talking about him to her family. That was against his rules. That was a threat to his career. If Chandra continued to talk to her family about him he would be exposed. Exposure could mean the end of his career.

One of Chandra's cousins said, when Chandra's remains had not been found yet, that Condit was more interested in his career than he was in Chandra.

So that is a more complete Chandra Levy timeline leading up to Chandra's disappearance May 1, 2001.

How was Condit going to keep Chandra quiet, from talking to her family? This is all the more important if the Otis Thomas story was indeed true. The FBI can not tell whether Thomas lied or not without making a legitimate paternity test, and not a falsified paternity test.

Certainly the minister recanted. He had received a threat over the phone, and he had received no support at all from law enforcement and the media. Witnesses are supposed to be protected, but he was told to leave town for a few days.

Some of the members at www.justiceforchandra.com are making a closer examination of Chandra's last days, trying to figure out the exact day when Susan Levy talked to Otis Thomas, and the exact day when Chandra asked Condit about his supposed affair with a teenager, and some other exact days during Chandr's last days.

If Chandra had not told her aunt Linda Katz about dating Rep. Gary Condit, Chandra might have just remained a "good friend" of Condit's who disappeared. If Chandra did not expose Condit in life she did expose him in death. And we still don't know if the minister lied? I hope to find out who lied.

I have been posting at www.justiceforchandra.com since 19_Sep._2002

Yours Truly,
Lester V. Tinnin
benf5@lanset.com
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laskipper



Joined: 17 Sep 2002
Posts: 1232
Location: Northern Ohio

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good letter, Benn! I hope you get a response. I would also copy the 'other' Washington newspaper.
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 8:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks laskipper. I will have to confer with rd on that.

benn
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 9273
Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 9:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess she means the Washington Times, benn. Don't know what an email address for them would be. Frank Murray wrote the beautiful "Who is Chandra Levy?" article.

rd
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
Posts: 2136
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for your comments rd and laskipper. Now we are getting into decision making. It I send an email to the Washington Times, what should I say?

Should I just post the same open letter to the Washington Times, with a different address on it, or should I sort of write a different letter? I guess what maybe you both mean is the same letter with a different address on it.

If that happens then would I also post the Washington Times open letter here also? Or should I just send the same letter to the Times without making it an open letter?

I am not certain of all the etiquette here. If I send out a letter addressed to one newspaper, is it then all right to send the same letter out to another newspaper? Should I tell the papers that this is a multiple mailing? There is probably a simple answer, but I will wait for some response. I think most of you have more experience with business correspondence than I do.

benn
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
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Location: Jacksonville, FL

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 6:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Papers like the Washington Post won't deal with simultaneous submissions, benn, that is submissions that look like they are copied to others, so I think what you have and what you did is just right. If you have a letter to write later to someone else, as you've been doing, then it would be a litttle different based on the reporter or articles they ran.

I wouldn't dilute your message just yet with copies to others.

rd
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
Posts: 2136
Location: Sacramento, CA

PostPosted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rd, it sounds like you have the more or less professional opinion. I just found an interesting author, and I sent him a copy of my letter, a pasted in copy so he can see that it was not written to him. This may have been a booboo on my part, but it was before I read your message here.

I think he may answer. He can see that I did not write that leter to him, and i mentioned the Open letter on the website here.

The author's name is John Marshall, and he has what he calls Talking Points Memo. I posted a little on him on the miscellaneous topic. He has at least three years of searchable archives. He has some interesting stuff on the Polygraph man who did Condit's lie detector test. He connects up several different people there, including a CIA agent who passed three or four lie detector tests falsely. The same tester did his tests that did Condit's tests, and evidently it is possible to fool the lie detector.

I read a little of what he said about Otis Thomas. Back in 2001 he thought that Thomas had lied, but he does mention most of the other events leading up to the disappearance of Chandra.

I am not a professional writer, and the media does not take what we send them very seriously anyway, but I am just thinking that Marshall might be interested in this site. I am going to search through his articles as I get time.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/index.html

benn
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peripeteia



Joined: 22 Sep 2002
Posts: 1173
Location: Nova Scotia

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 3:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent letter Benn, I do hope you get a response and maybe Alan can come here to this site and have a boo at what we have been doing. I do hope that he responds in the near future. Newspaper reporters have alot of power, and especially tied to the Washington Post. Well be shall see if Alan is interested in this matter. Here's hoping...take care kate
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2003 7:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks kate. I may send a postal letter to Alan Lengel. The contacts page at the Post seemed to say that postal letters get more attention.

I am not putting all of my eggs in one basket. I sent a letter to Liz Michael yesterday. You remember her as the Senator candidate in Arizona who told Condit's attorney, Lin Wood, to make her day.

I have written to her before, but she may not answer this time. She is quite a character. She has a lot of education, but I was reading at her site yesterday that she spent a little time being a professional wrestler. That is a laugher.

benn
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rd



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I ran across your post of this in alt.true-crime, benn. Reads just as beautifully today as it did when you wrote it. Bringing it back up for air.

rd
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benn



Joined: 19 Sep 2002
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 20, 2004 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, rd I wrote a letter to Mike Doyle, and he answered; but I did not send Mike an open letter. I sent Lengal an open letter and he did not reply.

There may be some protocol there that I am not aware of. Just recently I registered at the Post to be able to participate in a forum (I am not too certain about that) or maybe just to read their articles on the internet. I don't remember posting on any forum there.

