NOVEMBER 13 - NOVEMBER 19, 1999
NOVEMBER 19, 1999
Where's mine?
Good morning. It is earlier than it should be and it is 39
degrees outside. Nevertheless, here I am again and it is way too early to
be doing anything except sleep. But with thirty-seven more
shopping days until Christmas, I had better get started.
Anyway, Aunt Rose and I went to Bradford yesterday. She had here
monthly visit to the Podiatrist and I needed some materials for the
Rainbow's furnace system.
I'm running some heat vents into the dining room and needed some six
inch flexible insulated ducting. Do you think I could find it in Bradford?
Not a chance.
I found the galvanized ends the ducting goes to. I found the floor
outlets that fit in the galvanized ends. I just couldn't find the six inch
ducting to run from the furnace to the very expensive parts I ultimately
purchased.
I went to four different places, one of them a major lumberyard and
hardware outlet, and no one had it. "We can order it for you,
Bud," the one nice fellow offered. But, when you need something,
ordering just doesn't quite make it. And, if I did order it, wait a week
for it to arrive, from the track record that place established with me
long ago, I know I would wind up paying double what it will eventually
cost me when I drive to Warren and buy it later today. Why is that?
Bradford has a Main Street Manager. His picture was in the paper
recently "clowning around" they said. I'm sure he was doing
something worth while as he "clowned around," but I'd like an
answer from someone, and since he's the "manager," why couldn't
I buy flexible insulated six inch ducting in Bradford? Why do I have to go
to Warren? Warren is smaller than Bradford and Warren County is smaller
than McKean County.
Explain that to me if you will Mr.Yale. And while you are at it, how
many new store fronts are open today?
I have been through the "Buy it in Bradford" Campaigns.
Sharyn and I go out of our way to do just that. However, all too many
people don't. They complain of parking, to the people on the street, to
the fact the sun wasn't shining that day, to find a reason to go to Olean,
Jamestown, Erie, or Buffalo. Everyone always seems to have a reason for
not doing something, instead of why they should.
The same holds true for the hospital. While the common people use our
local hospital, the elite go off to Sayer Medical Center or down to
Pittsburgh. And they are generally the ones who are the first to complain
about what we don't have and are very ready to blame it on someone who
really has no control over what is happening. They are the people who sit
in the back ground and pull our strings, get theirs and let us flounder
around. We know who they are and we blindly follow them, too.
They were the same people who fought and lobbied for the new Comfort
Inn which is scheduled to open on December 1st. The culmination of the
four year fight will end on that day. Ironically, that is the day that
begins the absolute low point in Bradford hotel room occupancy. So, as the
Comfort Inn opens its doors, it will fight it out with Howard Johnson's,
located just across the street, for the 11% room occupancy that has
historically been the case in December. Why?
I guess someone was miffed when they couldn't use their name to book a
room at Howard Johnson's several years ago for the Zippo/Case Swap Meet. I
guess because of who they were, they felt that someone should have been
forced to sleep in the stable and give up their room. So, because of that,
the forces went into motion, and Howard Johnson's was being shown because
the Comfort Inn went up right across the street. Now there are 48 more
rooms so they can have their way. And what did we gain in the process?
We have a wooden building covered up to look like it has substantial
construction. Nothing came from Bradford. The contractors were all from
out of town. The heating, the air conditioning, the carpenters (non-union
of course) and the laborers (also non-union of course) all came from out
of town. Even the roof came from out of town! So is the carpeting, as are
the draperies and the beds and the plumbing fixtures - all from out of
town and not one cent spent in town to help out the local economy. But
then, if they needed something, could they buy it here or would they have
to go to Warren or Olean, like the rest of us are forced to do from time
to time? I wonder who got theirs in that deal?
And did I step on someone's toes when I mentioned the fact that the
work that was done, was incidentally, non-union? Especially with
rumblings of unions going on at Zippo and at Bradford Regional Medical
Center, is that some sin of one sort or another? Let's see.
UNION............................................nothing
happened, that time at least. Maybe one more time. Maybe if I do it in
another font.
UNION............................nothing
happened that time, either. Maybe bad things don't happen just because you
say that word.
Mike Shuler thinks so. But Mike has his. He was born to it. But what
about the others who weren't so lucky to be born into management and
production bonuses and the winter vacations in the islands?
