Crowley Political Report

http://saintpetersblog.com/2011/07/the-horrible-irony-of-lois-frankels-criticism-of-allen-wests-alleged-misoginy/

The horrible irony of Lois Frankel’s criticism of Allen West’s alleged misogyny

Late last week, Congressional candidate Lois Frankel called on U.S. Rep. Allen West to donate money to a battered women’s shelter in light of West’s sexist rant against US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

The horrible irony of such criticism is that candidate Frankel has had no problem taking thousands of dollars from a donor who is known for his abuse of women.

According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Florida developer Dan Catalfumo, owner and president of Catalfumo Construction, gave $5,000 to Lois Frankel’s congressional campaign, through her campaign committee “Lois Frankel For Congress” on May 31, 2011.

That name may sound familiar. That’s because of this Sun-Sentinel report involving Heather Hill, former fiancé of Catalfumo. Hill had him charged with felony battery and aggravated battery, after Hill asserted that Catalfumo “pushed [her] into a glass-covered picture frame, causing severe injuries that required multiple stitches in the shoulder and back and staples in her head.”

According to the Palm Beach Post in May 2004, “prosecutors want[ed] Hill to testify about an allegation made in one of their filings: that Catalfumo told her he could tie concrete blocks to her ankles, throw her off his boat and no one would ever know.” They also “pushed to introduce evidence that Catalfumo beat other women.” In the criminal trial of this case, the prosecution used the reports of similar conduct by Catalfumo against another former girlfriend and his ex-wife. They planned to use the testimony of these two women, in addition to Hill, to demonstrate that Catalfumo was “a serial abuser.”

At the trial of the battery charges against Catalfumo, the prosecution’s Assistant State Attorney Jeffrey Jones “opened his case with a bare-bones statement: that Hill was struck and shoved by Daniel Salvatore Catalfumo after arriving home that night.”

Jones said that Hill told the police of the incident that evening, and she “suffered many, many stitches.” According to the Palm Beach Post, in March 2005, Hill “ended up with 53 stitches in the back and arm, [and] five staples closing a gash in her head.”

The first evidence introduced in the case was the 911 call that Hill made that night. “On the tape, Catalfumo calmly [told] the operator that Hill need[ed] help, that she [was] heavily medicated and had fallen. When Hill [got] back on phone, she yell[ed] ‘Liar! Liar!’ at Catalfumo, sobbing as she [said] he threw her into the wall during an argument.” Other testimony came from the medic who treated Hill for her injuries, who testified “that he did not smell any alcohol on Hill as he treated her.”

In March 2005, the Palm Beach Post reported that that a few days before the start of the trial of the battery charges against Catalfumo by his former fiancée Heather Hill, “Catalfumo offered [Hill] “multiple millions” to keep the case from going to trial.”A July 2006 report in the Sun-Sentinel said that, “Hill has said that Catalfumo offered her $2 million two days before the criminal trial began. Hill said the Catalfumo’s attorneys made the offer for him, and said that the lawyers “tried to scare her, saying her personal life would be splayed all over Court TV.” Hill’s civil attorney Jeffrey Liggio confirmed, “that last-minute dealing to settle the civil case and avoid the criminal one took place.” When asked why she didn’t take the deal, Hill replied, “I can’t say,” and clammed up.

In February 2005, the Palm Beach Post reported that Catalfumo’s former girlfriend Allison Petronella testified that she had been similarly abused by him during their relationship. Petronella said that “three times during the years they dated, Catalfumo beat her, slammed her head into a marble floor, choked her, punched her…[and] she had pictures to prove it.” When questioned by prosecutors, Petronella described three different beating and choking incidents. “‘I had bruising. I had bloodshot eyes. I had bruising on my neck. I had bruising on my chest. I had a concussion. I was hospitalized,’ she said.” During the trial, Petronella said that Catalfumo had beaten her to times, and told the Palm Beach Post in January 2005 that Catalfumo had told her: “The only way [she] would ever leave him was in a pine box.” The article said that during her testimony, Petronella “wrapped her hands around her throat, demonstrating how she said she was choked.” It added that, “earlier in the trial, Heather Hill, a woman telling a similar story, had done the same.”

It gets worse.

According to the Palm Beach Post in March 2005, the battery charge against Catalfumo was not the first time these charges of abuse had been made against Catalfumo, and instead were indicative of a long history “of Catalfumo being bare-knuckled with women” that included Hill, Catalfumo’s former girlfriend Allison Petronella, and began in 1997 when he was arrested on charges of beating ex-wife and mother of his children Barbie Catalfumo. “According to a police report, Barbie Catalfumo was bruised, scratched, had an inflamed jaw, a small gash in the center of her forehead and knots on her scalp after Catalfumo attacked her in a Boca Raton hotel room. Catalfumo pleaded no contest, and the charge was dropped after he completed counseling.” Barbie’s testimony was originally meant to be included in the trial of Hill’s battery charges against Catalfumo, but the a technicality made it so that she was not permitted to testify, as the Judge ruled that the prosecutor had listed her too late. According to the Palm Beach Post, “Barbie Catalfumo could have been a linchpin witness for prosecutors if she had been able to tell jurors of the 1997 incident in a Boca Raton hotel room, during which she said he beat and choked her. According to police reports, Barbie was bruised and scratched, with an inflamed jaw, a small gash in the center of her forehead and knots on her scalp.”

Here’s where it all comes together.

Criminal defense attorney Richard Lubin is the ex-husband of Palm Beach mayor Lois Frankel. In 2005,according to the Palm Beach Post, Lubin was the lead defense attorney for Catalfumo.

According to the Palm Beach Post in June 2006, Catalfumo “made a live appearance Monday before WPB Mayor Lois Frankel and the city commission and won a $101.8 million contract to build the new city hall.” The article billed it as Catalfumo cleaning up his image after its recent marring by domestic abuse charges from his former fiancée Heather Hill. The article said that the year before Catalfumo won the contract to spend $102 million of taxpayers’ dollars on a new city hall, he appear before the same group, but, at that time, “he was facing 15 years in the slammer for allegedly beating a gal pal. Because of the commissioners’ concern about his off-construction-site behavior, which included other allegations of violence against women, Catalfumo withdrew from consideration.” Since that time, Catalfumo remarried. “Before the vote to award him the project, Catalfumo was asked by [Commissioner Bill] Moss to introduce his family, including his three children, his third wife Susan, and even his office manager and her mom, Carmen Hernandez, an event that Moss and Catalfumo claimed wasn’t staged.”

With all of this in the public record, how can Frankel have accepted a contribution from Catalfumo and then turn around and accuse anyone of “hating women”?