MacCloud trial a travesty
Iattended the Bruce MacCloud trial. Unfortunately, as with the U.S. Supreme Court in the Kelo v. New London matter, the jury in the MacCloud trial got it wrong!

It is unfortunate that they were misled and not provided with all the facts of this case. Just as it was a travesty to forcibly remove Mr. MacCloud from his house under eminent domain abuse, his trial was also a travesty.

Why didn't the judge allow his attorney to talk about the houses to the north of MacCloud's property? Why didn't the judge allow the jurors to visit the site as is the procedure in many compensation cases? Why did the judge allow MacCloud's first attorney's appraiser to testify?

In my line of work, that is called attorney/client privilege and is used in preparation of litigation only, not to be used against someone at his own trial. These are only a few of the issues I picked up in my layman's opinion, which would seem to be very strong, appealable issues. I just wonder how many more there were that I didn't pick up on.

Paul Fernicola represented the City of Long Branch in this trial and he was quoted as saying, "I think he [MacCloud] was used by some of MTOTSA as the poster child who was cheated by the city" and "in the last three years they (MTOTSA) tried to turn this into a case about redevelopment law" (Atlanticville, Oct. 4).

Mr. Fernicola should get his facts straight before he spurts accusations out of his mouth! Bruce MacCloud was never "used" by MTOTSA! I have no idea what Mr. Fernicola is alleging. Bruce MacCloud has walked in our rallies, spoken at City Council meetings and supported MTOTSA all on his own, just as many independent residents of New Jersey have.

Mr. MacCloud supports anyone involved in the abuse of eminent domain because he doesn't want the same thing to happen to them that has happened to him. His is not a puppet, he was never a poster child for MTOTSA and we certainly never "used" him.

Mr. MacCloud is his own man and he continues to stand for and fight for what he believes in - that someone's home should never, never be taken for someone else's private benefit.

I am proud to have him as a friend, a supporter and an eminent domain abuse activist. If many more of us were as diligent and rock solid in our beliefs as Bruce MacCloud is, maybe we wouldn't be where we are today … with the government able to take away someone's home when they want to. What happened to the American Dream?

Lori Ann Vendetti

Long Branch