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Letter to New Jersey Governor
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To: The Honorable
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine
John “Jack” Cunningham Grievance Against
NEW JERSEY’S OFFICE OF ATTORNEY ETHICS
Theft of MY constitutional rights and due process under the
law, by deception.
Office of the Governor
State House
P.O. Box 1
Trenton, NJ 08625
Dear Honorable Governor Jon S. Corzine,
I’m
requesting that the State of New Jersey investigate my Ethics Complaints against New Jersey's
Office of Attorney Ethics, their own Vice-Chairman Robert Correale, his political and legal supporters for a possible cover-up;
and his Law Firm Maynard & Truland. It’s been a five (5) year battle for me
trying to receive my DUE PROCESS.
The NEW JERSEY SUPREME
COURT's Office of Attorney Ethics can not properly investigate my complaints due to a
major Conflict of Interest. They have already proven that they can not fairly judge one
of their own Vice-Chairman. Currently, there are no active court cases going on in the State of New
Jersey over my Ethics Complaints against New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics, their Vice-Chairman
Robert Correale and his Law Firm. Vice-Chairman
Robert Correale and his law Firm, Maynard & Truland were able to use their tremendous influence
and power to their advantage in both a New Jersey Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics investigation as well
as a Civil case for Legal Malpractice. My evidence is clear about their use of their tremendous
influence around the State of New Jersey.
Former Governor James McGreevey personally thought enough about my evidence
that he even supplied me with the phone number of the Director of New Jersey Supreme Court's
Office of Attorney Ethics. Governor McGreevey’s Attorney General office also sent
communications to Director Johnson asking that I receive DUE PROCESS for my ethics complaints. Please read
Governor McGreevey's letter to me at: EVIDENCE: GOVERNOR JAMES McGREEVEY
AND NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id11.html On September 6, 2000, I hired the law firm Maynard & Truland, LLC of Morristown, NJ to represent me in a divorce
case initiated by my former wife. I was informed by the firm’s partner Joe Truland,
Esq. that he had recently hired a divorce attorney. (Custody of our two minor
children were both their mother's and my concerns.) I signed the Maynard & Truland Contract and paid the accepted
$750 retainer http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id9.html . Six days later, my $750 Retainer Check cleared my checking account. Twenty-two (22)
days later, due to the Gross Negligence of the Maynard & Truland divorce attorney Edward Buschio,
I was placed in a divorce default for lack of activity on my Law Firm's part. (My
own Law Firm placed me in default, where I could actually lose custody of my two daughters.
I was extremely worried... I'm sure most fathers or mothers would be extremely worried
too!) At the time of the default, the Sussex
County Superior Court and my former-wife's attorney didn't even know I had retained a Law
Firm. My Law Firm, which had cashed my $750 retainer-check weeks earlier, failed
to send out the required document to the concerned parties. (HOWEVER IN A
SWORN CERTIFICATION TO NEW JERSEY'S SUPREME COURT
OFFICE OF ATTORNEY ETHICS, ROBERT CORREALE, ESQ. STATED
THE PROPER DOCUMENTS WERE PREPARED. THIS LIE
WAS SO IMPORTANT TO ROBERT CORREALE THAT HE LISTED IT
AS HIS HISTORY EVENT 6. PRESS HERE TO READ
THIS PIECE OF PERJURY, ALONG WITH HIS OTHER PERJURIOUS
STATEMENTS TO NEW JERSEY'S SUPREME COURT.) http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id3.html During those twenty-two (22) days leading up to the default,
I phoned Maynard & Truland’s divorce attorney Edward Busichio a number of times reminding
him of the approaching Default Deadline. Each call, I spoke to the Maynard & Truland office
manager and I requested a return phone call. However, no calls were returned by Maynard &
Truland. This is all well-documented in both New Jersey Supreme Court and Superior Court filed letters and documents as well as in my Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) official medical records.
http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id5.html After I was placed in Divorce Default, in spite of my
letters and phone calls to Partner Joe Truland and his divorce attorney Edward Busichio, the law
firm did not start work on my case until sixty-nine (69) days after I signed their contract and
paid them the $750 Retainer. The evidence of this fact is found
on three different formatted Maynard & Truland Invoices. The first work the firm billed me for was 69 days (11/14/2000) after the contract was signed, which
was, believe it or not, Default Removal. http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id2.html The default was due to the Maynard and Truland divorce
attorney's negligence for not filing the necessary papers to New Jersey's Superior Court.
Why the law firm was charging me, I was not sure. I questioned these charges (At the over-charged
rate) even in my first letter to New Jersey's Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics. Sometime after the Default and before the start-work-date (69 days
into the contract ), the Maynard & Truland supervising partners, without my prior approval or my notification,
switched my divorce case representation from their divorce attorney Edward Busichio to one of the
law firm’s general practice attorney Robert Correale. EVIDENCE: MAYNARD & TRULAND
SWITCH REPRESENTATION TO VICE-CHAIRMAN OF ATTORNEY ETHICS http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id20.html What made this so secretive switch, so interesting is that
Robert Correale was the Vice-Chairman of New Jersey’s Supreme Court Attorney Ethics.
I never did receive notice why this switch took place, so eventually through evidence, I started
thinking that the switch was to use Vice-Chairman Robert Correale’s influence around the State
of New Jersey, if I brought up ethics complaints against the Maynard & Truland law firm.
I was up against the reputation of a distinguished attorney and state government official, and the reputation
of the New Jersey’s Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics. SOME OF THE ETHICS PROBLEMS: New Jersey’s Supreme Court Attorney Ethics Vice-Chairman Robert Correale did the
billing for Default Removal at an over-charged rate. Although the Divorce Default was due to divorce attorney
Edward Busichio’s gross negligence, the Vice-Chairman of Attorney Ethics felt that I should be charged
at a $175 an hour rate. The Maynard & Truland Contract states that the first 10
hours of attorney work was to be charged at the $150 per hour rate. All work after the
first ten hours were to be charged at the $175 rate.