I am not doing much letter writing right now, except to the site here, because I am waiting for that big news.

benn
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propria



Joined: 20 Sep 2002
Posts: 630
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

this was a great catch by blondie ... i wonder if a letter or phone call of thanks and encouragement to susan herendeen would be enough to get her to dig a little deeper into chandra's story. i guess it would be awfully blunt to write mike doyle and tell him to pass his copy of the book along to herendeen if he's not going to deal with the story ... 'course, i have 'awfully blunt' down pat, so if that's a plan, i'd be more than willing to make the call.


nanci
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Levys open door for civil lawsuit

By SUSAN HERENDEEN
BEE STAFF WRITER


Last Updated: June 19, 2004, 05:38:40 AM PDT


Susan and Robert Levy may try to hold someone liable for their daughter's unsolved death, according to a petition to be considered Monday by a probate judge in Stanislaus County Superior Court.
Chandra Levy, the 24-year-old Washington, D.C., intern who was romantically linked to then-U.S. Rep. Gary Condit, did not have a last will and testament when she disappeared in May 2001.

In a declaration, Susan Levy of Modesto said she wants to be appointed administrator of her daughter's estate, including "items of personal property" and "potential civil claims in the District of Columbia."

Judge John G. Whiteside already has agreed to appoint Susan Levy but must finalize the arrangements.

Susan Levy and her attorney, Paul Echols of Modesto, declined to discuss Chandra Levy's estate or potential lawsuits.

But one expert said the wording of their April 27 request suggests that they may be considering a wrongful death claim, though they do not need to establish an estate to do so.

"Maybe they're leaving their options open," said George Bird, an attorney and certified criminal law specialist based in Torrance.

Nation followed Levy's case

Surviving spouses, children and parents can bring wrongful death lawsuits, and such proceedings often accompany cases that involve celebrities and garner a great deal of attention from the media.

"They're not usually worth bringing unless the defendant is very wealthy or has insurance that is able to cover it," said attorney John Winer, who is past president of the San Francisco Trial Lawyers Association.

Chandra Levy's disappearance drew national attention after reports surfaced that she and Condit had a romantic relationship.

She was due back in California and set to graduate from a master's degree program at the University of Southern California, after finishing an internship with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C.

But she never arrived.

Condit never admitted to having an affair with Chandra Levy, but eventually did not deny reports that he told police of a liaison. He said he had nothing to do with her death.

A man walking his dog in Washington's Rock Creek Park found Chandra Levy's remains on May 22, 2002. Police in the District of Columbia ruled her death a homicide but have not identified suspects.

Lower standard of proof

By law, wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within one year in the District of Columbia and within two years in California. But if the cause of death is not immediately known, a court may extend the time limit.

A jury can find a person, company or government agency liable even if the defendant was acquitted in a criminal case or didn't face charges. And the standard of proof required is lower.

In a criminal case, 12 jurors must unanimously agree a defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil case, nine of 12 jurors must believe the preponderance of the evidence supports a plaintiff's claim.

Juries in civil cases can award compensatory damages to cover the cost of an injury, and punitive damages, to deter similar conduct by the defendant and others in the future. Here are a few examples:

A civil jury in February 1997 ordered former football star O.J. Simpson to pay $33.5 million in damages even though he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

The family of 11-year-old Alberto Sepulveda, shot by a Modesto police officer as he lay face down on his bedroom floor, in June 2002 settled wrongful death lawsuits with the city and federal government for nearly $3 million.

Wrongful death civil lawsuits filed by the mother and the partner of Diane Whipple, who was killed in a dog-mauling incident in her San Francisco apartment building, in December 2002 were settled for an undisclosed sum.

A wrongful death civil lawsuit against Scott Peterson, filed by Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha of Modesto, is on hold until a jury reaches a verdict in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial now under way in Redwood City.

Scott Peterson, 31, is accused of killing his wife and unborn son and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay. Peterson has pleaded not guilty and could be sentenced to death if convicted.

Rocha also convinced the court to make her administrator of Laci Peterson's estate and delay the disbursement of $256,429 from a life insurance policy.

Who would the Levys sue?

Julie Davies, a professor at the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, said the Levys would face an uphill battle if they tried to pursue a similar strategy.

"If you don't know who the defendant is, which they don't, they have no idea who to sue," she said.

Condit and his wife, Carolyn, have filed several lawsuits of their own.

Condit is suing The National Enquirer, Star and Globe, seeking $209 million from the tabloid newspapers he says ruined his reputation.

He also has an $11 million defamation complaint against Dominick Dunne, a columnist for Vanity Fair magazine.

Carolyn Condit in July settled a $10 million lawsuit with the Enquirer before trial, for an undisclosed amount.

If the court finalizes Susan Levy's appointment, she will have four months to file an inventory of her daughter's assets.

Currently, the estate is valued at "less than $250,000," which is the lowest amount one can indicate on a form required by the probate court.

In court papers, Echols said only this: "The current size of the estate is small and not yet known."


Bee staff writer Susan Herendeen can be reached at 578-2338 or sherendeen@modbee.com.
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benn



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This story should take off a little bit. Thanks for putting it here, nanci. Other news sources should be picking up the story. Then, since there is not mch for them to write about right now, they will have to start investigating a little for themselves.

benn
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