WIDOWS AND ORPHANS LATEST BELLING TARGET

Family of Late Surgeon Stung by Belling Attacks
Contrary to Belling and Journal Sentinel, Widow NOT Daughter of Judge

Attorney Demands Retraction of "False, Libelous, Untruthful and Defamatory Statements"

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld

By Michael Horne

And the Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

“Until this moment ... I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness…. You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” --Boston Attorney Joseph Welch to Sen. Joesph McCarthy, June, 1954

Radio talker Mark Belling has gone on record in print, in the electronic media and on the radio this week with allegations of wrongdoing in the July death of Dr. Bradley Mays, 44, a Mequon physician.
"Mays' blood relatives suspect he was killed," Belling wrote in Conley Publishing Group newspapers and websites in an item posted and published on November 12th, 2008.
The case was "botched by police" and "prematurely closed by the district attorney," Belling writes.

Only two conclusions are possible, he tells us: "It is either a case of small town authorities being in over their heads or a deliberate effort to put the fix in for a politically connected family," whose friendship with the Ozaukee District Attorney led to "a less than thorough investigation," he wrote, adding, "Or worse, did their friendship lead them to cover up a potential homicide?"

Belling's cast of conspirators in this absurd scenario include Ozaukee County District Attorney Sandy Williams; her husband, former Ozaukee D.A. Mark Williams, head of Milwaukee County's homicide prosecutions as an assistant district attorney there; Mequon Police Chief Steve Graff; Ozaukee County Coroner John Holicek and others, including "Frank T. Crivello, a prominent former Milwaukee County Judge.
"The Crivellos, many of whom I know personally, are a great family that know a lot of people," Belling writes.

The Judge, you see, is allegedly using his influence to protect his daughter, Carolyn "Carrie" Crivello Mays, the widow of Bradley Mays, the mother of his three orphaned daughters (all under 10 years of age) and clearly the target of Belling's suspicions.

There are some weaknesses with Belling's theory. For example, Judge Crivello is not the father of Carrie Mays. I have been able to document three Milwaukee attorneys with the name "Frank T. Crivello," so a little confusion on the matter is understandable, but Carrie's father is not the former judge, who has known some controversy. It was highly irresponsible for Belling (and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, on November 16th) to perpetuate this error. This also blows any of Belling's theories of a family connection with the Williamses. Carrie Mays has never met them.

One of the Mays children had already been the subject of hurtful comments from other children at school, outraging the mother who is trying to get on with her life and to prepare her daughters for their futures without their father. These are the true "Blood Relatives" of Bradley Mays.

THE EVIDENCE

The investigation into the death of Bradley Mays was "never a criminal investigation," according to D.A. Sandy Williams, explaining why she has no case to reopen, as Belling demands. The Bradley Mays death certificate [7717491, filed with the State of Wisconsin on July 28th, 2008] lists "hypertrophic cardiomyopathy" as the sole cause of death.

That determination was made in Autopsy A08-095 by then-Kenosha County Medical Examiner Mary Mainland M.D., whose departure to a new job in Florida has also raised Belling's suspicions. (Ozaukee County contracts with Kenosha County to perform autopsies. Mainland's new job in Hillsborough County, Florida, which she began in September, was advertised prior to Mays' death.)
The autopsy, conducted on the date of death, is recorded on the standard form used for such procedures. It was witnessed by the examiner, her deputy Marussa Schoen, Chuck O'Connell of the Mequon Police Department and four officers from the Kenosha Fire Department.
Whereas Belling doubts the autopsy results (which his experts claim "would indicate either drug use or asphyxiation") the report shows Mays tested negative for 17 drugs -- including the aspirin recommended by his physician for his pre-existing heart condition. The only drug present was 0.063% blood alcohol, consistent with the wine consumed by Mays. Of course the examiner checked for signs of asphyxiation and found none.

The findings were buttressed by the report of Officer Gregory Klobukowski of the Mequon Police Department who responded to the Mays home on 6:11 a.m. on July 21st, 2008. His report shows no signs of disturbance or irregularities in the large suburban home. Under the category of "suspect," he wrote "N/A." For "D.A. Notified," he wrote "no," adding, "Family history of heart disease; had blockage 2-3 years ago; on meds -- low dose Bayer aspirin. Went to bed 10:30, not feeling well. Over did exercise. Dehydrated."

However, since it is the policy of the Mequon Police Department to investigate all deaths in the home, officers interviewed over a dozen friends, family members, associates and neighbors. (Carrie was the only member of her family interviewed.) Nothing led the police to suspect foul play, but they did discover the couple had been mutually working through some marital issues at that time. (Mays had spent eight non-consecutive nights that month in a nearby motel while he and his wife had sorted out personal issues, but was with the family for meals and activities. Belling called the hotel stay two-and-a-half weeks leading up to the death.)

Carrie Mays cooperated fully with the Mequon Police Department, and has respect for its professionalism and thoroughness, and never doubted its conclusions she says.

Nothing in the report -- which he never read -- would indicate the investigation [Mequon Police Department Case 08-10084] "has been botched by police," as Belling contends. Matters would have certainly rested there if not for the introduction of a stock character -- the vengeful in-law.


THE OTHER "DR." MAYS AND HIS ALTER-EGO

The Mequon police report indicates that Captain Daniel Buntrock, whose father, then Mequon police chief, was killed while on duty in a hostage exchange, received a call on July 26th from Dr. Everett Truman Mays, Jr. of Austin, Texas, expressing his suspicion that his sister-in-law Carrie might have been responsible for the death of Bradley Mays.
Truman Mays is the "blood relative" who hired Madison attorney Stephen Hurley to investigate the death, and apparently is the only one keeping this thing going.

