Judge Dumbass, Mrs Dumbass and the Gadfly

Judge Dumbass

On Friday, in a story called Nick Englesson, Dumbass, I first told you about Nick's attempt to magnify a routine traffic stop into a case of  racially profiling a Puerto Rican. I attributed this to his own hypersensitivity when it comes to all things Latin. He has always loved Latin culture, speaks Spanish fluently, and recently married Bethlehem City Council member Olga Negron, who herself is Puerto Rican. He's in love. I now think there's a lot more to this story. Whatever motive Judge Dumbass might originally have had, Mrs. Dumbass would like to politicize it. You see, she'd like to be Mayor Dumbass. That's why Judge and Mrs. Dumbass have widely circulated numerous copies of his Epistles to the Gringos. It's why Gadfly, a hopefully unwitting Bethlehem blogger, has been attempting to whip up a public frenzy with six seven posts (so far) on this topic. It's why Mrs. Dumbass is now recruiting people, of course in Spanish only, to fill a Council meeting to complain about those policía racista.

Gadfly began these insinuations last week, with heavily redacted versions of various exchanges over a minor traffic stop. What happened is a matter of public record, so there's no reason to redact anything. Yet Gadfly, in what appears to be an attempt to protect both Judge and Mrs. Dumbass, deleted 38 lines of text from Nick Englesson's First Letter to the Gringos. According to Gadfly, they "do not directly bear on the dispute at hand." That's bullshit. They are directly relevant because they show (1) the connection between Judge Dumbass and his City Council member wife, a point Gadfly would apparently prefer you not know; and (2) a very public bias against Chief Public Defender Nuria DiLuzio, whom Judge Dumbass calls both "petty and vindictive." This is in addition to his obvious Latin bias and admitted bias in favor of Bethlehem's constabulary. Here are links to the unredacted exchanges, which are floating around everywhere:

Police Chief DiLuzio's Complaint About Judge Dumbass

Affidavit of Probable Cause

Judge Dumbass' First Letter to the Gringos

Judge Dumbass' Second Letter to the Gringos

Gadfly, of course, is dutifully horrified. In numerous posts about this topic, he hints that Bethlehem police are guilty of racial profiling, police brutality and lying in an Affidavit of Probable Cause. He's certainly doing his part to stir the pot. He claims "Good conversation builds community" while doing his best to divide it.

In the meantime, Mrs. Dumbass, who would like to be Mayor Dumbass, is actively looking for complaints from others. Just as Donald Trump has benefited from the politics of division, so is she. Instead of illegal immigrants, her bogeymen are Bethlehem's policía racista. Right before blocking me from Facebook on Friday, she posted this:

Then she hopped on my blog to warn me, anonymously of course, "You just started a war and opened up a firestorm. The Ides of March are coming. March 3rd to be exact. If you spoke spanish, maybe you would have known that by now."

To be exact, Olga, the Ides of March is on March 15. Mrs. Dumbass probably never got that far at Austin Community College.

By the by, isn't it just a tad bit "racist" for Negron to use her City Council perch to solicit stories from the citizens of Bethlehem in Spanish only? I could tell her, in English, Spanish and even French, that a cop gave me a dirty look the other day. Or he may have had gas.

And why must replies go to her email address at a lawfirm that specializes in representing Plaintiffs? Does she get a commission?

In his First Letter to the Gringos, Judge Dumbass insists there's "a sturdy firewall between my duties as a judge, and her political activities." Well, that's obviously untrue.

We all know that if there were a real problem, there'd be no need to prod anyone.

There isn't, and frankly, an attempt to manufacture stories will almost certainly backfire.

Pennsylvania's Latin population is 1 million strong and growing, especially along the 222 Corridor. But in Bethlehem, a large Spanish-speaking population has existed for generations. Mexican-Americans and later, Puerto Ricans, were first attracted here by The Bethlehem Steel. Today, according to DataUSA, the 75,000 people who live in Bethlehem are 60.1% white, 28.5% Hispanic and 5.9% black or African American.  Two City Council members are Latin. City employees, including cops and other first responders, are Latin.

If the Latin community were being preyed upon by Bethlehem police, as Judge Dumbass, Gadfly  and Mrs. Dumbass would like you to think, this would be borne out by the data. But the opposite is the case. Of 2,146 criminal cases processed in Northampton County in 2018, 76% were against white Defendants. In Lehigh County, of 3,061 criminal cases prosecuted, 72% were against white people. (Source: Pa. Commission on Sentencing (2018)).

Here's what we do know.

- Matthew Ragusa, the officer accused of racial profiling and who Judge Dumbass wants disciplined, has been a Bethlehem cop since 2015.  He is experienced. Not long ago, he showed incredible restraint when arresting a woman named Stacie Coronado outside a social club, even though she punched him in the face and kicked him in the chest with high-heeled boots. He has a tough and dangerous job. Coronado would later plead guilty to simple assault.

- Judge Dumbass, in both of his Letter to the Gringos, has shown a clear pro-Latin bias. His warnings of "civil unrest" are improper from a judge and the product of an overactive imagination.

- Judge Dumbass has admitted a "special affinity for the Bethlehem Police Department"..."I have come to regard the Bethlehem Police Department as the finest around" ... "I do my best to counsel officers on how to present testimony, how to introduce evidence, and how to deal with objections from defense counsel ... "I have never embarrassed an officer in open court, and never turned in an officer for making a mistake." ... "I also am accommodating to officers when they are running late or have some other issue." How can Defendants, unless they are Latin, expect a fair shake from such a Dumbass? This is bias.

- Judge Dumbass admits to discussing Nuria DiLuzio's race for DA with her, and to have assured her she would be a "shoo-in." He simultaneously demeans her as "petty and vindictive" in a letter that made its way to numerous people, including each and every member of Bethlehem City Council. How can her clients, unless they are Latin, expect a fair shake from such a Dumbass? This is bias.

- Despite Judge Dumbass'  insistence on a "sturdy firewall" between what he and Mrs. Dumbass does, it's very clear she intends to manufacture claims against Bethlehem's policía racista, which she thinks will make her Mayor Dumbass.

I expect Judge Dumbass will soon be receiving inquiries, not from me, but the Judicial Conduct Board.

And Gadly, you were played.