Concord Can't Close Cold Case

Jim Greer of Concord, MA was an executive for The Raytheon Company (a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics). The company has a planned shutdown for the first two weeks of July. The Greer family was on Cape Cod as the race for President in 1964 heated up.

It rankled some of the youngsters in the neighborhood that the Greer family had life so easy. The two cars in the yard, the freshly painted house, and a bumper sticker supporting Barry Goldwater on the fancy gray Rolls Royce was too much for David Baker, Ted Murphy and Danny Hurstak. With the family away for a few weeks, why not bring show them a thing or two about politics in Massachusetts? Two extremely large LBJ 64 signs were sprayed on the hood and trunk of the polished Rolls Royce.

In modern times, paint (particularly spray paint) and marker pens have become the most commonly used graffiti materials. In most countries, marking or painting property without the property owner's permission is considered defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime.

All the mothers of the boys, Elizabeth Hurstak, Evelyn Baker and Helen Murphy, may have all been complicit in "SprayGate." The mothers did purchase some paint thinner and ordered the boys to rub the paint off the Rolls Royce, but the oil based primer that the boys used would not budge. The women laughed when the Greers returned from their vacation. The family was aghast when they witnessed the damage.

The local police heard through the grapevine about the destruction on Garden Rd. and dispatched two rookie cops to assess the situation. Danny Hurstak, a future United States Marine, did the talking for the group. He was easily able to hoodwink the young policemen and the investigation was closed shortly, thereafter.

While the statute of limitations has long expired for Baker and Murphy, it is possible for charges to still be filed. Charges were brought against Hurstak because he moved out of state to Hawaii in 1978. Under state law, the statute of limitations is suspended if a person moves out of state, meaning charges could still be filed decades after the alleged incident.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley had no comment on the case. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Hurstak will cower and turn state's evidence against choirboys, Baker and Murphy. Danny Hurstak became a successful businessman in the 50th state, and clearly would not want his past criminal behavior to surface.

When asked why he did not call the police, Jim Greer replied, "I didn't want those hooligans to deep six my other vehicle in the Concord River, which was just two blocks away."

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Florida State football reaches alltime low

How far will a school go to protect a star athlete from rape allegations? Ask Florida State.

Our film The Hunting Ground and the New York Times have already detailed the extent of FSU’s derailment of Jameis Winston’s rape case, but a recently released, explosive deposition shows how top-level administrators were actively involved in this cover-up.

The Tampa Bay Times published the complete testimony of FSU Victim Advocate Director Melissa Ashton that was given in the just-settled case of Erica Kinsman versus Florida State University. Ashton’s testimony revealed that:

1. Jameis Winston (now the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) has been identified in the sexual assaults of two women, and
2. The Florida State Chief of Police and the Dean of Students colluded to stop the investigations of Winston.

FSU’s victim advocate office had 113 sexual assault reports over 2014, yet FSU’s administration reported only 14 sexual assaults to the federal government. QB Jameis Winston Winston won the Heisman Trophy and in early January, 2014 led his team to the national championship.

Florida State opened the 2016 season at home against the Ole Miss Rebels. Trailing 21-6 at halftime, head coach Jimbo Fisher had Jameis Winston give the Seminoles a pep talk. The speech worked to perfection, and Florida State rallied, winning easily, 45-34. A 52-8 win against creampuff, Charlestown Southern gave the Noles a 2-0 record. They held the number two ranking in the NCAA College Football poll.

On the road against upstart University of Louisville this past Saturday, the wheels came off the bandwagon. Louisville QB Lamar Jackson accounted for five touchdowns, and a 35-10 halftime lead reached 63-10 in the fourth quarter. The Cardinals made no attempt to increase the 53 point margin. Florida State scored a TD with just five minutes remaining to close the gap to 63-17. If the score held, it would supposedly be the worst loss in Florida State football history.

With two minutes remaining in Saturday's contest, Louisville punted to Florida State. The Seminoles mounted a drive into Louisville territory that reached the 16 yard line. 51 seconds were left on the clock at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium when FSU kicker Ricky Aguayo booted a 33 yard field goal to make the final score, 63-20.

Florida State was under the assumption that a 45 point loss was their worst beating ever. The Seminoles worst loss remains 49-0 to Florida in 1973. The loss Saturday was the worst since 47-0 to Miami in 1976, in Bobby Bowden's second season as the Seminoles head coach.

The word on the street for Florida State fans used to be that " they would have one shirt and a 20 dollar bill, and change neither for the weekend." The team, when faced with adversity, is not even at that level.


Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy

Trot Nixon used all 24 hours on 9/11

Trot Nixon, then an outfielder with the Boston Red Sox, was in Florida where the team was to play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. But Nixon had made the team aware that he might at a moment's notice to attend the birth of his child. He received the call he was waiting for from his wife in Boston at 6 a.m. on Sept. 11. He got on a 7:05 a.m. flight to Boston. But he wasn't going to get back to Boston by air on this day.

The flight was forced to land in Norfolk, Va. He called his wife, Kathryn, to tell her that he would not be able to be on hand for the birth of their child, but be with her in labor. He did not think he could be completely specific about the tragedy that had disrupted travel.

The airline pilot came on the intercom and said we are going to have ground our flight in Norfolk, Virginia. There has been an unfortunate tragedy in New York. And he said the terrorist attacked. He didn't relinquish that it was two airplanes crashing into the towers.

"So the plane did a U-turn -- you know a quick turn -- and started heading back. Meanwhile, as I read stories this past year, a lot of the flight attendant and airline pilots were kind of not so much scared, but didn't know what to expect, didn't know if there was someone on our flight or not. None of the passengers paid any attention to it.

"Then Kathryn called me. I remember it was 1:32 p.m. and she told me we had a little baby boy, Chase," Nixon said. "I started crying. I am not afraid to cry. She put him up to the phone. He was screaming and yelling. It was awesome. Just to hear him was a relief. To know that Kathryn was fine and everything went well during the delivery, and the baby was healthy. He's got 10 fingers, 10 toes -- everything that you sit there and pray day in and day out that you have a healthy baby."

The one fortunate part of the story was that Nixon had family in the area. He recruited his mother, father and sister to drive with him to Boston. There were highway closings and related complications along the way, and Nixon had only two hours of sleep the previous night after traveling to Tampa. But Nixon got to Boston about 3 a.m. the next day, and he got to hold his newborn son. In the midst of a day of death and devastation, his family had been given the gift of life.

"We will not forget what happened that day," said Trot Nixon. "We will not forget the people -- the men and women who sacrificed their lives to save others, who where there working 24 hours a day, seven days a week since it happened. We will honor those people. But we are also going to treat it as a celebration of Chase's birthday."

Chase Nixon is now 15 years old. Let's hope he has the same fine career as his father, and famous relative, James "Catfish" Hunter. Catfish had a Hall of Fame career as a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. He died at 53 of ALS(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Paul Murphy

Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy