Murdaugh Murders Podcast - ‘Let Me Find Some Charges’: Checking Judge Carmen Mullen’s Own Words Before Her Hearing (166pt2)

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Starting point is 00:00:28 Nice travels. travels. Thank you for supporting our mission to expose the truth wherever it leads by following Luna Shark podcast, True Sunlight, Coerce, and Cup of Justice. I get asked all the time how folks can help us with our mission, and we invite them to Lunas Shark Premium on Patreon. Our members are helping us fund new journalists, explore more investigations, and expand our reach. Soak up the sun members on Patreon get ad-free extended episodes, bonus drops, exclusive case files, live streams to chat with us during court hearings, access to our exclusive members-only shows like Liz and Mandy's Girl Talk, Beth Raiden Soundbites, and premium dives from Kate Thomas

Starting point is 00:01:11 and the team. Join our mission and become a member today at patreon.com slash lunashark or get ad-free listening on Apple Podcast app or at lunashark.supercast.com. Click the link in the description to learn the best way you can stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay and stay. the Sunlight with Luna Shark Premium on Patreon and Supercast. We are back with part two of episode 166 of True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption, previously known as the Murdoch Murders podcast. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production written with journalist Liz Pharrell.

Starting point is 00:01:55 So I'm still reeling from the news we told you all about in the last episode. Judge Carmen Mullen was finally charged by the ODC on four counts of misconduct for the infamous Ernie the attorney incident that Liz Farrell first reported on MMB back in 2022. Before we get back into the weeds of what Carmen said happened and how it differs from her voice on the recording, I need to say something. I am furious that it took six months for these charges to come to light. In four years, for Mullen to be summoned to a hearing, to explain her actions. I am furious because I believe I was persecuted and ordered to pay nearly $200,000 following a series of hearings where attorney Deborah Barbier framed my comments

Starting point is 00:02:51 about South Carolina's corrupt judiciary as evidence that I was a meritless blogger who profited off lying about how bad the system was. Old Debbie tried her best to make me look like I was the crazy one for saying that the South Carolina justice system was corrupt. These hearings were happening when charges were filed against a judge that I had personally worked for years in exposing her misconduct on our podcast, and I didn't know about them. The state's own disciplinary counsel, after an investigative panel review, filed charges that mirror are reporting on a sitting 14th Circuit judge. That is institutional confirmation that my court coverage is core public concern speech, not meritless harassment of the judiciary. And y'all, it's a damn

Starting point is 00:03:50 shame that South Carolina let the system get this bad. And I hope, but I won't be dumb enough to believe that Tuesday's hearing will be a step in the right direction. One of the more interesting parts of Judge Carmen Mullen's filing denying any wrongdoing in the Ernie Lottito case from 2017 is that one of her defenses in this is she is being unfairly prejudiced by, quote, the fact that these charges are based on a complaint made by complainants who had no personal knowledge of the facts upon which they based their complaint and that these charges were brought more than eight years after the alleged conduct occurred. Huh, yeah, that's interesting. Presumably she means our friend and former co-host of Cup of Justice, attorney Eric Bland, who filed a complaint against Judge Mullen for this incident. And I guess us? I mean, she's right.

Starting point is 00:04:48 We didn't have any personal knowledge of Gwen Down. We weren't there. Good thing the deputies were microphones, though, huh? In part one of this episode, we told you about how Judge Mullen is accused of misconduct connected to her decision to intervene in what seemed like a landlord-tenant dispute in Judge Mullins' high-end ocean-front gated community on Hilton Head Island. We told you about how Judge Mullins' connections to Ernie Lottito, a former attorney known locally as Ernie, the attorney, who has well-documented mental health issues, and how according to the police report, she told Beaufort County Sheriff's Office deputies that she tried to help Ernie whenever he appeared in her courtroom.

Starting point is 00:05:29 Stick a pin in that one. According to an April filing from Judge Mullen, she didn't do anything wrong in this situation. She was merely being a good citizen by driving by the incident, dropping off her daughter at her house, and returning to the scene with her husband, Attorney George Mullen, who she said has known Ernie for decades, which, I believe, lots of people on the island know Ernie. Maybe not as well as Judge Mullen does them. Let's start with what Judge Mullen told police on December 7, 2017. I'm going to see you all.

Starting point is 00:06:07 You know, Ernie, too well. This is my husband, George. Hey, Dylan. We actually happen to live. Hey, how are you? Just around the corner. George's known Ernie for 25 years. And I've been the last few sentencing of him.

Starting point is 00:06:20 I thought he was on a new trust pass notice here at this house. It's my understanding, no? And he's not waving some kind of lease in front of you, Izzy, because he was renting a room here, and he should be on a new trust cause notice. We are not sure what exactly Carmen Mullen meant when she said that Ernie shouldn't be waiving some kind of lease in front of the deputies because he was renting a room. I'm no expert on real estate bureaucracy, but don't room rentals sometimes include written agreements? It sure seems like Judge Mullen knows a lot about Ernie the attorney's living arrangements. In that exchange, she told the deputy that she believed.

Starting point is 00:07:03 Ernie was, quote, no trespass from the house where he was renting a room. And the deputy tells her no. So Judge Mullen, who seems to lower her voice, says to him, quote, he should be on a no trespass notice. Again, he says no. Unless one was filed just that day, the deputy tells Judge Mullen that he will check again. He was here last night. I'll run him again.

Starting point is 00:07:29 We just heard him. Yeah, where is he? He's in the backyard. I mean, I got to say, so he's bipolar and schizophrenic. Yeah, I'm not very well. You know, you know, so he was in Beaufort Memorial until last Sunday. So he's been a Beaufort Memorial. They held him for the three days.

Starting point is 00:07:46 And then she was going to, she was going to press charges. Does she ever press charges for breach trust against him, do you know? Judge Mullen asked if Reagan, the homeowner, filed a police report accusing Ernie a breach of trust. The deputies say not that they know. of. And then she says this. I told her to because if she pressed this charges against us a group of trust on his farm, we can do a no-contact, which keeps them out of the plane. And it keeps me over with some control on him. I mean, I can tell you, we've been fighting over trying to find him up place. And he doesn't want to go back to William McHall and

Starting point is 00:08:22 Columbia, and he begs not to you, his family is done with him. I mean, I can tell you, I've talk to everybody. Judge Mullen, who sounds a little dejected, and irritated, says she told the homeowner to press charges against Ernie because then the homeowner could get a no contact order from the court against Ernie and it would give Judge Mullen, according to Judge Mullen, a little control over him. And this is where we need to pause for a second because what in the world is going on here? First, it seems like Judge Mullen and not George, who has known Ernie for 25 years, is Ernie's advocate or something? Why does she know so much about him personally?

Starting point is 00:09:04 Why does she know how his family feels? And if Ernie has been in her courtroom before, she said she was the one who sentenced him the last two times he had appearances, then one, should she be sentencing someone she's this involved with? Two, aren't there better ways to handle this? And three, why would all this fall on her? I get that Judge Mullen's argument is that she was a concerned citizen trying to protect someone she believed to be in danger. But why Ernie? Why does she feel obligated to this

Starting point is 00:09:35 specific person, this specific person who she just dismissed a lawsuit against? What makes him different from other people dealing with mental illness who come through her courtroom? Let's keep listening. So I got to find my halfway out. He's probably because he can't do this. And this is just what happens. We don't want him to get hurt. We don't want him to hurt anybody. And I will tell you this. Uh, hold up. David, will you read that part from paragraph 4E of Judge Mullen's filing with the ODC again?

Starting point is 00:10:10 The homeowner expressed fear for her safety and stated that she would shoot Mr. Littito if he entered her home. Respondent, Judge Mullen, reasonably perceived a substantial risk of harm. to Mr. Letito. She was concerned that Mr. Latito's apparently psychotic conduct would persist or escalate, which would result in his being injured or killed by Reagan, other homeowners, or law enforcement, or private security personnel. Okay. Now, read that part from the police report that says the homeowner stated that she would shoot Mr.

Starting point is 00:10:53 Lettito if he entered her home. Uh, where in the report is that? Exactly. Now, if the homeowner was threatening to shoot Ernie that evening, and Judge Mullen was intent on getting Ernie out of there, wouldn't you think Judge Mullen would have expressed this to deputies? Something like, hey, I'm afraid he's going to get hurt or killed if you guys don't take him away. She said she was going to kill him.

Starting point is 00:11:21 Instead, it's the deputy telling her, telling, Judge Mullen that we don't want Ernie to get hurt, which prompts her, Judge Mullen, to echo that. I'm sorry, but if, like Judge Mullen says, her primary reason to be there was to get Ernie out of a potentially dangerous situation, wouldn't this have been among the first thing she said to law enforcement? And if her primary reason of being there was to take care of Ernie, who she said was harmless, why wouldn't she just pay for a hotel room? Mullen was making over $200,000 a year from her job as a judge, and her husband has been described to us as an incredibly wealthy attorney for developers. Why not say, hey, bud, how about we take you to a hotel room?

