Email from an Old Friend

43 years later a very big Thank You
Date: May 26, 2011

And Hello There Dominic Sposeto,

I'm fairly sure you'll remember me or least or case 43 years ago. I'm Brooks Hodapp of the infamous Grevin, Hodapp, Jacobs, Carrigan, Falk etc big pot bust in San Jose California, 1968.

Somehow I thought of your name tonight and I looked you up on Google and found your bio and information about your book. I'm so glad I did. Actually the name Dominic Sposeto has come to refection in my head thousands of times in the past 43 years.

43 years ago we were San Jose State students and yes we dabbled in a little pot, got busted and if the world changed for us any worse I do not what could have. We were scared, really scared to put it mildly.

I'm not sure who recommended you. We had retained John Thorne and we were looking at tens of thousands of dollars and even worse possible jail or prison time, but somehow we met with you and wow... Instantly we recognized that you were the most confidant any one any of us could have imagined. You also took on our case for next to nothing, really like you were a relative or something. I'll never forget you for this, ever.

With laughter I think about the year and half we went each week to court for a continuance after the initial preliminary hearing. Your brilliance shined at that hearing, and as I think you planed it, we never even went to trial. 
 
Every week for a year and a half you showed up to court, except the one week you had other plans. We were feared and I mean terrified of Charlie Parker, one bad ass prosecutor. So for a year we had to face "Charlie Parker", that was the worst year. So what happens, Charlie Parker becomes a partner with you. A head turner for sure. Almost to the day he leaves as a prosecutor and joins your firm you were out of town and guess who is in our corner, our attorney...Charlie Parker. His words at the time were something along the lines of "this is the weirdest thing ever to happen in my life" and it was the weirdest thing to happen in ours as well. I mean really sometimes things just are unbelievable and that was one of them.

Of course each week we would show up to court only to hear a come back next week or two weeks later. During that time in one session I remember the judge asking Candy and Georgia to put on robes as their mini-skirts were offensive to the court. Once Ben (Falk) dropped a knife in the court room, I mean a small tiny pocket knife but the whole came courtroom came to a halt as the judge threaten jail time for bringing it into court, remember it was 1968. I smile when you orchestrated the Preliminary hearing and you had all the detectives waiting outside to testify...they got everything screwed up. It was so cool. I laugh when our house was called a run down hippie pad. Yet Judge Wayne Kanimoto had been to our home as John Carrigan had been a foreign exchange student in Japan and Mr. Kanimoto had come to our "hippie pad" to visit with John. So many weird coincidences and looking back many years later it was the worst but really the best of times. And for it being the best results I have to thank you Mr. Sposeto. And I do mean that with reverence. I think I can speak for all 6 of us that we would salute or bow if you walked into a room, you were really that good and fair.
As life has it ways I have had little contact with all my friends of the famous bust, we move away, go different directions.  I know our case was an important decision in the Judicial realm, the no knock law etc., but for us it was a chapter. I can think back and smile now. I cannot imagine what might have been (jail, prison) had it not been for your kindness and again brilliance.

I offer my sincere gratitude many years later.

Thank you Dominic,
Brooks P. Hodapp

La Famiglia and Their Blind Advocate
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