Monday, September 28th, 2009

Kevin McCarthy

Congressman, 22nd District of California

U.S. House of Representatives

1523 Longworth Office Building

Washington D.C., 20515

re: your reply letter dated September 25th, 2009

Dear Congressman McCarthy,

I received your letter regarding my previous correspondence to your office. As much as I appreciate your ‘sympathies’ regarding our situation, I have to say, your response as our elected representative is wholly inadequate. Since this problem does involve the Federal Government, I will address the issues once more.

For 4 1/2 years, our family has been harassed by a self described, and in his own words, “untouchable” “informant”. This man was a felon on probation, in daily violation of the terms of his probation. He ran over a doctor while she was jogging and left her for dead on the side of the road in 2002 and only turned himself in later for the crime because a witness identified his truck. Despite his past DUI’s and the absolute seriousness of his crime against the doctor, he was given a special ‘deal’ that very few have ever seen. Our family has talked with the victim of that case as well as the D.A. assigned the case and their stories as to why the ‘deal’ was made do not match.

My family’s story is really simple and scandalous.

It is as follows:

The daughter of a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, who was born and grew up on military bases both in the States and overseas, loyal to the country she loves, after graduating USC Law School, decides on a career in civil service; intending to devote her life and career to public service.

Her husband gives up his pursuit of a film career to stay home and raise their four small children. They move out of the city, to the country, in order to give the kids a different life; surrounded by open space. Unfortunately and by pure chance, the family moves across the street from a convicted felon and confidential government informant, who happens to be on probation. This felon, for reasons unknown, begins to harass the family, all the while in violation of the terms of his probation.

Like any law abiding citizen would do under similar circumstances, the mother, who works within the criminal justice system as a Deputy Public Defender, seeks the aid of local law enforcement officials about the harassment of her family. Instead, those law enforcement officials reveal to the felon/informant her complaint against him, providing him with details of the statements made by the family.

This breach of trust and victims/witnesses rights to protection only escalates the harassment of her family by the individual and his friends. The mother continues to press for a remedy from the very officials and agencies entrusted to protect and ensure the safety of citizens.

Instead, these agencies turn on her and pursue a vicious, non stop attack against her family, her career, her children and her husband; the sole caretaker of their kids. Because of her complaints to officials, the mother is portrayed as ‘mentally ill’, ‘whacko’, ‘white supremacist’ and ‘K.K.K.’ by law enforcement and other government officials, despite the fact that she was a practicing felony trial attorney carrying a full caseload for the County of Los Angeles and her graduating with honors from DePaul University in Chicago as a Women’s Studies/African-American Studies major.

The sole purpose of these actions: to protect and give cover to the felon/confidential government informant by discrediting and invalidating any of the family’s claims against him. The mother then turns to the F.B.I. for help. At first the F.BI. agents are genuinely concerned for the family’s safety and contact the family numerous times; even offering the local Congressman’s office telephone number to the family, suggestion they seek his help. When the F.B.I. realizes who the individual involved in the harassment is, they immediately stop talking with the family and refuse to officially investigate. The mother then contacts the A.T.F.. They too refuse to help the family or investigate.

Meanwhile, the harassment of her family continues to escalate by all parties involved: the protected felon across the street and his friends, the local Sheriff’s, the District Attorney’s office, the Judiciary of the Superior Court, the Department of Children’s Services, her own office of the Public Defender and the Supervisor’s office of L.A. County.

With nowhere left to turn, sympathetic neighbors aware of the ongoing conflict, introduce the family to local members of alleged ‘outlaw’ motorcycle clubs, who confirm to the family what had already been confirmed by others within the system: that the individual harassing them is believed to be protected by all levels of law enforcement. The felon/informant continues to get a ‘free pass’ in his criminal actions by local law enforcement and continues to harass and terrorize the family desperately seeking help. Agencies supposedly there to serve and protect the public refuse to help the family in any way, other than the suggest they move.

This innocent family is nearly desecrated and torn apart by the vindictive, retaliatory actions of law enforcement officials against them and the devastating emotional toll it has taken on their lives.

