Political consultant Thomas "Scissorhands" Severson was bound over to common pleas court today. After a preliminary hearing in which Senior Deputy AG Marc Constanzo produced five witnesses, District Judge Ralph Litzenberger ruled that the Commonwealth has established a prima facia case on a charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. This criminal prosecution was filed after Severson disrupted a funeral mass in Pen Argyl, loudly cursing at and threatening to kill Northampton County Council member Ron Angle.According to former council member Mary Ensslin, Severson kept putting a hand in one of his pockets, saying "We're going to settle this. I'm going to stick this in you outside." Angle testified Severson occasionally pulled two inches of what looked like a switchblade knife from his pocket. Another witness - a Severson neighbor - told Judge Litzenberger that, after the incident was over, Severson walked up to him and said, "I'm a natural born killer."
I'll have the play by play later.
12 comments:
Will any other F.O.M.s (Friends Of Morganelli) be facing criminal charges soon?
Anon,
What does that mean? Once again, too many focus on motivation instead of facts.
Five witnesses? He actually showed a knife? Actually made threats?
I don't care who he is, who he supports, who his 'friends' are....
I don't care if he was a personal friend of mine or a relative. If he broke the law, then he must face the consequences.
If true, the guy deserves to face the criminal justice system.
Why is that so hard to grasp?
Sounds like a nut. Lock him up and let Bubba stab him with something attached to Bubbas bod.
john morganelli closely associates with an indicted gutter dweller whom he refuses to utter a word against and expects to be this state's top law enforcement official?
why is that so hard to grasp?
Sounds like a nut. Lock him up and let Bubba stab him with something attached to Bubbas bod.
Assault with a friendly weapon? That's why I recommend rubber underpants.
Mr. Hillard, I agree with you. The personalities in and around this case seem to mean more to many people than the actual alleged crimes. This may include members of our local MSM.
Compare these two news accounts of the hearing from Pennlive.com and Mcall.com.
The MC's article focuses on Mr. Angle's actions more so than anyone else's, and they seem to hint at cowardice on his part by commenting that Mr. Angle slipped out the side door and ran to his truck. For some reason, the MC found it more important to report that Mr. Angle went home after the incident was over and took a sleeping pill than to report that Mr. Severson is president of Precision Marketing, which is part of an investigation into election law violations brought on by the allegations of the Northampton County Republican Committee, of which Mr. Angle is a member. Pennlive.com managed to include this motive-related detail. Pennlive.com also reported that, "Pen Argyl police officer Jonathan Hoadley read a statement provided by Severson from Dec. 18 which corroborated some on Angle's testimony." Strangely, this did not make it into the MC article on the exact same subject.
Public opinion about Mr. Angle, Mr. Severson or Mr. Morganelli should not matter more than the facts of the case and whether or not the law was broken.
To hell with the legal merits of this case. That's for a court to decide and for letters to editors to complain about.
The last time I checked, this was a primarily political blog. A criminally charged political operator and his wannabe PA AG client are appropriate topics here.
After all, the guy is running for AG and his political adviser is looking at potential jail time. I think this is discussion worthy.
Severson is red meat for political criticism. Morganelli would do well to go vegan.
It must suck when the dogs you lie with give you fleas as well.
Anon 5:07
What?
"To hell with the legal merits of the case."?
First, yes, I guess any linkage is worthy of discussion. However, I do not engage in personal speculation or discussion of motivations. I only care about what really happened.
However, talk about motivations and linkages is irrelevent - unless you are a political hack. Of either party. (Gee, if an 'R' he must be guilty. Or, gee if an 'R', he must be innocent. Or vice versa. What B.S., and that is what is killing our country - that kind of limited thinking.)
Severson either did this or he didn't. Should he be excused for doing this if you happens to be of a particular political stripe?
That is the ultimate hypocrisy. Severson serves masters in both parties. So the political B.S. partisanship is COMPLETELY insonsequential.
And as you say, that is "what the courts are for".
Glad you agree.
If he did it, he is a person with serious problems and the criminal justice system should deal with him - severely.
If he didn't, the criminal justice system should let him go.
Quite simple, I think.
But stop excusing what might be irrational behavior for other irrelevant reasons. How sad.
joe hilliard makes so much stink about no linkage that he clearly paints the linkage picture.
the legal issues are for courts to decide. So far, the courts have decided the charges are legitimate and serious.
the political issue is that john morganelli's political adviser is facing serious criminal charges. morganelli's silence here speaks volumes.
i'm certain that morganelli's crowd would love for this discussion to be shelved until after the case is completely resolved (perhaps in a decade after all appeals have been exhausted).
too bad for them, it's not their call. morganelli deserves a political pounding until he distances himself from this ethical train wreck. to now, he's done nothing close.
any other politicians associated with scissorhands should be similarly treated. but a guy running for the state's top law enforcement job should receive a bit more scrutiny.
i love that his supporters are defending him via the "no linkage" route. in politics, when you're explaining, you're losing. keep explaining. he'll be rejected a fourth time for statewide office, as he deserves to be.
Anon 7:10-
I agree with your statements.
"morganelli deserves a political pounding until he distances himself from this ethical train wreck. to now, he's done nothing close."
"any other politicians associated with scissorhands should be similarly treated."
These politicians believe in the win at any cost philosophy - and spend wads of cash to do it.
Bernie, or anyone else - is their a list of these politicians?
Joe, I've posted such a list before and have written extensively about Severson on this blog.
Can we not just put Angle and Severson in a basement locked--like he did to one of his tenants--and instead of candy bars--have cash? The 2 deserve each other.
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