Murder will out . . .

What hath my son-in-law wrought?

Appeals ruling casts shadow on murder convictions

<:> In an Article by Jonathan Bandler, in today’s The Journal News, an analysis of the ominous consequences of the Payne ruling is made. It suggests that the current law relating to this subject needs to undergo intensive scrutiny, especially as to its constitutionality.

You will recall that this Blog recently carried three separate Posts about this case. The Payne appeal, made before the NY State Court of Appeals was successfully pled by my son-in-law Robert Bruce Kenney, Attorney

Journal quote: "Last month, Kenneth Payne walked out of an upstate prison a free man after his 2000 murder conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. Payne had been convicted of committing the first slaying in Shelter Island’s 350-year history. He was accused of firing a shotgun blast into the stomach of his neighbor in 1998. The jury acquitted him of intentional murder but found him guilty of depraved-indifference murder. The Court ruled that Payne had clearly intended to kill but that the point-blank shooting did not meet the legal standard of depravity and the jury should never have been allowed to consider both second-degree murder charges"

<:> Perhaps many of the murderers presently incarcerated in NY State prisons, who were convicted of depraved indifference to human life, should have been convicted of intentional murder. In nearly all of those cases, appeals to reverse their convictions will now surely be made. And if, as in the precedent establishing Payne case these appeals succeed -- each of those murderers will be uncaged, unfettered and set free.

Clearly, where Kenney steps, he does not tread lightly.

He has stirred up some dust in N.Y. State’s judicial system!

Family Portrait

From left to right - 1936

<:> My mother, Ninfa, was born in Caccamo, Sicily, 5/22/1895. She arrived here in 1898 when she was 3 years old. She had 3 brothers and 2 sisters. Her father, Giovanni Porto, traveled back and forth from Sicily, very frequently. I don’t recall that he ever had a regular job and yet he was always very prosperous. I suspect that he had more than just peripheral connections to the Mafia. On the other hand, my mother’s grandfather, Anthony Panseca, was a mounted carabiniere in Sicily. He distinguished himself many times by capturing and bringing to justice, lawless brigands who roamed in the mountains. I used to love to go through all of his medals and citations. So there, we balanced out the law.

My brother Alfred, born in NYC, 12/21/1916.

Queenie, our beloved family pet, about 8 years old in this picture.

My sister Mary, born in NYC, 7/24/1918.

Me. Like Hamlet, I’m brooding. Don’t ask me why.

<:> My father, Quintino, was born in Bagnoli, Abruzzi, 5/22/1885. He arrived here in 1907. His father was a pharmacist. Unbeknownst to him, my father used to make small bombs that he exploded in the town's local river. He gathered more fish that way than his family could possibly cook or devour. Later, in Rome, he became a skilled patternmaker and when he came here, his services were sought by nearly every dress manufacturer in the garment district of NYC. Check that straw hat! Every Sunday, he went over it with a toothbrush and lemon juice.

And a little child shall . . .

Jason and Johnny Melfi

<:> After Thanksgiving day at Julia's, my daughter Loretta and my grandson Jason stayed overnight at our house. While Lenore and my daughter talked their hearts out, Jason and I did some grandpa and grandson relating. And guess where our relating took place? At the computer, where else?

<:> But Jason seemed a bit more anxious to talk to his many friends on the Internet than to engage in extended conversation with me. So with my consent, he called up his own personal Buddy List on AIM and proceeded to take off into cyberland like a ruptured duck (Omaha Beach talk!). I noticed how fast and nimbly he typed, using both hands. When I mentioned this to Loretta, a trained stenographer, she explained that secretaries type without looking at the keyboard and while Jason is not quite there, he soon will be.

<:> When they departed, I settled down on my seat at the computer. But lo and behold! A very strange Buddy List stared back at me! More than a hundred bizarre looking names streamed down below my taskbar. Each had obviously occult and coded meaning. But my own Buddy list was nowhere to be found! I searched with no success and felt myself sinking deeper and deeper into despair. In desperation, I phoned Jason, but he was at a birthday party. His brother Johnny came to the phone. Sensing my discomfiture, he tried hard to calm me. Then, with the patience of Virgil, leading Dante through Purgatory, he guided me step-by-step to the resolution of what to me was a very disconcerting problem. Hallelujah and praise the Lord!