Although I brought
these two billing problems to Maynard & Truland partner Joe Truland and Robert Correale’s attention
in writing, Robert Correale continued to over-charge me and never removed the charges for Default Removal.
The three different formatted invoices in conjunction with the Maynard & Truland Contract are
all extremely clear. In
December 2000, I first started complaining about Maynard & Truland’s ethics problems to
New Jersey’s Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics. I wrote to their District
X Ethics Committee that covers both Morris and Sussex Counties of New Jersey. My letter and the evidence
I attached to it, clearly highlighted the amount of pain I was under due to ongoing ethics violations.
However, I got no where, since Vice-Chairman Robert Correale was the Vice-Chairman of that same
committee. EVIDENCE: LETTER ONE TO NEW JERSEY'S
OFFICE OF ATTORNEY ETHICS (CORREALE'S DISTRICT X ) http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id8.html A Conflict of Interest was never mentioned in their return
letter to me. They must have known that the Morris County New Jersey Law Firm,
Maynard & Truland was the same law firm of their Vice-Chairman Robert Correale. Two of
my evidence letters that were attached to my complaint letter to District X Attorney Ethics
were addressed to Robert Correale, himself. EVIDENCE: LETTER TWO AFTER MAYNARD
& TRULAND'S NEGLIGENT DEFAULT http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id6.html One of my favorite ethics violations of Robert Correale
was the day of Divorce Arbitration in Sussex County Superior Court on February 14, 2001.
Robert was a general-practice attorney and he gave me the impression that he had not served on too
many divorce cases. EVIDENCE: DIVORCE ARBITRATION STATEMENT http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id4.html
The last time I received DUE PROCESS from the New Jersey Court Systems was March 11, 2003.
Maynard and Truland, LLC brought me to New Jersey Superior Court for a Civil Case for refusing to
pay the remainder of their open bill of $1,600. The Law Firm served their papers for this
Superior Court Civil case to me in December 2002, a few days before Christmas.
Within days, I counter-claimed on the same docket for Legal Malpractice. OrignalIy, the Maynard & Truland firm had a collections law firm representing them
in their open bill collections case. However, I sent the collections law firm some of my legal malpractice evidence
I had against the Maynard & Truland firm. March 11, 2003 was the court date in New Jersey Superior Court in Sussex County.
Vice-Chairman of Attorney Ethics Robert Correale, Esq. was there representing himself and his
Law Firm MAYNARD & TRULAND, LLC. The collections law firm was no longer part of the case.
I had to represent myself PRO SE, because no attorney wanted to go against the local Vice-Chairman
of Attorney Ethics without big money up front.
I was a nervous wreck that day, but Honorable Superior Court Judge Ronald Graves had much of my
evidence before him. My evidence is what beat Vice-Chairman Robert Correale, Esq. and
his law firm. He couldn't go against his own Law Firm's own contract, invoices, court documents;
court filed letters and statements, my VA medical records, etc. (He had supplied the court no evidence
to prove me wrong.)
After Robert Correale’s objections, Judge
Graves decided that my Malpractice Counter-claim warranted the New Jersey Superior Court Law Division
for damages. That same day, in a Sussex County hallway,
Robert Correale informed me that I should NOT bring my Ethics Claim through District X due to a
CONFLICT OF INTEREST. I informed him that I did not have a choice. The decision was NOT mine.
I asked Correale to please inform Trenton’s Office of Attorney Ethics about his Committee’s
Conflict of Interest.
Sometime after Honorable
Judge Ronald Graves made his decision that my Legal Malpractice complaints warranted the Law Division for damages; strangely
the court transcript went missing within Sussex County’s Superior Court before it could be
typed. EVIDENCE: SUPERIOR COURT HONORABLE
RONALD GRAVES' COURT TRANSCRIPT GOES STRANGELY-MISSING http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id18.html Since there were no record of Superior Court Judge
Graves’ Law-Division-Merit-Decision, the Maynard & Truland attorneys were able to perjure
themselves verbally in open court; as well as perjure themselves in official court documents.
EVIDENCE: MAYNARD & TRULAND
ATTORNEY COMMITS PERJURY IN SUPERIOR COURT http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id19.html
Serving as PRO SE, my Legal Malpractice civil case
against Maynard & Truland went all the way up to New Jersey’s Appellate Division in Trenton,
but was thrown out for lack of merit since Honorable Judge Graves’ decision in my favor couldn’t
be used. The transcript was still lost within Sussex County Superior Court and was never found
by the court stenographer.
Also, since I could not use Honorable Superior Court Judge Ronald Graves civil
court decision as an outside opinion on my Office of Attorney Ethics complaints against Correale and his Law
Firm, I did not have much chance of DUE PROCESS. The New Jersey’s Supreme Court
Director Johnson’s Office assigned the complaint case to Robert Correale’s own committee
that he was Vice-Chairman of. The Conflict of Interest was not admitted by the Office
of Attorney Ethics until hundreds of my letters went out. Both Governor
McGreevey and the New Jersey Attorney General office sent written correspondence and some of my evidence to Director Johnson.
Governor McGreevey even supplied me with Director Johnson’s direct phone line and I called
him a couple of times, but Johnson never returned my phone calls.
After hundreds of my letters, the Office of Attorney Ethics finally switched the investigation from
Correale’s District X to his neighbor in District XI.
