-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Notes on Tripp are mostly sour Letters: A Maryland prosecutor hears from people all over the country about the wiretap case, and three out of four fault him. By Del Quentin Wilber Sun Staff >From all corners of America, dozens of people have written letters on scrap paper, letterhead and even a Christmas card to vent their anger at one man: State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli. They are upset that Montanarelli is "hounding" and "harassing," "persecuting" and "prosecuting" Linda R. Tripp on state wiretapping charges. One writer suggests that Montanarelli should die; another calls him a "pimp"; still another includes his photograph with the caption, "Liar." About 130 letters, obtained by The Sun under the Maryland Public Information Act, have arrived at the state prosecutor's office in Towson since February 1998, when Montanarelli began looking into whether Tripp illegally taped White House intern Monica Lewinsky's conversations about President Clinton. They portray an interesting slice of the American psyche and what possesses people from Oregon to New York to write about the prosecution of a Columbia woman accused of illegally taping a single telephone conversation. Most of the letter writers said they wanted to get something off their chest. Just ask James Giancola, 71, a retired restaurant owner in Las Vegas, Nev. Giancola, a Republican, recalled seeing a Tripp-related story in the newspaper lastmonth, so he decided to send Montanarelli a card displaying a photograph of a little girl thumbing her nose at the camera. "You are going to lose this case and look like a monkey in the process. I feel you're a disgrace to the Italian people," he wrote. Giancola says he feels bad for Tripp, who has been savaged for her role in the scandal. She blew the whistle on high-level corruption, Giancola says, and was simply trying to protect herself. Writing the letter made him feel better. "God bless her," Giancola said. "She deserves a medal." Polite beginnings Many of the letters begin "Dear Mr. Montanarelli" and go on to accuse him of wasting taxpayer dollars, participating in a nationwide conspiracy and using his office for political intimidation. One suggests that he has helped the justice system sink "to the sewer level!" Another writer sent one page -- 30 times by fax -- with the words: "Shame, Disgust and Nauseating!" For his part, Montanarelli says he reads every single letter and shrugs off the criticism. "They are addressed to me, and I read them," Montanarelli said. "I don't expect everyone to agree with what I do. I think if they knew me personally, they would not venture those opinions of me." He should take heart. About 25 percent of the letters were positive, applauding his determination. "I am really glad you're taking her to trial and so are many people I talk to," proclaims one letter writer from Gambrills. "Don't let Linda Tripp squirm out of it." Arriving in batches The letters, faxes and e-mails from ordinary Americans have arrived in batches. About 40 were delivered within days of Tripp's indictment in July on two counts of violating the state's wiretapping statute; 30 arrived after the highly publicized hearings last month on whether prosecutors gathered their evidence without using Tripp's immunized testimony to Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr. Tripp's tape-recordings from her Columbia home exposed a sexual relationship between Clinton and Lewinsky. The tapes led to Clinton's impeachment in December 1998. Others involved in the case have also received piles of mail. Legal advice for lawyer Tripp's Web site (www.linda tripp.com) posts dozens of notes from supporters. Her attorney, Joseph Murtha, says he has received several letters and his client has accumulated thousands. Though some have sought his autograph, Murtha says, most letter writers are giving him unsolicited legal advice from across the nation. "Some people have taken a lot of time to research the Maryland statute," Murtha said. But he doesn't read all of them. "If I read everything, I would run out of time," he said. Most experts seem surprised at the relatively small number of letters Montanarelli has received, especially after the intense feelings the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal generated. "This is probably the most publicized minor crime in the last two years," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Governmental studies and author of "Feeding Frenzy," a book about how the news media cover politics. "The people who are most anti-Clinton would naturally be inclined to defend her," he said. "The people who were most opposed to the impeachment process are inclined to call for her head. Linda Tripp is arguably a central figure in all this." Outrage to sympathy The letter writers agreed with that assessment, saying they wrote to Montanarelli for various reasons, ranging from outrage to sympathy. Some even threatened to boycott Maryland to get their way. Dennis Lowry, 53, of Indianapolis, was so disgusted by the prosecution that he wrote he would no longer allow members of his Boy Scout troop to stay in Maryland when they visit Washington, D.C., every summer. Lowry is a Republican. His note last month begins rather respectfully, "Mr. Montanarelli," and ends like many of the other letters: "You and everyone involved with this spurious prosecutor should be ashamed of yourselves. But since you are in the pocket of the Clintons, I assume you have as little shame as they do." To get his attention Lowry said he wrote the letter to get Montanarelli's attention. "There is value of someone looking at a letter that someone sat down and wrote by hand. It also eliminates the possibility that anyone can look at it and say it was a form letter." Those supporting Montanarelli said they wrote for the same reasons. David Weldon, 52, of Cragsmoor, N.Y., said he was surprised that most of the letters were negative. "That boggles my mind," he said. Weldon says he supports Republican John McCain for president. He also supports New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in the coming Senate race against first lady Hillary Clinton. So, why did a Republican-leaning man write to Montanarelli? "I just wanted to make my little input," said Weldon, a computer programmer. "Clinton was prosecuted. No guy paid a bigger price for getting his hand caught in the nookie-cookie jar. Linda Tripp went to Ken Starr, did these things with an eye to her own glory." But no flowers Despite the letters, Montanarelli hasn't benefited from one type of letter that prosecutors in the O. J. Simpson case received: notes attached to bouquet of flowers. "Tons of flowers were -schlepped in here," said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles district attorney. "The place looked like a funeral parlor." But Montanarelli doesn't want his supporters, or detractors, to send him flowers. "I don't want anything," he says. "I can't accept gifts." Besides flowers, Los Angeles prosecutors received hundreds, if not thousands, of letters and phone calls from people "acting like armchair detectives" during the Simpson trial in 1995, Gibbons says. Most of the Tripp letters have nothing to do with legal theory or advice on trial tactics. Mary Ann Owen of Pueblo, Colo., wrote after she saw a fund-raising letter from the Linda Tripp Legal Defense Fund that urged supporters to write to state prosecutors. "Shame on you," Owen wrote. "You gentlemen have created a `Vietnam' in this case, and it stinks." Owen, a retired registered nurse, says she hoped her letter might encourage Montanarelli to drop the case. "I just wish he would go easy on the poor woman," she said. "Linda is having such a hard time." But Montanarelli says the letters and phone calls haven't deterred him. "My duty is to do what I think is correct in each case and not let public opinion sway me." Originally published on Jan 22 2000 ================================================================= Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT FROM THE DESK OF: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *Mike Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ~~~~~~~~ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends Shalom, A Salaam Aleikum, and to all, A Good Day. ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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