Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Wisconsin Budget Showdown: Massive Demonstrators at Capitol; Scott Brown Tells "60 Minutes" He Was Sexually Abused; Strong Winds Whip Across Northeast; Heart-broken Mother Lashes Out at Convicted Judge; Philadelphia Man Forecloses on Bank
Aired February 19, 2011 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: They came, a new army, they are shooting everybody in the streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Chilling words from an eyewitness after government troops crackdown on protesters in Libya. It's a story you'll only hear on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
My kid's not here, he's dead. Because of him. He ruined by (BLEEP) life. I'd like him to go to hell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Wait until you hear the rest of what this mother told a judge who got kickbacks for sending kids to jail. One of those kids was her son, who committed suicide.
And the controversy over the girl wrestler and it is ever OK -- is it ever OK for a boy to fight a girl. We'll find out. Our Dr. Wendy Walsh is here to weigh in on that.
Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon. But first, we want to get you caught up on the top stories of the day. And we start tonight in Wisconsin where massive protests over the state budget bill are now in a fifth day. The bill would strip public workers have collective bargaining and force them to pay more for benefits. Republican Governor Scott Walker says, the state needs to pay its bills and ultimately this will save jobs. Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate fled the state to stall a vote on the bill. We've got a live report on this from the capital in just a few minutes here on CNN.
The Libyan military is putting down new protests in Benghazi with brutal tactics. Witnesses report bloody clashes between demonstrators and the military. A doctor treating the injured in one hospital said at least 30 people died, most from gunshot wounds to the head. One woman in Benghazi told CNN that soldiers said, they were joining the protests, but then turned their guns on the crowds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
We are very -- we are near the camp, the big camp downtown in Benghazi. This camp for Qaddafi's house, and all the people warn, get inside to this camp. After that, the soldiers shoot the people and killed many, many young people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: To Bahrain now. Fear turned to joy today as protesters surged into the square where they battled security forces earlier this week. The crown prince ordered the military to leave the pearl roundabout to the protesters. He said, they could remain there without fear, and that the government is open to dialogue. We'll have more on the uprising in Bahrain ahead in this show.
Somali pirates hijacked this yacht with four Americans on board yesterday. That's according to U.S. military officials. It happened on the Indian Ocean as the vessel was headed to Amman. It's not clear who the abducted Americans are, but the yacht, the S.V. Quest, is registered to Jean and Scott Adam, a California couple who have spent the last seven years traveling the world.
The mayor of Poughkeepsie, New York, called yesterday perhaps the worst day in the city's history after the fatal shooting of a police officer. The officer, who still has not been named, was responding to a shooting in a parking lot. Police say, they had a confrontation with a man holding a child. Police rescued the child but afterward the man allegedly shot and killed the officer, a woman though to be his wife in cell and injured a second officer. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF RONALD KNAPP, POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK POLICE: It is our belief that the suspect killed himself after firing at least two shots at the officers, one of them hitting officer Falcone. So just to make that clear, none of the police officers at the scene discharged their weapons.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: My kid's not here, he's dead, because of him! He ruined by (BLEEP) life. I'd like him to go to hell and rot there ever. Do you remember my son?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That is a mother's outrage over her son's suicide that she says was caused by this man. He is a former judge. A jury found him guilty of receiving money to send kids away to a juvenile facility even for minor offenses. You'll hear everything she said and more details on this tragic story just a little later on this hour on CNN.
In an early morning vote, the House passed a budget with some deep cuts in it. The GOP-backed bill would cut more than $60 billion in federal funding for the seven months left in the current fiscal year. The battle now moves to the Senate where Democrats have called the cuts extreme. And President Obama has already threatened a veto. If the sides can't come to an agreement, it could mean a government shutdown. I want to get back to Wisconsin now and the budget showdown that's drawing massive protests there.
CNN's Casey Wian has been in the middle of the protest crowd for a few days now. So, Casey joins us live just ahead here on CNN.
All right. Let's go to Casey now. Casey, what are you seeing now? We understand that there were Tea Partiers that were going to come together and then also these protesters. They met today. What happened?
