Dr. Price And The Bomb
From James Donahue’s Journal
Dr. Joseph M. Price is a physician who may still be practicing medicine in Carsonville, Michigan. Dr. Price got caught up in a malicious scandal involving the mailing of a pipe bomb to John Patterson, a prominent area lawyer, and a strange outbreak of gonorrhea among several area police officers.
I tell this story with great caution, carefully omitting some details, because it is something I experienced during my work as a local crime reporter but never put into print. I felt at the time, and even now believe it’s telling could bring severe consequences. Readers will have a better understanding later in this story.
I first became aware that something had happened the day I walked into the Sanilac County Sheriff’s office to read the night log and gather the news. The dispatcher there received all of the 911 calls so kept a record of all police, fire and ambulance calls in the county. Thus it was a key stop in my daily business of gathering the news.
That morning there was some odd behavior among some of the deputies gathered in the office. They were clapping loudly and laughing as some of the officers walked in for the shift change. I was privately told that the targeted deputies had picked up a case of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, also known as “the clap” and had just been diagnosed. It apparently was a private joke among the police. I was not given any details as to how this had happened. Since my ability to gather police and fire news depended upon my relationship with the deputies, and their willingness to give me tips when things were going down, I went along with the “joke,” asked no more questions, and kept my mouth shut.
A few weeks after that . . . perhaps months later . . . a package containing a pipe bomb was delivered in the mail to the home of John Paterson. John’s young son was nearby, watching curiously as children do as Paterson opened the box. The bomb exploded. Actually, it fizzled, and the blast only shot out of one end of the pipe. Paterson received burns to his face and hands and the boy also was treated for slight burns. Since the device was sent via the mail, the FBI was quickly involved with local police in the investigation. It was a sensational news event, and a major mystery. Paterson was an active lawyer who handled both criminal and civil matters. He also was known as an outspoken personality, and it was not hard to believe that he had enemies. But who would have been so mad at him to have sent a bomb in the mail?
More time passed. It may have been a month or two later when the deputies conducted a surprise raid on the home and offices of Dr. Price, seized what they said was books, tools, wires and other “bomb-making paraphernalia,” and arrested Dr. Price on charges of manufacturing and mailing an explosive device to John Paterson’s home. Price pleaded no contest when he appeared in Sanilac County Circuit Court, and he was sentenced to spend five years in prison. A year later he was released on parole and allowed to return to Carsonville and resume his medical practice.
Because of the seriousness of the alleged crime in this matter, I thought there was something very odd about the story, and the fact that Dr. Price had received an unusually light sentence. I thought perhaps it had something to do with Price’s status in the community that won him privileges most other people would not have had under similar circumstances. Also, because there was no trial or even a preliminary examination held, details of the case were never made public. I was not able to find out what had sparked the mailing of the bomb to Paterson. All I was able to learn was that Paterson had represented Price’s father in a property issue, and the family was unhappy with the outcome.
A year or more passed before I found out the rest of the story. It began when I was approached by a gentleman who said he was a close friend of Dr. Price. He said the doctor respected the way I had handled the news reports about his case and wished to have a private interview with me. He said Dr. Price wanted to tell me what really happened that lead to his arrest. Naturally I agreed to the meeting, which was set up one afternoon in Dr. Price’s office.
When I arrived, I found that the doctor had cancelled all of his patients for that afternoon. He wanted plenty of time, and no interferences during the interview. He also swore me to secrecy. He said he did not want his story to be reported in the newspaper. His only desire was to let me know what really happened so that the story might someday be revealed, and he could be exonerated. It is only now, long after I retired from that job and have left the area that I have dared to put his story in print. Because of the nature of the story, there has been no way for me to prove to his story. I later found that the details of events did happen as he said they did.
It seemed that Dr. Price treated a 16-year-old area girl brought to him by her parents. He said she had developed symptoms and tests proved she was suffering from a severe case of gonorrhea. Price said he questioned the girl as to her past sexual contacts and was alarmed when she told him her story. She had a reputation as being pernicious with the young boys in her school, and the word apparently reached the ears of one of the area police officers. There had been a party among several Sheriff’s deputies and perhaps other police officers in the area, and the girl was invited. The evening festivities led to a ‘gangbang,’ or mass rape, with a lot of local police officers getting exposed to gonorrhea. The doctor felt compelled to get the names of everybody who had contact with the girl and have all come to his office for treatment.
The deputies were cooperative to that extent. But when Dr. Price told them he was compelled by law to report the incident to the Michigan Department of Health, he was ordered by the police to keep his mouth shut. They warned him that if the matter went any farther, there would be serious consequences. Price said he had no choice and filed his report with the state.
