Feel like bagging jury duty? Simply tell them you're a talk radio fan!

Howie Carr's recent column on how his name is being used to weed out "biased" jurors in New Hampshire (read: pro-punishment for criminals) had me chuckling.

Here's an even better way out: have a history of hosting talk shows, an even more heinous crime from the perspective of the Bay State's wacky court system.

Two weeks ago, yours truly had jury duty in the lovely metropolis of Brockton, absolutely nowhere near where I actually live.

Having not a clue where to go, I reported to the sparkling new mega-courthouse in Brockton's city center, which looks like a fancy hotel or upscale corporate office building amid the ruins of what was probably once a decent downtown area. Sure enough, I was actually assigned to the Superior Court building down the street, which is a smelly, dirty, crumbling dump.

That's where I had one of those my-God-what-am-I-doing-in-Massachusetts moments: prospective jurors were compelled to watch an introductory video featuring a sermon by Margaret Marshall, of our rogue Supreme Judicial Court.

With her odd, Barney Frank-meets-the-Kennedys manner of speaking, it was especially difficult to watch a reckless justice lecture us about the "rule of law" in a state where that concept exists only in theory.

Did the other hundred or so prospective jurors understand this as well, or were they indoctrinated into this absurd mindset decades ago? I ask myself that same question whenever I visit the RMV or another government office.

I came within a hair of being seated on a jury considering the fate of a young man who is accused of raping a mentally-retarded girl he met over the Internet. The crime occurred more than three years ago.

But let's face it, with a background in talk radio, there's simply no way the defense would have allowed me to be seated. Howie's right: that's one of the quickest ways to be sent home.

Could I have been fair and impartial? Of course. I don't know this guy or the victim and there's no way I could come to a conclusion about his guilt without prosecutors proving their case.

In fact, I'm inclined to believe talk radio listeners are more capable of being fair than the general population at large. They're certainly smarter and better informed.

But it will be a cold day in Hell before defense attorneys allow any of us to be seated inside that box.

If you went anywhere near the stores today, you know what I'm talking about. This year's tax holiday weekend had shops packed, providing a badly-needed economic boost here in the Bay State.

In one shop, a clerk told me that customers had been staking out potential purchases days in advance, returning today to buy them. A nearby Circuit City was mobbed with shoppers, who then spilled over into nearby restaurants.

But leave it to Massachusetts to create bureaucracy where it isn't needed: anyone purchasing items above $1000 were compelled to fill out a state tax form at the register stating that it would not be used for business purposes.

Now we know how to get a screaming Drudge headline all to ourselves: simply cook up an outrageous political theory and let Matt take it from there.

While the corporate parent of WPRO/ Providence, WABC/ New York and other talk stations remains dangerously close to a full collapse, Citadel-ABC Radio has just spent as much as $150,000 on a lavish party in San Francisco.

This at a time when it is laying off staffers from one coast to the other. See my exclusive story here.

Every year at about this time, Boston's media establishment fills column space and airtime with dismissive stories about the annual sales tax holiday weekend.

Consumers merely shift planned purchases, we're told, saving shoppers little, while depriving the Commonwealth of much-needed revenue.

But with the economy hurting this year, there's no way to spin the coverage other than to admit Bay State retailers badly need the boost. They're running extra sales to coincide with the hoped-for rush of customers.

That has even the Globies running seemingly pro-holiday coverage for a change. This, buried at the end of their most recent story, jumps off of the page:

But for some customers, the tax-free weekend gives them that extra nudge they need to make big purchases.

Gareth McKinley, of Acton, has been eyeing a 50-inch Panasonic plasma TV for six months, slowly watching the price go down until it hit $2,500. He planned to make the one-hour drive to New Hampshire to avoid paying sales tax. Now, he plans to wait until Saturday.

"This is exactly what I needed to push me over the edge."

That's right, the holiday helps to cut down on widespread evasion caused by Bay Staters shopping in New Hampshire or elsewhere.

Even if you're "only" saving $100 on a $2000 purchase (nothing to sneeze at), that's beside the point. The real message should be that Beacon Hill's reckless spenders doesn't deserve our money.

Granted, it's not easy to find substitutes for a host who seems to be away for half of the year or more, but why does WTKK seem to consistently struggle on this front?

According to Radio-Info, WTKK has been using Curtis Sliwa of WABC in New York as a sub for Vay Cay Jay. Fine enough, he's certainly qualified, but take a look at this:

Curtis Sliwa of Guardian Angel fame is putting in a lot of hours this week, notes radio-info's Tom Taylor:

"Curtis Sliwa may be the hardest-working man in talk radio this week: the New York Daily News says the WABC personality is hosting his usual 5-6am and 10am-noon shifts there, plus vacation fill-ins for both KABC, Los Angeles and for Jay Severin at Boston’s WTKK. And on Fridays he's been filling in for Westwood’s Bill O’Reilly. That’s as much as 10 hours a day on the radio, all live."

Ten hours a day of live talk? That's unacceptable. Even if a host's vocal cords can hold up that long, how is it possible to perform at your best in hours six, seven, eight, nine and ten?

I don't care who it is, that's just too much. Imagine being the station that foolishly booked him for his final show of the day. What are you getting for your money? Is talk radio now this desperate for fill-in help?

While at KIRO in Seattle, I also did regular fill-ins for stations in other cities that were owned by the company (in addition to the former Susquehanna's KLIF-AM in Dallas-Fort Worth). Around holiday periods, it was tempting to book three or four shows a day, because programmers were screaming for extra help.

At one point, I gave in and accepted three daily for several days in a row. I quickly realized it was a serious mistake, no matter how good the money. Even my program director was concerned at the hours I was suddenly keeping.

From that point on, I stuck to a two per day limit. Anything more than that just isn't fair to yourself or the stations desperate enough to use you in those circumstances.

While there's no doubt WPRO would like to see an end to the onslaught of damning publicity, New England media outlets are not about to let go of a ratings-rigging scandal that features a well-known personality at its center.

Featuring an interview with Connecticut station owner John Fuller, ABC 6 in Providence has followed up on the story. Though Fuller makes a number of interesting points, I think he lets Arbitron off the hook too easily.

Given the level of public interest, why not provide more information on who they suspect was involved? Do they expect to take any additional actions against WPRO or any particular individuals?

In addition, the Boston Herald notes DePetro is still updating his MySpace page during his week off, noting his mood as "calm".

After some confusion this morning over when the numbers would be re-issued, WLNE-6 has apparently obtained the new, cheat-free Providence ratings.

One problem: from their story, it isn't clear which demographic group they're referring to. Are these 25-54 numbers?

From their story:

Arbitron has released their revised numbers for the Rhode Island morning drive time for the Spring of '08. Most notably is the fact that WPRO-AM significantly dropped in ranking from #4 to #9.

Last week ABC 6 reported that Arbitron, the company that tracks ratings by sending out diaries to random households, was saying that something wasn't quite adding up with their spring numbers.

They ended up throwing out the information from 6 diaries, which all came from the same household. They said that those diaries would not be included in their final numbers because they came from a house that had some connection to local radio or TV.

Arbitron still isn't saying where that house is, but WPRO competitor WHJJ claimed it was in East Greenwich, the same town where WPRO-AM morning drive host, John DePetro lives. WHJJ said 6 people from that house listened to DePetro's show for more than 109 hours out of a possible 120, just in one week alone.

Since WPRO ranked number one overall in the tainted ratings that have now been rescinded, ABC 6 ought to clarify this data. We'll have better data after 5pm, hopefully.

Meanwhile, John DePetro is enjoying (???) a nice week of vay-cay while Providence media people openly speculate over who might replace him at WPRO.

Expect this mess to only get uglier from here.

UPDATE: the issue has been resolved, the numbers ABC 6 cites represent morning drive in the 25-54 demographic. DePetro's morning show took a dump.

Without the phony ratings diaries, WPRO fell to second place overall, tied with a music station.

Though this is more than a bit outside of our normal territory, you might find a story I've posted at the Radio Equalizer interesting.

A station owner/ talk host in Jackson Mississippi known primarily as the brother of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers has issued a "shoot-to-kill" order against burglars who have been stealing station equipment.

How does that reconcile with his support for Barack Obama?

See the story here.

The unfortunate flip-side to John DePetro's likely downfall over WPRO's ratings cheating scandal is how longtime archenemy Buddy Cianci benefits.

It's a certainty that Cianci is doing handstands watching Johnny Boy go down in flames. And rumors in local media circles this week have fingered Buddy for playing a role in bringing the scandal to public attention, though there's no known evidence to back that up.

But DePetro's likely self-destruction isn't going to prop up The Other Felon's miserable excuse for a talk show. That's why Bob Kerr's column in today's Providence Journal couldn't be better-timed.

Instead of focusing on DePetro, he shifts attention to Cianci. Here's an excerpt:

Of course, none of those former inmates on Dudley Street was given the kind of opportunity that local radio has provided to help one high-profile ex-offender make his way back to life on the outside. None of them was even asked whether he might want to consider talk radio as his particular form of transitional employment. It’s too bad. I have to believe there are people coming out of the ACI who would be naturals. They could use what got them into prison to help keep them out. They could share with Ed in Westerly, Sharon in Scituate and Byron in Burrillville the hard lessons learned and the sometimes funny incidents that can happen only in the harsh confines of prison. They could be interesting.

That is, after all, a big part of making it back — facing up to the past, admitting mistakes. And that is why there is some concern that this current experiment at WPRO, where the ratings are extremely fluid at the moment, is not working out. This attempt to route one man’s return to society through the broadcast booth appears to have hit some nasty bumps along the way.

For one thing, there is serious denial here and it’s being heard from Woonsocket to Westerly. Anyone who counsels ex-prisoners will tell you that denial is one of the real danger signs. Denial keeps a man from coming all the way back. And those who have actually listened to Rehab Radio at midday report that there is no admission of time in the slammer. There is the sly euphemism, the casual reference to “while I was away.”

This is not good. This is not facing up to things.

But that’s not all. There’s the regular on-air lashing out at authority figures. People say it happens day after day, this constant spill of pent-up resentment against those who have been moving ahead and doing their jobs and getting things done.

It is another danger sign, another indicator that the former inmate has failed to realize that time does not stand still while a man does time.

It really is a shame. This bold reaching out by WPRO to a man carrying the hard load of prison time seemed as if it could be an example to others — a light piercing the gloom of limited post-prison opportunities.

But it has ended up instead a sad and sometimes childish exercise in broadcast bullying.

That's the bottom line: regardless of what happens to the other hosts on WPRO, Buddy's show still stinks.

In the wake of a ratings cheating scandal, the local news media certainly hasn't let up on John DePetro or WPRO. The race is on to see who can prove he was personally behind the rigged numbers.

Today, ABC 6 in Providence ambushed DePetro outside WPRO's Barrington RI studios. The results are telling: looking nervous, DePetro doesn't deny involvement in the cheating. Instead, he passes the buck to the station in what appears to be a carefully rehearsed statement.

See the video here.

In addition, the station has finally released a brief statement, saying they'll be waiting until the new numbers emerge on Monday to provide a substantive comment.

Why wait? Who knows, perhaps they believe the issue will blow over by then. I doubt it, however.

And DePetro himself confirmed on-camera that he'll be away next week in what some insiders are calling an unplanned Vay Cay. Say hello to Jay!

Over the past 24 hours, I've continued to hear from people all over the country who are fascinated by this story, from listeners to broadcast insiders and the news media.

What's next? Stay tuned.

As new details of the ratings cheating scandal emerge, WPRO/ Providence and morning host John DePetro are enduring an onslaught of negative publicity.

In addition to the Providence Journal coverage mentioned previously, today's Boston Herald and WLNE-TV 6 are pounding on DePetro and station management, where so far there is an official wall of silence.

ABC 6 actually went to DePetro's house, but nobody answered the door. See the video here.

At the Herald, Jessica Heslam reminds us of DePetro's past:

Bill George, the program director at Clear Channel’s WHJJ-AM (920) - where DePetro once worked - was alarmed when he saw the ratings. “We never expected that something like this would come out,” George said

DePetro didn’t return calls to MediaBiz yesterday. Neither did WPRO program director Paul Giammarco and Barbara Haynes, the general manager of Citadel.

Whether DePetro played a role in the cheating scandal is unclear. But it casts a shadow over his already controversial career.

DePetro went to WPRO - which began simulcasting on WEAN-FM (99.7) in March - in early 2007 after a turbulent run at Boston’s WRKO-AM (680), where he was fired for calling gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross a “fat lesbian” on the air.

Brian Maloney, author of the Radio Equalizer blog, said this will hit WPRO hard. “This is a serious cheating scandal,” said Maloney. “Someone deliberately tried to rig the ratings. This was brazen.”

The Arbitron diary system is an archaic one that’s about to undergo an overhaul.

Currently, the company contacts people by phone and asks them to keep a diary for a week. The participants fill out the diaries and return them to Arbitron.

The ratings systems goes electronic in eight markets in September. Boston is set for March 2009.

From here, one can only wonder what consequences might be awaiting DePetro and local Citadel management. Will heads roll?

(DePetro image: unknown)

From Thursday's Providence Journal, we learn that fingers are indeed pointing directly at John DePetro in the WPRO ratings cheating scandal:

A spokeswoman for Arbitron said yesterday that it had learned that six of the diaries used in the spring 2008 data for the Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket market area came from a household where at least one person is affiliated with the media. The media outlet was not named. Those six diaries were out of 2,160 diaries used for the total metro area of 1.37 million people. Each of those diaries counted as 640 listeners, said Arbitron spokeswoman Jessica Benbow.

WPRO-AM was the highest-rated station in the metro area in April, May and June. Arbitron began investigating its data July 29 –– four days after the report was released –– at the request of Clear Channel Radio, owner of WHJJ-AM-920, one of WPRO’s prime competitors.

Bill George, WHJJ’s program director, said he asked Arbitron to investigate after noticing an unusual jump in the ratings for WPRO, specifically in listeners 25 to 34 during the 6-to-10-a.m. slot, when WPRO’s John DePetro is on the air.

George said his station noticed WPRO’s rating for women in that age group went from 0 percent in the fall to 12.1 percent in the spring. The ratings for men in that age group jumped from 1.7 percent to 14.1 percent. The figures are percentages of all the people in that age group who are estimated to be listening to any radio station during that time period.

DePetro’s ratings rose from 11th place to 4th place overall in Rhode Island, George said.

In a letter he is sending to Clear Channel’s advertisers, George said: “The Arbitron crediting department identified six diaries in East Greenwich, RI, in the same household, from six people [three women and three men, ages 27-34], representing over 109 hours of listening during one week to WPRO between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.”

Neither Barbara Haynes, general manager of Citadel Broadcasting, which owns WPRO, nor DePetro returned calls seeking comment.

Why the silent treatment from Citadel, Haynes and DePetro? If the station wasn't involved, why not just say so?

And since when is attention-loving DePetro shying away from free publicity? That's a first!

*** UPDATES BELOW ***

Remember that huge ratings increase that had WPRO/ Providence doing handstands recently?

Turns out the gains were the likely result of cheating. According to a letter sent to WPRO by Arbitron (and leaked to us), the ratings will be re-issued on Monday, with the station taking a big hit after the funny business is removed:

To: Subscribers to the Spring 2008 Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket Radio Market Report

Arbitron has learned that six Spring 2008 Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket metro diaries were returned from a media-affiliated household. We have confirmed that these diaries, which were in-tab for the originally published report, should not be included in the in-tab sample.

A revised Spring 2008 Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket Radio Market Report (Arbitron eBook), based on an in-tab sample that excludes these diaries, will release on Monday, August 11, at 10:00 AM Eastern Time.

Revised Spring 2008 Maximi$er, Media Professional, Tapscan, and quarterly Arbitrends estimates will be available for download on August 11 at 10:00 AM Eastern Time as well. A revised Summary Data Set will also release on August 11 to third-party processors and other original recipients.

Audience estimates for WPRO-AM may be substantially affected in particular demos and dayparts. Estimates for several other stations, which received limited amounts of listening in these diaries, may also be affected to a minor extent. In addition, estimates to stations that were not recorded in the deleted diaries may be slightly affected as a result of sample balancing and reprocessing procedures that accompany deletion of any diary from the sample.

This story COULD blow up into something much bigger, as fingers are quickly pointing at a particular air personality familiar to many of us. So far, the evidence is merely circumstantial, however.

If the case were proven, however, it could be career-damaging to say the least.

This kind of stunt has been known to seriously damage affected stations.

Watch for updates.

UPDATE: I have contacted Arbitron, looking for specific information about who was involved in the cheating scandal. If they respond, I'll let you know. Meanwhile, speculation is running rampant.

UPDATE: area papers working on stories for tomorrow's editions. Expect fireworks.

At least there's no longer any mystery over Clark Rockefeller's real identity: with those crazy glasses, he's most certainly Elvis Costello, circa-1985 or so.

But until today, when the possibility of hard-core criminal behavior emerged, the biggest knock on this guy was that nobody was sure of his true identity.

He's used several fake names and has a past known only to himself. Worse, Clark has got a bad habit of making false claims about his background, including college attendance and professional history.

(Image: Boston Globe- Essdras Suarez)

Does that sound like anyone we know?

How much have we ever really learned about WRKO's Reese Hopkins and his fishy background, for instance? When confronted with evidence he didn't attend Fordham University, Reese insisted he graduated under a different name, but wouldn't reveal it. He's yet to produce a diploma.

His bogus website bio, since amended, made a number of unverifiable claims about doing work for Saturday Night Live, MADtv and other programs.

In addition, he's yet to reveal why he lacks a driver's license and has been compelled to take the bus back to New Jersey for home visits.

Especially given his erratic behavior, staffers still quietly wonder when the truth about Reese Hopkins will finally emerge.

At WTKK, Jay Severin has also generated past controversy over his background. That includes questionable work history claims, weird backstage behavior and deception over both his name and broadcast location.

Worse, he insisted he'd won a Pulitzer Prize for "online journalism" until The Globies nailed him.

Setting aside potentially more serious charges against Rockefeller, the main difference between all three is that while one sits behind bars, another rakes in a million a year sitting in his basement and the third makes at least $9 an hour (plus unlimited rides on the Fung Wah bus).

Once again, as major news events unfold, some decent live-and-local weekend talk radio would have served us well.

With Clark Rockefeller captured, Reigh is now free to go back overseas to be ignored by her mother.

I'm not defending him by any means, but I've yet to shed a single tear for her "mother", who to date has had only a tiny role in raising Reigh. She's every bit as kooky as her mysterious ex-husband and her own background deserves far more scrutiny than she's been given by the fawning media.

Why hasn't anyone looked into how she came to be associated with the financially mismanaged home of author Edith Wharton?

Or her ties to discredited, bank-busting New York Senator Chucky Schumer?

As for Clark, until the highly ill-advised "kidnapping" of his daughter, the worst anybody could say about the man was that they weren't sure who he was. If it was really such a big issue, then why were they married for so many years?

Now, Reigh will no longer know the one parent who has been there for her from the beginning.

Yes, Clark may have brought this upon himself, but I don't think this woman ever saw Reigh as anything more than a weapon to use against her husband during a nasty divorce proceeding.

How do you read The Felon's latest moronic stunt?

This time, according to the Herald, Tommy Tune Out decided to show us all that he's still the boss. Now a lobbyist as well as WRKO's morning show host, he isn't allowed on the House floor while in session.

Not wanting to miss the party, Everybody's Favorite Felon had an idea: let's play tour guide and show some out-of-state visitors our nation's most corrupt legislature in action!

Embattled House Speaker Sal DiMasi, who has so far survived a corruption scandal of his own, is pleading ignorance, claiming he didn't see The Felon in the chamber.

