Dear Members of the Executive Council,
As you get ready to consider the re-appointment of John Formella to the Attorney General’s position, I urge you to consider the following. (Please note that this is not personal against John Formella, but it is an indictment against the Attorney General’s office over the last several AGs in a pattern of corruption, obfuscation, and obstruction to Government administration.) Whoever is ultimately appointed as the Attorney General MUST address corruption in that office.
As you know, a “Public Integrity” unit was started in the Attorney General’s office. As someone who has repeatedly contacted that office about public corruption in the justice system, I believe it is necessary for the Executive Council to demand answers from John Formella as to why notices of public corruption to that office have been routinely ignored. You will recall from Governor John Lynch’s commissioned report on the FRM Ponzi Scheme that the AG’s office played a substantial role by ignoring public notification.
You will know that the NH AG’s office has never held the DCYF administrators accountable for abuse of youth under state care, despite notification and jury awards to complainants. You may or may not be aware of a too close, cosy, and ethically dangerous relationship between the AG’s office, NHCADSV, DCYF, and the attorneys for these. I discovered this via Right to Know Emails received over the last year (in batches) from the AG’s office. They clearly demonstrate a clique that is working for its own interests and not those of transparency and accountability to the public, who are paying for the clique out of federal grants or state budget.
John Formella said that a $100 million fund for the YDC abuse cases was “the right thing to do”. While I commend him for recognizing YDC abuse, he failed to vet the attorneys who lobbied for the fund for conflicts of interest. For example, the first victim of YDC abuse to come forward was David Meehan. Instead of ensuring that his case was heard first, the lawyers (David Vicinanzo, Russ Rilee) used his case to get the fund and then went soliciting other complainants ,knowing it was there.
These attorneys are now complaining because Justice Broderick has been removed. AG Formella failed to look into the payment system for the YDC claims or whether there were kickbacks or other incentives for the judges and non-profits involved in these claims (eg, NHCADSV). He also failed to recognize the conflict of interests in referring claimants to the NHCADSV who train police and prosecutors in “best practices” while simultaneously referring claimants to their own “pro bono” civil attorneys: David Vicinanzo, Shaheen & Gordon and Chuck Douglas (with whom the NHCADSV worked to get Marsy’s Law passed).
The law firms have failed to report the value of the referrals of complainants as should be required under RSA 15A. The NHCADSV has failed to report the value of the “pro bono” relationship with the attorneys to whom they refer complainants to – as also required under RSA 15A. The NHCADSV’s IRS 990 forms list the sum of $0 for legal counsel and $0 for lobbying. The NHCADSV is prohibited from using federal grants it receives under VAWA, VOCA, Stop, Adam Walsh Act for lobbying, and yet, lobbying is what it does. Its Executive Director, Lyn Schollett Esq, and Director of Public Affairs, Amanda Grady Sexton, are listed as lobbyists with the Secretary of State. They lobbied to lift the statute of limitations, which enabled the YDC cases to go forward for the benefit of their pro bono attorneys, who got John Formella to agree to the $100 million fund. Their own victim specialist/advocate, Joelle Wiggin, who came out of the AG’s office for Victim Coordinator, became David Vicinanzo’s paralegal and victim specialist against the State in David Meehan’s lawsuit in 2024.
Now, public dollars are being abused in a gross game that is enriching lawyers and state attorneys in the YDC cases – purely because there was a complete and utter failure under John Formella’s leadership to vet for conflicts of interest at every level. The public is stuck paying five times over: 1) for the abuse that happened; 2) for the investigation into the abuse that happened; 3) for the justice system to deal with the cases; 4) for the NHCADSV to create and control the media, jury questionnaires, and victim impact statements; 5) for the settlements.
In 2023, John Formella’s office ignored the serious consequences of former AG Michael Delaney’s felony level witness tampering in NH v Owen Labrie – brought to light by the State’s primary witness/victim – Chessy Prout – in a letter to Senator Dick Durbin and the US Senate Judiciary Committee. When I asked his office about this, he referred me to Merrimack County DA Paul Halvorsen who said he didn’t have jurisdiction over his own Prosecutor (then Superior Court Clerk) – Catherine Ruffle – who was informed by Concord Councilwoman/NHCADSV rep Amanda Grady Sexton of the felony level witness tampering of state witnesses in the Labrie trial but decided to let these witnesses testify anyway. One of these witnesses was Andrew Thomson, the State’s second witness and son of Lucy Hodder Esq, who was Governor Hassan’s legal counsel and on the board of both St Paul’s School and New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, which provides grant money to the NHCADSV’s crisis center, CCCNH, which was involved in the Labrie case.
John Formella also argued to dismiss the Laurie List of corrupt police officers, while his predecessor also did the same. Who was on that list? James F McLaughlin who had a record of dishonesty dating to 1985. Why did they want to protect him? He was hired for the Diocese of Manchester Grand Jury Investigation and the St Paul’s School investigation – both leading to dozens of civil suits with information from the Grand Jury (aren’t Grand Jury investigations supposed to be secret)? Who profited from those? Chuck Douglas Esq (Chair of the Judicial Selection Committee), Peter Hutchins Esq (Treasurer of the NH Attorney Referral organization), Nixon Peabody (representing the Diocese, members of St Paul’s School administration, as well as the NHCADSV, who got a contract out of the latter), Shaheen & Gordon. Who paid for the AG’s office employee’s time and outside counsel? The public. Where was the return on the investment to the public or to the members of the Diocese of Manchester orthe community of St Paul’s School? There wasn’t any.
It is encombant upon the Executive Council to launch a full inquiry into exactly what has been going on at the AG’s office with regard to sexual assault and misconduct cases; to investigate its too close relationship with the NHCADSV, Nixon Peabody, Shaheen & Gordon and Douglas & Leonard and to investigate bias by judges in cases involving these – namely Judge Broderick, Judge Andrew Schulman, Judge Gordon MacDonald (formerly AG).
Think about this: David Meehan’s case was dismissed by AG Gordon MacDonald for “victim negligence” while simultaneously, AG Gordon MacDonald was admonishing St Paul’s School – a private school with a large endowment. Only when AG MacDonald’s former partner, David Vicinanzo, joined Russ Rilee Esq, did the suits against the State go forward. They went shopping for victims and got John Formella to support a $100 million fund out of which up to 68% would be consumed by legal fees (33-45% and the rest by other costs). The pattern follows exactly that of the Diocese and St Paul’s School except that none of them called for a Grand Jury investigation when it came to YDC.
When it becomes all about the money and not about the justice, the AG’s office has lost its place as an arbiter of justice or the Constitution. It has lost it and so has the New Hampshire Supreme Court (because AG MacDonald is Supreme Court Chief Justice despite still being listed at Nixon Peabody on one account) and so has the US Attorney’s office (because Jane Young who was with Gordon MacDonald in the AG’s office when he dismissed the YDC cases for “victim negligence” and when he let former Monsignor Edward Arsenault have the remainder of his sentence vacated, restitution paid off after defrauding the diocese.) We can never forget that it was AG Phil McLaughlin who spotted the financial opportunity in the Diocese cases, AG MacDonald who spotted the financial opportunity in the St Paul’s cases (having represented the Diocese and agreeing to pay outs for claimants despite knowing some were false), and AG Formella who spotted the financial opportunity in the YDC cases. Money for the club.
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