Another Rant by: Bettyjean Kling
How can we help this situation- Here is the story of a Councilman, an ex cop, and newly elected state Senator who obviously slashed his girlfriends face in a jealous rage and who has intimidated her and her family into covering up to protect his political future. Let’s discuss this and decide what we need to do to get the courts to help end this vicious cycle of abuse and cover-up by women who are forced or somehow always fall for letting them get away with it.
I can just hear it now… She is getting the royal blame — the victim treatment – revictimized by being asked -Are you going to destroy his entire Life? His future as a Senator? No one is telling her to stick it to him because her future is just as valuable as his and besides she is being told what the hell was she doing with the card in her purse anyway! No one is telling her – he had choices and his choice was to break the law and he has to pay . No one is telling her is is an abuser and not fit to be a Senator- No everyone is telling her – she is not worth what he is worth – she will have to take the abuse and let him off the hook – she probably deserved it anyway! She is terrified and she feeels she deserved it- by now she is apologizing and kissing his feet!
Abusers never change except that they usually get worse- especially once they get away with it- and it usually ends up with someone dying in the end! By now you would think that the judges and others in the system would have figured this out – I guess we have to get the job done for them!
Note when you read the story – He is an ex-cop his cop friends and collegues and his family have filled the court room- her family – no doubt is intiimidated as they are taking his side and none of these people were witnesses mind you.
When we damned well know a victim is scared – feels guilty- paid off or otherwise unable to tell the truth – it is time for the courts and the judges to protect the abused – otherwise why are they there? Case in point – if this clown gets away with this obvious crime – this gal and/or her cousin who is also covering for him in the story below, may get her brains blown out the next time this guy gets mad.
I am going to give you a few stories to read – you have just got to see this to believe it:
Councilman Hiram Monserrate arrested on domestic assault charge
Updated Saturday, December 20th 2008, 10:12 AM
Pace for NewsCity Councilman Hiram Monserrate walks out of Queens Court after posting bail Friday. He was arrested on charges of assaulting his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo (below) with a shard of glass.
DeCrescenzo for NewsGiraldo, with her face covered, is rushed into a waiting car by a Queens DA outside the courthouse.
Hot-tempered city councilman Hiram Monserrate was accused of slashing his girlfriend’s face with broken glass Friday, leaving her with 20 stitches and a black eye.
Wearing black Adidas sweatpants, a Mets cap and a black wool jacket, the 41-year-old ex-cop from Elmhurst, Queens, looked weary as he stood before Judge Toko Sarita at his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court.
He did not speak during the brief hearing and was released on $2,500 cash bail after his lawyer, James Cullen, entered a not guilty plea.
Monserrate was charged with assault and weapons possession for allegedly attacking his girlfriend during a “boisterous argument,” Queens District Attorney Scott Kessler said.
The city councilman claimed the injuries were accidental. “I brought her a glass of water, I leaned over and tripped,” according to a statement read in court.
Kessler said Monserrate’s girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, 29, first told hospital staff he broke a glass in his hand during a heated argument and stabbed her in the face with the shards. She later changed her story and said it was an accident.
“She doesn’t want him to go to jail,” Kessler said, adding that police found blood-soaked towels and broken glass in Monserrate’s apartment. “She doesn’t want protection.”
But Sarita told Monserrate he cannot contact her and must stay at least 100 yards away.
Monserrate was elected to the state Senate last month and is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 1. He would automatically lose his seat if convicted of a felony.
Monserrate and Giraldo spent Thursday night with Caroline Kennedy and other luminaries at the Queens Museum of Art for the Queens Democratic Party‘s holiday dinner.
They argued afterward, possibly because a guest at the party confused Giraldo with another of Monserrate’s girlfriends, one law enforcement source said.
The fight turned violent in Monserrate’s Elmhurst condo about 1 a.m., when he broke a drinking glass in his right hand and struck her – almost taking out her left eye, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Monserrate lives a few blocks from the trauma room at the city-run Elmhurst Hospital Center. But sources said he drove Giraldo 14 miles to Long Island Jewish Medical Center on the Nassau County line for treatment – and tried to get her to concoct an innocent explanation on the way.
A doctor interviewed Giraldo privately, then summoned the NYPD at 4:50 a.m., police sources said. Officers arrested Monserrate at the hospital.