District XI went through some minor
motions. In early May 2003, MAYNARD & TRULAND attorneys Edward Busichio, Robert
Correale (Vice-Chairman of DISTRCT X) made sworn CERTIFICATIONS to District XI, Secretary Robert
Stober. James Maynard supplied a cover letter with his own type of certifications. For
unknown reasons, Joe Truland, Esq. (defendant and junior partner) did NOT supply a CERTIFICATION
to District XI. EVIDENCE: MAYNARD &
TRULAND'S OWN CERTIFICATIONS TO NEW JERSEY'S SUPREME COURT http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id3.html Although these Supreme Court CERTIFICATIONS were sworn to, they were vague, misleading and at times,
perjurious. None of the Maynard & Truland attorneys attached any evidence to their sworn
Certifications. Their written words were stronger than their Law Firm's
own Contract and Invoices, Court filed documents, letters, statements and Federal Veterans Affairs
(VA) Medical Records. Instead of supplying evidence to their Certificiations, Vice-Chairman
Robert Correale was allowed to openly mock my military PTSD disability in his Certification.
EVIDENCE: "HIDING IN
THE BACK OF THE COURTROOM" http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id21.html
On the other
hand, I had sent to the District XI Ethics Committee, Maynard & Truland’s own contract,
their own invoices, my Federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical records, court filed
documents, court filed statements, court filed letters, etc. It was pretty much the same evidence
that I sent the Honorable Sussex County Superior Court Judge Ronald Graves, which he determined my Legal Malpractice
evidence warranted the Law Division for damages. Since one of my ethics complaints is related to MAYNARD & TRULAND,
LLC over-charging for the first ten hours of the CONTRACT, both District X Vice-Chairman Robert Correale and Senior
Partner James Maynard addressed MAYNARD & TRULAND, LLC billing procedures. Although both their
interpretations were perjurious statements, their CERTIFICATIONS were accepted and NOT questioned
by Secretary Robert Stober in spite of my sending a great deal of follow-up evidence. However,
they did supply me with needed communications. Prior to these CERTIFICATIONS, MAYNARD & TRULAND,
LLC never addressed my letters of October, November and December 2000. Also, Busichio’s
CERTIFICATION was the first time I heard the reason for my DIVORCE DEFAULT was “A SURPRISE.”
EVIDENCE: CERTIFICATION OF EDWARD
BUSICHIO TO NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY ETHICS http://www.americans-working-together.com/attorney_ethics/id15.html
A professional divorce attorney admitting the reason why I fell into Divorce
Default was a surprise to him. His law firm did not start work until sixty-nine (69) days
into the Contract. Edward Busichio, Esq. has been lucky that the general-practice attorney,
who replaced him on my representation in my divorce case, was a Vice-Chairman of New Jersey’s
Supreme Court of Attorney Ethics. WHEN VICE-CHAIRMAN ROBERT CORREALE
WAS TRYING HIS FELLOW NEW JERSEY ATTORNEYS FOR
ETHICS VIOLATIONS... WAS HE SO LAX WITH FOLLOWING
SUPREME COURT GUIDELINES FOR TELLING THE TRUTH? Theft of MY constitutional rights and due process under the law, by deception.
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On a recent road trip to New Orleans, on the
return trip to New Jersey, John "Jack" Cunningham and his
wife, Joan took a detour into Georgia to visit the grave of Jack's
Marine buddy who was killed in Vietnam War. As Jack paid his
respects to his Vietnam War buddy, Joan cleaned 47 years of mold that had covered the honorable veteran's
headstone. Below is the 'before and after'
pictures of Joan's care. Please reach out and do the same to forgotten veterans'
graves. They deserve to be remembered...
...............................................
The Tree With
My Name On It ATTACK ON CAP 2-9-2 The DUC DUC REFUGEE VILLAGE
May 21, 1970 A communist terrorist
RPG that was meant for me hit this tree. I was thrown about 20 feet and almost fell into a village well. Immediately after
the tree was hit, the area was sprayed by the terrorists with their machine-gun and AK 47 rifles' fire. I was 20 feet
away. The explosion saved my life...
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PTSD Vets Are Fighters And Surviviors...At Times, However, We Can Use Some Extra Support From
Those Who Really Care, And Who Are Thankful For Our Sacrifices, And Service For America. Three Brothers:
The Oldest Served In The Army, The Next Served In The Navy, The Youngest Served In The
Marine Corps This is an
act by the State of New Jersey Supreme and Superior Courts to deceive, an
act of fraud, an
act to manipulate due process. Statute
of limitations issue is bogus here…
fraud has no limitation in federal court, and
Statute of limitations runs from the time the fraud is found…
Comments of a Constitutional Attorney, his full comments are
below.
A Proud Veteran's Struggle For Justice John "Jack" Cunningham
always wanted to volunteer in the Marines and volunteer he did; one month after he graduated from famous Power Memorial Academy.
He grew up watching patriotic films on television about the heroism of America's overall
military in World War II and Korea; his older brothers served in the military: one in the US Army, the other in the
Navy. A brother-in-law, who Jack was close to, served in the Marines during the Korean War in the 1st Marine Division at the
Chosin Reservoir. Eventually,
Jack's dream of serving in the Marines came true and he went to boot camp at Parris Island (famous for its depiction in
Kubrick's take on Vietnam Full Metal Jacket). After his training, at the age of nineteen
Jack was sent to California where he received orders from the Combined Action Program (CAP):
he was to go to special training school in Da Nang. Jack had watched war movies when he
was younger but this wasn't a movie on tv; this was Vietnam. A life long of never-to-forget memories jammed
into one short year. But he wanted to serve for America like so many brave and honorable Americans before him.
Like all Marines, he was extremely proud of his Marine uniform picture that he earned while in Parris Island Marine Boot Camp.
