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More On Indictment Of Teens, Cops, In Connection To Luis Ramirez Murder

Posted December 15, 2009 by Patrick Young, Esq.

Luis Ramirez was killed by a group of teens in Shenandoah, Pa. in the summer of 2008. The good white people of Shenandoah would have you believe that this Mexican immigrant decided to take on six teenagers in a fight. They would also have you believe that the racial epithets hurled at Ramirez did not make this killing a hate crime.
They also expect you to see no unfairness in the fact that the initial investigation into the crime was carried out by the partner of a cop who was sleeping with the mother of the young man accused of killing Ramirez. Or that the first person arrested in the incident was a Latino who tried to come to Ramirez’s rescue.
And they would have you believe that the young assailants were acquitted of all major charges by an all white jury in a fair trial even though the prosecution failed to call significant witnesses, including a former Philly cop who responded to Ramirez’s cries outside her window.
And they don’t want you to think their town is racist even though locals decided to organize an anti-immigrant rally right after the killing. (Hooray For Our Side!, apparently). Nor should the fact that they planned a victory celebration after the acquittal be held against them, since they canceled it (after it was publicized that the principal speaker was neo-Nazi leader John de Nugent).
Shen-do, they would have you believe is a good town where all the problems are brown.
As details emerge about federal indictments against two of the teens involved in the Ramirez killing, as well as against two police for interfering with the investigation of the murder and two other cops for corruption, perhaps the good white people of Shenandoah need to re-examine their conceits. When everyday racism and official lying are coupled with an acceptance by a jury of their peers of brutal violence, then perhaps they can examine whether the real evil inside of their town is illegal immigration, or is their own lack of grounding in a recognizable moral code.
Here is a little bit more about what we know about the federal charges from the local newspaper, the Republican Herald:

“The power granted to law enforcement officers does not place them above the law,” Thomas E. Perez, assistant U.S. Attorney General, said in a Tuesday press release.
The teens, Brandon Piekarsky and Derrick Donchak, face federal hate crimes charges and a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the Department of Justice. Both were acquitted of aggravated assault, ethnic intimidation and other charges in connection with Ramirez’s death after a five-day trial, which ended May 1.
Federal authorities also charged Shenandoah Police Chief Matthew Nestor, Lt. William Moyer and Officer Jason Hayes with conspiring to obstruct justice. Moyer has also been charged with witness and evidence tampering and lying to the FBI, according to authorities.
Each officer faces up to 20 years in prison on obstruction charges and five years for conspiring to obstruct justice. Moyer also faces five additional years for making false statements to the FBI.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged Moyer and Hayes helped Piekarsky, Donchak and other teens involved concoct a story.
Hayes allegedly told the teens to get their story straight and gave them car rides from the scene of the crime, according to testimony during the trial.
The FBI investigation also uncovered alleged extortion and civil rights violations by police dating back to 2004.
Nestor and Capt. Jamie Gennarini allegedly conspired cash payouts from illegal gambling operations in the Shenandoah area. They also allegedly tried to extort $2,000 in cash from a local businessman and his family in 2007 in exchange for releasing the businessman from custody.
The extortion charges carry 20 years of prison time, according to the Dept. of Justice.
The indictments accuse the police, Pierarsky and Donchak of a “scheme” to cover up the fatal assault on Ramirez.
“Violence based on bigotry and hate has no place in America,” Perez said.
Schuylkill County District Attorney James P. Goodman told The Republican-Herald in October the actions of Shenandoah police after the beating made proving the case more difficult.
“The (Shenandoah) police did not properly investigate this case ... There were a lot of problems with the evidence,” Goodman said in the October interview, part of his successful reelection campaign.