Price said he had nothing to do with the pipe bomb that was mailed to Paterson. He said Paterson, indeed, had represented his father in a property matter, but nothing had happened that would have stirred him to have done such a malicious thing. He said he believed the bomb was a set-up, and deliberately designed to only frighten Paterson, but not to actually explode when the package was opened. When police raided his offices, Dr. Price said they apparently planted the books, wires and tools in his office that they said was evidence he manufactured the bomb. He said he never possessed such material.
Price said the police also confiscated a very expensive German microscope and a personal collection of gold and silver coins he had stored in his office at the time. These items were never recovered.
He said the case against him was so carefully designed, he had no defense. Also I had the distinct impression that Price had been threatened, and possibly promised a “deal” if he didn’t fight the charges brought against him. One year in prison was a pretty good deal for a crime of that magnitude when you think about it.
I listened to Price’s story that afternoon with great interest, but my skepticism as an experienced news reporter lingered. Could I believe such a tale? Indeed, all of the pieces of his story fit like a giant puzzle except for one thing. Why would the police have gathered to commit such a deplorable act with an underage child? I knew most of the deputies caught up in that matter personally and considered them good and well-trained officers of the law.
It was sometime much later that the last piece of that puzzle fell into place. I had a conversation with a man who was not a deputy but who worked closely with the police and let me in on a very big secret. He made me promise to never reveal where I heard it, or even pass it on because it could put both of our lives in danger. I am not revealing his name, and since I am in the last years of my life, and living far away from Sanilac County, I am putting this in print for the first time. It is a secret I have harbored for many years.
I was told by this man that there exists a secret society among police officers. He thought it might be a very large organization, possibly national in scope. It is a brotherhood much like organized criminals and motorcycle gangs maintain. When new police officers are initiated, they participate with other members in illegal and unspeakable acts, like the gang rape of a 16-year-old minor. This secures members of the brotherhood so officers will always be assured of covering for one another. Such a brotherhood would explain why police lie for one another, even when involved in public beatings of civilians and other questionable actions.
Needless to say, the things I learned surrounding the Dr. Price story destroyed any respect I ever had for police officers in Sanilac County. I would still like to think there are a few good men behind those badges, but almost every contact I have had with the police since those days have proven otherwise.
From James Donahue’s Journal
Dr. Joseph M. Price is a physician who may still be practicing medicine in Carsonville, Michigan. Dr. Price got caught up in a malicious scandal involving the mailing of a pipe bomb to John Patterson, a prominent area lawyer, and a strange outbreak of gonorrhea among several area police officers.
I tell this story with great caution, carefully omitting some details, because it is something I experienced during my work as a local crime reporter but never put into print. I felt at the time, and even now believe it’s telling could bring severe consequences. Readers will have a better understanding later in this story.
I first became aware that something had happened the day I walked into the Sanilac County Sheriff’s office to read the night log and gather the news. The dispatcher there received all of the 911 calls so kept a record of all police, fire and ambulance calls in the county. Thus it was a key stop in my daily business of gathering the news.
That morning there was some odd behavior among some of the deputies gathered in the office. They were clapping loudly and laughing as some of the officers walked in for the shift change. I was privately told that the targeted deputies had picked up a case of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, also known as “the clap” and had just been diagnosed. It apparently was a private joke among the police. I was not given any details as to how this had happened. Since my ability to gather police and fire news depended upon my relationship with the deputies, and their willingness to give me tips when things were going down, I went along with the “joke,” asked no more questions, and kept my mouth shut.
A few weeks after that . . . perhaps months later . . . a package containing a pipe bomb was delivered in the mail to the home of John Paterson. John’s young son was nearby, watching curiously as children do as Paterson opened the box. The bomb exploded. Actually, it fizzled, and the blast only shot out of one end of the pipe. Paterson received burns to his face and hands and the boy also was treated for slight burns. Since the device was sent via the mail, the FBI was quickly involved with local police in the investigation. It was a sensational news event, and a major mystery. Paterson was an active lawyer who handled both criminal and civil matters. He also was known as an outspoken personality, and it was not hard to believe that he had enemies. But who would have been so mad at him to have sent a bomb in the mail?
More time passed. It may have been a month or two later when the deputies conducted a surprise raid on the home and offices of Dr. Price, seized what they said was books, tools, wires and other “bomb-making paraphernalia,” and arrested Dr. Price on charges of manufacturing and mailing an explosive device to John Paterson’s home. Price pleaded no contest when he appeared in Sanilac County Circuit Court, and he was sentenced to spend five years in prison. A year later he was released on parole and allowed to return to Carsonville and resume his medical practice.
