Maloney family accuse fire investigator of lying
|
By Andy
Nelesen
August 31, 2006
GREEN BAY - John Maloney’s family - with the help of
a high-profile private investigator - has accused a state Justice
Department fire investigator of lying about tests he conducted before
declaring the fire at Maloney’s estranged wife’s home an arson.
Ira Robins, who garnered much of his fame for helping press for Laurie
“Bambi” Bembenek’s release from prison, announced Wednesday that he has
filed a petition with the state Supreme Court alleging a Department of
Justice arson investigator Greg Eggum lied while testifying during John
Maloney’s homicide trial.
“Eggum lied, and I’m formally accusing him of that in front of the
Supreme Court,” Robins said during a press conference in Green Bay on
Wednesday.
Sandy Maloney’s body was found in her burned-out Huth Street home in
February 1998. The fire snuffed itself out, but not before charring
much of the home’s first floor and Sandy Maloney’s body. Her death was
ruled a homicide and the fire an arson by Justice agents who took on
the case to cure a conflict of interest for Maloney’s fellow Green Bay
police officers.
John Maloney, now 49, quickly became a suspect in the murder and was
arrested in July 1998 after making incriminating statements in a
videotaped conversation with his then-girlfriend in a Las Vegas hotel
room.
A Brown County jury convicted Maloney of first-degree intentional
homicide, arson and mutilation of a corpse in February 1999 and he was
sentenced to life in prison and given a parole eligibility date of Feb.
10, 2024.
Embroiled in the case is the fact that the special prosecutor assigned
to the case, former Winnebago County District Attorney Joe Paulus - was
convicted in federal court of accepting bribes while in office and is
now serving a 58-month stint in federal prison.
Maloney and his family contend that his trial attorney erred by not
challenging the homicide evidence at trial, opting rather to stipulate
to the murder and attempt an alternate suspect defense.
Maloney, incarcerated at Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, now
says there was no murder and that his estranged wife’s death was an
accident. Her body was discovered on the day the couple were due in
court to finalize their divorce details.
Robins said a fire expert’s tests - conducted as part of a “48 Hours”
television program - showed that a couch would not burn as Eggum
testified. Documents and video from those tests were included as part
of Robins’ Supreme Court petition.
Robins contends that the new tests show that the fire was not
intentionally set and, therefore, an accident. Without an arson fire,
there is no homicide, he said.
The more recent tests, conducted by James Munger, a former Alabama
deputy fire marshal, showed that the burn patterns were established by
the by-products of combustion from the couch and that the brand of
vodka found at the scene was not flammable enough to burn.
At trial, Eggum testified that burn patterns suggested an accelerant
was used to fuel the fire and said that vodka may have been used as an
accelerant. Eggum testified that he conducted tests on a couch to
establish burn patterns and was able to get vodka to ignite.
“Those results are scientifically impossible,” Robins said. “Mr. Eggum
has no notes, has no documentation, no video, no photographs of these
tests nor has he put in any bills that we’re aware of for the couch
that he burned or any materials that he used.
“His statements are a fake, they’re a fraud. Those statements put this
into a case of a homicide where it should have just been an accidental
or an undetermined death. John Maloney was convicted of a murder which
never occurred.”
Messages left for Eggum at his Germantown home were not returned.
State Department of Justice spokesman Michael Bauer said his agency
stands by the conviction and doesn’t believe there was any wrongdoing.
“We’d take issue with Mr. Robins’ characterization,” Bauer said. “I
understand that the retired agent - through counsel - may have some
response as well.”
Robins petition to the state’s high court asks the justices’ to start
an independent “John Doe” investigation into Maloney’s case outside of
the state Justice Department or move the case to a federal public
integrity unit.
“What we want is an independent investigation, and we won’t stop,” said
Robins. “I told John Maloney … I promised him on my father’s grave that
I’d get him out of there. I will. He doesn’t belong in there.”
Robins on Wednesday sent a letter to Winnebago County Circuit Court
Judge Dale English offering input on an recent circuit court case filed
against Paulus’ actions in that jurisdiction.
In his letter, Robins demands that:
- Paulus be forced to disclose all his
wrongdoings before being granted immunity;
- An independent investigator - from outside the
state Department of Justice - be commissioned to determine what crimes
Paulus has committed and the possible penalties; and
- Any state attorney involved in a conflict of
interest in this matter be referred to the state Office of Lawyer
Regulation.
Robins contends he knows of 26 cases -
including Maloney’s - that have concerns about Paulus’ actions.
Gin Maloney, John’s sister and the spearhead of his post-conviction
efforts, said she is happy to have some help in her quest to clear her
brother’s name. Two of John Maloney’s sons, Aaron and Sean, were in the
crowd of 20 people flanking Robins during Wednesday’s announcement on
the Brown County Courthouse steps.
“We’re happy that someone like Ira here has an opportunity and can make
a difference in this,” Gin Maloney said Wednesday. “But this is just
another wait-and-see game. We’d like to see a new trial … that’s the
least we can hope for. We’re not afraid to face this at trial.”
©
Copyright MIP
1999-2006
|
