Fight For The Truth

Erin Moriarty On The Latest Chapter In The Marty Tankleff Case

(CBS)  Harris says that on a night in September 1988, he was the driver on the way to what he thought would be a home burglary. Harris says he was with two men that night, Joseph Creedon and Peter Kent.

Creedon, known on the street as "Joey Guns," and Kent, also have long criminal records. In a notarized affidavit, Harris says he drove them to an upscale neighborhood and "parked his car... where Creedon told me to stop."

When they returned to the car, Harris says he knew something had happened. "Their demeanor, their behavior, it wasn't normal," he says.

Asked what his feelings were, Harris says, "That something more than a burglary happened. Usually when you commit a burglary there’s proceeds of something and that wasn’t there."

"And can you tell me what their demeanor was?" Moriarty asks.

"Extremely nervous, winded," Harris says. "Creedon’s anxiousness to get out of there."

Harris says he later watched Peter Kent "burning his clothes." And when he heard about the Tankleff murders, Harris says he "put two and two together" but kept quiet.

"I had no right being up there," he says. "I was just out on parole."

Harris took - and passed - a polygraph arranged by Marty’s investigator, Jay Salpeter.

What's more, Salpeter says, Joey "Guns" Creedon is linked to the man who the police dismissed as a possible suspect. "Jerry Steuerman has ties to Joseph Creedon. This is not a random hit," Salpeter says.

Steuerman, the bagel shop owner who was heavily in debt to Seymour, is connected to Creedon through his son Todd Steuerman, like Creedon a convicted criminal. Salpeter believes Steuerman hired Creedon the night the Tankleffs were killed.

"My scenario is that Seymour is sitting at the desk. Jerry Steuerman is talking to him keeping Seymour’s attention on Jerry," Salpeter theorizes. "At this point, behind Seymour, coming through the door, Joe Creedon, Peter Kent, and they took Seymour out and then went for Mrs. Tankleff."

Steuerman has lived in an upscale community in Boca Raton, Fla. He refuses to talk to 48 Hours, but both he and his son, Todd, deny they had anything to do with the Tankleff murders.

Still, the new evidence provided by Harris is a major break for Marty. He has been granted a hearing. If the judge at that hearing finds that the new evidence would cause the original jury to vote a different way, Marty will get a new trial, and a real shot at winning his freedom.

As the hearing begins, Marty’s lawyers, who are working pro bono, and his large extended family are thrilled to be back in court.

But that new evidence will not go unchallenged. Assistant District Attorney Leonard Lato is fighting to uphold Marty's verdict. "There's a verdict, there are appeals, there’s been federal habeas petitions, he's lost," Lato says.

And Lato says Harris is a liar. "When I tried to interview him, he said 'I don’t want to talk,'" he says.

In fact, when Harris takes the stand, he refuses to testify, afraid he will be charged with the murders. "In my view, he isn't testifying because he doesn’t want to get up on the stand, and be exposed as a liar," Lato says.

But, when he was in prison, Harris confessed to a Catholic priest. With Harris' permission, the priest tells the court the same story Harris told 48 Hours.

And there are 20 other new witnesses who back Harris' story. Karlene Kovacs met Creedon at a party, and she says he bragged about the murders.

Kovacs tells Moriarty she believed Creedon was telling the truth when he talked about the murders.

Lato claims Creedon took credit for the crime only to enhance his violent reputation. But other witnesses brought to court by Tankleff's attorneys say Joey "Guns" Creedon tried to involve them in the murder plot; there's Joe Graydon, who says he and Creedon had made a failed attempt to ambush a man he now believes was Seymour.

"We had to go up to the bagel store and make it look like a robbery," Graydon said. "He wasn’t there. We missed him. We were supposed to catch him coming out of the back."

[Stoney13]

lo1411,

Let''s see what kind of detective I am! I think "lo" stands for Law Officer, and "1411" is your badge number!

This kid is SOOOOOO innocent! The fact that one of your fellow officers is getting called on to the carpet for this must REALLY get to you! Well, brother that is the wrong way to think!

Because of McCready''s sloppy, heavy-handed, and arrogant behavior, a jury might let a guilty person go! Perhaps a scared kid out there will decide he has nothing to lose and go down shooting and take a fellow officer with him!

One McCready undoes the work of a hundred decent, honest officers! And I know same damned fine men who chose to wear the badge! McCready sullys their name! Think about that before you give your loyalty to an officer who doesn''t deserve it!

[davidj121]

McCready is one stubborn ignorant stupid idiot. Why on Earth would marty tankleff kill his parents. there is no motive whatsoever. yet, there is a shady guy that owes seymour tankleff 500 grand. a 5th grader could put this one together. shouldn''t they teach detectives about motive and how it figures into crime ? what a ******* ! that guy belongs behind bars.

[godsfiddler]

James McCready is nothing more than an a hole con artist, and was probably the one counseling the actual killers.

[godsfiddler]

I wonder if McCready was part of the crime...as well as the three other guys.

[godsfiddler]

Such a shame that all three guys are free men. McCready needs to be in prison for his ***.