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Although at 19 years old, the skinny New York City boy thought, he knew so
much. His high school, Power Memorial had boys from around the city and from around the world. He was about to
learn so much more. Jack knew the battle was going to be intense, with
many hardships and violence, but he didn't know it was going to be as intense, rewardless, and somewhat disgraceful when
he came home. For this was a different, and especially unique time for America's
fighting men and women. The parades of honor and respect were no more. This type of negative attitude toward our
military would last for many decades... And Jack, like so many other Vietnam Era vets, were about to fully learn it
the hard way. They were about to fight this war alone. The small CAP units served round the clock in Vietnamese
villages where they defended the villagers from various
levels of terrorist attacks. The young American Marines used their weapons of war, but they also used friendship and kindness
just as much and at times, even more. The warriors treated the people using basic average human instinct and
character. They were nicknamed "the Peace Corps volunteers with rifles." The goal of these American
Marines were to teach the peasants a better way to fish and farm, not hand them fish and rice. This truth was the complete opposite image of our military, what the American news media was highlighting
every night. But the truth about the Marine Corps' Combined Action Program was far more ominous: many times, CAPs were
killed almost as soon as they were replaced. The tiny units consisted of only a handful
of Marines and a U.S. Navy Corpsman per village and attacks
were often. The U.S. Navy Corpsman were special and unique. They were there
for caring for the Marines, but also the daily, long
line of Vietnamese villagers needing regular health care.
The Marines, including Jack, helped with bandaids and giving babies soapy baths. Any complex
health condition, the villager would be sent to a Marine
base by helicopter or Jeep. Regardless of the health condition, payment was always just a smile. For the young, Americans supplying the health care,
it was like a new TV episode of Mash everyday.
No Vietnamese peasant was ever turned away without health care. Many friendships on both sides were created. United
States Navy Corpsmen became popular village celebrities. Jack heard
years after the war that one Navy CAP Corpsman, Doc O'Brien even personally paid for his village's school to be built. At first the CAPs consisted of Marines who
volunteered for the units, but as more and more horrifying stories of violence, brutal
conflict, and high casualties began to spread, Marines had to be assigned. For some
CAP Teams, they were known as Suicide Squads. The only thing for most CAP units, they did not even have a
squad of Marines living in their village. Only on paper, the teams were a little more than a fortified
squad.
Jack was assigned to the Duc Duc resettlement
village where conflict almost immediately greeted him.
There were many times where death was certain- times that many of us who have never been
in the heat of battle could never understand. There
is no question of Jack's and the other CAPs bravery. Like in all wars, for most Americans in Vietnam bravery was routine.
Unfortunately, stories of Cap units stretched far too
thin beating the odds and saving the lives of villagers are hardly told. Far more people
know of the tragedies like the massacre of My Lai village where it was the atrocities
of Americans rather than the many stories of those like Jack's. The American News Media and Hollywood became
extremely rich from pushing fake news stories and lies. Most American people would believe what ever the news media
and Hollywood would put out. Why would they lie... Viet Cong terrorists loved using the tools
of violent death on innocent village people. To the communists everything was terrorism. The more vicious,
random and heartless the attacks were on innocent people, the more control they had over the families of the village.
But small American Marine CAP Teams stood in their way.
The Duc
Duc Resettlement (Refugee) Village that Jack's CAP 2-9-2 unit defended had a population
in the thousands while, with the exception of a handful of villagers who fought alongside
the Americans, there were just on average of eight marines
and as few as four at any given time. Four teenage Americans in a Vietnamese peasant-farming
village of thousands. There were no 'safe-places' for these American college-age kids. But the Marines
were not looking for any safe places. They were there to help and protect innocent people like American service men
and women did throughout our country's history. The confusion of which villagers were sympathetic to the US forces and which were
sympathetic to the Communists created a situation rife with paranoia. There were constant
rumors of communists infiltrating the village. Communications
between the CAPs and the villagers was often mangled by language barriers.
Enemy propaganda circulated constantly exploiting the CAPs obvious vulnerabilities, especially the
size of the units. Threats of the units to be wiped out were almost daily. Intelligent reports of hundreds
of communists coming to attack the Marines and village kept everyone on extreme edge. Regardless of the bigger odds
facing them, the village-Americans were their to protect the innocent people. Semper Fi - Always Faithful was in
their blood.
Jack was
wounded three different times in and around his village
of Duc Duc. He received one Purple Heart, because the other two wounds were minor.
During one of his units daily patrol's, he stepped
on a large booby trap that never exploded. During one intense combat action outside the
village, Jack's buddy George Dros of Burlington Flats, NY credited Jack with
saving his life and that of two other Marines, when
Jack intentionally made himself a target for Viet Cong terrorists in order to save his
three buddies. Many times, Jack's worst moments weren't
during heat of battle but the rare times of calm when he could actually process what
was going on: the fear of attacks at any moment and the paranoia that the enemy might be
hiding amongst the same people he was trying to protect.
Beyond that was the bigger picture: he didn't know who he was fighting or why he was
fighting. His generation was divided between those who
had their doubts but didn't voice disrespect and those who protested violently.
In May 1970, the shooting deaths of four anti-war protesting students at Kent State made this
same mental conflict even worse as the line between
countrymen and enemies blurred even further. This extreme stress and pressure at such a vulnerable
time left a permanent impression on Jack. The fact that
the local communists had a bounty on each of the Americans heads. The uncertainty
of enemy attacks, the frustration with the treatment
of his own countrymen, and- most importantly- the confusion over what the ultimate goal
was with the war created the perfect storm in his head. Added to this, Jack's unit
was shocked to find a Viet Cong tunnel that contained,
$5,000 in American green currency, $3,000 in military currency, and- most painful of all-
boxes of clothing donated by students from the Berkley
University in California. Students the same age as Jack were protesting and supporting
the very enemy killing off marines and Vietnamese peasants left and right. As small
a gesture as the clothing was, it was the worst stab
in the back Jack could have ever gotten from his peers back home in America. He felt
that his buddies and him were being betrayed by those who should have been supporting
them. Jack felt very a lone. He wondered
how World War II veterans felt, when they were battling in their war. On July 17, 1970, Jack
was part of a five Marine patrol outside his village
that got pinned down and surrounded for hours. Another CAP Team from another village
had to come to their rescue. However, it too got pinned down. Marine helicopter
gunships and two Navy F-4 fighter jets came and
bailed out both CAP Teams. In August 1970, an event would occur that
would never leave him the same again. After switching patrols one evening with another
marine, a surprise attack would result in his replacement losing his legs then dying from
the blood loss. The tragic death would be one that stood
out amongst the many other bloody incidents during Jack's time in Vietnam. In his mind,
he was at fault rather than the enemy. If he hadn't
switched patrols, the other man would be alive. Jack would remain haunted
by the death long after he was safe from the daily horrors of the war. Around the time of the death,
Jack would receive news and clippings that the Vietnam
War memorial in his hometown had been vandalized twice by protesters. The anti-military
protesters attacked by night like communist, Viet Cong
terrorists the names of the town's eight Vietnam War dead with tar and black paint.