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been an incredible day, Don, here. We just spoke to local police and they said they had more than 100,000 people here on both sides of this controversial issue here at the Wisconsin state capitol. You can see, we've still got some protesters behind us, but what drew the big crowds today is the fact that the Tea Party, which is supporting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his efforts to take power away from the state unions and try to balance the state's budget, they showed up in big numbers. So the unions, the teachers and others who stand to lose their collective bargaining rights, many of them, and have to contribute more for health and pension benefits, they showed up in large numbers as well to sort of counter that Tea Party presence. What's been incredible is the fact that there was so many people here but with very, very divided, strongly held opinions. There was a lot of anger, but there was absolutely no violence. It was really a peaceful protest. Despite that, people are bitterly divided in this state over these issues. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM PHILLIPS, AMERICAN FOR PROSPERITY: Wisconsin is ground zero. I think it's going to determine largely whether or not the pampered nature of these public employees is finally reined in, so that they're paying for health care, they're paying for pensions in a level that the private sector is doing. I think this is the ground zero.
KAREN SCHWEDRSKY, PROTESTER: This will cost us an additional $208 to $567 a month for our family. Just to have health insurance, on an income of $50,000 a year. We need to look at alternatives here. We need to find solutions here that create jobs. We don't need to divide this country. Everybody who works deserves rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIAN: Now, despite those concerns about the financial hardship, the state union employees might face, they say the biggest issue is the potential loss of their collective bargaining rights. They say that they're willing to give up on the financial issue. They came out and said that today. They're pretty much negotiating in public. The governor, however, says he needs to reform the way the union contracts are done in order to stop the potential layoff of 6,000 state employees over the next couple of years. Right now, neither side willing to budge -- Don.
LEMON: And I have to say to we reached out to the governor today and spoke with his press person. We asked him to come on. He said he couldn't this weekend and he has not been on CNN. So, our invitation to the governor. Meantime, Casey, you've been -- this is the fifth day now. How long can this go on? How long this is going to go on protesters, are they giving you any indication?
WIAN: Well, the protesters we've spoken, to the ones on the union side, they say they are going to stay here until the governor sits down at the negotiating table with them. The governor says, he's not going to do that because the state doesn't have enough money to even conduct good faith negotiations. We spoke to a couple of police officers and they have been told not to make any plans for several days. These protests could go on through this week. What's going to be interesting to see is when school resumes on Monday and after the federal holiday when state legislators come back on Tuesday, we'll see if there's any movement. But right now, both sides seem to be digging in their heels, not willing to budge on this issue -- Don.
LEMON: Casey Wian in Madison, Wisconsin, which has been his post for the past five days. Thank you very much for that, Casey.
Next here on CNN -- protests in Bahrain. The military opens fire on a crowd as CNN's cameras are rolling.
And here's to the little guy. We hear a lot these days about banks foreclosing on homeowners. Well, this hour, you'll going to meet a man who foreclosed on his bank. You heard me right. And we're not talking about some small bank either, try Wells Fargo. And I'm online, I know you are too. Make sure you check out my social media accounts and let's connect. But first, before we go to break, you could be living in one of the -- one of America's angriest towns. A new report by menshealth.com has ranked the angriest U.S. cities. Here's a list of them. Number five is Newark, New Jersey. Number four, Sin City, Las Vegas, Nevada. Number three, St. Petersburg, Florida. So what are the top two angriest cities in the U.S.? Don't get mad, you'll have to wait until after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Does your city rank? Does your city rank when it comes to anger and aggravated assault? If so, you may be living in one of the angriest cities in the U.S. According to men's health magazine, here are the top two angry towns topping the list. The two angry towns that are topping the list. Taking number two spot is Baltimore, Maryland, sorry Baltimore. And the number one, the number one angriest city in America given the current state of economy there, there may have been some good reason behind it, and good reason for people there to be upset. It is Detroit, Michigan. So, sorry, motor city, I'm just the messenger here.
