As one of his first acts
since becoming commandant of
the
Pikes Peak detachment of
the Marine Corps League (MCL),
Jim Woods today denied the
right of Marines to be heard
on violations of their
Constitutional rights. At
issue was the case of MCL
Life Member Robert Alvarez,
Gulf 1 veteran and former
Paymaster for the
Pikes Peak detachment,
who has been the subject of
repeated false allegations
of domestic violence and
abuse since his wife began
an affair sometime in early
2005.
As one result of his
wife's adultery, former
Marine Alvarez was
arrested on June 23,
2005, and charged with
domestic violence
involving reckless
endangerment, knowingly
and recklessly
endangering a child,
disorderly conduct by
making offensive
gestures (misdemeanors),
and causing emotional
distress by stalking (a
felony). Those charges
were dismissed when Bob,
a long-time member of
the EJF refused to take
a plea bargain.
In a pattern
familiar to most of you,
on October 25, 2005, Bob
was again arrested and
charged with domestic
violence involving
menacing, assault,
cruelty toward a child,
disorderly conduct
(misdemeanors), and
felony stalking. Those
charges, obviously
brought by his wife to
gain advantage in a
custody dispute, were
also dismissed.
Having failed to
make the allegations of
criminal domestic
violence stick, his wife
then filed a temporary
domestic abuse
protection civil order
against him through
TESSA. Such
temporary orders are
routinely granted
ex
parte to women
without any chance for a
man to defend himself.
Unfortunately, Mr.
Alvarez's attorney
failed to show up for
the hearing on making
the protection order
permanent. Without
adequate counsel at this
hearing a permanent
protection order was
entered against Bob. In
Colorado such orders are
for life and no
modification can be
requested for at least
four years.
The Alvarez's have
two boys, now 6 and 9,
that Bob continued to
try and visit. It was
inevitable that his wife
would find reasons to
accuse him of violating
the order. As many of
you have experienced in
similar situations, Bob
was arrested for
violating a protection
order on November 30,
2005, April 5, 2006, and
again on June 7, 2006.
With each arrest he
spent from one day to a
week in jail. He then
made another mistake by
accepting a plea bargain
on the violation of a
protection order charge,
for which he received
the standard sentence of
2-years probation and
36-weeks DV treatment
classes.
Note that the only
violence in the Alvarez
relationship was by his
wife, who also had a
prior DV conviction when
she was a student at CSU
in Fort Collins. His
"violation" of the
protection order
amounted to sending an
email attempting to
settle divorce issues
and helping his sons
send their mother a
Mother's Day card.
Alvarez followed
court orders and signed
up for DV treatment but,
like many of you,
received an ideological
rant rather than
therapy. He also had
the temerity to object
to the requirement that
he read man-hating
propaganda by radical
feminist
Andrea Dworkin as
part of his "treatment."
As a result, after just
eight sessions the DV
treatment provider
referred him back to
court with the
recommendation that his
parole be revoked. A
hearing on that was held
November 14, 2007, which
I attended, in the court
of El Paso County judge
Barney Iuppa. Clearly,
Bob Alvarez was
attending and
participating in the
treatment, and his
payments were current.
Therefore, there was no
basis for revoking his
parole. Nonetheless,
Iuppa continued the
hearing until January 9,
2007.
I had hoped to seek
the assistance of the
Pikes Peak MCL
detachment for Alvarez
at the December 2006
meeting but my son, a
disabled Marine veteran,
had knee surgery at the
Denver VA Hospital the
day before and it was
late at night before I
got home. Thus, I didn't
make the MCL meeting the
next morning and was
unable to directly seek
support for Alvarez
before Jim Woods was
elected detachment
commandant.
At the January 9,
2007, continuation
hearing, testimony by
the DV "treatment"
provider clearly showed
that Alvarez was
attending the sessions
and making progress.
Incredibly, in what was
a foregone conclusion as
deputies arrived to
arrest Bob at the
beginning of an
hour-and-a-half hearing,
judge Iuppa sentenced
Bob to one year in the
county jail on the basis
that he "needs a serious
attitude adjustment." (Iuppa's
sentencing statement
from transcript)
After spending 32
days in jail, another
hearing was held
February 9, 2007 on a
motion for
reconsideration. I was
in Utah attending my
mother's funeral and was
unable to attend that
hearing but other
members of the MCL Pikes
Peak detachment did
attend as courtwatchers.
At the conclusion of
that hearing Alvarez was
released from jail, his
probation revoked, and
he was then sentenced to
five months house arrest
with electronic (GPS)
monitoring.
Note that the only
"crime" committed in
this tragedy is adultery
by Bob's wife, for which
she was terminated from
her BATFE agent
position. However, Bob
has been forced from the
house he built, all but
lost the small business
he operated, has lost
virtually all his
assets, is forbidden by
Colorado law from having
primary custody of his
children, must now pay
child support, has lost
his gun rights for life,
has spent far in excess
of $100,000 for inept
legal counsel, and been
sentenced to one year in
jail for an "attitude
adjustment." Perhaps
there is a civil liberty
of Marine Alvarez that
has not yet been
violated but I am at a
loss as to what that
might be?
As it has been more
than 50 years since I
took an oath to "defend
the Constitution against
all enemies, foreign and
domestic," maybe Marines
do something different
today? But in my time,
Marines stood together
and never left a fellow
Marine behind.
Apparently Jim Woods
regards the defense of
Constitutional liberties
as a "pet project"
rather than something
Marines should be
concerned about. One
assumes that under his
"leadership" the
Pikes Peak MCL
detachment will
continue its past policy
of supporting redfem
groups like
TESSA, who work to
destroy the careers of
at least a battalion
(~1,000) of military men
every year in the
Colorado Springs area
with false allegations
similar to the ones
levied against Bob
Alvarez.
For any of the many
present and former
military men and women
on this mailing list,
and all the others who
would like to express
their assessment and
outrage against a
veteran's group refusing
to support its member's
Constitutional rights
and, instead, providing
financial support to
redfem groups who are
actively working to
destroy military careers
and families and
marriages, may I suggest
you email your
statements to Jim Woods
mailto:jimw12152@aol.com
or simply Reply All to
this message.
Bob Alvarez is also
happy to answer any
questions you may have
about his case or the
injustices inflicted
upon him despite, or
perhaps because of his
honorable service in the
United States Marine
Corps. His email address
is mailto:rb-alvarez@adelphia.net.
Semper Fi(?) Mr.
Woods. Until I met you I
thought it meant
something!
Charles E. Corry,
Ph.D., F.G.S.A.