So what is behind Tune Out's antics? Along with the move to create a lobbying firm, this makes it clear he'd much rather be back on Beacon Hill than behind a microphone.

Once upon a time, there were two unhappy performers, each making the desire to depart abundantly clear to their respective employers.

One company put up with their troubled staffer's antics for some time, partly because he was still doing a good job. But as time went on, the quality of his output began to slip and he became a distraction to the others. He began to bad-mouth management in public and eventually lost the support of his co-workers.

That's when his employer decided it was time to move on, for the sake of both sides. He accepted a new position 3000 miles away and everyone seems pleased with the outcome.

After a lengthy tenure, the other employee also signaled that he wanted out. He began to act out in a similar manner behind the scenes and (perhaps intentionally) even performed at a sub-par level while on the job.

Taking matters into his own hands, he found a new position with another business in the same industry.

But instead of saying goodbye and moving forward, his employer took him to court and found a way to force him to remain with the firm against his will.

Clearly unhappy over his forced tenure with a company he despises, he now ridicules the firm in public, laughing out loud as its stock price drops through the floor.

Radio could learn a lot from professional baseball, don't you think?

What is it about John Kerry and awkward social situations? The latest flap may be his worst yet and it is providing lots of fun for blogs and talk radio.

If not for images leaked to TMZ.com, news of last weekend's F'n Beach Party might not have reached beyond Nantucket.

What the hell was he thinking?

Actually, with a number of new revelations, the story's really just heating up today, providing a whole new dose of talk radio fodder. The Herald's Track Gals are all over it:

Sen. John Kerry, already under fire after an ill-fated photo op on Nantucket last weekend, was hanging out that same night with a man who is facing charges that he assaulted an island construction worker and the man’s 11-year-old daughter.

Kirby Jones, 47, an island boat captain, is scheduled for a court hearing after a melee in The Club Car where he allegedly punched out 41-year-old Sean Joslin. Joslin’s young daughter was injured in the row.

Jones was one of Kerry’s two companions Saturday night and was photographed with the senator and some booze-swilling coeds on the island’s Straight Wharf.

“Sen. Kerry had no knowledge whatsoever of this incident until your phone call,” said Kerry’s spokeswoman Brigid O’Rourke. “Mr. Jones was invited to dinner by Kerim Koseatac.”

Koseatac, the other man with Kerry Saturday night, is the caretaker at the Nantucket manse owned by Kerry’s wife, ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz. But on Tuesday - before word of the assault allegations trickled to Boston - Kerry aide David Wade described both Koseatac and Jones as the senator’s “friends.”

Yesterday, not so much. It seems that Jones, a well-known character on the island, allegedly sucker-punched Joslin Thursday as he sat in The Club Car, an expensive island eatery, with his daughter and a client.

According to Joslin, he and Jones had a run-in several years ago, and when the boat captain entered the eatery, he began talking to Joslin’s daughter.

And later in the column, they nail it:

So to recap: Kerry was out to dinner with a man he didn’t know was facing assault charges. After which he was photographed with a group of drinking, college-aged women with penis straws whom he didn’t know. And no one knows how the pictures wound up on TMZ.

Perhaps the senator should just stay home . . . .

We don't think of Kerry as a wild party guy, so what was he up to? Was this just a case of accidentally socializing with commoners (seems hard to believe in his case), or part of a calculated move to reshape his sullen, wooden image? I'm going with the former.

The bigger question: though Ted K could probably escape unharmed from this kind of publicity, Kerry is another story. He isn't terribly popular here and not known to spend a lot of time dealing with Bay State issues. Will this hurt him politically?

Images: TMZ.com

I bring this to your attention because I've heard the same pitch in ads running on Boston talk radio, haven't you?

Beyond that, this scam has been thriving in the Bay State for many years.

It's simple: convince an elderly relative to transfer assets to a family member, making them "destitute", which then qualifies them for taxpayer-funded nursing home care.

When desperate corporate owners of talk stations fill spot breaks and weekend programming with shady hucksters, they not only undermine the format's credibility, but also potentially expose the company to liability.

