July 2, 1994
3801 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Apt. 136
Washington, DC 20008
Joseph R. Muffolett
Director
Office of Disability and
International Operations
U.S. Social Security Administration
1500 Woodlawn Drive
Baltimore,. M.D. 21241-0001
RE: Disability Claim No. xxx-xx-xxxx
Dear Mr. Muffolett:
Enclosed for your information is a tape recording of a telephone conversation I had with a coworker, Mrs. Patricia McNeil, at my former place of employment, the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld.
I placed the telephone call to Mrs. McNeil on the evening of July 1, 1993--one year ago--the day I received the Initial Determination, dated June 30, 1993, issued by the D.C. Department of Human Rights and Minority Business Development dismissing my unlawful termination complaint. The telephone call was placed the day Gertrude R. Ticho, M.D., expressly denied to me having consulted with an attorney manager at Akin Gump concerning my mental state, which denial occurred on Friday July 2, 1993.
In reviewing the tape keep in mind that I am an individual who, according to Akin Gump managers, suffers from a severe mental disorder, has great difficulty communicating with his peers, and who arouses fear in others.
In reviewing the tape keep in mind that I man an individual who, according to psychiatrists at the George Washington University Medical Center, suffers from either manic depressive psychosis or a delusional psychosis and who, regardless of diagnosis, is out of touch with reality and requires anti-psychotic medication. Note that the telephone conversation occurred on July 1, 1993, weeks before my then treating psychiatrist, Dr. Suzanne M. Pitts, mentioned the possibility of hospitalization and made a specific recommendation regarding anti-psychotic medication as per handwritten notes dated August 26, 1993.
Sincerely,
Gary Freedman
The tape I sent to SSA contained the following statements by Patricia McNeil:
ReplyDeleteOn the evening of July 1, 1993 I spoke by telephone with a former Akin Gump coworker, Patricia McNeil. Summarized below are selected, material comments made by Pat McNeil. I supplied a copy of the tape recording of the phone call to the DC Corporation Counsel, the U.S. Secret Service, and the D.C. Police (Second District, Officer J.E. Williams, Badge 1226).
1. I thought you were a very professional person, a quiet person, who stayed to himself. I respected that. Some people are just not people-oriented.
2. I never thought you were a violent person.
3. [Noting that I posted therapists' appointment cards at my desk:] I heard people say, "He must be crazy, he's always going to a psychiatrist."
4. [Quoting comments by another coworker, Carletta Diggins, concerning my termination:] Carletta said, "I wonder what they did to Gary? Gary was such a nice person. He was really a quiet person. He didn't bother anyone." I told Carletta, "as good of a person as Gary is -- his work speaks for itself, it couldn't have been his work -- what did he do?" She said, "I don't know, Pat."
5. [States facetiously:] All of a sudden you became this crazy person. When you were hired you weren't crazy. When do you think you became crazy?
6. [Concerning Dennis Race's investigation of my allegation of harassment:] Dennis Race didn't question anybody in the Department. He never talked to me. If he did an investigation, wouldn't you think that he'd have talked to various ones in the Department? I don't know of anyone in the Department he talked to. Maybe he only talked to selected people Chris Robertson picked, Chris' favorites. [Note that Pat McNeil's conjecture suggests a violation by my supervisor, Chris Robertson, of D.C. Code sec. 1-2525(b), prohibiting the aiding or abetting of retaliation.]
7. All I know is that Chris said, "You all know that Gary is gone. And they're coming to change the locks, because we're afraid Gary may come back and he may try to kill me." I never pictured you to be a person who would do something like that.
8. Lutheria Harrison and Sherri Ann Patrick were promoted to paralegals. [Lutheria Harrison and Sherri Ann Patrick fit in the category of "Chris Robertson's favorites."]
Freedman v. D.C. Dept. of Human Rights, Record at 41.