By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, 3/14/2009
MANCHESTER – Former Alderman Keith Hirschmann says he was just being "sarcastic" when he threatened to maim Alderman Peter Sullivan in a message on an online discussion board.
"There was never any intent. He knows I wasn't going to hurt him," Hirschmann said.
Hirschmann said he confessed to posting the message when a police detective confronted him about it. A police supervisor said he does not expect to file any charges in the case.
"We looked into it," Capt. Gerald Lessard said. "At this point, we don't have enough probable cause to support a criminal charge."
Sullivan, a Ward 3 Democrat, said he interpreted the message as a death threat. The message referred to Sullivan by name and said, "if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, i'll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself."
The writer then mused about what would happen if a car rammed into Sullivan at 25 mph, saying, "well that (would) put part of you near bridge st."
The message was posted last November on a discussion board for the Web site nhinsider.com. It was written under the pseudonym, "suncoastkid."
Sullivan said he discovered the posting on Thanksgiving morning. He described the message as "unsettling" and "really creepy."
"It rattled me, because I didn't know who was doing it," Sullivan said.
He was shocked, he said, when a police detective told him the department had traced the message to Hirschmann, a former state representative and alderman.
"Keith can be a bull in a china shop, (but) he's not a total idiot. He's not insane," Sullivan said. "I don't know what he was thinking when he did this."
Hirschmann, a Republican, was Ward 12 alderman from 1996 to 2002. He has said he plans to run for the seat again this fall.
Hirschmann started posting on the discussion board as "suncoastkid" last October, according to the site. Sullivan also posts on the site, under the name "Quoth the Raven."
"It's a political site where there's a lot of sarcasm and a lot of bantering back and forth," Hirschmann said. He described the November 2008 message as an example of "extreme sarcasm" -- "just a little bantering on a site."
Hirschmann said he believes the only reason Sullivan went to the police was because he thought the message was posted by a political rival, Joe Kelly Levasseur.
"He couldn't wait to get Joe Levasseur in trouble," Hirschmann said.
Levasseur is Hirschmann's attorney. He declined to be interviewed for this article.
The November 2008 message begins, "Dear unstable Raven," and is replete with misspellings. At one point, it says, "let's see @ 25mph how far an (unstable) raven would splatter ... 260pds of sullivan @ 25mph = velocity of 2x2, well that (would) put part of you near bridge st."
It closes, "Forget the math your labotomy won't allow anything more than raising parking fess , you doufis."
Sullivan said the message crossed a line.
"There are just certain things you don't do," he said. "Threats ... have no place in politics, at any level, whether it's on an Internet discussion board or in a committee room."
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SOURCE:
www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=No+charges+in+threats+against+alderman&articleId=39716ff6-12a2-4a99-a736-ab7288d92d26
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READERS' COMMENTS
Obviously, Hirschmann was only trying to ruffle Sullivans's feathers..... and it worked.
The person in charge of the site should have removed the tasteless post immediately. There was no reason to get the police involved.
- Bill H., Exeter
I am always amazed at how politicians behave. This apparently is one more example. And...we elect these people???
- Debbie, Goffstown
Actually, on the rest of the boards there there is the wailing and moaning of conservative Republicans that Hussein Obama is doing way too much of what he promised. Funny how the picking and choosing of the stuff you hate comes back to haunt you. Then there are the state Dems with civil unions, raising minimum wage, LCHIP, transparency. It is easy to criticize without facts. Now on to seat belts, health care, Bush's wars, and economic mess. You conservatives are just going to have to think up some new bleats.
- Robert, Deerfield
Levasseur, Sullivan and Hirschmann , ..... Moe, Larry and Curly.....Enough said!!
- Art B, Manchester
Hirschmann's a large man. And mix him with Levasseur. You've got a "Wild Fire" there!
I agree with Sullivan....the message crossed a line and should be taken as a threat.
- Robert Brody, Manchester
Whens the last time a politician Actually did something they said they were going to do...
this isn't news
- Dan, hooksett
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Alderman Peter M Sullivan
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3/14/2009
Despite Alderman Peter Sullivan falsely reporting me to the Manchester NH Police Department for an Internet Blog Posting I did NOT make against him,...It was NOT me after all!
-Jonathan Melle
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CYBER WARRIOR: Former Alderman Keith Hirschmann has confessed to doing some sarcastic "bantering" on the nhinsider.com discussion board before Alderman Peter Sullivan sicked the police on him.
It's true, he did make some mischief. In November, his online alter ego, "suncoastkid," took a shot at former state Rep. Mike Brunelle, dredging up the time in 2007 when the Manchester Democrat was arrested for driving while intoxicated.
Hirschmann wrote: "if I were on duty and Brunelle pulled that bs ~ I would have clubbed him in the back of the Paddy wagon."
