Post

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
Click again on or Share Via icon
Click on Copy Link to Tweet
Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
More info at Twitter Help

Lou Raguse

@LouRaguse

Jun 24 • 11 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X

Scrolly

I talked to Hennepin County Board candidate Marisa Simonetti after she was released from jail this morning on a 5th Degree assault charge. She says the alleged victim is a female squatter who won’t leave @M_Simonetti28’s basement at her Edina home. Story at 6:30 @kare11 Breaking the News.

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 This is quickly becoming one of the wackier stories I have covered in recent time... stay tuned.

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 The alleged victim in the case Jackie Vasquez has provided this photo of the live tarantula she says Marisa Simonetti threw at her. An officer put it in this box, she said. The other photo is stuff she says Simonetti and an older man threw.

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 Michael Charles Held, 69, of St. Louis Park was also charged with assault-5, cited and released by police.

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 The 5th degree assault charge Simonetti faces is coded by Edina Police as "intimidation."
Since it's a misdemeanor there is no criminal complaint. I am still awaiting a lot of details from the city attorney to flesh out what police have said.

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 Over the weekend, @CrimeWatchMpls posted details about Simonetti's past case involving her ex-fiance, embattled Woodbury dentist Marko Kamel who was subject of this Star Tribune article last week startribune.com/they-paid-thou…

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 @CrimeWatchMpls Regarding the criminal charge of credit card fraud that was dismissed, Simonetti she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of their civil settlement.

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 @CrimeWatchMpls Also of note, Marisa Simonetti and the father of her child have harassment restraining orders against each other. He makes allegations of assault and stalking against her. Lots of ugly text messages between both of them. She says they have a workable co-parenting arrangement now.

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 @CrimeWatchMpls Here is a screenshot from a video the ex-boyfriend filed with the court where he says Simonetti was assaulting him. (I redacted his face)

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 @CrimeWatchMpls And the ex-boyfriend also said Marisa Simonetti created a Grindr account in his name, chatted with people while pretending to be him, then men started arriving at his door and family members' doors expecting to hook up.

@M_Simonetti28 @kare11 @CrimeWatchMpls Regarding Simonetti's driving record, she applied for expungement this year but was denied. She said on her application her 20s were a stressful time and she was the target of domestic abuse and she is rehabilitated. She pointed out to me last ticket was 2 years ago.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @LouRaguse

Lou Raguse

@LouRaguse

Jun 13

The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor special review 120 page report is out concerning @MnDeptEd's oversight of Feeding our Future. The report is damning to MDE. Read the full report here and I will post highlights: auditor.leg.state.mn.us/sreview/pdf/20…

@MnDeptEd For context, @MnDeptEd oversaw Feeding our Future, which was the nonprofit that sponsored meal sites during the pandemic -- many fraudulent and involved with the 70 people federally indicted (23 convicted so far.)

@MnDeptEd Here is the @MnDeptEd's response, saying "The responsibility for this flagrant fraud lies with the indicted and convicted fraudsters."

Read 17 tweets

Lou Raguse

@LouRaguse

Jun 7

BREAKING: The jury has a verdict in the Feeding our Future trial! Follow me for updates. @kare11

The verdict will be read at 1pm

https://twitter.com/louraguse/status/1798707994198249731

If you want to spend the next 15 minutes catching up on the case you can start with this:

https://twitter.com/louraguse/status/1798707994198249731

Read 30 tweets

Lou Raguse

@LouRaguse

Jun 6

Will there be a verdict today? Thursday is Day 3 of jury deliberations in the Feeding our Future trial. Here is an article to catch you up on the latest developments including the investigation into the attempted $120,000 juror bribe.
kare11.com/article/news/l…

I'll help with a little catch-you-up here. The Feeding our Future case involves 70 defendants in all but only 7 of them are on trial right now. 18 have pleaded guilty. $250 million has been stolen, but these 7 account for $47 to $49 million, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say the fraud happened during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools were closed and food insecurity was a real issue for a lot of families. The defendants created "meal sites" under the sponsorship of nonprofits Feeding our Future and Partners in Nutrition and claimed to serve meals to children in need. They would submit reimbursement claims to FoF and PiN who would then go through the MN Dept of Education to get the money that originated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Read 23 tweets

Lou Raguse

@LouRaguse

May 31

In a two-hour closing argument this morning, federal prosecutor Joe Thompson succinctly went through the mountain of evidence against the 7 defendants in the first Feeding our Future trial in Minneapolis. I'll outline here what the jury heard.

That may sound like an oxymoron -- "two-hour closing argument" and "succinctly" in the same sentence, but that is the best way to describe it. And the 7 defense attorneys who will spend the rest of today and into Monday countering it have a heck of a task ahead of them.

Thompson began by reminding the jury of the setting of the fraud, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how children in need at a basic level still needed to eat.
"People who saw opportunity in the crisis... opportunity to take advantage of the vulnerability of others."

Read 30 tweets

Lou Raguse

@LouRaguse

Apr 30

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty is explaining to the county board why she needs to hire outside attorneys for the Trooper Londregan case. She says they are down 10 attorneys in the adult prosecution division.

Moriarty says this case is "unique in the way it's being litigated," saying the defense has three lawyers hired.

She says with the staff shortage, she can't afford to assign three prosecutors from the adult prosecution division to this case.

No one has come out and stated the cost of the contract, but Commissioner Lunde makes it sound like the initial retainer for these outside attorneys is $1 million. He is asking, if that money runs out before the case is over, would they have to sign another $1 million contract?

Read 11 tweets

Lou Raguse

@LouRaguse

Feb 19

I had an incredible interview today with Noemi Torres -- the ex-girlfriend of the Burnsville police murderer Shannon Gooden. Torres says during their abusive relationship, Gooden would claim he'd shoot police if she called 911 on him.

Noemi had three children with Gooden.

Those three kids were in the house during the stand-off. Noemi says Gooden put ear muffs on his daughter before he started shooting police.

Noemi was often on the losing end of their on-going custody battle. Court documents show he always had a very stable and high-paying job doing auto body work at LeMettry's. They shared custody but the judge ordered the kids to stay with Shannon Gooden about 2/3 of the time.