A fellow who works at Zippo stopped me yesterday. "Hey, Bud,"
he said. "Keep up the good work. I was sorry to see you lost the
election, but I really like what you are doing to George Duke on the
internet. (He reads this column, evidently.) I think it is a damn shame
that George can afford to be involved in that kinda stuff and then fight
us having a union. That's a damn shame."
Now that went right along with an e-mail I received just before Aunt
Rose and I went to town.
Mr. Beck,
You are so right in what you wrote today. When are you going to be
at the Bradford Hotel again? I want to meet with you there and buy you a
beer or whatever you drink. You know what is going on. Only the Rich
People like George and Paul Duke can afford things like cocaine. The rest
of them who work for them and have worked for their families all need our
money just to live. That's why we want a union at Zippo. We are tired of
being forced to work overtime just so the company can show a better bottom
line. We need some rights and they don't want to give them to us. Now we
know why. Now we know why they need those profits.
I deleted the rest of the e-mail. It got a little too extreme, even for
me. Still, you get the drift of what some people are thinking. If what was
inferred in the Drug Task Force Investigation is true about the Duke boys,
then the workers at Zippo just might be more than a little upset that
they, as owners of the company, can afford to do things like that and then
turn around and force them to accept certain conditions and hardships that
they feel are unacceptable.
If George and Paul have had theirs all these years, maybe some of these
other people are waking, too. And when they wake up they will inevitably
ask one simple question. "Where's mine?"
I doubt that the answer to that question is an easy one. Maybe, some of
the people believe that they can get theirs after they first get
.........................................................A UNION.
Your comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
NOVEMBER 18, 1999
The beginning of hunting season
Good morning. It is 17.7 degrees at 6:09 A.M. up here on the
hill in Marshburg, PA and there are thirty-eight more shopping days until
Christmas. Sharyn brought home our turkey yesterday. It's tucked away in
the freezer and I will run the Thanksgiving Turkey recipe on Sunday.
Hunting season officially began yesterday afternoon. My father-in-law
and I got together for the first time this fall.
George Walter got to town on Monday night while it was snowing. He
stopped by on Tuesday to say hello and last night we got together at the
Rainbow. At least that's where we started.
"Where are these grandchildren of mine?" he demanded.
"Why aren't they here paying homage to their grandfather?
I laughed. "Which one do we dare arouse?" I asked.
Anita, the bartender, quickly gave us a rundown. "Geoffrey is
working. So is Tanya, and Andrea is at home with her child, like any good
mother. Your grandchildren are doing what they are supposed to be doing.
Sunday is family day. Not Wednesday evening," she bluntly told us.
"Bud and I need a designated driver. We are going to town,"
he told her.
"We are?" I asked. And I should have known better, because we
did. And it didn't take him long to round up a driver, either. At eight
thirty-seven George and I walked into the Bradford Hotel. Immediately,
Billy Peckham, the great Irish tenor and the finest police chief in the
history of the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (except for my father)
greeted us.
"Brother Beck," he roared. "Good to see you." He
remembered George. Not too many people forget him. He has been chasing
around these woods (not to mention the bars) since he came back from World
War II in 1945. "George," he said. "Good to see you again.
What are you doing running in company like this?" he asked.
"It's the Theory of Relativity," George answered.
"Everyone's got them and he's married to my daughter. I'm stuck with
him."
At that Dave Sheffer came to life. "And that is a real dousey to
be stuck with, too," he said.
"Thanks, Dave" I said to him.
"Think nothing of it," he said. "I have to return the
favor," he said.
"What favor is that?" I asked.
"George Duke's Private Investigator was here today asking
questions. He scared off the customers. He started that crap about being
from the Attorney General's Office and the entire bar cleared out. Billy
demanded to see his credentials and then he stopped. But the bar was empty
by that time. And it is your fault."
"How is it my fault?" I asked.
"You started this thing with George Duke," he said.
"Just a minute," I said back. "I didn't start this.
George Duke and his cousin, the Tuna, started this. They started this with
that lawsuit a few days before the election. They wanted me defeated and
they got their wish. But you know what? Wishes are funny. They come true.
And when they come true, sometimes you don't like what you get. This just
might be one of those times."
