Greenwich Roundup: 08/12/08 The states attorney contends that Alan Golder still has the agility of a cat, the cunning of a spy and the eye of a jeweler.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

08/12/08 The states attorney contends that Alan Golder still has the agility of a cat, the cunning of a spy and the eye of a jeweler.

HEADLINES:

Connecticut Prosecutor Alleges That:
Alan Golder can break into your house while you're eating dinner and be gone with all your valuables before dessert

Twelve Down And Four To Go:
Greenwich Police Department Originally Charged Alan Golder With 16 Counts. That Number Has Been Reduced To Four.

THE STORY:

Dinnertime trial gets under way

By Martin Cassidy
Greenwich Time Crime Writer

Article Launched: 08/12/2008 02:07:42 PM

Evidence linking the accused Dinnertime Bandit in a career as a cat burglar to a series of Greenwich burglaries is unfairly prejudicial and should be suppressed, his lawyer, Howard Ehring, said Tuesday at Stamford Superior Court.

Opening statements in the trial of Alan Golder, the 53-year old New York man who is accused of four Greenwich break-ins a decade ago, was set to begin Tuesday afternoon.

The perpetrator of the crimes has been called the Dinnertime Bandit in reference to his hallmark method of breaking into homes in the early evening to steal valuable jewelry while his victims were in the house and unaware of his presence.

Ehring is seeking to quash testimony by Robert Liebman, who is expected to testify that he drove Golder to Greenwich to commit several burglaries.

"Physical evidence touted by the police and prosecutors does little to link Alan Golder to the crime," Ehring said,

Prosecutors argue that Golder's unique athleticism and method of operation in the previous burglaries strongly indicates that he also committed the Greenwich burglaries.

"The prosecution is attempting to bootstrap crimes he pled guilty to in 1980 to crimes committed more than 15 years later," Ehring said. At the time, Golder acknowledged stealing millions of dollars worth of jewelry from the homes of wealthy people on the East Coast.

Please Read The Full Greenwich Timel Story

COMMENT:

Unbeliveable!!!!!

This is the WHOLE Greenwich Time Story!!!!!

Martin Cassidy's reporting is almost as week as the Greenwich Police Department's investigation against Alan Golder.

So Far Prosecutor Joseph Valdes Has Presented A Case That Is Going Down In Flames As All Of America's Media Looks On.

Please See:

08/02/08 Prosecutor Joseph Valdes Falsely Claims That John Christoffersen's Testimony And Notes Are Needed To Prove Golder Is Guilty Of 10 Felonie

Disparate And Lazy Prosecutor Joseph Valde Wants The Associated Press To Save The Poorly Investigated Greenwich Police Department Case.
”If people knew that every time they talked to a reporter they'd be talking to a state prosecutor, they'd stop talking to reporters,” New York attorney David Schulz said. “The state is trying to get the benefit of a reporter doing his job covering this case. That's exactly what the shield law does not allow.”
“It's a fishing expedition.”said Howard Ehring, Golder's public defender.

PLEASE ALSO SEE:

08/01/08 Judge John Kavanewsky Jr Would Be A Fool To Try And Weaken Connecticut 2006 Reporter Shield Law

Judge John Kavanewsky Jr had better tell the Connecticut States Attorney to have the Greenwich Police Department to hit the bricks and uncover another states witness. Otherwise Judge Kavanewsky is going to find his overturned decission in featured in law school text books.

Please also read:

07/17/08 When asked if anyone in the court room appeared to be the person that she described to police she said no.

Howard Ehring Says Greenwich Detective's Police Work Does Not Meet Judicial Standards
Patricia Solari identified Alan Golder a decade ago from an array of eight photos as the intruder who robbed her home in 1997. She said she only saw him for a few seconds and that he wore a ski mask and gloves.
"We have a photo array here that really does not meet the standard," said Howard Ehring, a public defender representing Golder.
Ehring said Golder's photo had a background distinctive from the other seven photos and that police presented Solari with all the photos at once, alloing her to quickly eliminate all but two based on eye color. Ehring also said the lead investigator should not have shown her the photos because of the potential for bias.
Solari only saw the intruder for a few seconds and was not certain of his eye color, Ehring said. He also said she felt badgered to make an identification.
Solari said last week she eliminated six of the eight photos quickly because their eye color was not blue or green.
Asked if anyone in the court room appeared to be the person she described to police, she said no. Golder, who has blond hair and blue eyes, was in court.

HERE IS SOME BACKGROUND INFO:

The son of a career criminal who was caught several times, and a mother who worked part-time as a waitress, living in a dilapidated wooden shack in Queens, Alan Golder knew he came from the wrong side of an American society that places so much emphasis on material wealth and status.

Mr. Golder turned to crime because he felt he couldn't legally have what other kids had. His first theft a matchbox toy car from Woolworths aged 6 years old. By the age of 10 he had graduated to stealing bikes. At 16, he dropped out of high school to pursue crime full-time, first hitting small businesses and then home burglaries for baubles by Faberge, and jewelry from Harry Winston and David Webb. By 21, Golder was stealing millions in jewels, funneling them onto the black market through a New York City jewelry store which had Genovese crime family fences. His equipment consisted of a ski mask, large flashlight and a long screwdriver. He never carried a gun, but always wore tan Isotoner gloves, which appeared less suspicious than black ones.

Alan used Architectural Digest and Unique Homes to scope out suitable targets, as well as the advice of the Genovese Crime Family, who knew only too well the route that rich jewelry kept to.

In the late '70s Mr. Golder stole from the houses of talk-show host Johnny Carson, country singer Glen Campbell, author and screenwriter Irving Wallace and Jackie O's mother.

Things changed for Golder on Dec. 4, 1978, when multimillionaire developer Lawrence Lever walked into the master bedroom of his Old Brookville, New York mansion and found two ski-masked men ransacking it. As he tried to reach a shotgun hidden in the closet, the intruders drew guns and one shot him in the chest.

EVEN MORE BACKGROUND INFO:

Alan Golder's Unsolved Mysteries page (http://www.unsolved.com/1104-Golder.html) states "Since his parole in 1996, authorities estimate he has stolen $5 million in gems from estates in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In November 1997, Golder disappeared from his Queens, New York apartment and went on the run.

He is known to have contacts in Los Angeles, Las Vegas , Texas and Florida. Golder is in great physical shape and is known to frequent gyms, tanning salons, fine restaurants and nightclubs."

MORE BACKGROUND LINKS: