One of Linda Wiegand's most avid supporters was Colonel Bo Gritz, a leader in the extreme right wing survivalist movement that supported Linda during much of her case and provided her with substantial financial resources. Colonel Gritz's close relationship with Linda Wiegand and the way he supported her cause and mentored her at Patriot Movement conferences assisted Linda greatly in furthering her cause and obtaining necessary funding for continuing her legal battle for custody of her two sons, Ben and Jon.
I may have gone over some old ground here, so forgive me if I repeat myself. But this is how it goes. In 1996, Tom Wilkinson offered a reward of $100,000 for anyone who could assist him in finding the whereabouts of Linda Wiegand and Ben and Jon. One of Linda's friends took up the offer and revealed her location in Las Vegas, Nevada and police came and took Ben and Jon from her custody and returned them to Connecticut. Linda Wiegand also returned to Connecticut in chains. After that, Tom Wilkinson obtained full custody of the two boys, moved them to Suffield, CT where he was living and put them in the local school system.
Then, in September 30, 1996, Colonel Bo Gritz was arrested for attempted kidnapping of the boys. Apparently, on that day both Colonel Bo Gritz (aka James G. Gritz) and his son, James R. Gritz were arrested while sitting in a car in the parking lot of the McAlister Middle School in Suffield. The car they were sitting in belonged to Linda Wiegand. In the car were: 1. photos of the boys; 2. a school floor plan; 3. class schedules for the boys; and 4. 2 ways radios. Apprently, a Mr. Sheldon Robinson of Texas was also charged with planning to use his own private plane to fly the kids out of state.
Later, on March 8, 2000, Colonel Gritz and his friend Shelden Robinson were acquitted of the all charges related to attempted kidnapping. The jury in the case deliberated for more than two days and then said the prosecution failed to do anything other than show that Bo Gritz was attempting to use his reputation to draw attention to the case.
After this episode, some members of the Patriot Movement that had supported Linda Wiegand up to that point, many of them associates of Colonel Gritz began to call Linda's credibility into question. Some said that they felt that Linda, as a way to get out of jail, had made a deal with authorities to set up Colonel Gritz as a way to destroy his reputation. Well, I guess anything is possible.
What I can say for sure is that around the year 2000, there is little more information available on the Linda Wiegand case and we are left with a mystery regarding what happened. Were the children subjected to continued abuse or not? Did Linda Wiegand ever see her children again? Was there any resolution to the case, any healing? We do know that Tom Wilkinson sued both the Connecticut DCF and the Vermont SRS for falsely accusing him of sexually abusing the boys. Those charges were negotiated shut and/or dismissed.
In December 2001 Governor Rowland ordered the establishment of a Commission on Custody, Divorce, and Children in Connecticut to make recommendations on how the state could improve the system. It was co-chaired by a well known father's rights advocate and abuser, Mr. Thomas C. Foley and among the 20 members assigned to the Commission was Dr. Kenneth Robson who had played such a central role in the Linda Wiegand case. It only produced a single report and was then disbanded.
So, where are they?
ReplyDeleteLinda
Jon
Ben
Tom
Col. Gritz, in his book "My Brother's Keeper" does mention that Linda is a bit of a nut case.
I lost contact with Gritz when my local microbroadcaster was busted by the FCC black helicopter.
I am the person that turned Linda in to the authorities. I can assure you that I did NOT receive a $100,000 reward or a reward of any dollar amount!!! My reward was knowing that Jon and Ben were safe and had a chance at a normal life. I am still in touch with them to this day.
ReplyDeleteNormal life? BITCH! If you were ever the victim of sexual abuse by your father, you would have compassion and have left those poor boys and their mother alone. I hope you rot in Hell for what you did to all of them!
DeleteI believe the children were being ritually abused by their father.
DeleteThey should have remained with their mother. You should have stayed out of it - or are you a Satanist as well?
Yes, well, Mr. or Ms. Anonymous, and I am the Queen of Sheba, and you never knew! OK, not to joke, but you can see my point. If you are the person who turned Linda into the authorities, and you can imagine there are all sorts of people all over the internet saying all sorts of things, then it would be interesting to hear your testimony in a way that we can be more sure that you are who you say you are. If you are, I can imagine this situation was very difficult emotionally. If not,well...you do understand that court cases are places where the most remarkable statements are made, often without any kind of proof, and they are very hard to correct if they aren't true.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Mohommed! I didn't see your post. Yes, I would be interested in knowing what happened to all the players in this case. Linda may have been a nut. On the other hand, I'm not sure Col. Gritz was walking around with a full suitcase either. To be honest, being in the Connecticut courts is enough to drive most people bananas!
ReplyDeletehttp://articles.courant.com/2013-03-18/news/hc-linda-wiegand-20130318-1_1_thomas-wilkinson-linda-wiegand-custodial-interference
DeleteHello ,Queen of Sheba..............I am anonymous or "traitor" as Linda has called me .I NEVER imagined people would still have given any thought to Linda after 16 years!!!. And yes,.........it was difficult emotionally but.........that was then and this is now!
