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After paper has been made,
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00:00:50,395 --> 00:00:52,155
it's reeled up into a fiber core
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00:00:52,190 --> 00:00:53,950
on a reel spool.
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00:00:53,984 --> 00:00:56,056
After a roll is as large as is desired,
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00:00:56,090 --> 00:00:58,610
a new roll is started with a second core.
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00:00:58,644 --> 00:00:59,956
This on-the-run process
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00:00:59,990 --> 00:01:01,692
of transferring the sheet
from a finished roll
8
00:01:01,716 --> 00:01:04,857
to a new core is called a turnover.
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00:01:04,891 --> 00:01:08,551
Here, Tom Monfils is applying
a two-sided tape to the core.
10
00:01:08,585 --> 00:01:12,106
The tape is used
to make the sheet stick to
the core during a turnover.
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00:01:13,211 --> 00:01:15,075
Tom is dressed
for his television appearance
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00:01:15,109 --> 00:01:17,767
with a safety breakaway paper tie.
13
00:01:20,149 --> 00:01:23,876
This is
the only surviving footage
of Tom Monfils at work.
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00:01:25,568 --> 00:01:28,674
Is there anything
we can say about Tom
based on these images?
15
00:01:32,644 --> 00:01:34,265
Was he a happy person?
16
00:01:35,198 --> 00:01:37,097
Did he feel accepted by his peers?
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00:01:38,788 --> 00:01:40,271
What were his plans for the future?
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00:01:44,932 --> 00:01:47,831
We'll never know the answers
to these questions,
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00:01:47,866 --> 00:01:50,800
because on November 23rd, 1992,
20
00:01:50,834 --> 00:01:53,113
a missing person search
at James River Paper Mill
21
00:01:53,146 --> 00:01:55,149
in Green Bay, Wisconsin, would conclude
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00:01:55,184 --> 00:01:56,771
with the discovery of his corpse.
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00:03:31,003 --> 00:03:33,143
It appeared to be a homicide immediately.
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00:03:36,561 --> 00:03:37,803
There was, uh...
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00:03:38,666 --> 00:03:41,738
a large hematoma on Tom's head
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00:03:41,773 --> 00:03:45,846
that was very evident
of a blow of some sort.
27
00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,849
The fact that there was
a rope around his neck,
28
00:03:48,883 --> 00:03:50,575
and the weight...
29
00:03:50,609 --> 00:03:51,783
I mean...
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00:03:53,267 --> 00:03:54,267
uh...
31
00:03:54,682 --> 00:03:57,133
There's no way that...
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00:03:57,167 --> 00:03:59,791
that was going to be ruled
anything else other than that.
33
00:04:00,757 --> 00:04:03,001
We have to go with what we have now
34
00:04:03,588 --> 00:04:04,865
as the truth.
35
00:04:05,797 --> 00:04:07,350
And the truth is that,
36
00:04:07,385 --> 00:04:09,904
you know, these six men
37
00:04:09,939 --> 00:04:12,976
are guilty of murdering Tom Monfils.
38
00:05:45,172 --> 00:05:49,038
Well,
I was born and raised
right in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
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00:05:49,072 --> 00:05:50,557
Just, if you want a quiet town life,
40
00:05:50,591 --> 00:05:53,180
that's a good place to live.
41
00:05:53,214 --> 00:05:55,596
Hard-working blue-collar community.
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00:05:57,460 --> 00:05:59,980
First thing I did was
I worked for the railroad.
43
00:06:00,014 --> 00:06:02,327
I worked on the section crew,
44
00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:04,156
and then I left the railroad
45
00:06:04,191 --> 00:06:07,919
and worked for an auto-glass specialist.
46
00:06:07,953 --> 00:06:10,922
And then I enlisted in the Army.
47
00:06:10,956 --> 00:06:13,131
And then we came down
on order for Vietnam.
48
00:06:16,514 --> 00:06:18,378
Because I didn't go on to college,
49
00:06:18,412 --> 00:06:23,141
uh, I think
joining the military
made me grow up.
50
00:06:24,625 --> 00:06:26,016
My girlfriend, when I went
in there at the time,
51
00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,146
her name was Margie Craning.
52
00:06:28,180 --> 00:06:29,641
You know,
when I first got out
of the service and,
53
00:06:29,665 --> 00:06:32,461
you know, she was there
waiting for me and...
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00:06:34,324 --> 00:06:36,396
we started making plans to get married.
55
00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,263
Actually, she got pregnant
and we got married...
56
00:06:43,161 --> 00:06:44,404
quicker because of that.
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00:06:45,957 --> 00:06:47,337
I wanted to build a house.
58
00:06:47,372 --> 00:06:50,133
I wanted to get a decent job
with benefits, you know,
59
00:06:50,168 --> 00:06:52,653
the health insurance and retirement plans
60
00:06:52,688 --> 00:06:53,688
and all those things.
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00:06:54,414 --> 00:06:56,519
Took the job that came first.
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00:06:56,554 --> 00:06:58,418
And it just happened to be a union mill.
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00:06:59,659 --> 00:07:03,423
Papermaking was probably
the largest industry there.
64
00:07:03,457 --> 00:07:05,597
What...
What kind of paper?
65
00:07:05,632 --> 00:07:07,496
Mostly towel and tissue.
66
00:07:07,530 --> 00:07:10,533
Uh, ass wipe, for lack of a better term.
67
00:07:17,989 --> 00:07:21,199
Green Bay is
the toilet-paper capital
of the world.
68
00:07:21,233 --> 00:07:22,614
And the James River Paper Mill,
69
00:07:22,649 --> 00:07:26,100
it's just off of downtown,
on the East side of downtown.
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00:07:26,135 --> 00:07:28,240
These were not, um,
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00:07:28,275 --> 00:07:30,657
mills out on the outskirts of town
72
00:07:30,691 --> 00:07:32,935
in some industrial complex.
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00:07:32,969 --> 00:07:34,350
James River is downtown.
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00:07:34,384 --> 00:07:36,007
It's very close to the police station.
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00:07:36,041 --> 00:07:37,733
It's very close to the newspaper building.
76
00:07:37,767 --> 00:07:39,010
It's close to the courthouse.
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00:07:39,044 --> 00:07:41,806
It is part of the town.
78
00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:43,773
And everybody knows
what's going on in that mill
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00:07:43,808 --> 00:07:47,121
whether it's...
gossip or truth.
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00:07:48,571 --> 00:07:50,677
In a sense, it was like, you know,
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00:07:50,711 --> 00:07:52,092
hitting a lottery
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00:07:52,126 --> 00:07:54,232
when, you know,
when you were
accepted and...
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00:07:54,266 --> 00:07:55,820
and you had this job at the mill,
84
00:07:55,854 --> 00:07:57,477
because you really were set for life,
85
00:07:57,511 --> 00:08:00,825
if you were okay
with doing that type of work.
86
00:08:00,859 --> 00:08:02,043
You know, it paid good benefits.
87
00:08:02,067 --> 00:08:03,931
It was a job where you could
raise a family.
88
00:08:03,966 --> 00:08:07,245
If only dad worked, you could
raise a family in Green Bay.
89
00:08:10,386 --> 00:08:12,595
My name is Keith Kutska.
90
00:08:12,630 --> 00:08:14,148
I am one of the six defendants
91
00:08:14,183 --> 00:08:16,461
in the Tom Monfils homicide case
92
00:08:16,496 --> 00:08:19,844
from the James River Paper Mill
in Green Bay.
93
00:08:19,878 --> 00:08:23,157
How would you
describe Kutska to someone
who hasn't met him before?
94
00:08:24,227 --> 00:08:26,126
How would I describe Kutska?
95
00:08:26,713 --> 00:08:27,955
Oh.
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00:08:27,990 --> 00:08:29,854
He looks like the Frito Bandito.
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00:08:29,888 --> 00:08:31,234
Big, heavy mustache.
98
00:08:32,546 --> 00:08:34,548
I don't want to call him a bully, but...
99
00:08:37,793 --> 00:08:41,140
If he could tease you
in any way
'cause you were...
100
00:08:41,174 --> 00:08:42,567
a little bit different than the other...
101
00:08:42,591 --> 00:08:44,430
You know,
you got to pay your dues
before you can get to be
102
00:08:44,454 --> 00:08:45,973
in the same level as everybody else.
103
00:08:46,008 --> 00:08:48,079
So, you...
you tease somebody
104
00:08:48,113 --> 00:08:50,426
to find out what level of...
where they're at.
105
00:08:52,359 --> 00:08:53,809
I think it was on the...
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00:08:55,017 --> 00:08:56,328
night of November 10th.
107
00:08:56,363 --> 00:08:59,193
Kutska and another gentleman
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00:08:59,780 --> 00:09:01,299
measured out some wire.
109
00:09:02,265 --> 00:09:03,991
One person needed 200 feet,
110
00:09:04,026 --> 00:09:05,924
and they measured out 200 feet.
111
00:09:05,959 --> 00:09:08,340
And then, Kutska needed 16 feet
112
00:09:08,375 --> 00:09:10,411
to wire something in a smokehouse.
113
00:09:11,654 --> 00:09:14,277
Lots of guys often took home scrap items
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from the mill without written permission.
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00:09:22,078 --> 00:09:24,564
Monfils saw that, knowing that
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00:09:24,598 --> 00:09:28,291
if somebody got
caught stealing,
they'd lose their job.
117
00:10:34,219 --> 00:10:36,428
My brother calling...
118
00:10:36,463 --> 00:10:40,467
calling in Keith Kutska
for stealing the cord. I...
119
00:10:40,501 --> 00:10:42,158
You know, that was for...
that was spite.
120
00:10:42,193 --> 00:10:45,783
He was trying to get
Keith Kutska in a little bit
of trouble. I mean...
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00:10:45,817 --> 00:10:48,578
Whether that little piece
of scrap cord left the mill
or not,
122
00:10:48,613 --> 00:10:51,271
it really didn't matter
to my brother, you know?
123
00:10:53,135 --> 00:10:57,933
The mill and its workers work
a swing shift,
124
00:10:57,967 --> 00:10:59,935
and it's a heavy toll.
125
00:10:59,969 --> 00:11:04,456
They were proposing to go
to four 12-hour workdays.
126
00:11:04,491 --> 00:11:07,459
And, you know, obviously,
like everything else,
127
00:11:07,494 --> 00:11:09,703
some guys had no opinion, you know?
128
00:11:09,738 --> 00:11:12,430
Other guys were absolutely adamant
129
00:11:12,464 --> 00:11:14,881
they had keep things the way they were.
130
00:11:14,915 --> 00:11:18,367
I believe
that's probably the reason
my brother made the call.
131
00:11:18,401 --> 00:11:21,784
You know?
He really wanted
the 12-hour shift
132
00:11:21,819 --> 00:11:25,167
where, basically,
you would have
more time off.
133
00:11:25,201 --> 00:11:27,652
And...
and several people
wanted that.
134
00:11:27,687 --> 00:11:29,896
And Keith Kutska, you know, was against it
135
00:11:29,930 --> 00:11:32,036
'cause, you know,
he had been there a long time.
136
00:11:32,070 --> 00:11:33,415
He was set in his ways.
137
00:11:38,767 --> 00:11:41,459
Kutska goes to leave work that day,
138
00:11:41,493 --> 00:11:45,428
and the guards tell him to open his bag.
139
00:11:45,463 --> 00:11:47,223
He said,
"No, I'm in a hurry."
140
00:11:47,258 --> 00:11:48,649
They said "No. You need
to open your lunch box."
141
00:11:48,673 --> 00:11:50,986
"No, I'm in a hurry."
And he bolts.
142
00:11:51,020 --> 00:11:52,781
He goes to work the next day
143
00:11:52,815 --> 00:11:55,611
and is called into a disciplinary meeting
144
00:11:55,645 --> 00:11:59,339
and is given four days
of suspension without pay.
145
00:11:59,373 --> 00:12:01,237
I was upset and dumbfounded
146
00:12:01,272 --> 00:12:03,653
that anyone in the mill would put my job
147
00:12:03,688 --> 00:12:06,346
and my family's well-being in jeopardy
148
00:12:06,380 --> 00:12:08,658
for something as common and minor
149
00:12:08,693 --> 00:12:12,145
as taking a piece of wire from a dumpster.
150
00:12:12,179 --> 00:12:14,216
I later learned that Tom himself
151
00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:16,459
had often taken items from the mill,
152
00:12:16,494 --> 00:12:19,428
very likely also without permission.
153
00:12:19,462 --> 00:12:21,775
One of the managers says
154
00:12:21,810 --> 00:12:28,748
a call came from inside
the mill to the police
from an hourly employee.
155
00:12:28,782 --> 00:12:33,407
And Keith Kutska now knows
that someone he works with
156
00:12:34,615 --> 00:12:38,619
called the police
about that wire in his bag.
157
00:12:38,654 --> 00:12:42,727
I learned
that the police recorded
all 911 calls.
158
00:12:42,762 --> 00:12:47,111
When I called the police,
they helped me
get the recording.
159
00:12:47,145 --> 00:12:48,146
On the tape, he said,
160
00:12:48,181 --> 00:12:49,907
"I want to
remain anonymous."
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00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,601
You cannot release any information
162
00:12:54,635 --> 00:12:57,431
about a person once they say that.
163
00:12:57,466 --> 00:13:00,055
A voice recording, well, it's a giveaway.
164
00:13:00,089 --> 00:13:02,540
So, he confides in
the Green Bay Police Department
165
00:13:02,574 --> 00:13:05,163
and the district attorney,
telling 'em that,
166
00:13:05,198 --> 00:13:06,475
you know, "I called this in"
167
00:13:06,509 --> 00:13:08,788
and, you know, "The guy is
coming to get the tape."
168
00:13:36,712 --> 00:13:38,231
He makes a total of five calls
169
00:13:38,265 --> 00:13:39,646
to the Green Bay Police Department
170
00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,338
in the week leading up
to his disappearance.
171
00:14:03,187 --> 00:14:05,499
They were told to go get the tape,
172
00:14:05,534 --> 00:14:08,468
hold it as evidence and not release it.
173
00:14:11,057 --> 00:14:12,679
And he just didn't do it.
174
00:14:14,370 --> 00:14:15,855
He just...
175
00:14:15,889 --> 00:14:17,580
didn't bother to get up out of his chair
176
00:14:17,615 --> 00:14:20,514
and walk 50 feet, grab the tape and...
177
00:14:21,584 --> 00:14:22,904
That would've been the end of it.
178
00:14:25,830 --> 00:14:27,625
When I left the station
with the recording,
179
00:14:27,659 --> 00:14:29,799
I didn't know who the caller was.
180
00:14:29,834 --> 00:14:32,802
I had my suspicions, but I didn't know.
181
00:14:32,837 --> 00:14:36,841
When I played the recording,
I heard Tom's voice.
182
00:14:36,876 --> 00:14:39,809
If the Green Bay Police Department,
183
00:14:40,603 --> 00:14:42,674
in an effort to protect
184
00:14:42,709 --> 00:14:44,469
the identity of the person on the tape,
185
00:14:44,504 --> 00:14:46,402
had simply released
186
00:14:46,437 --> 00:14:48,888
a written transcript of the call,
187
00:14:50,165 --> 00:14:51,649
we wouldn't be sitting here.
188
00:15:05,905 --> 00:15:07,699
Tom was sitting right there by the door
189
00:15:07,734 --> 00:15:09,701
with his knees up on the counter,
190
00:15:09,736 --> 00:15:11,048
and he was reading a newspaper.
191
00:15:17,123 --> 00:15:19,366
Within less than a minute,
192
00:15:19,401 --> 00:15:21,575
Keith Kutska walked in and he had a tape,
193
00:15:21,610 --> 00:15:23,853
small cassette tape player in his hand.
194
00:15:24,475 --> 00:15:25,994
He calls me, "Piaskowski."
195
00:15:26,028 --> 00:15:28,306
He said, "Piaskowski,
name that tune."
196
00:15:28,341 --> 00:15:30,412
I'd like to report
197
00:15:30,446 --> 00:15:32,448
an employee theft
198
00:15:32,483 --> 00:15:34,381
which is gonna occur at James River.
199
00:15:34,415 --> 00:15:37,039
He set the tape player down
in front of Tom.
200
00:15:37,074 --> 00:15:39,110
- Did you notify your security?
- No, I didn't.
201
00:15:39,145 --> 00:15:40,801
Tom looked up over his left shoulder
202
00:15:40,836 --> 00:15:44,805
and he had just
a total expression
of disbelief and awe.
203
00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:46,876
And his mouth just was gaping open
204
00:15:46,911 --> 00:15:48,775
and his eyes were really wide and...
205
00:15:50,328 --> 00:15:51,571
"Do you admit that's you?"
206
00:15:52,227 --> 00:15:53,400
Tom said, "What?"
207
00:15:53,435 --> 00:15:54,995
Like he didn't understand the question.
208
00:15:57,025 --> 00:15:59,889
"Are you admitting that
that's you
on that police tape?"
209
00:16:01,512 --> 00:16:02,720
Tom said, uh,
210
00:16:02,754 --> 00:16:04,825
he admitted it.
He said "Yes."
211
00:16:04,860 --> 00:16:06,448
He didn't give us a good reason
212
00:16:06,482 --> 00:16:08,036
why he reported me to the police,
213
00:16:08,070 --> 00:16:11,211
but I wanted him
and others at the mill
to know
214
00:16:11,246 --> 00:16:12,902
that we knew what he did.
215
00:16:14,421 --> 00:16:16,976
Kutska started saying,
216
00:16:17,010 --> 00:16:18,643
berating him a little bit,
"What'd you do that for?
217
00:16:18,667 --> 00:16:20,082
"We were talking like good friends,
218
00:16:20,117 --> 00:16:22,636
"five minutes later,
or ten minutes later,
or whatever.
219
00:16:22,671 --> 00:16:25,708
"If you had a problem,
why didn't you say
something to me then?
220
00:16:25,743 --> 00:16:27,469
"That's malicious."
221
00:16:27,503 --> 00:16:28,711
And he, very indignantly,
222
00:16:28,746 --> 00:16:30,386
turned around and walked out of the room.
223
00:16:33,061 --> 00:16:34,338
I don't swear often.
224
00:16:34,372 --> 00:16:35,798
On occasion I do, but I don't swear often.
225
00:16:35,822 --> 00:16:37,824
But I said, "I just don't fucking believe
226
00:16:37,858 --> 00:16:40,275
"that you would do that.
We're family.
We're friends."
227
00:16:40,309 --> 00:16:43,519
You know?
"We're a union."
228
00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,079
I took my readings
and I was gone
for five or ten minutes,
229
00:16:51,113 --> 00:16:53,012
and then I walked back
to the control room.
230
00:16:54,599 --> 00:16:57,602
I looked up and Tom was at the controls,
231
00:16:57,637 --> 00:17:00,916
starting the 7:35-ish
turnover.
232
00:17:03,367 --> 00:17:05,645
After a roll is as large as is desired,
233
00:17:05,679 --> 00:17:08,060
a new roll is started with a second core.
234
00:17:08,096 --> 00:17:10,166
This on-the-run process
of transferring the sheet
235
00:17:10,201 --> 00:17:14,067
from a finished roll
to a new core
is called a turnover.
236
00:17:14,102 --> 00:17:17,829
Here, Tom Monfils is applying
two-sided tape to the core.
237
00:17:17,864 --> 00:17:20,487
He goes to the left and runs the crane
238
00:17:20,521 --> 00:17:22,983
that lifts the big roll
of paper out and they move it
out of there like that.
239
00:17:23,007 --> 00:17:24,674
Well, I can't see
any of that happen anymore,
240
00:17:24,698 --> 00:17:26,090
because there's a big control panel
241
00:17:26,114 --> 00:17:28,253
in right my line of vision from sitting
242
00:17:28,288 --> 00:17:30,083
in the control room where I was sitting.
243
00:17:32,810 --> 00:17:34,570
And I never saw Tom again.
244
00:17:35,157 --> 00:17:36,262
And that's a fact.
245
00:17:38,333 --> 00:17:42,061
Monfils just magically disappears.
246
00:17:43,648 --> 00:17:48,205
I'm sure that
if the TV show4400 would've
been around at the time,
247
00:17:48,239 --> 00:17:50,207
they would've said
he was abducted, you know.
248
00:17:50,241 --> 00:17:51,967
They... Gone.
You know?
249
00:17:52,001 --> 00:17:55,833
Because it was...
they wanted it
to appear just that way.
250
00:17:57,800 --> 00:17:59,768
I looked down and Tom wasn't around.
251
00:17:59,802 --> 00:18:01,194
There wasn't anybody by my machine.
252
00:18:01,218 --> 00:18:02,702
And there should be.
253
00:18:03,461 --> 00:18:04,738
If Tom's not around,
254
00:18:04,773 --> 00:18:05,843
I'll get him in trouble.
255
00:18:08,432 --> 00:18:10,710
I immediately grabbed
the phone and I called
the office
256
00:18:10,744 --> 00:18:12,263
and I got a hold of the foreman.
257
00:18:12,298 --> 00:18:13,437
He said, "What's going on?"
258
00:18:13,471 --> 00:18:14,759
I said, 'Well, there's
a whole bunch of shit going on.