"Stop talking in circles," Peckham said. "What do you
mean?"
"As a County Commissioner I had some restraints on me. The office
demanded that I adhere to some limits. Now, there are no restraints and
what George started, George can't stop. This thing has taken on its own
life and there is no telling where it is going to go."
"That's the gist I got from him," Peckham said. "He
wants this thing to stop. He doesn't like how it has developed."
"Tough!" I said. "I didn't start it but I will see it
through now that it is started."
"You sound angry," Mattress Margie said.
"No, Margie. Not angry. Just dedicated."
Margie laughed. "I'm not worried. I'm not in the investigation.
I'm a drunk, not a coke head."
About that time Toothless Tim joined in. "I'm with Margie. I like
my booze. It's legal as long as I don't drive or get crazy, too. This
business about Cocaine, I don't want to get into local politics, but
you are right. ONLY RICH PEOPLE can afford to import
drugs into the area.......The drug lords, from whatever country, do not
ship drugs, whatever drug you want to talk about, on account....to be paid
for at a later date! I'm sure it is all COD! They are not going to ship a
large "box" of cocaine to the "scummers" on West
Wash......to be paid for when they sell it....or "THE FIRST OF THE
MONTH" ....when so much of Bradfords commerce takes place!
" It takes "Police protection" and lots of money to
import drugs, large quantities, of cocaine and heroin
into this area. Very few people have enough time, money, connections, and
the ability to travel to bring drugs to Bradford.
"Take a look at the numbers! How much is a pound or two of
cocaine? How much does it cost to fly down to Florida or Mexico to pick it
up? Paying for it "cash on the barrel head!".....Not
a welfare mans "sport"!"
"That's what I told those guys from the Drug Task Force,"
Billy Peckham said.
"I know," I answered. "I saw where they interviewed
you."
"I'm in it?" he asked.
"You sure are," I said. "You're in it, but you aren't
indexed like George Duke is," I told him.
"As a former police officer, I was an informed source,"
Peckham said proudly.
My father-in-law had enough of that kind of talk. He wanted the
action. "Where are the go go dancers?" he asked.
Sheffer laughed. "We haven't had go go dancers here since the
seventies."
"Oh, hell," George said. "You can't beat me for asking.
Buy the bar a drink."
As he said that the doors opened up and in came Welfare Wes, Gizmo, and
about six others. "Who's buying?" Wes asked.
"George," Peckham answered.
I nodded my head. "Looks like the beginning of another hunting
season," I said.
Comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
NOVEMBER 17, 1999
Dear Marty:
Good morning. It is 25.3 degrees at 6:09 A.M. and there are
thirty-nine more shopping days until Christmas. A week from tomorrow is
Thanksgiving. I will publish my annual Turkey and stuffing recipe this
weekend for those of you who might need help in preparing the meal.
As you may have gathered, my messages come from all over. I received a
sweet one from Amy yesterday. She was and still is my daughter, Kim's,
best friends. Now she is a grown up woman with two babies of her own. And
I remember her, well - Amy's grown up now. Anyway, she wrote a few nice
words to me.
Good Morning, Bud!
I just wanted to let you know that even though you are half way across the
country, you continue to crack me up!
Even though I reside in Austin, Texas and know nothing about the politics
or the people of Bradford, PA, I am a reader of the Mountain Laurel
Review. I read the MLR for two reasons: 1) to keep up with what is going
on with you and Sharyn, and 2) because it's just good reading! Have a
great holiday season!!!!!
Amy
And another reader wrote concerning what I have been saying
about George B. (for Bozo) Duke and his cousin Charlie (the Tuna) Jeff ( I
lie under oath) Duke.
Subject: Doin Fine!!
I just wanted to say thanks for using your time and energy to try and make
this world and the futures world a better place. The Duke's have got to be
getting pissed right-about-now. Not bad at all.
And in keeping with that, I got twelve more copies of the
investigation back from the printer who is copying them for me and I gave
them out. Let's see. Is that 46 or 47 that I have passed around? Can't
really remember, but many, many people are reading all about George and
Paul Duke now.