In this case, California's AG went after the host, but it should serve as a warning nonetheless. From the Sacramento Bee:

Radio host to pay fine in AG's inquiry

Relatively wealthy clients filed false claims for benefits, officials argued

By Cynthia Hubert - chubert@sacbee.com

Lawyer and radio host James Walker has made a living advising California senior citizens on how to shift the cost of their nursing home care to taxpayers.

"Find out the best way to stop long term care from wiping out everything you have!" Walker's Senior Care Advocates urges on its Web site.

Walker has insisted that, by helping older people qualify for Medi-Cal, the state's insurance program for the poor, he is looking out for their rights. But state officials have argued that Walker abused the system by, among other things, helping relatively wealthy seniors file false claims for Medi-Cal benefits.

The state attorney general's office recently completed a four-year investigation of Walker. In a settlement filed in Sacramento Superior Court, Walker agreed to change his business practices, pay a civil penalty of up to $275,000 and clearly separate his legal and consulting services. No criminal charges were filed.

[...]

Walker is part of a growing industry of financial advisers who focus on seniors, according to elder advocates. The advocates worry that older people are giving away their assets to qualify for Medi-Cal nursing home coverage and paying thousands of dollars in fees to obtain aid they do not need.

"There are lots of scammers out there, and they're getting away with it," said Carole Herman, founder and director of Foundation for Aiding the Elderly in Sacramento. Herman said she has had five complaints related to Walker's business.

In just 72 hours, a formerly obscure, yet well-to-do family has a stranglehold on the news cycle, all because of a complex kidnapping plot and some eccentric personality quirks.

Amazing, isn't it? Whether you want to know these people or not, there's little choice: they're everywhere.

There's a bit of snickering from Beacon Hill elitists over a certain Radio Hall Of Fame inductee's self-declaration of "Howie Carr Day" in the Commonwealth.

But if this were made into a bona fide state holiday, it could be taken quite seriously, don't you think? It could rival Evacuation Day, Bunker Hill Day, or any of the other dubious reasons to shut down government offices.

With that kind of incentive, the hacks could warm up to a Howie holiday rather quickly.

Our comment system is malfunctioning and as a result, most are being rejected for "questionable content". Sorry for the inconvenience.

Last night's Amber Alert and today's subsequent headlines are tailor-made for talk radio.

That's because the apparent "kidnapping" of Reigh Rockefeller by her father during a supervised visit has raised many questions about how this could have occurred and especially how it was handled by police and the media:

--- Why was an Amber Alert issued in a custodial case? With no known history of domestic violence, how is Reigh in physical danger? It's clear this is seen differently in New York, where police would not have issued one based on these circumstances.

--- How was the public supposed to be of any use without details on the vehicle Reigh's father used to flee the scene? In addition, why wasn't a photo of Clark Rockefeller immediately made available? Isn't he on file with the RMV?

--- Another unexplained element of the story: while Reigh's mother appears to have custody, she lives and works in London. Does that mean the child was flown here from the UK just for the supervised visit, or does she live here with someone else?

--- The latest update has Clark Rockefeller possibly using a newly-acquired boat to flee with Reigh. In addition, he may have had assistance from a friend. Where does he intend to take her and why can't anyone locate the vessel at sea?

It's time for a healthy discussion on the proper use of the Amber Alert system. Is this one of them?

Richard Egbert, a criminal defense attorney whose clients included crooked talk radio shysters Tommy Tune Out and The Other Felon, has passed away, according to news reports.

From the Herald:

Egbert’s client list included former Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci, former Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran, controversial State House-connected accountant Richard Vitale, a Stoughton cop accused of extortion, a state trooper accused of soliciting sex from a boy, and several accused mob figures. Fellow Boston mob lawyer Tony Cardinale said Egbert was a tireless worker and brilliant lawyer.

“He was a good friend,” Cardinale said. “You want to set the mark of a tremendous, unbelievable lawyer, he set the mark, and he was a great guy, too. . . . I think we’ve lost a champion. I don’t know that there’s anybody who can fill his shoes.”