Already bitter, this information served to only rub more salt in Jack's wounds.
Many of today's patriots would almost feel the pain,
he was under. WHY... Jack felt extremely alone. But he knew he still had to do his job. Conditions worsened when word began to spread
that the CAPs were going to pull out of the area. The
villagers felt betrayed and their relations with the Marines cooled considerably. Night
watches consisted of constant wakefulness leaving Jack
and his Marine buddies perpetually exhausted. Any wrong move meant death; any wrong action
meant further ostracizing from the villagers. His very sanity became a delicate tightrope
as the extreme conditions weighed down everyone around
him. Finally, President Nixon announced the withdrawals of the troops freeing Jack from
his torment. He left in February 1971 but leaving the battlegrounds
would be bittersweet. A few months later in March and April, successive
Viet Cong attacks destroyed to complete ashes the Duc Duc resettlement village killing
hundreds of the same villagers Jack had previously been
tasked to protect.
Jack returned to the United States with the memories
of the war, and stupid questions of how many babies he was forced to kill and
did he ever have to burn his village down, but as time went on, they seemed to fade away. There
were some events in the future that would create even
more emotional turmoil: the fall of Saigon in 1975 would be especially painful as he
recounts how he felt when he learned the news: "A lot of
sadness and a lot of anger, even rage. I felt everything was a pure waste."
To put the 1975 fall of Vietnam into perspective, just thirty years before America was
celebrating the triumphant victory of the Allied forces
against the Axis. Now, nearly forty years after the fall, many veterans of the Iraq
War know a similar bitterness when the country they fought to liberate fell
into the hands of ISIS. Life began to slowly go back to normal. Jack settled
on Long Island and eventually in northwestern New Jersey, started a
family, and began a career running computer systems at Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in Manhattan. His
experience with the military proved to be useful for
him as he became increasingly more successful. By the 1980s, life was good for Jack. He was thought
highly of by his supervisors, senior management, his peers and was responsible
for up to 17 employees. Although he had more employees on his computer staff than in his CAP Team, Jack begun to think of
his team of computer programmers and analysts as his own
CAP Team. His Subscriber Data Processing Team were now his buddies. The
job was somewhat stressful but he handled it well before
things began to change unexpectedly in 1985. Stress from the job were starting to trigger some intense memories of the
village. In 1980, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was added to the DSM-III by the American
Psychiatric Association. PTSD has since become closely associated with veterans from
Vietnam and for good reason: 31% are believed to suffer
from it. While the severity of the condition can vary from patient to patient, it can be
debilitating for those who have it worst. PTSD can manifest
itself in minor ways for years as anxiety or intrusive flashbacks with very little
effect on a patient's day to day life. Sometimes, years can pass before it causes serious
issues as was the case with Jack, who began to experience
serious problems around 1985 but managed to keep working for sometime while his condition
slowly deteriorated. At the time, like many other Vietnam
vets, Jack kept his thoughts, memories and feelings to himself. Socially, he started to isolate. Since
he was having memories of the war almost everyday, Jack started writing down his experiences from serving in the Combined
Action Program (CAP). In a short period of time, he ended up writing 8 short stories of his village life. Breaking
through the stigma of PTSD was extremely hard. Besides, no one really wanted to talk to Vietnam vets about the war.
And Vietnam vets did not want to talk to people who could not understand or relate. Thanks to Hollywood, certain
news-hound-celebrities, the news media and even some politicians, the image of PTSD Vietnam vets scared many in the general
public. The caricature of Vietnam veterans as lunatic baby-killers and village-burners was still fresh in
many Americans' minds. Jack's feelings of battling alone became stronger. To fight the negative feelings
and images, Jack started letting family and friends at work read his short stories. To his utter amazement people
liked them and found them extremely interesting. Many people asked to read all 8 stories. Based on the feedback
from readers, he started to think that maybe he could help change the negative image of Vietnam vets. Jack wanted to
fight back. He didn't think that he was a hero, but he strongly felt that he served with heroes. There were
two million real heroes that served in Vietnam. Besides, having people read the experiences and stories was much easier
than talking about them. With the grace of God and prayer, Jack finally reached
out to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Using federal Veterans Administration's
(VA) medications and therapy to cope, Jack carried on with life as usual, but
with each year his memories weighed him down further. Finally, in 1989, he was no longer able to
work. It is common with many who suffer from PTSD- like
sufferers from severe forms of anxiety or depression- to become chronically unemployed
due to the difficulties their condition imposes on them.
In this day and age, there is far more leeway for someone with a mental illness to
get help and recognition. In 1989, however, many people's knowledge of PTSD came from
movies like First Blood where the main character John
Rambo suffers from a psychotic break due to his experiences in Vietnam. PTSD veterans had
been stereotyped as crazy and able to snap at any time. This belief caused
many of sufferers to remain in the shadows because of the fear of
being ostracized for their shortcomings. Far to often, brave and honorable
veterans with PTSD were judged for the false and
weak images of the stigma of PTSD. Many people say that tens-of-thousands took their own lives, because of it. Twice Jack would be hospitalized at VA facilities in 1986 and 1987 for PTSD;
both times, he was sent gifts and support by his employees and friends.