At the same time, I had a phone message from Marty Robacker
Wilder, Managing Editor of The Bradford Era. Marty is a really
nice lady and she has a great telephone voice. I save messages from women
who have great telephone voices. Tom Reil thinks that's kind of kinky, but
if that's the only flaw I have, what the heck! Marty said:
"Hi Bud. This is Marty. If you are passing out copies of the
Task Force Investigation, I would like one."
Gosh, Marty. I would really like you to have one, too. However, I have
a problem with giving it to you as the Managing Editor of The Era.
This investigation is news. It is real and genuine news. It sheds the
accurate light on what went on in the setting up of three individuals who
were later arrested for attempting to sell cocaine. Keep in mind, Marty,
that not one of the three were arrested in the act of selling anything.
No, Marty. The three of them were arrested on the testimony of Bobby
Guzan and Alice Dolan, both admitted cocaine users themselves and Guzan,
obviously was a dealer in his own right, because Confidential Informant CI
7-14-95 (Lewis Sean Bacha), was originally signed on by Mroka to collect a
$1500 year old debt on a shipment of cocaine.
The news extends farther than just that. You can see how, on June 15,
1995, a conscious and deliberate effort was made by the District Attorney
(Jeff Duke) to steer the investigation to the Riddel House and away from
the bar where his two cousins, George and Paul, frequented. (Keep in mind
that neither of their names appear in the investigation until 1997 when
the rats were all singing to save their tails. However, the Mechanic
Street connection was established in 1995. And, from information that I
have received since starting all of this, their source was Florida and in
much larger quantities than the Mroka/Manhattan Connection for a $1000 or
so at a time.)
You see, Marty. There is more to this than what meets the eye.
I said it in 1995 when Michele Alfieri first ran for District Attorney
and a few small time users were held up as a big time drug bust. The
really big guys, the really big importers, are immune. Duke and Alfieri
only go after the little guys and make them seem big. Now that this is out
in the open, people are willing to talk under the proper circumstances.
And Marty, you will be shocked to find out what they are saying.
You ran it yesterday. "Report: Drugs here to stay By MIKE
SCHREIBER/Era Reporter." And they are, unless someone takes
responsibility and goes after everyone, not just the little guys, and
cleans it out once and for all. But, Marty, that's like open government
and secret ballots at an Airport Authority Meeting to help out a fellow
big guy.
I can't give you a copy of the Drug Task Force Investigation. I can't
for several reasons. First, you are a competing news organization. Second,
you and your paper helped derail my campaign by running the "so
called news" of the John Doe Lawsuit on the eve of the election when
you steadfastly adhered to the "rules" about negative letters
and ads the day before.
Get your own copy, Marty. And while you are at it, start putting names
on all of your editorials or don't run them. "A Fellow
Taxpayer" will do, but just make sure there are persons taking
responsibility for what they write and the opinions they have. Don't you
think that's fair? I do it. Why can't you?
Comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
NOVEMBER 16, 1999
What it is really all about?
Good morning. It is 24.6 degrees at 6 A.M. and there are forty
more shopping days until Christmas.
All this talk about drugs was highlighted in The Era this
morning. The story read: Report: Drugs here to stay
By MIKE SCHREIBER/Era Reporter. It was also highlighted by an e-mail that
"Raoul" sent to me.
Hey Bud, Ole'! I always enjoy reading what you have to say. I
really enjoyed today's column. "Marie" told me about it and I
logged on and your article/answer to the letter, brought back painful
memories. "Raynond" was a fine man. He loved his family.
Incidentally, "Marie" and I attended his daughter's
graduation from SMU last May and Betty has re-married and has two children
with her new husband. She is happy, but she confided in "Marie"
that she misses "Raymond" and still has pain over his loss.
David looks just like him, except for his mother's blue eyes and that
flash of temper she has. I forwarded her the column. I knew she would
enjoy it.
You hit the nail square, man. You hit it dead square. It is the
same everywhere. There are a group of monied people who feel that they are
above the law. They think the drug laws are for other people. They think
because they are not "dealing" and only "using" they
are innocent parties. That, Bud, you and I know is not the case. As you so
well put it in your column,
"Think about it. When anyone buys Cocaine, they support the people
who killed Raymond and take an opposite stance to the many other fine
people who are dedicated to keeping drugs out of this country. Just
because they aren’t millionaires and the Dukes are, doesn’t make them
wrong and the Dukes right. In fact, the mere act of possessing Cocaine,
makes anyone who does it a distant accessory to the murder of Raymond and
anyone else who might have run afoul of these deadly criminals."
