Who's the worst criminal you've ever known?

[samhexum]

This guy grew up down the block from me. He's a few years younger than I. I once blew his gorgeous older cousin (a few years before that cousin jumped off their building's roof after being beset by mental problems). Interesting family... the cousin's sister wrote pornographic novels & their father died of Lou Gehrig's disease.

 

MARCH 28, 2014

 

David Tarloff, a man with schizophrenia who bludgeoned and stabbed a psychologist to death during a botched robbery six years ago, was found guilty of her murder on Friday by a Manhattan jury that rejected an insanity defense.

 

The verdict in State Supreme Court came in the third attempt to convict him. A year ago, a mistrial was declared after the jury announced it was deadlocked. The first trial, in 2010, stalled during jury selection when Mr. Tarloff became unstable.

 

Mr. Tarloff, who appeared with long, scraggly hair in a dingy sweatsuit, betrayed little emotion as the jury forewoman rose to read the verdicts, reached after seven hours of deliberations.

 

The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the attack, with a meat cleaver and a rubber mallet, on the psychologist, Kathryn Faughey. He was also found guilty of assault and attempted robbery formaiming Dr. Kent D. Shinbach, a psychiatrist who shared an office with her.

 

In the audience, members of Dr. Faughey’s family who had attended most of the monthlong trial hugged one another and wept as the verdicts were read. “The ordeal is over, thank God,” said Owen Faughey, her brother. “We got justice for our beautiful sister Kathryn.”

 

As in last year’s trial, the critical issue was whether Mr. Tarloff, when he killed Dr. Faughey, was in the grip of a psychotic delusion that prevented him knowing that what he was doing was wrong.

 

Mr. Tarloff’s lawyers, Bryan Konoski and Frederick L. Sosinsky, argued that their client had a long history of delusions about communicating directly with God. He told doctors who examined him that his plan to rob Dr. Shinbach — which spun out of control when Dr. Faughey confronted him first — had been sanctioned by the lord.

 

But the lead prosecutor, Evan Krutoy, argued that Mr. Tarloff’s mental illness never grew so severe that he could not distinguish right from wrong. Nor, he argued, did Mr. Tarloff show signs he was out of touch with reality on the day of the killing.

 

Mr. Tarloff faces a maximum term of life in prison without parole when he is sentenced May 2. Had the insanity defense succeeded, he could have been ordered held indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital.

 

His lawyers said they would appeal.

 

The defendant’s brother, Robert Tarloff, said, “I am hopeful now that the Faughey family has some peace, that it’s finally over.”

 

Mr. Tarloff, 47, told the police he went to Dr. Shinbach’s office on East 79th Street on Feb. 12, 2008, to rob the doctor of $50,000 for a far-fetched scheme to kidnap his mother from a hospital and move with her to Hawaii.

 

Jurors said they were convinced that even though Mr. Tarloff at times had delusions about communicating with God, he still knew that the robbery and murder were immoral in society’s eyes and understood that he had committed a crime.

 

“He’s sick, but I feel like he knew what he was doing,” said a juror, Dana Torres, 27, a construction worker. “For me, if he had said Satan told him to do this, it would have been a different story.”

 

Another juror, Emma Pulitzer, 27, said the narrow rules governing the insanity defense left the jury little choice but to convict Mr. Tarloff, because even during psychotic periods he was obsessed with religion and morality. Still, she said, Mr. Tarloff belonged in a mental hospital, not a prison.

 

“I felt like there needed to be one more box,” Ms. Pulitzer said, “the box for the obviously crazy people who know right and wrong.”

 

At the start of deliberations on Thursday, only two jurors were leaning toward finding Mr. Tarloff not responsible because of insanity, jurors said. After heated discussion, the holdouts were persuaded to join the majority.

 

One of the jurors initially on the fence was Tiffany Brown, 38, a city employee, who said she thought Mr. Tarloff “might have snapped” when he encountered Dr. Faughey.

 

But Ms. Brown said she eventually decided that the defense had not offered strong evidence of Mr. Tarloff’s state of mind during the attack. Also, she said, he seemed rational during a videotaped confession to detectives a few days later. “He understood what he did in that interview,” she said. “He started off being apologetic.”

