The Corner

Horrid Crimes

Totally with you on the death penalty for the abductor of that 11-yr-old

girl, Jonah.

Welcome news yesterday here on Long Island has been the arrest of five

people in connection with the murder of an office worker, 37-yr-old Anthony

Battaglia, as he was walking home from the railroad station to his house one

evening. He made it to the door of his house, where his wife found him.

The arrestees were said to be laughing and joking when in custody. One of

them gave a fine arrogant sneer to the TV news cameras.

Four of these vermin belong to the Latin Kings, one of the many Hispanic

gangs committing mayhem here on Long Island. None of the news stories –

see below — identifies any of them as illegal immigrants, of which Long

Island has a large number; but this topic is now taboo in crime coverage and

would not be mentioned in a respectable newspaper even if known.

Another interesting feature of these crime-news reports is the way they can

ALWAYS turn up some relative, friend, or neighbor to testify to the sweet

and gentle nature of the perps. Here it is a sister: “Jeanette, who would

not give her last name, said Mr. Paez did not go to school or have a job,

but he occasionally worked for his father. She said she could not imagine

her brother robbing and killing anyone. ‘I think I know how my brother is,’

she said in a telephone interview. ‘He must have been with the wrong people

at the wrong time. That could happen to anybody.’” The poor chap is just a

victim, see?

John Derbyshire — Mr. Derbyshire is a former contributing editor of National Review.
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