259
00:18:14,783 --> 00:18:15,794
"You better
get down here fast."
260
00:18:15,818 --> 00:18:17,579
Well, I wanted to get him down here
261
00:18:17,613 --> 00:18:19,236
so he showed up before Tom showed up.
262
00:18:20,547 --> 00:18:21,593
Tom would have egg on his face,
263
00:18:21,617 --> 00:18:23,102
and I'd be able to say, "See?"
264
00:18:28,831 --> 00:18:31,938
The more and more time went by
without finding any answers,
265
00:18:31,972 --> 00:18:34,837
the more and more, uh, serious it got.
266
00:18:36,529 --> 00:18:37,564
I thought it was weird.
267
00:18:37,599 --> 00:18:39,808
I was like, "Wow.
268
00:18:39,842 --> 00:18:41,223
"Where the heck would he go?"
269
00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,023
The buzz around the mill
was that he had left,
270
00:18:48,057 --> 00:18:50,922
or walked off the premises.
271
00:18:52,855 --> 00:18:54,650
They didn't realize
he was still in the mill.
272
00:19:03,694 --> 00:19:05,213
At 7 o'clock, they said,
273
00:19:05,247 --> 00:19:08,216
"Well, let's stop
at Carla Jean's
and iron this out,
274
00:19:08,250 --> 00:19:09,907
or figure this out, or something.
275
00:19:12,081 --> 00:19:15,154
Lepeck said,
"What if Monfils is
in the parking lot
276
00:19:15,188 --> 00:19:16,948
"and he's got
a deer rifle with him?"
277
00:19:16,983 --> 00:19:19,158
You know?
We both stepped away
from Kutska,
278
00:19:19,192 --> 00:19:20,745
you know, joking, kind of like that.
279
00:19:20,780 --> 00:19:21,964
And I went to the middle of the road,
280
00:19:21,988 --> 00:19:23,345
and I said, you know,
followed the joke along,
281
00:19:23,369 --> 00:19:25,001
I said, "Yeah.
Hit the dirt or start running.
282
00:19:25,025 --> 00:19:27,096
"Just like in 'Nam
or something."
I said to him.
283
00:19:32,792 --> 00:19:35,588
They were
talking about shutting
all of the machines down
284
00:19:35,622 --> 00:19:40,662
and starting to drain
the pulp vats
and stuff like that,
285
00:19:40,696 --> 00:19:42,146
just to start checking to see,
286
00:19:42,181 --> 00:19:44,079
because they couldn't find him anywhere.
287
00:19:44,113 --> 00:19:45,805
And they asked me if I would do it.
288
00:19:45,839 --> 00:19:47,738
And I said I would do it.
289
00:19:49,084 --> 00:19:51,086
I actually did it
because I couldn't
believe it.
290
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:52,950
I was, like, "Well, I got to see this,
291
00:19:52,984 --> 00:19:53,882
"because I don't believe that...
292
00:19:53,916 --> 00:19:55,746
"that he's in this tank."
293
00:19:58,473 --> 00:19:59,681
He was in there.
294
00:19:59,715 --> 00:20:01,683
Well, my very first thought was
295
00:20:01,717 --> 00:20:03,616
they found him in the tissue chest.
296
00:20:03,650 --> 00:20:05,031
The tissue chest had to be empty.
297
00:20:05,065 --> 00:20:06,515
He was just hiding in there.
298
00:20:06,550 --> 00:20:09,000
I said, "Well,
that's where he was."
You know?
299
00:20:09,035 --> 00:20:12,349
And then they told me
he was passed away, dead,
300
00:20:12,383 --> 00:20:13,557
and I couldn't believe it.
301
00:20:13,591 --> 00:20:15,144
That's... that's insane.
302
00:20:15,179 --> 00:20:16,180
That's crazy.
303
00:20:27,467 --> 00:20:28,572
Just...
304
00:20:28,606 --> 00:20:29,780
hard to... hard to accept,
305
00:20:29,814 --> 00:20:31,920
you know, that something
like that could happen
306
00:20:31,954 --> 00:20:33,274
in our little mill, our little...
307
00:20:34,509 --> 00:20:36,200
family.
308
00:20:44,173 --> 00:20:47,142
The atmosphere in the mill became
309
00:20:47,176 --> 00:20:49,178
like you were walking on eggshells.
310
00:21:18,656 --> 00:21:22,867
Everybody, at first,
was really angered
at the Police Department
311
00:21:22,902 --> 00:21:25,284
for being so foolish
to give a voice recording.
312
00:21:28,908 --> 00:21:31,151
Had it not been released,
313
00:21:31,186 --> 00:21:33,153
I don't think
there would've been a homicide.
314
00:21:39,505 --> 00:21:44,751
Well, I believe
it was the day after that
they found Tom, uh...
315
00:21:44,786 --> 00:21:46,719
they came to my house.
316
00:21:46,753 --> 00:21:49,135
First thing they said was, "We're here
317
00:21:49,169 --> 00:21:51,896
"because we believe
you killed Tom Monfils."
318
00:21:52,794 --> 00:21:54,968
And I was like...
319
00:21:55,003 --> 00:21:57,523
"Uh... wait a minute.
I wasn't even there."
320
00:21:57,557 --> 00:22:02,113
And then they proceeded
to tell me how I snuck back
into the mill
321
00:22:02,148 --> 00:22:03,943
and I did this, and I did that,
322
00:22:03,977 --> 00:22:06,463
right in front of my family,
right in front of my kids.
323
00:22:06,497 --> 00:22:11,053
"We've got enough on you
to get you fired
from your job."
324
00:22:11,088 --> 00:22:12,997
"Your family loves you,
but they're not gonna
love you
325
00:22:13,021 --> 00:22:15,610
"when they find out
what kind of a scumbag
you are."
326
00:22:15,644 --> 00:22:17,474
So it wasn't just, like, one officer?
327
00:22:17,508 --> 00:22:19,234
This was a system-wide...
328
00:22:19,268 --> 00:22:22,030
Well, it was one in particular.
329
00:22:27,863 --> 00:22:29,106
He's quite a piece of work.
330
00:22:31,108 --> 00:22:32,972
We're talking about Randy Winkler.
331
00:22:35,630 --> 00:22:40,289
Randy Winkler came to my house
one Sunday afternoon.
332
00:22:44,190 --> 00:22:45,823
He came up and he says,
"Steve, you never signed
333
00:22:45,847 --> 00:22:47,745
"your affidavit
from yesterday."
334
00:22:47,780 --> 00:22:48,850
And I said, "Sure I did."
335
00:22:48,884 --> 00:22:51,059
He said,
"No, you never signed it."
336
00:22:51,093 --> 00:22:53,233
And I said,
"Yeah, I signed it."
337
00:22:53,268 --> 00:22:55,097
"No. You never signed it."
338
00:22:55,132 --> 00:22:56,730
He says, "Here, just sign it
quick," he says.
339
00:22:56,754 --> 00:22:58,031
"I'll get on my way."
340
00:22:59,723 --> 00:23:00,931
I was ready to sign it.
341
00:23:00,965 --> 00:23:02,426
I had it on my workbench.
I was ready to sign it
342
00:23:02,450 --> 00:23:03,899
and my wife came out and she says,
343
00:23:03,934 --> 00:23:04,980
"Steve, what are you doing?"
And I said,
344
00:23:05,004 --> 00:23:06,246
"I'm going to sign this."
345
00:23:06,281 --> 00:23:09,180
And she says,
"Well, did you read it?"
346
00:23:09,215 --> 00:23:11,597
And I said,
"No, I didn't read it."
347
00:23:12,391 --> 00:23:13,806
And Randy was like, "No, no, no.
348
00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:15,520
"Just let him sign it.
I got to get going."
349
00:23:17,741 --> 00:23:22,090
He had it written down
that I told him that
Mike Piaskowski told me
350
00:23:22,124 --> 00:23:24,092
that he knew what happened.
351
00:23:24,126 --> 00:23:25,921
And I said,
"I never told you that."
352
00:23:25,956 --> 00:23:29,062
"I never told you that,
'cause Mike's never said
that to me."
353
00:23:29,097 --> 00:23:30,201
He grabbed that paper.
354
00:23:30,236 --> 00:23:32,480
He got so mad, he ripped that up
355
00:23:32,514 --> 00:23:33,791
and he swore at me
356
00:23:33,826 --> 00:23:35,690
and he pointed his finger at me.
357
00:23:35,724 --> 00:23:37,139
And he says, "I'm gonna get you.
358
00:23:37,174 --> 00:23:38,969
"I'm gonna
implicate you somehow."
359
00:23:40,522 --> 00:23:41,661
Thank God for my wife.
360
00:23:41,696 --> 00:23:43,111
She... she...
361
00:23:43,145 --> 00:23:44,505
Uh, 'cause I was ready to sign it.
362
00:23:59,127 --> 00:24:00,749
I think I was...
363
00:24:00,784 --> 00:24:02,095
I was meant to be a cop.
364
00:24:05,996 --> 00:24:07,238
My dad was a farmer.
365
00:24:09,102 --> 00:24:11,035
And one particular night,
366
00:24:11,070 --> 00:24:13,521
my dad was stopped by a state trooper.
367
00:24:13,555 --> 00:24:15,902
And he had a tail light burnt out.
368
00:24:15,937 --> 00:24:17,421
And it was dark.
369
00:24:17,456 --> 00:24:21,460
And the trooper went
to his trunk of his car,
370
00:24:21,494 --> 00:24:24,221
pulled out a screwdriver and a light bulb,
371
00:24:24,255 --> 00:24:26,119
changed the light, put it in
372
00:24:26,154 --> 00:24:28,259
and away we went.
373
00:24:28,294 --> 00:24:31,055
And I just thought
that was the coolest thing.
374
00:24:32,022 --> 00:24:34,300
He could have...
375
00:24:34,334 --> 00:24:37,786
just, "Nah,
I'm not even going
to bother," you know?
376
00:24:37,821 --> 00:24:39,478
You know, or given him a warning
377
00:24:39,512 --> 00:24:41,756
to have him fix it himself,
or something like that.
378
00:24:41,790 --> 00:24:46,450
But instead, no, he actually
took an effort and...
379
00:24:46,485 --> 00:24:48,556
and did something good for somebody.
380
00:24:52,525 --> 00:24:55,355
That's when I made
the decision
I wanted to become a cop.
381
00:24:55,390 --> 00:24:57,496
Because I wanted
to be able to help people.
382
00:25:08,990 --> 00:25:11,199
I started out in the patrol division.
383
00:25:11,233 --> 00:25:13,132
I started out walking a beat.
384
00:25:15,410 --> 00:25:18,931
Walking a beat was
one of the most
fantastic experiences
385
00:25:18,965 --> 00:25:20,208
I've ever had.
386
00:25:22,175 --> 00:25:24,592
Walking into the bars on Broadway...
387
00:25:24,626 --> 00:25:27,698
Today Broadway is nothing like it was
388
00:25:27,733 --> 00:25:29,320
back in the '70s, you know?
389
00:25:31,150 --> 00:25:32,392
You had to earn your respect
390
00:25:32,427 --> 00:25:34,636
when you walked into a place, you know?
391
00:25:34,671 --> 00:25:36,155
You couldn't be...
392
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,227
hard.
393
00:25:39,261 --> 00:25:44,266
If you walked into a bar
and they were shooting craps
on the bar,
394
00:25:44,301 --> 00:25:46,510
rather than bust 'em,
or arrest 'em for it,
395
00:25:46,545 --> 00:25:48,788
you just looked out the window,
396
00:25:48,823 --> 00:25:51,515
and when you looked back,
the dice were off the bar.
397
00:25:52,792 --> 00:25:54,518
They didn't disrespect you
398
00:25:55,036 --> 00:25:57,417
and you didn't
399
00:25:57,452 --> 00:25:59,661
have to do things
that you didn't want to do.
400
00:26:03,285 --> 00:26:05,218
When you get into detectives,
401
00:26:05,253 --> 00:26:07,358
it becomes much more serious.
402
00:26:09,050 --> 00:26:11,397
You have to be...
very, very careful
403
00:26:11,431 --> 00:26:14,607
that you have the right person.
404
00:26:14,642 --> 00:26:18,922
You definitely don't want
to accuse anyone
of something that...
405
00:26:18,956 --> 00:26:21,131
or point 'em out, even as a suspect
406
00:26:21,165 --> 00:26:22,822
in something that they didn't do.
407
00:26:29,898 --> 00:26:31,693
- She wanted time.
- She wanted space.
408
00:26:31,728 --> 00:26:33,453
You know, how they, uh...
409
00:26:33,488 --> 00:26:35,007
I didn't know about the boyfriend.
410
00:26:35,041 --> 00:26:36,664
I was suspicious, but I didn't know.
411
00:26:39,183 --> 00:26:40,909
I think deep down,
I always thought that...
412
00:26:40,944 --> 00:26:42,428
that she'd come back.
413
00:26:43,912 --> 00:26:44,912
She's still with the guy.
414
00:26:45,811 --> 00:26:47,502
And he's yet to have a job.
415
00:26:48,710 --> 00:26:49,815
A decent job. Huh.
416
00:26:50,436 --> 00:26:52,162
He's a loser. Nice guy.
417
00:26:52,196 --> 00:26:54,267
One of those friendly kind,
you know, and...
418
00:26:55,268 --> 00:26:56,476
drummer in a band.
419
00:26:59,652 --> 00:27:00,905
Just be totally honest with you,
420
00:27:00,929 --> 00:27:04,415
I wasn't
totally faithful either.
Uh...
421
00:27:04,450 --> 00:27:09,041
So I was willing
to put the past behind us.
422
00:27:09,075 --> 00:27:11,699
Once it came to light,
423
00:27:11,733 --> 00:27:14,391
when she said that
she wanted a divorce,
that...
424
00:27:14,425 --> 00:27:16,669
I was willing to do whatever
it took to make it right.
425
00:27:17,981 --> 00:27:19,441
Steve Stein and I went to Murphy's Pub,
426
00:27:19,465 --> 00:27:21,191
had a fish dinner and...
427
00:27:21,225 --> 00:27:23,296
and drank a little bit
too much that night.
428
00:27:23,331 --> 00:27:24,988
I was kind of drowning my sorrows,
429
00:27:25,022 --> 00:27:26,092
so to speak like that.
430
00:27:26,127 --> 00:27:27,956
And then I ended up having a...
431
00:27:27,991 --> 00:27:31,304
an interview with the police
the next morning,
and I was quite hungover.
432
00:27:33,582 --> 00:27:35,481
Not a wise decision
to get drunk like that.
433
00:27:37,690 --> 00:27:41,280
I'm foggy and I'm not
feeling good. I'm...
434
00:27:41,314 --> 00:27:42,695
Stomachache, or headache,
435
00:27:42,730 --> 00:27:44,690
or whatever I happen to have
at the time, or both.
436
00:27:46,492 --> 00:27:48,287
I liked the guy.
437
00:27:48,321 --> 00:27:51,048
He's, you know, anybody
with a name like Randy,
438
00:27:51,083 --> 00:27:52,153
it's not Randall,
439
00:27:52,187 --> 00:27:54,431
or Ed, it's Eddie.
You know?
440
00:27:54,465 --> 00:27:57,745
Anybody with an "ie" on,
it's very endearing, I think.
441
00:27:57,779 --> 00:28:00,402
I didn't learn
what kind of a guy
he truly was
442
00:28:00,437 --> 00:28:02,473
until I found out how he thinks.
443
00:28:02,508 --> 00:28:04,683
He thinks a little strange, in my opinion.
444
00:28:06,857 --> 00:28:11,759
You get to know
these people and almost,
um...
445
00:28:14,762 --> 00:28:16,798
want to be friends with them, you know,
446
00:28:16,833 --> 00:28:19,490
and... that can...
447
00:28:19,525 --> 00:28:20,837
But you can't.
You can't do it.
448
00:28:20,871 --> 00:28:23,322
You can't allow
your judgment
to be clouded.
449
00:28:24,461 --> 00:28:25,990
You know, I always would
try to get them in
450
00:28:26,014 --> 00:28:29,500
and get them to tell you
a lie right off the bat,
451
00:28:29,535 --> 00:28:32,469
so that you can tell
when they're lying to you.
452
00:28:32,503 --> 00:28:34,229
How do you get someone to tell you a lie?
453
00:28:36,335 --> 00:28:38,233
Have you ever stolen anything from work?
454
00:28:39,234 --> 00:28:41,236
Probably but, I don't...
Yeah, right.
455
00:28:41,271 --> 00:28:43,618
You don't...
456
00:28:43,652 --> 00:28:46,794
You know... And no,
I never did. You know?
457
00:28:46,828 --> 00:28:49,486
And, well, everybody has.
458
00:28:50,901 --> 00:28:54,146
Life in a paper mill is pretty mundane.
459
00:28:54,180 --> 00:28:55,699
I mean, it's...
460
00:28:55,734 --> 00:28:57,494
You know, it's the same thing
461
00:28:57,528 --> 00:28:59,945
day after day after day after day.
462
00:29:00,773 --> 00:29:01,947
Now, this day...
463
00:29:03,086 --> 00:29:04,501
is an exciting day.
464
00:29:05,053 --> 00:29:06,434
Keith Kutska,
465
00:29:07,124 --> 00:29:08,298
on Friday night,
466
00:29:08,332 --> 00:29:10,403
had already called everybody in the mill
467
00:29:10,438 --> 00:29:11,888
and told 'em he's got the tape.
468
00:29:11,922 --> 00:29:14,269
He played it to a few of 'em
over the phone,
469
00:29:14,304 --> 00:29:16,824
told everybody to come up
and listen to it.
470
00:29:16,858 --> 00:29:20,413
Uh, now, this is a big, exciting time.
471
00:29:20,448 --> 00:29:21,587
Big excitement.
472
00:29:21,621 --> 00:29:23,071
Big thing happening in the mill.
473
00:29:23,106 --> 00:29:24,832
It's not the mundane...
474
00:29:25,487 --> 00:29:27,282
average everyday thing.
475
00:29:28,180 --> 00:29:30,044
All those people that were there
476
00:29:30,976 --> 00:29:33,047
now have lapse of memory.
477
00:29:33,081 --> 00:29:34,462
Mike Piaskowski can't remember
478
00:29:34,496 --> 00:29:35,946
"Did I do this or did do that?
479
00:29:35,981 --> 00:29:39,191
"Well, I assume I did this,
and I assume I did that,
480
00:29:39,225 --> 00:29:41,365
"and I probably would have done this,
481
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:42,815
"and I might have done that.
482
00:29:42,850 --> 00:29:45,369
"But I'm not sure.
And if somebody
said I did it,
483
00:29:45,404 --> 00:29:47,544
"I probably did it,
but I may not have
done it."
484
00:29:47,578 --> 00:29:48,856
Winkler's sitting,
485
00:29:48,890 --> 00:29:51,030
his face inches from mine, sideways,
486
00:29:51,065 --> 00:29:53,826
screaming at me, the spit's
coming in my face, you know?
487
00:29:53,861 --> 00:29:54,723
And I'm thinking,
488
00:29:54,758 --> 00:29:56,277
you know, I'm in my own mind,
489
00:29:56,311 --> 00:29:58,762
I'm looking down
at this situation
that I'm sitting in,
490
00:29:58,797 --> 00:30:01,316
thinking, "They've got
to go through this stuff."
491
00:30:01,351 --> 00:30:02,431
Sooner or later, they'll realize
492
00:30:02,455 --> 00:30:03,812
they're barking up the wrong tree.
493
00:30:03,836 --> 00:30:05,493
And they'll go bark somewhere else.
494
00:30:07,495 --> 00:30:09,152
Then Winkler will slam the table
495
00:30:09,186 --> 00:30:10,636
and he'll do all kinds of gyrations
496
00:30:10,670 --> 00:30:12,534
and try to get you excited,
497
00:30:12,569 --> 00:30:14,329
try to make you stumble,
498
00:30:14,364 --> 00:30:16,090
uh, try to confuse you.
499
00:30:18,609 --> 00:30:19,818
Yeah, I'm not a bad cop.
500
00:30:21,267 --> 00:30:23,442
I'm not a bully, or a...
501
00:30:23,476 --> 00:30:26,963
uh, a hard person to talk to,
you know? It's...
502
00:30:27,998 --> 00:30:31,795
I can get stern at times
when... when I need to.
503
00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:33,141
"Come on, tell me."
504
00:30:33,176 --> 00:30:34,280
You know?
505
00:30:34,315 --> 00:30:36,282
Get pointed with questions and...
506
00:30:36,317 --> 00:30:38,181
"Come on. I know
that's not the truth.
507
00:30:38,215 --> 00:30:39,699
"I need the truth from you.
508
00:30:39,734 --> 00:30:41,253
"Now just tell me the truth."
509
00:30:41,287 --> 00:30:43,082
"Don't tell me that.
510
00:30:43,117 --> 00:30:44,463
"I know that's a lie."
511
00:30:44,497 --> 00:30:46,603
Or, you know, even stronger than that.
512
00:30:46,637 --> 00:30:49,606
"I know you know this.
Just... just come out...
513
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:51,884
"It's not going to hurt you
to tell us the truth."
514
00:30:51,919 --> 00:30:55,543
I'm close.
