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Gerald Eugene STANO
Rape
Crow's
concept of any book that he might participate in writing in the future
would be limited to an informational and educational book for law
enforcement academies to use in training officers how to investigate a
multi-jurisdictional case. Crow felt that there was no treatise at the
time to explain to law enforcement agencies how to deal with conflicts
among jurisdictions investigating cases which, from his own experience
with the Stano case, had led to confusion and frustration.
The initial contact of Crow by Ecker concerning the
possibility of jointly writing a book in the future was only that, an
initial overture to discuss the possibility of a future joint effort.
Crow did not talk to Ecker's agent, had no literary agent himself, and
did not authorize Ecker to discuss the possibility of a book with
Ecker's agent.
Crow did not enter any agreement with Ecker, and the idea
of a joint book was not further pursued by Crow past this initial
overture. Ecker's inquiry had no effect on the way Crow investigated
Stano's crimes. The initial solicitation of Crow by Ecker was rejected
after Crow determined that Ecker's work was inaccurate, sensational and
glamorized.
While Terrell Ecker did not appear to know about
Crow's evaluation of Ecker's work, his testimony basically echoes that
given by Crow. Ecker stated that he discussed writing a book with Crow
after Stano had entered a guilty plea to the six Volusia County murders
and he thought the cases involving Stano were over. Ecker testified that
neither he nor Crow would be comfortable writing a book about an ongoing
case.
Ecker further testified that it was his intent to write a book
with or without Crow, and that he had solicited Crow's input because he
felt Crow would add "color" to Ecker's book. Ecker did not testify to
any additional contact with Crow after Ecker's initial overture to Crow,
although Ecker did confer with his literary agent about a possible book.
Ecker did not pursue the book concept further for himself or anyone else
after his brain aneurysm.
This contact by Mr. Ecker concerning the
possibilities of writing a book in the future was the only one Crow did
not immediately reject.
When he testified before the Court in 1992, Paul Crow
stated that he still thought from time to time about writing a book,
although he has not taken any steps to make this idea come to fruition
and has not prepared for publishing, or published, anything, either
directly or indirectly, alone or with anyone else, concerning Stano.
While Crow testified that there was a great deal of
office talk about the potential of writing a book and that many people
told him "You should write a book-you'll get rich!", he took no steps to
author a book from the time he first met Stano to the present date. His
brief conversation with Mr. Ecker about the potential of writing a book
together was quickly dispelled by Crow's own decision concerning the
inappropriateness of Ecker's style, and in any event was a contemplation
which was not to be pursued until Crow's work investigating the crimes
of Mr. Stano had been concluded. This brief discussion was not pursued
further.
Crow's consideration of the idea of writing a book sometime in
the future has remained the contemplation of a person who finds himself,
because of unique historical events, in a position to make a scholarly
contribution to law enforcement at some appropriate time in the future.
That time has not yet arrived. There is no evidence that this thought
had any impact whatsoever on Crow's investigation of Stano.
Crow did not discuss writing a book with Mr. Morrison
or Mr. Eugene Stano, Petitioner's father. Further, he never heard that
Don Jacobson was writing a book and did not discuss writing a book with
Don Jacobson.
From the evidence presented, the Court finds that
Crow did not discuss jointly writing a book with Stano or intend that he
and Stano would share in the proceeds of a book. The Court finds that
Paul Crow did not state to anyone that "the more confessions Stano made,
the better Crow's book would be" or words to like effect. Petitioner's
assertions to the contrary are without merit.
(7) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF STANO FOR THE MURDER OF
CATHY LEE SCHARF
During Stano's confessions on March 12, 1981 as part
of his plea agreement with the State Attorney in the Seventh Judicial
Circuit, and as noted earlier while Stano was trying to piece together
his route in the Jane Doe murder where the victim was left in the median
of an interstate highway, Stano mentioned facts concerning his route
which appeared to be inconsistent with the information Crow had
ascertained as to the six homicides under investigation in Volusia
County.
Shortly after March 12, 1981, Crow called Captain
DeWitt of the Brevard County Sheriff's Department to ask if he had any
information concerning a homicide from the sparse facts that Stano had
related. Crow did not have a name of a victim. Captain DeWitt stated he
recalled nothing about any homicide victim in Brevard County which might
be consistent with such facts.
Sometime later, Crow asked Kathy Kelly, a reporter
with the local newspaper in Daytona Beach, if she had heard of any case
that might fit the information. Kelly researched the matter and sent
Crow a copy of an October 6, 1977 news article. Crow then wrote the
State Attorney for Brevard County, Douglas Cheshire, Jr., in the hope
that his office would commence an investigation, since Crow felt there
had been a lack of response from the Sheriff's office.
Approximately two months later, in April or May of
1981, an Assistant State Attorney from Brevard County called and told
Crow that they would be in touch with him in the future. Thereafter, Lt.
James Bollick of the Brevard County Sheriff's Department called Crow to
advise that Detective Johnny L. Manis of his office would be
investigating the case. to say, but not to question him about the Scharf
case. Some time elapsed, and when Crow was not contacted, Crow then
wrote Manis a letter dated November 20, 1981, some seven to eight months
after Crow had originally called Captain DeWitt. (Petitioner's 34).
Manis stated that he talked to Crow by telephone
after receiving Crow's letter. However, up to December of 1981, Manis
testified he did not do much work on the Scharf case except to talk to
Crow by telephone. While Manis testified that during a telephone
conversation with Crow in November or December of 1981, Crow advised
that he had been given some information by Stano, Crow did not state he
had a confession from Stano as to this murder.
On January 20, 1982, Manis went to the Florida State
Prison with Mr. Bollick to talk to Stano. Manis introduced himself and
talked to Stano for approximately two hours after first advising Stano
of his rights. Manis testified that he and Stano talked about many
things, ranging from putting in a sprinkler system to the Scharf case.
Manis was attempting to build his own rapport with Stano and intended to
see Stano again. Since Manis was the homicide investigator in the
jurisdiction charged with prosecuting the case, Manis did not invite
Crow to join him.
In the course of this interview, Stano told Manis
that he did not recall any crimes in Brevard County and did not recall
telling Crow about any. Manis testified that Stano did not deny the
crime. According to Manis' testimony, Stano basically stated that he did
not remember the incident, and the bottom line was that Stano did not
admit to committing the murder.