 

Other jurors agreed that the videotape had been critical to their decision, offering an unfiltered peek into Mr. Tarloff’s state of mind shortly after the crime, and months before he told doctors that God had sanctioned the robbery.

 

“His mannerisms, his way of speaking — he knew what was going on,” said Kevin Berry, 48, a flight attendant. “I believe he’s sick to a certain degree, but not sick enough to not know right from wrong.”

 

Believe it or not, this used to be a cute, blond teenager.

[+ poolboy48220]

There's a graphic novel called "My Friend Dahmer", true story about a guy who grew up with Jeffrey Dahmer. He wasn't close friends with him, but hung out with him from time to time. It's been made into a movie that's showing now.

[maninsoma]

Someone who ended up killing one of my classmates sat next to me in one class in 7th grade. He and one of his friends joked about animal torture (killing) starting in fourth grade. Not sure what happened to him after whatever time he served for the murder, but I assume he was released as a young adult given his young age when he committed the murder. I'm not sure what happened to his sociopathic friend, either.

[Bearofdistinction]

A guy I went to High School and then College with tried to get a prostitute that he picked up to find a hit man to kill a woman he got pregnant because his family with lot$$ did not approve. The Hooker turned the info to the Police - they set him up -- he ended up in jail. When the girl gave birth and tried to sue for support he tried to hire a contract killer from jail to kill the mother and baby --- Another trail and more years in jail for life.

 

I was friendly with the older sister who was a genius -- completed BA and MS and a JD in 4+ years ==== She was such a lovely person

 

Brother a whiney lil slime bag --- Became first a Sally Jesse Raphael and then a Dateline Story -- family pretty much wrecked

[njr47]

One of my junior high school classmates in San Francisco, an Irish-American, moved to Ireland when he was 21 and became an IRA hitman. A very smart guy, he was eventually convicted of 3 murders, but suspected of many more. He died in prison.

[Epigonos]

One day the Assistant Principal for Guidance came up to me on our morning break (nutrition) and informed me that she would be coming by classroom during the next period. We were to fake a conversation and then when she was about to leave she would give me an pass to the office for a student who had recently transferred to the school. It worked perfectly. The minute the young man left my room and was out of sight two police from a different city cuffed him and rushed him off campus. Seems he had used a club to beat to death an elderly woman during a robbery.

[+ Kman]

I went to school with a guy that was convicted of drug trafficking just a few years ago. Also a guy who was a few years older than me was convicted of statutory rape.

 

The most chilling is of a man I did not even know. My buddies and I were at the mall and we had walked in a side entrance and there was a man standing in the entrance with an old coat pretending to be waiting for someone. Then my buddies and I leave the mall a good 2 to 3 hours later and the man is still there. I remember having a weird feeling in my stomach when we walked by him, thinking 'I should call the cops...and tell them what? I have a weird feeling about a guy who is standing at a mall entrance" So anyway I don't do it. BUT that night a woman from Victoria Secret, which was right by the entrance the man was at, was kidnapped, raped, and murdered. It wasn't too long after that night they arrested the man that was standing at that entrance. He was eventually convicted, and I believe he received the death penalty.

(Wikipedia)

The trial was held in federal court because Sjodin was taken across state lines.[14][15] This meant that Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. was eligible to receive the death penalty if convicted, a possibility not allowed under North Dakota or Minnesota law, neither of which has the death penalty. It was the first death penalty case in a century to take place in North Dakota.[16] US Attorney Drew Wrigley and Assistant US Attorneys Keith Reisenauer and Norman Anderson prosecuted the case against Rodriguez. On August 30, 2006, Rodriguez was convicted in federal court of the murder of Dru Sjodin, and on September 22, 2006, he was sentenced to death.[17] On February 8, 2007, Rodriguez was formally sentenced to death and prison in United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute, Terre Haute, Indiana.[18][19] U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson arranged that Rodriguez would be executed in South Dakota.[20]

 

Rodriguez maintains that he is innocent. In October 2011, defense attorneys filed a federal habeas corpus motion claiming that Rodriguez is mentally disabled.[21]

Edited November 23, 2017 by Kman

[+ Charlie]

In the early 1970s, my partner and I bought a house in Philadelphia in a neighborhood that was in the early stages of gentrification. The house across the street was still occupied by a family of criminals. One night we looked out our front windows when we heard shots, and saw police sheltering behind our parked car, engaged in a gunfight with occupants of the house. The father was a thief (he stole some things from our house while contractors were working on it); the mother and two daughters were prostitutes working at the house; the younger son was a child when we moved in, but in his teens he burglarized and trashed the house next door to us; the worst was the older son, who tried to mug a new neighbor in the next block, and killed him when the man resisted. We breathed a sigh of relief when all of them were evicted or imprisoned.

