Dear James Kennedy and the Office of Public Integrity for the State of New Hampshire, I noticed the below article on conflicts of interest for members of the City of Concord Council. I also looked at New Hampshire State Law requirements for lobbyists.
We want to thank Claire Best for this Contribution – Please direct yours to Editor@GraniteGrok.com.
You can review our ‘Op-Ed Guidelines‘ on the FAQ Page.
I also looked at records for the Concord Police, NHCADSV, and lobbying returns for several people, including Amanda Grady Sexton, Chair of the City of Concord Public Safety Committee, Director of Public Affairs for the NHCADSV, married to Adam Sexton, political director of WMUR and a member of Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s re-election campaign committee since 2014.
There are extraordinary conflicts of interest and failures to report lobbying revenue from my research that has had very serious consequences.
1) In 2018, Amanda Grady Sexton received, per Marsy’s Law reports, $48,000 as Executive Director to lobby for Marsy’s Law. However, the lobby reports filed by Amanda Grady Sexton to the State for this period do not appear to reflect any of this income from lobbying for Marsy’s Law, only expenses for the NHCADSV, which are minimal.
Amanda Grady Sexton was not only Executive Director for Marsy’s Law, but she used Chessy Prout, State Witness in NH v Owen Labrie, as the face of Marsy’s Law to promote it. Further, Amanda Grady Sexton wrote an endorsement of AG Gordon MacDonald to become NH Supreme Court Chief Justice after he had appeared in a TV or online ad to promote “Marsy’s Law” – an ad honorarium appearance, I believe which smacks of an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” deal.
2) In 2017, Amanda Grady Sexton and Steven J Kelly Esq co-authored a guide to pretrial publicity in a document published by the NCVLI on whose board Steven J Kelly was a director. The NCVLI recognized Concord Police Detective for her work for “Justice for the victim” in NH v Owen Labrie despite very clear records that are in the trial transcript that Curtin did not follow protocols and tampered with records and witnesses. Amanda Grady Sexton stated in a meeting for the Governor’s Commission Against Domestic Violence in 2022 that the NHCADSV trains the police for intercept calls. The Concord Police budget is approved by the City of Concord and with Amanda Grady Sexton being Chair of the Public Safety Committee to whom Concord Police Chief reports in the monthly meetings, it would appear that she is involved, if not approving, police budgets for investigations and payments to witnesses for a Grand Jury. Indeed, Police Chief Bradley Osgood admitted that payments to witnesses for Grand Jury are approved by the City of Concord.
3) In 2017, Amanda Grady Sexton, Lynn Schollett, and the NHCADSV lobbied AG Gordon MacDonald for a Grand Jury Criminal Investigation into St Paul’s School. Additionally, they had lobbied and successfully lifted the restriction on the statute of limitations for civil claims in sexual abuse cases. AG Gordon MacDonald signed an order for the Grand Jury Criminal Investigation into St Paul’s School in July 2017. Concord Police Chief Julie Curtin and Officer Sean Ward were assigned to the investigation. During that investigation, Steven J Kelly Esq and Chuck Douglas Esq (who is Chair of the NH Judicial Selection Committee and was paid (in 2018) $17,000 for Marsy’s Law for which Amanda Grady Sexton was Executive Director) were in process with or filed several Doe v St Paul’s School lawsuits benefitting from discovery from the Labrie investigation by Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin who was working essentially at the direction of the City of Concord and therefore Amanda Grady Sexton. For her part, Amanda Grady Sexton was creating and controlling media for the Grand Jury Criminal Investigation for the AG (but also for Steven J Kelly & Chuck Douglas to leverage for civil suit settlements for them). She also worked with police and prosecutors (a violation of Rule 3.8 for Prosecutors in the criminal trial) to shape the message pretrial of NH v Owen Labrie. Per her own comments in the Concord Monitor in August 2015, she saw the trial as an “opportunity”. Her husband’s TV channel, WMUR, was granted exclusive access to the trial and she attended the trial not only to keep tabs on the media (per Concord Monitor) but she was communicating directly with the prosecutor (per Chessy Prout’s statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee in February 2023 when they were considering the appointment of Michael Delaney to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
The NHCADSV garnered a contract with St Paul’s School out of the Grand Jury Criminal Investigation and the settlement which followed. Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin, per Lacy Crawford’s “Notes on a Silencing” memoir and an article in the Concord Monitor, obtained files from St Paul’s School without a warrant. She was working at the direction of AG Gordon MacDonald and Assistant AG Jane Young. I believe she was also working with Amanda Grady Sexton, the NHCADSV, and civil attorneys Steven J Kelly and Chuck Douglas on the one hand and Cathy Green, Shaheen & Gordon on the other. Amanda Grady Sexton’s and the NHCADSV’s attorneys are Timothy McLaughlin at Shaheen & Gordon and David Vicinanzo, who commended Judge Richard McNamara on ruling to keep the Grand Jury Criminal Investigation Report into St Paul’s School private despite the school’s waiver of privacy. The “Doe” witnesses who objected to the report being made public I believe were represented by Steven J Kelly, Chuck Douglas, and possibly David Vicinanzo – in other words, all attorneys either working with Amanda Grady Sexton and the NHCADSV or representing Amanda Grady Sexton and the NHCADSV.