The arrest meant Monserrate couldn’t make his own holiday party at a substance abuse treatment center in Corona last night.
Prosecutors had been probing Monserrate’s connections to a now-defunct nonprofit organization called Libre.
Any political consequences may fall into a gray area, though. Council Speaker Christine Quinn referred his case to the Council’s Ethics Committee. It is unclear whether it would take action once he leaves for Albany.
The Senate may not take up an ethics case for something he did before taking office. Smith ducked questions about it.
Mayor Bloomberg and Quinn also declined to comment on the arrest, though Quinn said anyone charged with domestic violence should be prosecuted “regardless of any position that individual might hold.”
Monserrate was elected to the Council in 2001 and served on its Public Safety Committee. He attended his last Council meeting on Thursday, where he and other departing members were honored by their colleagues. He was elected to the Senate last month after he won the backing of Queens Democrats over previous Sen. John Sabini, who pleaded guilty to drunken driving and was later picked to run the state racing and wagering board.
And theren there is this one:
http://gothamist.com/2008/12/21/queens_pol_claims_gfs_black_eye_sti.php
Monserrate: Girlfriend’s Injuries Were Accidental
State Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate issued a statement after being arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend with a broken glass—requiring her to get 20 stitches for a gash above her left eye (she also had a black eye). Monserrate, who is a former police officer and an outgoing City Councilman, said the whole thing was a “terribly unfortunate accident” with girlfriend Karla Giraldo.
The statement also read, “As a result of an unfortunate accident in which I was involved and which involved also someone to love and I care deeply, I am accused of crimes they did not commit and that I am incapable of committing… As a son, a brother and a father, these accusations are offensive, and they are crushing on a personal level.” Monserrate claimed the accident occurred when “I brought her a glass of water, I leaned over and tripped.”
However, prosecutors said that the couple had been arguing and that Monserrate allegedly broke the glass and hit Giraldo in the face with it. As for why Giraldo was taken to Long Island Jewish Hospital instead of Elmhurt Hospital, which is much closer to Monserrate’s apartment, where the incident occurred, that’s explained too: “I took her to Long Island Jewish Hospital in Queens because my family has received excellent medical care there in the past.”
The NY Times reports that the Queens DA’s case is “complicated by the fact that Ms. Giraldo, 30, is now saying that it was an accident and, according to a law enforcement source, is not cooperating with prosecutors.” Giraldo’s cousin Jasmina Abril de Rojas told the NY Post, “She told me everything was an accident. He’s innocent of the charges because, as a human being, he is not an aggressive person. He’s always been a nice person, willing to help anyone… From what I understand, Senator Monserrate didn’t hit my cousin or even threaten her.”
Monserrate, a Democrat who was elected to the State Senate this past November, still intends to head to Albany. However, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer told the Daily News, “Mr. Monserrate should immediately recuse himself from any role in his remaining days on the City Council, and for any matters in the state Senate, pending his resolution of these incredibly serious charges.”
Now let’s hear it from a different angle – just in case you were about to believe that piece of baloney
By MURRAY WEISS
Last updated: 3:14 am
December 24, 2008
Posted: 1:30 am
December 24, 2008
State Sen.-elect Hiram Monserrate flew into a rage and slashed his girlfriend in the face with a piece of broken glass because he believed the business card he spotted in her bag belonged to an ex-boyfriend, sources said.
Investigators found the card at the bottom of the garbage chute in Monserrate’s Jackson Heights apartment building after he was caught on surveillance video trying to toss her bag in the trash, the sources said.
The video also captured Monserrate’s girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, 30, running screaming down the hallway holding a towel to her bleeding face and pounding on neighbors’ doors for help.
Monserrate, 41, a Democratic city councilman and ex-cop, is then seen pulling her back to his apartment, sources said.
He then drove her to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, nearly 15 miles from his home, where she received 20 stitches. He was arrested and charged with assaulting Giraldo, who has stopped cooperating with investigators.
And this clown got sworn in today 1/07/09 – Gee – has this even been in the news ? Does anyone even give a damned.
http://www.nycstatehood.org/portal/aggregator?page=1
Monserrate Sworn In
New York Observer – 9 hours 23 min ago
ALBANY—State Senators are moving into their chamber now, being sworn in on an assembly line before official proceedings begin at noon.
That includes Hiram Monserrate who was sworn in under fire because of a charge he assaulted his girlfriend. (He has denied the charge and pleaded not guilty.)
