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Pastimes : Murder Mystery: Who Killed Yale Student Suzanne Jovin? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (947)	5/16/2001 2:42:50 AM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Respond to of 1397

Re: 5/15/01 - AP: Former Suspect Sues Police For $2M Tuesday May 15 9:57 PM ET Former Suspect Sues Police For $2M WASHINGTON (AP) - A young man arrested but later cleared in the killing of a fellow deaf student at Gallaudet University is suing police for $2 million. A lawsuit filed by Thomas Minch, 18, accuses the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department of wrongful arrest and defamation in the case, which drew national attention. Minch was arrested last Oct. 3 and accused of killing freshman Eric Plunkett in a dormitory at Gallaudet, the nation's pre-eminent college for the deaf and hearing impaired. Police dropped the charges a day later, saying they lacked evidence. Nevertheless, Minch remained the focus of the police investigation until February, when another student, Benjamin Varner, was killed in the same dormitory. Later that month, a third student, Joseph Mesa Jr., was arrested and charged with both killings. Police have said robbery was the motive in both cases. Minch, who has returned to his home in Greenland, N.H., filed the lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court last Friday. ``Had this case been reasonably investigated, Mesa would have been arrested earlier and maybe a life saved,'' Minch's lawyer, Joel M. Finkelstein, was quoted by The Washington Post on its Web site Tuesday. Police referred calls to the city's corporation counsel, whose spokesman could not be reached. dailynews.yahoo.com ===== Tuesday May 15 09:22 PM EDT First Student Arrested in Gallaudet Death Sues Police The first Gallaudet student arrested in the murder of a fellow student is now suing DC police. Thomas Minch was arrested in October and accused of killing freshman Eric Plunkett. But a day later, police dropped the charges, saying they did not have enough evidence to charge him in the case. Minch is now accusing the Metropolitan Police of wrongful arrest and defamation -- for which he wants $2 million in damages. Minch remained the focus of an MPD investigation until February, when another student, Ben Varner, was killed in the same dorm. Later that month, a third student, Joseph Mesa Junior, was arrested and charged with killing both of them. Robbery was the motive in the murders. At the time, Police Chief Charles Ramsey said "Minch was not involved" in the Plunkett killing. Minch, who is back home in New Hampshire, filed his suit in DC Superior Court last Friday. Police referred calls to the city's corporation counsel, whose spokesman could not be reached. Gallaudet, located in Northeast DC, is the nation's only liberal arts university for the hard of hearing and hearing impaired. Copyright 2001 ABC 7 WJLA-TV dailynews.yahoo.com

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (947)	7/20/2001 10:09:24 AM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1397

Re: 2/17/01 - NH Register: Grudberg is the man with all the answers DAVE SOLOMON Grudberg is the man with all the answers Dave Solomon July 17, 2001 New Haven attorney David Grudberg gives it a go as a contestant on the ESPN trivia show "Two Minute Drill" tonight. Tracy Boulian/For the Register NEW HAVEN — Dave Grudberg knows stuff. Don't ask me what, but you know the guy growing up who has always had a head for trivia and minutiae; the guy who could magically rattle off dates, times and specifics about everything — and/or nothing? Grudberg has one of those minds. "Reluctantly, I guess I'll plead guilty to that," cracked the prominent New Haven attorney who tonight at 7:30 takes the witness stand on ESPN's Two-Minute Drill, a fast-paced sports trivia game show that would appear to be right up his alley. "If you ask my friends, they'll probably accuse me of having a pretty sick memory and a pretty deep knowledge of sports." I also found out quickly enough that if Grudberg doesn't want you going somewhere with a question, you are not going there on his watch. So mum's the word on whether Grudberg will wipe the floor with his opponent tonight and then go on to win the whole kit and caboodle — worth a maximum prize of $220,000, he said. It's all pre-recorded — but Grudberg is well practiced when it comes to disseminating the particulars of the show. He is next to impenetrable. "Everybody's been trying to get me to talk," said Grudberg. "We're strongly encouraged to keep everything confidential. All I can tell everybody is tune in." "Well, should I tune in next Tuesday as well?," I asked. It was an utterly obvious attempt at going backdoor with the same question, probably asked three or four different times in as many different ways. "You'll find out (tonight), right?" he said, swatting the question like a hanging breaking ball. "If I can fend off Walt Kita and Bill Kaempffer (two of the Register's finest) trying to drag information out of me about the Suzanne Jovin case, I can certainly play coy with this thing." Grudberg, representing the law firm of Jacobs, Grudberg, Belt and Dow, is attorney and long-time friend of former Yale instructor James Van de Velde, the only suspect police have named so far in the 1998 murder of Yale senior Jovin. The combination of Grudberg's legal acumen and knowledge of trivia — he was a contestant on Millionaire several months ago, though he never made it into the hot seat — make him a natural for shows of this ilk. In fact, when he was asked to send Two-Minute Drill a brief statement saying why he'd make a strong short contestant, his response was "Part of what I do is argue appeals for criminal defendants, so I'm accustomed to being peppered with questions by a hostile panel." It's a good thing because there's plenty of cause for distraction, whether it's host Kenny Mayne wise-cracking or someone from the panel of sports figures/celebrities making a joke — or just looking fetching. One of the celebrities on tonight's show is Jaime Bergman, the 45th anniversary Playmate centerfold and regular on the Fox babe show, "Son of the Beach." Don't laugh. Grudberg watched a previous contestant come unglued by supermodel Carol Alt. And who among us can blame him? "Until you've been in the chair, it's hard to throw stones at anyone," Grudberg said. "You're sitting before a live studio audience of probably a couple hundred people and you've got all these bright lights focused on you. You have these sports or entertainment celebrities sitting in front of you and for two minutes, you're on. You can either do well or utterly embarrass yourself in front of a national audience. "There are a ton of people who know an awful lot of sports trivia. The audition was filled with people who knew an awful lot. But it's a separate question as to who can play the game ... how you react and hold up under pressure ... how you react if your opponent is getting everything right and you try not panic and freak out, 'Oh my God, what am I going to do?'" Grudberg, an Amity High and Yale grad who now lives with his wife Elisabeth in North Haven — the couple is expecting their first child in October — was one of 31 contestants chosen following auditions in New York. The 32nd participant — in the NCAA tournament-like bracket — is the defending champ from last year's show. "Do you plan on coming back next year?" I asked, playing amateur Matlock with a man out of my league. "They supposedly are having auditions now for their third season or their third tournament, and I'm not eligible for that," Grudberg said. "If they have a fourth one, I'm told I'm eligible and who knows? We'll see." Was that a slip by Grudberg or am I hallucinating? If the defending champ is invited back, and Grudberg is not eligible for next season, then is it not safe to assume he did not emerge as tournament champion? Like everyone else, I guess I'll just have to tune in tonight. Dave Solomon is the Register's sports columnist. Readers may write to him at 40 Sargent Drive, New Haven 06511. ©New Haven Register 2001 zwire.com ===== Note: Dave won the above match. Beyond that, I have no idea how far he went. Guess I'll have to keep tuning in as well.