<:> However, relief notwithstanding, what really impressed me most about this episode is that I actually came away with having learned something new and quite useful about the AIM messaging program, and from a boy. Believe me, for we elderly, it takes a very special kind of patience and tutoring to fit even tiny additional fragments of knowledge into our shrunken skulls. May we always be surrounded by children who are able and willing to help us to do so!

Thanksgiving Day ~ 2004

This is one of several group photos taken

Hail, Hail, the gang’s (nearly) all here

It was a glorious occasion that everyone, without exception, enjoyed immensely. Julia, Fred and their children Tyler and Monika were the best of all possible hosts. They intuitively sensed and graciously responded to everyone’s needs, verbalized or not.

Of course, as everyone knows, our extended family is very large and geographically widespread. It is simply not possible for all of us to be in the same place at the same time. But wherever each of us was on that Day of Days, there is no doubt that good cheer was experienced and heartfelt gratitude to God and each other was expressed.

Bush's fly Gabriele

Monday, November 22, 2004
Associated Press

HOUSTON - A private jet en route to Houston to pick up former President Bush clipped a light pole and crashed as it approached Hobby Airport in thick fog, killing all three people aboard. The Gulfstream jet, coming into Houston, went down about 6:15 a.m. in an undeveloped area 1.5 miles south of the airport, officials said. The former president had been scheduled to travel to Ecuador for a conference.

{}{} When this tragic report came to my attention today, it brought to mind that two years ago, my son Fred, who flies corporate Gulfstreams had occasion to fly former President Bush and his wife Barbara from Washington to New York City. It will be recalled that the elder Bush was a former Naval pilot, as was my son. They had experiences to share during that flight. For several years Fred commanded a Navy P-3 on reconnaisance flights over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Mediterranean. On a number of those flights, the current Junior Senator from Delaware, Tom Carper, was his TACO (Tactical Coordinator).

{} Addendum: My son believes that air transportation for all former US Presidents should be a perquisite provided by the US Air Force and that official Government planes should be made available for their use.

T-Day at Julia's ~ RSVP

Thanksgiving at Julia's

{} Of all the holidays we celebrate, Thanksgiving Day should be placed at the top of the list. How memorable it is when nearly the entire family can gather at one place to be with each other to share, to laugh and perhaps even to weep.

{} In the beginning, our gatherings were relatively small and they were easily accommodated at Anderson Hill and Heritage Hills. But with each year they have grown in size. It eventually became a bit much for Nan to manage. So, how grateful we are that during the past few years, Julia and Fred have undertaken to continue our tradition at their spacious, made for partying, home in New Canaan. And while some in our family are now making their way into eternity, our family has not ceased growing, as we shall all see when we assemble there this year, November 25, 2004.

{}{}{} It would be very helpful for Julia to know whether or not we will be there. So may I suggest that we write brief comments to this Post that will assist her. She will be monitoring this Post daily. {}{}{}

John J. Owens R.I.P.

This obituary was published in Newsday

+ OWENS-John J., of Holtsville, NY. on November 10, 2004 in his 68th year. Retired N.Y.P.D. Beloved husband of Kathleen. Loving father of Kathleen Vigiano, Thomas, Brian and Kevin Owens and father-in-law of Jennifer, Amy and the late Joseph Vigiano. Dear brother of Kathleen Internicola, Mary Pristina, Margaret and William Owens. Cherished grandfather of Joseph, James and John. Reposing at Maloney’s Lake funeral home, 132 Ronkonkoma Avenue, Lake Ronkonkoma, where religious service will be held Sunday. Funeral Mass Monday 9:45 a.m. at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton RC Church, Lake Ronkonkoma. Interment following at Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton, New York. Visiting Saturday and Sunday 2-4 and 7-9PM.

