Blogger, musician and cyber-stalker Bill Villa was convicted yesterday of criminal harassment for his September 29 troll attack on this and other blogs. Regular readers might recall he spent an entire day spamming this blog with around five hundred identical comments. He effectively shut it down, making interactivity completely impossible. Another two hundred comments were posted on other local blogs, forcing their publishers to enable comment moderation.Villa had a lawyer, stenographer and copies of hundreds of blog posts. He had everything but the truth. Interestingly, he never testified.
I kept my case short and sweet. Villa's lawyer subjected me to a lengthy cross examination followed by an even lengthier closing argument, reminding the judge this is a criminal case and I had a "lot of nerve" to even be there. My closing lasted about thirty seconds and goes something like this - posting the same comment 500 times on one blog in one day is criminal harassment.
Masut went out to deliberate, came back, and convicted Villa of criminal harassment. Justice was done. He was fined $100 and court costs. There goes his claimed perfect record. He has thirty days to appeal.
I'm sure he will. I'll be there.
Good for you. I hate those days when the excessive junk posts have the chilling effect of shutting dialog down.
ReplyDeletethank you bernie for your tenacity in pursuing charges against his sociopathic behavior. in reality, a growing number of bloggers and citizens have been victimized by him since september. worse yet, public officials, including joyce marin and pete lewnes have inadvertently condoned his aggression. many people have been intimidated against speaking out, hoping to be spared from his cyber harassment.
ReplyDeleteactually bernie, if you do some digging, you'll see that villa is not as clean as he says he is.
ReplyDeletePoor district judge, now she's going to be lumped into the whole conspiracy.
oh, brother.
ReplyDeletehow silly.
Bernie, I don't want to endure Willy either, so I'm staying anon.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a mistake posting this, it feeds him, like a moth to a flame. Everyone knows what he is. When you post about him, it makes you no better.
From Villas blog:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
That's only 20 cents a comment....good deal....
Tue May 19, 08:49:00 PM 2009
Reads like a confession to me. Put that into evidence at the appeal.
"When you post about him, it makes you no better."When someone is convicted of harassment for posting 500 comments on my blog in one day, it's worth noting.
ReplyDeleteanon 6:36, you wrote;
ReplyDelete"I think you make a mistake posting this, it feeds him, like a moth to a flame. Everyone knows what he is. When you post about him, it makes you no better."
to my mind that's appeasement, which allows the villa's to continue their insults and identify misappropriations; to mock a priest and our elected officials. too many bloggers refuse to identify him because he uses his fictitious characters instead of his name, and they don't have "proof", but on the other hand they have no doubt. michael donovan is hesitant to identify villa even though villa says donovan deserved a broken face for not supporting him. pam varkony was afraid to take down the link to villa's blog even though he was insulting her on a daily basis. joyce marin says she's seen no "evidence" the threats against citizens are from villa. o'hare is to be commended for standing up to villa's harassment. apparently the district justice had no doubt either from where these hostile comments originate. btw, i get no less than two a day from the "artists" called villa's.
At least you can comment here. Blovilla doesn't allow comments that dispute him at all.
ReplyDeletehow the hell did you prove it was him?
ReplyDeleteVilla hoisted by his own petard! Good on you, Bernie.
ReplyDeleteCongrats Bernie. Hopefully his 'attorney' (wink wink) who lost the case (oopsie) tells Mr. and Mrs. Villa to stop their comments on any blog other than their own.
ReplyDeleteI've said more than a few times, I am deeply sorry for their loss. But the way they conduct themselves just turns people away. I hope they get the help and closure they desperately need at some point.
The Banker
Bernie,
ReplyDeletePlease explain how such a case is heard? Where? What court? What are the charges? Cyber-attack? Under whose law is such a case heard? Where did the court hearing take place? Is this a "first" in cyber law?
No. This is just your run of the mill prosecution for criminal harassment, heard by a magistrate.
ReplyDeleteHow the hell did you know it was him?
ReplyDeleteEarlier today, he posted a comment on his blog asking if anyone has change for a $3.1 million bill. That kinda' says it all.
ReplyDeleteHe has since deleted his own comment.
Villa has serious issues.
ReplyDeleteAs much as he jumps all over others for their prejudices and biases his site show cases a picture of Hitler and antisemitic innuendos.
No doubt in my mind he is a classic troll.
After the hearing did they go home?
ReplyDeleteI took off right after the hearing while Villa and his attorney picked their jaws up off the floor. I have no idea where the legal team went.
ReplyDeleteBernie, you missed that one by Sweet - remember where Little Willy won't go?
ReplyDeleteSweet I L'd MAO!
The Banker
Oopsie.
ReplyDeleteBernie,
ReplyDeleteIt was good seeing you today. Let me know about your future wedding plans.
And, like I said before and I will post here for everyone to see:
I think there was divine intervention regarding my travel plans. I got caught in some nasty traffic around Newark, Delaware. If it wasn't for the traffic, I would have been at the hearing. But you didn't need my support, anyway.
Peace out, ~~"Nus-Abouna" Alex
"Half Father" Alex,
ReplyDeleteIt was a pleasant surprise to see you at the courthouse. The ladies dig the clerical garb. I'm going to see if I can find one big enough for me.
It is just as well that you missed the hearing. You don't need that crap.
The ladies in Prothy were lauging all afternoon about my attempted wedding. I appreciate you going along with the gag. You still have that great sense of humor and are as easy-going as ever.
Hurry up and get ordained so I can confess my sins to you. You already know half of them, so it should only take me a year.
Peace to you, too!
It's not the clericals. It's the suspenders... Chicks dig them. I think I have to get rid of them and go with a belt. Only celibacy for me.
ReplyDeleteDo you like the beard/goatee? It is always an ice breaker or a conversation starter.
Peace right back to you, ~~Alex
I like it. You now look like a priest.
ReplyDelete$3.1 million? Maybe he was just reacting to your sensitive comment last week: Poor Bill, his dram shop trial must be going badly. That's the kinda guy you are......
ReplyDeleteInsert last word here, Burn:
Gotta love Villa - goes to a 3 day old post to get the last word in...wonder if he'll see this and post again?
ReplyDelete