MA MA - Joan Webster, 25, Logan Airport, Boston, 28 Nov 1981

[eve carson]

Hi Cherrymeg,

The caller, Harvey Martel was a known felon. This was extortion. They crossed state lines. He lied to federal authorities. He certainly could have been charged. I find it suspect that he wasn't. There were at least 3 extortion incidents I remembered. Nothing happened in any of them. None of them made the papers, but they are all documented in source files.

The only person I saw use the phone was George. I did see Steve call his dad on that line sometimes. George insisted the phone was off limits. I always assumed it was a business line. My dad had a business line in our house growing up and we never used it. But when your daughter is missing and you have an extortion caller on the line claiming she is alive, I think Eleanor could bend the rules. I don't think authorities knew they had this line in the house. It was not checked according to police files.

 

[eve carson]

OK, I am taking this step by step. Four people promoted the theory Leonard Paradiso murdered Joan on his boat; Tim Burke, Andrew Palombo, Carmen Tammaro, and George Webster.

POINT A - LOGAN AIRPORT
Step one: Joan was seen at Logan on November 28, 1981, and cabbie Fenton Moore gave an eyewitness description of the man Joan left with in a blue car. The description does not fit Leonard Paradiso. Four people promoted Leonard Paradiso murdered Joan on his boat and dumped her in Boston Harbor. Three of them had knowledge of the eyewitness description in December 1981; Andrew Palombo, Carmen Tammaro, and George Webster. Saugus PD and Harvard Campus PD also knew about this lead in December 1981. The lead was suppressed.

POINT B - GRAVESITE
Step 2: Joan's skull surfaced on April 18, 1990, in a remote wooded area on Chebacco Road in Hamilton, MA, more than 30 miles from the alleged crime scene. After a weeklong search, the grave was discovered. Cause of death, blunt force trauma to the head.

Here are the condition of Joan's remains:

2" x 4" hole in the right side of her skull

Stripped of all clothing and none found in the area

A 15" gold neck chain and gold amethyst ring remained on the skeleton

Identifiable jewelry was missing

Joan was discarded in a black plastic trashbag

The body was discarded in a natural basin in an area that sometimes flooded

The grave was covered by cut logs, and a second layer of cut logs was added at a later point in time

I am adding a map from Logan to the gravesite. Key points are noted on the map. The boat and gun locations are marked off; that "evidence" is debunked in source documents. You will also see where barricades were set up because of the Great Lynn Fire. The route veers off to the left. The logical route goes up Broadway. That goes right by Palombo's house at 247 Lynn Road in Peabody, MA.

How did Joan get from Point A at Logan to Point B in Hamilton, MA?
How did the investigation go off the rails pursuing Paradiso?
Why did Tim Burke, Andrew Palombo, Carmen Tammaro, and George Webster maintain the boat theory?

 

[KEDude]

I am assuming (the picture is not of the highest quality) that is Joan's skull. Where was the picture taken? Just after discovery in Hamilton?

 

[eve carson]

Hi Kedude,

This is the right side of Joan's skull taken at the crime scene on Chebacco Road on April 18, 1990. I recovered this along with other crime scene photos with the help of a private investigator. The jaw was dislodged from the skull. Most of the remains were recovered after a weeklong search including the jaw. Joan was identified through dentals. You cannot see it in this image, but there was some hair on the left side. If you look through the injury, you can see the eye sockets on the left side.

 

[KEDude]

The area where Mrs Wolf discovered the skull, was there a drainage grate that went across the road (woods right and left)?
Thanks for your responses....I know this may be difficult....

 

[eve carson]

Hi Kedude,

Exit 16 off of Route 128 winds back into Chebacco Road. This is a very remote area. You would not find this area by chance. It is heavily wooded. The road itself is rutted and turns to a narrow gravel road back where Joan's remains surfaced. There are large ponds or small lakes back in there. There are very few homes back in there even today. One of the officers involved in the recovery said there was very little there at the time. He said the power company went in there from time to time to thin out the trees. The cut logs used to cover the grave initially were from a recent thinning.

Karen Wolf discovered Joan's skull on her property. The house was up on a bluff and the gravesite was in a lower area of the property. You can't even see the house from the gravesite. Karen Wolf first noticed what she thought was a deflated ball clogging the drainage tile. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the suture like marks on the skull, characteristic of a human skull. She called the Hamilton PD.