Personal touching,
you know,
515
00:30:55,577 --> 00:30:57,234
in your space, you know?
516
00:30:57,269 --> 00:31:00,789
And it's hard for you to avoid me,
517
00:31:00,824 --> 00:31:03,137
because you're going to,
you know, you're...
518
00:31:03,171 --> 00:31:04,355
you're right with me, you know?
519
00:31:04,379 --> 00:31:06,278
And I'm right with you,
you know? So...
520
00:31:06,312 --> 00:31:07,486
And that's how it's done.
521
00:31:13,423 --> 00:31:16,426
The first time
the medical examiner said
how he died,
522
00:31:16,460 --> 00:31:17,392
you know, it was two words,
523
00:31:17,427 --> 00:31:18,842
"Ligature strangulation."
524
00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:22,615
He had injuries to his scalp.
525
00:31:22,639 --> 00:31:23,640
He had a skull fracture.
526
00:31:23,674 --> 00:31:24,883
He had a fracture of the jaw.
527
00:31:24,917 --> 00:31:26,746
He had injuries to his abdomen.
528
00:31:28,334 --> 00:31:31,441
We know that Tom Monfils was alive,
529
00:31:31,475 --> 00:31:32,545
at least briefly,
530
00:31:32,580 --> 00:31:34,651
at the bottom of the pulp vat.
531
00:31:34,685 --> 00:31:39,173
Uh, pulp is the raw material
that goes into making paper.
532
00:31:39,207 --> 00:31:40,657
It's wood and liquid.
533
00:31:40,691 --> 00:31:42,555
He had that in his lungs.
534
00:31:42,590 --> 00:31:44,109
So he was alive in the vat.
535
00:31:44,143 --> 00:31:48,837
He had the weight attached
around his neck with a rope.
536
00:31:48,872 --> 00:31:50,978
And Helen Young described him
537
00:31:51,012 --> 00:31:54,878
as having both suffocated
and been strangled.
538
00:31:57,398 --> 00:32:00,125
Once he entered the vat
with the weight
around his neck,
539
00:32:00,159 --> 00:32:01,160
he was never coming out.
540
00:32:01,195 --> 00:32:02,541
There was no way out for him.
541
00:32:17,176 --> 00:32:19,799
When you look at
what happened
to Tom Monfils,
542
00:32:19,834 --> 00:32:22,941
you understand why people were
reluctant to come forward.
543
00:32:25,633 --> 00:32:30,707
People really want
to distance themselves
from that case.
544
00:32:30,741 --> 00:32:33,020
Most people wanted to stay away from it,
545
00:32:33,054 --> 00:32:35,608
you know, at arm's length, because...
546
00:32:37,541 --> 00:32:39,302
it was obvious
547
00:32:39,336 --> 00:32:40,589
it was not going to turn out good
548
00:32:40,613 --> 00:32:43,651
for whoever did the investigation.
549
00:32:44,203 --> 00:32:45,860
Somebody...
550
00:32:45,894 --> 00:32:48,552
had to grab the reins and let's go.
551
00:32:48,587 --> 00:32:50,761
Let's get something done.
552
00:32:50,796 --> 00:32:54,282
And finally I just said I'll do it.
553
00:32:54,317 --> 00:32:55,732
That I'm going to take it over.
554
00:32:55,766 --> 00:32:57,630
I'll take lead on it.
555
00:32:58,666 --> 00:33:01,151
And I think there was, like,
556
00:33:01,186 --> 00:33:04,223
thirty sighs of relief in the room.
557
00:33:04,258 --> 00:33:05,604
"Finally, some idiot took it."
558
00:33:05,638 --> 00:33:07,640
You know, so...
559
00:33:07,675 --> 00:33:09,711
And that was me, I guess.
560
00:33:17,616 --> 00:33:20,377
You don't have to have an eyewitness.
561
00:33:20,412 --> 00:33:22,793
You don't have to have a photograph.
562
00:33:22,828 --> 00:33:26,728
There's a jury instruction
that says
circumstantial evidence
563
00:33:26,763 --> 00:33:30,387
is many times more powerful
than direct evidence.
564
00:33:30,422 --> 00:33:34,081
And over our many years
in the D.A.'s office,
I think that's true.
565
00:33:35,806 --> 00:33:37,946
Circumstantial evidence is used
566
00:33:37,981 --> 00:33:40,777
to describe the totality of the evidence.
567
00:33:40,811 --> 00:33:42,296
They are all pieces of evidence.
568
00:33:42,330 --> 00:33:44,022
They're all pieces of a puzzle.
569
00:33:44,988 --> 00:33:46,300
And, so they...
570
00:33:46,334 --> 00:33:49,993
You put together
all of these pieces
in the puzzle.
571
00:33:50,028 --> 00:33:52,271
Let's say it's a portrait of Abe Lincoln,
572
00:33:52,306 --> 00:33:53,617
and it's a 100-piece puzzle
573
00:33:53,652 --> 00:33:55,516
and you've got 96 pieces.
574
00:33:55,550 --> 00:33:57,080
Well, you might have four pieces missing,
575
00:33:57,104 --> 00:33:59,485
but after all these pieces are together,
576
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:00,728
you can figure out who it is,
577
00:34:00,762 --> 00:34:01,808
you can figure out what happened.
578
00:34:01,832 --> 00:34:03,144
You can figure out the truth.
579
00:34:09,563 --> 00:34:12,152
When did you start taking personal notes
580
00:34:12,188 --> 00:34:15,674
of, like, just things
you were thinking,
noticing?
581
00:34:15,708 --> 00:34:17,985
Uh, I think my attorney told me that.
582
00:34:18,021 --> 00:34:20,402
"Whenever you hear anything,
write it down."
583
00:34:20,437 --> 00:34:21,887
'Cause it can only help you.
584
00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,268
Especially if you got
a Polish memory like mine.
So...
585
00:34:25,511 --> 00:34:28,790
- - "February 22nd. -55 p.m.
586
00:34:28,824 --> 00:34:30,137
"Al said the mill was setting up
587
00:34:30,170 --> 00:34:32,449
"Winkler with an office
for the interviews again.
588
00:34:32,484 --> 00:34:33,795
"He commented,
589
00:34:33,830 --> 00:34:35,797
"'This only proves
that the police are lost.'"
590
00:34:36,867 --> 00:34:39,007
"October 24th, 1993.
591
00:34:39,042 --> 00:34:40,768
"Tom's paranoia might've caused him
592
00:34:40,802 --> 00:34:42,666
"to plan a possible suicide.
593
00:34:42,701 --> 00:34:44,322
"Getting a rope and weight ready,
594
00:34:44,358 --> 00:34:47,223
"maybe placing them
on the catwalk
above the chests.
595
00:34:47,257 --> 00:34:49,880
"Did the cops check out
the area above the chests?
596
00:34:49,915 --> 00:34:52,607
"Did they take any photographs
of those areas?"
597
00:34:52,641 --> 00:34:54,126
"Rumor mill at James River.
598
00:34:54,161 --> 00:34:56,473
"Possibly Tom Monfils had
the goods on someone else
599
00:34:56,507 --> 00:34:57,854
"in a major way,
600
00:34:57,888 --> 00:34:59,959
"and those persons took
advantage of the situation?"
601
00:35:19,324 --> 00:35:21,912
It's the hard thing
to help people comprehend
602
00:35:21,947 --> 00:35:23,811
twenty years later, talking about it,
603
00:35:24,915 --> 00:35:26,986
is what two and a half years...
604
00:35:27,539 --> 00:35:29,334
no answers meant.
605
00:35:30,473 --> 00:35:31,922
It happens in November,
606
00:35:31,957 --> 00:35:34,166
and you go a whole another year,
607
00:35:34,201 --> 00:35:35,374
and a whole another year.
608
00:35:37,411 --> 00:35:38,619
Who haven't we talked to
609
00:35:38,653 --> 00:35:41,242
and what is the question we haven't asked?
610
00:35:41,277 --> 00:35:44,038
What is the question
we should be asking
of what person?
611
00:35:46,282 --> 00:35:49,008
In this case, I think
that was understandable,
612
00:35:49,043 --> 00:35:51,494
that any law enforcement
felt more pressure.
613
00:35:51,528 --> 00:35:52,598
They felt more pressure.
614
00:35:52,633 --> 00:35:53,886
They felt like they were under the gun,
615
00:35:53,910 --> 00:35:57,569
especially once that tape was released.
616
00:35:57,603 --> 00:36:00,123
And I had some allies, um,
617
00:36:00,675 --> 00:36:01,849
in the mill,
618
00:36:01,883 --> 00:36:04,714
and I needed
their... their support.
619
00:36:05,818 --> 00:36:07,372
And that person said,
620
00:36:07,406 --> 00:36:09,591
"You know,
I don't think you're
ever going to solve this."
621
00:36:09,615 --> 00:36:11,514
And that was like...
622
00:36:11,548 --> 00:36:13,447
That was like a knife in the heart.
623
00:36:47,826 --> 00:36:49,276
I had gotten off the school bus
624
00:36:49,310 --> 00:36:51,588
and there was a car in the driveway,
625
00:36:51,623 --> 00:36:52,703
and a gentleman stepped out
626
00:36:52,727 --> 00:36:54,350
and came around the back of the car.
627
00:36:54,384 --> 00:36:57,145
He introduced himself
as being Randy Winkler,
628
00:36:57,180 --> 00:36:59,089
and said, "I need to talk
to you about your parents."
629
00:36:59,113 --> 00:37:01,288
I knew the name
as far as he was an officer,
630
00:37:01,322 --> 00:37:02,679
and that kind of freaked me out, saying,
631
00:37:02,703 --> 00:37:05,223
"I need to talk to you
about your parents."
632
00:37:05,257 --> 00:37:07,166
I thought something happened,
you know, kind of thing,
633
00:37:07,190 --> 00:37:09,296
and I was really kind of scared.
634
00:37:13,023 --> 00:37:16,993
He kind of stood between me
and going into the house.
635
00:37:18,857 --> 00:37:21,135
And he was just talking
to me about, you know,
636
00:37:21,169 --> 00:37:23,102
"What has been said around your house?
637
00:37:23,137 --> 00:37:25,173
"Have you overheard things?
638
00:37:25,208 --> 00:37:27,590
"Do you know
things that are going on?"
639
00:37:27,624 --> 00:37:29,039
You know, and so on and so forth.
640
00:37:29,074 --> 00:37:31,179
And it was just...
Like, he was very persistent,
641
00:37:31,214 --> 00:37:34,907
very kind of in-my-face,
very abrupt
and kind of brash.
642
00:37:34,942 --> 00:37:37,255
He followed me into the house.
643
00:37:37,289 --> 00:37:39,843
What I said
obviously wasn't
what he liked,
644
00:37:39,878 --> 00:37:41,535
because it...
645
00:37:41,569 --> 00:37:42,984
his body language changed.
646
00:37:43,019 --> 00:37:44,641
Instead of being leaning towards me,
647
00:37:44,676 --> 00:37:48,369
he leaned back
and like, crossed his arms
across his chest.
648
00:37:48,404 --> 00:37:50,337
He was probably in there
for about two hours
649
00:37:50,371 --> 00:37:52,442
where he was
just talking to me about this.
650
00:37:52,477 --> 00:37:53,616
Have I been privy
651
00:37:53,650 --> 00:37:55,652
to conversations between my dad and Keith?
652
00:37:55,687 --> 00:37:58,690
Have I talked to him about dad and Pie?
653
00:37:58,724 --> 00:38:00,081
And, you know, do I know the things
654
00:38:00,105 --> 00:38:01,831
that happened between my mom
and these men?
655
00:38:01,865 --> 00:38:04,937
And... everything...
It was just like, "Seriously?"
656
00:38:08,838 --> 00:38:12,773
Do you recall
that you waited one day
for Amanda Kellner
657
00:38:12,807 --> 00:38:15,741
to come home from school...
658
00:38:15,776 --> 00:38:16,984
...at her home?
659
00:38:17,881 --> 00:38:20,090
No, I do not.
660
00:38:20,125 --> 00:38:22,023
You recall that you were waiting there,
661
00:38:22,058 --> 00:38:23,680
she came home from school
662
00:38:23,715 --> 00:38:25,924
and you followed her in the house?
663
00:38:26,649 --> 00:38:27,753
No.
664
00:38:27,788 --> 00:38:30,204
Do you remember that you stayed there
665
00:38:30,238 --> 00:38:31,619
an hour or two?
666
00:38:31,654 --> 00:38:32,896
- No.
- You don't remember
667
00:38:32,931 --> 00:38:35,071
asking her questions about conversations
668
00:38:35,105 --> 00:38:37,004
that she had heard her parents have?
669
00:38:37,522 --> 00:38:38,799
No, I do not.
670
00:38:38,833 --> 00:38:41,284
You remember
Mr. Kellner telling you
671
00:38:41,319 --> 00:38:44,529
to leave his children out of your efforts
672
00:38:45,323 --> 00:38:47,566
to obtain information from him?
673
00:38:49,223 --> 00:38:50,223
No.
674
00:38:53,089 --> 00:38:54,746
You don't remember he was angry
675
00:38:54,780 --> 00:38:56,437
that you had involved the children?
676
00:38:58,059 --> 00:38:59,889
I never involved his children.
677
00:39:02,098 --> 00:39:03,202
We had a day planned.
678
00:39:03,237 --> 00:39:04,825
We were going to go bowling
679
00:39:04,859 --> 00:39:06,240
or, I don't remember, bowling,
680
00:39:06,274 --> 00:39:08,898
or a movie, or just something
you know, for my birthday.
681
00:39:08,932 --> 00:39:10,969
Just me, my dad and my sister.
682
00:39:11,003 --> 00:39:13,316
And he came home and he...
683
00:39:14,282 --> 00:39:15,282
he was different.
684
00:39:17,941 --> 00:39:21,428
We took a walk outside.
We went to our backyard.
685
00:39:21,462 --> 00:39:24,431
He said that
there are some things
that are going on.
686
00:39:24,465 --> 00:39:28,193
He said, "And I have
to do some things
and say some things."
687
00:39:28,227 --> 00:39:29,919
And he said, "I have to do this
688
00:39:29,953 --> 00:39:31,783
"to keep the family safe.
689
00:39:31,817 --> 00:39:33,405
"I have to keep
the family together."
690
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,960
He thought that the phones were bugged,
691
00:39:36,995 --> 00:39:39,411
that the house was
being watched. Um...
692
00:39:40,688 --> 00:39:42,518
He pointed down the road.
693
00:39:42,552 --> 00:39:44,761
There was always a car sitting there.
694
00:39:44,796 --> 00:39:48,144
And, since this all started
and he said,
"They're watching us."
695
00:39:49,283 --> 00:39:52,769
"I'll do anything
for you and your sister."
Um...
696
00:39:52,804 --> 00:39:54,633
He said that, "No matter what happens,
697
00:39:54,668 --> 00:39:57,049
"I always want you
and your sister
to be together."
698
00:39:57,084 --> 00:39:58,844
"You know, I'm trying
to keep you guys safe."
699
00:39:58,879 --> 00:40:00,467
You know?
700
00:40:00,501 --> 00:40:02,617
"I didn't fight
your mom for this long
for custody of you guys
701
00:40:02,641 --> 00:40:05,195
"to have you taken away
for something like this."
702
00:40:05,230 --> 00:40:07,991
"I want you
to look after each other."
703
00:40:08,682 --> 00:40:09,993
And as a... as a kid,
704
00:40:10,028 --> 00:40:12,927
that quite honestly scared
the daylights out of me.
705
00:40:19,244 --> 00:40:21,280
I sat him down and I had this...
706
00:40:21,315 --> 00:40:23,421
I had it all set up.
It was a...
707
00:40:24,732 --> 00:40:26,216
make-it-or-break-it move.
708
00:40:26,251 --> 00:40:28,391
I pulled out this little receiver
709
00:40:28,426 --> 00:40:30,911
that would be like in a phone.
710
00:40:30,945 --> 00:40:33,569
Two little...
paper clip...
711
00:40:33,603 --> 00:40:34,328
Sorry, not paper clip,
712
00:40:34,362 --> 00:40:38,436
but little clips soldered to it.
713
00:40:38,470 --> 00:40:39,678
And I said, "You know...
714
00:40:40,852 --> 00:40:43,130
"you can walk into a bar,
715
00:40:43,164 --> 00:40:45,512
"go and make a phone call,
716
00:40:45,546 --> 00:40:47,099
"place this inside,
717
00:40:47,928 --> 00:40:49,826
"finish making your phone call,
718
00:40:49,861 --> 00:40:51,379
"hang it up,
719
00:40:51,414 --> 00:40:54,313
"and yet you can hear
everything that's said
in that bar."
720
00:41:00,941 --> 00:41:03,495
His mouth dropped open.
721
00:41:03,530 --> 00:41:05,186
He got pale white,
722
00:41:05,773 --> 00:41:08,327
and at that point I knew
723
00:41:08,362 --> 00:41:10,226
that he had a lot of information
724
00:41:10,260 --> 00:41:13,401
that he wasn't telling us,
or hadn't told us in the past.
725
00:41:13,436 --> 00:41:15,300
And I just said to him, you know,
726
00:41:15,334 --> 00:41:18,717
"You either can tell us what happened,
727
00:41:18,752 --> 00:41:24,343
"or we can play these tapes
and see what happens there."
728
00:41:24,378 --> 00:41:25,379
You know?
729
00:41:26,311 --> 00:41:27,795
Trying to indicate to him,
730
00:41:27,830 --> 00:41:30,764
or make him think that if he didn't...
731
00:41:32,490 --> 00:41:33,560
didn't cooperate,
732
00:41:33,594 --> 00:41:36,355
that he could possibly be
charged with something.
733
00:41:36,390 --> 00:41:38,185
He spent a lot
of time in the police station.
734
00:41:38,219 --> 00:41:40,325
I think it was two days
735
00:41:40,359 --> 00:41:41,509
that he was questioned and questioned
736
00:41:41,533 --> 00:41:44,294
and presented with that written statement
737
00:41:44,329 --> 00:41:45,917
stating he had to sign it,
738
00:41:45,951 --> 00:41:48,885
you know, for threats of losing his job,
739
00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:50,231
losing his home,
740
00:41:50,266 --> 00:41:52,130
because he's gonna go to jail.
741
00:41:52,164 --> 00:41:53,545
And losing his kids.
742
00:42:08,353 --> 00:42:10,528
I mean, that's...
that's not okay.
743
00:42:26,026 --> 00:42:27,717
It was the Fourth of July weekend.
744
00:42:27,752 --> 00:42:29,995
Keith got drunk and was
talking about what happened
745
00:42:30,030 --> 00:42:31,721
the morning Monfils was killed.
746
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:36,105
He had us role-play
747
00:42:36,139 --> 00:42:38,314
using his wife, my wife and me,
748
00:42:38,348 --> 00:42:39,798
and said we were different people.
749
00:42:43,388 --> 00:42:47,530
Keith said he put Rey Moore
and Mike Hirn
up to harassing Monfils.
750
00:42:47,565 --> 00:42:49,497
He watched Hirn push Tom
while he was making
751
00:42:49,532 --> 00:42:51,741
his last entry in the production log.
752
00:42:53,674 --> 00:42:56,366
They had him, trapped by the bubbler.
753
00:42:58,368 --> 00:43:02,649
He said one of the guys came
up behind Tom
and hit him in the head.
754
00:43:02,683 --> 00:43:04,651
Keith sent Moore to pick on Monfils,
755
00:43:04,685 --> 00:43:07,999
because Monfils was White
and Moore was Black,
756
00:43:08,033 --> 00:43:09,966
and if Monfils said anything,
757
00:43:10,001 --> 00:43:11,623
they would say he was prejudiced.
758
00:43:13,314 --> 00:43:15,800
Rey had the tape
and was shaking it at him,
759
00:43:15,834 --> 00:43:18,596
telling him he couldn't deny
that he made the phone call.
760
00:43:20,563 --> 00:43:23,048
Piaskowski, Basten, and Johnson were
761
00:43:23,083 --> 00:43:25,568
all standing around yelling at Tom.
762
00:43:25,603 --> 00:43:27,881
Keith said he was just enjoying the show.
763
00:43:30,055 --> 00:43:33,472
Keith repeated
these things to me
several different times.
764
00:43:34,508 --> 00:43:37,304
Once that information was
765
00:43:37,338 --> 00:43:39,133
discovered and brought to our office,
766
00:43:39,168 --> 00:43:41,446
then we were able to start looking
767
00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:43,621
towards actually issuing charges.
768
00:43:44,587 --> 00:43:46,658
I've read this 12-page statement
769
00:43:46,693 --> 00:43:49,419
and find it true
to the best of my knowledge,
770
00:43:49,454 --> 00:43:51,836
and I sign of my own free will.
771
00:43:51,870 --> 00:43:54,632
Brian A. Kellner.
772
00:43:54,666 --> 00:44:00,327
The role play just doesn't
pass the smell test.
773
00:44:00,361 --> 00:44:04,365
It will involve
all of these people
surrounding Tom.
774
00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,437
It will involve one of the men saying,
775
00:44:07,472 --> 00:44:10,164
"Oh, there's a weight
and a rope over here.
776
00:44:10,199 --> 00:44:11,821
"I'll go get that."
