Guess That Party: Torture-Fantasy Judge's Party ID Somehow Missing From AP Report

It never ends.

A Tennessee judge resigned last month after making a recording of fantasies so lurid that when the tape fell into the hands of the police and FBI, they thought they were listening to a torture session and believed it might be linked to a murder case.

Ultimately, investigators brought no charges against Circuit Judge John B. Hagler, and police said Wednesday he is not a suspect in any investigation.

...

The recording was investigated by authorities more than two years ago, but its existence did not come to light publicly until just a few weeks ago....

During those two years, the judge remained on the bench, hearing mostly family court cases like divorces and child custody.

...

"It sounded like someone being tortured," Chattanooga police Sgt. Alan Franks testified Wednesday, offering the first details of what is on the tape.

Franks said the recording was investigated in relation to a still-unsolved 1997 murder. He gave no other details on the murder case.

"The content was so shocking. I have been a police officer for 24 years," Franks said before his testimony was cut off by an objection.

Investigators ultimately concluded the recording consisted only of fantasies.

...

Bebb, the district attorney, said he, too, concluded the recording was not connected to any crime, but what he heard led him to persuade Hagler, whom he describes as a longtime friend, to resign.

"This would disturb any human being who heard it," Bebb said.

All right, fine, there's no crime here, just a very sexually twisted individual.

Why is his party ID unimportant? Because I guarantee you if he were a Republican the headline would be Republican Judge Resigns Over "Sick" Torture Fantasy, as it always is.

Thanks to Anwyn.

In other Jurists Gone Wild news, Howlin' Jay Grodner's keying episode is starting to get some media play, here in the Chicago Tribune.

"Mike says, 'Hey, what are you doing to my car? Open up your hand!'" Sullivan told us. "And [Grodner] goes, '[Blank] you! Just because you're in the military you don't run the roost!'"

There were allegedly many more epithets and cuss words, some allegedly applied to the United States Marine Corps, to the U.S. armed forces and to Sgt. McNulty himself.

"Quite frankly, you don't even look like a soldier. You're a small little [blank]," Grodner said according to Sullivan.

This last bit really bothers William McNulty, who is Sgt. McNulty's brother, and he called me.

"My brother should be commended for not just smashing that guy's windpipe right there for all the stuff he said about our military, and the insults," William McNulty said. "Instead, my brother called the police, as he should have."

According to the police report I read, other investigative accounts and interviews, Grodner was upset to have been accused of purposely scratching the car. So upset, that he accused his accusers of being anti-Semitic.

The Chicago police officer responding to the call didn't take the accusation seriously, according to the report, because he couldn't justify it. And Sgt. McNulty's brother and Sullivan say it is outrageous and nonsensical.

"The officer wasn't going to hear this kind of talk. He put the kibosh on the whole thing," Sullivan said. "So [Grodner] became apologetic."

Of course, his party affiliation isn't mentioned, either, though I don't think it's terribly hard to find out. Or just guess.

posted by Ace at 04:58 PM

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