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    <h3 class="title"><a name="#top"></a>Honesty! The 1st Casualty When Dealing 
      with the State Board</h3>
    <h4 class="titlesmall">UPDATE: October 2, 2006<br></h4>
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    <p>The Subject of this update was to have been &#8211; <strong><em>&#8220;'The 
      Administrative Hearings Process'! Has it been fair, impartial, unbiased, 
      and Without prejudice?&#8221;</em></strong> but after reviewing all the 
      documents, correspondences, statements made, and actions taken during the, 
      soon to be, three (3) year charade which began as a vicious &#8220;Witch 
      Hunt&#8221; and attempt at &#8220;Character Assassination&#8221;, I have 
      elected to hold off on this for the authorities to review that which I shall 
      soon present for their review and scrutiny.</p>
    <p>The emails, the phone calls, and the words of encouragement have been overwhelming 
      as I continue to put forth the truth and the facts supported by documentation 
      that have intentionally been withheld from me by the principals at Nordgren 
      Memorial Chapel and the State Board. I speak specifically to the fact that 
      Katherine Mangsen, wife of Kurt Mangsen, made vicious statements, accusations, 
      and allegations against me to the State Board regarding pre-need funeral 
      arrangements I had made after she (excuse me, after her husband, Kurt) terminated 
      my employment within hours after an inspection by John Bresnahan, investigator 
      for the State Board on November 19, 2003. At that time and to this day, 
      I am and remain an owner of Nordgren&#8217;s. Yet, I was denied the opportunity 
      to review any files, to refute any of her malicious statements or the two 
      files reviewed by Mr. Bresnahan during his inspection with the benefit of 
      seeing and reviewing the files; necessitating an investigation by me and 
      others in my employ of the circumstances leading up to this charade. At 
      that juncture, not knowing what we know today, I wondered why the State 
      Board would so aggressively get involved in what obviously was a personal 
      matter between Mrs. Mangsen and me without verifying the validity of Mrs. 
      Mangsen&#8217;s complaints.</p>
    <p>When I was asked to appear at a State Board Meeting on December 9, 2003 
      (I rescheduled appointments and a presentation in New York City to accommodate 
      the State Board&#8217;s request), I entered the reception area earlier than 
      my scheduled appearance and found Mr. Kazlauskas, Chairman of the State 
      Board, in a corner of the reception area near the water cooler on the second 
      floor, in conversation with Kurt and Katherine Mangsen, Ronald Johnson, 
      and Nordgren Memorial Chapel&#8217;s legal Counsel, Scott Sinrich. When 
      Mr. Kazlauskas saw me, he turned &#8220;beet red&#8221; and abruptly walked 
      away. It is a shame you could not see his &#8220;beet red face&#8221; crowned 
      by his white hair &#8211; a site I shall always vividly remember.</p>
    <p>Yes, I smelled a &#8220;rat&#8221; from the outset, but fluffed it off 
      because I knew the truth and had the benefit of the facts in all instances. 
      Little did I know at that time &#8211; in my absence and before I was invited 
      into the meeting - that Mr. Kazlauskas was about to viciously attack me 
      personally and professionally to the full State Board, in the presence of 
      the State Board attorneys (Mr. Carroll and Mr. Anliot), the investigator, 
      Mr. Bresnahan, the employees of the State Board, and a public advocate &#8211; 
      one year later I found to be Mr. Byron Blanchard.</p>
    <p>When I was finally invited into the Meeting of the State Board on December 
      9, 2003, I noticed Mr. Kazlauskas was nowhere to be seen. Ms. Cartmell-Sirrico 
      introduced herself as the person-in-charge, and I immediately asked if the 
      proceedings were being recorded. Informed it was and that I certainly could 
      secure a copy of the tape, I made an official request of Ms. Cartmell-Sirrico 
      for an audio taped copy of the proceedings. At that very moment, I was presented 
      with the name of a contact person and an email address.</p>
    <p>I was immediately drilled with questions from Mr. Bresnahan; all of which 
      I could answer from my personal knowledge and &#8220;memory of an elephant&#8221;, 
      but none of which was I prepared to address nor did I expect to be confronted 
      with when I entered the meeting on December 9, 2003. You must realize, at 
      this point, I was unaware Mr. Kazlauskas had moments earlier attacked me 
      personally and professionally prior to my appearance before the State Board. 
