The Blog Is Mightier Than The Badge -- Henrico County Court (Part 4)

(Part1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Uncertain of what SA Tony Gattuso would be alleging on this date, prior to court I’d compiled and organized an enormous stack of, well, everything I possibly reckoned could be applicable.

Plausibly Tony would cite the blogs -- yes, both of them, though one hadn’t existed at the time of my last judicial appearance -- his girlfriend, their residence, his and my romance and our sole short-term break-up, the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms Agent’s trial, and the Virginia State Police’s both criminal and internal affairs investigations of him and their outcomes.

Hence here I was in court armed with copies of chat logs, emails, and images. Though they were printed out in their entirety to preserve context, I’d highlighted strictly the germane. Additionally, I had my phone which contained recordings and text messages. No less than a hundred pieces of documentation, I swear. My ally had done everything from laugh to shake her head in shock going over them on the trip up.

While Tony had been talking, I’d been carefully rearranging the above items to address each of his comments in the order he’d made them.

I’d actually placed some stuff related to Tony and I regarding the ATF John Stoltz harassment garbage on top but chose not to correct his half-lie. Meh. It’s not even worth moving my tongue for.

Instead, I expelled a single sentence that Tony was cognizant from the get-go about me, and how my site operated.

As an example of Tony’s true sentiment about the blog, I provided the judge with a written exchange Tony and I had about the posting of his vehicle on my site months ago and a printout of the entry itself -- made fifteen minutes subsequent to our discussing it. After the judge asked me to clarify whose email address was whose, she read his approval, his jokes about his VSP-issued Ford Expedition becoming “famous,” and his agreement to let me know if his colleagues said anything about it to him. I followed that up with an email received by me three days later, which bore an attachment of a photograph of another VA State Police vehicle. The email exposed Tony himself had taken the picture and urged me to post it.

Next I submitted to the judge the I HeArTE JADE entry in its entirety showing the home Tony lives in. To demonstrate the abode was not some secret hideaway, I presented a paper version of a real estate website that had an identical photograph to mine plus an address and assorted data, and then the government website for Petersburg, VA, property information depicting, again, an identical photograph and address, along with owner’s name and more. With my finger I tapped the date stamp, set off in hot pink marker, of my own site entry, and read it aloud: February of this year.

The judge had started to voice something, then abruptly cut herself off. “That’s from February?” she inquired. I responded in the affirmative. Her eyebrows shot up. She focused her gaze on Tony and in stern tone said to him “It concerns me that is from February and you are only now bringing it up.” Uh-huh. That’s the reason he didn’t print the whole blog post with the picture he’d introduced; he didn’t want to yield the date. I am heavens-glad I brought mine.

That’s when I learned Tony really, really, sucks at being impromptu. Without a script, he rambled something awful. He said he’d begged me to take the pictures down but that I replied I didn’t care about him; he said he requested that I not blog about him but that I replied I didn’t care about him; he said he reminded me that I protect my sources. Did he just admit in open court he’s one of my sources? Yikes. And guess what he said I replied? Right; that I didn’t care about him. He drags me into court, fibs, and then whines that I don’t care about him?! I felt like doing a face-plant on the polished wood in front of us. He contended I was publishing our communications and writing about our intimacy. “I just don’t know what she’s capable of anymore.” Yeah. I might possibly… make a typo.

It went downhill for Special Agent Anthony Gattuso Jr. from there.

I countered every argument he delivered by whipping up a sheet for the judge from the stash I’d carried in.

Tony articulated he’d attempted to dissolve our relationship in mid-to-late 2010. I fanned a substantial sheaf in the air as proof he’d euphorically continued our affair months past then.

“I have nude pictures he sent me recently of himself” I announced. The judge quickly shot her palm up and uttered “I don’t need to see those.” Aww… okay, but you’re totally missing out.

Tony went into damage control mode. He reiterated he’d tried to terminate things, this time modifying his story slightly with assertions that he was afraid if he didn’t stay with me I would write about our involvement. It was the only moment during testimony I looked straight at him. “You were scared so you tried to end it with me by sending me nude pictures of yourself?” I moved my gaze away immediately. The judge waited for Tony’s riposte but he had no comeback for that one.

I maintained Tony was pursuing me all along, enthusiastically at that. Drawing attention to my pile of evidence, I referenced his ongoing contact with me, most of which he’d initiated -- as fresh as two weeks earlier, the very night before he’d acquired the preliminary protective order.

I described the statcounter on my site which tracks visitors and their search terms. I told the judge that Tony had often sent me messages through the I HeArTE JADE navigation bar -- including “hearting jade in Richmond” and even a jealously-produced growl. I had emails and Google chats where we’d bantered about his doing so.

I gave the judge the Stat Counter Internet logs to examine. She requested I explain what she was studying. I indicated the part where, on July 31, 2011, Tony utilized the search field and what he’d typed in it: see me tomrrow before work........;). She wanted to hear how I knew it was from Tony. I had her flip to the first page to verify this particular log contained records exclusively from the Virginia State Police. I said Tony was the only one from their agency to communicate with me in that manner and that he was the only one I knew who used weird ellipses. “See the long string of dots after the message?” From all the Gmails and Gchats the judge had gone over thus far, she could perceive it was congruent with Tony’s writing habits. Plus I have no control over the statcounter nor the ability to generate the Virginia State Police’s IP and Richmond location.

Tony tried to deny it came from him, but by then it was clear the sharp judge wasn’t falling for his bunk.

She asked Tony if I had ever threatened him. He began his answer by supposing a theoretical someone may use the material on my blog to target him due to his being a cop… then ran on to my maplink tagging where the Virginia State Police Surveillance Unit is… blah, blah, blah… until finally wrapping it up with the fact that where he lives is under lone ownership of his girlfriend. Whoa. What a tangent. None of that means I’m dangerous. Wait; from my photograph without an address, dumb yet hostile criminals are going to find a dwelling that isn’t even associated with your name and harm you?

Based on her expression, the judge seemed as unconvinced as me. Given that Tony hadn’t answered her question, she repeated it to him exactly. “Has she ever threatened you?” “Uh, no” he confessed. The judge gave him one more opportunity. “Has she threatened you indirectly?” “No.”

Tony commenced blubbering about my having a cyberjoint devoted specifically to him. The judge promptly enlightened the man. “Even if I grant you this order, I can’t stop her from blogging about you.” Booyah! This judge is uber on. the. ball.

For roughly half a minute the courtroom was silent. Then…

Case dismissed.

To the stares of humored onlookers, I literally danced all the way out of the courthouse.

I can’t help but wonder if Tony didn’t deliberately sabotage himself at the hearing. One of the things I loved about my State Policeman is his intelligence. It wasn’t smart of him to pull this stunt, period, but to be as unprepared in court as he was besides -- not that he had anything to use against me anyway -- is puzzling. I mean, honestly, he must’ve anticipated his solo performance and meager three photocopies were going to be no match against the tons of my hard evidence, which he knew I had, and a deponent.

Despite what he might’ve led his agency and his girlfriend to believe, Tony and I had a beautiful relationship for a year-and-a-half. I’m ultra-sad this officer I was topsy-turvy in-love with turned out to be nothing more than a dirty cop and con artist.

Good for Special Agent Gattuso neither the VSP nor his sweetheart mind his behavior. Good for me they don’t have to.