Officer says he’ll sue letter writer
Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram
LORAIN — Even if Joseph Montelon is never charged with writing anonymous letters blasting Lorain Police Chief Cel Rivera and his officers, the former Lorain cop whose Wickliffe house was raided last week may find himself in a legal fight.
In an e-mail to City Councilwoman Anne Molnar, police Lt. Jim McCann wrote that the letter writer “will be the subject of several lawsuits which will be forthcoming.”
McCann — who has been mentioned several times in the letters over the years — said he sent the e-mail Saturday in his capacity as a grievanceman for the city’s police union and he isn’t involved in the investigation into the letters’ origin.
But he is upset with the content of the letters.
“Some of the information pertaining to members of the department is slanderous and untrue, and personally, myself, once the whole thing is done, I will be looking at possible civil action,” he said Wednesday.
Two Lorain police officers, an FBI agent and Lorain County sheriff’s Capt. — and former Lorain police officer — Richard Resendez raided Montelon’s home Aug. 28. They took computers, documents, four guns, Montelon’s cell phone and other items as part of an investigation into the identity of the letter writer.
Exactly which agency is running the investigation remained unclear Wednesday. While Rivera — who did not return calls seeking comment — has said the FBI is heading up the investigation, the FBI said it is merely assisting Lorain police.
Rivera has also said other agencies are involved and the scope of the investigation goes beyond the letters, but both he and Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will have refused to elaborate.
Lorain Safety Director Phil Dore said he’s been told that the FBI is handling the investigation and Lorain police are assisting federal agents.
Dore said that while he’s not privy to the details of the investigation, he believes it’s justified.
“If there were no grounds to do this investigation, it probably would not be occurring,” he said. “I think what they’re trying to do is go after the person who wrote these letters. These letters are from Mars.”
Although he’s unfamiliar with the investigation, Jeffrey Gamso, legal director for the Ohio Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said, in general, police need to make sure they’re investigating a crime and not trying to silence a critic.
“As a matter of raw, objective fact, police can’t harass somebody just because they want to,” he said. “They can’t use police powers to go after people they don’t like without probable cause.”
Gamso said that depending on what evidence is collected during an investigation and how it was obtained, it can also be used as evidence in civil lawsuits.
Although the search warrant issued by Lake County Common Pleas Judge Vincent Culotta states that police were seeking evidence about the letters, the seven-page affidavit that police filed to convince the judge to issue the warrant remains under seal.
Culotta refused to unseal the affidavit Wednesday, but said he wouldn’t have signed it without good reason.
“I would never have issued a search warrant unless I was convinced there was probable cause,” Culotta said.
Montelon — who said, “I take the Fifth,” when asked if he was the author of the letters — has said he believes Lorain police are trying to stop a leak in the department who has been giving him internal police documents. Montelon, who resigned from his brief tenure with the department in 1992 and is a convicted sex offender, said he passed the police documents he received to Molnar and others.
Molnar, along with Councilman Mitch Fallis, D-at large, has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Lorain Police Department.
Dore said the letters have discredited Lorain police and could be interfering with the operations of the department. He said some of the allegations contained in the letters are pretty outrageous.
“This guy has gone so far as to accuse people of murder. He’s accused people of rape,” he said. “Are we not supposed to investigate that?”
Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Brad Dicken | The Chronicle-Telegram September 4th, 2008 in Local and State. Popularity: 17% |
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Comments
Comment from
poet
September 4, 2008, 6:17 am
That letter to Ms. Anne Molnar, stated more than lawsuits will be forth coming….he stated “do not ever call me for anything again, whether it’s job related or personal”
I guess we know for sure who the letter writer is there!
How is that going to be delt with.
Comment from
mae
September 4, 2008, 9:29 am
I don’t think I understand all the pieces to this story, but what I do know is that the Chief or FBI should be investigating the LPD and its officers and the allegations mentioned rather than going after someone because he hurt their feelings. The department is a disgrace along with many others in city government. Someone needs to be responsible and it sounds as though one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. It’s not feasible that the FBI doesn’t know who is running an investigation.
Comment from
Dan S.
September 4, 2008, 4:55 pm
“If there were no grounds to do this investigation, it probably would not be occurring…”
If there was good legal reason for the investigation, it it wouldn’t be a crying orphan nobody wants to take responsibility for…
“While Rivera — who did not return calls seeking comment — has said the FBI is heading up the investigation, the FBI said it is merely assisting Lorain police.”
I’d love to see anyone sue the writers of the letters for slander.
If it’s true it ain’t slander, and the truth will be brought out in court… well, hopefully.
Comment from
WhatElseIsNew
September 5, 2008, 10:43 am
Dore said, “The letters could be interfering with the operations of the department”. What in the world is he talking about! What ever happened to free speech? I saw one of the letters. Nothing threatening in them. Just dates, names and places. What is really going on in the police department?
Comment from
mae
September 5, 2008, 11:51 am
The only thing that seems to be interfering with the operations of the department are the antics of the degenerates who work there, not to mention the same in city government.
Comment from
Dan S.
September 5, 2008, 12:34 pm
“The letters could be interfering with the operations of the department…”
Cool!!!
Who needs letter bombs or a bit of anthrax powder in an envelope, when simple, and most likely LEGAL words, can turn a police department upside down?
Comment from
poet
September 11, 2008, 5:03 pm
Lt. McCann, when it is all done, you won’t be doing anything excpet back pedaling!
Good Luck with your endevour!
Comment from
poet
September 18, 2008, 4:39 pm
That is why I am the poet! Thanks ha!
But it is true.
Stay tuned and fasten your seat belt, it is going to be a bumpy ride!
Comment from
poet
September 18, 2008, 7:17 pm
Oh, by the way Phil, what did you do about that e-mail that Lt. McCann sent to Council woman Ann Molnar?
Got the broom handy?
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