A tale of two nations facing fierce uprisings. In Libya, widespread reports of bloodshed in the city of Benghazi as the military brutally puts down protests in the street. Of course, Libya tightly controls the media, so confrontation is very difficult there and the government hasn't responded to our requests for access. While in Bahrain, the government appears to be backing down just days after it violently rushed protesters in the pearl roundabout, the military has withdrawn from the area, allowing demonstrators back in. Of course, these are just two of the many countries caught up in the current Mideast rebellion and revolt this year. And a day ago in Bahrain, it was a very different situation. There were no smiles then, only tears, screaming, and a bitter certainty that this would end in bloodshed.
CNN's Arwa Damon was in Manama and spoke to victims of the government's ruthless crackdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Covered in blood, Mohammed says, I told everyone to put their hands up, as a sign of peace. Then I saw the military crouch down like this. A man standing next to him was shot in the head, he tells us. Our conversation ends abruptly when the military opens fire once again, using steel pellets and live ammunition. The crowds scatter. After a few moments, some demonstrators start to pray. Others decide to push their front line further forward.
(on camera) Are you willing to die for this?
ALI THIAF, ANTI-GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATOR: Absolutely. That's why I'm here. There is something wrong dying for our country or for our rights?
DAMON: What's your name?
THIAF: My name is Ali. Ali Thiaf.
DAMON: Ali Thiaf?
THIAF: Yes.
(voice-over) The military and police launch their fiercest assault yet, now using tear gas. The government says, it will not allow the protesters to own the streets. We could hear volleys of gunfire. Its sheer chaos. The crowds flee. Past more ambulances loading the injured. Scenes that have polarized this tiny island kingdom. On Friday night, the king appealed for dialogue with all parties, but with emotions running high on all sides, it's still far from clear if his olive branch will be accepted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
That was CNN's Arwa Damon reporting from the chaotic streets of Manama, Bahrain before the military pulled out of the pearl roundabout.
A high school wrestler forfeits his match for the state championship all because his opponent is a girl. It's not because he was afraid of losing, he says. It just wasn't right. Do you agree? We're going to discuss this with human behavior expert, Dr. Wendy Walsh, in just moments.
But first, President Obama's 2012 budget calls for $4.3 billion for recruiting and training new teachers and principals. A portion of that money will go toward recruiting teachers in the so-called stem fields, Science, technology, engineering and Math. The goal is to get 100,000 new stem teachers in schools over the next decade. But that may be easier said than done. Here's CNN's Christine Romans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY NAGELHOUT, TEACHER, FAITH CHRIASTIAN ACADEMY: You really think she's right? Yes, she is.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 31 years as an engineer, Gary Nagelhout is starting a new career. Math teacher at Faith Christian Academy in Poughkeepsie, New York.
NAGELHOUT: I was very comfortable where I was. I loved my job. But my heart was to be with the kids, and to work with students.
ROMANS: President Obama wants to hire 10,000 highly qualified Science and Math teachers like Gary Nagelhout in the next year, 100,000 over the next decade. A lofty goal to fix a critical problem.
NAGELHOUT: Everybody good with that?
KATE WALSH, PRES. NATL. COUNCIL ON TEACHER QUALITY: You have some of the top CEOs in the nation going into the president and screaming that the workforce that they're getting is not the workforce that they absolutely require to sustain a growing economy.
ROMANS: It's a catch-22. U.S. students lag in achievement in Math and Science. Those who do go into these fields often don't want to trade six-figure corporate salaries for lower teacher pay.
NAGELHOUT: I can afford to do it because I'm old enough to retire.
ROMANS: Nagelhout, who designed chips at IBM, also got help paying for his teacher training and certification from IBM which says, it's investing in his future workforce.
(on camera) This is getting the skills of a Math or a scientist in the real world, in corporate America, getting it into a classroom, so that kids can learn from that experience.
ROBIN WILLNER, V.P., IBM GLOBAL COMMUNITY INITIATIVES: They made their money, they put their kids through college and now they're saying, that was always my passion.
ROMANS (voice-over): IBM has put 31 teachers in the classroom so far, but it's a drop in the bucket.
WALSH: We're going to have to be looking to compensation, we're going to have to be starting much earlier at training the next generation of teachers by providing much more solid mathematics education in the way that other countries do.
