Another Kindlon Appeal

There was another appeal by Kindon yesterday in front of NY’s highest appellate court. Kindlon, once again, argued that Joan’s head nod should not have been allowed into evidence because she no longer has a memory of nodding her head to Det. Bowdish’s question: Did Christopher do this to you? He would like the Court to make a new rule….”If a person gives evidence in a case and then later can’t remember having given that testimony (evidence) whether it’s because too much time has passed and people forget what they have said….or because they have been seriously injured and that injury causes a loss of memory, then whatever statements or evidence they once gave should be “vaporized” and never be mentioned again…even if there were witnesses who still do remember what the person said or did.” So, if you witness a crime and you tell a policeman you knew and saw the criminal and named him in front of others….a year later you can say you don’t remember what you said and that criminal goes free….even if the witnesses to your statement still do remember what you said. If this Court agrees with that thinking, then there will be a lot of forgetful witnesses as criminals make sure they won’t remember…either by killing all witnesses…or physically threatening any witnesses who gave statements to police into “forgetting.” Any wonder why crime increases as defense lawyers and their clients seek more and more protection through amendments to existing laws made to protect the innocent….While victims have less and less through their own choice or the misinterpretation of laws meant to protect the both the victim and the criminal equally?
We can only hope that these judges will not slide down the path Kindlon has greased for them. And, why, for the sake of Justice is John Polster still involved in defending the rights of both Joan Porco, the victim, and Christopher Porco the assailant while he failed to pay licensing fees for years to practice before NYS Courts. He is a criminal defending a criminal while representing the victim which is an unpunished travesty of justice!

48 HOURS NEVER SPEAKS TO FAMILY MEMBERS

Did you notice that not one family member agreed to speak with 48 hours? While Chris is requesting hair gel and a suit, the rest of his family, except his mother, is trying to come to grips with the fact that this young man who was so richly endowed with intelligence and opportunity,was so flawed that he could murder his parents for greed. And, while Kindlon and Shanks held a birthday party for Chris so that 48 hours could bring their cameras for a shoot...family members were trying to convince Joan that her attorney, Polster, and Kindlon/Shanks were lying to her. Kindlon and Shanks cooperated with 48 hours because they thought there was no chance for a guilty verdict. They were hoping for national publicity for their excellent representation of Christopher and the "not guilty" verdict that would result from their "smoke and mirrors" defense. I would bet they are now wishing that this case would not be scheduled for national viewing. It's bad enough they have lost their "fine" reputation in the Albany, NY area... Come October 28th, the nation will know they were defeated by a sociopath and the truth! And Christopher... the son whose mother was not allowed to ask him whether he was guilty or innocent (by order of Kindlon/Shanks)will speak to the nation ... I, personally, can't wait to hear what he has to say to strangers that he couldn't say to any family member!

48 HOURS TO ENTERTAIN US WITH PORCO MURDER

Producers from “48 Hours Mystery” were in Delmar on Friday, Sept. 15, shooting footage and interviewing local officials in advance of a one-hour special on the Christopher Porco murder trial that will premiere on CBS Oct. 28.”They were at 36 Brockley Drive on Saturday filming inside the house,” said Det. Christopher Bowdish, the lead detective on the Porco murder case for the Bethlehem Police Department. The production crew also brought in a special effects team from Oklahoma to use high-tech equipment and even fog effects to recreate the scene of the crime the night of Nov. 15, 2004. The Brockley Drive home is no longer owned by the Porco family.Brockley Drive was closed to traffic for a brief period of time on Saturday evening while production crews worked through the night and neighbors watched. Scheduled guests for the news show include Bowdish, the defense team of Terence Kindlon and Laurie Shanks, and Michael McDermott and David Rossi from the Albany County District Attorney’s office.Christopher Porco was interviewed by CBS show producers at the Albany County jail on Aug. 30, at 9 a.m. for 45 minutes.“We received a letter from Mr. Kindlon on Aug. 28 confirming the 48 Hours show interview,” said Albany County Sheriff James Campbell. “The letter read please be advised this is the only interiew we are approving,” Campbell said. The only people allowed in the room with Porco were a correction officer, attorney Laurie Shanks, and the CBS TV crew. Producers would not reveal what Christopher Porco had to say during the 30-minute interview. Porco reportedly requested to be allowed to wear a suit jacket and even asked for hair gel for the interview but was denied both requests. Instead, he was interviewed in his yellow jailhouse clothes. Elaine LaForte of Bethlehem Veterinary Hospital was also interviewed for the show. Porco, who was an employee at the veterinary hospital, stayed at the home of John Kearney and LaForte after his indictment and throughout the trial proceedings. In August, Christopher Porco was convicted by an Orange County jury of murdering his father Peter Porco with an ax and attempting to murder his mother Joan Porco during the overnight hours of Nov. 14 and 15, 2004, at their Brockley Drive home.Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 25, three days before the CBS show’s air date. Christopher Porco faces a maximum of 50 years in a state maximum correctional facility.Authorities believe Christopher Porco drove from the University of Rochester campus to Delmar the night of Nov. 14, 2004, and attacked his parents while they were asleep in the early-morning hours of Nov. 15, before driving back to the University of Rochester campus, where he was seen around 8:30 a.m. the next morning. News of the murder shocked the community, and a year after the attacks, the Albany County District Attorney’s office handed an indictment against the Porcos’ younger son, Christopher, who was 22 at the time of the attacks. Pre-trial hearings were held in May, and the trial began in June and lasted eight weeks until a conviction has handed down in a little over six hours by a jury of eight women and four men.Porco’s attorney Kindlon is in the process of filing an appeal on the murder conviction. Peter Porco was the chief law clerk for 3RD Division State Appellate Court Judge Anthony Cardona in Albany when he was murdered. Joan Porco was working as a speech therapist at Schalmont School prior to the attack.Campbell said Porco has been a quiet prisoner so far.“He mostly reads and keeps to himself,” said Campbell. “He gets a lot of mail from young females from the Delmar area.” You can contact cuozzoj@spotlightnews.com with any questions.

THANK YOU WNYT FOR YOUR PORCO BLOG

Dear Abby and Chris,
WNYT's blog site was truly a gift to many of the Porco/Balzano family members.It was a way for us to take the temperature of the public as to guilt/no guilt...and use that information as an indication of how the jury might be thinking.It gave us the opportunity to correct the lies and fabrications that were used by the defense to distort the truth. By allowing us to write the truth, even though unheard by the jury, we felt some control over this wholly uncontrollable family nightmare.We were deeply touched and strengthened by the kind words, prayers and expressions of concern sent to us by so many blog participants.We also needed to read those blogs declaring Chris was innocent. We all WANTED to believe in his innocence. We HOPED that there would be some one thing that would dispel all the evidence pointing to his guilt So many of our family members read and/or contributed to this blog on a daily basis. Since we all live in different parts of the country, this blog allowed us to go through the trial TOGETHER at all times of the day and night. Being together in this blog was especially important to a family in which both the victims and the accused were/are members.So, when you make your assessment of this blog... please add the above comments, and our appreciation, to your success.Posted by PorcoFactChecker 10:59 AM, August 17, 2006 orco

