He said that offer was upped to $100,000 shortly after. The telephone number Mr. LaGuer said he received is the number for an attorney at [a Boston law firm]…..
Steve Kenneway, president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union, said the grievance was filed after Mr. LaGuer complained to an officer that he was “visited by people he didn’t know and was offered money for documents.” According to Mr. Kenneway, the two male visitors were initially denied entrance but then escorted by management to a private area typically reserved for legal visits. The sergeant on duty wasn’t allowed to be present for the visit, Mr. Kenneway said.
“There definitely is something strange about this whole scenario,” Mr. Kenneway said. “There is absolutely something that went wrong with this visit. There was definitely a breach of protocol, and I can’t get a straight answer from anybody.”
A spokeswoman for the law firm said the charges were “‘absolutely untrue'”, and a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said they believe LaGuer made the story up.
Mr. LaGuer, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence, said he rejected the offer to sell Mr. Patrick’s letters. “If I did that, I would have no honor,” Mr. LaGuer said. “The idea that I would take $60,000 to betray a friendship seems pretty outrageous. I have to live with myself here.”
Mr. LaGuer claimed that he has more letters from Mr. Patrick than were obtained by The Boston Globe, although he indicated that they’re not in his possession at the prison, partly because inmates aren’t allowed to keep valuables in their cell.
I’m not sure I believe anything LaGuer says. I think he’s a self-serving huckster who will do anything to keep his name in the papers. But suspending my own disbelief for a moment, if these allegations are true, there are two bombshells here:
- There are more “Dear Ben” letters from Deval Patrick to LaGuer.
- Someone (the article implies that it was the Republicans) wants to get this info so badly they were willing to pay LaGuer for it.
Can you imagine how devastating it could have been to Patrick’s campaign if voice recordings of LaGuer reading the letters he allegedly received from Patrick were broadcast on your TV, radio, and on robo-calls? $100,000 would be chump change for that material. (I suppose you could also argue that the opposite is true: it would be worth that kind of money to “silence” LaGuer. Although if his story is true, getting the letters read out loud over the phone wouldn’t suppress anything.)
In any event, Patrick has probably had enough of LaGuer referring to their “friendship.” Something tells me that Patrick’s people don’t think LaGuer is helping.
Adapted from a post at No Drumlins.
I do think he has a right to appeal his conviction, but this is not right.
Hey nodrumlins, no offence, but why would you take a cheap shot at LaGuer like this?
Do you have any evidence of this? If so, please share. The fact is there are serious doubts about whether he even committed the crime he has served 23 years in prison for.
On the one hand, I appreciate that his trial was irregular at best and more likely was unfair. He very well may not be guilty. I support his fight for a new trial because whether or not he’s guilty, he deserves to be tried fairly. Everyone does. I didn’t suggest that he was wrong on the merits.
<
p>
That being said, I think there is plenty of evidence that LaGuer is a “self-serving huckster.” I think he has used his ties to Patrick for self-serving purposes despite how it effects his “friend’s” campaign for governor. As an example, I noticed just this morning that he’s trying to take credit for an “October Surprise” against Kerry Healey in today’s Herald:
I honestly think he comes across as a “Look at me!” figure and I think it hurts his credibitity. At least it does with me.