Bitter Fruit

In the last issue of Spare Change News I wrote a story about Dominic Cinelli, an inmate that I knew, who became a cop killer after his parole in 2009. Dominic was killed during the shoot-out. That’s the name of the game; I don’t have a problem
with that.

What I do have a problem with is what the Blue Gang is now doing to Dominic’s brother, Arthur Cinelli, who didn’t have anything to do with the robbery and shooting. You see, they don’t have a warm body to prosecute for the abhorrent killing of Officer Maguire — so they are going
after Arthur.

Now Arthur has one incident of violence that took place in a 1981 bank robbery when he shot a Medford police officer, who did not die, and was sentenced to a 20 to 25
year sentence.

Arthur was paroled in 2001. Since he has been out, there have been no instances of violence in his history — in other words, a pattern of non-violence has now been established. Yet on Friday, January 14th, 2011 Arthur Cinelli was rearrested on the old drug charges and refused bail by the Middlesex prosecutor handling the investigation into Officer Maguire’s killing because Arthur, hobbling into court with a walker, was said to be a threat to the community if released on bail.

That’s the way the system works sometimes. It’s not always about justice; it’s about revenge and payback. Since Arthur was paroled in 2001 he’s done fairly well, but as most of us with the disease of addiction know, it’s tough to stay clean even with the best of intentions.

Arthur Cinelli got mixed up in some cocaine dealings and was busted for sale of 4.9 grams to 9.8 grams — taking place between December 2007 and February 2008, according to the Boston Globe. There is no denying that the purchases took place with an informant working with an FBI task force.

Here’s where things become questionable. Arthur admitted using cocaine during that period, but, because of some back door dealings, all charges were dropped in 2008. Now Arthur Cinelli, sitting in his wheel chair after hip surgery, did make some texts to Dominic offering him money so he wouldn’t do a robbery, according to Arthur’s lawyer, Jessica C. Brown.

The Blue Gang claims the texts were instructional in nature, telling Dominic how to do the robbery. According to the Boston Globe, the police say that the texts show that Arthur “knew his brother was going to engage in a robbery, provided advice for the robbery, and encouraged his brother in the commission of the robbery” per Assistant US Attorney Terry L. Ollila. Ollilia says, according to the Globe that Arthur texted that the store “should be locked down … and then the kid should be brought in” referring to Dominic’s accomplice who was 19 years old.

Ah, there lies the rub. The question is, who is telling the truth? Do the texts really say what Ollilia claims they say?

Let me tell you about something that happened to me in my home state of New Jersey when I was deep into drugs but totally non-violent. I had a series of arrests in West Orange, New Jersey, Orange, N. J., and Livingston, N. J. but none of them worked out to the prosecutor’s satisfaction. The Blue Gang was angry.

Soon after an arrest that went badly for them in 1971, the Orange Detectives, who were the police of the town in which I was living, came up to me and my woman and said that, “We’re going to get you next time, Goldfinger. Next time we come you’re going to have heroin whether you possess it or not because we’re bringing it with us.” And they screeched away in their unmarked Judas car.

My woman and I went to a lawyer and asked if we could set up a surveillance system so we could bust the Blue Gang setting us up. The lawyer, who I shall not name, turned to us and said, “Don’t you understand? Those Orange police have it in for you. They want to have an excuse to kill you, and they will, if they get the chance. I don’t want to get involved because it is too dangerous.”

“My advice to you,” the lawyer said, “is to move out of New Jersey as fast as you can. If you don’t, there is nothing that can save you from their vengeance.”
And so, we moved to Bethlehem, New Hampshire and started our lives over again. But I was an untreated addict so there were more arrests to come in my future and I did do prison time for possession of 15 pounds of marijuana, a personal amount of heroin, and possession of a hypodermic syringe and other paraphernalia related to sales and use of drugs.

But I moved and lived to tell the tale. I’ve changed quite a bit since then and don’t get involved in drug crime anymore. I was never violent but I am an addict in recovery. I’m in well-rounded treatment. I have two psychiatrists, one therapist, and I go to support groups five times
a week.

I have relapsed for short periods on impulse before I went onto Suboxone, a wonder drug for heroin addicts. It is a combination opiate blocker and opiate fooler. It fills the cells that are affected by the opiates so they just don’t work and it tells the nervous system that it has opiates in it without affecting me like an opiate would.

Now back to the case of the Cinelli brothers. I know that the police, the Blue Gang, have a tough job to do but they do hold grudges, like they did with me in New Jersey, justifiable or not. I can see why they have a resentment against Dominic Cinelli and the Parole Board that let him out.

But Arthur Cinelli’s only recent crime is being related to Dominic because of alleged text messages. It is so odd that old charges have been re-instated at this time and a man who needs a walker to get around is regarded as a threat to society.

Sounds like bitter fruit to me. The fox (Blue Gang) can’t get the grapes anymore (Dominic is dead), so they go after Dominic’s brother. I don’t take back my last column. Officer Maguire should be revered as a good cop who died in the line of fire.

But come on! Leave Arthur Cinelli out of this. If the charges were dropped, then they are history. A text message doesn’t make someone a threat to society. No violence since 2001 while out in the world! Arthur Cinelli is not a threat to society.

Marc D. Goldfinger is a formerly homeless vendor who is now housed. He can be reached at