Under Watch: girl sets hillside on fire because her car won’t start; Jose Baez, Casey Anthony’s defense attorney, has a storied past; Medicis’ Jonah Shacknai’s girlfriend dies under circumstances that suggest murder by alcoholic rage and retribution.
Jena Liberty, 48, who while driving from Fresno, CA to Manhattan Beach took a break near Santa Clarita and locked her keys in her car. There was no one around to help. What would you do? Probably try to flag down another car and patiently wait. But then, you’re sober. She was apparently in a hurry and, like a toddler chasing after a big red ball, incapable of controlling her impulses. Like the baby-king, she just had to continue on her way. So, to get the attention to which she felt entitled, she set the hillside on fire. Lucky for civilized man, she got the attention of sheriffs before the fire did too much damage and she was arrested for arson. (If you’re curious about the reference to the baby-king, you might want to check out the great—and I mean great—essay by Dr. Harry Tiebout on the connection between alcoholism and egomania and the role of surrendering that ego in recovery).
Casey Anthony’s defense attorney Jose Baez, 42, who against all odds got Anthony acquitted of murdering her child Caylee. In order to be a great defense attorney, one must be able to defend the seeming indefensible—in other words, the attorney must be able to convince a jury that the guilty is innocent, which is another way of saying the best defense attorneys might be great con artists. Since recovering addicts tell us that while they were using they could sell refrigerators to Eskimos, we might surmise that addicts might make great defense attorneys. When we hear one described as “a guy with a colorful and complicated past and a very confusing present,” as Law professor Robert Jarvis described Baez to ABC News, alcoholism should be strongly suspected. It turns out that Baez, who graduated from law school in 1997, was denied a license to practice law due to his failure to pay child support. In 2000 on appeal, the denial was upheld by the Florida Supreme Court, citing in addition to his failure to pay child support, other unpaid bills, writing bad checks, extravagant spending and other “financial irresponsibility,” ruling he had a “lack of respect for the rights of others and a total lack of respect for the legal system.” Key indicators of addiction include anything that suggests serial poor judgment, including repetitive financial malfeasance. In addition to the litany of misbehaviors cited by the Florida Supreme Court, in 1990 Baez declared bankruptcy. In 1995, liens were recorded against him for unpaid education loans. He purchased a home for over $670,000 in 2007, which was foreclosed on shortly after. In addition, in March 2009 Circuit Judge Stan Strickland notified the Florida Bar Association about ethical concerns in which it was alleged Baez instructed investigator Dominic Casey, if he found Caylee Anthony’s body during the 2008 search, to “walk away” and tell Baez instead of law enforcement.
Jonah Shacknai, 54, founder and CEO of Medicis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, possibly under investigation for the murder of his girlfriend Rebecca Nalepa, 32, whose naked body was found hanging from a balcony at his Coronado, CA mansion by his brother. Shacknai’s six-year-old son was comatose after having fallen down a staircase two days earlier while under Nalepa’s supervision. Despite the fact that she was found with her hands tied behind her back and feet bound with orange electrical cord, San Diego Sheriff’s captain Tim Curran told CBS news in Los Angeles, “Because of the unique and bizarre circumstances of this incident, it has yet to be determined if this will become a criminal matter….” We might wonder how a dead woman hanging naked from a balcony with her hands and feet bound and tied would not be a criminal matter, but that’s just us. Why else might we suspect foul play? Shacknai is twice-divorced, most recently from his son’s mother with whom he had a “stormy and violent relationship” according to reports, including at least three police reports. And Shacknai may have blamed his much younger girlfriend for his son’s fall, which if you’re an addict deserves retribution.