Canton Coverup Part 519: My Response To Comments I Made About Post-Verdict Professional Relationship With Karen Read Defense Team

 

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I just wanted to address comments I made on my show the other night that have become fodder for social media. Karen Read’s team is not distancing themselves from me, and I’m sure I will be able to sit down and have a recorded discussion with them eventually. The only reason I even brought it up was because people kept asking when I was going to have them on, in light of Bob Alessi and David Yanetti’s appearances on other channels. I’ve always been straight forward about what’s going on so I answered the question truthfully. This has been perceived as me being bitter, but the truth is I was just answering a question that a lot of people were asking.

Let me be clear – Karen Read and her team don’t owe me anything. I didn’t do this for accolades, thank you’s, or money. I did this because I love doing investigative journalism and have been doing this sort of work for 11 years. I love digging into stories and reporting what the rest of the media isn’t. I love uncovering corruption, exposing people who behave badly, and helping innocent people. It’s a very satisfying line of work, and I’m lucky and blessed to be able to do it for a living.

I wrote about the Karen Read story because it was a story that wasn’t being properly told by the media. I was shocked on April 17, 2023 when I read all of the court filings and spent hours doing a deep dive. I published Part 1 of the Canton Coverup series at 3:30 AM on April 18, 2023 and never looked back. The story didn’t take off because I sensationalized it. The story took off because the facts and the evidence were so shocking. Like many of you, I had no idea that our institutions could partake in something so transparently evil.

My reporting and activism is not the reason Karen Read is free. Dr. Loposata, Dr. Russell, Dr. Rentschler, Dr. Wolfe, Dr. Scordi-Bello, Lucky Loughran, and Nicholas Barros are the people most responsible for her freedom. It was their truthful testimony that caused the jury to realize that John O’Keefe wasn’t hit by a car, and therefore Karen Read did not kill him. You could argue that Hank Brennan, Yuri Bukhenik, Jud Welcher, Kerry Robert, Jennifer McCabe, and Kelly Dever contributed to her acquittal more than anyone, because the way they behaved in front of the jury proved that the Commonwealth wasn’t being honest.

Karen Read is free because of her own investigating, and the fine investigative work done by her lawyers and private investigator. That’s not to say that I don’t think I played a part in it. I certainly did, and my reporting supplemented theirs. I wasn’t just annoying Chris Albert outside of his pizza shop, I was filing public records requests, speaking with other witnesses, and passing this information on to the defense when it was useful. I found things in my own investigation and gave that information to Karen and her team prior to publication. I reported that Jennifer McCabe was parked outside the Proctor’s house on September 25, 2023, which proved for the first time that there was a personal relationship between the 2 families. This information was used in court fillings and the two families could no longer lie in court about that.

More than anything, my journalism and activism raised public awareness, and without that none of this was possible. Not only did the crowds outside the courthouse lift Karen Read’s spirits, they also gave her the financial ability to properly defend herself. The legal defense fund was an idea I suggested for Karen Read, and I was one of the first people to fundraise for it on one of my earlier shows in May of 2023. We ended up raising over $1.1 million, which paid for the defense to fly, feed, and lodge all of these experts time and time again for pretrial hearings. The experts are the reason the jury acquitted Karen Read, and every single person who donated to the legal defense fund helped make that possible.

There’s no denying that this story has helped me professionally. Although I made a fine living with Turtleboy before the Karen Read story, I’ve made a lot more money since writing about it, and my social media reach and online profile have grown exponentially as a result. But I never would’ve had the opportunity to do this if the Commonwealth didn’t frame an innocent woman for murder. If they had dropped the charges after Part 1 of the Canton Coverup series than this story would’ve been a one and done and most of you would’ve never heard about it. Instead they decided to continue to frame Karen Read with new planted “evidence” (taillight embedded in the clothing), they arrested me for asking questions of the people who were quite clearly hiding something, and they dragged her through 2 internationally televised trials. They chose to do that, not me. My newfound fame and any monetary gain that came with it was a side effect of their choices, not mine.

I’ve spoken to Karen many times since she was acquitted, but I don’t wanna bother her too much because I’m sure she needs space. Think of what she just went through – 3.5 years of being framed and tortured by the most powerful people in the state, being defamed as a murderer, having every word she’s said taken out of context, and dealing with the constant  anxiety of knowing that at the end of this there was a chance she could spend the rest of her life in jail, which would mentally and physically kill her parents.