Starting point is 00:12:06 And why wasn't she concerned about Reagan? She's an apparently single woman saying she is uncomfortable by a man dealing with a mental illness. Why not offer Reagan a hotel room until she gets an eviction notice on Ernie? Instead, what we got from Judge Mullen as she arrived on the scene and in this order was, 1. I'm a judge who sentenced Ernie the last two times. Two, isn't he trespassing here? Three, no.

Starting point is 00:12:34 I mean, he's only arunting a room. Please don't tell me he showed you a lease. Four, no, lowers her voice. He should be trespassed here. Five, did the homeowner press charges against him? Six, what? I told her to. I told her that's how he'll stay away and I can have more control over him.

Starting point is 00:12:53 Seven, I've been trying to find somewhere for him to go. Eight, his family wants nothing to do with him. Then the deputy is like, right, right. And we don't want him to get hurt. And that's when she says it too. Let's go back to the recording. And I will tell you this, even though you hear him scream and say crazy old things, I promise you he would not hurt a fly.

Starting point is 00:13:15 I'd stick my kids with him. And that's what I just told Jack. You don't need you can worry about your kids. He can curse up a storm and he can, you know, say he's going to blow me up all day long. He ain't got to hurt anybody, but he's not on his medication. And so, I mean, I don't know. I think you'll have to take it back. I mean, I don't think you have a choice.

Starting point is 00:13:32 Oh, that reminds me. Let's sidetrack just a little and talk about that assault slash slander slash libel case filed in October 2016, less than a year before this incident happened, against earning the attorney by IMC Resort Services in the Ocean Walk Property Owners Association, the one we briefly mentioned in Part 1. The lawsuit was filed in Beaufort County, Judge Carmen Mullen's jurisdiction. This was right after Hurricane Matthew came through the area. David, will you read from the complaint? Defendant has been waging a persistent campaign of verbally abusing, defaming, and threatening agents and employees of the plaintiff, and taking other action to harm plaintiff.

Starting point is 00:14:21 Among other things, defendant has communicated numerous racial epithets, discriminatory sexual orientation terms, along with other vile and profane language directed at or about agents and employees of the plaintiffs. A copy of the emails attacking numerous plaintiff's personally and professionally are attached here too as Exhibit A, and incorporated herein by reference. Defendant has communicated his intent to, quote, beat your face silly till you are in a coma, end quote, and otherwise physically harm agents and employees of the plaintiffs. See emails attached as Exhibit A. Oh, Exhibit A. We, I need to hear what is in that email. David, will you read from that?

Starting point is 00:15:19 Nope. Seriously? Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. It is wildly offensive and serves no journalistic purpose. Like, how bad? Like, I don't want my voice on a recording quoting anything remotely like what is written. Okay, got it. Totally fair. Fine. Can you read?

Starting point is 00:15:45 Read the next paragraph of the complaint then. On or about October 18, 2016, defendant directly contacted the IMC voicemail 13 times making outrageous remarks and threats toward multiple plaintiff employees and demanding that they pay him $5,000. His threats included murder with a sniper rifle, placing a, quote, dirty bomb, in a mailbox, entering into the IMC office and destroying artwork, quote, dumping a body on the side of the road and spray painting IMC property. A copy of the voicemails were retrieved by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. Cool. I mean, reminder, according to Judge Mullen, Ernie is a man with mental illness.

Starting point is 00:16:41 So we're taking this all with a grand assault. but also how terrifying. That said, Judge Mullen dismissed the case in June 2017. Her order form does not say why the case was dismissed, or it doesn't have any notes on it from her. But in the public index, it says it was dismissed for a failure to prosecute. Presumably, this means that the plaintiffs did not want to pursue the case, but wouldn't they have filed something to that effect?

Starting point is 00:17:10 The attorney for the resort and P.O.A. was Greg, Alford, who at the time was one of the main attorneys used by the town of Hilton Hudd's government, meaning he seems like someone who would know how to prosecute a case and what exactly to file to end a case. But like I said, just like that, Judge Mullen ended the case. Interestingly, Judge Mullen never mentioned in her official responses that she was the judge in a recent civil case against Ernie. Huh. More on Judge Mullen after a quick commercial break, and we'll be right back. What does a sunny getaway with Air Canada sound like?