Last night, Majority Leader-to-be Malcolm Smith said that Monserrate would be seated, but that his staff would be evaluating what role Moserrate would play in the conference. (Republican Senator Marty Golden has a resolution called for him not to be seated until he resolves the charges).
PS- when you have 35 minutes – please go to my other blog and watch this video- you will not be sorry – it explains some of the reasons why women are being brutalized and how we can help stop it by standing up to the advertisers. Got 35 Minutes Ladies/ Watch this Video!
http://4wea.wordpress.com/2009/01/06/got-35-minutes-ladies-watch-this-video/
Filed under: Feminism | Tagged: Domestic Violence, Male domination, Violence against women |
ceceisnotyouraveragelatina
cjwk
democratsagainstunagenda21
FreeMeNow
itsmelouisa
kmorrison33
mattdp
Mary Ellen
nitlifetime
onewaypress
pghpuma
Savant Noir
robinofberkeley
Free Us Now Weblog 
Oops- I did it again, he played this too close to the vest to be the first time, he has done this before… I know this type of man…
Of course they never mean to hit a woman, they never mean to cut her, they never mean to kick, slap, beat or what ever word you want to insert!
It’s always an accident.
He’d never do anything like that, he is such a good guy, he is well liked, he is from a “good” family, he is a former football star, policeman, fireman, marine, or what ever other testosterone filled club that the he-man-women-haters hang a shingle on that says “No-Women-Allowed”…
While in these clubs they teach the age old traditions that boys have learned from their male elders for centuries, the traditions passed on are;
How to keep a woman in line,
How to wound with words,
How to beat a woman without leaving a mark, or the best tradition of all,
How to make them believe that what you do to them they deserve; because you are such a good guy, it has to be their fault!
You can tell who these types of men are going to be as early as preschool, when they bite, hit, or take toys away from the other kids. By the time they get to Middle School they are shoving the scrawny boys in lockers, giving swirlies, wedgies and general bullying…
By they time they get through High School, College, and into a career, their personalities are cemented… and when there isn’t a scrawny kid to bully, they turn to the closest thing; their wives or girlfriends…
Another great post BJ, another great example of what affluent males and most males in general get away with… Once they saw the security video, he should not have been let out of jail and should have been stripped of his police pension, Council Seat, and his Senate Seat! Open and shut case…
The most sickening part of it is that they get away with it so often that when it comes to the point where they are one toe over the line, they don’t know where the line is and they have to do what this asshole did and try like hell to cover it up!
My question is why does there have to be a line? Why can’t there be Zero Tolerance like there is in schools; for fighting, knives and guns on campuses? Why can’t there be ZERO TOLERENCE for violence against women? Can somebody answer that for me? Because I just don’t get it!
What a crock!! And the worse thing is, he’s going to get away with it. The nest time we hear about her, it will probably be of her death. My daughter had a boyfriend, aka love of her life, who was verbally and emotionally abusive. She couldn’t see it and we were just ready and waiting. The call came at 3 am ona Febuary morning when it was -23 outside. Thank God it was from her. She was barefoot and wrapped in a blanket waking down a street and called on her cell for us to get her.
The bastard had grabbed her and choked her. She was sleeping at the time. Police were called, the whole bit. Despite the no contact order he managed to get in touch with her and convince her it was an accident. An accident??
Still, she is no married, not to him, and has a year old daughter. It has changed her attitude a lot. Even though she has had no problems with the guy she married, she has an escape plan for her and her daughter if needed. We are the escape plan for a friend of hers who lives a few houses away from us. Get proactive! That is the only way to ever dent this..
Zero tolerence and an escape plan both great sugestions.
I think we need to build some legislative offices with jail bars around them, inside of prisons. It might be the only time the politicians actually get something done. Then perhaps the judicial system won’t be so reluctant to put a politician in jail.
http://www.DailyPUMA.com
Buy a gun and learn how to use it, or take self-defense classes and learn how to deck him!
Here in Georgia, the abused person does not have to file a complaint in a domestic violence case. It doesn’t even matter if they say that they were hurt by accident. If the police are called out for a domestic disturbance, they can file the charges themselves if they see any evidence of abuse. Why is this not the law in every state?
I guess I am ignorant. Can someone tell me if there are attorneys out there specialized in helping DV victims?