He seemed to have good support but in 1989, the memories of friends'
deaths during the war created intense survivor's
guilt. This, along with life's stresses, created the perfect storm. Oftentimes, those with PTSD will
not experience worrisome symptoms until they've gone through an
extended illness like pneumonia or influenza; others won't have symptoms until
they enter a period of extreme stress like having issues
at work or with family. With Jack, his own thoughts became his worst
enemy. As the good memories started flooding back into Jack's head, the bad memories came just as fast.
He had no switch or filters to regulate his thoughts. He could no longer function. Jack would continue in this way until 1996 around the
time of the birth of his fifth child. He had to be again hospitalized in a VA hospital for nearly four months
because of PTSD which obviously caused problems in his personal
life. The loss of two older sisters each to cancer within two years did not help. As his mental state tore
him apart, his domestic life caused him further pain. In 1999, Jack's
wife filed for divorce. The divorce suit would be only the beginning of Jack Cunningham's struggle
for justice as lawsuit after lawsuit exposed the corruption
of the New Jersey justice system. Since the 9-11 terrorist attacks, most
of America's hearts and minds were open to the sacrifices and truths of America's Vietnam Veterans. Jack's writing
goal of trying to improve the image of Vietnam vets was no longer necessary. The truth was coming out on its own.
But Jack still wanted to follow through. Now, he was facing a new battle with
the New Jersey courts as a plaintiff. A battle even more intense than he ever fought in. In the end, Jack
would want federal criminal corruption and fraud charges against a number of high level New Jersey Supreme Court lawyers for
protecting one of their own. To handle his divorce suit, Jack hired a locally,
well-known, law firm out of Morristown, New Jersey,
Maynard & Truland, LLC. He paid them a retainer check, which they cashed within two
days and expected a routine handling of his case,
but things only fell apart from there. It was as if his lawyer and law firm didn't care he had PTSD. Sometimes,
it felt like that they were even trying to take advantage of his veteran disability. Deadlines were missed
and Jack's needs were ignored. Jack's lawyer
was not even returning his phone calls. For whatever reason, the firm was grossly inadequate in their handling of the
divorce suit even allowing for it to enter into default;
a fact they neglected to tell Jack until it was too late. On the way out the door to visit
his older sister in a NYC hospital, who was getting a
major operation for lung cancer, the third to have cancer, he was notified by mail from family court that
he was now in divorce default for no activity on the case. The
misrepresentation given by the firm was so poor that
Jack's own ex-wife wrote to the courts complaining about their woeful behavior saying that
Jack was, for all intents and purposes, representing himself. All that the firm
managed to do was overcharge him an extra $25.00 an hour over the
contracted rate that they had agreed on. What made it ever more
disgracefully, interesting was that right in the Maynard
& Truland law firm's own printed Invoice was that they were billing Jack for their own Divorce Default
removal. The Maynard & Truland law firm was completely acting without attorney ethics.
To Jack, he felt that they were acting above the law. He could not understand why they were doing this. Again,
he even thought that they might be taking advantage of his PTSD disability. He could not understand it. This was
his own law firm that he already had paid. His stress was building. It had nothing to do with the divorce.
It all had to do with his own law firm's unprofessionalism. But he wanted to fight back. PTSD vets were
not there to be taken advantage of. Just like he fought to save the innocent people of the Duc Duc Refugee Village,
Jack felt he was battling to save future PTSD vets and even average New Jersey citizens from discrimination and fraud.
No one should be above our laws. Jack was rightfully angry over how he had been treated and took his case to the
New Jersey Supreme Court local, State Attorney Ethics Committee. This would lead
to even further problems for Jack since a partner of
Maynard & Trudell actually served on the Ethics board: Robert Correale. This Robert
Correale was the same lawyer who was supposed to serve on Jack's behalf
in court but never once spoke and was obviously unprepared. Cunningham
soon faced an enemy far more stealthy and far more cruel than that of the Viet Cong decades
before. He was now going to take on the cold, faceless
courts of New Jersey and, later, the Federal justice system. The first
response Jack received from the State Ethics Committee
was one that simply stated he should get a different attorney. This, of course, was far
from satisfactory: what about the horrible representation
Jack received by the law firm and, by extension, Robert Correale? A document, sent by Correale
to the same Ethics committee that he was on the board of, defended his law firm.
The ethics violations that Jack alleged were to be investigated
by- of all people- Robert Correale and the other lawyers on the committee, who Correale supervised! In any other setting,
this would be considered an extreme violation of the legal
system, a major Conflict of Interest in the very least. However, it was permitted. A series of questionable events
would occur which illustrates the grave injustices that
Jack has faced for over 17 years. Correale would use his influence on the Ethics committee
to remove himself from blame and, later, court
recordings related to a future law suit (mentioned below) "disappeared" before they could
be officially transcribed. Finally, if that weren't enough, Correale mocked
Jack's struggle with PTSD and brought a lawsuit claiming
that he owed his law firm an additional $2,000. The judge handling the law suit threw the
suit out but not before adding that Jack had gathered enough evidence
to warrant another lawsuit. These remarks could not be recovered when Jack was preparing
for his counter suit. How all of this occurred seems
like a wild conspiracy that could only be pure fiction but it's all true and it plagued
Jack daily. His PTSD was going through the roof and Jack's VA doctors wanted to hospitalize him for the exacerbation.
Already reeling from a divorce and his ongoing struggles with PTSD, he had
to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare of the New Jersey legal system.
He had to continue fighting. He was all alone in this fight just like so many times
thirty years before in his CAP unit in Vietnam. Soon, though, Jack wouldn't be alone.
Many are familiar with the Marine Corps motto: "Semper Fi"
which stands for "Semper Fidelis" a Latin term
meaning "always faithful". Indeed, the Marines were always faithful to Jack
as a number of the Marines he served with in the past- and a number
of other vets who learned of his struggle- reassured him that he was NOT alone in his fight.
