The Tug Rule Prosecution is Dead Now That the Judge Threw Out the Video

Source – A judge in Palm Beach County granted Robert Kraft’s motion to suppress video evidence in his solicitation of prostitution case on Monday. The Patriots owner is currently facing two misdemeanor charges from his time at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla.

Monday’s ruling marks a significant victory for Kraft. His lawyers are likely to “file a motion to dismiss” the charges against him in the coming days due to a lack of evidence aside from the video, according to ESPN’s T.J. Quinn.

Monday’s ruling could mark the end of the prosecution’s case against Kraft. The video evidence against Kraft was obtained illegally and now cannot be used against him.

Well if this isn’t a case of Lady Justice taking a full running start and kicking the crooked prosecutors square in the corrupt groin with her steel-toed boots of righteousness, I don’t know what is.

If you happen to be wondering why I chose to wait until this morning to talk about this, it’s because the news of this broke Monday after business hours in Jupiter and Martin County. And I wanted to get a comment from the people in charge of this discredited dog and pony show. So I called them. Beginning with Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.

If you remember, he’s the former politician who couldn’t shut up about human trafficking when all this started. In late February and early March, the most dangerous place in America was anywhere between this guy and a microphone. But by mid-April, with no evidence of trafficking whatsoever and the investigation being exposed for the gross violation of people’s rights that it is, I showed up at his office. And he refused to speak to me.

I did talk to one of Snyder’s staffers, but she wouldn’t talk about the Orchids of Asia investigation because she explained Jupiter is in a different county and he has zero jurisdiction.

Me: “But Sheriff Snyder did all the press conferences.”
Her: “Yes, he did the press conferences but he doesn’t have jurisdiction.”
Me: “Then why did he write an Op-Ed piece about it in the Boston Globe?”
Her: “He did write the Op-Ed piece but he’s not involved in the case.”

I left my name and number but shockingly, no one ever called me. So I called them this morning looking for a statement on this latest development and was told by the department’s Public Information Director, they have no comment. Even though I’m the public and I’m seeking information. But I expected nothing less, but still. Even Sheriff Buford T. Justice would answer a question or two about the Bandit.

So I called the Jupiter Police:

… and connected with lead investigator on The Tug Rule, Det. Andrew Sharp. He referred me to HIS department’s PID officer Kristen Rightler and it went right to voicemail. I left a message, just as I did back in April. As the old country song goes, when the phone don’t ring, I’ll know it’s her.

I tried. It’s just curious how this was the most talked about story in the country back when this illegal investigation was spinning fiction about kidnapped girls being held against their will in squalid conditions. But now that the whole lie has been exposed, you can’t get a word out of any of these people. Not one goddamned word. But that’s exactly the kind cowardice we’ve come to expect any time unethical, sleazy, kleptocrat politicians get outed. When the light gets turned on, they scatter like roaches.

But I don’t want to go another paragraph without talking about the judge here doing the right thing. The idea that the police would be in possession of hundreds of spy videos of citizens getting legal massages is chilling. That is the very definition of abuse of power. The kind of thing J. Edgar Hoover used to do to stay in power, whether it was recording Martin Luther King, Jr. cheating on his wife or wiretapping phone calls between Marilyn Monroe and Jack or Bobby Kennedy so he could blackmail them all. The fact that the local governments in Florida would use East German Secret Police tactics, embarrassing men who did nothing wrong just to catch someone committing a misdemeanor crime should outrage everyone who cares about their own rights.

Thankfully, we’ve got judges like this, who look out for all of us. And a man who has the means to defend himself and wouldn’t let a few oily, dishonest political animals push him around. Because of Mr. Kraft’s decision to stand his ground and fight for his rights, we are all a little freer today. Hope to hear from you soon, Sheriff Snyder, Jupiter PD and State’s Attorney David Aronberg. But I’ve got a better chance of hearing from his dog.