ReplyDeleteLinda had all she had happen to her in the judicial system due to "remarkable statements". There there lies the truth!
I'm surprised you would say that. Even now, people recall Linda's situation. I was just talking to a person a few weeks ago in a casual conversation and we talked about the case. This case was privotal in terms of how accusations regarding sexual abuse are handled in the state of CT. I am sure it established a precedent. Granting Linda lied and all that you are saying is true, why did the people who opposed her have to cheat to win?
ReplyDeleteI'm not understanding what you mean by "why did the people who opposed her have to cheat to win?" Who or what in particular are you talking about?
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that Judge Barall was totally out of control in this case--for example, ruling on motions when Linda Wiegand was out of town, etc. handing over her entire defense fund as damages. Please, give me a break! And simply using Dr. Robson has the evaluator--that alone! The guy is a complete idiot.
ReplyDeleteMost particularly, Judge Barall's refusal to allow into court the Massameno report from the attorney general's office which supported Linda's claims is quite suspicious. If Linda was clearly lying about the sexual abuse, why the need to hide evidence?
ReplyDeletecheck out the dates of the divorce judgement and the date of the Massemino report......................no evidence was hidden!! It was years later after the divorce was final!! Also the Massameno report was mostly written by what Linda told him!! I was interviewed and Linda came unannounced telling lies................I get sick thinking about it!!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure of your context. Didn't litigation regarding this case go well past the date of dissolution? Re the Massameno report, you say it was based upon Linda's views, and she would say Robson's report was based on Tom's views. That is why evidence has to be reviewed carefully and examined properly, which didn't happen in this case. Do you have proof that Linda told lies?
ReplyDeleteOk, I became a little lost on this but again, whoever wrote the above comment is again being very deceptive. The divorce judgment took place in 1995 when Linda Wiegand was in hiding. However, the question of whether the children was abused continued as an issue after 1995. The Massemino report was relevant in regard to whether Linda Wiegand had a basis for believing her children were being abused which would justify her decision to flee the state. The Massemino report was submitted on October 27, 1998 and yet it wasn't made available until February 2000 when Bo Gritz was on trial which sounds like it was hidden to me. But what bothers me most is, if you are telling the truth and you know so much, why do you remain anonymous?
ReplyDeleteThe Suffield Police Department still holds an outstanding arrest warrant for Linda (extridictable continental United States). Check their facebook page. They are still looking for her.
ReplyDeleteOk, so the Suffield Police Department has this outstanding arrest warrant. What does that mean to you? As you know many women who have been abused end up with arrest records, diagnoses they never had before, etc. etc. So I'm like, so, so ,so what are you trying to say? My ex committed serious white collar financial crimes but was never caught for it, so he appears acceptable on the surface. What does that exactly mean? That since he was never convicted he isn't a criminal? I'm not sure everyone would agree with that verdict. This is what makes a situation like Linda's difficult when it comes to determining guilt or innocence. If the system itself wasn't so corrupt, I think we would feel that we were closer to the truth. But the way we are now, it's so muddled up it's hard to know what is going on.
ReplyDeleteWhat it means is if Bo Gritz and Sheldon Robinson were found not guilty and she did nothing wrong she should turn herself in. Clear her name.
ReplyDeleteI think what Linda's supporters would argue is that the judicial system in Connecticut is so corrupt that she is unlikely to obtain justice should she return and turn herself in. They'd say that Linda was denied due process all along and that the judges in her case held themselves over and above the law. Is she accused of anything by the State of CT in regard to the kidnap attempt? I'm not aware of that. What I do know is that her trial was a travesty of justice and a disgrace to the CT legal system, not even knowing whether she was guilty or innocent, because I just can't tell given the outrageous actions of the the Court System in this case.
ReplyDeleteThe Massameno report was not based on Linda's statements. You have to be illiterate to think so.
ReplyDeleteIt was a thorough analysis of the available data, including the kids' testimony, Robson's report, and police and DCF records, and trial testimony, including Wilkinson's. Do you think if you just say something inane that it makes it true?
If the Massameno report was not based upon Linda's statements, then it appears to me to be even more legitimate.
ReplyDeleteThe Massameno report points out that there was never an evidentiary hearing on whether the abuse had occurred. Yet Judge Thelma Santos ordered Linda to pay "alimony" of $500,000, with rapidly accruing interest, as compensation for her supposedly false accusations of sex abuse. On what basis does Santos conclude the accusations are false if there'd been no hearing? What's next, trial by Ouija board? Her statements made it clear she was dishing out a punitive fine, which requires full criminal process. But Santos decided to skip over the process part and get right to the penalty. It's easy. Just give it another name, call it alimony, then you can do what you want. When Linda couldn't pay the fine because they'd already taken everything, she was imprisoned. Since there's no debtor's prison, they called it "contempt," saying she "willfully" did not pay. They needed to get that word "willful" in there for it to be contempt. Word games. Cheap tricks. Alice in Wonderland logic.
ReplyDelete