Apparently things have not changed much for women over the years.I know a woman here in PA that was married to a state policeman who was terribly abusive. She tried to press charges against him many times, but his cop buddies had his back. She finally got away from him, divorced him, and the judge gave him full custody of the kids,even though he was totally worthless as a father. Once those kids were away from him, they never looked back,but have a great relationship with their Mom. They saw what he did,but nobody listens to the kids or the victim, especially if the abuser is a cop. TIME TO TAKE A STAND IN THIS COUNTRY.
I am learning this as I go. If we compare the child abuse to DV abuse, what’s the difference? It appears to me that child abuse is weighted more. Can we bring DV abuse equal to child abuse as far as law, penalties and protection concern? If I am out of line here, please let me know. I am new to this site as well as DV for I have not been a victim. Also English is my second language. Thank you much again.
Revision: I know the different definition of Child abuse vs. DV.. I am saying what’s the difference in laws, protection program, penalties, agency involvements, and in that area… etc.
Four women a day die in this country. An epidemic? A crisis? Yes to both.
Femicide, woman murdered by the men in their lives.
Since the start of the Iraq war 4,200 Americans have lost their lives. In that same time period 9,000 women lost their lives. MURDERED many times in their own homes in front of their children by the “men who love them”
Many of you will shake your head, continue to read this, say to yourself we need to do something and then do what we have done for far to long….Ignore IT.
BUT I am counting on the many of you who will read this and feel the sorrow of a womans life lost and then feel the rage of why do we continue to allow women to be murdered? Then I will be counting on those of you to join those of us who are saying “Do you hear me now…enough” ?
We label it domestic violence, and slap those over and over again on the hand who commit these “Domesticated Acts.”. First let’s start calling it what it really is Violent Crime, Hate crime, Women Lynching.
Woman are being terrorized, tortured and murdered and there is nothing domesticated about that.
Right now an attempt is being made to end a womans life she is being sexually assaulted humiliated, degraded, denigrated, she is being beaten with his fist or a baseball bat or any household item. She is battered and bruised, bloody nose, black eyes and broken bones. She is being murdered his hands around her throat, a knife to her heart, a gun to her head.
This is happening right now. The man she loves is murdering her and statics show before he murders her or a family member he will have committed a serious of violent crimes. But because he loves her and because he loves her in her home they are going to call it domestic abuse and slap his wrist and send him home so he can love her some more. Until the day he loves her to death.
and this will continue to happen until I, you, us, we stop it.
Do you hear us now? ENOUGH
Join Puma Pac and their efforts to stop Women Lynching.
Join Betty Jean Kling the mother of Denise Richardson who while dying of cancer was beat over the head with a hammer by her husband George Hardwick for her pain medication. The monster was sentenced to 90 days for this horrific act of attempted murder. On Dec 15,2008 George returned home with the intent to kill Betty Jean, Denise and her sister Louisa Rodas with a shotgun. George found Louisa caring for Denise and he shot Louisa in the head.
My friend Betty Jean with two dying daughters is one determined woman. She is leading the way for Louisas Law and she is not shaking her head and ignoring women being murdered.
Betty Jean and Puma Pac are joining voices and saying, no we are yelling
Do you hear us now?
Enough.
Join us Please.
Barbara
http://www.pumapac.org
Women Lynching Forum
I am sending my post as an email to everyone I know. I am going to make this a flyer and I am going to paper the town with them.
Next week I hope to be in NYC to celebrate Hillary
Clinton I am bringing my flyers and I am going to hand them out.
They will hear me now?
You and Denise and Louisa and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.
China Doll: No apologies needed. And, you are not ignorant, you are uninformed, there is a big difference. Please do not use derogatory terms in reference to yourself, men do that enough to women! I can tell you are a precious and wonderful person because of the concern in your posts!
We are glad you are here; because you pose questions that need answers so that we are all on the same page. Hopefully, I can answer some of your questions.
The laws differ from state to state for both offenses; some laws are so weak, they are worthless. The Department of Children and Families handles Child-Abuse and DV cases in LA, it is a division of The Department of Health and Human Services an umbrella department that handles just about anything to do with human services.
However, in LA like most states there is little interagency communication; for example they will go after a deadbeat dad for child support, and he will be living with his ex-wife or his baby’s mother.