When Manis returned to Brevard County, he contacted
Sgt. Crow and told him that Stano had not admitted to the murder of a
victim found in Brevard County. Crow responded that Stano would only
talk to persons if he liked them and stated that he, Crow, would try to
get back over to talk to Stano at sometime in the future at the Florida
State Prison.
Between January 20, 1982 and April 23, 1982, Manis
talked to Crow by telephone approximately two to three times. Manis
noted that Crow was extremely busy. During one of these telephone calls
to Crow, Manis told Crow that he wanted to go to Florida State Prison
again to interview Stano with reference to two murder victims, Sandra
Dubose and Cathy Lee Scharf. Manis testified that he requested that Crow
ask Stano if Stano would talk to Manis because Manis felt Crow had
rapport with Stano.
Thereafter, Crow drove to the prison, and Manis flew
there with his supervisor, Mr. Bollick. Because Manis was late in
arriving at the Florida State Prison, he met Crow as Crow was leaving
the prison. Crow advised Manis that Stano insisted on being transported
back to Volusia County before Stano would talk further to anyone about
any crime. Crow advised Manis that he was going to try to obtain
authority to have Stano transported back to Daytona Beach and that he
would let Manis know if that could be accomplished.
Pursuant to an order of the state court, Stano was
returned from the Florida State Prison in Starke to the Daytona Beach
jail during the week of August 10, 1982 (Petitioner's 38). Since the
Daytona Beach jail is not a maximum security facility and since many
jurisdictions were seeking to have their representatives question Stano,
a procedure to route all requests for interviews of Stano through Crow
was devised for security as well as for the protection of Stano. After
conferring with Crow by telephone, Manis advised Crow that he would be
coming to the Daytona Beach jail on August 11, 1982.
Manis testified that he had been keeping Dean Moxley,
the assistant prosecuting attorney in Brevard County within the
Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, advised of his actions and that Moxley had
suggested that Manis try to talk to Stano again. Therefore Manis drove
to the Daytona Beach Police Department where he spent four to five
minutes with Crow in Crow's office.
Manis stated that he originally went
there to see when he could talk to Stano, and when he arrived Crow
stated that Manis could talk to Stano "right now". Manis testified he
was caught by surprise because he did not have a tape recorder, his file
on the case, or even a brief case and was not prepared to talk to Stano.
Nevertheless, he followed Crow to an interview room where Stano was
waiting, and Crow introduced Manis to Stano. Crow gave Stano his
Miranda rights, and Stano filled out the waiver form in the presence
of Manis.
Crow then asked Stano if he remembered Manis, and
Stano responded "Yes". Crow left to get coffee for Manis and Stano and
came back in two to three minutes. Crow asked Manis and Stano if they
wanted anything else. Stano answered that he would like to go for a jog,
and everyone laughed. Manis then began his interview, and Crow stood
there for a few minutes before he left Manis and Stano alone for the
interview. Manis alone asked Stano questions. Stano discussed both the
Scharf and the Dubose murders with Manis. After the interview, Manis
returned to Brevard County.
Manis returned from Brevard County to Crow's office
at the Daytona Beach Police Department the next day on August 12, 1982
and told Crow that he wanted to record Stano's testimony. Crow advised
Manis that several other agents were waiting to interview Stano and that
Stano was fairly booked for the day. Nevertheless, Crow eventually took
Manis to the interview room where Stano was waiting.
At this interview,
Manis had his Scharf file, his tape recorder, his Dubose file, and a
waiver of rights form. Manis read the Miranda rights to Stano.
Stano waived his rights. This is also reflected in the recording of this
interview. Petitioner's 149. Manis conducted the interview, and Crow
came in and out of the room during the interview from time to time. Crow
was not there for all of the interview, nor did he ask Stano any
questions during the interview.
Manis identified as a true and correct transcript of
Stano's confession on August 12, 1982, an exhibit marked Respondent's
30. This Court noted, without satisfactory explanation from counsel,
that in the transcript of this interview which was provided to the
appellate court in Petitioner's appendix and which was admitted into the
record before this Court as Respondent's 31, that the name of Manis as
the questioner in the original transcript has been eliminated and the
name of Paul Crow has been inserted as the questioner in the place of
Mr. Manis. Thus, it appears that someone has tampered with this document
presented to both this court and the appellate court.
The evidence is undisputed that Paul Crow did not
participate by asking questions in either interview of Stano on August
11, 1982 or August 12, 1982, and that during the taped confession and
interview of Stano on August 12, 1982, Manis is the only person who
asked Stano questions. (Respondent's 149). While Crow was present very
briefly during the interviews on both dates, Manis was the person
conducting the questioning.
During the interview on August 12, 1982, Manis took a
statement from Stano concerning the Scharf murder first and then a
statement concerning the Dubose murder next. (Petitioner's 189). The
information provided by Stano concerning these confessions was given by
Manis to John Dean Moxley, Jr., the Assistant State Attorney in charge
of prosecuting the first degree murder cases of Scharf in Brevard County
and of Dubose in Seminole County for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit.
From a second point of view, Dean Moxley testified
that he was involved in two prosecutions of Gerald Stano involving jury
trials, the Scharf case prosecution in September of 1983 which resulted
in a mistrial and the Scharf case prosecution in December of 1988 which
is the subject of the instant case.
Sometime in 1982, Manis talked to Moxley about the
letter from Crow implicating Stano in a murder in Brevard County. In
April of 1982, Moxley had Crow's letter, the information from Manis and
Bollick concerning their visit to the Florida State Prison when Stano
stated he did not recall the Scharf incident, and certain crime scene
facts that appeared to fit facts that Stano had given to Crow. Moxley
decided to present the case to the grand jury in 1982 to encourage the
Brevard County Sheriff to spend more time and effort investigating the
case.
Moxley felt that there was probable cause to indict Stano, but
there was sentiment in Brevard County that since Stano was subject to
incarceration for life as a result of the Volusia County cases,
additional effort should not be devoted to his prosecution for a murder
in Brevard County. Therefore, the presentation of information to the
initial grand jury by Moxley was designed to learn if the grand jury
would recommend further investigation of the case. The grand jury did
recommend that the Sheriff further investigate the case.
In March of 1983, Moxley made a second presentation
to the Brevard County grand jury. This time he presented as witnesses
officers Crow, Hudson, Manis, and Kendrick and his Brevard County
State's Attorney investigator, George Dirshka. The grand jury issued an
indictment as to Stano for the murder of Ms. Scharf.