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Starting point is 00:18:44 Luxury sales claim based on S&P Global Mobility Canadian new vehicle total registrations for calendar year 2025 for the Cadillac definition of luxury. Now, let's get back to the incident with Ernie, the attorney. Remember when Judge Mullen said that she would leave her kids with Ernie? Well, she's got her thinking cap on now. I'm not sure what you can charge him with right now, but you've got to get rid of him. Oh boy, that's going to be a hard one to explain. Good citizen Carmen saying you got to get rid of him, not help him, not protect him, get

Starting point is 00:19:16 rid of him. Why? Well, she says it's not fair for Ernie to be harassing the homeowner. And she's a judge, people. She's an expert on what's fair. And I mean, she's right because this situation totally sucks and we feel awful for the homeowner. But my God, why is this being done through back channels? This isn't a matter of the courts and police aren't helping the homeowner so this is all she's left with. The homeowner didn't press charges against Ernie like Judge Mullen said she had suggested she do sometime before this, and the homeowner hadn't actually filed what she needed to file to get Ernie served and get a temporary restraining order and no trespass notice for her home. Instead, it's we've got to get rid of them. That sure does seem to contradict St. Carmen's

Starting point is 00:20:03 story about how this was about compensating for the county's alleged lack of mental health services, and how this only happened because of individuals who didn't have enough knowledge about Ernie like she does, according to her filing. And how the deputies, responding to the scene, might not have been trained in identifying psychotic breaks in people with mental illness, again, according to her filing. I don't even know if they've got a tall passing on him. I don't even know if they filed a brief trial.

Starting point is 00:20:31 Every time I talked to her about a podcast, she said they can't be a right. Like that she has no threats. What's crazy is that she's a family-he can know that. And I had a son called from Purbaugh to Ms. Rainey, who's her boss. And so he was following an addictionist to try to get mad at her. I said that was so ridiculous. And the only reason why he even has a lease is because you're required to have one to be able to get a pass through Port Royal.

Starting point is 00:20:57 So long to reach words. Uh, hang on. So at the beginning of her discussion with the deputies, Judge Mullen downplayed Ernie's right to be at that house. He wasn't waving some kind of lease in front of you. He only rents the room. Maybe my ears are deceiving me, but Judge Mullin sure does seem to tell the deputy here that the only reason the homeowner has a lease with Ernie, the attorney, is because she has to have one per the property owner's association agreement in order for her tenant, Ernie, to get in and out of the

Starting point is 00:21:31 neighborhood, meaning through the security gates where they check whether you belong there or not. The homeowner had to formalize that relationship. This is why the deputies couldn't arrest him. He belonged there, legally. But back to the part where Judge Mullen said the homeowner said she was going to shoot Ernie if he came back. I'm pretty sure the stand-your-ground defense doesn't work against a quote-unquote trespasser who has a legal right to be where you're planning on shooting him. That's just murder, no? And like, I don't know, a sitting circuit court judge should know that, right?

Starting point is 00:22:09 So, and apparently my... Do you want to call you all tonight? Who called you? You did. Because he snuck in. Yeah. He came into a can. I mean, he has no right there to be here, so I don't see is there any reason...

Starting point is 00:22:23 He does. George, I know. Listen, I did this a week ago. I have theory in court all the time. So, I mean, it's as much as we can do. The chief, that's the motor stuff. We thought everyone. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:22:37 But she wasn't in the wrong at the time. Yeah. He is not supposed to be down here. Don't get them in it. 8 o'clock. I mean, for her asking, are you? She's the one that works at all. She's here now or she goes?

Starting point is 00:22:47 Why did she touch her head out? Um, yesterday. She can press charges against him? The last night, she was over there knocking on doors. Over here knocking on doors. Trying to get a ride to the dollar store or something like that. You can't do that in a while? Keep someone on his medication and you can't talk to.

Starting point is 00:23:05 Uh, you caught that, right? After telling law enforcement that Ernie had a lease, Judge Mullen said that Ernie did not have the right to be there. And her husband, George, George the attorney, corrected her, sounding exasperated. After this, Judge Mullen tells deputies that she could do it if they could arrest him right now. At the end, you will hear George talk about Ernie. They're going to take him to the jail and then I'm going to tell the magistrate said, not give him a bond and I'm going to have to hold him there, and then I'm going to see him next week because I've got to figure out some j me.

