Richard F. Wright appears on "About the Valley"
The new book, The John Fresolo Saga, was the topic of a recent episode of "About the Valley," a local cable TV show hosted by a well-known media personality, Harry Berkowitz. You can watch the show here.
Use this link to watch this episode of "About the Valley"
-- John Fresolo Appeared - Appearing along with Wright on the show was former State Representative John Fresolo, who was the subject of the book.
Fresolo resigned suddenly in 2013 almost immediately after being reelected in a race where he was unopposed and where polling showed he was at the height of his political popularity.
The true story is now told as a result of two years of investigative reporting by Richard F. Wright.
-- False Accusations - The book identifies the false accusations, the corrupted evidence, the distorted and fabricated testimony, and the oppressive pressure applied by elected officials and highly paid outside consultants to force John Fresolo to give up his freely won position as a State Representative for the 16th Worcester district.
-- Lying Under Oath - Witnesses admitted under oath that they had lied. Evidence was shown to be corrupted and unreliable. Allegations that spread to newspaper headlines, even though the ethics committee was supposed to operate secretly, were shown to be false, misleading, and prejudicial. Yet, Fresolo could not defend himself publicly without being in violation of House rules.
-- Denied Cross-Examination - Fresolo was allowed to have counsel, but counsel could not cross-examine witnesses or challenge evidence. Fresolo could not speak unless recognized by the committee chairman, who continuously hushed Fresolo when he protested false testimony. The characterization of a "kangaroo court" was clear to anyone who had access to the procedure.
-- Speaker's Spokesman Lied to Media - Officials of the Speaker's office lied to the media that John Fresolo had not been pressured to resign. The book clearly shows that the chairman of the ethics committee pressured Fresolo, the attorney for the ethics committee threatened and pressured Fresolo, and the draconian resolution brought against Fresolo was strictly a pressure tactic. Fresolo succumbed to the pressure.
-- Accused was Blackmailed into Resigning - Just as the committee was about to settle on a resolution that the accused would accept, the committee abruptly added "evidence" not previously shared with the defense, not entered during the hearings, not in a manner that allowed the defense to respond, and concerned with none of the original 13 allegations that sparked the investigation. The accused was blackmailed into resigning to avoid the public disclosure of material unrelated to the allegations of ethical breaches.
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