[NOTE: In the comments to this post, Scott Surovell, who I know and respect as a lawyer and for his work in Democratic politics, makes a good point. In reviewing notes and the published material I have been able to find from the press conference, it is not clear whether or not the Fairfax CAO is launching a criminal investigation into the JMDD mailer. The chief prosecutor making a public statement at a press conference the subject of which is security issues for a candidate's family and the prosecutor saying the actions "crossed the line" and making a comparison to a mob hit, and then having no statement or publicly available clarification, is unusual to say the least. I have not been able to find a reference to the question Scott says was asked - if anyone has a source I would appreciate the information. Accordingly, I have modified the post to be more precise and to show my edits. Irrespective of the edited portion, the main point of the post is to give voice to public frustration, kindly put, about the inconsistency in the Fairfax CAO's communications regarding matters of public concern. - Mike]
I could not help but think of the family of Steve Cornejo as I watched acting Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney and current CA candidate Ray Morrogh participate in the Chap Petersen press conference yesterday. Ray Morrogh announced his office is launching a criminal investigation into the mailers sent by the JMDD campaign, adjudged the mailing had "crossed the line," and then in the next breath offered up the following sound bite for the assembled media: "We need to keep it clean. Even the mafia doesn't touch the families." It is unclear whether or not the Fairfax CAO is considering any criminal charges in the matter.
For two years the Fairfax CAO has balked at providing information about the shooting death of Falls Church resident Steve Cornejo. A death in which the CAO refused to issue a direct indictment and failed to obtain an indictment using the grand jury process when it took the extraordinary step of allowing the case to be presented to the grand jury without a recommendation from the prosecutor. When a civil jury returned a $2 million dollar judgment to the family of Steve Cornejo, in case in which the CAO could not find probable cause and made no recommendation for prosecution, the CAO received requests for information from at least: the family of Steve Cornejo, groups of friends and teachers of Steve Cornejo, three separate private attorneys, the Falls Church Chief of Police, numerous members of the media, the law firm of Delegate Dave Albo, the Falls Church City Attorney, two requests from the Mayor of Falls Church, and the Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
The CAO has stonewalled these requests. The acting CA Ray Morrogh has continued the stonewall policy of the CAO. Only under intense public scrutiny in the context of the current election, has Morrogh made the recent minimal concession that the Steve Cornejo matter is worthy of being reevaluated and promised if re-elected he would look at the case.
Morrogh has angrily defended his actions on the grounds prosecutors should not politicize criminal investigations. Morrogh has taunted his opponent Patrick McDade as a "rookie" for even bringing up the Steve Cornejo shooting in their Reston debate.
The image yesterday of Morrogh standing in the rain next to candidate and fellow Democrat Chap Petersen, outside the campaign headquarters of JMDD, actively participating in a press conference just ten days from Election Day, in which he, as the chief acting prosecutor and current candidate for CA, not only announces he is launching a criminal investigation against his ticket-mate's opponent, but also offers his opinion in advance of any investigation that he believes the suspect has "crossed the line," is jarring in its hypocrisy.
Tonight I am meeting with the family of Steve Cornejo. Steve's father called me recently and asked if I could meet with members of his family to help them understand the legal and political status of the investgation into Steve's death. It is a meeting, candidly, the family should be having with the Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney's Office.
It is dificult to imagine how Morrogh can possibly reconcile refusing for two years to provide information to the family Steve Cornejo on the grounds providing such information would "politicize" a criminal investigation with what he just did in the Chap Petersen matter.