Starting point is 00:23:40 I mean, he's a sweetheart in the jail. The funniest thing is they love them. I mean, all the jailers are they laugh. They're like, there's any problem. They see, no, no, no, no, no. Because they medicated boys there. So, I mean, they force medicated. What's the lady all?

Starting point is 00:23:53 Yeah, what is she? What does she just want to go on? She just wants to go on. Bottom of that. Does she feel like her? She wants to come on out? I've never met her. Do you want to come out, ma'am?

Starting point is 00:24:04 It's really bad. Well, this is the crazy part, so we'll give you, he knows he's a lawyer. He's a lawyer. He's a real lawyer. He's not just part. He's on medical disability, which he's been on 20 years. The jail loves Ernie the attorney. I mean, she should have gotten into sales instead of law, am I right? After this, the homeowner comes out and we learn a few things. Hi, I'm Herman Mullin. Hi. Nice to meet you, too. I heard it from doing. Stop. Me too. Me too. My husband, George, I saw the life. I saw the hearing. My husband George, we lived there on the street. It's like rapid fire fact-checking here today. What do you mean? Nice to meet you. I'm sorry. I have to replay a part of this for my own sanity. And then she was going to press charges. Did she ever press charges to breach trust against him, D now?

Starting point is 00:25:10 She didn't mention that. I told her to, because if she pressed this charges against us a group of trust on his farm, we can do a no-contact, which keeps them out of the plane. She's not away from her, and it keeps me over with some control on him. You hear that too, right? I told her to. I mean, okay, maybe they spoke on the phone. or was there another way that they communicated?

Starting point is 00:25:36 I don't know. Let's keep going. So he was running away from you, right, or releasing a room from you. You work for Moose? Okay, Moose called me and told me all about it. Moose. Moose called Judge Mullen and told her all about it. Robert Moose Rini, a local real estate agent on Hilton Head, whom the homeowner worked for. Stick a pin in that name for a minute.

Starting point is 00:26:01 Let's keep listening. Let me ask you, I was going to be understanding that you were going to file breach of trust charges against him. Right. Was that ever done? Well, it wasn't done because there's visible. The breach of trust, I had to go to an eviction on the breach of trust. They could follow three or something.

Starting point is 00:26:16 No, one has nothing to do with the other. Well, this is what I was told from Magistrate and I was there twice today. If we don't have an address to serve him, they said, there's not, this is not the form you need. They said to go back with the evictions. And I go with the eviction and said, no, no, you need the restraint. I did buzz today. returning order today.

Starting point is 00:26:33 But today, so I go into turn it in and I said, well, where is he? And I said, I don't know where he is, but he's not allowed that. Why not? So they said, so then we have nowhere to serve him. And really basically I felt pretty dumb, you know, they said, so what are you thinking to break this thing? Like, what are you doing? The homeowner then gets interrupted by Ernie, the attorney.

Starting point is 00:26:52 I'm going to play a little bit of that so that you can hear what's happening in the background. Ernie tells George Mullen, Judge Mullen, and the deputies that he is going to in his fort in the backyard. The hottest fraud in all North America? Hey, man, your guards, tree, sell onto my tennis fort. You want to come see the fort back here? I'm all set, thank you.

Starting point is 00:27:19 You're going to die when you see you this fort. Nah. The tree is... Can I call bicycle billy to pick those up? No, sir. That's okay. We'll take care of it. We'll read.

Starting point is 00:27:30 Thank you. Wait, where's Joe? For one of the years. Did you get my mail? I don't know. Gotta have diamonds. Gotta have diamonds. Got to have diamonds.

Starting point is 00:27:37 Man, I fucked up Calvin's Christmas life. Calvin's got the baddestad Christmas flight. Calvin's got the baddestad Christmas flight. I remember. Ernie. Bernie. I am George. Can I give you my mail?

Starting point is 00:27:53 Ernie. Ernie. Look at it. Okay. Look at him. I am George. I am George. I'll go back into the fort and crash under the tree.

Starting point is 00:28:03 Under the tree. You guys want to come to you the tree? No, thank you. The big giant tree? I'm going to go ahead. You know, Lou Gehras? She's got great choice in men. You're the hottest school in all of America. I've been checking now.

Starting point is 00:28:21 I've got my mail. I've got my med. Why should you go back to the fort? This fort in the back of the tree? Yes, sir. You've got to come here. I'll come back and stay in the minute. You promised to come here?

Starting point is 00:28:32 Absolutely. You're going to die on you. All right. Moose stole my fucking keys and yanked my bond. And I beat his ass home from the kangaroo. He says, Moose stole his keys and yanked his bond. And yeah, this is a lot, right?

