More strange witness statements in the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case...

Here we are again with a familiar theme in our blog, strange witness statements regarding the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case.  At first we grew suspicious of some of the witness statements that we found in the case file, they sounded way too precise and to the point, in fact they actually all sounded like they were written by the same person!  Strange, huh?  Last week Detective Baluja tells us during one of the depositions that not only was Assistant State Attorney preparing questions for witnesses and telling the detective what to do but he was apparently also writing witness statements as well!  One has to wonder, why the hell is a prosecutor meddling in an investigation?  Isn't that the Detective and the PD's job?  More important though, why the hell is the prosecutor writing statements for the witnesses?  As far as we know the only person that supposed to author a witness statement is the WITNESS not a cop or a damn prosecutor!


Moving along, every single witness statement that we've found in the Bernardo Barrera case file seems a bit off to us.  How often is it that you find a witness statement that is clear, concise and speaks exactly to the elements of the crime, almost as if written by a lawyer?  Case in point, take a look at this statement that was submitted by a fraud investigator from Citi Mortgage regarding the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case...

Statement From Celia Ritchie From Citi Mortgage Regarding the Bernardo Barrera Mortgage Fraud Case

Now that's as clear and concise as you can get isn't it?  Short and to the point, clearly stating the facts that are relevant to lay the groundwork for the arrest affidavits for the people charged in the fraud.  Brilliant but perhaps a little too clean?  A little too precise?  Doesn't it sound a bit coached?  Maybe even prepared by an attorney?  Break it down...

No $hit huh?  If the bank had known Mr. Barrero's (sic) identity had been stolen, they wouldn't have approved the loan? 

Glad we got that cleared up!  She goes on to state...

Oh, thanks for that!  This statement, specifically these two paragraphs lay the corner stone for the Bernardo Barrera Mortgage fraud case prepared by Detective Baluja and ASA Bill Kostrzewski.  Isn't it convenient that Ms. Richie was so kind as to include these two paragraphs in her statement that speak directly to the elements of the crime that the state is alleging were committed?  You have to appreciate how clear and concise this statement is, short but to the point.  Does that sound like something that would come from a witness on their own or was it something that was dictated to them?  From Detective Baluja's deposition...

Jorge Baluja Saying That He Told Celia Ritchie What to Write the Affidavit She Supplied for the Bernardo Ba...

Isn't that great?  Detective Baluja comes out and admits that he told the witness what to write in the affidavit!  FANTASTIC!  Consider that Detective Baluja isn't very eloquent, yet somehow he seems to appear responsible for writing some very un-Baluja sounding documents in the case file, although we have the detective admitting that he told the witness what to write, is it possible that someone else was telling him what to tell the witness to write?  By now you all surely know the answer to that question.


So here we are again, another instance where the lead detective (and possibly someone else) is telling a witness what to write in their statements, statements that the state will use as the foundation for their criminal case.  We all know that this practice of fabricating evidence and coercing witnesses is not only wrong but is illegal.  All this leads to a far more important question that goes far beyond Detective Baluja and ASA Bill Kostrzewski.  We know that people from the MDPD and the State Attorneys Office are aware of and read our blog, considering the magnitude of our allegations of misconduct, why hasn't anything been done?