777
00:44:11,856 --> 00:44:17,102
It will involve two
of the men carrying
Tom's unconscious body
778
00:44:17,137 --> 00:44:19,898
across an entire warehouse,
779
00:44:19,933 --> 00:44:22,901
unsupported by any eyewitness
780
00:44:22,936 --> 00:44:28,320
and unsupported
by physical evidence
of any kind.
781
00:44:28,355 --> 00:44:32,911
And then, and probably most unbelievably,
782
00:44:32,946 --> 00:44:35,431
get themselves squared away
783
00:44:35,465 --> 00:44:37,536
emotionally, spiritually,
784
00:44:37,571 --> 00:44:41,333
mentally, to return to their workstations
785
00:44:41,368 --> 00:44:43,611
and work out the rest of their day
786
00:44:43,646 --> 00:44:46,891
without so much as a case of the jitters.
787
00:44:48,237 --> 00:44:49,859
You know, it's hard enough to get a guy
788
00:44:49,894 --> 00:44:51,619
to throw $3 or $5
789
00:44:51,654 --> 00:44:54,899
in the retirement kitty
when a guy retires.
790
00:44:56,314 --> 00:44:58,281
But, jeez, just ask me
to kill somebody for you,
791
00:44:58,316 --> 00:44:59,800
and I'll go along with that.
792
00:44:59,835 --> 00:45:02,596
This is the Fox Den bar
outside the town of Abrams.
793
00:45:02,630 --> 00:45:06,255
It's actually
in the town of Morgan,
where on the July 4th weekend,
794
00:45:06,289 --> 00:45:07,808
Keith Kutska, Brian Kellner
795
00:45:07,843 --> 00:45:10,742
and their two wives gathered
here inside the bar.
796
00:45:10,777 --> 00:45:13,849
And, according
to the criminal complaint
filed against Kutska,
797
00:45:13,883 --> 00:45:16,610
what they did was
reenact the confrontation
798
00:45:16,644 --> 00:45:19,233
that Kutska and others had with Monfils
799
00:45:19,268 --> 00:45:20,718
on the day in which he was killed.
800
00:45:20,752 --> 00:45:23,859
Well, let's go back
to Kellner's statement
for a second.
801
00:45:23,893 --> 00:45:26,068
Here's somebody in the bar.
802
00:45:26,102 --> 00:45:28,208
He's saying, "You're Tom Monfils.
803
00:45:28,242 --> 00:45:30,624
"I'm going to be Mike Hirn.
804
00:45:30,658 --> 00:45:32,360
"You're Rey Moore.
And then you're behind him.
805
00:45:32,384 --> 00:45:34,766
"You're over here.
You're Piaskowski,"
and so on,
806
00:45:35,940 --> 00:45:37,320
with specificity.
807
00:45:37,355 --> 00:45:39,944
And then draws on a napkin
808
00:45:39,978 --> 00:45:42,256
where everybody was in the number 9 coop
809
00:45:42,291 --> 00:45:43,775
and draws arrows
810
00:45:43,810 --> 00:45:48,711
as to where Moore goes out
this way, we go out this way.
811
00:45:48,746 --> 00:45:51,921
That's somebody that's
really telling what happened.
812
00:45:54,717 --> 00:45:56,443
As soon as I got the warrant,
813
00:45:56,477 --> 00:46:00,550
we had teams set up.
I got on the radio and I said,
"All units, it's a go."
814
00:46:00,585 --> 00:46:03,622
And they swooped him up
and brought him in.
815
00:46:06,349 --> 00:46:09,283
Keith Kutska, Rey Moore,
816
00:46:10,422 --> 00:46:13,011
Mike Piaskowski, Mike Johnson,
817
00:46:13,874 --> 00:46:17,050
Mike Hirn, Dale Basten.
818
00:46:17,084 --> 00:46:18,776
The thing that we feared was happening.
819
00:46:18,810 --> 00:46:20,881
That we were being arrested and charged.
820
00:46:20,916 --> 00:46:22,883
We'd talk and they would be, you know,
821
00:46:22,918 --> 00:46:25,196
just almost like thumbing
their nose at you.
822
00:46:25,230 --> 00:46:26,680
They're real...
823
00:46:27,543 --> 00:46:30,201
cocky for another word, you know.
824
00:46:30,235 --> 00:46:32,479
And just...
825
00:46:32,513 --> 00:46:35,206
sit back and think nothing was
going to happen to 'em,
826
00:46:35,240 --> 00:46:37,518
that they were untouchables.
827
00:46:37,553 --> 00:46:39,555
And we were able to prove 'em wrong.
828
00:46:39,589 --> 00:46:42,282
We believe we do have enough evidence
829
00:46:42,316 --> 00:46:44,560
to go into court and obtain a conviction
830
00:46:44,594 --> 00:46:46,389
by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
831
00:46:46,424 --> 00:46:47,735
I'm happy this day happened.
832
00:46:47,770 --> 00:46:49,634
There was a lot of happy people today.
833
00:46:49,668 --> 00:46:52,085
Thomas Monfils' mother Joan Monfils says
834
00:46:52,119 --> 00:46:53,396
her family had to be patient
835
00:46:53,431 --> 00:46:54,950
and just take it one day at a time.
836
00:46:54,984 --> 00:46:56,814
Our feelings...
837
00:46:56,848 --> 00:47:00,369
go out to the families of the defendants.
838
00:47:00,403 --> 00:47:02,992
I'm sure that they must be feeling today
839
00:47:03,027 --> 00:47:05,961
like we felt for the last two
and a half years.
840
00:47:05,995 --> 00:47:07,755
Why now?
841
00:47:07,790 --> 00:47:09,378
Because we have enough evidence.
842
00:47:09,412 --> 00:47:11,932
People wonder why has it taken so long.
843
00:47:11,967 --> 00:47:15,246
We did not have the evidence
to come forward.
844
00:47:15,280 --> 00:47:19,112
Mr. Monfils was
confronted not once,
but a second time.
845
00:47:19,146 --> 00:47:21,735
And we believe it was after
that second confrontation
846
00:47:21,769 --> 00:47:24,842
that the decision was made to, um...
847
00:47:25,912 --> 00:47:28,431
if you want to put it this way, um,
848
00:47:28,466 --> 00:47:29,570
get rid of the evidence
849
00:47:29,605 --> 00:47:31,538
and thereby putting him in a vat.
850
00:47:31,572 --> 00:47:33,436
Certainly, the Kellner statements
851
00:47:33,471 --> 00:47:37,026
and other statements
which Mr. Kutska made
to other people
852
00:47:37,061 --> 00:47:39,580
helped supply
some major pieces
of the puzzle
853
00:47:39,615 --> 00:47:42,169
which we had to have before going forward.
854
00:47:42,204 --> 00:47:43,595
There's still more evidence out there.
855
00:47:43,619 --> 00:47:45,932
There are people that know things that
856
00:47:45,966 --> 00:47:48,589
may have been afraid to come
forward up to this point.
857
00:47:48,624 --> 00:47:52,524
We appeal to their sense of decency,
858
00:47:52,559 --> 00:47:54,872
not only for the family
but for the community,
859
00:47:54,906 --> 00:47:57,081
but 'cause it's the right thing to do,
860
00:47:57,115 --> 00:48:00,912
to please come forward
and share that information.
861
00:48:00,947 --> 00:48:04,467
I think they did
the right thing, yeah,
by waiting and...
862
00:48:04,502 --> 00:48:09,472
I know it was rough for the family, but...
863
00:48:11,371 --> 00:48:14,029
I always said if you do something wrong,
864
00:48:14,063 --> 00:48:16,341
it's just a matter of time
before they get you anyway.
865
00:48:16,376 --> 00:48:18,447
Actually, I would be quite relieved
866
00:48:18,481 --> 00:48:20,656
that they finally found somebody.
867
00:48:20,690 --> 00:48:23,107
Um, it's not surprising it took this long.
868
00:48:23,141 --> 00:48:26,317
I mean, you gotta expect
things like this to take time.
869
00:48:26,351 --> 00:48:28,802
You got to find the hard facts
and, you know, nail them.
870
00:48:28,836 --> 00:48:31,770
I was happy that they got the people,
871
00:48:31,805 --> 00:48:33,876
because...
872
00:48:33,911 --> 00:48:35,982
justice is finally being done for him.
873
00:48:36,016 --> 00:48:37,638
It's a relief.
874
00:48:37,673 --> 00:48:38,950
I'll tell you, I'm happy.
875
00:48:40,227 --> 00:48:41,608
I had some... I can't...
876
00:48:41,642 --> 00:48:43,023
There's no words.
877
00:48:43,058 --> 00:48:44,059
I mean, I'm shocked.
878
00:48:44,093 --> 00:48:45,508
I'm happy with the family.
879
00:48:59,695 --> 00:49:01,731
This is it.
This is our one chance.
880
00:49:01,766 --> 00:49:04,734
You know? We got to...
we got to get it.
881
00:49:04,769 --> 00:49:06,633
And you had six defendants,
882
00:49:06,667 --> 00:49:08,462
and most of them had two attorneys.
883
00:49:08,497 --> 00:49:10,188
A couple of them only had one.
884
00:49:10,223 --> 00:49:15,262
But, you know, so there were
11, 12, 13 defense attorneys.
885
00:49:15,297 --> 00:49:17,230
When these six suspects make their way
886
00:49:17,264 --> 00:49:18,610
into court come Monday morning,
887
00:49:18,645 --> 00:49:20,958
it will be under very tight security.
888
00:49:20,992 --> 00:49:23,995
Security like we have
never ever seen before
889
00:49:24,030 --> 00:49:25,169
here in Brown County.
890
00:49:25,203 --> 00:49:26,791
Context is everything.
891
00:49:26,825 --> 00:49:30,001
I mean, if you did not see
these men in the courtroom,
892
00:49:30,036 --> 00:49:32,245
and hear what they were being accused of,
893
00:49:32,279 --> 00:49:35,213
they looked like any six men
you'd find
anywhere in Green Bay.
894
00:49:35,248 --> 00:49:36,421
They looked like any six men
895
00:49:36,456 --> 00:49:38,285
that my father would
have been friends with
896
00:49:38,320 --> 00:49:41,185
from his factory where he worked.
897
00:49:41,219 --> 00:49:44,498
The one thing I did not like in court was
898
00:49:44,533 --> 00:49:45,579
the fact that you had two sides
899
00:49:45,603 --> 00:49:46,914
to the courtroom.
900
00:49:46,949 --> 00:49:48,813
You had the side
901
00:49:48,847 --> 00:49:51,816
that was like, for Tom Monfils.
902
00:49:51,850 --> 00:49:53,576
And then you had the side,
903
00:49:53,611 --> 00:49:55,716
you know, of the men being
904
00:49:57,511 --> 00:50:00,100
you know, accused...
of the murder.
905
00:50:00,135 --> 00:50:02,516
And it was just odd because so many people
906
00:50:02,551 --> 00:50:04,218
on the other side
of the courtroom, I knew.
907
00:50:04,242 --> 00:50:05,692
I went to high school with them
908
00:50:05,726 --> 00:50:07,418
and they were relatives, or friends,
909
00:50:07,452 --> 00:50:09,834
or family of one of the six men.
910
00:50:12,043 --> 00:50:13,941
Most
of the people coming to watch
the trial are
911
00:50:13,976 --> 00:50:17,566
family members of the victim
and the defendants.
912
00:50:17,600 --> 00:50:19,119
Most know the routine by now
913
00:50:19,154 --> 00:50:21,846
and plan on coming back
throughout the next month.
914
00:50:21,880 --> 00:50:23,675
How long it takes,
it doesn't really matter.
915
00:50:23,710 --> 00:50:25,677
Just, you know...
916
00:50:25,712 --> 00:50:27,783
just so somebody pays for this.
917
00:50:27,817 --> 00:50:28,956
Even high-school students
918
00:50:28,991 --> 00:50:31,269
like Eileen Matuszak are sitting in.
919
00:50:31,304 --> 00:50:33,685
Matuszak is learning
about the court system.
920
00:50:33,720 --> 00:50:35,480
I just pick it up along the way, I guess,
921
00:50:35,515 --> 00:50:36,895
by watching and observing.
922
00:50:36,930 --> 00:50:38,690
There are some here who don't have
923
00:50:38,725 --> 00:50:40,761
any legal interest in the case.
924
00:50:40,796 --> 00:50:42,453
It's an unusual case.
925
00:50:42,487 --> 00:50:46,112
I mean, six... What is it?
Six men, tried for one crime?
926
00:50:46,940 --> 00:50:48,838
It's unusual for Green Bay.
927
00:50:48,873 --> 00:50:51,289
And
for the first time in either
the civil or criminal case,
928
00:50:51,324 --> 00:50:53,843
Tom Monfils' widow,
Susan, showed up in court
929
00:50:53,878 --> 00:50:55,431
with her attorney, Bruce Bachhuber,
930
00:50:55,466 --> 00:50:58,158
but she rushed out of court
saying she didn't want to talk.
931
00:50:58,193 --> 00:51:00,885
Neither did
the two defendants out on bond,
932
00:51:00,919 --> 00:51:02,473
Mike Piaskowski and Dale Basten.
933
00:51:02,507 --> 00:51:04,578
May I ask you
how you think
it's going so far?
934
00:51:04,613 --> 00:51:06,684
No comment.
935
00:51:06,718 --> 00:51:10,343
If ever a scene were constructed
936
00:51:10,377 --> 00:51:13,587
to look like the Monfils Six,
937
00:51:13,622 --> 00:51:17,246
or a half dozen union thugs,
938
00:51:17,281 --> 00:51:18,351
there it was.
939
00:51:19,904 --> 00:51:22,217
They were called the Monfils Six
940
00:51:22,251 --> 00:51:25,737
over and over again
by most of the media outlets.
941
00:51:25,772 --> 00:51:27,981
They're called the Monfils Six.
942
00:51:28,015 --> 00:51:30,294
The men known as the Monfils Six.
943
00:51:30,328 --> 00:51:32,537
The fate of the Monfils Six.
944
00:51:32,572 --> 00:51:35,264
And they were lumped together,
945
00:51:35,299 --> 00:51:38,647
and the decision to try them
all together was clearly
946
00:51:38,681 --> 00:51:40,097
a key moment in the case
947
00:51:40,131 --> 00:51:42,996
and has kept them
tied together.
"Monfils Six."
948
00:51:43,030 --> 00:51:45,102
The defendants
in the Tom Monfils' murder case
949
00:51:45,136 --> 00:51:47,000
sat together for this week's hearing,
950
00:51:47,034 --> 00:51:49,830
but they will probably fight
to have separate trials.
951
00:51:49,865 --> 00:51:51,211
It was a fight to get it
952
00:51:51,246 --> 00:51:54,628
where all six defendants were
tried at the same time.
953
00:51:54,663 --> 00:51:56,803
But District Attorney John Zakowski says
954
00:51:56,837 --> 00:51:59,633
it's a better use of resources
to try them together.
955
00:51:59,668 --> 00:52:02,049
We'll certainly fight a severance motion
956
00:52:02,084 --> 00:52:03,644
'cause I just think it makes more sense
957
00:52:03,672 --> 00:52:05,777
for all the defendants
to be tried at once.
958
00:52:05,812 --> 00:52:07,814
Well, first of all, a joint trial is
959
00:52:07,848 --> 00:52:10,127
going to save taxpayer money.
960
00:52:10,161 --> 00:52:12,681
Do you think
that if they had been
tried separately,
961
00:52:12,715 --> 00:52:14,890
that you could have gotten convictions?
962
00:52:16,305 --> 00:52:18,065
No.
963
00:52:18,100 --> 00:52:19,446
Like, I knew Basten.
964
00:52:19,481 --> 00:52:20,585
I knew of Rey Moore.
965
00:52:20,620 --> 00:52:23,554
Uh, I knew of Mike Hirn.
966
00:52:23,588 --> 00:52:25,118
Kind of knew him,
'cause he worked
at the paper machines.
967
00:52:25,142 --> 00:52:27,420
But I never really "knew him" knew him.
968
00:52:28,662 --> 00:52:30,457
Michael Johnson, I knew who he was.
969
00:52:30,492 --> 00:52:34,358
At the time,
were you convinced
that they were all innocent?
970
00:52:34,392 --> 00:52:37,223
Well, we... No. Throughout
our own investigation,
971
00:52:37,257 --> 00:52:38,717
you know, we looked at each one of 'em
972
00:52:38,741 --> 00:52:40,167
as if each one of 'em could have done this
973
00:52:40,191 --> 00:52:41,986
or these two could have done something.
974
00:52:42,020 --> 00:52:45,852
In fact, I helped with Mike's defense.
975
00:52:45,886 --> 00:52:47,750
My assignment was to look at Mike Hirn
976
00:52:47,785 --> 00:52:50,822
and see whether Mike Hirn was a...
977
00:52:51,616 --> 00:52:52,755
could have done it.
978
00:52:52,790 --> 00:52:54,423
So, you know, if we've got that strategy,
979
00:52:54,447 --> 00:52:55,724
they all have that strategy.
980
00:52:55,758 --> 00:52:57,277
Mike Hirn's attorney was...
981
00:52:57,312 --> 00:53:00,038
His defense seemed to be that, you know,
982
00:53:00,073 --> 00:53:01,695
all the other five guys are guilty,
983
00:53:01,730 --> 00:53:03,249
but his defendant was not.
984
00:53:03,283 --> 00:53:06,493
My client is hanging out there alone.
985
00:53:06,528 --> 00:53:09,876
I think that's pretty clear
if anybody's listening
to the evidence.
986
00:53:09,910 --> 00:53:11,371
Everybody's protecting everybody else.
987
00:53:11,395 --> 00:53:12,924
At least they're all saying
they're together.
988
00:53:12,948 --> 00:53:14,812
And my guy isn't.
My guys hanging out there
989
00:53:14,846 --> 00:53:16,089
in the... on the edge,
990
00:53:16,123 --> 00:53:17,539
holding on with his fingernails,
991
00:53:17,573 --> 00:53:20,404
and I'm going to make sure
the jury gets that message.
992
00:53:20,438 --> 00:53:24,442
This wall of silence
that has come into this case...
993
00:53:25,547 --> 00:53:27,618
is the envy of the mafia.
994
00:53:27,652 --> 00:53:29,102
It is incredible.
995
00:53:29,136 --> 00:53:32,761
So, you know, we were actually, uh...
996
00:53:32,795 --> 00:53:35,004
defending ourselves against him as well.
997
00:53:35,384 --> 00:53:36,661
And again,
998
00:53:36,696 --> 00:53:39,181
that's that joint trial issue,
which is unfair.
999
00:53:39,216 --> 00:53:40,596
It's fascinating to hear
1000
00:53:40,631 --> 00:53:43,772
about these attorneys basically
eating each other alive
1001
00:53:43,806 --> 00:53:45,152
- during the whole thing.
- Yeah.
1002
00:53:45,187 --> 00:53:50,019
It was a difficult job
for all the attorneys. Um...
1003
00:53:50,606 --> 00:53:51,606
They...
1004
00:53:54,645 --> 00:53:57,303
They did have a difficult case.
1005
00:53:57,337 --> 00:53:59,788
But do you think they had a fair trial?
1006
00:53:59,822 --> 00:54:02,066
Oh, yes.
They definitely had
a fair trial.
1007
00:54:02,687 --> 00:54:04,275
There's always,
1008
00:54:04,310 --> 00:54:06,415
from a prosecutor's perspective,
1009
00:54:07,382 --> 00:54:09,487
an advantage and a utility
1010
00:54:09,522 --> 00:54:10,971
in having a joint trial,
1011
00:54:11,006 --> 00:54:13,733
because it's for judicial economy,
1012
00:54:13,767 --> 00:54:16,045
judicial efficiency,
1013
00:54:16,080 --> 00:54:18,703
witnesses don't have
to testify more than once.
1014
00:54:18,738 --> 00:54:23,536
You don't have to have
two juries being impaneled,
or more.
1015
00:54:23,570 --> 00:54:26,677
So in almost every case
involving co-defendants,
1016
00:54:26,711 --> 00:54:28,230
if it's possible,
1017
00:54:28,265 --> 00:54:32,027
if, legally, you have
the means to try them together,
1018
00:54:32,061 --> 00:54:33,615
we will seek a joint trial,
1019
00:54:33,649 --> 00:54:35,237
and we did that in this case as well.
1020
00:54:35,272 --> 00:54:37,308
The case is exactly
what we thought it would be.
1021
00:54:37,343 --> 00:54:40,173
Um. They have no evidence.
The state has no evidence.
1022
00:54:40,207 --> 00:54:43,176
They try to bring up a lot
of... throw up a lot of dirt.
1023
00:54:43,210 --> 00:54:45,282
But nothing involving
the events of that day
1024
00:54:45,316 --> 00:54:48,940
that tie our client in any way
to this supposed crime.
1025
00:54:48,975 --> 00:54:52,565
Prosecutors say this is
their strongest witness.
1026
00:54:52,599 --> 00:54:53,669
Brian Kellner.
1027
00:54:53,704 --> 00:54:55,222
I think that they'll find the case is
1028
00:54:55,257 --> 00:54:56,879
really, frankly, not that complex.
