Here's your preview:
"A Lowell man faces federal blackmail charges for allegedly demanding
cash from a married Boston celebrity who was videotaped as he flirted
with young women at a Boston bar."
Let's give it a look:
"Prosecutors say man who tried to blackmail Boston celebrity had gun" by Milton J. Valencia | Globe Staff, April 06, 2013
Went from a romantic comedy to a crime drama, 'eh?
A federal magistrate judge has a new factor to consider as she decides whether to grant bail to a Lowell man charged in the attempted extortion of a Boston-based celebrity: Authorities allegedly found a gun in the defendant’s car.
Keeping him in jail will keep him quiet.
Felix Paulino, 35, was originally charged with attempting to extort $20,000 from the unidentified celebrity under the threat that he would distribute to the gossip outlet TMZ a scandalous video of the married man courting young women at the Boston nightclub Venu in October.
Assistant US Attorney Nadine Pellegrini said Friday during a detention hearing that investigators found a gun in Paulino’s car after his arrest Tuesday morning, a disclosure that gave US Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler concerns.
My first thought was planted.
“That’s a danger to the community,” Bowler said. She said she would decide whether to release Paulino, who has been convicted of violent crimes before. He has no license for a firearm.
Be careful who you blackmail, folks -- unless you are a lobbyist.
Paulino’s lawyer, Jane F. Peachy, argued, however, that Paulino only had the gun for protection from recent threats of violence in Lowell unrelated to the alleged extortion. His car had been shot at, she said.
In Boston?
Related: Stolen car rate plummets in Massachusetts
Boston Police targeting summertime crime
Gee, I sure am confused. Lowell must be a bad neighborhood.
Peachy also said that Paulino never made any threat of violence in relation to the alleged extortion, and that he never received any money. She asked that he be released to his family. Bowler took the matter under advisement.
In reading this and factoring in the current agenda regarding the government in this country one can only conclude that the GUN GRAB has BEGUN!
The stories regarding shootings and sex abuse cases have been skyrocketing in the paper (despite sex abuse cases dropping?), so one can only be left to wonder how long until we all have to submit to psychological evaluations by the state.
During a brief hearing Friday, FBI Special Agent Daniel Romanzo testified that an investigation began in October after Paulino contacted the agent of a well-known Boston personality, threatening to leak the video footage.
What's with the anonymity anyway?
Romanzo testified, however, that the footage only shows the celebrity “mingling with patrons in the club, shaking hands, and departing the club shortly thereafter.”
Romanzo said that a cooperating witness tried to arrange a meeting with Paulino for the footage, though he acknowledged that a meeting never occurred. Peachy pointed out that Paulino has done nothing with the footage since the discussions ended in November.
The celebrity is not being named because of victim identity protection laws.
???
It's a sex crime of sorts?
He is identified in court records as John Doe. The records stated the celebrity was the subject of “media reports in both newspapers and on television” about his “financial information” last fall.
Hmmmm, who (h/t) could it be?
Yeah, it would be a shame and embarrassment if a born-again Christian were to lose his job.
Paulino’s family would not comment outside the courtroom.
--more--"
