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Robbery, Assault and Battery
Four appearances on the dreaded Fox New Channel as a guest with Greta Van Whatever-Her- Name-Is for fodder on her flash-and-trash "On The Record" show.
Three times on MSNBC, which saw fit to even send out a make-up artist (a true master named Vivian) to make me look presentable to millions of viewers (staff writer Keith Phucas received the same treatment).
Another appearance on a since-cancelled show on Court TV called "Catherine Crier Live."
For each of the appearances, the network dispatched a limo to my front door to take me to a studio.
I was such a hot commodity that a producer from Nancy Grace's CNN show muttered "dammit" when I told him that Greta already had me locked up, which she did.
Well, at least the sweet-talking female producer with the sing-songy voice did.
Although my fleeting television career lasted the proverbial 15 minutes, one could say I was living the life.
But it is not a life I will live again.
I have DVDs of all but one of the appearances but have not re-watched any. I'll save those for my daughter, who was merely a bun in the oven at the time, to enjoy someday. I'm sure she'll get a big laugh out them.
At least one of us will be laughing.
I feel too used and abused to find any humor in my stumbling and bumbling on national television.
The 1970's soul classic "Everybody Plays The Fool" by the Main Ingredient somehow comes to mind.
The intrigue - not to mention clear desperation for a guest - swirled around the not-so-mysterious death of Ellen Robb, an Upper Merion housewife beaten beyond recognition as she wrapped Christmas gifts during the last holiday season. The prime suspect was her estranged husband, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania named Rafael Robb.
The case of what was promptly dubbed "Murder in the Ivy League" - which is code for white-on-white crime that will be fodder for a future Lifetime movie - drew so much media attention that Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. held a press conference to pretty much say nothing.
It wasn't his fault. The investigation with a clear destination wasn't even complete, but the pressure to make a statement mounted.
I sat in his conference room with writers from outlets like People Magazine and talking heads from TV magazine shows while Castor kinda sorta said what everyone already knew - that the eccentric professor from Israel was the only suspect.
Subsequently, Robb was charged with beating his wife to death while their 12-year-old daughter was at school.
Robb's elaborate scheme to out-fox investigators by going through the motions of driving to work in the city and staging an apparent break-in had failed miserably, said Castor, who added that Mrs. Robb had been beaten so badly that seasoned lawmen originally thought she had been shot in the head at close range.
After Robb was formally arrested and charged, the "Greta people" made me stand outside in the bitter cold and tape a segment in front of the county prison. They chose the location because it was closer to Castor's home in Lower Salford, but he was a no-show.
"Boy, you really looked cold," he later joked, adding that he taped his voice-over segment while sitting at home in his recliner in his bathrobe and holding a Scotch whiskey.
I laughed it off.
We were on the same side, I thought.
What Rafael Robb did was heartless and, in my mind, deserving of the death penalty. In reality, that was asking too much in the case of a guy who could afford good lawyers. Castor - he of the 98 percent conviction rate - was shooting for life in jail. Good enough.
But it turns out that this once high-profile, high-priority close has been closed without any consequences for anyone but the the victim's stunned family and friends.
Last week, with his trial pending, Robb cut a sweetheart of a deal. The homicide charge was dumbed down to manslaughter. He'll get 10 to 20 years, but could be out in 4 1/2 to six years with some more legal hanky panky.
Other than in our paper, and unlike last year, the odd turn in the case was a barely blip on the radar screens of other media outlets.
It was the fourth or fifth story for the Philadelphia-area television news.
Nothing - at all - nationally.
Unlike 11 months ago, I received nary a phone call from bloodthirsty networks looking to sensationalize an open-and-shut case with some temporary legs.
Well I have legs, too. The next time, if there is one, I'm gonna run as far away as I can.
Editor Stan Huskey and I disagree on many things, but the inequities in our legal system is not one of them.
Stan thinks a series on sentencing guidelines has "Pulitzer" written all over it.
I don't know about that. It seems too easy - like scoring into an empty net. The disparities - racial and otherwise - are as plain as the chin on Jay Leno's face.