Amanda Grady Sexton and the NHCADSV launched a social media campaign in July 2019 to block ABC/GMA from airing an interview with Owen Labrie (also reported in the Concord Monitor). Coincidentally, at the time the program was successfully blocked by her efforts, Steven J Kelly and Chuck Douglas were in mediation on Rappuano & Does v Dartmouth College which resulted in a $14 million settlement of which the NHCADSV appears to have received 20% or $2.865 million.
4) On June 1, 2016, Steven J Kelly & Chuck Douglas filed a lawsuit against St Paul’s School on behalf of Chessy Prout, Alexander, and Susan Prout (Prout/Doe v St Paul’s School). The lawsuit (per an affidavit signed by Michael Delaney) was given to Jeremy Bookman at the Concord Monitor, Susan Zalkind at Vice Media, and NBC Today Show. The courts had closed when St Paul’s School was asked to comment. Michael Delaney states that he received his copy from Jeremy Blackman, who received it from “a source” who I believe is likely to be Amanda Grady Sexton or an affiliate of hers (perhaps Howard Altschiller (Chair of NH Press Association) married to Debra Altschiller of HAVEN, a branch of NHCADSV).
5) In March 2016, Amanda Grady Sexton (Chair of Concord’s Public Safety Committee) wrote a statement thanking Judge Larry Smukler for revoking Owen Labrie’s bail and putting him in solitary confinement (“for his own safety” as a result of the media coverage which Amanda Grady Sexton had been instrumental in creating and controlling) after he had been accosted by Susan Zalkind on a Boston Subway who tweeted that she’d run into “New England’s Most Notorious Sex Offender”. Susan Zalkind was a journalist who was admitted to the trial and made TV appearances indicating that she was, in fact, working hand in hand with Amanda Grady Sexton, Police Detective Julie Curtin, Prosecutor Catherine Ruffle, and attorneys Steven J Kelly Esq & Chuck Douglas Esq. By contrast, Paige Sutherland of NHPR had her innocuous tweets included in a motion by Prout family attorneys (which included Steven J Kelly, Steven D Silverman, Laura L Dunn) to restrict media access which was granted. Paige Sutherland was unaware until 2021/2022 that her tweets had been included in a motion for media restriction.
6) In September 2015 (after the trial of Owen Labrie but before the sentencing), Amanda Grady Sexton wrote an op-ed in the Concord Monitor about how the Computer Felony was correctly applied in the trial of NH v Owen Labrie (refuting legal scholars and other journalists’ concerns). She used both her official title for the City of Concord and her title for the NHCADSV in the bio at the end of the article. She did not reveal (as she should have done and which should have prevented her from weighing in as a public official) that her own organization had a financial interest in the Computer Felony conviction because her own organization, the NHCADSV, is the recipient of funds under the Adam Walsh Sex Offender Registration Management Program. Since 2014, New Hampshire has received over $900,000 ( a marked increase from periods prior to 2014).
7) In July 2014, Concord Police made a public announcement about the arrest warrant for Owen Labrie while he himself was given no warning of this arrest warrant. Police had interviewed him 5 weeks before. The public announcement coincided with the Dartmouth Sexual Assault Summit introduced by Congresswoman Ann Kuster (July 14-17) at which Laura L Dunn (SurvJustice) and Sharyn Potter (UNH Prevention Innovation Research Center) spoke. Amanda Grady Sexton worked hand in glove with both of these. Laura L Dunn was introduced to Chessy Prout several months pretrial by Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin, and the Prout family flew to DC in Spring 2015 (per Chessy’s memoir “I Have the Right to” with an introduction by Congresswoman Ann Kuster and co-authored by Jenn Abelson who comes from the Boston Globe Spotlight Team which has a member on the NHCADSV’s Board of Directors). Laura L Dunn appeared on TV during the trial to announce “Survivor” before the jury had heard most of the testimony – thus an overt attempt endorsed by Amanda Grady Sexton, who was keeping tabs on the media to predetermine guilt and thus influence the public, jury, nationwide media. The net result of this was to deliberately paint the defendant in a false light and St Paul’s School, which did not have a “decades-old tradition of Senior Salute.” Why did Amanda Grady Sexton do this? Because her organization stood to receive a contract with St Paul’s School and part of the spoils of any civil claims against the school.
8) The NHCADSV is partnered with UNH Prevention Innovation Research Center, which was partnered officially with the White House “Not Alone” task force whose representative was Laura L Dunn Esq, who provided instruction to Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin on how to investigate sexual assault cases. Laura L Dunn has been featured in several articles on her stance against due process – a fundamental tenet to the criminal justice system. And Amanda Grady Sexton and the City of Concord Public Safety Committee were approving the budget (excessive for June 2014 per the records that I can find) for Concord Police to investigate St Paul’s School and Owen Labrie.
