Yesterday, as I happily toiled at home (at my lockdown job), I received an email from an astute reader. The subject line to this email read simply:
Chuck McCullough
(Long time readers of this blog will know instantly to whom that refers.)
Intrigued, I opened the email and the message read in its entirety:
Tee-hee.
Whah? What happened? Hey Davey, what's the story?
There's an update to Chuck McCullough's story! Take a look at this from Mick Sintelli of the P-G:
The long and winding legal road of former Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough ended Thursday when the state Supreme Court denied his appeal, affirming his theft conviction from more than five years ago.
Really, Mick? "The long and winding...road"? A Beatles reference in your first
half dozen words? You Can't Do That. Remember Orwell's
first rule
in writing well:
Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
It's just Something had to be pointed out, Mick, but couldn't you just Let It Be? I've Got A Feeling that It
Won't Be Long for Chuck McCullough to get a Ticket To Ride to some minimum
security prison somewhere but In My Life, making light of someone's
Misery is a bad idea.
I Want To Tell You that I'm So Tired of seeing cheap Beatles literary
references Here, There and Everywhere. It's All Too Much - Help!
In The End, you did what you did and you're gonna Carry That Weight (for a long time), Because it's just Nowhere, Man.
Back to Chuck. Mick Not-Jagger of the P-G continues:
The denial from the state’s highest court means McCullough, 65, probably will have to serve the 2-1/2 to 5 year prison sentence that has been on hold for years while the case made its way through the appeal process.
"On hold for years" to say the least.
Let's look at some dates:
-
February 9, 2009 - Chuck arrested. That's 12 years and 4 days ago. In other words, this was only 20 days after Barrack Obama's first inauguration. The rest of his two terms as well as all of Trump's hellscape time in the Oval happened between then and now.
- April 13, 2015 - Chuck's trial begins. That's 5 years, 10 months ago and 6 years, 2 months and 4 days after his arrest.
- July 31, 2015 - Chuck found guilty. That's 5 years, 6 months and 13 days ago and 6 years 5 months and 6 days after his arrest.
- December 15, 2015 - Chuck sentenced. That's 5 years, 1 month and 29 days ago and 6 years, 10 months, and 6 days after his arrest.
Considering Chuck's looking at 2 1/2 to 5 years away, the above time spans seem more or less absurd. Here's the thing: had he started doing his time when he was sentenced (and is there anyone who believes he would have had to do the full 5 years?), he'd be out by now, doing whatever it is disgraced former GOP politicians do once they've been released from prison. Fox News? OAN? Newsmax?
One final Beatle reference. Chuck McCullough is 65. If only he were 64.