1029
00:54:56,914 --> 00:54:58,512
It's a simple matter
of whether they accept
1030
00:54:58,536 --> 00:55:00,193
what Brian Keller told them now.
1031
00:55:01,574 --> 00:55:05,612
Everybody except Rey went out
the front door of the coop
1032
00:55:05,647 --> 00:55:08,546
and down towards
the number 7 paper machine
where Tom was.
1033
00:55:08,581 --> 00:55:11,169
Rey went out the back door
of number 9's booth.
1034
00:55:12,274 --> 00:55:13,976
And that they confronted Tom
by the bubbler.
1035
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:17,831
Kellner places all six
suspects at the murder scene,
1036
00:55:17,866 --> 00:55:19,005
talked specifically
1037
00:55:19,039 --> 00:55:21,835
about Rey Moore screaming at Monfils
1038
00:55:21,870 --> 00:55:24,251
and Mike Hirn shoving him in the chest.
1039
00:55:24,286 --> 00:55:26,978
Three more standing behind him.
1040
00:55:27,013 --> 00:55:29,705
And Mike Hirn walked...
go up in front of him and...
1041
00:55:31,189 --> 00:55:32,822
...they were shaking
a tape in his face, saying
1042
00:55:32,846 --> 00:55:33,926
"We got you now." You know?
1043
00:55:33,951 --> 00:55:35,711
"There's no way
you can deny this."
1044
00:55:35,746 --> 00:55:36,919
According to Kellner,
1045
00:55:36,954 --> 00:55:39,439
Dale Basten, Michael Piaskowski,
1046
00:55:39,474 --> 00:55:43,409
Michael Johnson and Kutska were
also in that control room.
1047
00:55:43,443 --> 00:55:46,446
Kellner says Kutska told him
what happened next.
1048
00:55:46,481 --> 00:55:49,069
This was going on and Mike Hirn was
1049
00:55:49,104 --> 00:55:51,002
right up in Tom's face
1050
00:55:51,762 --> 00:55:53,936
and gave him a shove.
1051
00:55:54,903 --> 00:55:58,665
And sometime during that
1052
00:55:58,700 --> 00:56:02,255
time period there, whatever...
how long it took, that...
1053
00:56:02,289 --> 00:56:05,845
one of the guys gave him a slap
upside the back of the head.
1054
00:56:05,879 --> 00:56:08,088
He said he was...
he was hit in the head.
1055
00:56:08,123 --> 00:56:09,504
- Yeah.
- And did...
1056
00:56:09,538 --> 00:56:11,885
And did Mr. Kutska say
where he was hit in the head?
1057
00:56:11,920 --> 00:56:13,577
Um, top back.
1058
00:56:13,611 --> 00:56:16,442
If Kellner is believed,
then everybody else is lying,
1059
00:56:16,476 --> 00:56:18,444
they're lying to cover up their crime.
1060
00:56:18,478 --> 00:56:20,929
If one fall, they should all fall.
1061
00:56:20,963 --> 00:56:22,827
That Fox Den roleplay
1062
00:56:22,862 --> 00:56:25,382
which was introduced against Kutska
1063
00:56:25,416 --> 00:56:28,937
could never have
been introduced
against the other men.
1064
00:56:28,971 --> 00:56:31,146
It was hearsay.
1065
00:56:31,180 --> 00:56:35,357
They couldn't have a trial
against five of the six of us,
1066
00:56:35,392 --> 00:56:37,670
uh, without having a joint trial,
1067
00:56:37,704 --> 00:56:39,982
because they didn't have
any direct evidence against us.
1068
00:56:40,017 --> 00:56:41,846
Just for us laypeople to think
1069
00:56:41,881 --> 00:56:45,954
that, um, they'd grab up six people,
1070
00:56:45,988 --> 00:56:49,060
and you would...
1071
00:56:49,095 --> 00:56:53,444
by inference and by presence,
be guilty of anything
1072
00:56:53,479 --> 00:56:56,240
thrown at any other person in that room.
1073
00:56:56,274 --> 00:56:59,243
I understand this only applies
to Keith Kutska.
1074
00:56:59,277 --> 00:57:03,350
There are
the other five men
seated in the same room.
1075
00:57:03,385 --> 00:57:07,424
That's the scenario
under which
these men were tried.
1076
00:57:07,458 --> 00:57:09,943
I think...
well, whether they...
1077
00:57:09,978 --> 00:57:12,152
at this point, I should...
I should backtrack.
1078
00:57:12,187 --> 00:57:14,948
If they had been single trials...
1079
00:57:15,915 --> 00:57:18,124
I don't know if...
1080
00:57:18,158 --> 00:57:21,230
if, in fact... I don't...
I don't know to what extent...
1081
00:57:21,265 --> 00:57:23,163
um, I'm not certain of what extent
1082
00:57:23,198 --> 00:57:26,512
those... the other statements
may or may not have been...
1083
00:57:26,546 --> 00:57:28,686
We would have argued that they were.
1084
00:57:28,721 --> 00:57:30,757
It, uh, could be used.
1085
00:57:30,792 --> 00:57:34,761
But the argument was that
of a single trial is appropriate
1086
00:57:34,796 --> 00:57:36,383
and that at the single trial,
1087
00:57:36,418 --> 00:57:39,697
those statements
against Kutska can be used
1088
00:57:39,732 --> 00:57:41,354
against the other co-defendants.
1089
00:57:41,388 --> 00:57:43,529
Even if the judge says to the jury,
1090
00:57:43,563 --> 00:57:46,497
"Now, you don't apply
this evidence against...
1091
00:57:46,532 --> 00:57:49,466
"uh, these four defendants,
just against these two."
1092
00:57:49,500 --> 00:57:51,260
Or "Just this one
against these five."
1093
00:57:51,295 --> 00:57:52,641
You know?
The bell has been rung.
1094
00:57:52,676 --> 00:57:53,987
You can't un-ring a bell.
1095
00:57:59,406 --> 00:58:01,374
This is a whodunit case.
1096
00:58:02,513 --> 00:58:05,309
What? Where? When?
1097
00:58:05,343 --> 00:58:08,933
Who? You've got to find out
who is responsible
1098
00:58:08,968 --> 00:58:11,142
for the death of Thomas Monfils.
1099
00:58:11,833 --> 00:58:13,006
Closing argument,
1100
00:58:13,041 --> 00:58:15,112
my former boss used to say it was
1101
00:58:15,146 --> 00:58:16,527
Christmas tree time.
1102
00:58:16,562 --> 00:58:18,460
For almost four hours this morning,
1103
00:58:18,495 --> 00:58:21,221
the District Attorney made
his plea for justice.
1104
00:58:21,256 --> 00:58:23,534
John Zakowski, beginning
his closing arguments,
1105
00:58:23,569 --> 00:58:26,813
defending his case
and the credibility
of his witnesses.
1106
00:58:26,848 --> 00:58:30,955
And that was always
my favorite part
of doing a trial,
1107
00:58:30,990 --> 00:58:32,785
because you could be yourself,
1108
00:58:32,819 --> 00:58:34,234
and you could explain yourself,
1109
00:58:34,269 --> 00:58:35,408
and you could present
1110
00:58:35,442 --> 00:58:38,860
what you thought was important to a jury.
1111
00:58:38,894 --> 00:58:40,586
And you could do it in different ways.
1112
00:58:40,620 --> 00:58:42,277
Ladies and gentlemen, this case involves
1113
00:58:42,311 --> 00:58:44,659
the murder of Thomas Monfils.
1114
00:58:46,108 --> 00:58:48,697
It involves a second confrontation
1115
00:58:48,732 --> 00:58:53,322
during the morning hours
of November 21st, 1992.
1116
00:58:53,357 --> 00:58:57,292
What I think happened
on November 21st 1992,
1117
00:58:57,326 --> 00:59:00,295
the day that Tom Monfils was murdered.
1118
00:59:00,329 --> 00:59:03,022
First, he's confronted in the coop.
1119
00:59:03,056 --> 00:59:06,750
He's got to admit that
it's his voice on that tape.
1120
00:59:06,784 --> 00:59:09,269
The tape itself isn't going to be enough.
1121
00:59:09,304 --> 00:59:11,651
No, he didn't admit to it.
1122
00:59:11,686 --> 00:59:14,551
They confronted him.
Mr. Kutska was civil.
1123
00:59:14,585 --> 00:59:17,105
And now the union can't even do anything?
1124
00:59:18,106 --> 00:59:20,280
Do you think they were
just gonna let it lay?
1125
00:59:20,315 --> 00:59:22,355
And they weren't going to do
anything at that point?
1126
00:59:23,352 --> 00:59:24,709
And they had to go and confront him
1127
00:59:24,733 --> 00:59:28,634
to get him, to be able
to bring those union charges.
1128
00:59:28,668 --> 00:59:31,706
All the guys that were
in the number 9 coop,
1129
00:59:32,707 --> 00:59:35,157
watching what was going on, came out
1130
00:59:35,192 --> 00:59:38,264
surrounded Tom Monfils,
were yelling at him.
1131
00:59:38,298 --> 00:59:40,611
And they met him by the bubbler.
1132
00:59:41,370 --> 00:59:42,786
And they began yelling at him.
1133
00:59:43,372 --> 00:59:44,822
One of them had a tape,
1134
00:59:45,858 --> 00:59:46,962
and they had the tape
1135
00:59:46,997 --> 00:59:49,309
and they were shaking it in his face.
1136
00:59:49,344 --> 00:59:51,380
And Hirn
was right in his face,
and Morrison...
1137
00:59:51,415 --> 00:59:53,555
"What's your fucking problem?"
1138
00:59:53,590 --> 00:59:57,524
At 7:34,
Mike Hirn comes up to him,
1139
00:59:59,699 --> 01:00:00,631
gives him a shove...
1140
01:00:00,666 --> 01:00:05,498
causing Tom to make a mark
at 7:34
1141
01:00:05,532 --> 01:00:08,294
that indicates something happened.
1142
01:00:08,328 --> 01:00:11,504
We know Monfils worked
at 7:34 turnover.
1143
01:00:11,538 --> 01:00:13,264
And we know that Piaskowski calls him
1144
01:00:13,299 --> 01:00:15,750
and is missing about 7:50.
1145
01:00:15,784 --> 01:00:17,993
But before the 7:56,
1146
01:00:18,028 --> 01:00:20,168
that's when those rolls kicked off.
1147
01:00:20,202 --> 01:00:22,584
The logic is, Monfils was killed
1148
01:00:22,619 --> 01:00:26,657
between 7:35 and 7:50
in that short period of time.
1149
01:00:29,660 --> 01:00:32,180
As they're yelling, Rey Moore reaches over
1150
01:00:32,214 --> 01:00:34,872
and hits Tom Monfils in the head
and down he goes.
1151
01:00:38,531 --> 01:00:40,222
What could have been used to hit him?
1152
01:00:40,844 --> 01:00:43,467
A wrench? Board? A Pipe?
1153
01:00:43,501 --> 01:00:46,573
The word was that he hit him
with a knockout wrench.
1154
01:00:49,404 --> 01:00:51,648
We know that Monfils was severely beaten.
1155
01:00:51,682 --> 01:00:53,442
It wasn't a one-man job.
1156
01:00:53,477 --> 01:00:57,688
Thirteen separate injuries
to Thomas Monfils.
1157
01:00:57,723 --> 01:01:00,933
There was severe bruising
to the head, fractured skull,
1158
01:01:00,967 --> 01:01:02,520
contrecoup injury,
1159
01:01:03,383 --> 01:01:04,488
deep bruising in the neck
1160
01:01:04,522 --> 01:01:07,146
consistent with this kind of motion,
1161
01:01:07,180 --> 01:01:09,769
bruises to the chest over the rib area,
1162
01:01:09,804 --> 01:01:13,083
fractured jaw and, of course,
a knee to the groin.
1163
01:01:13,117 --> 01:01:15,292
Now, he's lying on the ground,
1164
01:01:15,326 --> 01:01:17,397
in front of these six defendants.
1165
01:01:17,432 --> 01:01:19,503
What do you think happened next?
1166
01:01:19,537 --> 01:01:23,127
What do you think was
going through their minds?
1167
01:01:23,162 --> 01:01:24,577
What we argue to the jury,
1168
01:01:24,611 --> 01:01:28,339
and what I think people forget
is the motive in this case.
1169
01:01:28,374 --> 01:01:30,410
If you are participating,
1170
01:01:30,445 --> 01:01:34,311
or part of a beating
of a fellow co-worker,
1171
01:01:34,345 --> 01:01:35,415
you're gonna be fired.
1172
01:01:35,450 --> 01:01:37,279
You're going to lose your job.
1173
01:01:37,314 --> 01:01:39,765
And one of the exhibits that we used was
1174
01:01:39,799 --> 01:01:43,147
how much money these people were
making in the mill.
1175
01:01:43,182 --> 01:01:44,908
Piaskowski, 72,000.
1176
01:01:44,942 --> 01:01:46,979
I think Johnson was over 70.
1177
01:01:47,013 --> 01:01:50,258
Basten, over $100,000.
1178
01:01:50,292 --> 01:01:53,502
Now, back in 1992,
that was darn good money.
1179
01:01:53,537 --> 01:01:58,438
If Tom Monfils survives, they get fired.
1180
01:01:58,473 --> 01:02:00,268
They lose their jobs.
1181
01:02:01,234 --> 01:02:03,478
And here you've got a snitch,
1182
01:02:03,512 --> 01:02:06,101
who's laying there bleeding.
1183
01:02:06,136 --> 01:02:08,414
And if you don't get rid of him,
1184
01:02:08,448 --> 01:02:09,898
you're going to lose your job.
1185
01:02:09,933 --> 01:02:12,625
And I think that, in a matter
of minutes, if not seconds,
1186
01:02:12,659 --> 01:02:14,351
they said, "We've got to get rid of him,
1187
01:02:14,385 --> 01:02:17,457
"or we're gonna lose
that $100,000-a-year job."
1188
01:02:17,492 --> 01:02:19,908
What do you think this body is telling us?
1189
01:02:20,978 --> 01:02:23,532
What are we supposed to glean from this?
1190
01:02:25,327 --> 01:02:27,882
Mr. Monfils is telling you,
"Look at this.
1191
01:02:27,916 --> 01:02:30,263
"Look at me!
Look what they did to me!
1192
01:02:31,851 --> 01:02:32,887
"They're hurting me.
1193
01:02:33,784 --> 01:02:35,510
"They're killing me.
1194
01:02:35,544 --> 01:02:37,684
"I didn't commit suicide.
1195
01:02:37,719 --> 01:02:40,446
"My God, I've got a wife and two kids.
1196
01:02:40,480 --> 01:02:41,561
"When I heard about that tape,
1197
01:02:41,585 --> 01:02:43,483
"I went out and I worked that day.
1198
01:02:44,691 --> 01:02:46,866
"It took more than one person
to do this."
1199
01:02:50,180 --> 01:02:54,046
That's what his body is telling us.
1200
01:02:54,080 --> 01:02:56,186
He was killed
when he was placed
in the vat,
1201
01:02:56,220 --> 01:02:58,222
because his lungs inhaled the pulp,
1202
01:02:58,257 --> 01:02:59,776
and so he was still breathing.
1203
01:02:59,810 --> 01:03:03,538
So it's the operation
of putting him in the vat
1204
01:03:03,572 --> 01:03:06,852
which is the first-degree
intentional homicide.
1205
01:03:08,129 --> 01:03:10,648
The one that I've had a hard time
1206
01:03:10,683 --> 01:03:12,685
maybe getting in my head is
1207
01:03:12,719 --> 01:03:17,069
the evidence that really gets
Mike Piaskowski,
1208
01:03:17,103 --> 01:03:18,346
that really ties him to this.
1209
01:03:18,380 --> 01:03:20,186
Can you go over that
a little bit more with me?
1210
01:03:20,210 --> 01:03:21,970
Rope and weight.
1211
01:03:23,351 --> 01:03:25,594
Rope and weight.
1212
01:03:25,629 --> 01:03:27,631
There was a rope
that had duct tape around it
1213
01:03:27,665 --> 01:03:32,809
that was found attached
to Monfils and this weight.
1214
01:03:32,843 --> 01:03:35,881
And that came from the number seven coop.
1215
01:03:35,915 --> 01:03:37,641
There's rope all over that mill.
1216
01:03:37,675 --> 01:03:41,921
But behind in this dark recess
of the number seven coop,
1217
01:03:41,956 --> 01:03:42,991
there were two jump ropes
1218
01:03:43,026 --> 01:03:45,373
that, you know, made makeshift jump ropes
1219
01:03:45,407 --> 01:03:47,513
with this duct tape.
1220
01:03:47,547 --> 01:03:51,241
It is in a dark part
behind the number seven coop.
1221
01:03:51,275 --> 01:03:52,449
There's no traffic there.
1222
01:03:52,483 --> 01:03:54,831
There's no reason to walk through.
1223
01:03:54,865 --> 01:03:56,694
If you're from another part of the mill,
1224
01:03:56,729 --> 01:03:57,913
the only people that would have access
1225
01:03:57,937 --> 01:04:01,285
to that would be
in that number seven coop.
1226
01:04:01,320 --> 01:04:04,910
And the only person
that had access
to that rope, well...
1227
01:04:04,944 --> 01:04:08,603
Pete Delvoe was busy
working on the machine.
1228
01:04:08,637 --> 01:04:11,744
Dennis Servais was in the coop
1229
01:04:11,778 --> 01:04:15,368
and later kept occupied by Mike Hirn.
1230
01:04:15,403 --> 01:04:18,061
And Monfils was beaten up.
1231
01:04:18,095 --> 01:04:20,649
The only person left is Mike Piaskowski.
1232
01:04:24,791 --> 01:04:27,070
In closing, ladies and gentlemen,
1233
01:04:27,104 --> 01:04:29,900
you know, there's a saying
up there on the wall.
1234
01:04:29,935 --> 01:04:33,179
"Justice, the hope of all who suffered,
1235
01:04:33,214 --> 01:04:35,975
"the dread of all who wrong."
1236
01:04:36,010 --> 01:04:38,564
Now, I'll tell you, I've used
that once before in a case,
1237
01:04:38,598 --> 01:04:40,980
and God willing, I'm sure
I'll have an opportunity again.
1238
01:04:41,015 --> 01:04:43,949
But there will never be another case
1239
01:04:43,983 --> 01:04:46,330
where that saying means as much
1240
01:04:46,365 --> 01:04:47,711
as this case.
1241
01:04:48,367 --> 01:04:49,886
On behalf of the state,
1242
01:04:51,577 --> 01:04:53,475
on behalf of this community,
1243
01:04:54,649 --> 01:04:57,479
and on behalf of the family
of Thomas Monfils,
1244
01:04:58,204 --> 01:04:59,205
I implore you,
1245
01:04:59,240 --> 01:05:02,346
don't let them get away with it,
1246
01:05:02,381 --> 01:05:04,555
like they have for two and a half years.
1247
01:05:05,902 --> 01:05:07,455
Don't let them get away with murder.
1248
01:05:07,489 --> 01:05:08,905
They're all involved.
1249
01:05:10,285 --> 01:05:12,563
And not to hold them accountable,
1250
01:05:12,598 --> 01:05:14,911
each one of them accountable
for what they did.
1251
01:05:15,981 --> 01:05:17,051
It wouldn't be fair.
1252
01:05:18,500 --> 01:05:19,639
It wouldn't be right.
1253
01:05:20,778 --> 01:05:23,091
And it wouldn't be the truth.
1254
01:05:23,126 --> 01:05:25,231
Please return with a verdict of guilty
1255
01:05:25,266 --> 01:05:26,957
as to each and every defendant.
1256
01:05:27,820 --> 01:05:28,820
Thank you.
1257
01:05:34,689 --> 01:05:37,071
Whenever the verdict comes down,
1258
01:05:37,105 --> 01:05:40,212
Action 2 News is going to cut
into the programming.
1259
01:05:40,246 --> 01:05:42,939
Whatever we have on the air,
we're breaking into it
1260
01:05:42,973 --> 01:05:45,838
and you are going to get
live coverage of the verdict.
1261
01:05:45,872 --> 01:05:47,771
This trial has been such a long one
1262
01:05:47,805 --> 01:05:49,773
that some of the regular
courtroom observers have
1263
01:05:49,807 --> 01:05:51,982
brought along their own seat cushions.
1264
01:05:52,017 --> 01:05:54,295
These benches can get
pretty hard to sit on
1265
01:05:54,329 --> 01:05:56,538
all-day long for five weeks,
1266
01:05:56,573 --> 01:05:58,644
and now, they continue to wait.
1267
01:05:58,678 --> 01:06:01,474
They plan to camp out here
in the courthouse
1268
01:06:01,509 --> 01:06:03,338
until the jury's decision is in.
1269
01:06:03,373 --> 01:06:06,617
I hope I'm in the courthouse
when the verdict comes out.
1270
01:06:08,102 --> 01:06:09,896
I felt doomed.
I really did.
1271
01:06:09,931 --> 01:06:12,934
It was just an inner feeling, um...
1272
01:06:14,625 --> 01:06:16,386
deep down, secretly hoping that, you know,
1273
01:06:16,420 --> 01:06:17,697
the jury would see it right
1274
01:06:17,732 --> 01:06:20,424
and thinking maybe they'll
convict Keith Kutska
1275
01:06:20,459 --> 01:06:21,494
and maybe not us.