For thirteen years, Jack led a letter writing campaign that went
all the way up to then-governor James Mcgreevey who had the
Office of Attorney Ethics to state that if Robert Correale were to use his position
on the State Ethics board to investigate Jack's case it would be a major Conflict
of Interest and ethics violation. After months of writing and Ccing everyone in the New Jersey State Government, Jack
finally received a letter from New Jersey's Supreme Court Director of Attorney Ethics that they realize there is a Conflict
of Interest, if Robert Correale own attorney ethics committee investigated him and his Maynard & Truland law firm.
This was a small victory for Jack but he went on. The investigation was moved to another nearby ethics committee and
a few of the involved lawyers were told to write up sworn certifications of what was their version of Jack Cunningham's
charges against them. One of the law firm's partners, Joe Truland was strangely excused from writing up his own
sworn certification. In about two weeks, the Maynard and Truland sworn certifications were released to the NJ Supreme Court Office of
Attorney Ethics, along with copies to Jack. These Certifications were filled with perjuries, vague, misleading
and contradicting statements. Robert Correale had the most detailed certification, which was filled
with the most perjury, vague and misleading statements. Being a NJ Supreme Court Attorney Ethics committee member himself,
he was probably used as the biggest liar for a reason. In two areas of his sworn certification, Correale even openly
mocked Jack's PTSD. Nothing was questioned. Strangely, the certifications
were accepted by the committee supervisors without question with no supporting documentation and evidence as well.
What made it even more stranger was the fact that Jack himself supplied detailed evidence and documents:
the law firm's own contract, invoices, court filed letters, court filed documents, and even official-federal Veterans Affairs Medical Records that highlighted the impact the corruption and fraud was having
on Jack's PTSD. All the committee supervisors had to do was review Jack's evidence and compare it to the certifications.
The committee sat on their decision for months.
Jack's
letter writing campaign did not die down but he continued
for justice. He would write to Governors Richard Codey, Jon Corzine, and the current Governor
Chris Christie but there has still not been Justice. Codey, Jon Corzine and
Chris Christie never even returned a letter to Jack. Yet before news cameras, each of these New Jersey governors praised
veterans and highlighted the importance of giving veterans respect and benefits that they earned. To handle his divorce suit, Jack hired Maynard
& Truland, LLC and informed them in detail that he was PTSD disabled
from heavy combat in the Vietnam War. He signed their contact, paid
them a agreed upon retainer check that the law firm cashed within three
days and expected a routine handling of his case, but things only fell apart from there. Because of no
of action from the law firm, deadlines were missed and
Jack's needs were ignored. For whatever reason, the firm was grossly inadequate
in their handling of the divorce suit even allowing for
it to enter into default; a fact they neglected to tell Jack until it was too late. The
representation given by the firm was so poor that Jack's own ex-wife wrote to the courts
complaining about their woeful behavior saying that
Jack was, for all intents and purposes, representing himself. All that the firm managed
to do was charge him an extra $25.00 an hour that they had agreed
on. Jack was rightfully angry over how he had
been treated and took his case to the local, New Jersey
State Supreme Court Attorney Ethics Committee. This would lead to even further
problems for Jack since a partner of Maynard & Trudell actually served on the
same Attorney Ethics committee: Robert Correale. Robert Correale's
law firm's website listed Correale as not only being on the same committee, but listed
Correale as their Vice-Chairman. This Robert Correale
was the same lawyer who was supposed to serve on Jack's behalf in court
but never once spoke and was obviously unprepared. Cunningham soon faced an enemy far more stealthy
and far more cruel than that of the Viet Cong decades
before. He was now going to take on the cold, faceless courts of New Jersey and, later,
the Federal justice system. The first
response Jack received from the State Ethics Committee was one that simply stated that
he should get a different law firm. This, of course,
was far from satisfactory: what about the horrible representation Jack received by his
law firm and, by extension, Robert Correale? A document, sent by Correale to the
same Ethics committee that he was on the board of, defended
his law firm. The ethics violations that Jack alleged were to be investigated by- of all
people- Robert Correale! In any
other setting, this would be considered an extreme violation
of the legal system. However, it was permitted. A series of questionable events would occur
which illustrates the grave injustices that Jack has
faced for over a decade. Correale would use his influence on the Ethics committee to remove
himself and his law firm, Maynard & Truland from blame and, later, many court
recordings related to a future law suit (mentioned below)
"disappeared" before they could be officially transcribed. Finally, if that weren't
enough, Correale mocked Jack's struggle with PTSD and
brought up a lawsuit claiming that he owed his law firm a further $2,000. The judge handling
the law suit threw the suit out but not before adding
that Jack gathered enough evidence to warrant another lawsuit for Legal Malpractice. These
remarks could not be recovered when Jack was preparing for his counter suit. How all
of this occurred seems like a wild conspiracy that could only be pure
fiction but it's all true and it plagued Jack daily. Already reeling
from a divorce and his ongoing struggles with PTSD,
he had to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare of the New Jersey legal system. He was all alone in this fight
just like so many times thirty years before in his CAP unit in Vietnam.
Soon,
though, Jack wouldn't be alone. Many are familiar with the Marine Corps
motto: "Semper Fi" which stands for "Semper Fidelis"
which is Latin for "always faithful". Indeed, the Marines were always
faithful to Jack. A number of the Marines he served with in the past- and a number of other
vets who learned of his struggle- reassured him that
he was NOT alone in his fight. For thirteen years, Jack led a letter writing campaign
that went all the way up to then-governor James Mcgreevey who had the Office of
Attorney Ethics to state that if Robert Correale were to use
his position on the State Ethics board to investigate Jack's case it would be an ethics
violation. This was a small victory for Jack but he
went on. His letter writing campaign did not die down but he continued for justice. He would
write to Governors Richard Codey, Jon Corzine, and the current Governor Chris Christie
but there has still not been justice. Recently, in an
even more bizarre twist, Robert Correale was cleared of any wrongdoing despite obvious
perjury and malpractice although the case is now being
taken to federal courts.