[LaffingBear]

I worked for a company.

 

I resigned to start consulting, kept my ex-employer as client, recruited a woman to replace some of the very basic duties that were part of my job. Such as accounts payable.

 

It was a bad hire. My fault. As I got to know her, I became convinced she was exceedingly stupid. Incapable. I recommended terminating before end of probationary period.

 

She had an ongoing series of woes. Auto breakdowns. Arrived at work one day with a black eye, tale of boyfriend's abuse. Owner was sympathetic, kept her employed against my recommendation.

 

Eventually, she was terminated for non-performance at about 9 months.

 

Investigating some expense overruns, we found she had set up an elaborate ruse, had registered a dba locally in the same name as a very large,high-volume, out-of-state vendor, and had been putting already-paid invoices and vendor checks before the owner for signature. Depositing them in the business bank account she'd established locally using the dba.

 

She got away with $120,000.

 

Guess she wasnt really inept or stupid!

Edited November 24, 2017 by LaffingBear

[+ purplekow]

My next door neighbor was pictured on the front of an issue of the NY Daily news under the headline he wined her he dined her he killed her. Seems he took his girlfriend out on the then he told the limo driver they were going to have sex in the back of the car and then claimed that he choked her to death during rough sex

[+ Avalon]

I don't know what he did but I once had a female co-worker whose boyfriend was sent to prison. I only met him a couple of times but one time I got a call from the prison asking me if I would accept a collect call from him. I declined.

[samhexum]

My next door neighbor was pictured on the front of an issue of the NY Daily news under the headline he wined her he dined her he killed her.

 

When I was a teen, the father of one of the girls in our group was a cabdriver. He beat up a priest he'd picked up as a fare at the airport. This was on New Year's Eve. The next day was obviously a slow news day, so he wound up on the cover of the NY Daily News.

Edited November 24, 2017 by samhexum

[TruthBTold]

My grandfather. He was murdered by Al Capone (my grandfather was honing in on his territory during Prohibition). Allegedly Capone turned my grandfather's chauffeur and there was some sort of set up. As a matter of fact, when I was small my grandmother and an aunt still lived in the house that my grandfather/grandmother lived in when they were married. There was a tunnel that was being dug from the house to the garage (which was separate from the house) so that he did not have to go outside. None of the grandchildren ever knew anything about any of this until my cousin happened to be doing a college report on something completely unrelated. When going through newspaper articles written about the time period he was studying, he found the article that recounted exactly what happened regarding the shooting.

 

Now I know this might not actually count as me "knowing" him as he was dead by the time I was born. But I would have as I knew my other grandfather.

[+ azdr0710]

My grandfather. He was murdered by Al Capone (my grandfather was honing in on his territory during Prohibition). Allegedly Capone turned my grandfather's chauffeur and there was some sort of set up. As a matter of fact, when I was small my grandmother and an aunt still lived in the house that my grandfather/grandmother lived in when they were married. There was a tunnel that was being dug from the house to the garage (which was separate from the house) so that he did not have to go outside. None of the grandchildren ever knew anything about any of this until my cousin happened to be doing a college report on something completely unrelated. When going through newspaper articles written about the time period he was studying, he found the article that recounted exactly what happened regarding the shooting.

 

Now I know this might not actually count as me "knowing" him as he was dead by the time I was born. But I would have as I knew my other grandfather.

 

[samhexum]

 

My favorite opening line EVER for a song:

Daddy sucked a cock

On the east side of Chicago...

[TruthBTold]

 

Thanks for that. The odd part of the song is that they refer to the east side. Of course, the east side of Chicago is the lake. I have never heard anyone refer to any place being on the east side of the city. Of course, I could be wrong. Basically it is Downtown and the North, West, and South sides.