1276
01:06:21,529 --> 01:06:23,703
It was interesting because, you know,
1277
01:06:23,738 --> 01:06:26,672
as this trial is going on,
the O.J. trial is going on.
1278
01:06:26,706 --> 01:06:30,641
I remember when
the O.J. Simpson
verdict came...
1279
01:06:30,676 --> 01:06:34,611
came in during the course of that trial,
1280
01:06:34,645 --> 01:06:35,795
I think it was during the noon hour.
1281
01:06:35,819 --> 01:06:38,063
We were in the media room,
1282
01:06:38,097 --> 01:06:39,926
and they came back
with a not-guilty verdict.
1283
01:06:39,961 --> 01:06:43,102
And we thought,
"What kind of mountain
do we have to climb?"
1284
01:06:43,137 --> 01:06:45,553
given what the evidence was in that case.
1285
01:06:45,587 --> 01:06:48,211
My opinion is the same opinion
as half the world.
1286
01:06:48,245 --> 01:06:50,213
O.J. Simpson was guilty.
1287
01:06:50,247 --> 01:06:51,524
Uh, guilty as sin.
1288
01:06:51,559 --> 01:06:54,182
But the California jury let him off.
1289
01:06:54,217 --> 01:06:58,290
And I think this jury may have
had in the back of its...
1290
01:06:58,324 --> 01:06:59,705
in the recesses of their mind that
1291
01:06:59,739 --> 01:07:01,810
"We're not going to let
the O.J. verdict
1292
01:07:01,845 --> 01:07:03,916
"kind of thing happen here
in Green Bay."
1293
01:07:07,851 --> 01:07:09,784
This is Judge James Bayorgeon,
1294
01:07:09,818 --> 01:07:10,957
the Outagamie County judge
1295
01:07:10,992 --> 01:07:14,202
who's been covering the case.
1296
01:07:14,237 --> 01:07:16,860
We apologize for the hum
coming from the courtroom.
1297
01:07:16,894 --> 01:07:18,620
Some of the technical facilities
1298
01:07:18,655 --> 01:07:21,037
with so many cameras here, emit some hum.
1299
01:07:26,594 --> 01:07:29,079
The verdict's handed
to the judge right now
1300
01:07:29,114 --> 01:07:31,909
by the bailiff as he walks off camera.
1301
01:07:31,944 --> 01:07:35,568
Judge James Bayorgeon
carefully looking
at each one...
1302
01:07:35,603 --> 01:07:36,787
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I ask
1303
01:07:36,811 --> 01:07:37,822
that you listen to the reading
of the verdict.
1304
01:07:37,846 --> 01:07:39,089
And here he goes.
1305
01:07:39,124 --> 01:07:41,816
"State of Wisconsin versus Keith Kutska.
1306
01:07:41,850 --> 01:07:44,750
"We, the jury, find
the defendant,
Keith M. Kutska,
1307
01:07:44,784 --> 01:07:45,923
"guilty of the offense
1308
01:07:45,958 --> 01:07:47,580
"of first-degree intentional homicide,
1309
01:07:47,615 --> 01:07:48,857
"party to the crime
1310
01:07:48,892 --> 01:07:51,308
"on or about November 21, 1992,
1311
01:07:51,343 --> 01:07:53,310
"as charged in the information,
1312
01:07:53,345 --> 01:07:55,243
"Here at Green Bay,
Brown County, Wisconsin,
1313
01:07:55,278 --> 01:07:59,316
"this 28th day
of October 1995, grand jury.
1314
01:08:00,697 --> 01:08:03,941
"State of Wisconsin versus
Michael Piaskowski.
1315
01:08:03,976 --> 01:08:05,298
"We, the jury, find the defendant,
1316
01:08:05,322 --> 01:08:07,945
"Michael L. Piaskowski guilty
of the offense
1317
01:08:07,980 --> 01:08:09,223
"of first-degree...
1318
01:08:10,500 --> 01:08:11,742
"...intentional homicide."
1319
01:08:11,777 --> 01:08:15,919
"Mike Piaskowski, guilty"
and Lisa screamed.
1320
01:08:15,953 --> 01:08:17,852
And we weren't supposed to make any noise.
1321
01:08:18,335 --> 01:08:19,785
And...
1322
01:08:19,818 --> 01:08:21,027
I collapsed down here,
1323
01:08:21,062 --> 01:08:22,582
and we weren't supposed to do anything
1324
01:08:22,615 --> 01:08:23,960
so we're weeping.
1325
01:08:23,996 --> 01:08:27,206
What I remember is
"Michael Piaskowski,
guilty."
1326
01:08:28,518 --> 01:08:30,451
"Oh, no. Mikey, no."
1327
01:08:30,485 --> 01:08:33,143
You know? It was
her right behind me.
1328
01:08:33,178 --> 01:08:36,181
"State of Wisconsin versus Reynold Moore.
1329
01:08:36,215 --> 01:08:38,872
"We, the jury, find
the defendant,
Reynold C. Moore
1330
01:08:38,907 --> 01:08:42,187
"guilty of..."
1331
01:08:42,220 --> 01:08:44,774
"...first-degree
intentional homicide,
1332
01:08:44,809 --> 01:08:47,813
"party to the crime..."
1333
01:08:47,846 --> 01:08:49,263
Remove her, please.
1334
01:08:50,850 --> 01:08:52,714
You're out of here.
1335
01:08:54,853 --> 01:08:57,719
One person ordered
being removed from
the courtroom right now.
1336
01:08:57,754 --> 01:08:59,928
That is Rey Moore's wife
1337
01:08:59,962 --> 01:09:02,690
and daughter being removed
from the courtroom right now.
1338
01:09:05,486 --> 01:09:07,395
- Three guilty verdicts.
- If any further demonstrations,
1339
01:09:07,419 --> 01:09:10,835
I'll clear the courtroom before I proceed.
1340
01:09:10,870 --> 01:09:13,770
"State of Wisconsin versus Michael Hirn.
1341
01:09:13,804 --> 01:09:15,910
"We, the jury, find
the defendant, Michael Hirn,
1342
01:09:15,943 --> 01:09:17,497
"guilty of the offense
1343
01:09:17,532 --> 01:09:19,914
"of first-degree
intentional homicide..."
1344
01:09:19,948 --> 01:09:23,089
"...party to the crime
on or about
November 21st, 1992,
1345
01:09:23,124 --> 01:09:25,194
"as charged in the information
1346
01:09:25,229 --> 01:09:27,577
"dated at Green Bay,
Brown County, Wisconsin,
1347
01:09:27,611 --> 01:09:30,925
"this 28th day of October, 1995.
1348
01:09:30,959 --> 01:09:33,859
"State of Wisconsin versus Dale Basten.
1349
01:09:33,893 --> 01:09:36,517
"We, the jury, find
the defendant, Dale N. Basten,
1350
01:09:36,550 --> 01:09:37,690
"guilty of the offense
1351
01:09:37,725 --> 01:09:39,865
"of first-degree intentional homicide,
1352
01:09:39,898 --> 01:09:43,662
"party to the crime on or about
November 21st, 1992."
1353
01:09:43,696 --> 01:09:46,871
"State of Wisconsin
versus Michael Johnson.
1354
01:09:46,906 --> 01:09:49,495
"We, the jury, find
the defendant, Michael Johnson,
1355
01:09:49,530 --> 01:09:50,669
"guilty of the offense
1356
01:09:50,702 --> 01:09:53,499
"of first-degree intentional homicide,
1357
01:09:53,533 --> 01:09:55,743
party of the crime...
That's it.
Guilty verdicts...
1358
01:09:55,777 --> 01:09:57,123
...November 21st, 1992.
1359
01:09:57,157 --> 01:09:59,885
...for
all six defendants.
1360
01:09:59,919 --> 01:10:01,714
I lost faith in mankind.
1361
01:10:01,749 --> 01:10:05,511
I couldn't believe that society
was giving up on me that way.
1362
01:10:05,546 --> 01:10:07,133
It was terrible.
1363
01:10:09,101 --> 01:10:10,102
Um...
1364
01:10:11,655 --> 01:10:13,001
We were sentenced to life
1365
01:10:13,761 --> 01:10:16,142
for something we didn't do.
1366
01:10:16,177 --> 01:10:18,628
I was just glad
it was going to be
out of the media.
1367
01:10:18,662 --> 01:10:20,181
As selfish as that sounds,
1368
01:10:20,216 --> 01:10:21,251
I was just happy.
1369
01:10:21,286 --> 01:10:23,874
I thought, "Finally.
It's done." You know?
1370
01:10:23,909 --> 01:10:25,429
"I don't have
to listen to it anymore."
1371
01:10:30,950 --> 01:10:32,745
I just wanted to go up
1372
01:10:32,780 --> 01:10:36,023
and personally shake
his hand and... um...
1373
01:10:44,964 --> 01:10:47,173
I walked
in the D.A.'s office and...
1374
01:10:48,830 --> 01:10:51,039
and they all applauded me.
1375
01:11:07,332 --> 01:11:09,541
Minutes and hours...
1376
01:11:09,575 --> 01:11:11,128
and days go by so slowly.
1377
01:11:11,163 --> 01:11:13,441
The immediate time goes so slowly.
1378
01:11:13,476 --> 01:11:16,341
But before you know it,
a year has gone, you know?
1379
01:11:16,375 --> 01:11:17,963
And then two years.
1380
01:11:19,758 --> 01:11:22,174
You've got to put your mind into this...
1381
01:11:23,106 --> 01:11:25,073
space-y state, in a sense,
1382
01:11:25,108 --> 01:11:26,523
just to kind of deal with it.
1383
01:11:29,906 --> 01:11:31,389
How do you keep from losing it?
1384
01:11:32,391 --> 01:11:33,910
In prison?
1385
01:11:33,943 --> 01:11:36,257
Uh, you don't want to know.
1386
01:11:37,844 --> 01:11:39,478
Probably felt about the same
or maybe worse
1387
01:11:39,502 --> 01:11:41,297
than when I went to Vietnam.
1388
01:11:41,331 --> 01:11:42,746
At least when I went to Vietnam,
1389
01:11:42,781 --> 01:11:44,264
I was...
1390
01:11:44,300 --> 01:11:47,026
I had a lot of bravado and training.
1391
01:11:47,061 --> 01:11:49,891
I had no training for what was
going to come on in prison.
1392
01:11:53,930 --> 01:11:55,897
I got a phone call.
1393
01:11:55,932 --> 01:11:58,900
The guard of our cell block
got a phone call
1394
01:11:58,934 --> 01:12:00,419
and they came out,
1395
01:12:00,454 --> 01:12:03,940
and that happens only
on super rare occasions.
1396
01:12:08,324 --> 01:12:10,060
And then I got on the phone
and they announced
1397
01:12:10,084 --> 01:12:11,741
that my father had passed away.
1398
01:12:14,053 --> 01:12:15,469
And...
1399
01:12:19,335 --> 01:12:20,335
Hmm.
1400
01:12:23,373 --> 01:12:24,925
And, um...
1401
01:12:25,755 --> 01:12:27,998
It was sad. It hurt.
1402
01:12:28,516 --> 01:12:29,516
Um...
1403
01:12:32,071 --> 01:12:34,142
I think the guards were there...
1404
01:12:34,177 --> 01:12:35,903
I think the guards were there to...
1405
01:12:36,800 --> 01:12:38,284
prevent...
1406
01:12:38,318 --> 01:12:42,116
a person that gets information
like that from going off.
1407
01:12:42,150 --> 01:12:44,843
Uh, they wanted to be
at the ready, so to speak.
1408
01:12:44,877 --> 01:12:47,742
And I didn't let it hit me that way,
1409
01:12:47,777 --> 01:12:49,330
uh, 'cause that's not me.
1410
01:12:52,713 --> 01:12:53,886
I...
1411
01:13:04,414 --> 01:13:07,624
I developed an attitude for a while,
1412
01:13:08,936 --> 01:13:12,940
um, because what the system did to me,
1413
01:13:12,974 --> 01:13:15,148
to my family, to my father.
1414
01:13:18,808 --> 01:13:20,188
They took away our lives together
1415
01:13:20,223 --> 01:13:22,812
in his final years.
That's...
1416
01:13:22,846 --> 01:13:24,365
I was pretty bitter for a while.
1417
01:13:26,987 --> 01:13:28,541
How long did that last for you?
1418
01:13:30,335 --> 01:13:31,335
Uh...
1419
01:13:33,478 --> 01:13:34,548
It's still there.
1420
01:13:36,377 --> 01:13:38,241
It's smaller, but it's still there.
1421
01:13:40,554 --> 01:13:41,554
As some...
1422
01:13:43,246 --> 01:13:45,490
cop friends of mine have said,
1423
01:13:45,523 --> 01:13:48,424
you know, Tom Monfils wasn't
the only victim in this...
1424
01:13:49,079 --> 01:13:51,841
in this case.
1425
01:13:51,875 --> 01:13:55,776
There are a lot of victims, including me.
1426
01:13:55,809 --> 01:13:58,710
I worked very hard on that homicide
1427
01:13:58,744 --> 01:14:00,436
and put in...
1428
01:14:01,678 --> 01:14:03,059
way too many hours
1429
01:14:03,093 --> 01:14:05,510
and put in too much of myself.
1430
01:14:08,202 --> 01:14:09,202
And...
1431
01:14:09,996 --> 01:14:11,516
it took its toll on me.
1432
01:14:13,276 --> 01:14:14,276
And, so...
1433
01:14:18,695 --> 01:14:20,628
I got ill after.
1434
01:14:29,913 --> 01:14:32,053
It just... It all added up
1435
01:14:32,088 --> 01:14:34,504
and it just got to be too much.
1436
01:14:36,161 --> 01:14:37,714
And, so I took some time off.
1437
01:14:42,478 --> 01:14:46,620
Brian and I also covered
the federal civil trial,
1438
01:14:46,654 --> 01:14:50,002
uh, that Susan Monfils brought
against Green Bay
1439
01:14:50,037 --> 01:14:52,315
and the police for releasing the tape.
1440
01:14:53,178 --> 01:14:55,421
And it was all about police
1441
01:14:55,456 --> 01:14:58,286
and whether they had
created additional danger,
1442
01:14:58,321 --> 01:15:01,048
whether they had placed
Tom Monfils in danger
1443
01:15:01,082 --> 01:15:02,636
by releasing the tape.
1444
01:15:03,499 --> 01:15:04,776
At the end of it,
1445
01:15:04,809 --> 01:15:09,366
Susan Monfils and her children
were awarded about $2 million.
1446
01:15:17,340 --> 01:15:18,893
When I got back to work,
1447
01:15:18,928 --> 01:15:23,415
um, I was assigned to work
with the civil attorneys
1448
01:15:23,449 --> 01:15:28,213
who were representing the city
against the civil suit.
1449
01:15:29,282 --> 01:15:31,699
And I was telling 'em the truth.
1450
01:15:31,734 --> 01:15:34,564
Telling 'em what I was
gonna have to testify to.
1451
01:15:35,184 --> 01:15:37,084
If what... asked in court,
1452
01:15:37,118 --> 01:15:39,050
this is what the answer is going to be.
1453
01:15:40,087 --> 01:15:41,433
And they didn't want that.
1454
01:15:41,467 --> 01:15:43,469
They didn't like what they heard.
1455
01:15:44,885 --> 01:15:47,197
I got threatened in the hallway
1456
01:15:47,232 --> 01:15:50,994
by the attorney representing the city,
1457
01:15:51,029 --> 01:15:52,306
that I better not say
1458
01:15:52,340 --> 01:15:53,825
what he thinks I'm going to say.
1459
01:15:55,654 --> 01:15:57,760
And then, you know,
1460
01:15:58,380 --> 01:15:59,555
against his better wishes
1461
01:15:59,589 --> 01:16:01,660
I did say what needed to be said,
1462
01:16:01,695 --> 01:16:02,730
what the truth was.
1463
01:16:05,077 --> 01:16:06,320
What was that truth?
1464
01:16:07,079 --> 01:16:09,081
There was a question as to...
1465
01:16:10,427 --> 01:16:13,361
whether the tapes were still in existence,
1466
01:16:13,396 --> 01:16:15,260
because I believe the city claimed
1467
01:16:15,294 --> 01:16:19,091
that they were
no longer in existence
and, um...
1468
01:16:20,299 --> 01:16:22,957
and I knew that they were.
1469
01:16:22,992 --> 01:16:24,072
But wasn't it public knowledge
1470
01:16:24,096 --> 01:16:25,822
that the tape was released?
So how...
1471
01:16:26,684 --> 01:16:27,684
Yeah.
1472
01:16:29,654 --> 01:16:30,827
Hmm.
1473
01:16:30,862 --> 01:16:32,588
I'm getting in real...
1474
01:16:34,106 --> 01:16:35,728
untouchable territory.
1475
01:16:38,594 --> 01:16:43,599
You can't do an investigation
and find out only the things
you want to find out.
1476
01:16:45,462 --> 01:16:47,844
Then you find out other things.
1477
01:16:47,879 --> 01:16:50,709
And you don't want
to know 'em,
but you know 'em.
1478
01:16:50,744 --> 01:16:55,093
And when it comes time
to have to testify to them,
1479
01:16:55,127 --> 01:16:56,750
you can't say,
"I don't remember."
1480
01:16:56,784 --> 01:16:59,062
Or you can't say,
"I don't want to."
1481
01:16:59,097 --> 01:17:00,616
You have to tell the truth.
1482
01:17:02,341 --> 01:17:05,206
And the truth is going to be damning.
1483
01:17:06,103 --> 01:17:07,830
And... And...
1484
01:17:09,486 --> 01:17:12,144
not what
other police officers
want to hear,
1485
01:17:13,490 --> 01:17:17,011
not what administration wants to hear,
1486
01:17:17,046 --> 01:17:19,151
not what the mayor wants to hear.
1487
01:17:27,573 --> 01:17:29,990
They wanted me to be a good old boy
1488
01:17:30,023 --> 01:17:32,061
and not do anything that would
1489
01:17:32,094 --> 01:17:34,028
incriminate the city,
1490
01:17:34,063 --> 01:17:37,307
that would show the city liable.
1491
01:17:39,032 --> 01:17:40,207
They didn't want to be sued.
1492
01:17:40,241 --> 01:17:41,967
They didn't want to have to pay anything,
1493
01:17:42,002 --> 01:17:43,520
and that's understandable.
1494
01:17:44,210 --> 01:17:46,316
But they also have to admit
1495
01:17:46,351 --> 01:17:47,904
that they did something wrong.
1496
01:17:52,909 --> 01:17:54,117
When that happens,
1497
01:17:54,152 --> 01:17:55,671
that's the only thing you can do.
1498
01:17:55,705 --> 01:17:57,880
When you do something wrong,
you admit it and move on.
1499
01:17:57,914 --> 01:17:58,914
You learn from it.
1500
01:18:03,955 --> 01:18:05,541
I got back to work and...
1501
01:18:06,509 --> 01:18:07,588
when the chief put out an order
1502
01:18:07,612 --> 01:18:09,407
that no one was allowed to talk to me.
1503
01:18:11,617 --> 01:18:15,829
They moved my desk
to the one right in front
of the captain's door,
1504
01:18:15,862 --> 01:18:18,521
so the captain could see me at all times.
1505
01:18:19,487 --> 01:18:22,214
You know?
And they let me know that.
1506
01:18:23,768 --> 01:18:26,771
You know? "That's why we're
putting you here,
so we keep an eye on you."
1507
01:18:29,083 --> 01:18:35,675
I retired on October 31st of 1997,
1508
01:18:35,710 --> 01:18:36,746
I believe it was.
1509
01:18:38,782 --> 01:18:42,752
It was an agreement
between myself and the city,
1510
01:18:42,787 --> 01:18:45,859
and I took a Duty Disability retirement.
1511
01:19:04,325 --> 01:19:06,672
Probably four years ago, I...
1512
01:19:06,707 --> 01:19:08,916
I would have been
very reluctant to talk to you
1513
01:19:08,951 --> 01:19:11,228
about this, or about anything, you know.
1514
01:19:11,263 --> 01:19:13,369
I was still guarding myself, but...
1515
01:19:14,715 --> 01:19:17,373
you know, I don't feel that way now,
1516
01:19:17,407 --> 01:19:18,995
and chips will fall where they fall.
1517
01:19:30,523 --> 01:19:32,215
I was glad
it was over with.
I was happy.
1518
01:19:32,250 --> 01:19:33,561
My parents could move on now.
1519
01:19:35,115 --> 01:19:36,772
You know?
And I guess at that time
1520
01:19:36,806 --> 01:19:38,877
I just thought,
"Well, they gambled."
You know?
1521
01:19:38,912 --> 01:19:41,811
They thought there was
no evidence against them.
1522
01:19:41,846 --> 01:19:43,019
So they all gambled.
1523
01:19:43,433 --> 01:19:44,918
And, you know...
1524
01:19:44,952 --> 01:19:45,850
But then shortly after that,
1525
01:19:45,884 --> 01:19:47,886
it's like,
"Well, that makes no sense."
