Jerry McCory, 56, who most recently served as a Marion County sheriff's liaison at Jail II and Liberty Hall, is charged with patronizing a prostitute, a misdemeanor.
McCory, former director of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, a Merrillville police chief and a public safety adviser to Mayor Bart Peterson, resigned from the Sheriff's Department on June 25 without explanation . . .
As part of the IMPD investigation, detectives randomly selected six names of clients who patronized Vernon-Lee's service from her log books. Among the names was McCory, whose name was listed under April 24, according to the affidavit.
McCory is accused of hiring an escort to perform oral sex. He was hired by the Sheriff's Department in December to monitor oversight and compliance in the department's work with private-facilities operators. His salary was $69,866 a year. He was not subject to disciplinary action or investigation by the Marion County department during his tenure, said Julio Fernandez, a spokesman for the department . . .
No other police officers or public officials are suspected in the case, said Capt. Chris Boomershine of the IMPD strategic investigations branch.
My first question is how many clients were listed in Vernon-Lee's service log books? My second question is how the six patrons, which included McCory, were randomly selected? My third question is why the magical number of six patrons was chosen? My fourth question is why only McCory and not the other five patrons are identified as being arrested for patronizing a prostitute? My fifth question is how do we know no other police officers or public officials were patrons of the service if the entire list isn't disclosed? And my final question is whether it is even worthy of law enforcement's time to prosecute patrons for something many people believe to be a victimless crime?
These types of investigations have sometimes been carried out recklessly in the past. People have committed suicide after hearing police and prosecutors announce in front of television cameras that they were reviewing customer logs of a prostitution service or displaying business cards of their clients to determine if charges were appropriate against them. Further, Mayor Ballard didn't seem concerned when he named Randall Tobias to lead the Indianapolis Airport Authority that Tobias had been identified as a customer of Deborah Palfrey, the DC Madame who we're told hung herself in a barn a few months back so she could avoid jail time for her crimes. Tobias maintains that he only received massages from Palfrey's service. Her fortuitous death meant that her former patrons could go on with their lives without any worry of being prosecuted for patronizing a prostitute, and her client list supposedly represented a who's who of Washington's powerful. It's a tough way to make a living. And it's an even tougher job for police and prosecutors to sort out a way to fairly prosecute people who make their living from the world's oldest profession or use the services of those who do.
How sure are you that Deborah Palfrey committed suicide????
ReplyDeleteAs sure as I am that the other escort who worked for her also died from hanging herself. It is a tad unusual for women to commit suicide by hanging, but that's what the official cause of death in both cases tells us.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that it seemed a little unfair to single out McCory. From a public standpoint, I would be much more concerned about his poor performance in the Sheriff's office than his paying for sex.
ReplyDeleteWas McCory singled out? I hope so. McCory is a former cop in Merrillville with ties to the corrupt Lake County political machine. Bart Peterson created the do nothing position of "public safety advisor" for our friend Jerry because Bart owed the Lake County Democrats bigtime, and probably still does, for financing his first campaign for mayor with a sweetheart real-estate deal in Gary. Some Lake County Dems in Gary were, shall we say, vehemently opposed to this deal for a number of reasons, but they held their noses and allowed it because a certain U.S. Senator from Indiana made a few promises. Unfortunately for Jerry, he lost his job when Bart lost his. Of course he made a few friends along the way and acquired another job in Indianapolis working for the corrupt Marion County Sheriff in another do nothing position. So, AI, I'm not sure you are seeing the big picture. Corruption breeds corruption and another former cop and high ranking Marion County public official was charged with a crime in Indianapolis. Good for him and good for us! IMPD is doing a great job and kudos to Carl Brizzi.
ReplyDeleteWe all pay for sex in one way or other even when it is with our spouses.
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone give a prostitute or a prostitution service his real name?? D'uh!! That should be a crime in and of itself!!
ReplyDeleteIs artfuggins an alias for Wilson Allen?
ReplyDeleteDemocrats, with a known propensity for corruption, should be singled out!
ReplyDeleteBrace yourselves, everybody.
ReplyDeleteGood job, AI! You ask some pertinent questions about this investigation without minimizing (too much) McCory's conduct, and you call Mayor Ballard to account for some seeming hypocrisy. Well done.
How do they know he sought and received oral sex? Did he put BJ on the memo line of a check? Did the alleged Escort keep notes on what kinds of Escort Amenities her clients enjoyed? Likes Pepsi over Seven UP? I'd say this is a shabby one to prosecute having not caught him in the act and having some political overtones that aren't worth tarnishing the entire case because of. This is a weird one for sure.