Although you can probably imagine what a horrible feeling that must be, you don’t really understand it until you’ve lived it. Four times I have stood in front of judges as the Commonwealth has sought to revoke my bail and put me in jail for 60 days over completely made up charges. One time they succeeded. But all 4 times were anxiety inducing Hell. Being away from my kids for 60 days was the worst punishment I ever could’ve imagined. Talking to them on the phone from jail, pretending I was away on business, and not being able to truthfully answer their questions about when I was coming home were painful. Reuniting with them on February 23, 2024, was one of the greatest feelings in my life. I couldn’t sleep that night as I looked at their pictures on the wall and promised myself I’d never be separated from them again.

But just days after I was released Paul O’Keefe and the McAlberts brought the woman who had lied about me and sent me to jail with them to a Karen Read hearing, for the sole purpose of having me charged with violating a restraining order. It worked. I knew that 17 days later I would be standing in front of a judge who would have the chance to revoke my bail again, this time for 120 days. Imagine feeling the joy of being reunited with your kids after 60 days away from them, only to immediately being faced with the prospect of being away from them for another 120 days. It was the biggest tease ever, and I didn’t feel truly free until the bail revocation was denied on March 14, 2024.

After that they tried to have my bail revoked 2 more times. Once over “window intimidation” and another over comments I made on my show about what I hoped would happen to the corrupt cop who knowingly participated in framing me. The feeling of standing in front of a judge, knowing that he has the ability to cause you the worst pain imaginable by taking you away from your kids again, is mental Hell.

I can’t tell you the amount of nightmares I’ve had about going back to jail. It’s on my mind constantly and will be as long as I am out on bail and these bad faith, corrupt law enforcement officials have the ability to lie and file motions that would take away my freedom. Too many times to count I have woken up in the middle of the night kicking and screaming, as I was in the middle of a horrible dream about being forced back to jail. It’s traumatic and I deeply underestimated what it would be like when I got out of jail last February.

I’m not telling you this to feel bad for me, I’m telling you this because I know what Karen Read is going through as only someone who has lived it can truly know. I see a therapist regularly, and I highly doubt Karen has had time to. What she has been through is not normal. The smiles you see on TV and the confidence she exudes in public are her way of putting on a strong front. But she is human, and she knew that at the end of this if she was convicted that she would be the only one who has to go to the hellhole known as state prison.

Although we are all happy for Karen Read, keep in mind that the emotions she’s feeling right now might be even worse than what she was feeling before she was acquitted. What she has lived through the last few years have been news and entertainment for us, but for her it’s been traumatic, and she may not even realize it until now. I don’t know if she’s having nightmares and random feelings of severe depression like I was after getting out of jail, but it would be very normal if she was. Life will never be the same for her after this.

As for interviewing her, I had many conversations with her over the last 2.5. years about being the first to interview her, but she never promised me that. It was always something I hoped for, but it wasn’t something I thought I was entitled to at all. The fact of the matter is that she has lost everything as a result of this, including her job, her car, and her house. She has to rebuild her life again, which means she has to make money. As much as I would be honored to interview her first, the fact of the matter is that there is likely a bidding war going on right now for that honor. I’m just a guy with an online news website, and I can’t compete with what others would offer. I’ve discussed this with her, and I think she should make as much money as she can off of this. She assured me that after the first interview she’d be happy to sit down with me.

So no, Karen Read and her team are not distancing themselves from me because they’re worried about new charges, or because I use foul language that they don’t wanna be associated with. In fact, I was the second person Alan Jackson called (after his wife) on the day Karen was acquitted. I was invited out to dinner with all of them that night. This is purely a business decision for them for now, which I not only completely respect, but I think they would be crazy and stupid to blow that type of financial opportunity just to throw me a bone.

Everything I did with this story was for Justice for John O’Keefe. I might get a little carried away sometimes, and I definitely use foul language, but the fact of the matter is that an innocent man was murdered inside Brian Albert’s house, and the people who did it not only got away with their crimes but also framed an innocent woman for it. If this doesn’t sufficiently outrage you to the point where you use foul language, or want to get up in people’s faces and ask them legitimate questions about why they murdered someone, then you’re not understanding the gravity of what an injustice this was. I didn’t do this for any sort of professional or monetary gain. I didn’t do this to get an exclusive interview with Karen Read. I did this because I was outraged and couldn’t remain silent.

I am fine with whatever happens from this point on. I will continue to do my show and make public speaking appearances, talking about my coverage of this story. If and when Karen Read is up for it I’d be happy to sit down with her for an interview. But for now, I just hope she does what is best for her and her family, as will I.