      I was being grilled about a letter that was presented to me by Columbian 
      Life Insurance Company in 1999 (4+ years earlier), and which I signed after 
      it had been reviewed by Kurt Mangsen, president, and John Carrigan, treasurer, 
      Nordgren Memorial Chapel; Peter Armbruster and Family Bank in Fitchburg, 
      and the legal office at Columbian Life Insurance Company in Binghamton, 
      NY. The circumstances were as vivid and clear to me on December 9, 2003 
      as they were when they occurred in 1999. </p>
    <p>After I departed the meeting, the Mangsens, Mr. Johnson, and Scott Sinrich, 
      Nordgren&#8217;s legal counsel, were invited into the meeting &#8211; with 
      John Kazlauskas assuming the role of Chairperson for the Mangsen&#8217;s 
      and Nordgren&#8217;s participation in the meeting. Without getting into 
      specifics, Mr. Kazlauskas attacked me once again &#8211; this time in the 
      presence of the folks from Nordgren&#8217;s and their attorney.</p>
    <p><em><strong>Here, readers of this web site, we find &#8211;</strong></em><br>
      <em><strong>The 1st Casualty of this Process &#8211;&#8220;Honesty!&#8221;</strong></em></p>
    <p>I have stated in a prior update and in my testimony that I have been federally 
      trained and certified as a &#8220;Grievance Examiner&#8221;. I know right 
      from wrong. I know the importance of appropriate documentation. I know the 
      importance and value of honesty. And I know that to lie once leads to many 
      more lies, deceit, and ultimately, <strong>corruption</strong>. I&#8217;m 
      sad to say &#8220;many&#8221; involved in this charade of the past 33 months 
      have lied, have distorted the facts, have conspired to defraud an agency 
      of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, making statements known to be false 
      at the time they were being made in anticipation of having the Commonwealth 
      of Massachusetts and the taxpayers of the Commonwealth fund a <strong>&#8220;witch 
      hunt&#8221;</strong> embodied with corruption as a result of a conspiracy 
      that most saw coming, but who were too timid to put an end to &#8211; and 
      now it is too late.</p>
    <p><strong><em>The 2nd Casualty of this Process &#8211;<br>
      &#8220;John J. Kazlauskas&#8221;</em></strong></p>
    <p> Mr. Kazlauskas departed this life roughly 15 months after he made the 
      vicious and malicious attack on me, and it is my understanding his passing 
      was less than a peaceful one. Although Ms. Alexander, prosecuting attorney, 
      indicated in correspondence to my attorney at that time, Mr. Flynn, just 
      days before Mr. Kazlauskas&#8217;s passing that Mr. Kazlauskas wished to 
      recuse himself from further involvement in this case, I did not have the 
      opportunity to confront my accuser before he transitioned to what I suspect 
      is an eternal life many of us hope and pray we do not see. Some have suggested 
      the State Board did everything in their power to delay the Administrative 
      Hearing depriving me of my constitutional rights to a fair, speedy, and 
      just hearing; realizing that it was only a matter of time before Mr. Kazlauskas 
      would pass, and he would not have to face the questioning that was sure 
      to occur during the hearing. With what has been testified to by Mr. Bresnahan 
      under oath, I believe there is definite merit to what many have suggested 
      was motives behind actions of the State Board.</p>
    <p>There will be many more casualties in these proceedings as time passes 
      &#8211; many that have made the List of the &#8220;Most Despicable People 
      I have Come to Know&#8221; referenced in Updates &#8211; September 10, 2006 
      and September 20, 2006 and several that almost made the list, and yet are 
      deserving.</p>
    <p>As you can imagine (or maybe you can&#8217;t, for if you personally haven&#8217;t 
      experienced the horrific personal attacks on your character and reputation 
      by a band of misguided individuals abusing their power with reckless disregard 
      of the facts, as I have), the past, almost 3 years have been nothing short 
      of a nightmare for me, for my family, and for the families that were brutality 
      referenced by the Mangsen&#8217;s, Kevin Mercadante, David Pickering, John 
      Bresnahan, and others; and who were subpoenaed on numerous instances to 
      testify in Boston to the truth after having lost loved ones. (And you wonder 
      why funeral service continues to suffer the wrath of negative publicity 
      and is despised by many??????????????).</p>
    <p>Many stay in almost daily contact with me concerned for my personal health 
      and safety. Others routinely stay in contact with me, because they see that 
      the attacks on me could well have been attacks on them or anyone in funeral 
      service singled out and denied access to that which would expose the conspiracy. 
    </p>
    <p>What we have at this point in what has become a truly polluted process 
      is what is commonly termed &#8211; <strong>&#8220;the Pitfall of False Assumptions!&#8221;</strong> 
      The cast of characters that have been engulfed in and personally polluted 
      by this process read like the &#8220;who&#8217;s who&#8221; of State Government 
      in the Commonwealth &#8211; many turning away from the truth that was presented 
      to them early on and now wondering when (not if) their participation or 
      lack thereof is going to publicly surface, bite them in the butt, and potentially 
      end their government careers.</p>
    <p>Those who thought I would succumb to this charade were grossly mistaken. 
      Those who thought they could hide behind their positions and the &#8220;State 
      Veil&#8221; and use unlimited resources of taxpayer dollars to fabricate 
      a <strong>&#8220;witch hunt&#8221;</strong> at my expense are very much 
      mistaken. Those of you that fit this description are very dangerous people. 
      Likened to a terrorist in many ways, you need to be identified, rooted out, 
      and held accountable for your actions and waste of precious government resources. 
      To this end, I remain committed.</p>
    <p>As you know the Administrative Hearings have finally concluded with the 
      last of the 15 defense witnesses testifying along with my testimony as well. 
      I am now about to prepare what is termed the &#8220;Post Hearing Briefing&#8221; 
      (Memorandum) without benefit of counsel; and I certainly do not profess 
      to be, nor am I, proficient in legal matters &#8211; but my briefing will 
      be tell-tailing, I assure you.</p>
    <p>The Post Hearing Briefing is due to be submitted on Wednesday, October 
      18, 2006, after which I shall present it in its entirety on this web site 
      &#8220;Justice At What Price&#8221; in a number of installments based upon 
      its length.</p>
    <p> <strong>Since I shall be quite busy in preparation of this document, the 
      next update will be on Monday, October 23, 2006 </strong></p>
    <p><strong>Subject- The Cardinal Sin of any investigation &#8211;&#8220;The 
      Pitfall of False Assumptions!&#8221;</strong></p>
    <p>(<em>Dedicated specifically to John Bresnahan, his supervisors, State Board 
      Members, State Board employees and State Board Legal Counsels with special 
      notice to Katherine Mangsen and Kevin Mercadante</em>)</p>
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