A Whistleblower's Lament by Stuart Namm

Author:Stuart Namm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hellgate Press
Published: 2014-06-05T16:00:00+00:00

Eighteen-year-old Pistone had been in trouble with the law since he was fourteen. His arrests covered the gamut of larcenous acts-burglary, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, criminal trespass, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. He had no recorded history of violence. Although he was described as “evasive and manipulative,” by a Nassau County probation officer, the officer felt that he was “not a bad person, but…he is caught up in all sorts of illegal activities, and…he will go on to do ‘big time.’”4 His father, a “strict disciplinarian,” was a New York City detective, who separated from his mother when Joseph was fourteen, not surprisingly the year that young Joseph had his first brush with the law. He had a poor relationship with his “step-father,” and he was “seething with anger as a result of poor family relationships.” He was the classic product of a broken home. He dropped out of school in the eleventh grade at Farmingdale High School. He was “disruptive, fighting, cutting classes, and running away.”5

On August 28, 1984, he and a companion were arrested in Suffolk County after a high speed chase through the residential section of Farmingdale in a stolen 1981 Buick. They and the stolen vehicle were cornered in an apartment complex by several police cars which blocked the only available means of egress. Despite the presence of numerous uniformed police officers, Pistone, after being placed under arrest, attempted to flee the scene, displaying an air of arrogance and smug confidence not often seen in young suburban criminals. He displayed this same attitude as he plead guilty to criminal possession of stolen property before me in November 1984, and even as I sentenced him to one year in the county jail on March 6, 1985.

I did not see Joseph Pistone again until September 5, 1985. I had already forgotten about him. Petty criminals, even arrogant ones, are not generally memorable. They have a tendency to blend into one massive lump in one’s memory. But the Pistone that I would encounter in the Diaz trial would be truly unforgettable.

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