[pfd572]

lo1411 and lovetoread1: you might want to take the time to learn about the volumes of false and coerced confessions; the hundreds of innocent people who have been released after DNA evidence analyzed (an example of how the courts and law enforcement CAN err); the forensic evidence that was suppressed that almost entirely clears Marty; the State Commission''s investigation into probable misconduct by law enforcement, etc. Its EXTREMELY naive to think that police and the courts never make a mistake, are alway honest and never have an agenda at others expense. I am relieved that, at least in this case, the system eventually, but way too long after the fact, got it right. (the only motive the police and prosecution could come up with was money he would inherit; if they had checked they would have found out he wouldn''t have access to any inheritance, regardless of his parents alive or dead, until he was 25, eight years after their murder - this is no motive)

[tboetj7]

It is an outrage that Jerry Steuerman is a free man. He gets to retire in Florida. Shouldnt he at least be on trial?

[wr_rodgers]

Not only was the detective wrong in how he pursued this case, but so was the jury. The detective should be immediately suspended and then brought to trail. If found guilty he should be required to spend at least 17 years in prison. How in the world can our justice system move so slowly - 17 years ago they were investigating the detectives handling of this case and still today no ruling has come forth. This detective is most likely continuing to send innocent people to prison because he lies, hides the facts and makes every case into what he wants it to be? The jury that served on that case should feel ashamed for being so hoodwinked.

[pfd572]

lo1401

Learn before you speak. There a numerous, documented, authorized and proven examples of people confessing to crimes they didn''t commit. Extended hours of intense, threatening questioning by police, sleep depredation, threats, mind games, lack of food, fear and intimidation by/of authority,etc. all contribute to conditions where people have confessed. Especially younger people. Marty NEVER signed a confession, he said if he did it he must have been having a blackout because he didn''t remember, etc., and IMMEDIATELY rescinded his confession. There was absolutely no evidence other than his physical presence in the house, his own home, and his demeanor. People react to horror in different ways, shock sets in and shock of this nature causes the body/mind to shut down as a way of self-preservation. You need to know of which you speak or you do more harm.

[lovetoread1]

Did Erin actually read the police report? Marty has received a get out of jail free card for murdering his parents.

[jojosmom1]

lo1411 ....Apparently you have no clue what your mind can believe under stressful circumstances. If you are told something over and over, you can start to believe it. Why don''t you keep an open mind and think about how they interrogated him. He is not the first person to ''confess'' to a crime he did not commit! How anyone can watch that and believe with out a doubt that he was guilty, astounds me. Is that not a juror''s job? Without a doubt? Seems to me there was plenty to doubt here.

[jojosmom1]

lo1411 ....Apparently you have no clue what your mind can believe under stressful circumstances. If you are told something over and over, you can start to believe it. Why don''t you keep an open mind and think about how they interrogated him. He is not the first person to ''confess'' to a crime he did not commit! How anyone can watch that and believe with out a doubt that he was guilty, astounds me. Is that not a juror''s job? Without a doubt? Seems to me there was plenty to doubt here.

[davidj121]

I am sick after watching this show. McCready is one of the dumbest , most stubborn idiots I have ever seen. I don''t understand how a jury could have convicted this kid when there was no physical evidence and he had no motive. Why on Earth would he have done that ? That police officer''s refusal to investigate Steurmann is shameful. A young man lost 18 years of his life and he can never get that back.

[animemom-2009]

I believe this is such an injustice. These law enforcement officers and elected officials have sworn to protect and serve. Why did they not protect this 17 year old boy who had apparently just been traumatized by the loss of his two parents? Instead they bombarded him in the interrogation room without an attorney or another family member present on his behalf. Later, when other witnesses and evidence came forward, instead of keeping an open mind they turned a blind eye. Also, if detective McCready is "better than the polygraph machine" why isn''t he sought out by every law enforcement agency in the country? I think detective McCready should take a polygraph examination administered and read by Mr. Jack Trimarco. After all, detective McCready has admitted to lying to 17 year old Marty Tankleff during his interrogation to extract a confession out of him and detective McCready hides behind the United States Supreme Court to justify his lying. I wish Marty and his family all the luck in the world. With people like this protecting and serving our great nation they will need it!

[staylor31549]

I was interested in watching the show because of the injustice that has been done to another teenager. I wanted to share that information:

Learn about 15-year-old Latino honor student named Efren Paredes, Jr. who was wrongly convicted in 1989 for a murder and armed robbery he did not commit; a crime to which others plead guilty. Efren had no criminal record previous to his arrest for this crime.

One of the individuals who pled guilty to the case for which Efren was arrested owned the murder weapon, was found in possession of the weapon after the crime occurred, owned the car used in the commission of the crime, and was found in possession of money from the crime. His brother also admitted to being at the crime scene. All admittedly guilty parties to committing the crime have served their prison sentences for this crime and been released.

The case against Efren was entirely circumstantial. There was no physical evidence linking Efren to the crime, no eyewitnesses to the crime, and Efren was home when the crime occurred. He was arrested, tried and convicted in a three month period and was subsequently sentenced to three life sentences. Efren is now 33-years-old.