But, it is getting better in LA, 7 different agency directors tendered their resignations after Hurricane Gustav for screw ups in coordination efforts that left evacuees in worse living conditions than if they had stayed at home! We have a long way to go to get agencies to talk to each other and understand that they all have the same goal, protecting women and children!
Let’s all agree to stop calling it an innocuous term like Domestic Violence (DV) and call it what it really is male-violence-on-women or Sexually-Based-Violence (SBV).
There are lawyers who specialize in just about every field; the only problem is most SBV victims, are not in a position to hire personal attorneys; this needs to change!
Most pro-bono/Legal Aid attorneys are so overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases they have, they are almost ineffective, this is why we need to be better organized and get stronger child-abuse laws and Louisa’s law passed at the State and Federal level.
Child Abuse is often treated the same way as SBV; and the abuser gets a slap on the wrist. However, some states like LA are serious about keeping predators away from our kids. We have the death penalty for child rape; but the first case we had, the pervert took it all the way to the Supreme Court of the US. And the SCOTUS wimped out and said it was unconstitutional.
However, our governor Bobby Jindal, while not my favorite politician, is adamant on this issue and he is passing some of the strongest laws in the US against sexual predators of children. These laws will encourage other States to follow LA for a change.
FL Barbara: Thank you for your efforts and for your statistics I am on the Puma Prowl email list but I did not get your email. As it is filled with statistical data I’d like to have can you email it to me at BlueDawgDemocrat@Cox.Net I would greatly appreciate it. Do I need to sign up for the Women Lynching Forum in order to get future emails? Also I sent an email to Murphy and she has not answered can you see if she got it and if she has time to respond.
It is my hope to join with Betty Jean to tackle some of these issues, I have offered my assistance to her in any way she desires, and I even sent her my resume! So far I haven’t heard from her, but I sincerely hope that she allows me to join in her fight, not that she doesn’t have awesome company in Puma’s, but I am offering personal help with writing, posting, and whatever else she needs me to do.
This issue has captured my heart and I can’t turn my back on it now!
Betty, my heart breaks to think of all the suffering to which you have been subjected. Your family is in my prayers and I will be thinking of you tonight at my church during the tridentine latin mass.
I’m just not optimistic that most hardened criminals can be rehabilitated. Society either has to hang them or incarcerate them. That sounds harsh, but there is such a thing as evil people in this world, and some of them just won’t change.
I agree – I do not think abuser can be rehabilitated anymore that pedophiles can be- they need to be put away forever! or sent to a colony on a far away island where they can abuse each other
Topher in LA not L.A.
Just sent you an email on how to join Women Lyching forum at Puma Pac. We so need help so thank you for volunteering.
If you want to join us contact actioncenter@pumapac.org
For team women lynching send your name and email and you will receive the details via email.
Chinadoll..would love to have you join us at Puma Pac.every voice that speaks to the horror of violence against women makes us stronger and louder.
As one incredible woman says
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??
BJ
Let’s us be heard.
It breaks my heart that there are special rules for those in law enforcement and politics. Zero Tolerance is the only answer.
I really need some of your help ladies. Please consider joining http://fabulously40.com. We are in need some of your expertise there for we (members) starting a group called FADV (Fabulously40 against domestic violence). We are putting our thinking cap on. From there, perhaps you can get more audience and bring more awareness to that group. I am just a member but the sisterhood in that site is fabulously bond. Thank you all.
This is horrible. Used to be in Las Vegas, if the woman fights back, and she has bruises forming all over her face, and he has a scratch, they arrested them both. To sort it out. Obviously, after spending a night in jail, the woman just wants to go home and forget about it, and drops all charges. That’s no longer the case, but there’s still a “victim to blame” mentality very much alive and well through all levels of society. This has to end.
[…] Sen. Monserrate Posted on February 2, 2009 by freemenow Remember my blog piece about this? Oops- I accidentally smashed the glass then slashed her face and dragged her down a hall screaming! Sunday, February 1, 2009 4:14 AM […]
[…] about then State Senator elect Hiram Monserrate. On January 8, 2009, I posted the following piece Oops- I accidentally smashed the glass then slashed her face and dragged her down a hall screaming! On Feb. 2, 2009 NOW calls for removal of Sen. Monserrate , on March 27, 2009 Yet another lie […]
footage at Breitbart:
http://www.breitbart.tv/n-y-state-senator-accused-of-cutting-girlfriend/