+ On this very sad occasion, we extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to our own dear Amy, to our newly acquired and dearly loved Kevin Owens and to his entire family and friends ~

+ Dom and Lenore Gabriele, our family and our friends.

Real Estate Math

= Our house on Anderson Hill Road in Purchase, NY =

<> When I retired in 1984, we sold it for approximately $300,000. It is currently listed by a Westchester Real Estate Agency to be sold for $1,325,000. We moved to Heritage Hills in Somers, New York and purchased a Canaan Model residence for $135,000. Canaan residences now sell for nearly $500,000

<> In 1626, Peter Minuit, of the Dutch West Indies Company, bought Manhattan Island from its native Indians for 60 Dutch guilders, a sum later calculated to be about $24. As far as we know, no deeds were transferred and the transaction was not notarized. Afterward, the Island was named New Amsterdam. But not for long! In 1664 a British Fleet sailed into the harbor and the Dutch, under the governance of Peter Stuyvesant, surrendered. The British renamed the Island, New York, in honor of the Duke of York, brother of the British King Charles.

<> Biblical history records that Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden but it neglects to say if they were reimbursed. Nor does it disclose the identity of those who moved into their vacated premises.

<> Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity is not comprehensive enough to make fiscal sense of all the above. But what Galileo muttered under his breath, while being inquisitioned, may provide a clearer rationale. He was overheard to say, "E pur si muove" - and so it goes." up, up and away!

And Liskin writes...

Last week, while on my daily walk, I had the good fortune to meet Harold Liskin, a fellow walker, for the first time. We were coming from opposite directions and we encountered each other on the very spot where several days before, a 91 year old man was fatally run down by the driver of a car who was temporarily blinded by the glare of the sun. As Harold and I talked about this we exchanged other reminiscences and as is now becoming de rigeur, our e-mail addresses. We are now more than just acquaintances.

Dom,
<> I’m sorry I didn't answer your last email. But please don't ask me what made me so busy. I can only tell you that what I used to do on my "lunch hour" now takes me a good part of the day. And then I can't remember what I did. But I can tell you the name of the girl I was in love with in the 2nd grade. Kind of weird, isn' it? Of course, you are too young to have had these experiences.

<> As for the garbage or the vacuum cleaner or the broom, well my nice Jewish wife either doesn't know where these things are and if she should find them she wouldn't remember how to use them. Very convenient! I can see that there are some very nice aspects to your lovely wife's activities.

<> I imagine you were delirious with the outcome of the election. New York seems to be out of touch with the rest of the country particularly the Middle West. We are in a state of mourning but we will recover. Actually, all my life I have voted against a candidate more often than for one, except for Roosevelt. I voted FOR him.

<> So much for now,

Harold

Addendum: When Harold visited my blogsite and read "Assisted Living" he sort of took exception to how my wife takes out the garbage, etc. He didn’t think that was proper for a Jewish wife to do. I had occasion later to ask him if the wife taking out the garbage is Christian and not Jewish, might she not be committing blasphemy. What he wrote in the above note relates peripherally to that subject. Isn’t it great how some chance encounters can lead to interesting friendships?

Political Persona

<> Let's not delude ourselves! None of us have arrived at our political orientation thru pure and open minded cerebration. Where we stand politically is the subliminal product of our total life experience. What we absorbed from our rearers during our most impressionable years, how we related to and identified with our peers, friends and colleagues as we grew, what we learned from our education (school-taught and self-sought) what we read, view and audit, our religious affiliations, our ethnicity and even the color of our skin; all of these, and more, have shaped our thinking and attitude formation.

<> So, how can one know, or test for the core integrity of their political nature? Try this - You are voting in 1864 and you have to choose between Lincoln, the Republican, who is determined to pursue the Civil War, preserve the Union and abolish slavery; or McClellan, the Democrat, whose platform committed him to end the war, condone the South's secession and turn a blind eye to the institution of slavery. Now try, without allowing your retrospective view of history to intrude, to determine who you would have voted for, and why (?)

<> McClellan was endorsed by the Northeast and strongly supported by the NY Times