And you are right.
I don't know of these Duke people, but, I am also forwarding your
columns to the national headquarters in Washington. Maybe someone should
get to know them. If they have so much money to spend on harassing you and
people who supported you, it stands to reason that they must also have the
money to spend on other things. Cocaine or Heroin, maybe? And if they are
identified as you say they are, then all that much better. Keep in mind
that being in any part of a line with Cocaine, is a Federal Crime, too.
Keep up the good work. You have my permission to use this
letter. As always, Bud, keep giving them hell. "Raoul"
Thank you, my friend. I enjoyed hearing from you and I enjoyed
passing your thoughts along to my readers.
George Duke has protested too much. Was he protesting that he was
unfairly painted as a Cocaine user, or, has be been protesting because it
was finally put out in the light for all to see? He has his private
investigators following people. Yesterday Tom Reil and I were followed.
Jay Todd is being harassed with Dan Levis driving up and down his road.
Additionally, Levis is passing himself off as an investigator for the
Attorney General and has stated the Drug Task Force Investigation Report
was "stolen."
It in fact was not stolen and he does not work for the Attorney
General. And, last weekend, I made 32 copies of the investigation and have
distributed them to supporters throughout the county. That should give Mr.
Levis job security for awhile. What does a PI get these days? Back when
Gateser and I did it we got $500 a day plus expenses. Is this getting a
bit expensive for you George? Try tracking down the additional copies I
put out.
And, George, you day is coming. Get ready. Soon we will be in
depositions when I sue you and the Tuna. You will have the opportunity to
answer the magic questions under oath.
Have you ever purchased Cocaine?
Have you ever used Cocaine?
I just wonder what you will say? Will you take the Fifth Amendment; or,
will you tell the truth; or will you lie under oath? Your cousin Jeff lied
under oath in my case. Is that a family trait? I guess we will find out
and in the mean time, there is "Raoul" - not his real name of
course. Have a nice day.
Comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
NOVEMBER 15, 1999
Good morning. It is 33.4 degrees at 6:05 A.M. and there are 41
more shopping days until Christmas.
"Respect" and; Responsibility
I received an e-mail on Thursday and it caused me to think quite a bit.
I wanted to respond immediately, but something kept me from doing it.
Instead I thought long and hard. Initially, I felt I would write to this
young man individually. But on second and third thought, I will share the
answer, as well as his letter, with you all. He titled his e-mail
"Respect."
Mr. Beck:
Please let me introduce myself. My name is Rich Pedine, I am a senior
at BAHS, and I also attend classes at UPB. I have been involved in a
number of community activities including BCPAC, Kiwnais Kapers, First
Night, BAHS Key Club, and other service organizations, as well as a number
of school clubs (not to mention working an afterschool job). I also
regularly read the Bradford Era, NY Times, TIME, and other news
periodicals, in order to be better informed of what is going on in the
world around me. In the time since you have been elected, I have never
been much interested in what you had to say about others. You see, elected
officials, no excuse me, adults in general are more often admired,
respected, trusted, and ELECTED for what they have to say about
themselves, and the issues that we face as a whole. If lowering taxes and
helping our county become debt free were the only things on your
"resume," I could understand why you'd be so suprised you lost
the latest election for county commissioner. But you have let all of the
people in this area down by focusing your time toward bashing individuals
from our community including the Dukes and Pingies instead of trying to
make a difference in a positive way. Have you ever volunteered at the
Friendship Table or rang a Sal-Va-Army bell at Xmas? If you have not and
are interested in making a POSITIVE impact on the community please contact
me or the BAHS Key Club, we would be happy to have you help. Also if you
are currently looking for a job, I have connections at the Bradford Burger
King, and I am sure you would get along with everyone there. I hope you
take this seriously, this IS NOT a joke. I am dissappointed that a person
such as yourself has such little respect for themselves not to mention the
taxpayers you seem to love so much. Unfortunately, this letter isn't quite
as flowery and colorful as some of your fiction, but I, for one, don't
have THAT much time on my hands.
