S8E15 The Joker is Wild

Welcome to Mysteries to Die For.I am TG Wolff and am here with Jack, my piano player and producer. This is a podcast where we combine storytelling with original music to put you in the heart of a mystery. All stories are structured to challenge you to beat the detective to the solution. Jack and I perform these live, front to back, no breaks, no fakes, no retakes.The rules for law and order create the boundaries for civil co-existence and, ideally, the backdrops for individuals, families, and companies to grow and thrive. Breaking these rules puts civil order at risk. And while murder is the Big Daddy of crimes, codified ordinances across municipal divisions, counties, states, and countries show the nearly endless ways there are to create mayhem. This season, we put our detective skills to the test. This is Season 8, Anything but Murder. This is Episode 15, framing a theft is the featured crime. This is The Joker is Wild by Debra H. GoldsteinDELIBERATIONThe Mah Jongg players are putting on their sleuthing hats to protect one of their own. Cathy Hegji is accused of stealing from her fellow Sunshine Village residents. To save her from the heartbreak of eviction, they need to spot the real wolf in sheep’s clothing. Here are their suspects in the order we met them: Harold Hartman, the mean poker player who is playing the victim Bernie, the nice poker player who Lu grew up with Michael, the nearly blind poker player whose career was rare books Jerry, Michael’s grandson who visits frequently Betsey Morris, Executive Director of Sunshine VillageHere are the facts they have so far:Harold Hartman bought a second-hand book for $3 that Michael told him is worth more. Before he can have it valued by Jerry, it is stolen. Cathy finds it in her knitting bag.Personal items have been disappearing from Sunshine Village, including jewelry, but it’s difficult to determine if they were misplaced or stolen.After his gold lighter goes missing, Harold and Betsey search Cathy’s room, finding it, the book, and a missing ring all hidden under towels.Betsey Morris became Executive Director about six months ago. This coincided with a swift decline in food quality and with Harold moving from Independent Living to the Assisted Living room across from Cathy.Betsey denies that she has cut the food budget and will not answer if she receives bonuses for keeping costs under budget.Harold keeps his door locked, something the other residents do not do. Harold violates the smoking and other policies, he wins more than his fair share at poker, and entertains lady friends.Jerry took over his grandfather’s business and, for the last six-months, has visited frequently. He spends time with Michael and also with Betsey.Jerry inspected Harold’s find and valued it at $50. He offered to buy it for that sum, which Harold declined. Cathy denies everything. Her son is a noted coach and her eviction would embarrass him as well as her.Flipping the tile, who is framing Cathy?ABOUT Framing JobsFrame up jobs do happen with misinformation taken as fact compounded by flaws of a system driven to closure. One stunning example of this was the 2002 rape accusation against Brian Banks. He was 16 years old and a stand-out football player. His accuser was 15 year old Wanetta Gibson. She and Banks had made out in a stairwell of their high school. By the end of the day, Banks was arrested. There was no physical evidence against Banks but faced with a potential sentence of 40 years or what he thought was an 18 month deal, Banks plead no contest. The judge sentenced him to 6 years. Banks served the sentence and was listed as a registered sex offender. Gibson’s family sued the school district for lack of security and won a $1.5mil settlement. Shortly after his release, Gibson reached out to Banks and agreed to meet at the office of a private investigator where she was taped saying, multiple times, that Banks did not rape her. Lawyers for the Innocence Project took up the case. Upon examination, they found the results of DNA samples taken from Gibson had no connection to Banks. The DNA evidence coupled with her admission resulted in Banks conviction being overturned in 2012, which vindicated Banks but could do nothing to make up for the loss of his college scholarship and the years that should be some of the best in a young man’s life. The Los Angeles Superior Court ordered Gibson to repay the $1.5mil plus $1.1 mil for making a false claim and fees.According to The Innocence Project, it is unknown how many incarcerated people truly are innocent. Studies conducted put the percentage 2.3 and 5%, which equates to approximately 23,000 to 50,000 men and women. According to The Innocence Project website, “research shows that false confessions can take place due to law enforcement’s use of intimidation, force, coercive tactics, isolation during interrogations, deceptive methods that include lying about evidence, and more. An innocent person may also falsely confess because of increased stress, mental exhaustion, promises of lenient sentences, or challenges with understanding their constitutional rights. Children, people with intellectual disabilities, and people with language barriers are left particularly vulnerable due to this lack of comprehension.” A few fascinating links are in the show notes. The Fox Sports June 2013 story includes a link with an interview with Brian Banks that includes some of the footage the private investigator captured.The Innocence Project website contain information on how bad eyewitness accounts, misapplied forensic evidence, false confessions, and other issues contribute to wrongly convictions.https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/banks-accuser-ordered-to-pay-2-6mhttps://innocenceproject.org/the-issues/ABOUT Debra H. GoldsteinJudge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying, a collection of eighteen of her award-winning short stories that focus on family and friends, their sins and sometimes redemption. She also wrote Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series that features a woman who finds being in the kitchen more frightening than murder, standalones Should Have Played Poker and Maze in Blue, and more than fifty short stories that have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies. Debra’s works have been named as Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Claymore finalists and received IPPY, Silver Falchion, AWC, and BWR awards. She serves on the national Sisters in Crime board and previously was a national board member of Mystery Writers of America and president of the Guppy and SEMWA chapters.Debra would like to thank Carol, Cathy, Lucijia, and Deborah, real people who made generous purchases of character namings in support of several wonderful charities. https://www.DebraHGoldstein.com