[samhexum]

Thanks for that. The odd part of the song is that they refer to the east side. Of course, the east side of Chicago is the lake. I have never heard anyone refer to any place being on the east side of the city. Of course, I could be wrong. Basically it is Downtown and the North, West, and South sides.

 

 

You forgot Wrigleyville. And I'm surprised Oprah never had a neighborhood named after her.

[nynakedtop]

Through my associations with some organizations during the 1970s, I knew well some people who actually made it onto the Federal "Ten Most Wanted"... some of the best criminals I have ever known !

[+ azdr0710]

The odd part of the song is that they refer to the east side. Of course, the east side of Chicago is the lake.

 

.

and off to wikipedia I ran to see if Brit group "Paper Lace" had even ever been to Chicago before they wrote the song.......

 

 

The song's events supposedly take place "on the East Side of Chicago". Chicago has three commonly referred-to regions: the North Side, the West Side and the South Side. There is no East Side, as Lake Michigan is immediately east of Downtown Chicago. While there is an area of Chicago known as "East Side", it is a neighborhood on the Far South Side on the Illinois/Indiana state line. East Side is also several miles away from where Capone lived on Prairie Avenue in Chicago. Furthermore, in the 1920s, East Side was known for being a quiet, residential, and predominantly Eastern European neighborhood—a sharp contrast from the site of the bloodbath described in the song.

 

 

Songwriters Peter Callender and Mitch Murray said in interviews (most notably on Beat Club shortly after the song's smash success) that they had never been to the Windy City before that time, and that their knowledge of the city and that period of its history had been based on gangster films. (Callender defended his interpretation of Chicago's geography by saying, "There's an East Side of everywhere!")

 

 

As reported by History.com:

 

 

"...in England there were at least a few young men that didn’t have all the facts straight, and in the 1970s their pop group from Nottingham turned their romantic misunderstanding of American history into a historically dubious yet gloriously catchy hit record. Though it was never intended for the American market, Paper Lace’s “The Night Chicago Died” crossed the Atlantic and became a #1 hit on the U.S. pop charts..."[2]

 

 

Paper Lace did send the song to Mayor Richard J. Daley, who was not impressed with the song and greatly disliked it.[3] A member of Daley's staff is quoted as saying that Paper Lace should “jump in the Chicago River, placing your heads under water three times and surfacing twice. Pray tell us, are you nuts?”[4]

[samhexum]

some of the best criminals I have ever known !

 

You're obviously not paying attention. The topic asks 'Who's the WORST criminal...' :D:rolleyes:

[nynakedtop]

You're obviously not paying attention. The topic asks 'Who' the WORST criminal...' :D:rolleyes:

totally paying attention... just introducing the notion that in some eyes the WORST are in others' eyes the BEST!

[samhexum]

totally paying attention... just introducing the notion that in some eyes the WORST are in others' eyes the BEST!

 

Sort of how Bozo T Clown views the world, eh?

[nynakedtop]

Sort of how Bozo T Clown views the world, eh?

not getting into that territory here on this thread

[TruthBTold]

You forgot Wrigleyville. And I'm surprised Oprah never had a neighborhood named after her.

 

Oh, Wrigleyville is one of the many neighborhoods. Like I live Printers Row. There are tons of them but usually the "Side" is named first, unless you know that the person what neighborhood you will be referring to. For instance, someone might not necessarily know where "Boystown" or "Chinatown" or "Brownsville" or "Humboldt Park" or "Lincoln Park" is - (many are associated and named with the park that they contain, like "Jackson Park.") I think President O'bama is from Kenwood. Otherwise you would just say, "it's on the North Side" or "it's in the Loop."

 

P.S. I'm sure she has a enough money to buy one of the neighborhoods and just start having it called by her name. "Orpahville"

Edited November 24, 2017 by TruthBTold

[Larstrup]

You forgot Wrigleyville.

 

Wrigleyville is a neighborhood in Chicago, not a cardinal direction.

 

And I'm surprised Oprah never had a neighborhood named after her.

 

While there was never a designated Oprahville, Harpo Studios' campus, in and of itself, was immensely instrumental in the early development of the near west side. Without Oprah's presence during ( and after her talk show run) the west side of Chicago would look very different than it does today.

Edited November 24, 2017 by Larstrup