REPARATIONS FOR THE DEFENSE

Unless Kindlon is going to pursue Chris’ appeal at the public defenders’ fee rate, he has no right to ask the County to pay for the transcripts for Chris’ defense. If Chris is determined to be indigent, then he is entitled to a public defender to file an appeal on his behalf (and that assigned public defender is entitled to the trial transcripts at no cost ). Those who are privy to this information must ascertain that Kindlon/Shanks (having billed the County for the trial transcripts) are the appelant’s lawyers and are paid according to public defenders’ rates as established by the legislature.
Christoher Porco should have been declared indigent at his indictment. But, because Joan Porco’s attorney, John Polster, convinced her that Kindlon/Shanks would get an acquittal for her son, Joan paid K/S’s fees. Now that those “expert” witnesses were less than expert…K/S feel guilty asking Joan to pay for their testimony… Is there no shame among these lawyers?
We are astonished that Kindlon would ask the people of Albany County to pay for his defense costs… especially because his defense was so damaging to the Porco/Balzano family. Imagine an attorney telling a victim (mother) not to ask the defendant (her son) if he did, in fact, kill his father and try to kill her?! No family member was allowed to ask Chris if he was innocent (or guilty)… as demanded by Terry Kindlon.
Because of K/S, Albany County taxpayers paid the cost of a Goshen trial… Now, they are asked to pay for an appeal… Don’t let the County pay a cent more than a public defender would receive! No one should profit from this nightmare!

Oh… In case anyone is wondering why I logged on to this blog tonight… it really wasn’t to “fuel the fire.” I logged on to read and to be in touch with those who were still thinking about Peter Porco’s life and his murder… because, today, August 22nd, our family would have celebrated Peter’s birthday. We will remember Peter for the way he lived; not the way he died. We know that he loved his wife, his children, his parents, his sister and brother, his extended family, and his friends because his good deeds and actions told us so!

WHAT WOULD HAVE PETER DONE?

Patty Szostok spoke for our family and her brother when she said that she had to trust in the process as Peter had, all his life. That process did not let us down. It, through the efforts of so many, found the evidence, brick by brick, and created the walls that will hold Christopher away from the family he deceived and used, and society for the rest of his life. The process was made very difficult by the protections afforded defendants, which is as it should be. But, the truth found its way thru all the obstacles, and reached out to the jury. And, that jury did not fail the process with “unreasonable doubt”; neither did it show unreasonable sympathy for the defendant because he was constantly referred to as a “child,” nor because his mother once again tried to save him from the consequences of his behavior.
There is no doubt that a portion of Christopher’s defense has been paid for by Peter’s insurance benefits. All along, Joan’s family has questioned the legal advice that has been given her by her attorney, John Polster. He has worked closely with the defense team and has allowed Joan to pay for Christopher’s defense. He has encouraged Joan to separate herself from any and all family members who couldn’t support Christopher 100%. He allowed Joan to be a defense pawn. He has defended his actions by saying that his client, Joan, wanted to defend her son, and he has only helped her to do so…and, helped the defense duo, Kindlon and Shanks. He has had the nerve to say that he knows that Peter Porco would want him to be Joan’s attorney and to help her protect their son!
Peter Porco, himself, told Christopher that he would have to press charges against him for his forgery of loans which were ruining Peter’s credit and which were illegal. Does John Polster really believe that if Peter Porco was willing to press charges against his son for forgery, he would want Polster to defend his son against murdering him and trying to murder his wife? … And, using his (Peter’s) life insurance proceeds to do so? How much money does anyone really think Peter wanted Chris to steal from him, alive or dead?
The next trial our family is waiting for is the NYS Bar Associations unethical and criminal proceedings against John Polster. Now Joan knows that a jury has weighed the evidence and found her son guilty; she has to know that she was mislead by John Polster… who was working for Shanks and Kindlon … and, that she was not doing what Peter would want her to do for Christopher…as Polster worked so hard to convince her of.
But, wait… I hear the sound bites of “appeal” being shouted into any media device available. Do I also hear the sound of money being drained from Joan’s assets? Yep! Is her faithful attorney John Polster encouraging her to finance such an appeal because Kindlon says the record is “fraught with reversible errors?” … Someone needs to stop the madness and retrieve her from the clutches of Polster, Kindlon and Shanks and return Joan to her family who truly loves her

WNYT PORCO TRIAL BLOG

Dear Abby and Chris,

This blog site was truly a gift to many of the Porco/Balzano family members.

It was a way for us to take the temperature of the public as to guilt/no guilt...and use that information as an indication of how the jury might be thinking.