Jack's life has not been all bad, though. He remarried and has been with his
wife Joan for fourteen years. He and his ex-wife Alice- who
herself recognized the overwhelming odds Jack is up against- remain
on friendly terms. As strange as it may sound to many, Jack and Joan have even been on a number of family
vacations with his adult kids, their children and with his ex-wife. They all even spend holidays with his ex-wife throughout
the year. He now resides in Sussex, New Jersey and is something of a local and internet celebrity, because of all of
his successful veteran advocacy causes. He uses his data processing skills. One he is especially proud of is helping
to save the USS ARIZONA Marine Remembrance Memorial at Pearl Harbor. (See Below)
His family only grew both in strength and in numbers during
Jack's legal battles: he has five children and three step-children along with nine
grandchildren. He continues his therapy for PTSD and
has managed to keep ahead of his mental struggles. In February of this year, Jack finally
received even more support for his efforts when a veterans foundation agreed to connect
him to a team of pro bono lawyers for his future federal
court case. There is no argument about Jack's heroic
military service. His actions were above and beyond the line of duty and he should
be recognized for it rather than discredited as a crazy old man. The VA's motto comes from
the words of Abraham Lincoln: "To care for him
who shall have borne the battle" and these words should influence all of our attitudes
to the soldiers who have returned home with even greater
personal struggles in their future. Should our government- who swore to take on the
responsibility of caring for every last soldier living or dead- be allowed to throw Jack to
the curb? His story is just one of many other struggles
that veterans have been forced to face , and it's a grave injustice that we can allow
this to happen in this great country. So ask yourself
this Veteran's Day: Should outrages like these be covered up and forgotten, or should
they be used to open our country's eyes so our country's finest can be helped in
the future?
 John
"Jack" Cunningham's case against the State of New Jersey is interesting.
Statute of limitations issue
is bogus… fraud has no limitation in federal court, and Statute
of limitations runs from the time the fraud is found… It
is an act to deceive, an act of
fraud, an act to manipulate due process, - sanctions should be
implemented – One of many cases spell this out… Referring
both to the objective and subjective elements, we have held that qualified
immunity would be defeated if an official "knew
or reasonably should have known that the
action he took within his sphere of official responsibility
would violate the constitutional rights of the [plaintiff], or if he took
the action with the malicious intention to cause
a deprivation of constitutional rights or other injury." Harlow et
al v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800; 102 S. Ct. 2727; 73 L. Ed. 2d 396; (1982).
(Emphasis added) File a civil suit in the
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
(federal court) - file this Civil Complaint
under U.S.C. 28 §1331, federal question, civil actions arising under
the Constitution, under U.S.C. 42 §1983, a civil action for deprivation
of rights, and U.S.C. 42 §1985 a civil action for Conspiracy to interfere
with civil rights against all Defendant’s you can list
(growing list below)… you can do it pro se and file an application
to proceed indigent… all documents are on the District of New Jersey (federal court)’s
web site… State
courts have concurring jurisdiction over this type
of civil suit, it can be filed in state
court BUT Federal Courts are more easygoing
with Pro Se writings, minor errors in format and rules etc…
And if a state attorney represented anyone, the challenge here would
be if he was authorized to do so… i.e. an application filed for their service, defendant
within the scope of employment…
etc… if not.. it was fraud… Check
out the principles of the Noerr-Pennington Doctrine… first Amendment
Rights… you may have further elements to build your
case… Void Judgments, move to vacate previous judgments
for harmful errors, constitutional violations, fraud…
etc… all forms and docs you need are on the court web sites.
................................................................... USS ARIZONA Marine Remembrance Memorial at Pearl Harbor Band of Marine
Brothers,
One of our own needs your help. He has mine.
As you obviously know if you are reading this, Jack Cunningham's "Proud CAP Marine"
blog and e-info efforts reach a great number of Marines, friends and families
of Marines as well many active duty Marines from the past. I've found
it to be a powerful tool.
A couple of years ago, I was the Operations Officer for the
Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, on the waterfront between the USS ARIZONA and the USS BOWFIN. The
Commandant of the Marine Corps was the featured speaker at the dedication
of the USS ARIZONA Marine Remembrance, 10 November 2006. The National Park Service, which administers
the USS ARIZONA Memorial is renovating all of Halawa Landing, the site
of the Marine Remembrance. The Regional Director of the Natl Park Service
Western Region, Jon Jarvis, stated on the local TV news that the Marine Remembrance would be removed. I
challenged him on that statement and convinced him that would not happen without a fight.
I passed the word to Jack, who in turn asked his readership to email Jarvis
that the entire USMC would make every effort to have him relieved of his duties
if he moved that monument. I was copied on many of the emails to him from Marines, their
friends and their families that it nearly fried my computer. And...it
worked. In order to save his job, Jarvis backed down. The Remembrance now belongs to the USMC and
has its' rightful place in direct view of the USS ARIZONA.
That campaign showed
me the power of the internet when focused on a meaningful issue.
As I'm sure you also know, Jack has had an ongoing battle with the State of New
Jersey regarding the way he was treated by corrupt politicians. We can help him. Marines
take care of Marines. I ask you to join me in a vigorous e-mail campaign (And
phone call campaign) to Congressman Scott Garrett as well as Gov Jon Corzine (And now Governor Chris Christie) to
demand an investigation. The contact addresses are listed below. We never
leave a Marine on the battlefield - lets not leave one to the criminal
politicians. Join me in protest.
Semper Fidelis,
Colonel John R. Bates USMC (ret)
click here to download file for Movie Script "SO ALONE"
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