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THE PLAIN DEALER
Colleague Questions Inspector's Credibility
Friday, September 16, 2005 New questions have been raised about the integrity and professionalism of former Postal Inspector Paul Hartman - the investigator most responsible for putting John Spirko on death row for the 1982 slaying of a rural postmaster. Only this time, the questions are coming from one of Hartman's own - a fellow postal inspector, with 23 years on the job, who worked with Hartman in the Cleveland office during the 1990s. In a letter to a superior two weeks ago, Postal Inspector Gregory Duerr said that he had witnessed conduct by Hartman that was "bordering on criminal," that more than a dozen colleagues had filed complaints about Hartman's behavior in the late 1990s, and that Hartman"retired sooner than he wanted." Hartman could not be reached for comment, although he testified in June that he was not aware of ever being the subject of a complaint. His former boss, Tom Macioch, now retired, characterized the late-1990s complaints as criticism over a management style and said Hartman's retirement was voluntary. In his letter, Duerr wrote that, based on press reports and conversations with inspectors in the Cleveland office at the time postmaster Betty Jane Mottinger was killed, "it appears an individual who did not commit the crime is going to be executed." Duerr's letter described no specific behavior by Hartman. He declined Thursday to discuss the letter, referring questions to his boss, Agent in Charge Dugan Wong. Wong did not return a phone call seeking comment. Hartman's credibility has become central in the battle over Spirko's life. And Duerr's letter could play a role next month as the inmate's lawyers make a second bid for clemency before the Ohio Parole Board. A divided board on Aug. 30 recommended against clemency. A federal judge this month declined to reopen Spirko's case, leaving the inmate to face a date with the executioner next Tuesday. But last week, amid concerns about the accuracy of evidence presented by the state during the first Parole Board hearing, Gov. Bob Taft delayed the execution, and the board scheduled a second hearing for Oct. 12. Spirko's lawyers, who released Duerr's letter, have asked state Attorney General Jim Petro's office and the Parole Board to demand all documents pertaining to the complaints Duerr cited and the testimony of all those who complained. Spokeswoman Kim Norris said the attorney general's office takes Duerr's letter seriously but believes it contains nothing new. Petro's office also noted that Duerr has no personal knowledge of the Mottinger case. And a Postal Service memo indicates Duerr could not recall details of conversations he had with colleagues about the case. Spirko denies that he had anything to do with Mottinger's murder, although Petro insists the conviction was just. It was based largely on a series of jailhouse interviews by Hartman, in which Spirko purportedly revealed knowledge of the crime that prosecutors said only the killer could know. His attorneys have disputed that. Hartman's credibility was called into question when he recently acknowledged - in interviews with The Plain Dealer and others - that he never believed a key piece of evidence that was used against Spirko during his 1984 trial. Duerr's letter has revitalized that issue. In March, The Plain Dealer asked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for all documents pertaining to a late-1990s inquiry into Hartman's investigative techniques or practices. Citing Hartman's privacy, the agency declined to release any such documents and, following an appeal, said "the requested records were properly withheld." Macioch, Hartman's former boss, said Thursday that he doesn't recall whether any documents were generated from what he described as an inter-employee mediation. Macioch said the complaints had nothing to do with Hartman's investigative integrity. "It was more style than anything else," he said. To reach these Plain Dealer reporters:
bpaynter@plaind.com, 216-999-4820
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