ROMANS: What students need is another 99,999 Gary Nagelhout.
NAGELHOUT: I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. This is fun. It really is a blast.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Scott Brown broke into one of the nation's longest lasting democratic strongholds, the state of Massachusetts. Last year, the 51-year-old republican replaced Ted Kennedy as U.S. senator from Massachusetts. A big challenge to overcome, but now Brown is revealing he has prevailed against much more, sex abuse as a child.
Our resident human behavior expert, Dr. Wendy Walsh, is here to weigh in on that. And Wendy, Scott Brown reveals in an upcoming "60 Minutes" interview that a camp counselor abused him more than once when he was 10.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LESLEY STAHL, HOST, "60 MINUTES": So you never reported it?
SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: No. My mom will read about it for the first time. My wife has read about it. No, I haven't told anybody. That's what happens when you're a victim. You're embarrassed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, Wendy, as you know, it happened to me when I was a child and it really never leaves you. So overall, what does it do to victims when they keep something so horrible, a secret for such a long time and it makes you wonder just how common is sex abuse?
WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, you know, it's really posttraumatic stress disorder in all its various variations that can happen to somebody, from -- you know, the most common place, of course, is it plays out in their relationships, trusting their relationships or sexuality. It plays out in just being able to trust people. And it may bring up anxiety, depression, all kinds of things can be related, depending on who you are. I mean, the human brain is a magical machine and everybody responds differently to it. For some people, they put things in compartments for a long period of time. For other people, it's a daily cross that they bare that they must always worry about.
LEMON: Isolating yourself, you know, not trusting people, it all plays out for your entire life unless you get, you know, help for it.
WALSH: And how brave that he has come forward, because, you know, it's estimated like 60 million adult survivors of child sex abuse are out there. It's reported that one in five girls are sexually molested in our culture and one in 20 boys. But I have to say that goes highly underreported for boys, because usually their perpetrator is a male. They have their own emerging sexual orientation issues. They are concerned and nervous about what people will think of them. Remember, kids always blame themselves when they're abused in any way. So, boys don't tell as often as girls.
LEMON: Boys don't want to talk about it. OK, Dr. Wendy, you know we're not done with you yet because after the break, we're going to get your insight on this high school wrestler who said that he would not wrestle a girl because she's a girl. He said he wouldn't do it, it was for religious reasons. He says he is not sexist and it's not sexism. We'll talk to you about it after the break.
WALSH: OK. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So, Dr. Wendy Walsh is back. So, Wendy, there's been an ongoing cultural trend on TV in and in film, women fighting men and winning. It's also playing out in high school sports as well. This Iowa high school wrestler gave up his shot at the state championship on Thursday because his opponent was a girl. His name is Joel Northup, and he said, quote, "as a matter of my conscience and my faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner." And, he says, he has a lot of respect for the girl, her name is Cassy Herkelman. You see her there. So, Wendy, is he right to stand up for what he believes in, you know, if it's religion? Is it right for him? And what is the trend of girls combating boys in sports have to do with belief?
WALSH: Listen, Don, everybody has a right to their personal opinion and their personal belief, so I honor this young man for that. But is he being chauvinistic or is he being a gentleman here? Let me answer this. Women long ago have figured out that there is a wide variety of men out there. We've got protectors, providers, alphas, betas and those wonderful guys that even change diapers for our children, right? But men, it seems sexist to me when they lump women into one category. This young woman is a seasoned athlete. She's in his weight class. She's won many levels of competition to be considered just an opponent. So for him to now deny her that right to be an opponent and suddenly put her in a category of lady isn't fair to this athlete.
LEMON: OK. Well, Wendy, let's talk about the thing that everybody is dancing around. It's wrestling, they're wearing the tight clothes, they're in high school. The hormones are raging. I mean, might there be some embarrassment about that?
