Two-0-four
New member
This is just one example of how bad things can get in PA on any given day. Maybe this will shed some light to those of you that wonder why we keep complaning about PA Game Commision on this forum. This letter is from the Pennsylvania Game Commissions "Hall of Shame". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
A 22-page civil lawsuit on behalf of Charles Foster against PA Game and Fish Commission personnel is sitting on the corner of my desk. It was filed October 14, 2004. You should remember the "Charles Foster Story", a column I wrote quite a few months ago. It was such an outrageous story that a few found it hard to believe that such a debacle could happen anywhere in the US.
Please allow me to refresh your memory. Charlie Foster was a "wanted man" for allegedly illegally killing a deer. A deer carcass was found amongst a pile of trash alongside the road. PGC law enforcement believed Charlie was the murderer. The PGC secured a search warrant to search Foster’s home. They showed up with Fish Commission personnel on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of Charlie Foster’s Christening party for his three children. They pushed Charlie’s mother into a concrete wall, hit his wife with a flashlight and forced Charlie to take his pants off in front of 20 people. They "house arrested" everyone detaining all in the Foster living room. They searched Charlie’s house and an additional home (Charlie’s mother’s house) on the property, which may not have been part of the search warrant.
There are many questions unanswered in regard to the search warrant because Charlie never saw the warrant. PGC WCO George Hinkle handled Charlie Foster’s concerns about legality when Hinkle arrived at Charlie’s home. "We are the PA Game Commission, we don’t need a search warrant" were Hinkle’s infamous words. Later PGC WCO Darren David confirmed the PGC’s law enforcement mentality when Charlie asked again to see a warrant. "I don’t need a f-----g search warrant. I’ll show you the f-----g search warrant when I’m good and ready to show you the f-----g search warrant". Obviously, the PGC has some real classy and knowledgeable individuals working for them with a full grasp of Constitutional law.
Levin, Fishbein, Sedran and Berman, 501 Walnut Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia PA are the attorneys handling this case for Charles Foster. The Co-council in the matter is Elmer Robert Keach III, 74 Church Street, Hagaman, NY. Attorney Keach prepared the document sitting on my desk. He specializes in civil liberty cases.
PGC law enforcement personnel named in the suit are WCO’s Darren David, George Hinkle, Linda McCafferty, Frederick Merluzzi and the retired PGC Regional Supervisor Barry Moore. Mr. Moore was in charge of this cast of characters at the time of the debacle. Matt Viskowski, a PFBC WCO was also named.
Of special concern is the fact that PGC Commission President Russ Schleiden of Centre Hall was also sued. On April 9, 2004 Charlie Foster tried to bring his grievances before a PGC Board of Commissioners meeting. Commission President Russ Schleiden gaveled Mr. Foster stating "it was not the right time and place for this kind of talk". Schleiden, in reality, severely violated Charlie Foster’s First Amendment rights. It was a public meeting discussing the actions of a government agency. We should demand the resignation of Russ Schleiden without delay or remorse.
The compensatory damages requested against most of the above are $5 million dollars with $1 million dollars being sought in punitive damages against almost all of them. The grand total is $33 million dollars. Unfortunately, the cost of embarrassment to the PGC for becoming involved in yet another massive legal case is immeasurable. I suggest you get a copy of this complaint. It is an easy read and will take the sting out of your disappointing deer season by adding some levity to your life.
Of course, the bigger issue in all of this is the number of serious lawsuits against the PGC at any given time. It is a clear indication of the lack of leadership, direction and control by the PGC management. The PGC has become a major embarrassment to this state.
Combined with our disastrous deer management program, PA is literally becoming the laughingstock of this nation.
A 22-page civil lawsuit on behalf of Charles Foster against PA Game and Fish Commission personnel is sitting on the corner of my desk. It was filed October 14, 2004. You should remember the "Charles Foster Story", a column I wrote quite a few months ago. It was such an outrageous story that a few found it hard to believe that such a debacle could happen anywhere in the US.
Please allow me to refresh your memory. Charlie Foster was a "wanted man" for allegedly illegally killing a deer. A deer carcass was found amongst a pile of trash alongside the road. PGC law enforcement believed Charlie was the murderer. The PGC secured a search warrant to search Foster’s home. They showed up with Fish Commission personnel on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of Charlie Foster’s Christening party for his three children. They pushed Charlie’s mother into a concrete wall, hit his wife with a flashlight and forced Charlie to take his pants off in front of 20 people. They "house arrested" everyone detaining all in the Foster living room. They searched Charlie’s house and an additional home (Charlie’s mother’s house) on the property, which may not have been part of the search warrant.
There are many questions unanswered in regard to the search warrant because Charlie never saw the warrant. PGC WCO George Hinkle handled Charlie Foster’s concerns about legality when Hinkle arrived at Charlie’s home. "We are the PA Game Commission, we don’t need a search warrant" were Hinkle’s infamous words. Later PGC WCO Darren David confirmed the PGC’s law enforcement mentality when Charlie asked again to see a warrant. "I don’t need a f-----g search warrant. I’ll show you the f-----g search warrant when I’m good and ready to show you the f-----g search warrant". Obviously, the PGC has some real classy and knowledgeable individuals working for them with a full grasp of Constitutional law.
Levin, Fishbein, Sedran and Berman, 501 Walnut Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia PA are the attorneys handling this case for Charles Foster. The Co-council in the matter is Elmer Robert Keach III, 74 Church Street, Hagaman, NY. Attorney Keach prepared the document sitting on my desk. He specializes in civil liberty cases.
PGC law enforcement personnel named in the suit are WCO’s Darren David, George Hinkle, Linda McCafferty, Frederick Merluzzi and the retired PGC Regional Supervisor Barry Moore. Mr. Moore was in charge of this cast of characters at the time of the debacle. Matt Viskowski, a PFBC WCO was also named.
Of special concern is the fact that PGC Commission President Russ Schleiden of Centre Hall was also sued. On April 9, 2004 Charlie Foster tried to bring his grievances before a PGC Board of Commissioners meeting. Commission President Russ Schleiden gaveled Mr. Foster stating "it was not the right time and place for this kind of talk". Schleiden, in reality, severely violated Charlie Foster’s First Amendment rights. It was a public meeting discussing the actions of a government agency. We should demand the resignation of Russ Schleiden without delay or remorse.
The compensatory damages requested against most of the above are $5 million dollars with $1 million dollars being sought in punitive damages against almost all of them. The grand total is $33 million dollars. Unfortunately, the cost of embarrassment to the PGC for becoming involved in yet another massive legal case is immeasurable. I suggest you get a copy of this complaint. It is an easy read and will take the sting out of your disappointing deer season by adding some levity to your life.
Of course, the bigger issue in all of this is the number of serious lawsuits against the PGC at any given time. It is a clear indication of the lack of leadership, direction and control by the PGC management. The PGC has become a major embarrassment to this state.
Combined with our disastrous deer management program, PA is literally becoming the laughingstock of this nation.