Moxley testified concerning the extensive
investigation that he conducted himself and directed others to conduct
with reference to the prosecution of the Scharf case. For instance, he
interviewed witnesses, attended two depositions of Paul Crow, and talked
to many witnesses in the Maher case because he felt that it involved
similar fact evidence under the Williams Rule. Moxley also sent
investigators to other jurisdictions to examine their files in an effort
to gain other similar fact evidence.
In addition, Moxley personally compared the facts
contained in the confession of Stano to Manis with the crime scene and
the route which Stano stated to Manis that he had taken. Moxley
determined that the description of the body being covered with palm
fronds was consistent with the several palm fronds placed on top of
Scharf's body when she was found.
Stano's statement concerning her
Indian jewelry matched the ring with the Indian head that she was
wearing when her body was found. Stano's statement concerning Scharf's
clothing, her age, and her general description matched that of the
victim.
Further, Moxley determined that Stano's statement of
the circumstances of his travel and the route that he took were
consistent with the details of the murder. Moxley personally drove the
route given by Stano. Stano mentioned an orange grove and a canal which
Moxley located as Stano had described them.
In addition, since the time
of the murder, the Kennedy Space Center Preserve had been established,
and the highway, which formerly had been called "A1A" in 1974 at the
time of the murder, was designated State Road 3 at the Kennedy Space
Center in 1983 at the time Moxley drove the route.
Moxley therefore
obtained an old map of the area in order to check the facts concerning
the route given by Stano. Moxley found that the route given by Stano in
his confession in 1982 to Manis was consistent with the facts of the
route as they existed in 1974 at the time of the murder although the
demarcations along the route in 1983 had been renamed.
Moxley utilized Crow as a fact witness at some
proceedings which he handled in Brevard County incident to the Scharf
case. At Moxley's request, as noted above, Crow testified before the
second Brevard County grand jury which issued the indictment of Stano in
the Scharf case. Crow was also subpoenaed to testify in both trials and
was deposed.
While Moxley used the statement that Stano made to Crow in
March of 1981 in each trial, Moxley testified that without the
confessions made on August 11 and August 12, 1982 by Stano to Manis, he
would not prosecute the case because, while he had probable cause for
the issuance of an indictment, he did not feel that he would have proof
beyond a reasonable doubt with only the statement of Stano to Crow.
Moxley stated that the confessions of Stano to Manis on August 11 and
August 12, 1982 were the most important confessions in his prosecution
of Stano for the Scharf murder. Moxley testified that he did not
consider the statement to Crow made by Stano in March of 1981 as the "lynch
pin" of his case.
Moxley had no information that Stano had been
promised life imprisonment for revealing the Scharf murder, and at no
time did he have to go through Paul Crow to talk to Stano. Further on
two occasions Stano himself confessed to Moxley that he had murdered
Scharf and Dubose and offered to plead guilty to both murders in
exchange for a promise of life imprisonment.
(8) RELATIONSHIP OF CROW AND GADBERRY
The Court has been troubled with the fact that
Officer Gadberry, who took credit for solving the Mary Carol Maher
murder in April of 1980, did not indicate his view that Stano did not
know the facts of the crime or his concern that Stano had been fed
information by Crow or that Stano was factually innocent of this crime
until several years later. It therefore appears that a statement of
facts on the relationship between Crow and Gadberry should be made.
Paul B. Crow, now Chief of the Daytona Beach Police
Department, began in 1966 as a patrolman with this law enforcement
agency. At the time of the initial confession by Stano in April of 1980,
Crow was a sergeant in the Daytona Beach Police Department, was
Gadberry's supervisor on the Detective Bureau, and reported to Captain
Powers.
When Officer James W. Gadberry, Jr. was asked on the
witness stand whether Crow was his supervisor at the Detective Bureau at
the Daytona Beach Police Department during 1980, Gadberry bristled and
answered that Crow was his "unwritten" supervisor. However, both Captain
Powers and Crow testified readily when asked the same question that Crow
was Gadberry's supervisor and the person to whom Gadberry reported.
From further evidence it appears that during the
1980's Gadberry had been reprimanded by Crow and subsequently demoted
from detective to patrolman. Captain Powers had charged Sergeant Crow
with the responsibility of monitoring case control systems within the
police department. Crow stated that during this time he found over 100
of Gadberry's assigned cases had not been investigated by the
department's required due date and had not been worked for nine to ten
months.
Crow had a conference with Gadberry and gave the
latter two weeks to comply with the police department's procedures.
After this deadline had passed, Crow reviewed Gadberry's work and found
that some of the cases still had not been investigated. When he
questioned Gadberry concerning these cases, Gadberry responded that he
had been on vacation and had not been able to get to them. Crow
investigated and found that Gadberry had not been on vacation and
further found that Gadberry had left cases unattended in his desk. Crow
reported the incident to Captain Powers.
In addition, at approximately the same time, Gadberry
was deemed to have improperly handled the investigation of the death of
a well-known sports figure, Lewis McSwain, and Crow was assigned to
complete this investigation. As a result of these events, Captain Powers
suspended Gadberry for one day and transferred Gadberry out of the
Detective Bureau, placing him back in the patrol division.
Gadberry resigned from the Daytona Beach Police
Department in September of 1982 to become the youth director of a church
in Kentucky. He was rehired as a patrolman at the Daytona Beach Police
Department in June of 1983, a position which he now holds. Patrolman is
viewed as a step below the detective division within the Daytona Beach
Police Department.
Gadberry had also been criticized for his
investigation in the Donna Hensley case. The police report reflects that
Hensley defended herself against Stano, received puncture wounds with a
can opener and stab wounds with a knife, and that Stano tried to pour
muriatic acid on her. Gadberry noted on the Hensley report that Hensley
had "superficial wounds". (Petitioner's 148)
When Lt. John N. Power and
his partner Officer O'Brien saw Hensley in the course of their duties
for the Daytona Beach Police Department, she showed them her wounds
which were still oozing. They also learned in this conversation that the
suspect's car, license tag and description were available to the police.
These police officers then went back to the police station and contacted
Gadberry to discuss the case.
After determining that Gadberry was not going to take
appropriate action in the case, the police officers made a request to
their supervisor, Sgt. Crow, that if Gadberry was not going to conduct
the investigation into the Hensley case that they wished to be assigned
the Hensley case to complete the investigation. As a result of their
complaint, Crow talked to Gadberry about the Hensley case. Shortly
thereafter, Gadberry had Stano arrested on April 1, 1980 and brought
into the Daytona Beach Police Department where Stano made his first
confession as noted earlier.
