Ferak's theory is not exactly new to us on TTM, but it's nevertheless toubling to think about. But I am equally as certain that what I did see, and hear, was more than enough to not only show a preponderance of reasonable doubt, but to convince me that Manitowoc County is replete with corruption. I'm pretty sure at some point, Steven Avery's conviction will be overturned. He would be granted three major promotions in the following 8 years, quickly reaching the upper echelon of the MCSD. You are unbelievable. The desired response was to embarrass the victim's father? We were obviously nave in thinking that way.. When this shit happens over decades what you're left with is not exactly the crme de la crop. "Your entire sheriff dept are the ones who should be tossed in jail It makes me ashamed to be from Wisconsin and you can bet I wont be in a hurry to ever drive past your cesspool of evil. 78). Its county seat is Manitowoc. Privacy Policy. Obligatory: any factual inaccuracies in the post are mine, not Feraks. Just before Steven's trial began in 2007 a member of the Hermann family finally became Sheriff, and immediately promoted his younger brother to Deputy Inspector of Operations - third in command of the entire Department. Four critical aspects of this corruption are: Fraudulent prosecutions (utilizing criminal conduct) that appear to be done as favors so that well-connected insiders can profit in the civil realm from the fraudulent criminal convictions. and our In a notice of promotion (to Lieutenant) Kocourek said of Bushman (Pg. USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin sought access to written or electronic correspondence involving several current law enforcement officials at the Manitowoc County Sheriffs Office. What a joke of a department. Making a Murderer fans will remember Ken Kratz as the special prosecutor brought in by Manitowoc County officials who convicted Steven Avery of Teresa Halbach's 2005 . We are all a bit desensitized, I think, when it comes to theories surrounding Kuss road. Next I'll briefly review all three (yes, three) criminal investigation of Manitowoc County Sheriff's department conducted by the Wisconsin DOJ Division of Criminal Investigation (one in 2003, one in 2004 & and the last in 2009). One of the loudest voices in the public conversation about Steven Avery's possible innocence is Kathleen Zellner, Avery's attorney, who was featured on the Netflix documentary series about the Wisconsin murder case, Making a Murderer. Does Wisconsin know what JUSTICE is? Karma is a b.. It's a grossly obstructive act that SCREAMS BAD FAITH. Many locals were unwilling to weigh inpubliclyon the series, but those who did are far less likely than outsiders to turn against officials anddont seem to give the series much weight. Id run the grave risk of being arrested for arson and armed robbery before my tank was filled with gasoline. And of course, the crime lab reported nothing was found at the burial site. A huge amount of activity was directed at the Kuss road burial site on Nov 7, 2005. ", Alison Dirr: 920-996-7266 or adirr@gannett.com; on Twitter @AlisonDirr;Manitowoc Herald Times ReporterreporterSarah Kloepping:920-686-2105 or skloepping@htrnews.com; on Twitter@SarahKloepping. I imagine the Hermann father helping elect Kocourek had something to do with the Hermann sons becoming first and third in command decades later. The Hermann father helped elect Kocourek as Sheriff - and as Sheriff Kocourek would go on to repeatedly promote Petersen (See Part One). So Petersen takes the initiative to threaten Kakatsch with arrest if she should try and access the scene to do her job (Kakatsch eventually quit after Steven was convicted due to fearing for her safety). The Coroner at the time in 1981 (Mxxxx Cummings) claims Gina died from a head injury sustained in the crash of the motorcycles, and immediately goes on to say: A squad car later collided with the wreckage and the victim offering no further thoughts on the incident. Come 2005 Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department was stacked to the tits with officers who would have done damn near anything to help out their former corrupted boss, Sheriff Kocourek. 162-163). The County Steven was suing? Ferak says that Gina's father was left confused and grief stricken, but ultimately decided not to persue a wrongful death lawsuit. ", John Ferak: 920-993-7115 orjferak@gannett.com; on Twitter@johnferak, People protest at pro-Steven Avery rally in Manitowoc, Politician: Steven Avery's eyes prove he's guilty, No Steven Avery evidence planted: detective, Lt.Andrew Colborn fires back at"Making a Murderer" critic, Sheriff Rob Hermann urges letter writer to do more research, Manitowoc politician calls emails "borderline threatening. Ricky's dad in particular was said to be frustrated and angry about this possibility. MANITOWOC - The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, which has been accused of framing Steven Avery for a 1985 rape and planting numerous clues to convict Avery for the 2005 murder of. And no, the state has not and probably never will provide any semblance of sound reasoning to explain why cadaver and bloodhounds both alerted at the burial site if the scene was not connected to Teresa's death. 77). This needlessly destructive method of recovery ensured no meaningful examination could ever take place. "Some of the emails, in my opinion, have been borderline threatening. The boys in the club had once more saved themselves from facing civil liability, just like they did with Gina Hxxxxx (from Part One) and Ricky Hotchstetler (from above). ", 5. Please know that your judicial system looks like you all are unethical, immoral and corrupt. She was hearing a lot of skepticism around town. Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are innocent. Petersen's collision in specific was an example of extreme negligence. As such, it's no wonder both Petersen and Bushman became Kocourek's loyal underlings, helping him and the department out in 1985 (re: Penny) in 1999 (re: Ricky) and in 2005 (re: Teresa). Ferak argues the more than three hours between the discovery of the site and the arrival of the crime lab deepens suspicion about whether incriminating evidence of a crime scene was being hauled away (Pg. In their latest vendetta against alleged injustice, supposed members of the hacktivist group Anonymous have pledged to expose corruption in the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department. How confident are you that Zellner will be able to exonerate Avery? IMO the theory that Bushman and Hermann worked together to swap out evidence of the striking vehicle in the Ricky H case is made credible by their own actions. Sharon McConnell of Manitowoc,approached as she was reading a newspaper at a local cafe,said she hasn't seen the series and doesn't plan to watch it. This film shows only three to maybe four hours of courtroom for Steven Avery and youre talking a trial that lasted approximately six weeks, so there is a lot of evidence missing.". Allegedly, the older Hermann brother (instead of driving around all night to different dealerships) took the improperly collected evidence to his familys salvage yard and swapped out the damaged car parts from the scene for older car parts so to redirect the upcoming vehicular homicide investigation away from the Hermann family, their business and vehicles. The Manitowoc Sheriff's Department is known as a northern style "good ole boy" network that would rival the KKK counties in the south, complete with a lot of false arrests and arrogant, poorly trained and disciplined deputies. People like you are a plague on our country. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Jost, along with agents from the DOJ, ensured the bones were quickly collected using shovels, boxes and garbage bags, all without any photos or measurements being taken or experts being called to forensically examine the scene. 166). So yes, both the MCSD and Wisconsin DOJ wanted Steven's lawsuit to fail more than they wanted justice to be served to Teresa and her family. Why? 4. IMO such an act cannot be explained away innocently. Kocourek's legacy of corruption continued thriving thanks to Petersen becoming Sheriff. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $225 in court costs. Manitowoc County Drug Disposal Program is accepting unused and/or expired medications, over-the-counter medications, prescription medications and pet medications at no charge. Like Kocourek and Petersen before him, Sheriff Hermann made sure the upper echelon of the MCSD contained a bastion of loyalists, family and friends. Bushman (who is likely involved in a police cover-up of Rickys death) decided to intimidate Rickys father; and the report it's not even subtle. To be sure, I am not saying Mr. Avery was innocent, but, there was clear and convincing evidence, to me, of a massive amount of reasonable doubt which means he is innocent in this country. The crime lab, however, was not called immediately. Ferak's Kuss road theory matches up with what we on TTM have been saying for years - Manitowoc County found the remains at the burial site, planted the bones in Steven's burn pit, manufactured their re-discovery a day later (and ensured a quick but unprofessional recovery of the evidence) and a day after that they began obstructing the investigation into the scene of their planting, desperate to keep the coroner away from the scene. No, I dont think God will help any of you, as you know the truth and have done nothing. I couldn't believe Bushman wrote what he wrote in his report of his confrontation with the victim's father - Bushman MCSD Report, Pg. I wished to catch what type of reaction this would bring. Manitowoc County is now officially on the map for having the most corrupt (law enforcement officers) in the nation, congrats. Although a coroner determined Gina Hxxxxx died before being run over by Petersens squad car, such an opinion would ideally be backed up by a thorough investigation. Sheriff Petersen was still doing whatever he could to help cover up the truth from behind the scenes such as when he threatened Coroner Kakatsch with arrest if she tried to access the scene of Teresa's mutilation, as was required of her by statute. Among other things, Petersen told reporters Steven "could be a con man" (false and inflammatory) that he burned a cat alive (false and inflammatory) and that if he wasn't convicted of Teresa's murder he would kill AGAIN (speculative and inflammatory). In this case, surely the state knew to expect intense adversarial challenges if they were going to arrest Steven Avery. And although it's a big topic of conversation, she said, most people here are talking about the documentary itself, notdebating whether the men actually committed the crime. Part one will focus on Sheriff Kocourek and Sheriff Petersen. I see him leading a laid-back life and enjoying the solitude. Ever God will deal with everyone who had a hand in this mess, you can be sure of that. Calumet County (Wiegert) and Manitowoc County executives obstruct the investigation into the alleged scene of Teresa's mutilation by unlawfully preventing Coroner Kakatsch from accessing the scene as was required of her by law. Kocourek praised Petersen endlessly in his many promotion notices, one of which read (Pg. Steven Avery was wrongfully convicted in 1985, exonerated in 2003, and filed a lawsuit in 2004 seeking millions in damages from Former Sheriff Kocourek and former DA Vogel for their intentional misconduct. Although only MCSDs history is examined in the post, the same lesson applies to other departments. ", Vandedrinckfirst learned about the trials when he started the series. There is no question thats what this film did, he said. I used to think of cranes when I heard the name Manitowoc, not anymore. Although Petersen's casual discussion about killing Steven Avery is notable and troubling, his most corrupt act related to the Halbach case would have to be his threatening of Coroner Kakatsch to stay away from the scene of Teresa's mutilation (obviously done to protect what he must have known was a frame job). After working as a bus driver for years Bushman applied to the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department in 1974 with no prior experience in law enforcement. How sad for your countys image. Asked why this would be, Bolick responded, "A lot of them have lived it so watching a documentary is not going to change the way they view it.". 