User:Launchermap123/draft

this is my draft page.

Article Title: Murder of Edward Deegan

Explanation of how this page meets the requirements of notability, neutrality, and no original research

The murder of Edward Deegan and the litigation that ensued is a topic with a plethora of sources from a range of notable authors. Many of the facts that I will provide have been drawn from court documents, such as Commonwealth v French, which have been published by the United States Government, making them extremely noteworthy. Furthermore, an 1800-page report by the Committee on Government Reform highlights the significance of this topic. The coverage of this topic by such notable sources demonstrates that it is worthy of having its own Wikipedia article. These sources also demonstrate that my page will draw on research that has already been completed, hence meeting the requirement of no original research. Finally, by using an impartial tone and giving due weight to all significant viewpoints from credible sources, my page will meet the requirements of neutrality.

Associated Wiki Project

My article could be associated with the ‘Organized Crime’ WikiProject, as Edward Deegan’s murder was an organized murder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Organized_crime

Description

The murder of Edward Deegan, known by his nickname “Teddy Deegan”, occurred on March 12th, 1965 (Commonwealth v French, [1968]). Deegan was gunned down in an alley next to an office building in Chelsea, Massachusetts at approximately 9:30pm. Six men were indicted for Deegan’s murder in 1967 and at trial, the prosecution’s primary witness was FBI criminal informant Joseph Barboza (Committee on Government Reform, 2004). On July 31st 1968, Louis Greco, Henry Tameleo, Ronald Cassesso and Peter Limone were convicted of Deegan’s murder and sentenced to the death penalty, while Joseph Salvati and Roy French were sentenced to life imprisonment as accessories to Deegan’s murder (Commonwealth v French, [1968]). In 1997 Salvati’s sentence was commuted by Governor William Weld, and in January 2001, a judge overturned Peter Limone and Joe Salvati’s convictions after uncovered FBI documents proved their innocence (The Justice Institute, 2005). In 2004, Judge Nancy Gertner ruled that federal lawsuits by the families of Louis Greco, Henry Tamelo, Peter Limone and Joseph Salvati had permission to be filed against the US Government, and in 2007 a landmark decision ordered the US Government to pay $101.7 million to the accused and their families for wrongful conviction (The Justice Institute, 2005).

Titles of sections

Background

The Murder

The Trial

Overturned Convictions

Federal Lawsuit

Sources and Annotation

Sweeney, E. (2012). Boston Organized Crime. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing.

This book explores the lives of many of the mobsters and gangsters involved in the Teddy Deegan murder case. Most importantly, it provides primary sources from the Massachusetts State Police of Deegan’s criminal record, and photographs and police reports from the scene of Deegan’s murder. This source will be useful under ‘The Murder’ section of the article, as it gives reliable first-hand information from the police department that investigated the scene. By drawing upon the collection of crime scene photographs and police documents in this book, I will provide accurate details as to what the police uncovered at the scene of Deegan’s murder. Furthermore, I will use this source in the ‘Background’ section, as the book details evidence of Deegan’s life of crime prior to his death- Sweeny provides Deegan’s criminal record and mug shots, both of which are neutral, unbiased sources.

Committee on Government Reform (2004). Everything Secret Degenerates: The FBI’s Use of Murders as Informants. Washington: U.S Government Printing Office.

This report, published by the Committee on Government Reform, collates FBI documents and the decisions of numerous court cases to chronicle the wrongdoings of the FBI in the 1960s. The report details the events of the Deegan murder and the cover up by the FBI and criminal informant Joseph Barboza. The length of the report demonstrates the significance of this topic, and by drawing on this source, my article will provide detailed information on the way in which Barboza was able to frame Loius Greco, Peter Limone, Henry Tamelo and Joseph Salavati for a murder they did not commit. This report was published by the United States Government, thus making it a credible and reliable source.

Commonwealth v French [1968] (Suffolk County Super. Ct).

This source is the court report of the prosecution and conviction of Roy French and his five co-defendants. It provides the material facts that the court found to be true and the evidence and testimony used to convict French and his co-defendants. This source will be used in ‘The Murder’ section to provide reliable information as to what the court found to be the series of events that led to Deegan’s murder. French v Commonwealth is also a significant primary source in relaying the prosecution and defendant’s arguments in court, and will be used under ‘The Trial’ section of my article. Court reports are a reliable and noteworthy source to use, especially in relaying the facts of a case.

The Justice Institute (2005). FBI’s Legacy of Shame. Justice Denied: The Magazine for the Wrongly Convicted, (27).

Whilst magazines and newspapers are typically described as being subjective, this article on the Teddy Deegan murder was published by an international peer reviewed magazine, that is fact checked and provides a neutral point of view. The source was useful in providing an overall picture of the events that had occurred, which ultimately assisted me in deciding the titles of sections.

Cobin, S. (2009). Upperworld Gangsters, Underworld Businessmen: Made Men, Corporate Raiders and the Discrepancies between the Enforcement of Organized and Organizational Crime - Or, Why a Last Name that Ends with a Vowel Still Means Hard Time for a Defendant. Hamline Journal of Public Law & Policy, 30(2), pp.627-682.

This report, conducted by a graduate of the Hamline University School of Law, was published in the Journal of Public Law and Policy. The author offers details as to how the FBI used Joseph Barboza, a convicted criminal, as an informant in the Edward Deegan murder and thus will be useful in the ‘Overturned convictions’ section, as it provides objective evidence as to how the accused were framed and why they were eventually exonerated. Journal articles such as this are credible sources, and very useful in providing fact-checked information.