The mothers civil service career as a Public Defender is destroyed, despite her excellent civil service reviews and being rated an outstanding attorney by her own office. Her professional reputation as a lawyer is defamed and slandered in the effort to discredit her. Outrageous claims and lies are spread about the family and some even find their way onto the front page of the local newspaper Christmas Day. The local paper’s Vice President/General manager is married to a senior official at DCFS, whose agency was pursuing the children. This official had personal involvement in the case brought against the family’s children and connections to the local sheriffs.

Her children are nearly seized several times in attempts by the State to remove them from the home. A DCFS social worker tells the mother to put her kids into hiding because her agency is going after the family in retaliation.

Her husband is pursued mercilessly by law enforcement for daring to speak out against the actions perpetrated against his family and demanding answers from officials and full accountability.

Meanwhile, the felon is allowed to continue to terrorize and harass this family and their small children to no end and no one within government will stop it. This harassment is still continuing to this day, with no end in sight.

It is a very scandalous and ugly story but absolutely true in every way.

Fortunately for our family, it is very well documented and can be substantiated at every stage with physical evidence and witnesses to back it up. The most disturbing part of this is that the abuses and harms inflicted on our family were orchestrated at the local level by an elected Republican Board of Supervisor, Michael D. Antonovich, an elected Republican Sheriff, Leroy Baca and an elected Republican District Attorney, Steve Cooley, among others.

The vindictiveness and retaliation inflicted upon our family is beyond description. The vile nature of the actions used against myself, my children and my husband by local government agencies to terrorize and silence us would be enough to make any decent, law abiding citizen of this country shutter in fear. No citizen should be subject to such barbaric reprisals from their own government.

Contrary to the assertions in your letter, the abuse directed at my family falls under the Continuing Violations Doctrine and are abuses under Color of Law. These are Federal Crimes being committed against my family and require a legitimate federal investigation. This obscene abuse of power, using agencies that are set up for the protection of the citizenry, as tools of oppression against an innocent family caught in the crosshairs is unconscionable.

On September 25th, the date of your letter, I filed another federal suit against the County of Los Angeles and the individual, William P. McGowan, for retaliation, abuse of process and constitutional violations under color of law. The County and this individual, who is obviously protected by the County and Federal Government, retaliated against our family for filing suit on September 4th after they were served notice; using the L.A. County Department of Regional Planning to single out and maliciously threaten, harass, intimidate and try to silence our family from pressing forward in our original suit.

It is my hope that you, as our elected Republican Congressman, will reconsider your position and give this situation the very serious and immediate attention it deserves. The suits filed in Federal Court address only one small aspect of a much larger conspiracy; one which involves many County and Federal agencies acting in collusion to silence, intimidate, threaten and suppress our rights guaranteed to us as citizens under the Constitution of the United States.

The ‘trust’ in elected officials you referred to in your letter has been completely violated. You can only imagine the disappointment we now feel by these gut-wrenching betrayals by people who were entrusted to uphold the laws and guarantee the rights of citizens in what is supposed to be a free, open democracy and I shall add, as politicians like to remind the public when its politically convenient: the model of all democracies throughout the world.

As a patriotic daughter of a retired career Air Force officer and Vietnam veteran, and a firm believer in what the Founding Fathers created in the establishment of our system of government; the atrocities, harm and affronts my children have had to witness at the hands of our local government officials, directed against them, is irreparable and almost impossible to explain. They are too young to be cynical and yet they have been forced to face injustices no child should ever have to witness nor any family should have to endure.

The ‘integrity’ of our system of justice that you mentioned in your letter, as well as other comments about separation of powers, is, I fear, a way to extricate yourself from this very disturbing and ugly situation.

The ‘integrity’ of the system of justice has been subverted and abused. There is no way around that.

I am requesting, again, that you begin to help ameliorate these great harms and injustices that have been inflicted upon our family and children. These actions were blatant and without conscience. Those who chose to commit these acts chose to do so purposely. They are knowingly abusing the power that was given and entrusted to them by the voters and citizens of this State.

As our elected representative in government and someone who is directly responsible to his constituents in matters such as these, nothing less will suffice.

I look forward to and do expect to be hearing from you soon regarding this very serious matter.

Most Sincerely,

Amy Konstantelos, Esq.