Sincerely
Rich Pedine
PS- I, for one, believe you wrote that letter given your history and
reputation as a coward (let me define coward: one who accuses others when
they have issues facing themselves).
Dear Rich:
I didn’t take the time to correct your spelling. You used a computer,
you should have taken the time to use Spell Check. Furthermore, if you
were trying to impress me by telling me the periodicals you read, forget
it. The Bradford Era is, for the most part, fiction; and the Times
is a right wing menace. Obviously, you have had good English teachers. You
do write a fine letter. However, Rich, it definitely ends there. You
indeed are not as well informed as you believe.
Many things have been said about me in the past four years. My six
years of military service was diminished because I felt I had the right to
privacy about where and the circumstances of how I served. They were
diminished by people who themselves never wore a uniform, but preyed on
the ignorance and stupidity of people who refused to understand what I was
saying. Instead they blindly followed what they read in the paper, and
like you, believed they were informed. They were not and to this day,
remain so.
Rich, name three persons I bashed. Tell me the time, the date, and the
publication, as well as what I said in bashing them. Keep in mind, Rich,
that disagreeing with someone’s politics, is in fact, not bashing. It is
disagreeing with their politics. And, Rich, I have disagreed with the
politics of many people - and, I have had the courage to say so publicly.
Not many people have that in them, so, when you think about it, I am
different, and it is easy for people who don’t like what I say, tag it
as a personal attack rather than what it really is: an attack on something
that I see as being wrong.
As for public service - specifically the ones you mentioned, "BCPAC,
Kiwnais Kapers, First Night, BAHS Key Club, and other service
organizations, as well as a number of school clubs (not to mention working
an afterschool job)" - I have not participated in BCPAC; I
have contributed to Kiwanis Kapers (My wife and I are in the program this
year); I have supported First Night as well as Paula Johnson; and,
considering I am not a student, I am not eligible for Key Club - but
I was a member when I was in High School 1960-1964.
As far as my accomplishments as an ELECTED official; they extend far
beyond just balancing the budget and eliminating an enormous deficit.
However, Rich, that in itself is quite a feat considering it took the
former commissioners eight years to create it and me just three years to
eliminate it. And Rich, by doing so, I was able to keep a campaign promise
not to raise County Taxes. That made it possible for many seniors on fixed
incomes to keep their homes and maintain their lives at a constant level -
something the School Board does not take into consideration when they
raise taxes 10 to 15 percent a year.
But beyond that, no, I have never volunteered at the
Friendship Table or rang a Sal-Va-Army bell at Xmas. But, I have
created programs to teach parents to feed their children so they don’t
have to go to the Friendship Table. And, I have been Santa Claus for needy
families and have done that at my own expense, dating back long before I
ever thought of being a County Commissioner. What you consider public
service, Rich, is fine. What I consider public service and charity is my
own business and who are you to question me? Aren’t you being a bit
superior and perhaps guilty of the same sins of which you have accused me?
When you say that I have " let the people in this area down by
focusing your (my) time toward bashing individuals from our community
including the Dukes and Pingies instead of trying to make a difference in
a positive way" you are especially out of line. You believe I wrote
the letter based on past performance. You are wrong.
Past performance would indicate that I would come out and attack right
in someone’s face. I am not a sneak. I confront right up front. that's
why even you accuse me of bashing people. Why would I change now? The
letter was the work of a coward, and Rich, that I am not.
The Dukes attacked me. They did it in the form of a cowardly Law Suit
in which they did not have the guts to come out and name me
"exactly" but they did, just the same. They did it on behalf of
the Pingies so what happens from not on, was not my doing or by my
initiation, but, Rich, being a person who is not a coward, I will fight.
And, Rich, I will fight with facts.
And the facts exist in the Drug Task Force Investigation. The Pingies
and the Dukes are named in the report and the report is specifically about
Cocaine use in McKean County.
Now, am I bashing the Pingies and the Dukes when I write what Agent
Michael of the Task Force has already put in the record? Keep in mind that
same record is being used in court against three people accused of
breaking the law. How is telling the truth bashing? Is it better left
unsaid? It could have been had they not attacked me.
Am I bashing when I report on activities by those people that are and
have been well known by many people in the community for many years? Was
it better that everyone, including the local police, looked the other way?
Is that the kind of world you want?
