www.justiceforchandra.com

[benn]

[benn]

I think I am getting too long winded. Maybe I should take a rest. Here is an email I sent to Senator Feinstien today.

Dear Senator Feinstein,

I am writing again about the Chandra Levy murder investigation. If you want to find out more about me you can look at the website: www.justiceforchandra.com where I post as benn.

A dead victim is supposed to have rights, but the dead victim has no ability to claim them for himself or herself. I can think of Otis Thomas who was trying to be helpful to the Levy family, Chandra's parents, but he was interviewed by the FBI without an attorney--at least none was mentioned in the newspapers. Rep. Gary Condit, on the other hand, had his attorney present when he was being interviewed by the DC police and the FBI. Otis was said to have lied, but if he did not lie then very possibly Rep. Condit lied to the FBI about the supposed affair. A dna paternity test might be able to determine who lied. At the same time Thomas's daughter, Jennifer Thomas, was not very helpful in not wanting to talk to the FBI.

Maybe it would have been easier and better for local law enforcemnet officers in California to have investigated. A social worker might have even been sent to talk to Jennifer Thomas. In the meantime where are the dead victim's rights?

I am pasting in an article by the ModBee. California seems to have lost some of its rights, and no one seems to be fighting for them. This is from a 2001 article about the Chandra Levy missing persons investigation.

The case has not been solved by the Washington Police. All of their secrecy, of which Rep. Gary Condit was a part, did not find Chandra Levy. I can remember a case back in the 1950s when one newspaperman from the San Francisco Examiner went and found a dead victim's body on his own, with the aid of some rented dogs. In Washington they seem more concerned about who is in charge than who is doing anything. Chief Ramsey was reported to have said that he asked for a search warrant to search Rep. Condit's apartment but that the DA did not turn in the request to the judge. Well words are no good, but these old news stories remain.

Otis Thomas in Ceres, California was declared a liar by the FBI, and he recanted under duress. But many people think that he told the truth about an affair his daughter supposedly had with Rep. Gary Condit. No dna paternity test has been announced by the FBI to prove that Thomas lied. Rep. Gary Condit was very strict about his secrecy. I don't think he would have continued to be re-elected if his constituents had know about the Congressman's secret life.

One of Chandra's male cousins was reported to have said in 2001 that Condit's career was more important than his cousin, that was before Chandra's remains had been found.

QUOTE QUOTE D.C. police reject local assistance in search for missing Modesto woman
By MICHAEL DOYLE
and J.N. SBRANTI
(Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2001)

WASHINGTON -- East Coast detectives are bearing down on the disappearance of Chandra Ann Levy of Modesto, and West Coast officers have been advised to butt out.

While the FBI and a 31-year veteran of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department are tracking leads, they've advised the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department not to get involved in the Levy case.

Levy, 24, disappeared April 30, shortly before she was to return to California to receive her master's degree from the University of Southern California.

"We're treating this as a critical missing persons case," Washington police Detective Ralph Dur-ant said Monday morning. "That means she disappeared under suspicious circumstances."

And that's exactly why Washington police should be welcoming -- not rejecting -- all the help they can get, according to Levy's mother, Susan Levy of Modesto.

"I'm not happy. We need to have a team effort," the distraught mother said Monday evening after hearing that the sheriff's investigation was stopped. "There's no reason there should be antagonism between the East Coast and the West Coast."

To make sure Washington police are doing all they can, Susan Levy said she and her husband, Dr. Robert Levy, will fly to the capital today.

"I'm going to get some answers, and I hope they are doing their job. If they are not, we're going to find out, and we're going to get somebody to do the job," Susan Levy said. "We just want to get this case solved and to bring our daughter home alive."

Helping the capital's police investigate is a special agent from the Washington field office of the FBI. The FBI can get involved because Chandra Levy disappeared from the District of Columbia, which is under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

"This is nothing unusual," Chris Murray, a spokesman for the FBI's Washington field office, said late Monday afternoon. "We frequently work joint investigations with (Washington police.)"

Durant, a big, pony-tailed man who has handled some high- profile cases, made it clear Monday that his department doesn't "really need" the hands-on help of Central Valley law enforcement officials. Durant said that while he welcomed outside information, he couldn't use the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department homicide detective who traveled to Washington over the weekend to offer aid.