What I do know is that Rafael Robb, the man who denied everything and now says he "just lost it" and bludgeoned his daughter's mother to death, virtually got away with murder while receiving the outgoing DA's blessing.
The sad situation should be a subject for real experts - not people like myself, who was naive enough to think that such and open-and-shut case would lead to acceptable justice - should be discussing on national television.
Three times on MSNBC, which saw fit to even send out a make-up artist (a true master named Vivian) to make me look presentable to millions of viewers (staff writer Keith Phucas received the same treatment).
Another appearance on a since-cancelled show on Court TV called "Catherine Crier Live."
For each of the appearances, the network dispatched a limo to my front door to take me to a studio.
I was such a hot commodity that a producer from Nancy Grace's CNN show muttered "dammit" when I told him that Greta already had me locked up, which she did.
Well, at least the sweet-talking female producer with the sing-songy voice did.
Although my fleeting television career lasted the proverbial 15 minutes, one could say I was living the life.
But it is not a life I will live again.
I have DVDs of all but one of the appearances but have not re-watched any. I'll save those for my daughter, who was merely a bun in the oven at the time, to enjoy someday. I'm sure she'll get a big laugh out them.
At least one of us will be laughing.
I feel too used and abused to find any humor in my stumbling and bumbling on national television.
The 1970's soul classic "Everybody Plays The Fool" by the Main Ingredient somehow comes to mind.
The intrigue - not to mention clear desperation for a guest - swirled around the not-so-mysterious death of Ellen Robb, an Upper Merion housewife beaten beyond recognition as she wrapped Christmas gifts during the last holiday season. The prime suspect was her estranged husband, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania named Rafael Robb.
The case of what was promptly dubbed "Murder in the Ivy League" - which is code for white-on-white crime that will be fodder for a future Lifetime movie - drew so much media attention that Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. held a press conference to pretty much say nothing.
It wasn't his fault. The investigation with a clear destination wasn't even complete, but the pressure to make a statement mounted.
I sat in his conference room with writers from outlets like People Magazine and talking heads from TV magazine shows while Castor kinda sorta said what everyone already knew - that the eccentric professor from Israel was the only suspect.
Subsequently, Robb was charged with beating his wife to death while their 12-year-old daughter was at school.
Robb's elaborate scheme to out-fox investigators by going through the motions of driving to work in the city and staging an apparent break-in had failed miserably, said Castor, who added that Mrs. Robb had been beaten so badly that seasoned lawmen originally thought she had been shot in the head at close range.
After Robb was formally arrested and charged, the "Greta people" made me stand outside in the bitter cold and tape a segment in front of the county prison. They chose the location because it was closer to Castor's home in Lower Salford, but he was a no-show.
"Boy, you really looked cold," he later joked, adding that he taped his voice-over segment while sitting at home in his recliner in his bathrobe and holding a Scotch whiskey.
I laughed it off.
We were on the same side, I thought.
What Rafael Robb did was heartless and, in my mind, deserving of the death penalty. In reality, that was asking too much in the case of a guy who could afford good lawyers. Castor - he of the 98 percent conviction rate - was shooting for life in jail. Good enough.
But it turns out that this once high-profile, high-priority close has been closed without any consequences for anyone but the the victim's stunned family and friends.
Last week, with his trial pending, Robb cut a sweetheart of a deal. The homicide charge was dumbed down to manslaughter. He'll get 10 to 20 years, but could be out in 4 1/2 to six years with some more legal hanky panky.
Other than in our paper, and unlike last year, the odd turn in the case was a barely blip on the radar screens of other media outlets.
It was the fourth or fifth story for the Philadelphia-area television news.
Nothing - at all - nationally.
Unlike 11 months ago, I received nary a phone call from bloodthirsty networks looking to sensationalize an open-and-shut case with some temporary legs.
Well I have legs, too. The next time, if there is one, I'm gonna run as far away as I can.
Editor Stan Huskey and I disagree on many things, but the inequities in our legal system is not one of them.
