Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Outcome of The Trial
Below is the article announcing the outcome of the trial of Dennis Schwendiman for giving GHB to my brother Stephen (pictured below with my daughter Mya) and then lying to the grand jury about it. While this will not bring Stephen back, it has helped my parents to cope knowing that because Dennis was involved and he lied to the police and everyone about the whole situation, some justice will be served. I just went to the article and there are a lot of comments in support of this decision and some against.
This February will be six years since Stephen passed away. We miss him everyday.
Man guilty of perjury in GHB case
By: Gary Weckselblatt
The Intelligencer
When it was all over, after the jury had announced its verdict, Dave Zellis walked from the prosecutor's table to the back of the courtroom and leaned over the railing to speak with Jon and Tobi Krueger.
Hopefully he took a deep breath, because Tobi Krueger gave him a strong hug.
"I've been waiting five years for this," she said.
She was referring to the jury's guilty verdict in Bucks County Court Friday for Dennis Schwendiman on three of four charges in the drug-induced death of Stephen Krueger.
A former county resident now living in Elmont, N.Y., Schwendiman, 36, faces seven years in prison for perjury, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of false swearing. He was found not guilty for delivery of a controlled substance.
"Dennis isn't getting what he should be getting, but he is being held responsible," said Tobi Krueger, who wanted to thank the jury for their efforts.
Jon Krueger said Schwendiman "could try to lie to the grand jury and to police, but he knows what he did. He's going to have plenty of time to think about it now."
On Feb. 23, 2004, Schwendiman admitted giving Stephen Krueger, 22, a sports drink laced with gamma hydroxybutyric acid, known as "GHB" or "scoops" at the L.A. Fitness in Falls, where Krueger was employed.
GHB is an illegal depressant and intoxicant that has been used as a date rape drug and abused at all-night dance parties. The substance is also taken by weightlifters, who use it to help them sleep and recover quickly from a workout.
After Krueger became ill, Schwendiman drove him to the Middletown home of his mother, who was out of town. Schwendiman helped him to his mother's bed and then went out to eat with another L.A. Fitness employee.
Later that night, returning to his mother's home, Schwendiman said he tried to wake Krueger up but his "eyes kept rolling back" and he had vomited in the bed.
He took him downstairs but "he had very little leg to him."
Rather than call 911, Schwendiman drove Krueger to Frankford Hospital. During the trial he testified that he told emergency room personnel at Frankford Hospital that Krueger had consumed GHB. But when Zellis asked him to read the hospital's report on Krueger, it didn't mention the drug.
"And you know that would be the first thing they'd put down," Zellis said.
David H. Knight, Schwendiman's attorney, said his client "certainly could have prevented the death if he operated more responsibly. He has been over this a million times, and knows he should have taken him out of L.A. Fitness right to the hospital."
Knight said he couldn't "quibble" with the jury's verdict. "I am very pleased with the fact he was acquitted of the delivery charge. For perjury, he will face some consequences."
Zellis, Bucks County's First Assistant District Attorney, said Schwendiman lied to "save himself from any criminal responsibility in Stephen Krueger's death. Now he faces a felony conviction and jail time for his lies."
Schwendiman, Zellis said, had a "cavalier, arrogant demeanor throughout this whole investigation."
The conviction, he said, "reinforces the fact that if you're called to testify (to a grand jury) you better tell the truth or we're going to go after you for perjury."
For Jon and Tobi Krueger, who silently sat side-by-side during the three-day trial, the jury's verdict will bring them a measure of peace.
And while "February has been a bad month" since their son's death five years ago, Jon Krueger said, this February will bring the promise of a bright future when their daughter Heather Bostwick is scheduled to give birth to twins.
Gary Weckselblatt can be reached at 215-345-3169 or gweckselblatt@phillyburbs.com.
September 19, 2009 05:00 AM
This February will be six years since Stephen passed away. We miss him everyday.
By: Gary Weckselblatt
The Intelligencer
When it was all over, after the jury had announced its verdict, Dave Zellis walked from the prosecutor's table to the back of the courtroom and leaned over the railing to speak with Jon and Tobi Krueger.
Hopefully he took a deep breath, because Tobi Krueger gave him a strong hug.
"I've been waiting five years for this," she said.
She was referring to the jury's guilty verdict in Bucks County Court Friday for Dennis Schwendiman on three of four charges in the drug-induced death of Stephen Krueger.
A former county resident now living in Elmont, N.Y., Schwendiman, 36, faces seven years in prison for perjury, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of false swearing. He was found not guilty for delivery of a controlled substance.
"Dennis isn't getting what he should be getting, but he is being held responsible," said Tobi Krueger, who wanted to thank the jury for their efforts.
Jon Krueger said Schwendiman "could try to lie to the grand jury and to police, but he knows what he did. He's going to have plenty of time to think about it now."
On Feb. 23, 2004, Schwendiman admitted giving Stephen Krueger, 22, a sports drink laced with gamma hydroxybutyric acid, known as "GHB" or "scoops" at the L.A. Fitness in Falls, where Krueger was employed.
