PAPER FAILED WITH 'DOPE' STORY

I am writing in response to Tom Moroney's sucker punch of an article in the
Feb. 25 issue of MetroWest Daily News (cat cop party). I am appalled you
could write and print such a deliberately one-sided, humiliating and
potentially slanderous story of an incident based solely on police account.

I'm not the only person who finds it reprehensible and totally
irresponsible to pass this type of sniggering, malicious piece of trashy
reportage off on your subscribers. This is self-serving American
sensationalism in peak form. The condescending, cynical and smirky Tom
Moroney and the Metrowest Daily News hit a new low with this headlining
front page assassination of two defenseless, voiceless young men.

You say two underage kids were served or allowed to have alcohol at a party
hosted by cops in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. This is legal? And
then we're supposed to believe that these two "dopes" decided to start
offering drugs to this roomful of pumped up, older male strangers. We're
supposed to buy this and the subsequent drug bust by officer "Donnie
Brasco" Gutwill of the Ashland Police.

Of course it can also be assumed by your gullible readership that these
cops were stone sober during said wee hours and made no lapse in judgement
of their own and the alcohol was all for show. No drinking on or off the
job. Is that it?

From reading your article it looks like this incident has the trappings of
a setup. And even if the cops story is true you could have at least given a
little benefit of the doubt to these two young men. Whatever happened to
"innocent until proven guilty in a court of law." Or has it changed to, "in
the high court of the local newspaper."

If one scrutinizes the details of your writing it raises the question of
what really happened that night. In some ways your sloppy bit of reporting
weakens the cops validity rather than support it. How ironic. You quote one
boastful cop and mention the only other witnesses other than the two young
men: fellow cops.

With that I suppose, let us all be reminded that that pen is still mightier
than sword. Let us also be reminded that if it weren't for stories like
this we would have far less of an appreciation for virtues such as fair
play, justice, compassion and ultimately truth. It's sad that journalistic
sniping like this exists. God bless America though, I guess. She and all
her freedoms.

It should be said to both paper and writer that just as you have the
constitutional right to print and write with little or no regard for the
reputations of those left in your bilious wake, so too is your helpless
target entitled to his or her own rights. And once in a while the ball
bounces the other way and there is recourse and justice for a lowly
commoner outside your society. God Bless America again.

And lastly Moroney, though any chance of good karma ever keeping you
company is likely not in the cards, may you continue on your sidewinding
path, and for your sake, never slip. Because you never know who"ll be
waiting to pounce when you land. Maybe another aspiring jackal of the rags
will be lickin' his chops.

I hope these words find their way to print in you paper, cause you and I
both know they're deserving.

ADRIAN FITZGERALD, Watertown