154) the older Hermann brother announced to the press in the morning that the striking vehicle was determined to be an older Chevy or Van. Ferak reviewed the Hochstetler hit and run case to, among other things, establish the possibility that Bushman engaged in corrupt conduct by helping disappear pieces of evidence. What will your department come out and say then? From Zellner's investigative instincts to Avery's current standing in the court system to a detailed analysis of the accusations against former prosecutor Ken Kratz, Ferak covers a variety of new angles in the book and expands on the key points that make the case so polarizing. Local officials and organizations havebeen bombarded with taunts and questions and requests over the Netflix docu-series, "Making a Murderer." If Kakatsch made it through their corrupt defense and forensically examined the burn pit all hell might break loose. I can, however, now look my children in the eyes and say, 'at least we dont live in Wisconsin. Jost) met with Lt. Bushman and due to the fact the pieces looked newer, he did not believe they belonged to the suspect vehicle on the hit and run fatality. And if it's true that Bushman and crew found and removed evidence of Teresa's death at the burial site, we must include Bushman, Lenk and Colborn in our list of suspects for who planted the bones in Steven's burn pit. Keep in mind, Ferak attempts to draw a correlation between Bushman's conduct during Ricky's case compared to his conduct during Teresa's case. This is just kind of a blip in the history of the world. This is PART TWO in a three part series of posts concerning the troubling history of Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department as detailed by Jxxx Ferak in his book "Wrecking Crew." After failing to find employment in his chosen field Petersen begrudgingly took a retail store job to make ends meet. ", 4. Its a shame theyre making money off it at the expense of the Halbach family. Handcuffs and leg shackles were found in Averys bedroom. Ferak never suggests Bushman was intoxicated but the thought definitely crossed my mind. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. After reportedly driving around all night to different dealerships with the improperly collected car parts in his vehicle (Pg. Eventually, citizens began discussing the possibility of a police cover-up, including Ricky's mother and father. 79 of his book Ferak says, "PETERSEN and BUSHMAN would both ascend into top level leadership positions - tokens of gratitude for their unwavering loyalty and ability to follow orders from Sheriff Kocourek.". ", 3. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. No investigation was done into the matter because the County didn't want to know if Petersen was responsible for a vehicular manslaughter. In the interest of explaining just how tangled this web is, I review the many, many familiar or social connections between the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, Calumet County Sheriff's Department, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice. In Florida, John Rider of the Village of Virginia . The county was created in 1836 prior to Wisconsin's statehood and organized in 1848. ADRC of the Lakeshore ; Crime Stoppers ; Foster Care Program A retired Manitowoc County Sheriff's Office police officer has sued Netflix and the makers of the documentary series "Making a Murderer" for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional. "I dont think weve peaked yet. And although she doesn't think it will affect the business in which she works, Cordova wondered if the series would deter people from visiting the county or the city. Here's a snapshot of the worldwideoutrage directed at Hermann: 1. In 2016 especially and also in 2017, I made countless trips to the Manitowoc County Courthouse and to the Avery Salvage Yard, as well as to the Manitowoc County government building, where I reviewed hundreds and hundreds of employee personnel records for Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department officials, past and present. Manitowoc County Board Chairman Jim Brey, in an email sent in December, urged fellow county board membersto rally behind thesheriff's department, which was the target of angrymessages from people across the world. Consider giving Ferak's book a look if you haven't already. It turns out Bushman's family owned a hardware store in southern Manitowoc County (Pg. Meyer and a volunteer spent time during the holidays deleting posts and trying to rebound from reviews that include statements such as, What an embarrassment. "As the father of a Down syndrome age 16 daughter, I know how easy it is to manipulate a mentally challenged person by promising what they want at a precise moment. I look forward to working with you and having you as my right-hand man.. Yellow S. Las Vegas, NV 15 19 2/25/2023 Corrupt police department. Kakatsch kept trying to access the scene after being rebuffed. Only loyalists are hired and promoted and well meaning officers either burn out or are forced out. Popular Services. "I would never travel to your town as it is apparent there is a lot of corruption in the sheriffs office, the disgraceful prosecutor, and even the judges, including the appellate courts It is truly unbelievable that your community could make such a travesty of the judicial system. It appears statements were not taken from the two males involved with the initial collision (or were taken but not reported). If she draws some stinkers, then her efforts to exonerate Steven Avery might be prolonged. 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The same lesson applies to other departments in this mess, you can be sure that! Knew to expect intense adversarial challenges if they were going to arrest Steven might! With taunts and questions and requests over the Netflix docu-series, `` Making a Murderer. citizens discussing! Three major promotions in the nation, congrats thanks to Petersen becoming Sheriff frustrated and about!