WALSH: There are probably many pieces to this young man's decision. His faith and religion and his respect for women may be one of them. Certainly there may be some air about sexuality that may be coming up, getting so close and physically aggressive with the woman while she's tangling, our young woman, a girl at the age of 18. And, so, of course that's got to be a piece in it. But this is still a sport that allows both genders to participate. So somebody has got to turn their blinders on and become opponents and get into the competition. They're in the same weight class. Give her this opportunity to show she's best. Because guess what, she valiantly steps out as gentleman and then he doesn't have to risk losing to a girl.
LEMON: I'll let you have the last word on that, Dr. Wendy Walsh. Thanks as always.
WALSH: Thank you.
LEMON: Let's get you caught up on your top stories here on CNN. Anger in Wisconsin. Massive protests over the state budget bill are now in a fifth day. The bill would strip public workers of collective bargaining and force them to pay more for benefits. The Republican Governor Scott Walker says, the state needs to pay its bills and ultimately this will save jobs. Democrats in the Wisconsin Senate fled the state to stall a vote on the bill.
The Libyan military is putting down new protests in Benghazi with brutal tactics. Witnesses report bloody clashes between demonstrators and the military.
The Libyan military is putting down new protests in Benghazi with brutal tactics. Witnesses report bloody clashes between demonstrators and the military. A doctor treating the injured in one hospital said at least 30 people died. Most from gunshot wounds to the head. One woman in Benghazi told CNN that soldiers said they were joining the protests, but then turned their guns on the crowds.
In Bahrain, fear turned to joy today as protesters surged into the square where they battled security forces earlier this week. The crown prince ordered the military to leave the Pearl Roundabout to the protesters. He said they could remain there without fear and that the government is open to dialogue.
When strong winds whipping across the northeast, that's just one of the weather stories that Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is following for us today.
Jacqui, a very interesting weather day. What's going on with this wind?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, my gosh, it's crazy. It's really, really strong and causing a lot of problem, in the northeast in particular.
We've got the video to show you the damage from it. This is a sad story, Don. Pay attention. This is Washington, D.C. There you see the national monument. This is the national Christmas tree that you're looking at here. This thing has been there for 40 years. It's 42-feet tall. It's a blue spruce and they think that it was the winds that likely caused this thing to get knocked down earlier this morning. So some sad news there. The president and first lady were there to light it up this holiday season. So it's no more. Hopefully, they will plant another tree.
Let's take a look now at what's happening in the Boston area. This is just north of Boston, Massachusetts. Some high winds there toppled down a scaffolding on the side of a hotel building. It did damage about ten cars that were parked in the lot there. We're also hearing stories of wildfires that are burning and getting out of control because of these winds. And thousands of people without power now in the northeast.
If you're trying to travel, take a look at our airport delays because they're getting quite lengthy. JFK, arrival delays over an hour, Newark, 20 minutes. You have 40 minutes in San Francisco, and Washington Dulles are looking at 55-minute delays. Take a look at the winds and what they're doing at this hour. These are the sustained winds, not to mention those gusts that have been common in the 50 to 60-mile-per-hour range today. That does some damage and you need to be cautious. The winds causing lake-effect snows here too, so if you get in one of these heavier bands, it will reduce your visibility quite a bit.
Our other big story is what is happening in the southwest. There's a storm system that's been moving in through here. This is the second one in as many days and it's bringing a real soaker across parts of southern California. We're getting heavy snow into the higher elevations. In fact, we've had seven feet of snow in the last 72 hours in the Lake Tahoe area. So the skiers are happy about this, but really tough for travelers. We're talking one to two feet into parts of Colorado.
Let's talk about where that storm system is going because it's really bringing an end to this nice spring-type weather that you've been having. The upper Midwest and the northeast feeling like winter. As this storm system heads your way, we're talking about some heavy snow. We could be talking about six to 12 inches. Minneapolis/St. Paul that will start tonight, continue through the day tomorrow. Yes, more snow for Milwaukee. Chicago, we think a wintry mix. Not a lot of accumulation but you could have some freezing rain. Then this will move into the northeast as you head into Monday.
So winter back with a vengeance. That after record highs yesterday, Don. It was like 77 in D.C. yesterday. We're talking 60s in New York City and now temperatures plummeting through the 30s.