Starting point is 00:28:51 This guy is obviously dealing with something and he needs help. And this country isn't good with people who need help with their mental illnesses. That is 100% correct. We are definitely not arguing with Judge Mullen over that fact. But remember when we were like, why Ernie? Why is Ernie the guy Judge Mullen is so fixated on helping? I mean, I don't know the answer to that exactly. But we keep hearing the name Moose Rainy, don't we?

Starting point is 00:29:18 Again, keep the pin there. More on that, after a quick commercial break. What does a sunny getaway with Air Canada sound like? Sunny Jamaica moves to its own rhythm. Rio comes alive long after the sun goes down. Philippines slows everything down. And just when you think you've heard it all, there's sunny Lima.

Starting point is 00:29:48 However you imagine your sunny escape, Air Canada can take you there. Book hot fairs and vacation packages today. Nice travels. On April 27, 2024, 30-year-old Micah Miller, a Myrtle Beach woman in the process of divorcing her pastor husband, called 911. It would be the last time that the world would ever hear her voice.

Starting point is 00:30:11 Robinson County 911. I'm about to kill myself and I just want my family to know where to find me. When my Godai, she purposely left behind a paper trail of evidence and clues for someone somewhere to find and expose the people and systems that led to her death. I got a call late last night. My wife has passed away and it was self-induced and it was up in North Carolina. Y'all pray for me and my kids and everybody. My name is Mandy Matney, together with journalist Liz Farrell.

Starting point is 00:30:42 This new drop feed titled Coerce, the devotion and death of Micah Francis Miller, is a Luna Shark production based on True Sunlight Reporting. Yeah, he said my blood is going to be on your hand. But prior to that, he was threatening to come in here, and he said, call the cops, I don't care. I'm armed and ready. Her story is about everything that led up to her death, the alleged coercive control that she faced in her relationship,

Starting point is 00:31:07 with her pastor-husband and all of the systems that failed her when she tried so hard to report that alleged abuse and escape from him. And she said, you know, he's such a liar. And she actually said the FBI was looking into it. But now, I mean, what's come out, they have been. Be sure to follow Coerced, the devotion and death of Micah Francis Miller. Now, let's keep listening to the dash cam recording from December 2017 involving Ernie the attorney and Judge Carmen Mullen. Here she is. Can we talk about probable cause right here?

Starting point is 00:31:45 Yeah, he's acting weird. Oh, my God. No question. He's acting weird. That's an two or three days, though. Acting weird in a place where you have a legal right to be at, it turns out, is not enough to get arrested. What a difference when he's... Oh, my God.

Starting point is 00:32:03 He called my office two weeks ago, and it is the most sane conversation I've had with him in a year. I mean, he's literally, when he's in the jail, he's a prince, and when he's medicated. I mean, he'll literally sit in the box in my courtroom for three hours and not say a word. I mean, and just be good and be normal. I mean, he's both familiar. I mean, he's incredibly bright. His dad was the Walter Mondo press secretary.

Starting point is 00:32:26 He's long passed away. I've spoken to his sister who will have nothing to do with him. Everyone is just worn out. He has worn out. Literally, Newsreini was the last one that was carrying a torch for him. And Musen fired. and this poor girl doesn't need to be harassed. Again, Moose Reini.

Starting point is 00:32:43 Hold that pin. The deputies tell Judge Mullen that they've checked the system again and there is nothing that they can arrest Ernie for. And then Judge Mullen asked the deputies this. What can I do? The deputy explains to the judge, the judge, why Ernie has a right to be at this house right now?

Starting point is 00:33:05 Judge Mullen apparently doesn't like what she's being told, so she says she's going to go get the homeowner again. Again, notice how it's not the homeowner asking the deputies for this extraordinary above and beyond effort to find some charges. It's the judge. Okay, let me go knock on our door. Let me go talk to her. And, okay, do you mind coming with me to the door and knock him in?

Starting point is 00:33:25 Let me talk to her. Let me figure out, if I can find some charges, he can take him in. I'm really honest with you just to see in the option. I know that's not the right thing. If you never know that comes to my right thing, Let me figure out if we can find some charges, she said, and you never heard that coming from my mouth. The audio is very difficult to hear from this point on, so I'm going to have David read from the police report what the deputy says happened when Judge Mullen invited herself into the homeowner's home to see if she could rustle up some charges.