In other words, I believe that Amanda Grady Sexton was orchestrating a racket in which she and her organization were set to financially benefit.
The tragic consequence of this racketeering is not just the framing of Owen Labrie and the targeting of St Pauls’ School for an extortion enterprise but the suicide of Professor David Bucci at Dartmouth College. Professor Bucci was named 31 times in the Steven J Kelly Esq, Chuck Douglas Esq lawsuit Rapuano & Does v Dartmouth. He was denied the right to speak for himself despite his claims that he was not aware of sexual misconduct in his department. According to the Union Leader, the publicity for Rapuano & Does v Dartmouth College was paid for by Times Up Legal Defense Fund/National Women’s Law Center (NWLC). Both of these had Political PR Company SKDK as their PR reps. SKDK is a Democratic PR Company that also reps “Its’ On Us,” which joined Amanda Grady Sexton in the #SurvivorsOverRatings (“Its On Us” may have even created the #) to block ABC GMA from airing the interview with Owen Labrie while Amanda Grady Sexton’s friends, Steven J Kelly Esq & Chuck Douglas were in mediation with Dartmouth College yielding a settlement for which her organization was a financial beneficiary.
Amanda Grady Sexton is a publicly elected official. She is Chair of the Public Safety Committee. She has duties to the City, its courts, its schools, its citizens, its safety, and its integrity. There is substantial evidence and records that she has gravely violated her obligations as a publicly elected official:
a) creating publicity, controlling the narrative in a criminal investigation to advance her own career, and the financing of her non-profit
b) willfully endangering those attending a criminal trial (the NHCADSV and I believe Amanda Grady Sexton herself led a protest through which jurors and the defendant and witnesses had to pass through – see trial records)
c) aided and abetted prosecutorial and civil attorney misconduct by creating and controlling the narrative, restricting media, editing media to benefit prosecutors, civil attorneys, and her own organization
d) cyber stalked me and my business following my letter to the LEACT commission regarding my concerns about Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin.
e) I believe she created a copycat account @letsheartherea1 which then posted my letter to the LEACT commission, doxxing me, my family, making false statements and demands, stalking 83 of my clients – 3 of whom called me concerned for my safety
d) authorized Shaheen & Gordon to send me a letter threatening a defamation lawsuit for statements I had made regarding my beliefs in her and the NHCADSV’s involvement in a “Kids for Cash” and “racketeering” type scheme. This is witness intimidation. Shaheen & Gordon then told my attorney that they would go slow on filing a suit if I backed off while Amanda was running for re-election.
e) aided and abetted civil attorneys making claims against St Paul’s School, which is the City of Concord’s 5th largest employer. Creating and spreading smear media that painted the school and its community in poor light in order to leverage civil suits from which she and the NHCADSV, I believe, were beneficiaries and to leverage a contract for the NHCADSV.
f) violated the NH Constitution regarding the rights to a fair and impartial trial.
g) violated individual privacy rights
h) violated first amendment rights by using her status as a public official to shut down the rights of Owen Labrie to speak for himself on TV when invited
i) Knowingly misrepresented a criminal proceeding, a civil proceeding in order to promote her own political and financial interests
j) knowingly worked with a journalist to stalk Owen Labrie and to have that journalist act as an agent for the police by accosting him, asking him questions and then reporting those to the benefit of Amanda Grady Sexton, Concord Police Detective Julie Curtin, and Prosecutor Catherine Ruffle
k) used media and elected public official status to influence the outcome of a Criminal Trial
l) failed to comply with New Hampshire Lobby requirements both for reporting lobby income to the State for Marsy’s Law ad honorarium lobbying, which resulted in contracts for the NHCADSV or political promotion for herself. Failed to report lobbying on her behalf by her husband, Adam Sexton, who first reported the arrest of Owen Labrie during the Dartmouth Sexual Assault Summit when people from all over the nation and DC were present. Failed to report lobbying that benefitted the “Bystander” and “Know Your Power” training which the NHCADSV was involved with and partnered with Sharyn Potter of UNH Prevention Innovation Research Center – an entrepreneurial venture which was recognized as such for using federal grants to create a for-profit business.
m) colluding with police and prosecutors in a criminal investigation and trial
Had Amanda Grady Sexton not launched the social media campaign in July 2019 to block Amy Robach/ABC/GMA from airing the interview with Owen Labrie, I believe that Professor Bucci would not have been driven to suicide. I believe that the mediation in the Dartmouth suit would have collapsed along with the case and that the interview would have triggered a demand for an investigation into racketeering and fraud in NH v Owen Labrie and in Prout/Does v St Paul’s School.
I trust that you will all take a very serious look at this and take appropriate action. The public should not pay for unfair trials, unsafe juries, tainted media, secret deals, tainted investigations, or dishonest public officials.
Kind regards