LEMON: Can we go back out west. This is a live picture from our affiliate, KGO. Look at that.
JERAS: Oh, wow, beautiful. Snow.
LEMON: Yes. Yes. Snow.
JERAS: Well, it's February.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Yes. Not here, though.
JERAS: Got to keep it real.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: It's a very warm day.
Thank you very much, Jacqui Jeras. We'll check back with you throughout the evening.
Up next --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SANDY FRANZO, SON SHOT HIMSELF: No, you know what he told everybody in court? They need to be held accountable for their actions. You need to be. Do you remember me? Do you remember me? Do you remember my son? An all-star wrestler? He's gone. He shot hisself in the heart. You scumbag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That's hard to watch. A mother's grief for the son she no longer has. She says it's because a judge got kickbacks to send kids like him away for minor offenses. The whole story is just ahead.
And here's to the little guy. We hear a lot these days about banks foreclosing on homeowners. This hour, meet a man who foreclosed on his bank. That's right. You're going to hear from him just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- message
FRANZO: My kid's not here anymore. My kid's not here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am?
FRANZO: He's dead, because of him. He ruined by (EXPLETIVE DELETED) life. I'd like him to go to hell and rot there forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, come on.
FRANZO: No, you know what he told everybody in court? They need to be held accountable for their actions. You need to be. Do you remember me? Do you remember me? Do you remember my son? An all- star wrestler? He's gone. He shot hisself in the heart. You scumbag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A heart-broken and really outraged mother lashing out at a former Judge Mark Ciavarella. Now, her son, an all-star wrestler, killed himself after being sent to a juvenile detention facility for a minor drug offense. Now it turns out that the Ciavarella was accepting money to do that, send kids away for cash. A former judge was convicted yesterday of 12 counts, including racketeering and money laundering. The judge remains free while he awaits sentencing.
What a scene outside that courthouse.
Let's talk about it with Sunny Hostin, a contributor to "In Session" on our sister network, TruTV.
Sunny, it's hard to watch. Thank you for joining us.
Let's talk first about this woman who was yelling. There are reports that say this judge sent her son, who had no record, to one of these youth detention centers for months, all for possessing drug paraphernalia. Is that unusual?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It is extremely unusual, Don. You know, I've covered a lot of these cases, a lot of juvenile justice cases, child sex crimes and the like, and it is very unusual for someone with no record, with ties to the community, with a mother that clearly cares for him, to be sent away to a detention center. That is not what happens to a first offender. It really goes to show you really how corrupt this judge was, because it is just way out of the norm.
LEMON: OK. So if the judge was convicted, you know, and it's way out of the norm, you can understand then the mother's outrage. This is a huge case, Sunny, involving thousands of juvenile convictions and more than $2 million in payments. How do you think that this continued on for so long?
HOSTIN: You know, I think it's because we trust our judges. They're either appointed or elected officials. Sometimes there isn't a balance or a system of checks and balances to check judges' sentences, to check what they are doing.
But I will say, in this case, the system worked. He was investigated. It was federally done, and so he's looking at probably about 157 years in prison by my count.
I will say this. The prosecutors say he's not going to get that much. He'll get between 12 and 15 years. I don't think that is enough in this case, because judges are given just such wide latitude. It's such a huge responsibility, in particular to be a juvenile justice judge. And so, you know, 12 years, 15 years, not quite enough in my book, Don.
LEMON: OK. Listen, I hope you're watching at 7:00. I wish that we had gotten this earlier. I'm getting news in my ear that the mother of this young man is going to join us. Her name is Sandy Fanzo. And it's 7:00 p.m. eastern hour. We'll talk to her about what happened on the courthouse steps there in front of the courthouse, and how she feels about what this judge did. Sandy Fanzo, the mother of that young man, 7:00 p.m. eastern here on CNN.
Let's move on, Sunny, and talk about what we almost never hear about. The little guy takes on the mega bank, and he wins. We all hear about the real estate bust. We know about it. A lot of us are affected. People battling their banks. In this case, a man in Philadelphia sued his bank, they never responded, and basically he won the case. He's going to join us live here in just a minute as well here on CNN.