Local notes

Washington detectives instead asked the sheriff's office to provide all of its notes and documents. These include transcripts of interviews done since Friday with Levy's parents and friends, copies of cellular phone records received from the Levy family and notes on possible sources.

"They told us that if they need any help, they'll give us a call," Sheriff's Department spokesman Kelly Huston said.

Sheriff's Detective Mario Cisneros, who arrived in the capital Saturday, was simply told to return home.

Washington police also asked the Sheriff's Department to stop gathering information on Levy.

The repudiation of local help surprised sheriff's officials, who according to Huston, had decided to send Cisneros to Washington because "we had a difficult time initially establishing a relationship with D.C. Metro."

Face-to-face talks did not yield a more welcoming response.

"I don't think we have any better relationship now than we did when we talked to them on the phone last week," Huston said. "(Cisneros) tried to establish a rapport with the agency there, and he really had no luck in doing that."

Huston termed the lack of cooperation between the two departments highly unusual. He said the lead investigating department typically welcomes assistance by a victim's hometown detectives.

"There are things we think we can do here in Modesto … and we're surprised they do not want to take advantage of this resource," Huston said. "In cases like this, there's a lot of work to be done in the hometown."

D.C. neighbor tries to help

As it happens, Levy's parents and Stanislaus County deputies are not the only ones who want to push along the investigation.

A 31-year-old public relations specialist who lives across the street from Levy's 10-story condominium building said Monday that she's been disappointed in the lack of neighborhood publicity about Levy's disappearance.

Susan, who asked that her last name not be used, said the Police Department's missing posters were themselves missing from some obvious locations -- including the Connecticut Avenue gym where Levy was last seen.

Gym slow to respond

The woman said she asked the gym's receptionist over the weekend where the posters were; the gym manager had the posters but hadn't put them up yet.

"I said, 'I can't believe you don't have one up,'" Susan said. "That's ridiculous."

The poster still wasn't up at the Washington Sports Club gym Monday morning. Gym officials referred all questions to their New York headquarters, which could not be reached for comment.

On her own, Susan distributed posters throughout the Dupont Circle neighborhood where Levy moved during the fall.

Also over the weekend, two staff members from the office of Rep. Gary Condit, a Ceres Democrat and a friend of Levy's, distributed several hundred missing person posters throughout Washington.

"I just wish there was more we could do," said Condit staff member Mike Dayton.

Levy recalled by friend

Sven Jones shares the sentiment. The Santa Clara University graduate worked closely with Levy since February, while she was interning at the Bureau of Prisons' office of public affairs. Jones recalled Monday that Levy -- whom he described as a "computer whiz" -- would help him with computer problems and discuss her career options.

Levy was interested in law enforcement and intelligence work, and Jones said she had been submitting some federal government applications. But Levy also saw potential in returning to California.

Levy last contacted Jones on April 28, with a telephone invitation to meet for lunch in Georgetown. But Jones was out of town and now is hoping for the best.

"She was a wonderful person -- or she is; I should speak in the present tense," Jones said.

Anyone with information about Chandra Levy is asked to call police in Washington at (202) 282-0043.

Bee Washington Bureau reporter Michael Doyle can be reached at (202) 383-0006 or mdoyle@mcclatchydc.com.

Bee staff writer J.N. Sbranti can be reached at 578-2196 or jnsbranti@modbee.com.
http://www.modbee.com/metro/story/0,1113,266771,00.html END QUOTE.

Yours Truly,
Lester V. Tinnin

I made a couple of typos in my letter to Feinstein that hopefully have all been found now and corrected.

[rd]

Down to the Modbee article would make a great letter to the editor of the Modesto Bee, benn. Very poignant. I would only snip the sentence or two from the article that makes your point about Washington not investigating and include it in the letter to the editor.

Also, it's implied but not spelled out what the signigance of Condit being the father of Jennifer's child. Many people would assume that it's basically criticizing Condit's morals when in fact you;re pointing out something much more important, that Chandra lost her life just after asking him about Jennifer Thomas and telling her mother that he "explained it all".

Explained what?

rd

[benn]