Starting point is 00:34:03 Judge Mullen went to the front door of the residence and spoke with the complainant to determine if there was any offense that had occurred where Mr. Letito could be arrested. Judge Mullen stated she knew Littito had a trespass after notice at a gas station in Beaufort. Judge Mullen said she'd find him a ride to that gas station and then call deputies to arrest Latito. The homeowner advised Judge Mullen there was a breach of trust incident that was being investigated by Investigator Chin. Judge Mullen inquired on an arrest for breach of trust.

Starting point is 00:34:45 I advised Judge Mullen, I would have to present the facts of the case to Judge Coffey to issue an arrest warrant. Judge Mullen advised she signs arrest warrants all the time and she would sign the warrant. The deputy said he then contacted his supervisor a second time, and his supervisor told him to leave this scene. Now, a few things before we go. One is an email that Judge Mullen sent after I asked her for comment in October 2022. Annoyingly, she sent the response not to me, but to a bunch of media. I assume because they heard our episode and were like, whoa. Hold on to the part of the police report that David read, where the deputy said Judge Mullen told him

Starting point is 00:35:30 she could get someone to drive Ernie the attorney to the place where he was no trespassed, and then she could call police on him. Here's Grace with the email, which we've edited for length. I am responding to your requests because this is not a case before me nor one on appeal to a higher court. By way of background, Ernie Lottito is a former Hilton Head attorney who worked for my husband for less than a year in 1991. Ernie was placed on disability and active status by the South Carolina Supreme Court in 1995 due to mental illness. My husband, attorney George Mullen, has known Ernie for over 30 years and often receives calls from Ernie when he is both mentally intact and delusional. I had heard about Ernie over the years from George and other local attorneys, but did not meet him until he appeared in my courtroom sometime in 2016 on charges of making a threat on a public official and threatening to use a destructive device.

Starting point is 00:36:33 He was represented by the public defender's office, and I informed the assistant solicitor I knew of Ernie Lottito, but had never met him. In reference to the above, my daughter and I were driving home on 12-717, and we saw BCSO police cars and Port Royal Security at a home that we knew Ernie Lottito had been staying, and Ernie was standing in the driveway surrounded by officers. I dropped my daughter at home, and my husband and I drove back to him. to the house. The sole purpose going back was to make sure the responding officers knew Ernie was mentally ill, so they would not hurt him. When we got out of the car, it was clear Ernie was having a psychotic episode, as he was acting delusional, talking incoherently, and becoming increasingly agitated. Port Royal Security relayed calls were made, the Ernie was pounding on neighbor's stores, scaring people, and while we were standing there, we heard him screaming obscenities at the woman

Starting point is 00:37:33 who allowed him to stay at her house for rent as requested by her boss, Robert Rennie, who often helped Ernie. Robert Reney, as in Moose Reney, as in that pen. Ernie, the attorney, was renting this room from Moose's employee by request of Moose, apparently. And Judge Mullen was so familiar with this situation that she knew exactly which house it was that Ernie was staying at in her neighborhood. Ernie refused to leave and kept asking us to come see the fort he built behind the house. It was clear Ernie needed to be taken to the hospital for psychiatric treatment as he was delusional and distraught.

Starting point is 00:38:13 Ernie was talking about people he knew, including George Mullen and his wife, Carmen, and my husband addressed him saying it is George Mullen. And Ernie continued to rant, not recognizing him and continued to talk about his fort behind the house as he paced frantically. We were asking the deputies to take him to a hospital because he clearly needed psychiatric treatment. When the deputies indicated they could do nothing, my husband talked with Robert Rini, who came to Port Royal and took Ernie to stay at a local hotel. Interestingly, in her filing with the ODC, Judge Mullen does not mention Moose by name. Two days later, Ernie was taken to a mental health facility in Myrtle Beach. A few months later, Ernie was incarcerated by the federal government.

Starting point is 00:38:59 government for threatening the life of President Trump. In that case, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to a psychiatric facility. Later, my husband testified on Erie's behalf before federal judge Margaret Seymour at his petition for release hearing from the psychiatric commitment telling her Ernie was not a danger to anyone other than himself. The allegation that I was somehow abusing my power as a judge. Trying to have Ernie arrested for no reason is ridiculous. Our fear was that he would be wandering around in a delusional state in danger of harming himself. We were simply trying to help him. The sheriff's report does not accurately relay the conversations that occurred that night, or over an approximately 30-minute exchange, in which my husband and I

Starting point is 00:39:46 were deeply concerned about Ernie's behavior and his well-being. What was that, she said on the recording? You've got to get rid of him. Anyway, it sounds like this was a big old moose re-reem. problem that, for some reason, Judge Mullen was trying to find a solution for, not a police problem, and certainly not a judge's problem, a private problem, that everyone had grown tired of dealing with, according to Judge Mullen. Ernie's a real prince in jail, she said. So again, back to that pen, who is Mouserini to Judge Carmen Mullen? That seems like a question the Commission on Judicial.