The brother's medical credentials are noted by both Belling and the Journal Sentinel, although Texas Records [pdf] show Truman Mays has no hospital affiliation, which is a sign of a non-practicing physician -- perhaps one who was a bit resentful of his brother's success, to put a Bellingesque spin on things.

The brother, who goes by the professional name of Truman Marquez, is actually a stay-at-home dad and a painter of disturbing surrealistic images often dealing with death and destruction (9-11, Bin Laden, "Circque de Masochistique"[illustrated]) . Critics note he is well informed of the work of other artists. He has certainly borrowed from enough of them.

"Cirque de Masochistique" By Truman Marquez (a.k.a. Truman Mays)

It is instructive that the Marques curriculum vitae makes no mention of his medical degree, or his real name.
Yes, this darling of the New York art scene whose "ambition is as large as the state he hails from," seems to be the sole force leading the persecution of Carrie Mays.

Sibling rivalry, jealousy, the loss of his brother and other personality issues may have led Mays-Marquez to keep this offensive active. But Belling's role in perpetuating this abuse of a widow and her minor children is truly reprehensible, since there is no evidence for any of his conspiratorial allegations.

RETRACTION DEMAND FROM THE ATTORNEY

The continuing harassment led Carrie Mays to contact Attorney Steve Kravit this week. Kravit today filed a demand for retraction with GM Today for the Belling articles, which he said were false and libelous, and put Carrie Mays in a false light. You can read the document, including an enlightening and damning letter from a doctor to Belling as we await the response from the publisher.

UPDATE

CEASE AND DESIST DEMAND LETTER SENT TO WISN

Attorney Kravit Attorney Steve Kravit sent a Cease & Desist Demand Letter today, Friday, November 21st, 2008 to Ken Herrera, News Director of WISN News Talk Radio.
"We believe Belling's repeated false statements, the placing of Carrie Mays and her family in a bad light, the outrageous accusations that she committed a homicide and then somehow covered it up through the use of undue influence, are clearly actionable," Kravit wrote.
"Belling has been reckless and defamatory, by again and again misstating facts, and putting Carrie Mays in a false light.
"For example, Belling incorrectly, for over a week, identified Carrie Mays as the daughter of a disgraced Milwaukee County Judge, when that is factually incorrect, and any competent reporter could easily have determined the truth."
Kravit adds his firm is carefully reviewing Belling's broadcasts for libel and defamation action along with "invasion of privacy"claims under Wis. Stat 995.50(2)(c), specifically, "publicity given to a matter concerning the private life of another, of a kind highly offensive to a reasonable person, if the defendant has acted either unreasonably or recklessly as to whether there was a legitimate public interest in the matter involved, or with actual knowledge that none existed."
"You (WISN Radio, Mark Belling, Clear Channel, and any other co-conspirators in allowing Belling unrestrained public airtime to repeat his false invectives) are directed to cease and desist in further defamation, invasion of privacy and placing of Carrie Mays and her family in a false light."
Kravit also demanded that Hererra preserve all recordings of Belling's Mays broadcasts and "provide copies and transcriptions of the same."

UPDATE Saturday, November 22nd, 2008

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has issued a correction to its report inaccurately claiming former Judge Crivello was the father of Carrie Mays.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/34916899.html
Posted: Nov. 21, 2008

An article Monday about the death of Mequon surgeon Bradley Mays incorrectly identified his wife, Carrie Mays, as the daughter of former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Frank T. Crivello. She is the daughter of retired Milwaukee attorney Frank T. Crivello.

Update Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

CONLEY PAPERS RUN BELLING RETRACTION IN ALL PRINT AND INTERNET EDITIONS

Conley Publishing Group, the West Bend media company that publishes the Waukesha Freeman, the West Bend Daily News and the GM Today website has run a prominent retraction of the false claims made in Mark Belling's columns of November 12th and November 19th.

• "We apologize for the errors and any suggestion that, by questioning the autopsy findings along with some members of Dr. Mays' family, Belling had accused Carrie Mays by inference with commission of a crime or a cover up or any inappropriate conduct," the Retraction read.

The Retraction, measuring 2-3/4" by 4-3/4" in the print editions, was prominently set off by a bold border and a prominent headline reading, simply, "RETRACTION."

It appeared in the papers on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 at the top of the Opinion page of each of the publications. "Of course, Mr. Belling's columns had been published on the Opinion page," wrote David R. Olson, [U Minnesota '63] General Counsel for Conley Publishing Group. This prominent placement follows established policy for dealing with corrections made in opinions and editorials. The principle is that a correction should appear on the same page as an editorial or recurring column where the error first appeared so that it will likely receive the greatest attention.

The electronic correction is similarly elaborate, and was engineered to remain connected to the columns containing Belling's falsehoods whenever accessed from or linked to the archive."That is," Olson wrote, "by clicking on the November 12 column in the Archives, you not only see the November 12 column but you will also see the retraction. That column, and the November 19 column, appear on the Web site after the retraction. Finally, once the November 19 column appears in the Archives, it will also be linked to the retraction so that both columns will be linked to the same retraction."

This also follows the best practices of the industry and helps to ensure that the article does not have a life in cyberspace unaccompanied by the publisher's retraction of its errors and falsehoods.
--Michael Horne

[Below please find a pdf document including facsimiles of the print and electronic editions of the retractions of the inaccuracies in repeated columns by Mark Belling. --Ed.]

081125.Conley retractions.pdf