It gave us the opportunity to correct the lies and fabrications that were used by the defense to distort the truth.
By allowing us to write the truth, even though unheard by the jury, we felt some control over this wholly uncontrolable family nightmare.

We were deeply touched and strengthened by the kind words, prayers and expressions of concern sent to us by so many blog participants.

We also needed to read those blogs declaring Chris was innocent. We all WANTED to believe in his innocence. We HOPED that there would be some one thing that would dispell all the evidence pointing to his guilt

So many of our family members read and/or contributed to this blog on a daily basis. Since we all live in different parts of the country, this blog allowed us to go through the trial TOGETHER at all times of the day and night. Being together in this blog was especially important to a family in which both the victims and the accused were/are members.

So, when you make your assessment of this blog... please add the above comments, and our appreciation, to your success.

DEFENSE DIVIDES FAMILY AND LIES ABOUT IT

I have revised a post submitted on 7/29... In that post, I was too specific about the actions of individuals. Because of my spedificity, it was probably not approved for publication. I have revised my post, leaving out specifics attributable to specific individuals. The facts remain true, the names have been omitted in hopes of approval. Thank you.

In response to the accusation by Ms. Shanks that the Prosecution is damaging our family....
The Defense team has done more to separate Joan from her family than you can imagine. Less than six months after Peter's murder, an associate of K & S (against the wishes of her children and without regard for Mrs. Porco's age and health) told Peter's mother the gory details of her son's long and tortuous death. This same lawyer then told Joan that Peter's sister, Patty, was working with the police who were gathering evidence implicating Christopher in his father's murder. As a result, Joan severed all ties with Patty, Peter's sister, refusing to see or communicate with her. These lawyers so turned Joan against the Porco family members, that when Peter's ashes were interred, Joan refused to allow ANY family members to attend the memorial service except, Johnathan and Christopher, her brother, John and his wife (with whom she lived), and the priest (her cousin) who conducted the service.

During her recovery, Joan’s doctors had asked us not to speak to Joan about the night of Nov. 15 on the outside chance that Joan might recover her OWN memories… and, those memories should not be tainted by information coming from conversations with us. Joan and Chris’ lawyers told us not to talk with Christopher about his father’s murder & his motherÂs nearly fatal injuries. Up until the time of the Pre-trial hearings, our family lived in a very surreal world. Whenever we were together with Joan or Christopher, the question of who did these horrific things to Joan and Peter was the "elephant" in the room that no one acknowledged or could speak freely about.
We kept hoping that Kindlon and Shanks would call our family together and tell us how they were going to proceed with Chris' defense. We thought that K&S had a handle on evidence supporting Chris' alibi and claiminnocencecense which they would soon share with us. We were thirsting for some fact or truth upon which we all could hang our hopes/beliefs that Christopher was truly innocent. K & S treated our family (except for Joan and Chris) as the enemy. Family members were given orders to write letters appealing for the judge to grant bail; orders to anti up for the bail posting... but, there were never any words of encouragement from the defense team in regard to Chinnocencecense and the defense’s strategy. The Prosecution team, however, was more than willing to answer any and all of our family's questions; share information and evidence with us; and, encourage us to become involved in the investigation. The defense team, on the other hand, did everything in their power to keep the Prosecution from questioning Joan, and to keep mounting evidence from reaching Joan. They told her the police were out to get Chris; that the Prosecution were liars, making up stories to prove Chris guilty. That a certain BPD detective had it “in” for Chris. Joan refused to cooperate with the police and the investigation on the advice of her attorneys. She signed whatever public letters her attorneys gave to her: First begging that her son be left alone; and then, berating the police for their persecution of Chris and their total lack of effort to bring the "real" attacker/s to justice. When the trial was to start, the defense team wanted to be sure they had full control of Joan, so they devised and executed a plan to make John and Barbara Balzano (Joan’s caregivers) leave Goshen and return to their home in Rochester. Joan then moved in with the defense team. They now control what Joan reads, hears, sees, and thinks. She is on call to be present whenever they need her for public displays of affection. Her love for her son has allowed the defense team to make her their pawn.
So when Shanks talks to the media about what damage the Prosecution has done to our family... I become enraged at such unadulterated lying. I understand that it is K&S's job to tear down the evidence against Chris and render it impotent. But, it is not theipubliclyublically lie about our family's unity and our relationship with the Prosecution. For most all of us, the Prosecution team members and the BPD are our heroes. In addition, I feel a special need to commend and thank Detective Bowdish. It was his quick thinking and questioning of Joan as she lay severely injured that stopped Chris from “getting away with murder” and attempted murder. I know that Det. Bowdish’s failure to administer the Miranda rights completely, word for word, will haunt him for the rest of his life. But, he should know, that for the rest of our lives, we will be forever grateful for his actions at the crime scene where (and when) Joan had a better grip on reality than she has today.Most of our family members were prohibited from attending this trial because we were on the Prosecution's witness list. It wasn't until this past week that Judge Berry made deep cuts in that list that we are now able to attend the trial. We do not wish to cause Joan further pain, but, those family members that can afford the time and expense to go to Goshen, will not be sitting on the side of the Defense.