Because of the seriousness of the alleged crime in this matter, I thought there was something very odd about the story, and the fact that Dr. Price had received an unusually light sentence. I thought perhaps it had something to do with Price’s status in the community that won him privileges most other people would not have had under similar circumstances. Also, because there was no trial or even a preliminary examination held, details of the case were never made public. I was not able to find out what had sparked the mailing of the bomb to Paterson. All I was able to learn was that Paterson had represented Price’s father in a property issue, and the family was unhappy with the outcome.
A year or more passed before I found out the rest of the story. It began when I was approached by a gentleman who said he was a close friend of Dr. Price. He said the doctor respected the way I had handled the news reports about his case and wished to have a private interview with me. He said Dr. Price wanted to tell me what really happened that lead to his arrest. Naturally I agreed to the meeting, which was set up one afternoon in Dr. Price’s office.
When I arrived, I found that the doctor had cancelled all of his patients for that afternoon. He wanted plenty of time, and no interferences during the interview. He also swore me to secrecy. He said he did not want his story to be reported in the newspaper. His only desire was to let me know what really happened so that the story might someday be revealed, and he could be exonerated. It is only now, long after I retired from that job and have left the area that I have dared to put his story in print. Because of the nature of the story, there has been no way for me to prove to his story. I later found that the details of events did happen as he said they did.
It seemed that Dr. Price treated a 16-year-old area girl brought to him by her parents. He said she had developed symptoms and tests proved she was suffering from a severe case of gonorrhea. Price said he questioned the girl as to her past sexual contacts and was alarmed when she told him her story. She had a reputation as being pernicious with the young boys in her school, and the word apparently reached the ears of one of the area police officers. There had been a party among several Sheriff’s deputies and perhaps other police officers in the area, and the girl was invited. The evening festivities led to a ‘gangbang,’ or mass rape, with a lot of local police officers getting exposed to gonorrhea. The doctor felt compelled to get the names of everybody who had contact with the girl and have all come to his office for treatment.
The deputies were cooperative to that extent. But when Dr. Price told them he was compelled by law to report the incident to the Michigan Department of Health, he was ordered by the police to keep his mouth shut. They warned him that if the matter went any farther, there would be serious consequences. Price said he had no choice and filed his report with the state.
Price said he had nothing to do with the pipe bomb that was mailed to Paterson. He said Paterson, indeed, had represented his father in a property matter, but nothing had happened that would have stirred him to have done such a malicious thing. He said he believed the bomb was a set-up, and deliberately designed to only frighten Paterson, but not to actually explode when the package was opened. When police raided his offices, Dr. Price said they apparently planted the books, wires and tools in his office that they said was evidence he manufactured the bomb. He said he never possessed such material.
Price said the police also confiscated a very expensive German microscope and a personal collection of gold and silver coins he had stored in his office at the time. These items were never recovered.
He said the case against him was so carefully designed, he had no defense. Also I had the distinct impression that Price had been threatened, and possibly promised a “deal” if he didn’t fight the charges brought against him. One year in prison was a pretty good deal for a crime of that magnitude when you think about it.
I listened to Price’s story that afternoon with great interest, but my skepticism as an experienced news reporter lingered. Could I believe such a tale? Indeed, all of the pieces of his story fit like a giant puzzle except for one thing. Why would the police have gathered to commit such a deplorable act with an underage child? I knew most of the deputies caught up in that matter personally and considered them good and well-trained officers of the law.
It was sometime much later that the last piece of that puzzle fell into place. I had a conversation with a man who was not a deputy but who worked closely with the police and let me in on a very big secret. He made me promise to never reveal where I heard it, or even pass it on because it could put both of our lives in danger. I am not revealing his name, and since I am in the last years of my life, and living far away from Sanilac County, I am putting this in print for the first time. It is a secret I have harbored for many years.
I was told by this man that there exists a secret society among police officers. He thought it might be a very large organization, possibly national in scope. It is a brotherhood much like organized criminals and motorcycle gangs maintain. When new police officers are initiated, they participate with other members in illegal and unspeakable acts, like the gang rape of a 16-year-old minor. This secures members of the brotherhood so officers will always be assured of covering for one another. Such a brotherhood would explain why police lie for one another, even when involved in public beatings of civilians and other questionable actions.
Needless to say, the things I learned surrounding the Dr. Price story destroyed any respect I ever had for police officers in Sanilac County. I would still like to think there are a few good men behind those badges, but almost every contact I have had with the police since those days have proven otherwise.