July 30, 2007
Abner Louima, Ten Years Later
The Post visited with Abner Louima, one of the city's most famous symbols of police brutality, ten years after the infamous incident at Brooklyn 70th Precinct. Louima had been arrested on August 9, 1997, after a scuffle outside a Brooklyn club. He claimed he was beaten by police officers on the way to the precinct, and later at the precinct, he was further beaten and sodomized with a toilet plunger while handcuffed. Louima had a perforated colon and damaged bladder, and the plunger was also shoved into his mouth, damaging his teeth.
The police officers involved were tried and convicted. Three officers had their convictions overturned, but one, Charles Schwarz, eventually served 5 years for lying about his role. And Justin Volpe was sentenced to 30 years in jail. Louima had initially claimed the cops yelled, "It's Giuliani Time," during the attack, but then later retracted the statement. Critics of then Mayor Giuliani had seized on the phrase, only for Giuliani to ask for an apology when Louima recanted.
Louima, a Haitian immigrant who had worked as a security guard before the incident, received an $8.75 million settlement, $5.8 million of which was left after legal fees. The Post notes that he lives with his family in Florida (he has a four-bedroom home and quite a few luxury cars) and has created a nonprofit to build hospitals and educate children in Haiti.
Volpe's lawyer, Marvyn Kornberg, tells the Post the city "absolutely" overpaid, "Louima's now basking in all of these riches, and Volpe's doing 30 years on what I consider to be an excessive sentence." But the Reverend Al Sharpton said, "If you ask him if he'd rather have the millions or the dignity, I'm sure he'd rather not have had the broomstick shoved in his rectum."
The Smoking Gun has documents about the case. And the federal prosecutor who gave the opening statement, Kenneth Thompson, told the Post, "When Louima was dragged into that stall, I felt like all of us were dragged in there with them."
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God Bless you Al Sharpton,
Korberg, may you burn in hell, and I'll see you there to make sure it gets done.
... has created a nonprofit to build hospitals and educate children in Haiti.
At least something good came of this.
here comes a racist thread
Volpe's lawyer, Marvyn Korberg, tells the Post the city "absolutely" overpaid, "Louima's now basking in all of these riches, and Volpe's doing 30 years on what I consider to be an excessive sentence."
the city is only paying that b/c her client shoved a stick up a man's ass. if there's anyone to blame, korberg should just look to his client.
I think marvyn's a guy, tm.
I think he's a PBA lawyer so he's paid pretty well.
I'm pretty sure I saw Abner at a strip club in Montreal back in June.
Either way, he was sodomized by a cop, he deserves every penny.
I wonder how Volpe's solitary confinement is going?
I remember Kornberg also suggested that Louima's injuries were not caused by a broomstick, but by "gay sex." I thought that was one of the lowest and dumbest things this five-and-dime defense lawyer said during the trial.
That is pretty low, even for a lawyer.
I guess the sex play also got his teeth busted.
"He claimed he was beaten by police officers on the way to the precinct, and later at the precinct, he was further beaten and sodomized...."
This was proven in a court of law. It isn't just a "claim".
And I don't see the point about mentioning his "four-bedroom home and quite a few luxury cars". Why not mention Volpe's dad, who sqandered that "legal defense fund" that Sean Hannity set up to defend Volpe and the other cops again what they called "lying louima".
Sean Hannity, The NY Post, and the rest of these clowns never gave up defending Volpe and slandering Louima until Volpe confessed.
four bedrooms is nothing, in fact it's only one bedroom more than a standard starter house.
right, sorry #5. i meant his client.
It's time for some people to let go of the notion that police officers are these special individuals . They have issues, & problems like the rest of us . It's great that Abner Louima got a taste of the good life, It's just sad that it had to be this way . Justin Volpe committed a crime and got justice served to him end of discussion ! Dude rammed a broomstick up another man's ass &enjoyed every minute of it . The time he got wasn't nearly enough ! Posted by; "Still Not Amused"
"He claimed he was beaten by police officers on the way to the precinct, and later at the precinct, he was further beaten and sodomized...."
This was proven in a court of law. It isn't just a "claim".
ACTUALLY that's a lie!-just the jailhouse attack was proven, not the "GUILIANI TIME" beatdown-or his allegations that four officers put beat him down.
And I don't see the point about mentioning his "four-bedroom home and quite a few luxury cars". Why not mention Volpe's dad, who sqandered that "legal defense fund" that Sean Hannity set up to defend Volpe and the other cops again what they called "lying louima".
ACTUALLY that's a lie! Louima lied repeatedly-about "Guiliani Time", the timing of the attack, the number of people who assaulted him and he picked Schwarz as an attakcer-when it was Wiese! He was a lying.
Sean Hannity, The NY Post, and the rest of these clowns never gave up defending Volpe and slandering Louima until Volpe confessed.
[9] Posted by: guest | July 30, 2007 6:18 PM
ACTUALLY that's a lie! Almost noone defended Volpe-he looked like a thug from the get-go. Everyone defended Schwarz though-you must have them confused like Louima did.
so you mean there wasn't a fox hannity fund for volpe? so you're saying hannity didn't say any of this on his radio show? so this is not defending volpe?
The father of chief defendant Justin Volpe, an NYPD police officer, regularly appeared on show during the 1999 trial. And Hannity and various guests repeated rumors that Louima's injuries resulted from a "gay sex act" and not from police brutality. Playing on the homosexual rumor and inconsistencies in Louima's story, Hannity and his producer sang a parody of Lionel Richie's song "Three Times a Lady," changing the words to "you're once, twice, three times a liar." Hannity stopped referring to the victim as "Lying Louima" only after Volpe confessed to sodomizing Louima with the help of another officer.
"Hannity stopped referring to the victim as "Lying Louima" only after Volpe confessed to sodomizing Louima with the help of another officer. "
Or maybe it was after Louima re-canted "Guiliani time" and that he had 4 attackers!
Stop using Wikipedia & F.A.I.R. as a source, it's leading you wrong.
Remember Louima didn't ID Wiese-he's still out there-and he was an attacker-or was he?!?. Louima lied about the number of attackers in the bathroom repeatedly-also Guiliani time-so why are you shocked that people don't believe him?
oh my, how the thin blue line broke in this case.
How bout stepping up and tell what you know to the DA?
Why do rhetoric-spewing dittohead types have this penchant for using excessive !?!?!Punctuation!?!?! and UPPERCASE? Some of these ranters look like they came from the Dr. Bronner school of expression.
anne coulter is back on gothamist posting as #13 & #15. hi ann.
this place is douchebag city forever. why even post anything ever? god, you're such losers...
get out and enjoy ny!
Well-I guess we're settled Louima lied.