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By City of Angels Lady
Good news: forward movement for the plaintiffs in hearings Wednesday morning. There’s now a court order to conduct financial discovery on the Los Angeles Archdiocese, because two cases have such a preponderance of evidence that it’s “likely plaintiffs will prevail.”** The two orders are for a Caffoe case (trial date August 6) and a Rucker case (trial date December 3) but the resulting audit of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles Health and Welfare Corporation will apply to all 500 cases moving through the court system, with the first jury trial June 11 (the Kreutzer cases).
Judge Haley Fromholz granted the motion saying: “Plaintiffs’ evidence establishes a substantial probability that plaintiffs will prevail on the punitive damages claim.” Concerning the Lynn Caffoe case, BC307225, Katherine Freberg’s office cited as evidence: testimony of a priest and housekeeper, another priest’s description of a videotape taken from Caffoe’s room of the priest filming minors having sex, numerous reports from parents and parishioners to a priest and at least one monsignor, complaints by a school principal to the chancery, Caffoe’s commitment to St. Luke’s Institute, reports from the Redondo Beach Police, and finally, plaintiff’s testmony.
Church attorneys did not even try to argue back. The other case that opened archdiocese financial records Wednesday was BC307410, where several attorneys along with Freberg’s office built a similarly concrete case involving George Neville Rucker. Here one plaintiff reported to her first and second grade teachers in the early 1960s that Rucker was molesting her and she had pain in her “private parts.” Another plaintiff went to a nun on behalf of herself and a group of girls and the nun “slapped (her) in the face several times and told her not to talk about Father Rucker like that."
An unidentified mother reported Rucker in 1965 to the principal of St. Anthony’s and the principal reported the allegations. In 1967 Bishop Timothy Manning “suppressed a police investigation into sex abuse by Father rucker.
Rucker was not finally removed from ministry. . . .
Until 2002, more than 40 years after the first report in 1959 that he was abusing children. By 2002 George Neville Rucker had more than 40 known accusers.
Rucker spent a few months in prison before the Stogner Supreme Court decision in 2003 set him free and he is now living somewhere in Los Angeles. So once again a preponderance of evidence makes it “likely plaintiffs will prevail” in this case.
PERSONAL NOTE:
How can I check if Freberg is the Attorney in BC307410?????
Or: Why I Have A Donate Button in the Upper Left Hand Corner of this Blog
Patrick Laurence from Freberg’s office was in court today for the Rucker case, so I’m pretty sure this is a Freberg case.
I’d call Freberg’s office to confirm but I no longer have long distance on my phone so I can no longer even call the 714.
In fact, everything in my life is falling apart, again, or, as I put on the new “donate button” in the upper left corner of this blog, we are slipping through the cracks.
Two months ago I had two sources of income and I was thriving, with time in my schedule to cover hearings and enough cash coming in to pay the rent and bills.
I even saved up and bought a laptop.
Within days of each other in April both sources of income disappeared. If I were narcissistic I’d think it was the church attorneys playing dirty tricks to mess with my life and keep me from writing this blog, but it’s just Governor Arnold discontinued one benefit I was getting from the state and the company I was working for as a transcriber just, went out of business, and the work disappeared.
So I right now I have about 9 dollars left and if I don't have the rent by June 5, I will have to give 30 days’ notice and start having a yard sale to sell everything but a few boxes to put into storage,
And become homeless, yes homeless, once again.
I will become a homeless blogger.
This blog and the donate button may have to be my only source of income for a while.
There’s a chance I’ll get state EDD disability again in a few weeks. . . but I’m not counting on it.
So on advice of a friend and my daughter I am doing an NPR or PBS style fundraiser. If you like this blog and have a few dollars, please put it on my Pay-Pal account and maybe I’ll be able to keep a roof over my head. If you like this blog and have a lot of money, please put a whole lot of cash on my Pay-Pal account and maybe I won’t lose my apartment.
I’m actually not scared to become a homeless blogger as
I’m finding this is a new lifestyle to be any number of professions and homeless in California.
It won’t be that bad. I’ll be able to live in these weekly hotels around town, and maybe occasionally crash at friends’ homes. I’ll make it. I’ll continue writing this blog even if I have to get a wireless card and move into a cardboard box. Nothing can stop me now.
I think I’ve gone off on a tangent.
BACK TO WHY I PUT IN A “DONATE” BUTTON:
I didn’t start this blog intending to ask for money but. . .
Anyway, I no longer have a visible means of support. My blog and my donate button are all I have for now. Oh, and the tons of cash I’ll get from the yard sale I’ll have in June to make moving out of this apartment easier…
So anything my readers can send to the Pay-Pal account on the donate button in the left hand corner will help a lot.
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Paul Kreutzer Lies about Lies to Try to Save Archdiocese Cash
Paul Kreutzer has decided he lied to the FBI in 2003
One reason the two motions passed easily Wednesday morning was the church filed no objections. But in BC308065, a case involving Paul Kreutzer, where the plaintiff filed a similar request to file an amended complaint for punitive damages, the church is fighting, saying Paul Kreutzer was lying in 2003 in a taped interview with FBI agents “to protect the victim.”
Saying he lied to the FBI is Kreutzer’s and the church attorneys’ way to get this damaging piece of evidence, a taped interview with Federal Agents, thrown out of court. . . . so lame, so lame, these church attorney flailings about in obvious lies and obstruction of justice. Right. Kreutzer decided he was lying, or maybe he’s lying that he was lying and he really wasn’t lying which would mean he’s lying now. . .
Kreutzer is trying to get a major piece of evidence thrown out, a taped interview he gave to the FBI.
In their opposition papers filed May 21, Baker Baker Fink et al Church Attorneys say Kreutzer “submitted in his April 23, 2007 deposition that he lied in his June 27, 2003, interview with federal agents (that) he lied in the subject statements in an effort to protect one of his alleged victims.”
They submit this quote from Kreutzer’s April 23 deposition testimony:
Q: Okay, But in that interview that was tape recorded, were you truthful in that interview?
A: No I wasn’t.
Q: You were saying things that were --
A: I was agreeing.
Q: Alright. Let me ask the question.
A: Okay
Q: You were agreeing with the questions so that you could help Lucie?
A: Absolutely.
Q: When asked did you feel that Sister Frances Catherine knew or should have known that you were -- (tape skips) -- touching the children?” and you say “She should have known.” Was that true or false?
KREUTZER: No that was not true.
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Final status conference for Kreutzer cases is supposed to be May 31st with the trial already set for June 11.
I don’t see a hearing yet on calendar for this motion to file an amended complaint where the church will try to argue that Kreutzer couldn't be lying now because he was lying in 2003 instead.
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They're still trying to get Frances Weber to testify in deposition:
For case BC307225, the Caffoe case with an August 6 trial date the church is still trying to keep Monsignor Weber from testifying.
Church attorneys filed yet another objection May 1 (declaration of Sean Kneafsey of Kneafsey Tostado & Associates one of the many firms recently added to these cases and many others by Church Attorneys).
Hearing on getting Weber to testify is May 30th.
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I don't know what happened to the motions to compel Roger Mahony to answer interrogatories from May 16th. If anyone knows please email me.
Wait until you hear the whole story of Sister Frances Catherine and Paul Kreutzer, a predator pair who moved to California from Chicago . . .
More to Come. . .
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** Amended Complaints for Punitive Damages are based on Code of Civil Procedure sec 425.14, audit of defendant may begin when in discovery evidence shows plaintiff is likely to prevail.
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