The suncoastkid also predicted, last November, that Sullivan would lose his seat this fall, either to Pat Long or Joe Kelly Levasseur, both former aldermen.
Other insights, courtesy of the "kid," include, "Hussein Obama should get his head checked," and "Slavery has not ended, it has just morphed into the dumming (sic) of the masses."
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SOURCE: "City Hall: One's out, sure, but two others might be in"
By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, 3/15/2009
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MANCHESTER EXPRESS - March 16 - 22, 2009, Volume 4, No. 12
MANCHESTER News - "Board recognizes miscommunication: Politics in Manchester gets uglier as election nears" - By ANDREW J. MANUSE, amanuse@manchexpress.com - Pages 10 - 11.
Pre-election politics
Keith Hirschmann, who has announced his candidacy for the Ward 12 alderman seat, said he is responsible for a comment on the blog New Hampshire Insider that Ward 3 Alderman Peter Sullivan has said was “a death threat” written against him by Joe Kelly Levasseur.
Though Levasseur is Hirschmann’s attorney, he has been absolved of any connection to the comment.
The comment posted about Sullivan on Thanksgiving Day in 2008 by Hirschmann, who uses the alias “suncoastkid,” read as follows:
“if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, I’ll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself, let’s see @ 25mph how far an uns[t]able raven would splatter (260pds of sullivan @ 25mph = velocity of 2x2 , well that put put part of you near bridge st. Forget the math your labotomy won’t allow anything more than raising parking fess , you doufis.” (sic)
Manchester Police informed Sullivan that they tracked the comment back to Hirschmann’s IP address, and that the former alderman admitted he posted it, Sullivan said. Manchester Police Chief David Mara could not be reached to confirm this.
“Speaking from a legal perspective, it might be difficult to obtain a conviction, since establishing the requisite mental state beyond a reasonable doubt would be a tricky proposition,” Sullivan wrote in an e-mail. “This does not mean that I am ruling out the possibility of a civil suit.
“I am stunned that an adult would do something like this,” Sullivan continued. “There is a difference between spirited debate and making threats against a person’s safety. Hirschmann crossed a line that civilized and decent people simply do not cross under any circumstances.
When Hirschmann engages in this kind of behavior, he shows that he is unfit for any role in public life.”
Hirschmann, through his attorney Levasseur, confirmed he had made the comment.
“After watching Mr. Sullivan completely lose his cool at a recent aldermanic meeting it is obvious he is too fragile to handle the pressure of being an elected official, and it has become more than obvious that he cannot handle a joke said on a political Web-site about his penchant for never walking within the crosswalk,” Hirschmann said.
“As proven by his numerous blog postings, Mr. Sullivan has a long history of railing against anyone that disagrees with him.
Mr. Sullivan has publicly admitted he has been treated for depression, [and] in my opinion, maybe it is time for him to step down from his Ward 3 seat, and get help for his obvious paranoia.”
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From: "Peter M. Sullivan"
To: jonathan_a_melle@yahoo.com
Subject: Your actions
Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 5:57 PM
Jonathan,
Please be informed that I am forwarding your new blog and your recent messages to me to Attorney Harpster. In addition, I am forwarding your name and contact information to the Manchester Police Department in regards to their ongoing investigation into the death threat that was posted on NH Insider last month.
Peter Sullivan
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3/20/2009
Alderman Peter Sullivan alleged to the Manchester Police Department that I made a "death threat" against him. In an email (above) that he sent to me on 12/17/2008, Alderman Peter Sullivan stated to me that he forwarded my writings to Brett Harpster (or HarpsTERD!) and also issued a complaint to the local police that I made a "death threat" against him. Now that the police have discovered who posted the message against Alderman Peter Sullivan, I believe that he should retract his allegation against me!
- Jonathan Melle
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UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED: One alderman did object to another of Guinta's picks.
Alderman Peter Sullivan protested Keith Hirschmann's appointment to the Safety Review Board, saying the former Ward 12 alderman "has no place in the civic life of this community."
There is some history here. Last fall, Hirschmann threatened Sullivan in an anonymous message on an Internet discussion board, writing, "if you could please jay walk near the corner of pearl and elm, i'll do you the favor of not having to kill yourself."
Sullivan reported the message to the police. No charges were filed.
The aldermen confirmed Hirschmann's nomination Tuesday. Sullivan cast the lone dissenting vote.
"Geez. What are you going to say?" Hirschmann said when asked for a response. "The mayor appointed me and 12 other aldermen put me on the Safety Review Board. I'm going to work hard there. That's my quote."
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Source: "City Hall: Roy bides his time with signs" (By SCOTT BROOKS, New Hampshire Union Leader Staff, August 23, 2009)
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Read Scott Brooks' coverage of Manchester City Hall during the week in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Email him at sbrooks@unionleader.com.
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