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Bryan Fitzgerald

14 Responses

  1. Another_Free_SUV says:

    I would like the T.U. to print the name of the Judge who signs the search warrant when cases like this are reported (as well as the date and time of issuance). The story states that a sale was ‘observed’ in a parking lot, not at the person’s home. What compelling evidence was then used to convince a judge to authorize a search warrant for a location that was not part of the alleged observation of a crime? Judges are public officials, and search warrants are a matter of public record.

    If the T.U. is going to report on these stories they should provide a complete account of all the details, and not simply be a PR instrument for the Sheriff’s office. Under $1,000 of a drug was found at a different location from the alleged observation, and yet $19k was taken from a private residence. Was this private property searched with prior authorization from a judge? If so, print the Judge’s name, along with the time of the arrest and time the warrant was issued. T.U. please go the extra mile to investigate facts and inform readers, otherwise skip the story.

    We all know the ACSO just uses this money to provide themselves with free highline SUV’s (isn’t Cohoes where Burke’s DIU crew is).

  2. D2 says:

    You’re supposed to hide it in a Coke bottle silly.

  3. GSD says:

    #1, give me a break. So you sympathize with the offender rather than the cops? The TU is hardly a “PR instrument” for local police. I guess they should start “skipping” stories then….

  4. elmer says:

    Relax @1. If the money is his and he can show it ain’t from dealing coke he gets to keep it. If on the other hand he has no other visible means of support why do you think he has $19,000 in a shoe box?

    As to the where of the arrest, it is pretty common for the cops not to want to make an arrest in public in case the coke dealer also is an arms collecter. So the cops (or an informant) see the deal, go get a warrant and execute it at his house, where presumably a bigger stash is kept.

    I will give you Burke’s a creep but this isn’t an example.

  5. I’m with #1 – the T.U should start taking requests.

    I’d love them to wash my car every Saturday morning and rub my back before bed.


  6. GoodPoint! says:

    I wonder how much blow they didn’t find at the dude’s house. 1/4 oz really isn’t that much in the grand scheme of things and if he has a roll of 19 g, then I bet he’s really got some secured away that the cops didn’t find.

  7. sm says:

    Damn, do you think I could petition the court to give me that $19,000? I could pay off my student loans with that. I promise not to hide it in my shoe.

  8. transparency_is_good says:

    Asking for T.U. reporters to provide complete and accurate information to readers is hardly an unreasonable request.

    Cash is not illegal, and confiscating it from private property is theft unless officers have a search warrant signed by a judge. Why should this person have to prove how the cash was obtained? Does ‘innocent until proven guilty’ not apply in America anymore? It shouldn’t matter what anyone ‘thinks’ about how that cash was obtained, the police should have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was obtained unlawfully before seizing it. The burden of proof is supposed to be on them.

    Also, the article states this person was sent to jail without bail. Was he represented by legal counsel at the arraignment? Did the town court judge deny bail entirely ? If so, is he a flight risk? Where is the full story? Is the Sheriff’s office the only ‘source’ for this news report? If so, then Apple could potentially say anything he wanted about cases (just like Burke does). Why not, if T.U. reporters will not be checking on facts or presenting a full account of the cases.

    Responsible journalism involves reporting on an entire story and verifying facts. Was there a search warrant for the private residence where Sheriff’s officers seized cash, or was this a civil rights violation? It is a simple fact to verify with the court, no ?

  9. Mike Goodwin says:

    For what it is worth:

    Comments from Transparency_is_good and another_free_suv are coming from the same person.

    Please refrain from using multiple user names.

  10. Kris says:

    some one got snagged…
    send the 19g to a nice local charity..
    we know its drug money… :)

  11. Transparency_is_good says:

    For what its worth, I’d like to desribe why I’ve posted here.

    First, I was shocked and appalled when I read the news about the lawsuit won by a bus station patron who was medically sedated and cavity searched for drugs which did not exist. Next, I read in February about a bus patron who was reported to have $150K of drugs in his underwear and I wondered how police were able to search his underwear at a bus station. Finally, I read about the personally assigned take-home vehicles purchased by ACSO staff, some of which cost $40K.

    So when I read this story, my first thought went to the free cars. My second thought was that the story made no mention of ‘police executed a search warrant issued by county/town judge so-and-so’. If that statement were part of the story, I would not have posted here. Maybe this man is a bad person, I do not know. Yes, it seems likely that the cash was not lawfully obtained, but is there proof of that? What I do know is that my opinion of ACSO is severely tainted based on the news reports I mentioned above. For future credibility of the news I read concerning ACSO, I’d like to read that searches and seizures are authorized and approved by someone outside of the organization (a Judge). If the ACSO wants to move beyond the stains of the past, it should want to be transparent about the legitimacy of their actions. It benefits them that readers like me do not question their methods or how they intend to spend seized assets. I hold T.U. reporters responsible for providing that legitimacy because, as a result of past statements given by Burke, I no longer trust the ACSO press releases. If a reporter puts search warrant information in a story, as I believe they should, it needs to be independently verified with the court to be trustworthy in my opinion. It is unfortunate that what has gone on at ACSO for years has made the public skeptical about the press releases they make, but the damage has been done and now they need to repair their reputation with transparency. I believe news reporters should facilitate this transparency.

  12. elmer says:

    @1 etc.–I think you are confusing the TU with a defense attorney.

  13. Bad Pantry says:

    Was it Popsi ?

  14. youranidiot says:

    Hey Transparency or whatever u call urself. Who cares if the search was done with a warrant, which I’m sure it was. Do you think TU reporters have the time to find out if the search was done with/without a warrant or what judge signed it or the if defendant signed a consent to search. The defendant could be staying with a friend and have no rights to the house except for the room he’s staying in. That could be his mother’s house who might be about 75 years old. Maybe it was her cocaine. Oh my, all these facts that the TU didn’t report. What is wrong with this world…….sarcasm. This is not people vs. Casey Anthony or OJ, ok. If you want all these facts…GO TO THE FUTURE COURT PROCEEDINGS.