But Sunny, how did he do this? How did he beat his bank in court?
HOSTIN: He stuck up for himself. He used the law to his advantage. And I love this story, Don, because I get e-mails all the time from people who say, how come the little guy never wins. How come the laws aren't here to protect us? The laws are there to protect you. You just have to avail yourself of them.
He sent letters to his mortgage company asking for information. Under a federal law, called RESPA, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, they have to respond. Your mortgage company has to respond within 20 days. Well, Don, they never did it. They ignored the little guy over and over and over again. He got a judgment against them because they just failed to respond and ignoring him
LEMON: Well, that's what I was going to ask you. A mega bank like this has unlimited resources. They have so much money, so much access to attorneys. So how does a bank let something like this slip through the cracks? Did they say oh, yes, right, buddy, we don't believe you. Or do you think it was an oversight?
HOSTIN: I'm not sure. I mean, I was reading the paperwork and listening to the responses of Wells Fargo and they're saying we could have handled it better. So it perhaps is just an oversight.
But I think the moral of the story here is the law is here to protect you if only you avail yourself of your rights. That's what this person did. What I will say is he also continued paying his mortgage, so he had that leg to stand on. If you stop paying your mortgage, then you don't have as much power. But he followed the letter of the law and that's what worked for him.
LEMON: OK. So, Sunny, I want to tell you -- can we pop the picture of up of Patrick Rodgers. Patrick Rodgers is here listening to us talk about him as if he is not listening. So Patrick is going to join us after the break.
(LAUGHTER)
HOSTIN: I applaud him.
LEMON: Yes. Sunny, thank you very much for joining us here on CNN.
Sunny is our legal contributor here on CNN and our sister network, TruTV -- sister network, "In Session," on TruTV.
Thank you so much.
So we're talking about Patrick Rodgers like he's not even in the room. He's going to join us next to talk about how he beat out a big bank, a little guy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. So before the break, we told you about the Philadelphia homeowner who turned the tables and tried to foreclose on his bank. Usually, the bank forecloses on you. He foreclosed on his bank.
The man, Patrick Rodgers, is joining us live right now.
Patrick, thank you for joining us. You're becoming like a folk hero among homeowners, especially those who are stressed about paying their mortgages. But there's been some resolution to this case, hasn't there? PATRICK RODGERS, TRIED TO FORECLOSE ON BANK: There has been some resolution. I did receive a call from a very senior person at Wells Fargo on Friday. We had a cordial conversation for about 40 minutes. She asked me all about the problems I've been having with the bank and she pledged to me that she would look into them and that we would have another phone conversation on Monday to see what resolutions we might explore. So I wouldn't call anything done yet, but I am cautiously optimistic that there will be some resolution. As far as the municipal --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Hang on, hang on. Hang on, Patrick. So you had a phone call. Originally, you had a court appearance scheduled for next week.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Do you think this case will still be going on, if it hasn't gotten so much publicity, and do you think you'll still have to go to court after receiving that phone call?
RODGERS: No. There won't be a court appearance next week because the first thing that happened is, when the story broke here locally in the "Enquirer," Wells Fargo over-nighted me a check the very next day to pay off the judgment. So they have paid their judgment and, as such, I won't be able to foreclose on them anymore, which I have mixed feelings about. I'm certainly happy to have the money, but the prospect of a sheriff's sale was kind of entertaining in its own way as well.
LEMON: OK, Patrick. Let's start from the beginning. So we'll take a look at your house now. As we're looking at the picture of your home, which is beautiful.
RODGERS: Thank you.
LEMON: What happened? So the bank wants to foreclose on you. And then what do you say, hey, I'm not going to let this happen? And then what did you do?
RODGERS: No. I had homeowners insurance and suddenly my insurance company told me that Wells Fargo wanted me to insure for the replacement value of the house. The house that I live in is 100 years old. There's some great stone, wonderful woodwork. I paid about $180,000 for it some years ago. And to replace it, brick by brick, stone by stone, would cost about a million dollars. And Wells Fargo said, all right, you're going to have to carry a million dollars worth of homeowners insurance. And I said there's no way that I would do that. And they said, well, if you don't do it, we're going to do it for you, and I said you're on. So I refused to renew that policy at a million dollars and they did what's called force placing insurance on my property. And once they did that, then there were irregularities that started with their accounting and their billing.