Captain Powers observed that while Gadberry did not
appear to be resentful when Powers initially directed Crow to enter the
interview room with Gadberry to question Stano on April 1, 1980, and
thereafter when Powers ordered both officers to accompany each other
with two backup officers and Stano to see if Stano could locate the site
where the Maher body had been found, Powers noticed that Gadberry became
resentful toward Crow when the rumors began to flow in the Daytona Beach
Police Department that Crow would be writing a book about this
experience.
Further, while Gadberry testified that he was not for or
against the death penalty, that it did not contradict his religious
beliefs, and that he held no strong views one way or the other, Captain
Powers testified that Gadberry had told Powers that Gadberry was
definitely opposed to the death penalty.
Finally, Dean Moxley testified that on July 29, 1983
he interviewed Gadberry about the Hensley and Maher cases in the course
of his trial preparation for the prosecution of Stano in the Scharf
murder. Gadberry did not make any statement to Moxley to the effect that
Stano was innocent, or that he questioned Crow's interview techniques,
or that Crow had led Stano to the place where Mary Carol Maher's body
had been found. Moxley further testified that Gadberry told him during
this interview that the odor of Mary Carol Maher's body was still at the
site when Gadberry and Crow visited it with Stano. Gadberry, in contrast,
denied that he had ever been contacted by Moxley.
While some of these statements are not material to
the issues in this case, they reflect that Gadberry's testimony
conflicts in part with the testimony of several witnesses and further
help to explain why Gadberry has given evidence which is in conflict
with the testimony of other witnesses.
In any event, as knowledgeable and experienced police
investigators testified during the evidentiary hearing before the Court,
most suspects do not tell the truth the first time they are interrogated.
Giving a suspect some information is a proper interrogation technique.
It is not inappropriate to tell a suspect details to refresh the
suspect's memory, particularly if he is confessing to many crimes,
because details of a crime to a suspect can run together.
It is the finding of this Court after listening to
the evidence and observing the demeanor of the witnesses, that Sgt. Crow
did not feed information to Stano and thus cause Stano to confess to
crimes which he did not commit as contended by Officer Gadberry.
(9) THE PROSECUTION TEAM
The concurring opinion on remand requests a
determination whether Detective Paul Crow was "part of the prosecution
team in the Scharf case" and whether he acted under the authority of the
Brevard County Prosecutor, Dean Moxley. Since this Court has found that
there was no collusion or coercion as alleged by Stano, the issue
whether Paul Crow of the Daytona Beach Police Department in Volusia
County was part of the prosecution team in a jurisdiction outside his
own, that of Brevard County, may not be necessary to this opinion.
However, since evidence was presented in this trial court on the issue,
and the appellate court has indicated its interest, the Court enters its
findings of fact as follows.
After Stano acknowledged his responsibility to the
six murders within the jurisdiction of Volusia County and entered his
plea of guilty in September of 1981, Stano went to prison, and the
Volusia County cases were concluded. However, Stano continued to call
and write a variety of persons, including but not limited to his former
attorney Donald Jacobson, Kathy Kelly and Paul Crow.
Donald Jacobson cautioned Stano both before and after
the conclusion of the six murder cases in Volusia County that his
agreement concerning confessing to murders in Volusia County in exchange
for life imprisonment had ended on September 2, 1981 when he entered his
plea of guilty, and that he should not confess to any other murders
unless he first received immunity. Jacobson knew, because of Stano's
confessions to him and from his own investigation, that Stano was
responsible for the murders of more than the six women in Volusia County.
The murders to which Stano confessed and the factual
circumstances of each often involved different law enforcement agencies
and their investigations. It is the custom among law enforcement
agencies that the agency which has jurisdiction over the territory where
the body of a homicide victim is found will take jurisdiction of the
case for purposes of prosecution.
However, when a victim resides in and is reported
missing in one jurisdiction, and the body is found within the
jurisdiction of another agency, it is a common practice for the
jurisdiction having responsibility for the prosecution of the murder,
i.e. the jurisdiction where the body is found, to request information
from other jurisdictions in the course of gathering facts and evidence
concerning the case. This is for a variety of reasons, not the least of
which is to save the cost and expense of sending investigators from one
jurisdiction into another jurisdiction to do work which could be easily
accomplished by the jurisdiction receiving the request for information.
Therefore, if one jurisdiction is asked for
information from another jurisdiction, the second jurisdiction will try
to provide the information to the requesting agency. This does not
necessarily make the investigation joint. The jurisdiction receiving the
request is obtaining evidence or information in a specifically
designated sphere, even though if assistance is provided to the
requesting jurisdiction, persons from that other agency may be required
to testify as to what was done by them when the requesting agency
proceeds with the trial of the case.
The testimony was without conflict that Sgt. Crow was
not part of the Brevard County prosecution team of Dean Moxley. Moxley
testified that Crow did no investigation for Moxley and that the Scharf
homicide was a Brevard County case from the date on which her remains
were found, January 19, 1974, until conclusion of the second trial of
Stano in Brevard County in December of 1983 for her murder. Moxley
testified that Crow was not under Moxley's authority or control and that
Crow had no role in developing Moxley's case for trial.
Moxley requested information from Crow as well as
from many other persons, and he specifically kept his investigation and
trial preparation with reference to the charges against Stano for the
murder of Cathy Scharf "self-contained". There was no jurisdictional
overlap between Brevard County and either Volusia County or the Daytona
Beach Police Department with reference to control or direction of the
Scharf investigation. While Moxley asked Volusia County and the Daytona
Beach Police Department for information, including copies of records and
witness interviews, Sgt. Crow was used by Moxley solely as a fact
witness and as a source of information on other cases.
Evidence was presented on the history of the Scharf
murder investigation. James A. McDonald, Jr. was the Brevard County
Sheriff's Deputy called to the scene in 1974 where hunters found the
body of Scharf on the Cape Kennedy Preserve inside the Brevard County
line. At the time he was not aware of a missing person's report on
Scharf in Volusia County.
He undertook the investigation of the murder of this
young female, including but not limited to background research,
interview of witnesses, investigation of her clothing and jewelry, and
investigation of missing person's reports. He was able to identify the
victim as Cathy Lee Scharf who lived in Volusia County, and McDonald
contacted Lt. Ouellette of the Daytona Beach Police Department to
request that representatives of this agency go the last places where
Scharf had been seen and also talk to her associates to obtain any
information concerning the victim.