ReplyDeleteAll public officials with a propensity for corruption should be singled out. It is not a partisan issue. Indy4u2c you seem to imply that only Democrats should be singled out. I think ANYONE of either party should be called to task for corruption. Why should your implication that republicans have free access to corruption be taken seriously.
ReplyDeletePeople have committed suicide after hearing police and prosecutors announce in front of television cameras that they were reviewing customer logs of a prostitution service or displaying business cards of their clients to determine if charges were appropriate against them.
ReplyDeleteWhen did this happen?
Whatever happened to holding public office holders to a higher standard? No one seems to complain when the police are singled out? If there were, say, high-ranking Republican Prosecutors or anyone else involved in public safety on the list that got swept under the rug then you would obviously have an argument. Either way he probably was singled out, and rightfully so.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if anybody would be able to get their hands on that list, it could be our own little DC Madam and we could get some housecleaning done upstairs as well as with the rank and file.
It's rather telling that he mysteriously resigned last week. I'm sure somebody gave him some professional courtesy not afforded the other johns. Either way how are we supposed to feel sorry for him? Even if he's not married he knows the law. As a Cub Scout you're taught that good citizens don't break laws because they think they're unimportant, if they disagree with laws they lobby to change them but still have respect for the system. You don't suddenly play the 'I don't think that one counts' card when you've never done anything to change the system, it make you look like a fool.
Art, that's funny. It's actually also very true. Men always pay for sex one way or the other...whether it's a straight cash transaction, a fancy dinner, jewelry a marriage proposal, etc.
ReplyDeleteWith seeing posts on some blogs about the number of shootings and murders in Indianapolis each night I wonder if IMPD is doing such a good job maybe they should put more people on patrol rather than worry about politicians paying for a BJ. Up in da region if you think they are doing a good job your priorities are misplaced. Let's take everyone off vice and put them on robbery homicide and when we have solved that then we can decide if we want to worry about bj's. If we have politicians giving away phony job (which in my experience has no party affiliations) then beat them for that or at the ballot box.
ReplyDeleteWhen anarchist Emma Goldman was being questioned by a judge if it were true she believed in "free love", she saucily asked the judge if he believed in paying for it...
ReplyDeleteHey True Consevative,
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your above post my freind, we may not often agree on much but in this case you are right on the money brother.
Peace
Mr. Conservative and Jeff, good points. Oftentimes, though, the biggest complaints from the community are the nuisance issues, such as prostitutes, whorehouses, drunks, overgrown brush, kids standing in the road or playing in the street, etc.
ReplyDeleteObviously robberies, murders and other details of the drug trade are much worse, but since they don't happen on a daily basis like the other stuff does in some parts of the city it's a lot more visible and people complain about it much more often...
Jerry McCory should have been singled out. He was a smell bad, do bad, corrupt politician from the beginning. He was used by Bart Peterson to politicize and corrupt the police department. Bart Peterson, Jerry McCory and Frank Anderson have destroyed professional policing in Indianapolis and destroyed both IPD and MCSD. I find it interesting that when Frank Anderson first disagreed with Peterson's consolidation plan Jerry McCory began to gather dirt on Frank Anderson to destroy his character and career. Then, all of a sudden??? Frank Anderson thinks consolidation is a great idea, so Jerry McCory and Frank Anderson become the very best of friends???
ReplyDeleteFrank Anderson then gives his good friend Jerry McCory a "do nothing job" after the public kicked Bart Peterson and his corrupt staff out of office. So does anyone really believe that Jerry McCory was the only Bart Peterson Staffer to visit the "BJ Consolidation Meetings"? Does anyone really believe that the IPD Officer running the Escort Service did not know Jerry McCory? or that Jerry McCory did not know the officer especially since he worked in uniform? Does anyone suspect that the Escort Service was the reason that the officer was hired by IMPD "with the help of Jerry McCory and his buddy Frank Anderson"? How could anyone operating a prostitution service for ten years prior to applying to be an IMPD officer pass the background investigation? If there was one. Of all of the escort services and prostitutes operating in Marion County and Johnson County, I wonder how Bart Peterson's "Pubic Safety Advisor" picked an Escort Service protected by an IMPD Cop that was hired under his watch? Smells bad..really bad!
Hi. Wondering if anyone has any info on the outcome of Jerry McCory's case. Public records are showing nothing. Does this mean charges were dropped, or possibly never even filed? Kind of smelly how this case just went quiet all of a sudden.
ReplyDelete