KINDLON SPINS HIS DEFENSE

Porco Fact Checker
You can contact cuozzoj@spotlightnews.com with any questions. Also, feel free to post comments below.
Readers had this to say
Guest 07/01/06Maniac murders have to start with their first killing. It’s the day the anger and frustration, growing larger and larger inside the psychopath, bursts forth (per Kindlon) “like a Frankenstein monster.” Does Kindlon think that Andrea Yates showed signs of being a maniac murderer before she “snapped” and drowned her five children? Does Kindlon think that Ted Bundy (who was very, very close to his mother; had a friendly personality; was liked by many people he met; was extremely intelligent, but couldn’t cope with college) showed maniac signs of being a mass murderer before he killed his first victim and then went on to kill 35 more victims? Kindlon has to do a lot better than this line of thinking… Everything has a beginning. Is that the best you can get for a high priced – ‘top-notch’ defense counsel? The other reason Christopher is not guilty, according to the defense,is due to the local police department. This man and wife team of Kindlon/Shanks shouldn’t rely on degrading the Bethlehem police department to ‘prove’ his client’s innocence. John Polster, the attorney for Joan Porco, who is also aiding the team of Kindlon/Shanks in Christopher’s defense, is quoted as having said on November 17, 2004: "Family spokesperson John Polster spoke with the media Wednesday evening. Polster says the Bethlehem Police Department could not be doing a better job and commends them for their professionalism and says the family will continue to work with the department." The website for the entire report can be found at: http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=2570046&nav=MaptTAAA This statement by Polster was said after the police had interrogated Chris for 6-7 hours and refused to allow Polster to represent Christopher because Christopher said he didn’t need an attorney and Polster was his father’s friend, not his (Chris’) lawyer. The video of Chris’ interrogation by the Bethlehem Police has now been thrown out by Judge Berry because Polster has changed his story; claiming that he was Chris’ lawyer and that the Bethlehem Police were unprofessional in their questioning of Christopher. Shouldn’t there be something illegal about the victim’s (Joan Porco) attorney (J. Polster) being part of the defense team representing Christopher who is accused of trying to kill Joan? Seems to me there is a definite conflict of interest here. Should Joan’s lawyer allow her to be programmed for media expressions of support and affection of her son so that a ‘not guilty’ verdict will be rendered on the basis of a mother’s love and support for her son? Shouldn’t someone question the NY Bar Association about the propriety of John Polster representing the interests of both the accused and the victim? Can any lawyer serve two client’s who’s interest are so juxtaposed? Joan’s interest would be better served if Polster helped her cooperate with the prosecution to find her husband’s murderer, instead of making her serve the needs of Kindlon/Shanks with photo ops, letters to the editor in support of her son, and public displays of affection. Comment about this article.