Ouellette directed Detective Susan Nix and one or two
others under his supervision in the Daytona Beach Police Department to
obtain this information for McDonald. McDonald testified that Nix was
not an active investigator for him. He had several telephone
conversations with Detective Nix, and she as well as others from the
Daytona Beach Police Department helped him gather information. However,
Lt. Ouellette was McDonald's primary contact at the Daytona Beach Police
Department and the person with whom McDonald spoke the most at that
agency.
McDonald stated that in this early stage of the
investigation, the Scharf case was not considered a joint investigation
between Brevard County and the Daytona Beach Police Department. The case
was always a Brevard County Sheriff's case and never a joint
investigation with any other agency.
In the course of attempting to gain more information
concerning the Scharf murder, McDonald had his Brevard County Sheriff's
crime lab make an intelligence bulletin. The crime lab had no authority
to determine if an investigation was joint or not. This intelligence
report was a way to seek information concerning the victim, and the
intelligence reports were sent to any jurisdictions that might possibly
have information on the victim.
When a bulletin was sent to another agency, the crime
lab automatically listed in the bulletin the name of the Brevard County
Sheriff's Department and the agency to whom it was sending the bulletin
as well. Thus one bulletin could be sent to many jurisdictions which
might have contact with the victim, and the crime lab would caption the
bulletin with the name of the Brevard County Sheriff and the name of the
jurisdiction receiving the bulletin. The crime lab would insert the name
of the agency to whom it was sending the bulletin so that the bulletin
would be posted in that agency's offices to solicit information.
After the Scharf murder was not resolved in 1974 and
1975, the case lay dormant, and little if any further activity with
reference to it occurred until Johnny Manis reactivated the
investigation of the Scharf murder as a follow up to Sgt. Crow's inquiry
in 1981 concerning a murder victim in Brevard County. Manis, then a
Detective with the Brevard County Sheriff's Department, testified that
Sgt. Crow had no responsibility to gather evidence in the Scharf case
and that there was no jurisdictional overlap between Brevard and Volusia
Counties.
Since the Scharf body was found in Brevard County, that agency
had jurisdiction of the investigation of the Scharf murder. Manis
testified that he did not give Sgt. Crow any information that Crow could
use to question Stano concerning Scharf and that the only thing Sgt.
Crow told Manis on how to question Stano was that if Stano did not like
the interviewer, Stano would not talk to him.
The procedures utilized by Dean Moxley and Detective
Manis in investigating the Scharf case are not unlike the procedures
followed in the investigation of other victims whose bodies were found
in jurisdictions outside of the Daytona Beach Police Department.
introduced Denton to Stano and then left the interview. Stano then gave
a confession concerning this Bradford County murder which Denton taped.
(Respondent's 32 and 33; Court's Exhibit 1; Petitioner's 187).
Denton testified that Stano gave new information
which Denton did not have from his previous investigation of this murder
and which Sgt. Crow had not been told. Denton stated that at no time did
Crow deny access to Stano. Stano never stated that he would not talk to
Denton without Crow, and Stano talked freely. Denton testified that his
agency, and not the Daytona Beach Police Department, was the agency with
the jurisdiction to investigate the murder of the victim found in
Bradford County.
Further, Denton and other Bradford County law
enforcement representatives set up an interview with Stano on August 23,
1982 at the Volusia County courthouse without the assistance of Crow,
during which Stano again freely confessed to this murder. Respondent's
33. Crow acted in large part as a conduit or channel of information to
other agencies because the Daytona Beach Police Department did not have
the personnel or the resources to conduct investigations of murders in
multiple jurisdictions outside its own jurisdiction.
While Crow did investigate the murders committed
within the jurisdiction of his own Daytona Beach Police Department and
to some extent assisted the investigation of murders within the
jurisdiction of the Volusia County Sheriff's Department, Crow primarily
passed along pieces of information Stano gave to other agencies and
would try to encourage Stano to talk to representatives of other
agencies about crimes in their respective jurisdictions. knowledgeably
than Crow. In this deposition Crow describes the number of homicides
which Stano admitted committing ( Id. at p. 14-15), how Stano did
not "rubber stamp" confessions to homicides ( Id. at p. 12), and
how Stano had difficulty communicating with some people ( Id. ).
Crow also gave an overview of how Stano might become
confused as to the route he took or the year because of the number of
murders. However, he noted Stano was usually very accurate as to
clothing, jewelry, dialogue, location, and how the murder was effected.
For instance, Stano confessed to the murder of two girls in Gainesville
and was very accurate as to location, clothing and the means of the
murder but was in error as to the year. ( Id. at p. 23; see
also id. at p. 30).
With reference to the questions posed in the
concurring opinion as to the "prosecution team", the Court finds as
follows:
1. There was no collusion between Crow, Jacobson and
McMillan, and therefore by implication, and by his direct testimony,
Moxley was unaware of any collusion.
2. Crow did not work for Moxley.
3. Crow was not under the control or authority of
Moxley.
4. Crow had no significant role in developing the
Scharf murder case for trial once he informed Manis of Stano's statement
concerning a victim in Brevard County.
While as to the six murders in Volusia County which
were part of Stano's plea agreement it could be said that there was a
jurisdictional overlap and that Paul Crow was a member of Larry Nixon's
prosecution team for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, these cases are
distinguishable from the prosecution of Stano for the murder of Cathy
Lee Scharf in a separate jurisdiction, Brevard County.
In the Volusia County cases, Sgt. Crow of the Daytona
Beach Police Department was responsible for the Maher murder
investigation, Detective Lehman of the Volusia County Sheriff's
Department was responsible for the Toni Vann Haddocks' murder
investigation, and Detective Hudson of the Volusia County Sheriff's
Department was responsible for the murder investigations of Heard,
Hamilton, Doe and Neal and also the Haddocks case when Lehman left the
Sheriff's office.
Nevertheless, Larry Nixon headed the prosecution team
within the Seventh Judicial Circuit as to these six murders, and Sgt.
Crow obtained information concerning these murders from Stano and others.
Don Jacobson, Stano's attorney in these Volusia County cases, testified
that he concurred that Sgt. Crow should be designated as the person to
obtain information concerning these murders in Volusia County after
Stano had been given immunity and a promise of life imprisonment in
exchange for his plea of guilty to the murders of those victims whose
bodies were disinterred in the Seventh Judicial Circuit as a result of
the information Stano provided.
BRADY CLAIM
B. CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW
The Eleventh Circuit remanded this claim to this
Court for an evidentiary hearing to resolve disputed facts with respect
to whether the alleged evidence of collusion and coercion was suppressed
by the prosecution. From the factual findings of the Court discussed
above, Stano's Brady claim must fail.