Stan thinks a series on sentencing guidelines has "Pulitzer" written all over it.
I don't know about that. It seems too easy - like scoring into an empty net. The disparities - racial and otherwise - are as plain as the chin on Jay Leno's face.
What I do know is that Rafael Robb, the man who denied everything and now says he "just lost it" and bludgeoned his daughter's mother to death, virtually got away with murder while receiving the outgoing DA's blessing.
The sad situation should be a subject for real experts - not people like myself, who was naive enough to think that such and open-and-shut case would lead to acceptable justice - should be discussing on national television.
posted by Gordon Glantz at
8:07 PM
7 Comments:
Wake up! What happened to Robb was an accurate reflection of the criminal injustice system. Crimes are often investigated or dismissed based on how the investigating officer feels, stereotypes of race and gender, and personal connections with law enforcement. Experts can try as they might to increase awareness. But, the media owns the public. As long as the media perpetuates myths, people will shun the experts. Let's try reframing the questions- Next time a police officer is shot, let's ask: 1)How many times did that drug dealer get shaken down by the police before he had enough? 2) Why don't we respond to a young black man being shot with the same ferocity as a police officer?
Gordon, regarding Sunday's column (12/2/07), if I may paraphrase:
"Bruuuuuce...I am your father. Let go with your feelings and indulge your anger. Once you have felt the POWER of the dark side, you will see it is no match for the force. Join me, and together we can rule the universe. It is your desssstiny."
Sad to say, but money and notoriety talks and walks in our justice system. Look at OJ Simpson!!!!!!!
No one asks that the public should put confidence in the total fairness and objectivity of the judicial system that is swayed by money and notariety.
No judge wants to offend police departments. No assistant DA's want to embarrass the DA and nearly no one can turn down a contribution to their political campaign.
Phucas,
Nice job on the mall security article!
Now, let's take it to the next level. This was a child who was addicted to dugs and not provided with effective treatment.(I say child because when someone under 18 suffers from a chronic disease, he/she tends to stop at that stage of brain and social development). Experts have identified effective prevention and treatment mechanisms (http://www.drugabuse.gov/Prevention/Prevopen.html). Unfortunately, too many programs are selected based on politics and personal philosophy. In reviewing effective treatments, you will see that the most popular programs, DARE, scared straight, boot camps, peer counseling ARE NOT LISTED. The reason they are not listed is because THEY DO NOT WORK! If we want to stop drug related violence, we have to offer the most effective treatments available.
With respect to referencing the NTAC report- thank you. This is an extremely valuable report and makes important recommendations. Further to the report, Quantico investigators (National Safe Schools Conference) state that the most successful outcomes are when a teacher or adult made a personal connection with the attacker. The first SECONDS are critical, before the aggressor has a chance to gain control. This means adults in schools must be trained in suicide prevention and hostage negotiation. By the time police officers arrive, it is already too late. The Nickel Mines offender shot 10 victims in 8 seconds. Police officers simply cannot move that fast and are not educated to work with children. Police try to use typical adult strategies (strong-arming) and the child panics. A calming approach by people who know the child is the most successful and appropriate response.
We spend millions of dollars in crime and drug prevention in this county. Doesn't it make sense to use programs that work? Other lists of evidence based programs can be found at:
http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/index.html
http://www.modelprograms.samhsa.gov/effective.htm
I challenge you to compare the lists against current programs in Montgomery County schools (DARE, Challenge Day, No place for Hate, zero tolerance). You'll be surprised how we are wasting taxpayer money and displacing effective programs!
The violent and tragic death of a 14 year old girl is a terrible loss to our community. I am curious... why does it matter that she was an honor student? The constant reference leads one to believe that it is OK to kill non-honor students, but not honor students. Please be careful of the messages you are sending. Every child has value.
In handling the recent murder case of a 14 year old girl, I was glad to see that Ms. Ferman did not sink to the levels of Mr. Castor, posing for the cameras with the murder weapon. Good to see that some people have tact and respect.
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