1526
01:19:47,921 --> 01:19:50,682
And then, you know, I started to research
1527
01:19:50,716 --> 01:19:53,029
a little more on my own,
talking to people and...
1528
01:19:54,513 --> 01:19:55,836
and, you know, every day that goes on,
1529
01:19:55,860 --> 01:19:57,620
it's harder and harder to believe.
1530
01:19:59,208 --> 01:20:00,761
This wasn't a group of six drifters
1531
01:20:00,796 --> 01:20:03,212
that came through town
and had nothing to lose.
1532
01:20:03,246 --> 01:20:04,637
I mean, they had everything to lose.
1533
01:20:04,661 --> 01:20:06,008
And they did lose everything.
1534
01:20:08,458 --> 01:20:10,840
They wouldn't have been
smart enough to pull it off.
1535
01:20:10,875 --> 01:20:12,669
You know?
Now you may hate to say it,
1536
01:20:12,704 --> 01:20:14,993
but a few of them wouldn't
have been smart enough
to pull it off.
1537
01:20:15,017 --> 01:20:18,537
You're going to tell me
that these simple people
outfoxed the police?
1538
01:20:18,572 --> 01:20:21,989
That they didn't leave
any evidence anywhere and...
1539
01:20:22,023 --> 01:20:25,855
All we can go on is a lot
of common sense, really.
1540
01:20:25,889 --> 01:20:29,445
And, you know,
what human nature is,
I mean...
1541
01:20:29,478 --> 01:20:34,588
I find it impossible to believe
that you're gonna have
six people commit a crime,
1542
01:20:34,621 --> 01:20:37,039
within a three-four minute period,
1543
01:20:37,073 --> 01:20:39,627
that didn't go
to work that day
planning to harm anybody.
1544
01:20:39,662 --> 01:20:41,077
They didn't premeditate this,
1545
01:20:41,112 --> 01:20:42,976
there was no prior planning.
1546
01:20:43,010 --> 01:20:46,082
And yet, they are going
to stick to it to this day.
1547
01:20:46,117 --> 01:20:49,085
It's pretty obvious to see
that it really doesn't add up.
1548
01:20:52,019 --> 01:20:54,401
What was it about
this case that grabbed you?
1549
01:20:54,434 --> 01:20:56,748
The lack of evidence.
1550
01:20:56,782 --> 01:21:01,684
There was no direct evidence
of a beating and a murder.
1551
01:21:01,718 --> 01:21:06,654
There was nothing
in the history of any
of the six suspects,
1552
01:21:06,689 --> 01:21:09,380
then defendants, now convicted,
1553
01:21:09,416 --> 01:21:11,107
um, not defendants,
1554
01:21:11,142 --> 01:21:14,523
that suggested to me
in any way they were violent.
1555
01:21:14,559 --> 01:21:17,079
Every time I looked at it,
it made no sense,
1556
01:21:17,112 --> 01:21:18,874
and I started to see,
1557
01:21:18,907 --> 01:21:21,877
particularly as I read the news clippings
1558
01:21:21,911 --> 01:21:25,156
back in real time from theGreen Bay paper,
1559
01:21:25,190 --> 01:21:29,850
I could see the pressure
on the police, on the D.A.
1560
01:21:29,885 --> 01:21:31,990
Somebody had to pay for this,
1561
01:21:32,025 --> 01:21:33,853
the death of Tom Monfils.
1562
01:21:34,579 --> 01:21:36,063
And it just struck me...
1563
01:21:36,892 --> 01:21:38,410
um...
1564
01:21:38,445 --> 01:21:41,068
uh, as odd that you would just say,
1565
01:21:41,103 --> 01:21:45,659
"Well, I don't want
to look at the possibility
1566
01:21:45,693 --> 01:21:47,592
"that this may not have been
a murder at all."
1567
01:21:52,804 --> 01:21:54,737
You know...
1568
01:21:54,771 --> 01:21:57,326
everybody calls it...
It's the "Monfils Six."
1569
01:21:57,360 --> 01:21:58,948
It's the "Monfils case."
1570
01:21:59,880 --> 01:22:01,951
And we know the least about Tom.
1571
01:22:04,643 --> 01:22:06,128
He was my big brother.
1572
01:22:06,162 --> 01:22:10,925
He was also, in a sense,
almost a parent to me.
1573
01:22:10,960 --> 01:22:14,067
And what was
the age gap
between you and Tom again?
1574
01:22:14,101 --> 01:22:15,101
Ten years.
1575
01:22:17,691 --> 01:22:18,702
Where a lot of people are just kind of,
1576
01:22:18,726 --> 01:22:19,772
"Ah, that's my little brother.
1577
01:22:19,796 --> 01:22:21,452
"Go away.
You're pestering me."
1578
01:22:21,487 --> 01:22:24,629
You know? It wasn't
like that at all.
1579
01:22:24,663 --> 01:22:27,287
I mean, if there is
any picture of a holiday
1580
01:22:27,321 --> 01:22:28,909
of the family together,
1581
01:22:28,943 --> 01:22:31,739
it's always my brother
and myself sitting
next to each other.
1582
01:22:31,773 --> 01:22:33,776
And then he had left for the Coast Guard
1583
01:22:34,535 --> 01:22:36,020
for quite a few years.
1584
01:22:36,054 --> 01:22:37,918
And he was telling me,
you know, some stories
1585
01:22:37,952 --> 01:22:40,610
about when he was
in the Coast Guard
and stuff like that.
1586
01:22:41,508 --> 01:22:44,304
His thing in the Coast Guard was
1587
01:22:44,338 --> 01:22:48,860
recovering people's bodies
that had committed suicide
1588
01:22:48,894 --> 01:22:51,690
from jumping off of bridges,
1589
01:22:51,725 --> 01:22:54,900
and railroad trestles, and...
1590
01:22:55,660 --> 01:22:56,972
And the way he described it,
1591
01:22:57,005 --> 01:22:59,353
how they would just shackle
themselves to this weight
1592
01:22:59,388 --> 01:23:01,010
so they couldn't get away from it.
1593
01:23:01,045 --> 01:23:03,943
And they were going down.
And he says, "Well, they...
1594
01:23:03,978 --> 01:23:05,335
"When they wanted to kill themselves,
1595
01:23:05,359 --> 01:23:07,016
"they knew that they weren't gonna...
1596
01:23:07,050 --> 01:23:10,709
"they weren't gonna get
all them chains unlocked
and opened up and..."
1597
01:23:10,744 --> 01:23:12,987
And then when I found out
he had a rope around his neck
1598
01:23:13,022 --> 01:23:15,507
and a weight at the end of it and stuff,
1599
01:23:15,541 --> 01:23:19,615
I was just like, "Man.
That's almost like the stuff
he was describing to me."
1600
01:23:21,996 --> 01:23:24,137
I was driving with Susan.
It was just me and her,
1601
01:23:24,171 --> 01:23:27,278
and we were all making
funeral arrangements.
1602
01:23:27,312 --> 01:23:29,349
And we'd just left the cemetery
1603
01:23:29,383 --> 01:23:30,798
and we were going to a floral shop
1604
01:23:30,833 --> 01:23:32,214
that was in the neighborhood.
1605
01:23:34,112 --> 01:23:36,873
So we had just pulled
in the lot, and it was noon.
1606
01:23:36,907 --> 01:23:39,911
The noon news comes on the radio and says
1607
01:23:39,945 --> 01:23:42,568
that, you know, Tom was found with a rope
1608
01:23:42,603 --> 01:23:44,709
and a weight tied around his neck.
1609
01:23:44,743 --> 01:23:46,675
And we hadn't known that.
1610
01:23:46,710 --> 01:23:48,275
You know, Sue had obviously already known
1611
01:23:48,299 --> 01:23:50,818
that he had passed away,
that he was found in the vat.
1612
01:23:50,853 --> 01:23:52,820
When she heard about this rope and weight,
1613
01:23:52,855 --> 01:23:56,169
she just keeled over in the passenger seat
1614
01:23:56,202 --> 01:24:00,966
and stared at the floor
for a period of time,
1615
01:24:01,001 --> 01:24:04,039
and then said to me,
"Take me to the bank."
1616
01:24:04,073 --> 01:24:07,076
We went to the bank and she wanted to go
1617
01:24:07,111 --> 01:24:09,906
in her security deposit box,
which she did.
1618
01:24:09,941 --> 01:24:13,048
And she was just back there
15 to 20 minutes.
1619
01:24:13,082 --> 01:24:15,464
And then she came out.
And then we ended up,
from there,
1620
01:24:15,498 --> 01:24:17,017
we went to my sister's house.
1621
01:24:17,052 --> 01:24:18,753
I'm just wondering,
what was she looking for?
1622
01:24:18,777 --> 01:24:21,710
Was she heading there to see
if there was a note in there?
1623
01:24:21,746 --> 01:24:22,919
Did you ask her at the time?
1624
01:24:22,954 --> 01:24:24,990
No, I didn't.
1625
01:24:25,025 --> 01:24:28,648
What are you looking for
in the safe deposit box?
1626
01:24:28,684 --> 01:24:30,030
Are you worried about...
1627
01:24:30,065 --> 01:24:32,032
Do you want to look
at the insurance policies
1628
01:24:32,067 --> 01:24:35,311
to see if there is a suicide exclusion?
1629
01:24:35,346 --> 01:24:37,486
Because now you've made
the same connection
1630
01:24:37,520 --> 01:24:39,452
that a lot of guys have made at the mill
1631
01:24:39,487 --> 01:24:41,076
that he died in the exact manner
1632
01:24:41,110 --> 01:24:44,355
that he used to talk about
people killing themselves,
1633
01:24:44,389 --> 01:24:45,735
committing suicide by drowning
1634
01:24:45,770 --> 01:24:47,392
with heavy objects tied to them.
1635
01:24:47,427 --> 01:24:49,474
We went to the bank,
and of course,
I stood there and waited.
1636
01:24:49,498 --> 01:24:51,050
You know, I didn't go in with her.
1637
01:24:51,085 --> 01:24:52,846
She was in there 15-20 minutes,
1638
01:24:52,880 --> 01:24:54,779
and then we got in the car
1639
01:24:54,813 --> 01:24:56,298
and we drove to my sister's house.
1640
01:24:57,713 --> 01:24:59,611
It was just an odd thing.
1641
01:25:17,008 --> 01:25:20,529
Susan Monfils had a conversation
1642
01:25:20,563 --> 01:25:23,773
with Tom's mother, Cal's mother also.
1643
01:25:23,808 --> 01:25:25,775
She sat at my mom and dad's house,
1644
01:25:25,809 --> 01:25:27,087
saying at the kitchen table,
1645
01:25:27,121 --> 01:25:28,468
saying that he committed suicide.
1646
01:25:28,502 --> 01:25:30,090
She repeated it several times.
1647
01:25:32,851 --> 01:25:33,932
And then there was some talk
1648
01:25:33,956 --> 01:25:35,035
about some notes that she had found
1649
01:25:35,059 --> 01:25:37,132
above the ceiling tiles in her bedroom.
1650
01:25:39,064 --> 01:25:41,688
Susan Monfils testified
1651
01:25:41,722 --> 01:25:43,241
that after Tom's death,
1652
01:25:43,276 --> 01:25:45,726
she had pushed up a ceiling panel,
1653
01:25:45,761 --> 01:25:47,383
I think in the bedroom.
1654
01:25:47,418 --> 01:25:50,075
Because she was thinking
about doing some renovations.
1655
01:25:50,110 --> 01:25:53,320
And down fell a business card
1656
01:25:53,355 --> 01:25:54,735
from the Green Bay Police,
1657
01:25:54,770 --> 01:25:56,737
and there were names written on it
1658
01:25:56,772 --> 01:25:58,394
of police officers.
1659
01:25:58,429 --> 01:26:00,614
And she was then asked,
"Well, what did you do with it?"
1660
01:26:00,638 --> 01:26:01,777
"I burned it."
1661
01:26:03,261 --> 01:26:04,400
Sue knows a lot more
1662
01:26:05,263 --> 01:26:06,678
than she ever said.
1663
01:26:06,713 --> 01:26:09,233
And there's really
nobody in the family
that disagrees with that.
1664
01:26:10,441 --> 01:26:13,443
And then the question was the knots.
1665
01:26:13,478 --> 01:26:15,755
What are the knots?
1666
01:26:15,791 --> 01:26:20,071
We find a guy living
in the Minneapolis suburbs
1667
01:26:20,105 --> 01:26:23,730
who spent, I think
it was at least four years
in the Coast Guard,
1668
01:26:23,764 --> 01:26:25,732
and then the bulk of his career
1669
01:26:25,766 --> 01:26:27,871
in the U.S. Merchant Marine.
1670
01:26:27,906 --> 01:26:30,115
And he looks at the rope knots
1671
01:26:30,150 --> 01:26:33,291
that were tied first around Tom's neck,
1672
01:26:33,326 --> 01:26:36,639
and then to the handle
of that 50-pound weight.
1673
01:26:36,674 --> 01:26:39,780
And he says those are
two-half-hitch knots.
1674
01:26:39,815 --> 01:26:42,335
And those are taught in the Coast Guard.
1675
01:26:45,993 --> 01:26:49,445
Then Cal told me that he had
1676
01:26:49,480 --> 01:26:54,726
obtained knots
from Tom's house
after Tom's death.
1677
01:26:54,761 --> 01:26:56,934
He went looking for knots,
1678
01:26:56,969 --> 01:26:59,214
and he found knots
that his brother had tied.
1679
01:26:59,248 --> 01:27:02,630
They were with a cord,
kind of a thin cord,
1680
01:27:02,665 --> 01:27:04,702
tied around nails.
1681
01:27:04,736 --> 01:27:08,775
And he had, in the courtroom,
1682
01:27:08,809 --> 01:27:10,570
at the July 2015 hearing,
1683
01:27:10,603 --> 01:27:12,157
he had photographs of those knots,
1684
01:27:12,192 --> 01:27:14,367
and he also had the knots themselves.
1685
01:27:15,437 --> 01:27:16,714
They're the same knot
1686
01:27:16,748 --> 01:27:18,785
that was tied around Tom's neck
1687
01:27:18,818 --> 01:27:20,442
and to the rope handle.
1688
01:27:22,651 --> 01:27:24,584
There are seven people on the planet
1689
01:27:24,618 --> 01:27:27,138
who matter in terms of knot tying.
1690
01:27:27,172 --> 01:27:29,451
The six defendants and Tom Monfils.
1691
01:27:29,485 --> 01:27:32,764
Of the seven, the only one
who was shown to have
1692
01:27:32,799 --> 01:27:34,110
the ability and propensity
1693
01:27:34,145 --> 01:27:36,975
to tie that two-half-hitch knot is the guy
1694
01:27:37,010 --> 01:27:39,737
who was in the Coast Guard, Tom Monfils.
1695
01:27:39,771 --> 01:27:43,568
Then I read
Dr. Young's testimony.
1696
01:27:43,603 --> 01:27:46,053
I read her autopsy report.
1697
01:27:46,088 --> 01:27:47,883
It made no sense to me.
1698
01:27:47,916 --> 01:27:51,231
She ruled out suicide
and ruled in homicide
1699
01:27:51,266 --> 01:27:54,752
on the basis of a variety of assumptions.
1700
01:27:54,786 --> 01:27:58,237
"Well, these injuries
could only have been
caused by a beating
1701
01:27:58,273 --> 01:28:02,277
"before he was
put into the vat,
or entered the vat.
1702
01:28:02,311 --> 01:28:04,451
How she could know that was beyond me.
1703
01:28:04,486 --> 01:28:05,728
It just made no sense.
1704
01:28:05,763 --> 01:28:07,327
Every one of those injuries could've been
1705
01:28:07,351 --> 01:28:08,213
suffered in the vat.
1706
01:28:08,248 --> 01:28:10,630
There is no injury here that tells me
1707
01:28:10,664 --> 01:28:13,495
that it could only have been
inflicted by a beating.
1708
01:28:16,912 --> 01:28:21,434
He had a two-inch-long skull fracture,
1709
01:28:21,468 --> 01:28:25,645
the edges
of which were parallel,
3/8 inch wide,
1710
01:28:25,679 --> 01:28:28,786
and 1/16th of an inch deep.
1711
01:28:28,820 --> 01:28:30,132
At his deposition,
1712
01:28:30,166 --> 01:28:33,031
the lead engineer for the mill said
1713
01:28:33,066 --> 01:28:34,688
that with the blades rotating,
1714
01:28:34,723 --> 01:28:38,382
Mr. Monfils, particularly with
this 50-pound weight would've
1715
01:28:38,416 --> 01:28:40,763
been physically sucked
1716
01:28:40,798 --> 01:28:43,282
into contact with the blades.
1717
01:28:45,009 --> 01:28:48,323
The police never took
1718
01:28:48,357 --> 01:28:50,808
physical possession of the blades,
1719
01:28:50,842 --> 01:28:52,291
but they measured them.
1720
01:28:55,778 --> 01:28:57,297
They measured the edge
1721
01:28:58,609 --> 01:29:01,025
as 3/8 inch wide.
1722
01:29:01,059 --> 01:29:03,924
The exact width of this fracture.
1723
01:29:06,030 --> 01:29:09,032
And the thought
that the police didn't know
1724
01:29:09,067 --> 01:29:11,518
that the dimensions of that fracture
1725
01:29:11,553 --> 01:29:17,075
just exactly match the width
of those rotating blades is
1726
01:29:17,110 --> 01:29:19,181
a bridge too far for me to believe.
1727
01:29:25,843 --> 01:29:28,190
The most logical inference you can draw,
1728
01:29:28,224 --> 01:29:29,950
if we're going to draw inferences,
1729
01:29:29,985 --> 01:29:31,745
let's draw this one.
1730
01:29:31,780 --> 01:29:34,714
Tom Monfils had made up his mind
1731
01:29:34,748 --> 01:29:36,647
that his life was not worth living.
1732
01:29:38,062 --> 01:29:42,066
The last person
to see him alive
is Pete Delvoe,
1733
01:29:42,100 --> 01:29:44,275
a worker at the mill.
And Pete says
1734
01:29:44,309 --> 01:29:49,004
he saw Tom walking
toward the airlock entrance
1735
01:29:49,038 --> 01:29:51,075
to the number seven coop.
1736
01:29:51,109 --> 01:29:53,905
Now that airlock entrance
leads to that coop,
1737
01:29:53,940 --> 01:29:55,562
and it also leads to the storage room
1738
01:29:55,597 --> 01:29:59,670
where Tom's jump rope was
hanging on a railing.
1739
01:29:59,704 --> 01:30:01,016
The first couple of times
1740
01:30:01,050 --> 01:30:03,225
that Pete Delvoe was interviewed, he said,
1741
01:30:03,259 --> 01:30:06,331
"I saw him walking
into the number seven coop."
1742
01:30:06,366 --> 01:30:08,023
Later on, he said,
1743
01:30:08,057 --> 01:30:10,094
"Well, I think that's where
he was walking,
1744
01:30:10,128 --> 01:30:11,553
"'cause that's where
the guys would have gone
1745
01:30:11,577 --> 01:30:14,823
"after finishing a task
on the number seven machine."
1746
01:30:14,857 --> 01:30:16,618
But we know Mike Piaskowski
1747
01:30:16,652 --> 01:30:19,655
and Dennis Servais were
sitting there at that time,
1748
01:30:19,690 --> 01:30:23,383
and both Dennis and Mike said,
"He never came in here."
1749
01:30:26,421 --> 01:30:30,148
He had to have gone through the other door
1750
01:30:30,183 --> 01:30:33,289
in this... that was
connected to this airlock
1751
01:30:33,324 --> 01:30:36,327
that led to what was called
the three-four storage room
1752
01:30:36,361 --> 01:30:39,572
where the rope was hanging on a railing.
1753
01:30:40,124 --> 01:30:41,608
And we also know
1754
01:30:41,643 --> 01:30:45,300
that the 50-pound weight was
sitting on the floor
1755
01:30:45,335 --> 01:30:47,718
right by the entrance to that airlock.
1756
01:30:50,375 --> 01:30:54,172
So Tom clearly knew where that weight was.
1757
01:30:54,207 --> 01:30:56,623
Anybody who worked on seven
1758
01:30:56,657 --> 01:30:58,591
knew where that weight was.
1759
01:30:58,625 --> 01:30:59,764
There was no evidence
1760
01:30:59,799 --> 01:31:01,973
that only Mike Piaskowski knew
1761
01:31:02,008 --> 01:31:04,459
where this rope and the weight were.
1762
01:31:06,219 --> 01:31:07,945
He picks it up by the handle,
1763
01:31:07,978 --> 01:31:09,187
walks through the airlock,
1764
01:31:09,222 --> 01:31:12,121
goes through the door to the storage room,
1765
01:31:12,156 --> 01:31:15,952
takes his rope off the railing,
1766
01:31:15,987 --> 01:31:17,402
and proceeds unnoticed.
1767
01:31:17,437 --> 01:31:19,853
And this was an isolated area
1768
01:31:19,888 --> 01:31:22,718
now that he is in, in the mill.
1769
01:31:22,753 --> 01:31:26,446
He ties one end
of that jump rope
around his neck,
1770
01:31:26,481 --> 01:31:29,173
the other end
to the handle of that weight.