A Brady violation occurs under the following
circumstances: (1) the prosecution suppressed evidence; (2) the evidence
suppressed was favorable to the defendant or exculpatory; and (3) the
evidence suppressed was material to the issues at trial. United
States v. Burroughs, 830 F.2d 1574, 1577-1578 (11th Cir.1987),
cert. denied, 485 U.S. 969 , 108 S.Ct. 1243, 99 L.Ed.2d 442 (1988).
In the instant case, as discussed above, there was no collusion between
Crow, Jacobson and McMillan. Not only was there no collusion, but also
Moxley, by implication and by his own direct testimony, was unaware of
any collusion.
Additionally, there was no coercion imposed by Crow,
Jacobson, or McMillan, together or individually, on Stano with regard to
the confessions, and the confessions were not tainted. The Court finds
that there was no evidence of collusion or of coercion that could have
been suppressed by the prosecution. Since the Court is unable to
conclude that there was any evidence suppressed by the prosecution,
there was no Brady violation.
Moreover, the Eleventh Circuit has determined that "
Brady and its progeny apply to evidence possessed by a district's
prosecution team, which includes both investigative and prosecutorial
personnel. Brady, then, applies only to information possessed by
the prosecutor or anyone over whom he has authority." United States
v. Meros, 866 F.2d 1304, 1309 (11th Cir.1989), cert. denied,
493 U.S. 932 , 110 S.Ct. 322, 107 L.Ed.2d 312 (1989) (citation omitted)
(quotation omitted). Crow did not work for and was not under the control
or authority of Moxley and was not otherwise answerable to Moxley. Crow
did not have a significant role in developing the Scharf murder case for
trial once he informed Manis of Stano's statement with regard to a
victim in Brevard County.
Therefore, Crow was not an agent of Moxley. In
the event that there was any evidence favorable to Stano's contentions
with regard to Crow's activities, such evidence was not, as required by
Brady, in the possession of the prosecution. Crow's knowledge was
not imputable to Moxley. Hence, Crow was not a part or a member of the "prosecution
team" in the Scharf case, and Brady is not applicable. See
Meros, 866 F.2d at 1309.
In the present case, there has been no violation of
Brady since the Court finds that there was no collusion or
coercion between, by, or among Crow, McMillan, and Jacobson and that
Crow was not a part of the prosecution team. The evidence presented by
Stano on the Brady claim is insufficient to support habeas relief.
II. HENRY CLAIM
A. FINDINGS
OF FACT
In April of 1983, the State Attorney's office for the
Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida was advised that Clarence Zacke
would agree to plead guilty to a charge of the second degree murder of
Richard Lee Hunt and to assist the State in the prosecution of his co-defendants
charged with this murder.
On April 15, 1983, the State Attorney, Mr. Douglas
Cheshire, Jr., and others traveled to Florida State Prison to interview
Zacke about becoming a witness in the Hunt murder case. Zacke indicated
to Cheshire that he wanted his classification changed and a reduction in
his sentence.
After discussion, Cheshire, Joe Mitchell, Zacke's attorney,
and Zacke agreed that Zacke would enter a plea of guilty to a charge of
murder in the second degree of Richard Lee Hunt and receive a sixty year
sentence of incarceration instead of the death penalty on this charge.
In addition Zacke would receive a reduction to sixty years of
incarceration on the sentence he was currently serving for other crimes,
all sentences to be served concurrently. Zacke also agreed to testify
against his co-defendants in the Hunt case.
On April 26, 1983, Mr. Dean Moxley, as Assistant
State Attorney for the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, interviewed Clarence
Zacke at Florida State Prison. Only the case involving Richard Lee Hunt
was discussed at this time, and nothing was discussed which related in
any manner to Gerald Eugene Stano. Zacke agreed to enter the plea
agreement described above and was polygraphed subsequently at the
Florida State Prison at the direction of Moxley. When Moxley interviewed
Zacke on April 26, 1983 at the Florida State Prison, a tape recording of
this conversation was made and became part of the plea agreement in the
Richard Lee Hunt case.
Thereafter, Zacke was returned from Florida State
Prison to the Brevard County jail and put in an isolation cell called
the "shower cell". Zacke testified that he did not ask for this cell and
that he did not know why he was put there. However, it was the same cell
in which he had been placed when he was previously in the Brevard County
jail. Stano was also in the Brevard County jail during this time
although not in Zacke's cell.
Zacke testified that he was in the Brevard County
jail for approximately three to five months and was returned to the
Florida State Prison before Christmas of 1983. Zacke entered his guilty
plea to the murder of Richard Lee Hunt on May 13, 1983 and was sentenced
in October of 1983 in that case. During the time that he was in the
Brevard County jail, he was in the exercise yard approximately five
times.
There is no evidence that there was any promise from
Moxley or anyone else to Zacke of leniency in exchange for his testimony
or information about crimes other than the murder of Richard Lee Hunt
until the telephone call from Joe Mitchell, Zacke's attorney, to Moxley
in the fall of 1983 described below. Until then Moxley's promises to
Zacke related solely to the Hunt murder case and are embodied in the
plea agreement and transcript of the interview. There is no evidence
that Zacke was directed by Moxley or Cheshire or any person to get
statements for the state from Stano or from any other inmate.
Further, Moxley did not direct that Zacke and Stano
be put close together in the jail. When Stano was moved from the Brevard
County jail and transported to the Seminole County jail on May 12, 1983
in response to an order of the state court, Moxley requested that Zacke
be moved to the shower cell for his security "when Stano is moved",
meaning when Stano was taken to the Seminole County jail. Respondent's
34.
After Zacke entered his plea of guilty in the Hunt case in Brevard
County on May 13, 1983, Zacke was moved into the shower cell at the
Brevard County jail. Stano was in the Seminole County jail during this
time. At the time of this move, there had been no conversation between
Zacke and Moxley about Mr. Stano.
On July 14, 1983, Stano's counsel caused Stano to be
transferred back to the Brevard County jail from the Seminole County
jail, and in this month Mr. Stano and Mr. Zacke had the conversation in
the exercise yard during which Stano confessed to committing the murder
of Cathy Lee Scharf. Stano's second trial in the Scharf case.