Please visit www.4Efren.com to learn more about this injustice and egregious human rights violation.

[staylor31549]

I was interested in watching the show because of the injustice that has been done to another teenager. I wanted to share that information:

Learn about 15-year-old Latino honor student named Efren Paredes, Jr. who was wrongly convicted in 1989 for a murder and armed robbery he did not commit; a crime to which others plead guilty. Efren had no criminal record previous to his arrest for this crime.

One of the individuals who pled guilty to the case for which Efren was arrested owned the murder weapon, was found in possession of the weapon after the crime occurred, owned the car used in the commission of the crime, and was found in possession of money from the crime. His brother also admitted to being at the crime scene. All admittedly guilty parties to committing the crime have served their prison sentences for this crime and been released.

The case against Efren was entirely circumstantial. There was no physical evidence linking Efren to the crime, no eyewitnesses to the crime, and Efren was home when the crime occurred. He was arrested, tried and convicted in a three month period and was subsequently sentenced to three life sentences. Efren is now 33-years-old.

Please visit www.4Efren.com to learn more about this injustice and egregious human rights violation.

[staylor31549]

I was interested in watching the show because of the injustice that has been done to another teenager. I wanted to share that information:

Learn about 15-year-old Latino honor student named Efren Paredes, Jr. who was wrongly convicted in 1989 for a murder and armed robbery he did not commit; a crime to which others plead guilty. Efren had no criminal record previous to his arrest for this crime.

One of the individuals who pled guilty to the case for which Efren was arrested owned the murder weapon, was found in possession of the weapon after the crime occurred, owned the car used in the commission of the crime, and was found in possession of money from the crime. His brother also admitted to being at the crime scene. All admittedly guilty parties to committing the crime have served their prison sentences for this crime and been released.

The case against Efren was entirely circumstantial. There was no physical evidence linking Efren to the crime, no eyewitnesses to the crime, and Efren was home when the crime occurred. He was arrested, tried and convicted in a three month period and was subsequently sentenced to three life sentences. Efren is now 33-years-old.

Please visit www.4Efren.com to learn more about this injustice and egregious human rights violation.

[staylor31549]

I was interested in watching the show because of the injustice that has been done to another teenager. I wanted to share that information:

Learn about 15-year-old Latino honor student named Efren Paredes, Jr. who was wrongly convicted in 1989 for a murder and armed robbery he did not commit; a crime to which others plead guilty. Efren had no criminal record previous to his arrest for this crime.

One of the individuals who pled guilty to the case for which Efren was arrested owned the murder weapon, was found in possession of the weapon after the crime occurred, owned the car used in the commission of the crime, and was found in possession of money from the crime. His brother also admitted to being at the crime scene. All admittedly guilty parties to committing the crime have served their prison sentences for this crime and been released.

The case against Efren was entirely circumstantial. There was no physical evidence linking Efren to the crime, no eyewitnesses to the crime, and Efren was home when the crime occurred. He was arrested, tried and convicted in a three month period and was subsequently sentenced to three life sentences. Efren is now 33-years-old.

Please visit www.4Efren.com to learn more about this injustice and egregious human rights violation.

[staylor31549]

I was interested in watching the show because of the injustice that has been done to another teenager. I wanted to share that information:

Learn about 15-year-old Latino honor student named Efren Paredes, Jr. who was wrongly convicted in 1989 for a murder and armed robbery he did not commit; a crime to which others plead guilty. Efren had no criminal record previous to his arrest for this crime.

One of the individuals who pled guilty to the case for which Efren was arrested owned the murder weapon, was found in possession of the weapon after the crime occurred, owned the car used in the commission of the crime, and was found in possession of money from the crime. His brother also admitted to being at the crime scene. All admittedly guilty parties to committing the crime have served their prison sentences for this crime and been released.

The case against Efren was entirely circumstantial. There was no physical evidence linking Efren to the crime, no eyewitnesses to the crime, and Efren was home when the crime occurred. He was arrested, tried and convicted in a three month period and was subsequently sentenced to three life sentences. Efren is now 33-years-old.

Please visit www.4Efren.com to learn more about this injustice and egregious human rights violation.

[staylor31549]

I was interested in watching the show because of the injustice that has been done to another teenager. I wanted to share that information:

Learn about 15-year-old Latino honor student named Efren Paredes, Jr. who was wrongly convicted in 1989 for a murder and armed robbery he did not commit; a crime to which others plead guilty. Efren had no criminal record previous to his arrest for this crime.

One of the individuals who pled guilty to the case for which Efren was arrested owned the murder weapon, was found in possession of the weapon after the crime occurred, owned the car used in the commission of the crime, and was found in possession of money from the crime. His brother also admitted to being at the crime scene. All admittedly guilty parties to committing the crime have served their prison sentences for this crime and been released.

The case against Efren was entirely circumstantial. There was no physical evidence linking Efren to the crime, no eyewitnesses to the crime, and Efren was home when the crime occurred. He was arrested, tried and convicted in a three month period and was subsequently sentenced to three life sentences. Efren is now 33-years-old.

Please visit www.4Efren.com to learn more about this injustice and egregious human rights violation.