No NH legal aid in law enforcement feud

The two main road patrol military officers being sued by the state cavalrymen labor union desire the state to assist support them in the lawsuit, but that is not going to happen, according to Associate Lawyer General Anne Edwards. Jonathan Jonathan Edwards said the state will not pay legal fees incurred by main road patrol military officers William Carlberg Jr. and George C. Scott Bowen.

Both work force fear losing their places as their lawyer's fees climb.

Edwards did state she will reexamine written documents filed in the lawsuit to see if there are any new issues that directly impact the Department of Safety. If so, the state could seek to step in in the case, Jonathan Edwards said.

"If there were dissensions over organizations' issues -- for example, why main road patrol officers' uniforms aren't more than typical from troopers' uniforms -- and person was trying to raise in a lawsuit that uniforms or autos had to change, then the Department of Safety would be concerned," she said.

The New Hampshire Troopers Association is suing Carlberg of Plaistow, Bowen of Gilmanton, and the New Hampshire Highway Patrol Association for hallmark misdemeanor and cyberpiracy over a now-defunct Web land site and the registering of four Web sphere names.

Lawsuit causing stress

Carlberg, who is on military leave, and Bowen are former state cavalrymen who transferred to main road patrol. Both say the strain of being named personally in the lawsuit by chap law enforcement military officers and the possibility of losing their places and everything they have is taking a toll on their personal and professional lives.

"I wake up every morning time thought about this lawsuit, worrying about how it will end," said Bowen. "I stop each twenty-four hours thought about it. I've go an sleepless person because of it. My matrimony have been labored as have my human relationship with my kids. Last April the accumulative emphasis landed my married woman in an exigency room."

Carlberg was president of the association and Bowen the Godhead of its Web land site when the lawsuit was filed last autumn in Second Marquis Of Rockingham County Superior Court. The lawsuit is scheduled for trial in March 2008.

Bowen said he personally owned the Web land site at issue and used his ain computing machine to work on it. He said his supervisor, Maj. John Wayne Perreault, suggested he work on the land land land site as portion of his regular duties, but Bowen said he was careful not to mistreat the privilege and did 97 percentage of the Web site work on his ain time.

Bowen said he wanted the site to explicate to the public the missionary post of main road patrol officers. Since he did some of it on state time, he believes the state should assist stand for him and Carlberg.

Heavy fees

Carlberg, Bowen and the main road patrol association are represented by Nashua lawyer William Aivalikles. Fees already have got climbed upwards of $50,000, Bowen said.

Jonathan Jonathan Edwards yesterday spoke with Bowen and agreed to look at written documents in the case, but won't stand for them in the lawsuit even though Bowen worked on the land site during work hours.

"We only stand for state employees if they are sued relative to their employment," Edwards said. The lawsuit is a private substance between the two associations, and Jonathan Edwards said the work on the Web land land land site done on state clip was very minimum and could have got got been done during luncheon or breaks.

Bowen said functionaries throughout the Department of Safety -- including former commissioner Richard Flynn, Director of Motor Vehicles Old Dominion Henry Ward Henry Ward Beecher and Perreault -- were aware of his work on the Web site.

"Director Beecher and Commissioner Flynn knew about it, and their suggestions to do changes, or to take off certain material, were communicated to me through Maj. Perreault or Carlberg," Bowen said.

Perreault did not react to a page Friday.

Besides patrolling state highways, state police force force also supply particular services including explosives disposal, aviation, narcotics investigations, major law-breaking investigations, technical accident reconstruction, a SWAT-team operations, crisis negotiatons, and canine-unit operations, according to the cavalrymen labor union Web site.

Many common factors

State police and main road patrol have the same basic preparation demands and weapons, similar uniforms, police cruisers and pay grades.

In improver to enforcing motor-carrier laws, main road patrol certifies big-rig motortruck drivers; bank checks on deceitful written documents for title, enrollment and driver's licence applicants; accumulates delinquent fees; and audited accounts 5,100 vehicle traders and review stations.

Bowen said state cavalrymen are upset by the similar colour of main road patrol's uniforms and cruisers, which were selected by his superiors. Both the Division of State Police and the Agency of Highway Patrol federal federal agencies within the Department of Safety that are being considered for possible merger.

"It all furuncles down to competition between two similar agencies," said Bowen. "That determination (to equip cavalrymen and main road patrol in similar uniforms) was made far above my wage class on the colour of my uniform. The cavalrymen association experiences main road patrol was put up to mime them."

The lawsuit avers Bowen registered four Web sphere name calling similar to the name of the cavalrymen labor labor union Web land site to seek to "dupe" the public into sending contributions to the main road patrol grouping instead of the cavalrymen union. That was never the intention, Bowen said, nor was it even possible for the land site to accept contributions intended for the cavalrymen association.

Bowen said New Hampshire Highway Patrol Association members also will be apt for amends if they lose the suit.

The New Hampshire Highway Patrol Association was put up to assist easiness the 80 or so members out of the State Employees Association. The grouping ultimately voted to fall in New England Police Beneficent Association, but the New Hampshire Highway Patrol Association still technically exists.

Counter lawsuit filed

The New Hampshire Highway Patrol Association filed a counter claim alleging libel, slander and a long listing of unprofessional behavior allegations against state troopers.

One claim accused state cavalrymen of trying to interfere with main road patrol velocity traps by parking nearby with exigency visible lights flashing to decelerate automobilists before they came into main road patrol's microwave radar range.

Another said a state cavalryman interfered with a main road patrol investigation.

Bowen and Carlberg believe the state cavalrymen labor labor union is upset over actions taken by leading at the Department of Safety, but is taking out its defeats on them and the main road patrol association.

Carlberg said he was only back a little clip from serving 15 calendar months of active duty -- most of it as a chopper airplane pilot in Iraq, where he flew more than than 500 armed combat hours -- when the cavalrymen union filed the lawsuit.

He is again on military duty, having transferred to the New Hampshire Army National Guard, with whom he is patrolling the Mexican border.

"I'm quite surprised the state hasn't stepped up to support us," Carlberg said.

"The lawsuit is mostly about main road patrol's existence. They state it's about cyberpiracy, but it looks like it's more that they are disappointed in our existence.

"It's ludicrous to believe this is about two officers. It's about the being of the main road patrol. This is such as a political hotbed. Cipher desires to touch it, and two cats are suffering because of it ... I didn't make anything, except wear the main road patrol shirt. I was doing my occupation and got sued by another state police force agency."

Deep concerns

Carlberg said he have had to compose most of the bank checks to pay for legal fees so far. Married with two children, he also, concerns he will lose his home.

A former Rochester police force force detective, Carlberg went to work for state police, then transferred to main road patrol.

"I was devastated. I couldn't believe blood brother military officers would come up out and litigate me," he said. "This lawsuit is taking nutrient and money away from my household ... I've pretty much depleted my nest egg and had to acquire loans on my house. I never expected this from blood brother and sister police force force officers."

Joe Louis Copponi, president of the New Hampshire Troopers Association, and its lawyer, Adam Hamel, did not react to petitions for interviews.

Kraut Flynn, executive manager director of the New England Police Beneficent Association, said his organisation is not responsible for defending the lawsuit, but did range out early on to the cavalrymen union.

"It's disturbing state police have got taken it to this level," Flynn said. "We tried to decide it with the troopers, but it drop on deaf ears.

Carlberg is deployed, a member of military, and the cavalrymen go on this really frivolous and infantile lawsuit.

"These two federal agencies are supposed to be working with each other," added Flynn, a Lowell, Mass., flatfoot on leave of absence to make labor union work.