Am I bashing when I tell the truth?
Or, is it bashing, Rich, when I say things that are slimy and people
would rather not hear them even though they are the truth? Let me tell you
a truth, Rich. Let me tell you and then you decide.
I have a friend in Texas who is a law enforcement officer for the DEA.
That is the Drug Enforcement Agency. He’s Hispanic and his name is
Raoul. His best friend, Raymond,. another Hispanic, was killed in 1991. He
was working undercover attempting to get the goods on the big guys who
were running a business bringing Cocaine into the United States. The same
Cocaine that eventually makes its way to Bradford.
Someone blew his cover. They took him and they tortured him. While they
tortured him they recorded the entire thing. They cut him up while he was
still alive and it was all on tape. It took him over an hour to die and he
died in great pain and anguish. Then, when he was finally dead, they
dumped his mutilated body in a river and sent the tape to the DEA
Headquarters in Washington, D.C. They also sent a copy to his wife who was
living in Dallas with their three children.
It was all there. You could hear him crying out in pain. You could hear
him begging for mercy. You could hear them laughing in the background. You
could hear them warning other DEA agents who might think to infiltrate
them that this was what they could expect.
Raoul heard the tape and he has never forgotten it. I called him and I
relayed to him your thoughts and how you felt that I am unjustly
attacking the Pingies and the Dukes. As far as he is concerned, if they
are in the investigation and are identified, then what they get, they well
deserve. Raoul has no time for Cocaine traffickers or users. He takes it
personally and he feels that anyone on the chain - from growing it and
processing it in Columbia and Peru, to using it right here in good old
Bradford, PA, is part of the crime chain he is sworn to fight. His friend
lost his life fighting it.
Now why would he feel that way?
Could it be that anyone who is anywhere along the line is just as
guilty as the "criminals and murderers" who killed Raymond? What
do you think?
Just because you are a millionaire, does that give you extra rights not
to abide by our laws? Is that what you think?
Just because your cousin was the District Attorney and he steered the
investigation away from your local haunt and your friends, does that make
you any less guilty than someone else who was arrested?
Think about it. When anyone buys Cocaine, they support the people who
killed Raymond and take an opposite stance to the many other fine people
who are dedicated to keeping drugs out of this country. Just because they
aren’t millionaires and the Dukes are, doesn’t make them wrong and the
Dukes right. In fact, the mere act of possessing Cocaine, makes anyone who
does it a distant accessory to the murder of Raymond and anyone else who
might have run afoul of these deadly criminals.
I didn’t write the letter and neither did my supporters. However,
George Duke and his cousin, Jeff Duke are going out of their way to make
it appear that they and I did. They are slandering the name of Tom Reil
and many others. Their private investigator, representing himself as
an agent for the Attorney General, is breaking laws in their name.
Why?
It will never change the facts. The facts are in the investigation and
while my name is not in it, George Duke, his brother Paul Duke, the
Pingies and their bar are in it, too. I’m not in it because I don’t
use Cocaine. Why are they in it? Is it all a mistake? If it is, why are
they coming after me and not the author of the Drug Task Force
Investigation, that incidentally began on the orders of Charles Jeffrey
Duke himself.
Use your head, Rich. Stop believing that The Bradford Era is the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not! It avoids the truth. It tells you what
they want you to know.
I lost the election for a number of reasons. One of them is the
perception you have and presented in your letter. Others are varied and my
own fault. Really, now that it is over, they are all unimportant. I am not
worrying or wasting my time over it. It’s over. The people get the
government they deserve, and they will have it.
I have nothing to apologize for. I did the absolute best I could. I
wasn’t always right - I am not perfect. I wasn’t always a statesman -
I never said I was. With me it was very simple. What you saw was what you
got. I have no secret agenda and I didn’t owe anyone anything. I took
representing the people, all the people, very seriously. In trying to do
just that, I managed to get myself defeated. Cie la vie.
Try not to judge me, Rich. Not unless you take the time to get to know
me. Then, Rich, then you just might have the right. Not now, not on what
you learned from The Era. That’s like comparing your education
from BAHS to Harvard. That can never be done. Neither can the other.
Good luck to you. Harold Beck.
Your comments are welcome at rdhedbud@penn.com.
NOVEMBER 13 -14, 1999
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