1771
01:31:29,207 --> 01:31:33,764
Uh, and he knew that he needed
the 50-pound weight
1772
01:31:33,798 --> 01:31:35,455
to keep himself submerged
1773
01:31:35,490 --> 01:31:38,147
so that he would not do
what a normal person
would do,
1774
01:31:38,182 --> 01:31:40,529
which is to fight to...
1775
01:31:40,564 --> 01:31:43,221
struggle to the top
of the surface and breathe.
1776
01:31:51,228 --> 01:31:52,507
Do you think that...
1777
01:31:54,370 --> 01:31:57,891
Sue would ever say
if she knew anything else?
1778
01:31:57,925 --> 01:31:59,168
I don't think so.
1779
01:32:01,688 --> 01:32:03,138
I think if, you know,
1780
01:32:03,966 --> 01:32:05,520
one person can hold it inside.
1781
01:32:08,592 --> 01:32:09,592
But not six.
1782
01:32:13,010 --> 01:32:14,356
The truth is going to come out.
1783
01:32:14,389 --> 01:32:16,496
I mean, it may not be today.
1784
01:32:16,531 --> 01:32:19,395
It may not be tomorrow.
It may be five years from now.
1785
01:32:19,430 --> 01:32:21,190
But the truth will come out.
1786
01:32:21,225 --> 01:32:22,502
And when the truth comes out,
1787
01:32:22,537 --> 01:32:25,469
and my kids can walk
with their head held high
1788
01:32:25,505 --> 01:32:27,127
and know that the world knows
1789
01:32:27,162 --> 01:32:28,818
that their father is not a murderer.
1790
01:32:30,786 --> 01:32:31,753
Then it'll be worth it.
1791
01:32:31,787 --> 01:32:33,755
I brought that tape to work.
1792
01:32:33,789 --> 01:32:34,859
I played that tape.
1793
01:32:34,894 --> 01:32:36,378
It was no secret.
1794
01:32:38,242 --> 01:32:39,588
That was all I did.
1795
01:32:41,038 --> 01:32:42,591
I had no knowledge
1796
01:32:42,626 --> 01:32:44,731
that anybody was going to kill Tom.
1797
01:32:44,766 --> 01:32:46,594
Michael Johnson, serving his sentence
1798
01:32:46,630 --> 01:32:49,460
in another Tennessee prison,
tells what he saw.
1799
01:32:49,494 --> 01:32:51,773
You know, people weren't
throwing things around,
1800
01:32:51,807 --> 01:32:52,773
or stomping on the floor,
1801
01:32:52,808 --> 01:32:54,707
or banging their fists on the table or...
1802
01:32:56,467 --> 01:32:58,607
It didn't seem like that kind
of an atmosphere to me.
1803
01:32:58,642 --> 01:33:01,058
You know? I didn't see
any violent reaction at all.
1804
01:33:01,092 --> 01:33:02,449
People were just interested in it.
1805
01:33:02,473 --> 01:33:04,209
I mean, you know,
they wanted to
listen to it.
1806
01:33:04,233 --> 01:33:05,303
You know, what was on it?
1807
01:33:06,753 --> 01:33:09,584
Myself and the other men are innocent men
1808
01:33:09,618 --> 01:33:12,207
convicted by state-sponsored perjury,
1809
01:33:12,241 --> 01:33:15,969
coerced by Detective Randy Winkler,
1810
01:33:16,004 --> 01:33:17,177
and forced into the mouth
1811
01:33:17,212 --> 01:33:19,628
of Brian Kellner through threats.
1812
01:33:20,594 --> 01:33:21,596
Um...
1813
01:33:23,183 --> 01:33:24,460
Threats and intimidation.
1814
01:33:26,670 --> 01:33:28,913
That's fundamentally against
the principles
1815
01:33:28,948 --> 01:33:30,327
this country is founded on.
1816
01:33:34,298 --> 01:33:36,264
There is no other evidence.
1817
01:33:39,406 --> 01:33:41,754
I was in the gymnasium
doing some extra work.
1818
01:33:43,100 --> 01:33:47,449
One of the sergeants
from cell block one
hollered out.
1819
01:33:47,483 --> 01:33:49,693
"Hey, Piaskowski,
come here once!"
1820
01:33:49,727 --> 01:33:51,695
He asked me if I...
1821
01:33:51,728 --> 01:33:54,352
if I was the guy with the Monfils case.
1822
01:33:54,387 --> 01:33:56,227
And I said "Yeah." He says,
"Well, you're on TV right now.
1823
01:33:56,251 --> 01:33:57,469
"The judge has made a decision.
1824
01:33:57,493 --> 01:33:59,081
"You're going
to want to see this."
1825
01:33:59,116 --> 01:34:00,669
And in the sergeant's quarters,
1826
01:34:00,704 --> 01:34:02,326
there were several guys there like that.
1827
01:34:02,360 --> 01:34:04,708
And they're all like,
"Yeah, yeah.
You're going home.
1828
01:34:04,742 --> 01:34:06,295
"You're going home."
1829
01:34:06,330 --> 01:34:08,919
Mike's appeal had been granted.
1830
01:34:09,885 --> 01:34:12,129
I scream, I scream!
1831
01:34:12,163 --> 01:34:14,510
I'm at work and I'm screaming.
1832
01:34:14,545 --> 01:34:15,833
I didn't know
what they were
talking about.
1833
01:34:15,857 --> 01:34:18,237
And he said, "Yeah, they've got it on TV.
1834
01:34:18,273 --> 01:34:20,413
"It'll be coming on again
in a minute."
1835
01:34:20,447 --> 01:34:22,829
A huge decision from a federal judge
1836
01:34:22,864 --> 01:34:24,313
in Milwaukee today,
1837
01:34:24,348 --> 01:34:27,385
overturning
the five-year-old conviction
of Mike Piaskowski.
1838
01:34:27,420 --> 01:34:28,973
In this 25-page decision,
1839
01:34:29,008 --> 01:34:31,907
Federal Judge Myron Gordon says
there is no evidence
1840
01:34:31,942 --> 01:34:35,635
tying Mike Piaskowski
to the murder of Tom Monfils.
1841
01:34:54,205 --> 01:34:55,458
Probably the best day of my life,
1842
01:34:55,482 --> 01:34:56,656
short of my daughter's birth
1843
01:34:56,691 --> 01:35:00,004
and my marriage
and all those usual things.
1844
01:35:00,039 --> 01:35:01,903
Best unusual day of my life.
1845
01:35:01,937 --> 01:35:04,940
You only get probably
one miracle in your life.
1846
01:35:05,769 --> 01:35:07,046
And I've had it.
1847
01:35:07,080 --> 01:35:09,151
And Mike's had it.
Whatever.
1848
01:35:09,186 --> 01:35:10,325
We've had it.
1849
01:35:12,948 --> 01:35:14,432
And the first thing I wanted was
1850
01:35:14,467 --> 01:35:16,503
a Whopper, of all things,
if you think about it.
1851
01:35:16,538 --> 01:35:19,196
Anything...
I'm craving a Whopper.
1852
01:35:19,230 --> 01:35:20,197
How was that Whopper?
1853
01:35:20,231 --> 01:35:21,923
It was very good.
Very, very good.
1854
01:35:21,957 --> 01:35:24,648
What else do you find that you appreciate?
1855
01:35:26,030 --> 01:35:27,237
Oh.
1856
01:35:27,929 --> 01:35:28,964
The toilet seat.
1857
01:35:30,483 --> 01:35:32,796
Metal eating utensils.
1858
01:35:33,313 --> 01:35:35,143
A glass glass.
1859
01:35:35,177 --> 01:35:36,489
A ceramic coffee cup.
1860
01:35:37,145 --> 01:35:38,215
Little things like that.
1861
01:35:38,249 --> 01:35:39,561
On my left forearm,
1862
01:35:39,594 --> 01:35:41,528
I have the date and exoneree.
1863
01:35:41,563 --> 01:35:43,723
I don't know if you guys can
see it or not, but it's...
1864
01:35:45,291 --> 01:35:46,430
But it's here.
1865
01:35:46,464 --> 01:35:47,844
See if you can get it in there.
1866
01:35:48,777 --> 01:35:50,641
No, he wasn't exonerated.
1867
01:35:51,434 --> 01:35:52,781
He was not exonerated.
1868
01:35:52,816 --> 01:35:56,026
Okay.
What is the... Correct us.
1869
01:35:57,234 --> 01:36:00,582
He was mistakenly let go.
That's what...
1870
01:36:02,342 --> 01:36:05,035
I asked one of the justices who I respect,
1871
01:36:06,208 --> 01:36:07,392
"What about the rope
and weight?"
1872
01:36:07,416 --> 01:36:08,901
And he said,
"What rope and weight?"
1873
01:36:08,934 --> 01:36:12,249
And I'm thinking,
"Well, are we talking
about the same case?
1874
01:36:12,282 --> 01:36:14,734
"Did you read
the same transcript?"
1875
01:36:14,769 --> 01:36:19,496
It's my understanding
that the way it was presented
1876
01:36:19,532 --> 01:36:22,984
was that Mike Piaskowski was
guilty of the murder
1877
01:36:24,261 --> 01:36:28,541
and not guilty of conspiracy
to commit murder,
1878
01:36:28,575 --> 01:36:31,889
which is what the crime was
that he was charged with
1879
01:36:31,924 --> 01:36:33,477
and found guilty of.
1880
01:36:33,511 --> 01:36:35,548
They were charged with party to the crime
1881
01:36:35,582 --> 01:36:37,343
of first-degree intentional homicide.
1882
01:36:37,377 --> 01:36:40,139
This was a collective group act,
1883
01:36:40,173 --> 01:36:41,934
and that's what they were charged as.
1884
01:36:41,968 --> 01:36:45,282
It wasn't that all six of them
tied the rope around his neck,
1885
01:36:45,316 --> 01:36:46,939
or threw him in the vat.
1886
01:36:46,973 --> 01:36:49,942
It was that they are all part
of this sequence of events.
1887
01:36:50,389 --> 01:36:51,875
He didn't hear
1888
01:36:51,909 --> 01:36:54,739
half the evidence against Piaskowski.
1889
01:36:54,773 --> 01:36:56,638
About the rope, the weight,
1890
01:36:56,672 --> 01:36:58,709
the significance of his testimony,
1891
01:36:58,743 --> 01:37:01,160
tying himself to Kutska
and being there at the time
1892
01:37:01,193 --> 01:37:02,644
that he was beaten
1893
01:37:02,678 --> 01:37:04,818
and then having the same motive.
1894
01:37:04,853 --> 01:37:08,995
So he wasn't...
In our opinion,
he wasn't exonerated.
1895
01:37:09,030 --> 01:37:10,307
He was released.
1896
01:37:10,341 --> 01:37:13,448
If he did do it, he's gotten away with it.
1897
01:37:13,482 --> 01:37:15,657
And if he didn't do it,
1898
01:37:15,691 --> 01:37:18,833
the other five should be
with him and gotten out
as well.
1899
01:37:18,867 --> 01:37:19,937
Why is that...
1900
01:37:19,972 --> 01:37:22,837
Why is there justice for just Piaskowski?
1901
01:37:32,674 --> 01:37:36,643
In February of 2014,
1902
01:37:36,678 --> 01:37:39,646
my partner, John Lundqvist,
1903
01:37:39,681 --> 01:37:41,614
who was willing to help me,
1904
01:37:41,648 --> 01:37:44,306
um, with the burdens of this case,
1905
01:37:44,341 --> 01:37:46,308
he interviewed Brian Kellner.
1906
01:37:46,343 --> 01:37:48,724
And during the course of the...
1907
01:37:48,759 --> 01:37:51,555
the one hour or so he spent with Brian,
1908
01:37:51,589 --> 01:37:53,591
Brian says to John
1909
01:37:54,489 --> 01:37:56,732
there was never any conversation
1910
01:37:56,767 --> 01:38:00,425
by Keith on that occasion
at the Fox Den Bar
1911
01:38:00,460 --> 01:38:02,737
about Tom Monfils, period.
1912
01:38:02,773 --> 01:38:03,705
Nothing.
1913
01:38:03,739 --> 01:38:07,467
Not even a hypothetical conversation.
1914
01:38:07,502 --> 01:38:09,193
It simply never happened.
1915
01:38:09,228 --> 01:38:10,401
It was all made up.
1916
01:39:18,849 --> 01:39:20,540
He should have stuck up for himself,
1917
01:39:20,575 --> 01:39:24,061
or fought for help somewhere, somehow
1918
01:39:24,096 --> 01:39:25,235
to try to get this.
1919
01:39:27,409 --> 01:39:28,478
But when...
1920
01:39:30,447 --> 01:39:33,795
you're a person who loves your children
1921
01:39:33,829 --> 01:39:35,290
and doesn't want to see them taken away
1922
01:39:35,314 --> 01:39:36,349
and put in foster care,
1923
01:39:36,384 --> 01:39:38,558
or God only knows where...
1924
01:39:41,353 --> 01:39:43,770
you know, desperate times sometimes
1925
01:39:44,702 --> 01:39:46,325
make you do desperate things,
1926
01:39:46,359 --> 01:39:47,809
such as sign a piece of paper.
1927
01:39:52,779 --> 01:39:55,403
John leaves Minneapolis
1928
01:39:55,437 --> 01:39:58,889
and he's made it, I think,
just to Wausau or just beyond,
1929
01:39:59,614 --> 01:40:01,305
uh, just east of there,
1930
01:40:01,340 --> 01:40:05,102
and I get a phone call
from Mike Piaskowski saying
1931
01:40:05,137 --> 01:40:07,001
Brian had died that morning.
1932
01:40:13,386 --> 01:40:14,698
You know, it...
1933
01:40:17,356 --> 01:40:18,771
It was unfortunate
1934
01:40:19,392 --> 01:40:20,704
that...
1935
01:40:21,118 --> 01:40:22,050
he lied.
1936
01:40:22,085 --> 01:40:25,536
It was unfortunate that by the time he was
1937
01:40:25,571 --> 01:40:29,713
ready to cleanse himself as it were,
1938
01:40:30,403 --> 01:40:32,957
and try to make amends
1939
01:40:34,097 --> 01:40:35,615
for what he had done,
1940
01:40:35,650 --> 01:40:38,825
that, um, it was too late.
1941
01:40:39,895 --> 01:40:40,895
He died.
1942
01:40:43,554 --> 01:40:46,246
So that was tragic
1943
01:40:46,281 --> 01:40:48,663
for many, many reasons.
1944
01:40:52,011 --> 01:40:55,601
There's so much judgment
that goes with this,
1945
01:40:56,636 --> 01:40:58,742
so many opinions,
1946
01:40:58,776 --> 01:41:03,367
it's hard to be associated
with any part of this
1947
01:41:03,402 --> 01:41:05,749
and not have some kind of stigma.
1948
01:41:05,782 --> 01:41:09,477
I don't raise a flag of
"I'm Brian Kellner's daughter,"
1949
01:41:09,511 --> 01:41:10,374
you know, kind of thing.
1950
01:41:10,409 --> 01:41:11,686
I don't...
1951
01:41:11,719 --> 01:41:13,343
I talk about my dad.
1952
01:41:13,377 --> 01:41:17,485
But I don't talk about this
for my dad, you know,
kind of thing.
1953
01:41:17,519 --> 01:41:19,521
I talk about my dad as being my dad.
1954
01:41:19,556 --> 01:41:23,525
Not as being, you know,
the key witness
in the Monfils case.
1955
01:41:23,559 --> 01:41:26,287
He was my father first
before he was a witness.
1956
01:41:35,572 --> 01:41:36,675
I think back...
1957
01:41:41,302 --> 01:41:43,994
My career ended abruptly.
1958
01:41:44,925 --> 01:41:47,031
Not the way I intended it to end.
1959
01:41:49,620 --> 01:41:51,346
But until that point,
1960
01:41:51,380 --> 01:41:54,210
I had the most fantastic life.
1961
01:41:56,593 --> 01:41:58,215
I did experience...
1962
01:42:01,322 --> 01:42:02,322
being a cop.
1963
01:42:04,152 --> 01:42:05,257
I lived my dream.
1964
01:42:07,431 --> 01:42:09,639
Short, but I lived it.
1965
01:42:12,402 --> 01:42:15,991
Throughout this
entire process,
I think I've been...
1966
01:42:16,337 --> 01:42:17,337
um...
1967
01:42:19,616 --> 01:42:21,652
labeled as the one that solved this case.
1968
01:42:21,687 --> 01:42:23,861
But it wasn't me alone.
1969
01:42:23,896 --> 01:42:26,105
I just either got the...
1970
01:42:27,486 --> 01:42:28,763
got the credit, or the blame.
1971
01:42:28,797 --> 01:42:31,110
Depends on how you look at it.
1972
01:42:35,287 --> 01:42:36,287
I won the lottery.
1973
01:42:37,081 --> 01:42:39,532
I don't know how else to put it.
1974
01:42:39,567 --> 01:42:42,984
The legal system in our country
is the best in the world,
1975
01:42:43,018 --> 01:42:44,641
except for the death penalty.
1976
01:42:44,675 --> 01:42:47,540
It's the best in world,
but it makes mistakes.
1977
01:42:47,575 --> 01:42:50,059
And this again is another one.
1978
01:42:50,094 --> 01:42:52,889
And when they make a mistake,
it's a horrible one.
1979
01:42:52,925 --> 01:42:54,202
In the big picture, you know,
1980
01:42:54,237 --> 01:42:56,273
the huge mistake they made in our case,
1981
01:42:56,308 --> 01:42:59,759
and against me in particular,
the system worked.
1982
01:42:59,794 --> 01:43:02,728
The appeals system allowed me
to regain my freedom.
1983
01:43:02,762 --> 01:43:04,074
It's a mistake.
1984
01:43:04,108 --> 01:43:05,523
Things happen.
Things happen.
1985
01:43:05,558 --> 01:43:09,321
Unfortunately, the mistake
continues for my co-defendants.
1986
01:43:12,047 --> 01:43:15,085
You have to keep that light
at the end of the tunnel,
1987
01:43:15,119 --> 01:43:17,225
remain faithful in the system.
1988
01:43:17,260 --> 01:43:20,434
If you lose hope,
you might as well
lose your life.
1989
01:43:20,469 --> 01:43:24,750
'Cause a life without hope
of some kind is
a pretty shitty way of life.
1990
01:43:32,620 --> 01:43:36,348
I haven't seen
Tom's children in...
20 years.
1991
01:43:38,039 --> 01:43:40,766
I think my daughter is 24,
1992
01:43:40,800 --> 01:43:42,906
and she doesn't even know who they are.
1993
01:43:42,940 --> 01:43:44,666
She's never met 'em.
1994
01:43:44,701 --> 01:43:47,221
All right.
I shouldn't say that.
Younger, she's met 'em,
1995
01:43:47,255 --> 01:43:49,499
but she has no recollection of it at all.
1996
01:43:51,742 --> 01:43:55,021
And I think it's very hard for people
1997
01:43:55,056 --> 01:43:57,990
to understand where I'm coming from.
1998
01:43:58,023 --> 01:44:00,164
See, people, they immediately
jump to conclusions
1999
01:44:00,199 --> 01:44:02,097
and think, oh, like I'm a sellout.
2000
01:44:02,132 --> 01:44:03,419
Or like "Oh, my God,
that's terrible."
2001
01:44:03,443 --> 01:44:06,791
Like, "He's with those guys," you know?
2002
01:44:06,826 --> 01:44:09,253
If I really thought
any of these guys had
anything to do with that,
2003
01:44:09,277 --> 01:44:11,416
outside of playing the tape,
2004
01:44:11,452 --> 01:44:14,593
you know, a little verbal harassment, I...
2005
01:44:14,627 --> 01:44:16,284
you know, I'd have no use for the guys.
2006
01:44:16,318 --> 01:44:18,735
You know, I am...
I am for the death penalty.
2007
01:44:18,769 --> 01:44:20,564
If you can prove it,
2008
01:44:20,599 --> 01:44:22,255
I am an eye-for-an-eye person.
2009
01:44:23,429 --> 01:44:24,429
But...
2010
01:44:25,603 --> 01:44:26,880
this just doesn't add up.
2011
01:44:29,573 --> 01:44:33,439
If everything was reversed
and Tom was in jail right now,
2012
01:44:33,474 --> 01:44:36,270
my family would be as vocal as anybody
2013
01:44:36,304 --> 01:44:38,582
and trying get him out of prison
2014
01:44:38,617 --> 01:44:40,204
and prove his innocence.
2015
01:44:41,791 --> 01:44:44,243
What do you think Tom would
want at this point?
2016
01:44:55,772 --> 01:44:56,956
I don't know.
That's a tough...
2017
01:44:56,980 --> 01:44:58,291
That's a tough question.
2018
01:45:21,901 --> 01:45:23,246
Dale Basten is now serving
2019
01:45:23,282 --> 01:45:26,112
his life sentence
at Green Bay Correctional.
2020
01:45:26,147 --> 01:45:29,219
Well, I'll be 60
on my next birthday.
So...
2021
01:45:30,772 --> 01:45:32,429
I don't know what to say.
2022
01:45:32,464 --> 01:45:34,431
I suppose I have a very good chance
2023
01:45:34,466 --> 01:45:35,501
of dying in prison.154563
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