And when I noticed these irregularities on my mortgage statement, that's when I started writing letters, and that's when the court case started to come into play.
LEMON: OK. So they said that you didn't have enough insurance on the home so they were going to foreclose on it because they didn't want to circle insure it, right? Is that correct?
RODGERS: They -- foreclosure hadn't really come into it. They wanted to see me carry this million-dollar insurance policy and I said no way.
LEMON: All right. So how much -- can you talk about how much you got in the judgment?
RODGERS: The judgment was for $1,000 plus costs. And that $1,000 represents the maximum penalty under this law, the RESPA law, that you mentioned earlier in the lead-in to the segment. That RESPA law, for an individual, you get up to $1,000. That's the award that I got. And then there were court costs on top of that. And since Wells Fargo didn't pay that judgment, I had fees involved in getting a sheriff's levy on their office here in downtown Philadelphia. All of their office equipment and furniture, computers, photo copier, it was all placed under a sheriff's levy. When they still didn't pay, I ordered a sheriff's sale on all of their property. And all of these costs are costs that are reimbursable to me.
LEMON: And so you were going to take them to the bank. Patrick Rodgers, I have to say that you're a hero to a lot of people.
Thank you for coming on. Let us know what happens with the bank, and we'll get you back on when we figure out what's going on.
RODGERS: I'll keep you posted. Thank you for having me.
LEMON: All righty.
Let's move on now. He is one of 43 drivers stepping in for tomorrow's running of the Daytona 500, NASCAR's biggest race of the year. Just a few months ago, one of the biggest sports -- sports' biggest stars didn't know if he would ever get behind the wheel again. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to Brian Vickers.
But first, Dan was honored at a "CNN Top-Ten Hero" for building mortgage-free homes for injured Iraq veterans and veterans in Afghanistan as well. That caught the attention of "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition" and together, they helped a soldier who survived the Ft. Hood shootings find his way home. And that episode airs Sunday on ABC.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDETNFIED MALE: It's my honor to present "CNN Hero," Dan Walrath.
DAN WALRATH, TOP-TEN CNN HERO: Being a "Top-Ten CNN Hero" was just very humbling.
The true heroes are servicemen and women who answer the call.
Since the show aired, we've been getting phone calls, e-mails and donations from all over the world. It's just been incredible.
UNIDENTFIIED MALE: We had seen Dan on the "CNN Heroes" tribute, and we thought, that's the perfect guy to team up with.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning. (INAUDIBLE).
(SHOUTING)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORERSPONDENT: ABC's "Extreme Makeover, Home Edition" joined forces with Dan to build a home for at Iraq war veterans wounded in 2009 attack at Ft. Hood in Texas. 13 soldiers died, but Staff Sergeant Patrick Ziegler pulled through.
WALRATH: He was shot four times, once in the head. He made a remarkable recovery.
COOPER: For Dan, who normally works with around 200 people, it's a chance to build a home on a larger scale.
WALRATH: It's been probably 4,000 or 5,000 volunteers involved. We have tons of military folks helping us.
God bless you.
This house is going to be built in about 100 hours, where normally we talk about six months.
(SHOUTING)
COOPER: And an event at Ft. Hood honoring Patrick and his fiancee, Jessica, he made a special announcement.
WALRATH: We established a Ft. Hood Victims Fund to reach out to all families affected by this tragedy.
(APPLAUSE)
It feels so good all the time about seeing these lives change. Now we're able to change a lot more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Each week, as part of our "Human Factor" series, we introduce you to people who have achieved remarkable things despite having to overcome major obstacles. NASCAR's biggest race of the year is tomorrow, the Daytona 500. One driver will be back in his car after a life-threatening illness put his career in jeopardy. And our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has his story.
(HUMAN FACTOR)
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer, and "Six Days in North Korea." A "Situation Room's" "Reporter's Notebook," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