The whole area back in there is wooded. People go back in there to hike and bike. It is many acres of rustic woods, as opposed to a maintained park like setting. A search team was set up after the skull surfaced and they did a grid search over the entire area. This area was also known to law enforcement for some criminal activity. The Hamilton police made regular drives through the area. The officer I spoke to, part of the recovery team, had been in the area earlier the night Joan disappeared.

There is some drainage, but not a lot. I hope this helps answer your question and gives you a sense of the setting.

 

[KEDude]

Criminal activity in the Chebacco Rd. area does not surprise me.... I'll bet that every t*hug from the North Shore knows that area....including the gangs from Somerville and South Boston...

I saw the Beverly (MA) newspaper clipping when the remains were found but not yet identified.

 

[KEDude]

Criminal activity in the Chebacco Rd. area does not surprise me.... I'll bet that every t*hug from the North Shore knows that area....including the gangs from Somerville and South Boston...

I saw the Beverly (MA) newspaper clipping when the remains were found but not yet identified.

....even given that the Atlantic Ocean was just a few miles away....

 

[eve carson]

Quick correction. When you look through the injury on the photo of Joan's skull, you can see the eye sockets on the right side.

There was motorcycle gang activity in the Chebacco Road area. That raises a flag of concern about Palombo. Chief Walter Cullen affirmed Palombo knew the area. Palombo rode a motorcycle and was an undercover cop. His appearance at times looked like a Hell's Angel.

The boat theory explanation really fell apart when Joan was found. It made no sense to me someone would kill someone on a boat at Pier 7, then carry them off the boat, transport them miles away, and bury them. When I recovered and went through old articles at the time, I could see Tim Burke's butchered explanation. The case may have been the most vulnerable at that time. But Burke, Palombo, and George Webster maintained the excuse without any reasonable explanation.

 

[KEDude]

Eve,
I'm sure that the best forensic minds available have analyzed the skeletal remains. Were the bone fragments from the fatal blow recovered? Can you get any better resolution of the picture?

I'm going to think about this...

Best,

K

 

[eve carson]

Hi Kedude,

Two forensic pathologists were in site during the recovery. The remains were transported to their labs. They had the remains for more than two months before they were released to the family.

I cannot say whether the fragments were recovered. Most of the skeleton was. The officer I spoke to said the trauma to the head was probably caused by a bat, or board, maybe a tire iron. There was tremendous force. I do not have the ability to get a clearer picture at this time. The state has really put a lid on this. I recovered some things before I was on the state's radar asking questions.

When Joan was interred, the family cremated the body. That was a personal recollection. When I started digging into this, I learned that cremating a body in an unresolved homicide was a violation of Massachusetts General Law. The death certificate confirms the remains were cremated. Needless to say, that bothers me. Steve did not want to go back, but I pressed the issue. I thought it was the loving thing to do for Joan and to be there for George and Eleanor. Anne, Joan's sister did not come back. That bothered me, too.

 

[eve carson]

How did Joan go from Point A to Point B? The man at the airport maneuvered her from the Town Taxi to the blue car.

How did the investigation go off the rails to implicate Leonard Paradiso?

Step 3
On or about January 20, 1982, Patty Bono placed an anonymous call to the Saugus PD implicating Paradiso for the murder of Marie Iannuzzi and Joan's disappearance.

What do we know about Patty Bono?
She grew up in the NE with Paradiso and Carmen Tammaro, one of the central officers involved in Joan's investigation.

She made an unverified allegation against Paradiso for a 1972 assault. There was no corroborating or contemporaneous evidence to support her claim. No witnesses were provided to support her claims. The defender she named, Willie Fopiano, was not available to testify. However, he published a book with his detailed account of that time period. His account did not support Bono's allegations.

Bono provided no verified knowledge or evidence to implicate Paradiso in the anonymous call or testimony in the Iannuzzi pretrial hearing. Her testimony was nothing more than "she said" with nothing to back it up.

Bono was identified by Tim Burke during the Iannuzzi pretrial making a call implicating Paradiso.

Chief Donald Peters of the Saugus PD affirmed the anonymous call to his office.

Bono affirmed placing the call to the Saugus PD. She posted her response in a public forum in response to questions raised about her allegations.

Bono was not credible, apparently making up a story about a 1972 assault and implicating Paradiso for other crimes without evidence.

Leonard Paradiso was targeted for Joan's loss beginning on or about January 20, 1982, based on unsubstantiated, false allegations made by an involved officer's friend. The allegations diverted attention away from the man at the airport. Paradiso was not identified publicly until January 1983, a full year later.

 

[eve carson]

Step by step to identify Joan's killer.

