Hi Don,
"Mo-rahn." I'll add that to my "Wish I Had Said It" list!
In researching Rahn's professional and personal backgrounds over the years, I've come across two very interesting stories -- one or both of which might account for the motivations behind what is his transparent (except to University of Rhode Island undergrads and Poly Sci Department heads, that is) irrationality regarding this case.
A significant portion of Rahn's DOD-relevant academic research -- including international junkets -- likely were funded by the USG.
Ken Rahn, Jr., bank robber and interstate fugitive, got into very hot water with the FBI in 1998 (see Providence Journal story below).
There is smoke to be discerned here -- smoke that may be concealing means to leverage Rahn's role in the multi-faceted, ongoing operation to lend the credibility of the academy to the LN lie.
For another Rahn expose, see:
http://www.assassinationresearch.com/v3n...dolmar.pdf
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From the Providence Journal, July 31, 1998
SOUTH KINGSTOWN Thirteen months ago, two young men from South County who flipped burgers at a Wakefield Newport
Creamery shocked their families and friends by walking into a Charlestown bank with a loaded 12-gauge shotgun, ordering
everyone on the floor, then leading police on a five-day nationwide manhunt. The armed robbery was made more disturbing
by the fact that one of the robbers, Kenneth A. Rahn Jr., of Narragansett, was a former Eagle Scout and West Point cadet,
while the other, Jason M. Morrell, of North Kingstown, was an ex-Marine.
"Dear Cops: . . . Don't try to find me - you won't catch me," Rahn taunted police in a note he left in his apartment.
Yesterday, their heads hung low, Rahn, now 25, and Morrell, 26, appeared before Superior Court Judge Frank Williams for
sentencing. In an emotional scene, relatives and friends of the pair begged Williams to show some mercy, insisting that their
crime, however horrible, was an aberration.
"Please give me back my son in time for him to get on with his life," pleaded Kenneth Rahn Sr., a noted oceanography
professor at the University of Rhode Island.
"In my judgment, he is already largely rehabilitated. He feels horrible about this," Rahn said.
Morrell's father, John, noted that when police were hunting for his son, he told The Providence Journal that he trusted Jason
to "do the right thing." A few days later, Morrell turned himself in to police in Anaheim, Calif. Morrell said he has that same
faith in his son today.
"He knows he has done a terrible thing. He wants desperately to make amends," Morrell said in a letter to the court, which
was read by his son's lawyer, Neal Steingold.
But three of the people who were in the Charlestown branch of Washington Trust Company June 2, 1997, when Rahn and
Morrell burst in at 9:30 a.m. dressed in black and camouflage fatigues, told Williams that their lives have been forever
changed by the robbery.
"It is something I will never forget," said Christopher Sheehan, a bank employee.
As he was lying on the bank floor that morning, Sheehan said he wondered if he would ever see his wife and children again.
About 25 people were in the bank at the time of the robbery; none was harmed physically. But several other employees and
customers of the bank told Williams in letters that the crime has caused them to live in fear.
One woman said she thinks of the robbery every time she stands in line at a bank; another said she dropped to the floor while
she was washing dishes in her home because she heard someone on television say, "Everyone get down."
At one time in their lives, Rahn and Morrell may have been exceptional young men, but that's not who they are, one victim
said.
Prosecutor Alan Goulart asked Williams to sentence the pair to the most he could under the terms of a plea agreement
reached with the state. In exchange for guilty pleas to all counts, Williams said he would cap the time they could possibly
serve in prison to 15 years.
Not only was this crime planned in advance, but it was also horrifyingly meaningless, Goulart said.
"A lot of this was just for the thrill of it. That is what is particularly galling, particulary scary," he said.
Williams noted this terror before pronouncing sentence. In addition to the people in the bank that day, "Our community is the
victim in this crime," he said.
Williams said that as a soldier in Vietnam he knew fear, but at least he expected it.
"The people who work at Washington Trust do not expect to fear death," Williams said.
The judge conceded that Rahn and Morrell had personal problems, "but don't most American citizens have problems without
resorting to whim, caprice and a senseless act of violence?" the judge said.
"We've reached a point in our culture where many defendants believe that they, too, are victims. I can't accept that,"
Williams said.
He sentenced both men to 50 years in the Adult Correctional Institutions, 15 to serve, on the counts of first-degree robbery.
Both were also charged with one count each of conspiracy to rob, for which they were sentenced to 10 years to run
concurrently. Rahn, whom prosecutors say had carried the shotgun, was sentenced to additional time, also to run
concurrently.
When they are released, they both must also perform 1,000 hours of community service.
Before sentence was pronounced, both defendants apologized for their crimes.
"With all my heart, I'm very sorry," Morrell said, turning to look at bank employees in court. "I did it and I'm sorry and I will pay
for it."