GHB is an illegal depressant and intoxicant that has been used as a date rape drug and abused at all-night dance parties. The substance is also taken by weightlifters, who use it to help them sleep and recover quickly from a workout.
After Krueger became ill, Schwendiman drove him to the Middletown home of his mother, who was out of town. Schwendiman helped him to his mother's bed and then went out to eat with another L.A. Fitness employee.
Later that night, returning to his mother's home, Schwendiman said he tried to wake Krueger up but his "eyes kept rolling back" and he had vomited in the bed.
He took him downstairs but "he had very little leg to him."
Rather than call 911, Schwendiman drove Krueger to Frankford Hospital. During the trial he testified that he told emergency room personnel at Frankford Hospital that Krueger had consumed GHB. But when Zellis asked him to read the hospital's report on Krueger, it didn't mention the drug.
"And you know that would be the first thing they'd put down," Zellis said.
David H. Knight, Schwendiman's attorney, said his client "certainly could have prevented the death if he operated more responsibly. He has been over this a million times, and knows he should have taken him out of L.A. Fitness right to the hospital."
Knight said he couldn't "quibble" with the jury's verdict. "I am very pleased with the fact he was acquitted of the delivery charge. For perjury, he will face some consequences."
Zellis, Bucks County's First Assistant District Attorney, said Schwendiman lied to "save himself from any criminal responsibility in Stephen Krueger's death. Now he faces a felony conviction and jail time for his lies."
Schwendiman, Zellis said, had a "cavalier, arrogant demeanor throughout this whole investigation."
The conviction, he said, "reinforces the fact that if you're called to testify (to a grand jury) you better tell the truth or we're going to go after you for perjury."
For Jon and Tobi Krueger, who silently sat side-by-side during the three-day trial, the jury's verdict will bring them a measure of peace.
And while "February has been a bad month" since their son's death five years ago, Jon Krueger said, this February will bring the promise of a bright future when their daughter Heather Bostwick is scheduled to give birth to twins.
Gary Weckselblatt can be reached at 215-345-3169 or gweckselblatt@phillyburbs.com.
September 19, 2009 05:00 AM
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Matzah Ball Soup
The leftover matzah ball soup. If you notice the noodles mixed in (untraditional), it's to appease the children :)
Michael's First Flag Football Game
Michael had his first flag football game last night and his team won. As you can see, he is the smallest player on his team and the youngest but he did very well and continues to improve.
Friday, September 18, 2009
PhillyBurbs.com: Case goes to jury in overdose death
This was my brother Stephen...
Below is the article in today's Bucks County Courier Times about the trial currently going on in Doyelstown.
Case goes to jury in overdose death
By: GARY WECKSELBLATT
Bucks County Courier Times
A former Bucks County man is accused of lacing a friend's drink with GHB, the date rape drug.
Dennis Schwendiman is either falsely accused by authorities looking to lock someone up for the death of another man or he's someone that provided a lethal drug to his victim and then lied to the grand jury to cover it up.
That's what 12 men and women from Bucks County must decipher as they deliberate the fate of Schwendiman following closing arguments Thursday.
An ex-county resident now living in Elmont, N.Y., Schwendiman, 36, is charged with supplying a drug-laced drink to Stephen Krueger, a former co-worker at LA Fitness in Falls, in 2004. He faces up to 16 years in prison for delivery of a controlled substance, perjury and two counts of false swearing.
The drug that killed the 22-year-old Krueger was gamma hydroxybutyric acid, known as "GHB" or "scoops."
GHB is an illegal depressant and intoxicant that has been used as a date rape drug and abused at all-night dance parties. The substance is also taken by weightlifters, who use it to help them sleep well and recover quickly from a workout.
Bucks County First Assistant District Attorney David Zellis argued that there are significant discrepancies between what Schwendiman told police in an interview shortly after Krueger's death and testimony he gave at a grand jury hearing in 2006.
Testimony from Falls Detective Cpl. John Martin and a re-reading of Schwendiman's 2006 testimony indicates he gave different accounts of how much he knew about GHB at the time of Krueger's death, among other discrepancies.
Eight witnesses testified Thursday. Several said events from five years ago were difficult to recall, and both attorneys read their grand jury testimony.
"This is about consciousness of guilt," Zellis said. "He knows what he did. He knows he gave Stephen Krueger the deadly bottle + and he doesn't want to be held liable.
"Stephen trusted him. He didn't know what was in it, and drank it."
In addition, Schwendiman testified Thursday that he told emergency room personnel at Frankford Hospital that Krueger had consumed the drug. But when Zellis asked him to read the hospital's report on Krueger, it didn't mention GHB.
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"And you know that would be the first thing they'd put down," Zellis said.
David H. Knight, Schwendiman's attorney, said he felt bad for Krueger family members, who were in the courtroom, but told the jury that there's a lack of evidence and "you cannot point to this young man and say he's guilty."
A key issue is whether the GHB that killed Krueger came from his own drink or one supplied him by Schwendiman.