Initially,
Zacke did not tell anyone about Stano's confession to him because Zacke
thought Stano would be convicted. After Stano's first trial resulted in
a mistrial in September of 1983, Zacke told his attorney, Joe Mitchell,
about Stano's confession. Mitchell then contacted Moxley to advise him
that Zacke had information concerning Stano.
Moxley testified that he was completely surprised by
Joe Mitchell's contact and the information he related. Moxley thereafter
had Zacke polygraphed, and when the results showed that Zacke was being
"non-deceptive", Moxley decided to talk to him.
Zacke advised Moxley of
the confession of Stano to Zacke at the exercise yard and asked to be
moved from Florida State Prison and to receive the return of his seized
truck. Moxley interviewed Zacke again shortly before the second trial of
Stano and found Zacke's statement of the exercise yard confession by
Stano to be the same on this subsequent interview as it had been on
Moxley's previous interview of Zacke.
Zacke testified that he provided the information to
the authorities concerning Stano's confession on his own volition. Both
he and Moxley testified that no one had told, suggested or advised Zacke
to go back into the jail and get more information. Neither Moxley nor
anyone on his behalf directed Zacke to obtain statements from Stano.
There is no credible evidence to the contrary.
The testimony of Marlene Mitchell Alba concerning
jail house sweeps in Brevard County, the affidavits of Curtis Davis, Sr.
and Johnny Jim Mallory to the effect that snitches were used by Brevard
County authorities (Petitioner's 200 and 209), and the testimony of
Melvin Shackleford, Marvin Glen Cook and Lawrence Litus about rumors as
to who was a "snitch" in the jail do not constitute proof of Stano's
contention that Zacke had been promised leniency in exchange for
testimony about other murders or that Zacke had been placed in proximity
to Stano to obtain additional information for the prosecutor. None of
these witnesses had any evidence concerning Mr. Zacke or Mr. Stano which
supported Petitioner's contention that Zacke was a government agent.
Further, the Court finds that the testimony of William Van Poyck, an
inmate on death row with Stano who had been asked by Stano to help him
in this case, lacks credibility and is of questionable relevancy. In any
event, Van Poyck testified that Zacke never stated that he was acting as
a government agent or that a person acting on behalf of the state
attorney asked Zacke to get more information concerning Stano.
Moxley stated that on November 14, 1983, he wrote the
Supervisor of Corrections, Louis Wainwright, to ask for the transfer of
Zacke (Petitioner's 192). This was for security reasons to protect Zacke
from retaliation while he was in the same prison as Stano. On December
12, 1983 he again wrote the Department of Corrections to request
transfer of Zacke to another prison to prevent retaliation. (Petitioner's
193).
On October 3, 1984, Zacke's attorney, J. Robert
Cooper, wrote the Parole Commission to ask for a hearing in December
because he had requested Moxley to testify and relate the fact that
Zacke had testified in two cases and had given important cooperation (Petitioner's
194). However, this letter to the Parole Commission was not written
pursuant to any promise Moxley made to Zacke.
After Stano's second state
court trial, Cooper asked Moxley to make a statement to the parole
commission. Moxley testified did not see Cooper's letter and did not
promise Cooper that he would make favorable comment for Zacke. Prior to
the end of Stano's second trial, Moxley had made no promise that he
would make a favorable comment to anyone on Zacke's testimony in the
Stano case.
HENRY CLAIM
B. CONCLUSIONS
OF LAW
Stano alleges that the testimony of Clarence Zacke
relating to his jailhouse confession violates United States v. Henry,
447 U.S. 264 , 100 S.Ct. 2183, 65 L.Ed.2d 115 (1980), because the
prosecutor, Dean Moxley, promised leniency to Zacke in exchange for
testimony about other murders and because Moxley directed that Zacke and
Stano be placed in proximity to each other in the jail, thus making
Zacke an agent of the state who elicited statements from Stano in
violation of Henry. The evidence of record does not support these
contentions, and thus the Court does not need to deal in this opinion
with the issue of whether there has been procedural default.
There is no evidence that there was prearrangement
for Zacke to obtain information for the authorities with reference to
Stano or that he was acting in the capacity of a government agent. While
Zacke confessed to his role in the murder of Richard Lee Hunt and agreed
to testify against co-defendants, he had no promises of leniency except
those specifically relating to the Richard Lee Hunt case, i.e. that he
would receive a reduction in his current sentence from 180 years to 60
years incarceration and that he could plead guilty to second degree
murder and receive a sentence of 60 years concurrent, thus eliminating
the potential of the death penalty.
To establish a violation of the Sixth Amendment in a
jailhouse informant case, the defendant must demonstrate that a fellow
inmate was a government agent and that the inmate deliberately elicited
incriminating statements from the defendant. United States v. Henry,
447 U.S. 264, 270 , 100 S.Ct. 2183, 2186-87, 65 L.Ed.2d 115 (1980);
see also Lightbourne v. Dugger, 829 F.2d 1012, 1020 (11th
Cir.1987), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 934 , 109 S.Ct. 329, 102 L.Ed.2d
346 (1988). The primary concern is "secret interrogation by
investigatory techniques that are the equivalent of direct police
interrogation." Kuhlmann v. Wilson, 477 U.S. 436, 459 , 106 S.Ct.
2616, 2630, 91 L.Ed.2d 364 (1985).
In the present case, there was no evidence that Zacke
received instructions from the police, from the prosecutors, or from
anyone else to do anything whatsoever concerning Stano. There was
nothing in the evidence presented to the Court indicating that there was
any prearrangement for Zacke to obtain anything from Stano. The Court
was presented with no evidence indicating that Zacke was paid or
otherwise rewarded to develop any type of relationship with Stano or to
otherwise secure incriminating information.
The prosecution did not use
Zacke to carry out any deliberate and surreptitious interrogation of
Stano. Zacke was not promised any rewards for any information that he
might provide regarding Stano. The prosecution did not request Zacke to
elicit any information from Stano, and there was no presolicitation of
Zacke by the prosecution to do anything of any nature concerning Stano.
There simply was no evidence that Zacke was a government agent or that
Zacke in any manner deliberately elicited incriminating statements from
Stano.
"[A] defendant does not make out a violation of that
right simply by showing that an informant, either through prior
arrangement or voluntarily, reported his incriminating statements to the
police. Rather, the defendant must demonstrate that the police and their
informant took some action, beyond merely listening, that was designed
deliberately to elicit incriminating remarks." Kuhlmann, 477 U.S.
at 459 , 106 S.Ct. at 2630.
In the present case, Stano has merely shown
that Zacke reported Stano's incriminating statements to the police.