Starting point is 00:40:30 conduct should ask Judge Mullen next week. May we suggest that they search Robert Reney's name in the Beaufort County Public Index and maybe Chatham County records too. I'm not going to go into all of Moose's criminal history because I don't have all day and a lot of his criminal charges were either dropped or he was found not guilty. However, I want to focus on the Moose Reini that appears when you search newspaper archives from 1999 to 2001, because I think it gives all of us a better understanding of the kind of man that Judge Mullen was associating herself with. A 1999 article from the Island Packet newspaper states that in September 1999, Moose Rainey turned himself in at the

Starting point is 00:41:21 Beaufort County Sheriff's Office on Hilton Head Island and was charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor in kidnapping. The alleged victim was a 15-year-old girl, and the alleged assault happened September 13, 1999, at his home. Captain Ethan George told the paper that the kidnapping count was added because she was allegedly held against her will, and he stressed that the charges were only allegations. Rini's attorney, Willie Jenkins, called the charges bogus. Moose was released on bond shortly after his arrest and the amount was not reported. But that big charge didn't stop Lil Moose from living his best life. Three months after he was charged, he was celebrated in the island packet for hosting the third annual Food and Beverage Ball

Starting point is 00:42:13 to honor Hilton Head hospitality workers. At the time, Rainey owned a popular nightclub on the Island. The article that does not at all mention that this man was charged with rape just a few months earlier included a large poll quote from Moose Rini saying, we want to have the biggest and best party the island has ever seen. Yay. Less than a year later, in August of 2000, Moose was charged with four counts of bookmaking for allegedly running a gambling ring. He was released on a 20K bond according to the Island Packet. In less than a year after his gambling arrests, in June 2001, according to the Island Packet, Moose went to trial for the rape with a minor charge. A jury of 11 women and one man acquitted him. According to the Island Packet article,

Starting point is 00:43:08 the 15-year-old alleged victim and her mother burst into tears when the verdict was read, while a crowd of moose supporters cheered. According to the island packet, the jury believed that there was not enough evidence to convict moose. While a sled scientist testified that DNA on the girl's bikini bottoms match mooses, Moose's defense attorneys argued that the samples had been mislabeled by the sheriff's office with a mother's name instead of the girls. The girl's mother acknowledged on cross-examination that she did have a baby.

Starting point is 00:43:44 brief sexual relationship with Moose, and a defense witness testified that a mother and daughter may have shared clothes. So, a sheriff's office mix-up allegedly helped Moose get acquitted. Remember that. Remember how we said that the good old boys always seem to benefit from a broken system? And I'm not saying that he was guilty. Again, he was acquitted. But that same month that he was acquitted in the rape of a 15-year-old girl. He was mentioned in an article for hosting a benefit concert for a local high school.

Starting point is 00:44:19 How nice of him. Anywho, one month after he was acquitted, Old Moose was in the newspaper again in July 2001. A jury found him guilty of simple assault stemming from a confrontation

Starting point is 00:44:35 he had with an 18-year-old. And Moose Rini also pleaded guilty to four counts a bookmaking from that gambling ring in 1999. So, yeah, interesting connection for a sitting judge. Huh. Now, the last time that we brought up Moose's name on this podcast, according to a friend of ours, Moose reportedly called Liz and me a foul name that starts with a C.

Starting point is 00:45:04 Well, Moose, we are hoping to see you next Tuesday, supporting your friend, Carmen Moller. at her hearing, or at least, we hope that your name is brought up. Until next time, stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production created by me, Mandy Matney, co-hosted and reported by journalist Liz Pharrell, research support provided by Beth Braden, audio production support provided by Jamie Hoffman and Grace Hills, case file management by Kate Thomas. Learn more about our mission and membership at LunaSharkMedia.com. Interruptions provided by Luna and Joe Pesky.

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Murdaugh Murders Podcast - ‘Let Me Find Some Charges’: Checking Judge Carmen Mullen’s Own Words Before Her Hearing (166pt2)

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