Pamela Wright of Langhorne, a former LA Fitness employee and now a Philadelphia school teacher, testified that on the night of Krueger's death, Feb. 23, 2004, she had asked Schwendiman for a "sip" from a Gatorade bottle she said he was holding.
He told her no, but later overheard him tell Krueger "try this, you'll like it." When Krueger asked, "What's in it?" Schwendiman said "trust me, take a sip."
Knight claimed Wright was distracted because she was talking on her cell phone and saying good night to people as she was leaving the club after her shift.
Schwendiman said it was Krueger who asked him, "Hey, you want some?"
Later that night, after Krueger became ill at the club, Schwendiman grabbed his bag at the front desk and told Scott Hewitson, another employee, that "Steve's not feeling well. + He said he has taken G. He also said he had told him not to take that much."
Another gym employee, Andrea Carabillo of Bensalem, who went out to eat with Schwendiman that evening, said he told her, "I gave him GHB. + I told him to sip it."
She also said Schwendiman said he could get her some. She declined. On the witness stand, Schwendiman said he was joking.
The jury deliberated for about two hours Thursday and is expected back in Judge Jeffrey L. Finley's courtroom at 9:30 this morning.
September 18, 2009 02:21 AM
Below is the article in today's Bucks County Courier Times about the trial currently going on in Doyelstown.
Case goes to jury in overdose death
By: GARY WECKSELBLATT
Bucks County Courier Times
A former Bucks County man is accused of lacing a friend's drink with GHB, the date rape drug.
Dennis Schwendiman is either falsely accused by authorities looking to lock someone up for the death of another man or he's someone that provided a lethal drug to his victim and then lied to the grand jury to cover it up.
That's what 12 men and women from Bucks County must decipher as they deliberate the fate of Schwendiman following closing arguments Thursday.
An ex-county resident now living in Elmont, N.Y., Schwendiman, 36, is charged with supplying a drug-laced drink to Stephen Krueger, a former co-worker at LA Fitness in Falls, in 2004. He faces up to 16 years in prison for delivery of a controlled substance, perjury and two counts of false swearing.
The drug that killed the 22-year-old Krueger was gamma hydroxybutyric acid, known as "GHB" or "scoops."
GHB is an illegal depressant and intoxicant that has been used as a date rape drug and abused at all-night dance parties. The substance is also taken by weightlifters, who use it to help them sleep well and recover quickly from a workout.
Bucks County First Assistant District Attorney David Zellis argued that there are significant discrepancies between what Schwendiman told police in an interview shortly after Krueger's death and testimony he gave at a grand jury hearing in 2006.
Testimony from Falls Detective Cpl. John Martin and a re-reading of Schwendiman's 2006 testimony indicates he gave different accounts of how much he knew about GHB at the time of Krueger's death, among other discrepancies.
Eight witnesses testified Thursday. Several said events from five years ago were difficult to recall, and both attorneys read their grand jury testimony.
"This is about consciousness of guilt," Zellis said. "He knows what he did. He knows he gave Stephen Krueger the deadly bottle + and he doesn't want to be held liable.
"Stephen trusted him. He didn't know what was in it, and drank it."
In addition, Schwendiman testified Thursday that he told emergency room personnel at Frankford Hospital that Krueger had consumed the drug. But when Zellis asked him to read the hospital's report on Krueger, it didn't mention GHB.
Advertisement Click here!
"And you know that would be the first thing they'd put down," Zellis said.
David H. Knight, Schwendiman's attorney, said he felt bad for Krueger family members, who were in the courtroom, but told the jury that there's a lack of evidence and "you cannot point to this young man and say he's guilty."
A key issue is whether the GHB that killed Krueger came from his own drink or one supplied him by Schwendiman.
Pamela Wright of Langhorne, a former LA Fitness employee and now a Philadelphia school teacher, testified that on the night of Krueger's death, Feb. 23, 2004, she had asked Schwendiman for a "sip" from a Gatorade bottle she said he was holding.
He told her no, but later overheard him tell Krueger "try this, you'll like it." When Krueger asked, "What's in it?" Schwendiman said "trust me, take a sip."
Knight claimed Wright was distracted because she was talking on her cell phone and saying good night to people as she was leaving the club after her shift.
Schwendiman said it was Krueger who asked him, "Hey, you want some?"
Later that night, after Krueger became ill at the club, Schwendiman grabbed his bag at the front desk and told Scott Hewitson, another employee, that "Steve's not feeling well. + He said he has taken G. He also said he had told him not to take that much."
Another gym employee, Andrea Carabillo of Bensalem, who went out to eat with Schwendiman that evening, said he told her, "I gave him GHB. + I told him to sip it."
She also said Schwendiman said he could get her some. She declined. On the witness stand, Schwendiman said he was joking.
The jury deliberated for about two hours Thursday and is expected back in Judge Jeffrey L. Finley's courtroom at 9:30 this morning.
September 18, 2009 02:21 AM
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Michael's Flag Football Team 2009
Team photo
Michael's Flag Football Team 2009
Team photo
Flag football photo
Individual photo
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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