However, "we should keep in mind the duty that is imposed upon all
citizens to report criminal activity to the appropriate authorities....
This deeply rooted social obligation is not diminished when the witness
... is involved in illicit activities himself.... [T]he criminal
defendant no less that any other citizen is obliged to assist
authorities." Lightbourne, 829 F.2d at 1020 (citation omitted) (quotation
omitted). There is no violation of the Sixth Amendment when " "by luck
or happenstance [ ] the State obtains incriminating statements from the
accused after the right to counsel has attached.' " Kuhlmann, 477
U.S. at 459 , 106 S.Ct. at 2630 (quoting Maine v. Moulton, 474
U.S. 159, 176 , 106 S.Ct. 477, 487, 88 L.Ed.2d 481 (1985)).
"There is, by necessity, no bright-line rule for
determining whether an individual is a government agent for purposes of
the sixth amendment right to counsel.... At a minimum, however, there
must be some evidence that an agreement, express or implied, between the
individual and a government official existed at the time the elicitation
takes place." Depree v. Thomas, 946 F.2d 784, 793-794 (11th
Cir.1991).
Stano has failed to show that Zacke was acting as a
government agent when he elicited incriminating statements from Stano.
Zacke was not paid by, nor was he acting under the instructions or
solicitations of the prosecution. "[T]he protections of the Sixth
Amendment right to counsel enunciated in ... Henry [is]
inapplicable when, after the right to counsel has attached, statements
by a defendant are made to an individual who is not an agent for the
Government, although he may be a Government informant. This is so
regardless of whether the statements were "deliberately elicited.' "
United States v. Taylor, 800 F.2d 1012, 1015 (10th Cir.1986),
cert. denied, 484 U.S. 838 , 108 S.Ct. 123, 98 L.Ed.2d 81 (1987). In
the instant case, Stano has not established any Sixth Amendment
violation, and there is no basis for habeas relief.
III. JOHNSON vs. MISSISSIPPI CLAIM
The Eleventh Circuit has directed this Court to
address the argument that Stano's sentence should be vacated because "two
of the prior convictions which were relied upon by the State in the
sentencing phase were found to be invalid by a panel of this court."
See Stano v. Dugger, 901 F.2d 898, 905 (11th Cir.1990). The Eleventh
Circuit was referring to its prior opinion in Stano v. Dugger,
889 F.2d 962 (11th Cir.1989), in which this Court was directed to grant
Stano's petition for writ of habeas corpus because of the determination
that the state trial judge committed error in accepting Stano's guilty
plea with regard to the murders of Susan Bickrest and Mary Kathleen
Muldoon.
However, in Stano v. Dugger, 897 F.2d 1067
(11th Cir.1990), the Eleventh Circuit vacated the opinion reported at
889 F.2d 962 so that the cause could be reheard by the court "in banc."
The Eleventh Circuit subsequently determined in Stano v. Dugger,
921 F.2d 1125 (11th Cir.1991), that Stano had not raised a
constitutionally cognizable claim under either self-representation or
ineffective assistance of counsel analysis, and "all other appellate
issues presented by Stano [were referred] to the original panel for
resolution." Id. at 1154. Hence, the decision of this Court to
deny Stano habeas relief with respect to his Sixth Amendment claims was
affirmed.
The Eleventh Circuit's determination that the
Johnson claim was still viable arose from its earlier determination
that Stano's convictions for the murders of Bickrest and Muldoon "were
found to be invalid by a panel of this court." Stano, 901 F.2d at
905. However, the opinion invalidating those convictions was
subsequently vacated by the Eleventh Circuit, and the Eleventh Circuit,
in its opinion reported at 921 F.2d 1125, affirmed this Court's denial
of Stano's request for habeas relief as to the convictions for the
murders of Muldoon and of Bickrest; therefore, this Court does not need
to address the argument on the Johnson claim since the
convictions for the murders of Muldoon and of Bickrest remain valid.
Therefore, this Court finds the Petitioner's claims
to be without merit, including contentions which may not be specifically
addressed in this opinion.
DONE AND ORDERED at Orlando, Florida this 10th day of June,
1992.
PATRICIA C. FAWSETT
United States District Court
APPENDIX B
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION
Gerald Eugene Stano, Petitioner,
v.
Robert A. Butterworth, et al., Respondents.
Case No. 87-753-CIV-ORL-19
Filed Aug.
17, 1993
ORDER
This case is before the Court on Petitioner's Motion
for Relief From Judgment Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) (Doc. No. 194, filed
July 26, 1993).
Petitioner states that in June, 1993 a book entitled
"Blind Fury" was published. According to Petitioner, the book was
written by the mother of Assistant Attorney General Belle Turner and "purports
to be an account of Paul Crow's genius at work in the Gerry Stano case."
Petitioner describes the book as "tabloid type," "sensational," and "filled
with sexual overtones."
Petitioner alleges that the book was written
with Paul Crow's "substantial assistance and active participation" and
that the Paul Crow wrote the book's forward. Petitioner requests the
Court to set aside its Order of June 10, 1992 (Doc. No. 160) because of
Mr. Crow's involvement with the book.
The Court finds that Petitioner's arguments are
without merit. Mr. Crow at all times indicated he considered writing a
book, but not until the investigation was over. The investigation is
over. The fact that a book has now been published, that it focuses on Mr.
Crow and that Mr. Crow wrote the forward does not require the Court to
set aside the Order of June 10, 1992.
There is no indication that Mr.
Crow is the author of this book-only that he assisted the author and
wrote the forward. The fact that Ms. Flowers, the author of the book,
wrote a sensational book venerating Mr. Crow and that Mr. Crow has not
yet been reported to have written a scholarly work as he testified he
would like to do does not change the import of the Court's Order.
Other witnesses testified at the evidentiary hearing
that they planned to write books involving Mr. Stano which would be
based on interviews with, and therefore the assistance of, Mr. Crow. In
any event, the Court is unaware of any reason why Mr. Crow would now be
foreclosed from authoring a book of his own. Whether his investigation
of and testimony concerning Mr. Stano was tainted by his desire to write
a book as well as other factors was thoroughly explored at the
evidentiary hearing held in this case, and the allegations made in the
instant motion demonstrate no facts which would undermine the previous
findings of the Court.
Accordingly, Petitioner's Motion for Relief From
Judgment Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b) (Doc. No. 194, filed July 26, 1993) is
DENIED.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers at Orlando, Florida,
this 16th day of August, 1993.