Four people promoted the Paradiso/boat theory despite having evidence to the contrary; Tim Burke, Andrew Palombo, Carmen Tammaro, and George Webster.

I get a lot of questions about motive. That is reasonable. When you can answer the why, you get to the who. I am looking at why each of the four individuals promoted a false explanation for Joan's loss.

Step One:
An eyewitness described the offender at Point A on November 28, 1981, and how the man left with Joan from Logan Airport. This lead was suppressed.

Step Two:
Joan's remains surfaced at Point B on April 18, 1990, in Hamilton, MA.

Step Three:
Patty Bono, who grew up in the NE with involved officer Carmen Tammaro, placed an anonymous call to the Saugus PD implicating Leonard Paradiso in the 1979 Marie Iannuzzi murder and Joan's disappearance. Paradiso, who did not fit the eyewitness description, was targeted in Joan's loss beginning on or about January 20, 1982.

Step Four:
Tim Burke claims he received an unsolicited letter from two-time convicted murderer, Robert Bond, on or about January 5, 1983. Allegedly, the letter detailed the Marie Iannuzzi murder and Joan's murder. According to documents filed with the court, Burke scheduled an interview with the MSP.

Bond met with the MSP on January 10, 1983, affirmed in court records. Bond met again with the MSP on January 14, 1983 in a taped interview. The interview was also affirmed in documents filed with the court. Transcripts of the interview affirm that no letter had been received as Burke claimed. The letter was mailed on January 10, 1983, AFTER meeting with the MSP. the letter was received AFTER the interview on January 14, 1983. These foundational documents were sealed in the Marie Iannuzzi case, hidden from scrutiny. This was an investigation based on a lie.

Authorities funneled information through snitch Robert Bond and solicited a letter. Robert Bond is discredited. Authorities perpetrated a fraud on the courts. They made the whole thing up.

The MSP interview transcript and the Bond letter both contained information in both cases known and/or learned to be false. But, both also contained the correct manner of death with correct detail for Joan's murder more than seven years before Joan surfaced. Bond's information was provided by the authorities. Two officers, Andrew Palombo and Carmen Tammaro are identified in meetings working to obtain Bond's statement, and were central in Joan's investigation.

Andrew Palombo and Carmen Tammaro knew the correct manner of death with correct detail, information only known to the killer or someone complicit in the crime.

 

[eve carson]

Four people promoted the false explanation Paradiso murdered Joan on his boat; Tim Burke, Andrew Palombo, Carmen Tammaro, and George Webster.

Step One:
An eye witness described the offender with Joan at Logan, Point A, and how they left the airport on November 28, 1981. The MSP and the Websters were in possession of the lead in December 1981. The lead was suppressed.

Step Two:
Joan's skull surfaced in a remote, heavily wooded area off Chebacco Road in Hamilton, MA on April 18, 1990, Point B. The grave was discovered after a weeklong search, and her skeleton recovered.

What happened between Point A and Point B?

Step Three:
Patty Bono, who grew up with involved officer Carmen Tammaro, placed an anonymous call to the Saugus PD implicating Leonard Paradiso for the 1979 Marie Iannuzzi murder and Joan's disappearance with no supporting evidence. Paradiso did not fit the eyewitness description.
Paradiso was targeted on or about January 20, 1982.

Step Four:
Source documents affirm Burke did not receive an unsolicited letter from snitch Robert Bond - NO LETTER. Authorities funneled information through an unreliable source and solicited a letter. Andrew Palombo and Carmen Tammaro are identifed knowing the correct manner of Joan's death with correct detail, information known only to the killer or someone complicit with the crime.

Step Five:
The Bond allegations, promoted by Tim Burke, Andrew Palombo, Carmen Tammaro, and George Webster, accused Paradiso of murdering Joan on his boat and dumping her in Boston Harbor. That is not where Joan was found.

On May 3, 1983, Tim Burke contacted SA Steve Broce of the FBI to instigate a bankruptcy fraud case. Paradiso filed for bankruptcy on August 26, 1981. He was charged with lying on his application. He did not list his boat, the alleged crime scene, in the claim.

Court records for case CR 85-010-S are maintained in the National Archives. The current custodian did not have these records in their files. Court records revealed significant information. Tim Burke and Andrew Palombo provided false information to federal authorities. They provided a fake boat registration along with the valid one. The current custodian did not have the fake ID.

An FBI 302 was contained in court files. The report discredits Burke's assertion divers found a replica .357 magnum in the water at Pier 7. Burke speculated the gun was used to force Joan on Paradiso's boat. Burke put witnesses on the stand to introduce the alleged gun. Palombo filed a warrant with the court detailing the gun. The FBI 302 report discredits the gun assertion. Diver's found a Mercedes in the water. Tim Burke and Andrew Palombo fabricated evidence.

Court records revealed high level influence over the case, an insurance policy. On July 13, 1983, Paul Leary, first ADA and Burke's boss, placed a call to a high level official. Records also confirm George Webster was aware of the proceedings in the bankruptcy case, and presented three letters entered into the case.

Court records confirmed Paradiso was in bankruptcy court on November 30, 1981, the date Tim Burke alleged Paradiso was swabbing the deck and scuttled his boat.

Judge Bruce Selya presided over CR 85-010-S in April 1985, and imposed sentence on May 10, 1985. Selya affirmed the boat, the alleged crime scene, did not exist when Paradiso filed for bankruptcy in August 1981, prior to Joan's loss. Burke lied about the case in his 2008 publication claiming Judge Richard Sterns [sic] imposed sentence on November 1, 1985. Richard Stearns was appointed to the bench in 1993. The alleged crime scene, the boat, did not exist when Joan disappeared on November 28, 1981.

The key to resolving Joan's case was to look at the investigation itself, and those promoting a false explanation.

 

[eve carson]

Step back and look at what is now known.

1. We have an eyewitness description of the offender with Joan at Logan on November 28, 1981. That lead was concealed by the authorities and George Webster.

CONCEALED EVIDENCE

2. Authorities targeted Paradiso on January 20, 1982, based on an anonymous call from Patty Bono, friend of involved officer Carmen Tammaro, with no corroborating evidence.

INVESTIGATION DIVERTED

3. Authorities fabricated a story and funneled information through Robert Bond and solicited a letter. Carmen Tammaro and Andrew Palombo identified knowing correct manner of death with correct detail.

NO LETTER - FALSE WITNESS

4. On May 10, 1985, Judge Bruce Selya affirmed the boat, the alleged crime scene, did not exist when Joan disappeared in case CR 85-010-S.

NO BOAT - NO CRIME SCENE

5. Joan's remains surfaced on April 18, 1990, buried in a remote wooded area off Chebacco Road in Hamilton, MA, more than 30 miles from the alleged crime scene.

FACT

Step 6:
Prior to the recovery of Joan's skeletal remains, there were efforts to take Paradiso to trial for Joan's loss. Bond would not cooperate. He had been burned cooperating on the Iannuzzi trial. After Joan surfaced, the state's explanation did not hold water. The effort to prosecute Paradiso for Joan's murder was dropped. That says it all; authorities did not have a case. Pressing further risked exposure of malfeasance and the real offender.

NO CASE - FRAUD


Four people continued to maintain the Paradiso boat theory; Tim Burke, Carmen Tammaro, Andrew Palombo, and George Webster.

The Paradiso boat explanation was a cover up.

 

[eve carson]

I am not big on coincidences. Source documents exposed too many "coincidences" to believe the Paradiso/boat theory was simply human error. To narrow the scope, you would have to believe known facts were simply coincidences to believe Andrew Palombo was not complicit or involved in Joan's murder.

COINCIDENCE?

1. Eyewitness description of the offender taken by the police was concealed. It was not Leonard Paradiso

2. Friend of Palombo's superior implicated Paradiso in January 1982.

3. Palombo was lead officer on the Maria Iannuzzi case as of February 1981. Paradiso was named as one of 2 suspects. Palombo was a friend of the other suspect, David Doyle, the victim's boyfriend.

4. Palombo worked at Logan Airport, the last place Joan was seen.

5. Joan's purse and wallet just happened to turn up in proximity to the Marie Iannuzzi crime scene, and the route from Palombo's home to Logan.

6. Joan's suitcase just happened to turn up at the Boston Greyhound Station. A police report confirms undercover police activity at the bus station, and Palombo was an undercover officer.

7. State witness Robert Bond just happened to be moved in close proximity to Paradiso at the Charles Street Jail.

8. State witness Robert Bond just happened to come forward with a letter after speaking with MSP implicating Paradiso for Iannuzzi and Webster cases. This indicates the letter and allegations were solicited.

9. Palombo and Tammaro knew the correct manner of death with correct detail more than 7 years before Joan surfaced. The information that would only be known to the killer or someone complicit with the crime, was funneled through an unreliable source.

10. The foundational documents for Joan's investigation, the Bond letter and the transcript of the January 14, 1983, interview with the MSP, were sealed in the Iannuzzi case.

11. Palombo aggressively pursued Paradiso irrespective of exculpatory evidence in the possession of the MSP. Palombo had evidence the boat, the alleged crime scene did not exist at the time Joan disappeared.

12. Joan's body just happened to surface in an area familiar to Palombo and in close proximity to his address.

13. The pressure to charge and prosecute Paradiso for Joan's murder abruptly stopped after Joan surfaced, after recovery of the body.

14. Records the MSP turned over to the current custodian were grossly deficient of relevant files necessary to administer justice for Joan's loss.


This is just a sample of the discrepancies or the "coincidences" you would have to swallow to believe this was an earnest investigation.

Palombo is one of the offenders complicit in Joan's loss.

 

[eve carson]

I am not big on coincidences. Source documents exposed too many "coincidences" to believe the Paradiso/boat theory was simply human error. To narrow the scope, you would have to believe known facts were simply coincidences to believe Andrew Palombo was not complicit or involved in Joan's murder.

COINCIDENCE?

1. Eyewitness description of the offender taken by the police was concealed. It was not Leonard Paradiso

2. Friend of Palombo's superior implicated Paradiso in January 1982.

3. Palombo was lead officer on the Maria Iannuzzi case as of February 1981. Paradiso was named as one of 2 suspects. Palombo was a friend of the other suspect, David Doyle, the victim's boyfriend.

4. Palombo worked at Logan Airport, the last place Joan was seen.

5. Joan's purse and wallet just happened to turn up in proximity to the Marie Iannuzzi crime scene, and the route from Palombo's home to Logan.

6. Joan's suitcase just happened to turn up at the Boston Greyhound Station. A police report confirms undercover police activity at the bus station, and Palombo was an undercover officer.

7. State witness Robert Bond just happened to be moved in close proximity to Paradiso at the Charles Street Jail.

8. State witness Robert Bond just happened to come forward with a letter after speaking with MSP implicating Paradiso for Iannuzzi and Webster cases. This indicates the letter and allegations were solicited.

9. Palombo and Tammaro knew the correct manner of death with correct detail more than 7 years before Joan surfaced. The information that would only be known to the killer or someone complicit with the crime, was funneled through an unreliable source.

10. The foundational documents for Joan's investigation, the Bond letter and the transcript of the January 14, 1983, interview with the MSP, were sealed in the Iannuzzi case.

11. Palombo aggressively pursued Paradiso irrespective of exculpatory evidence in the possession of the MSP. Palombo had evidence the boat, the alleged crime scene did not exist at the time Joan disappeared.

12. Joan's body just happened to surface in an area familiar to Palombo and in close proximity to his address.

13. The pressure to charge and prosecute Paradiso for Joan's murder abruptly stopped after Joan surfaced, after recovery of the body.

14. Records the MSP turned over to the current custodian were grossly deficient of relevant files necessary to administer justice for Joan's loss.


This is just a sample of the discrepancies or the "coincidences" you would have to swallow to believe this was an earnest investigation.

Palombo is one of the offenders complicit in Joan's loss.

 

[YorkshireRose]

Hi Eve,

I do so hope that you achieve justice for Joan. Your tenacity is to be commended.

It is a while since I read your whole thread, so please forgive me if you’ve already answered the questions but can I ask who provided the eyewitness description of the offender? And was there only one eyewitness?

 

[eve carson]

Hi Yorkshirerose.

There were multiple witnesses that spotted Joan. She talked to a couple and a priest on the flight. Joan waved to a friend at the luggage carousel. Another witness came forward and told a reporter he saw Joan speaking to a man behind a counter in the claim area. This report caught the attention of the head of security at ITT who attempted to downplay the lead.

A Town Taxi cabbie was the witness who saw Joan leave Logan with a man. He provided a good description of Joan and the man with her. That description could not be mistaken for Leonard Paradiso. The man exchanged words over a heavy suitcase with the man and maneuvered Joan to a different car. The dispatcher heard the exchange and confirmed the cabbie's account. The police took this report. I obtained the police report through an FOIA to the current custodian. This lead was concealed. Authorities knew in December 1981 that Paradiso was not the culprit. They should have been looking for at least 2 individuals, the man with Joaan and the driver of the 2nd car.

 

[YorkshireRose]

Thank you for the information, Eve. Just trying to extrapolate the details step by step.

Did the taxi dispatcher hear the exchange live? First hand? Could he/she hear the bearded man’s voice?