Tag Archives: Green Bay Wisconsin

An Obvious Obscurity….(Revisited)

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My husband, Mike and I recently attended a concert in Minneapolis that was both fun and poignant.

This piece is an extension of a previous blog posting of mine titled An Obvious Obscurity from 2015, which describes the first visit we had with one of the six men, Rey Moore, while he was at Oshkosh Correctional.

Ink drawing of Rey Moore by artist, Jared Manninen

Taken during a 2nd visit with Rey at Prairie Due Chien Correctional Institution on June 21, 2018

In the 2015 posting, I reference the song See You Again performed by Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa, and its relevance to my mission on behalf of Rey, the other five men, and their families.

The following passage from the previous blog embodies the song lyrics sung by Khalifa: “How can we not talk about family when family is all that we got?”

“When Rey entered the lounge, he spotted us and waved excitedly touting a big smile. He walked over and embraced us both as though we were old friends. His hearty laugh exhibited warmth and sincerity and we instantly felt the tension of the past few days fall away. Mike and I felt this diversion was good for all three of us due to our knowledge of the personal [family] concerns Rey faces and has shared in his letters. But at that moment on this day none of it was going to suppress Rey’s enthusiasm…or ours”

11-29-2019: Rey celebrating with longtime friend, Clare Martinson after Rey was paroled

11-30-2019: Joan, Rey, Clare Martinson at the Lion’s Mouth Bookstore in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Eleven years later, with Rey having been paroled within that time frame on July 2, 2019, Mike and I had the opportunity to see Charlie Puth in concert on May 16, 2026 at The Armory in Minneapolis. We were some of the oldest fans in the crowd but we melded into the vibe of those youngsters around us, listening to Puth as he played some of our favorite tunes.

34 year old singer/songwriter, producer, and musician, Charlie Puth in Minneapolis during his Whatever’s Clever! World Tour

Not the last song of the evening but the one right before, he played it…the song I was waiting the entire time to hear live! This time it was a solo performance without his counterpart, Wiz Khalifa. But it was not without a lot of soul. Though it lacked Khalifa’s powerful words, Puth poured everything he had into this and every one of his songs, old and new.

Over the course of the evening, Puth stressed to his fans to embrace the positive and gravitate toward that which inspires us. He hoped that we would walk away from this concert feeling inspired. He targeted the “artists” in the audience and asked that we use our inspiration to do good things.

Throughout his performance, Puth stepped back to allow the voices of those onstage with him to be heard. Yeah…I loved that. I’ve tried to do that too, during the course of my mission. Thanks Charlie for the inspiration to carry on…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the concert, despite the late hour, Mike and I both were still quite awake and energized. Mike suggested we stop for a nightcap. Mind you, this is extremely unusual for us!

We talked about the concert. We reflected on the positive message Puth had for the lively but impressionable crowd. I thought about Rey. I thought about how, during that visit which now feels like ages ago, he so passionately longed to be with his family.

It was gratifying to know that Rey has been free for close to seven years now. It was gratifying to think that maybe I played a small role in making that happen. It was gratifying to know that he’s free to live his life as he sees fit…alongside the precious family that he’s got…

A ‘Natural’ Fit… Pt. 2

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After the May 2nd event, I reconnected with Karen and Jim. I restated my enthusiasm to move forward with planning another event. Karen’s response was prompt, uplifting and included an introduction to the ESTHER Transformative Justice Task Force; an organization similar to JOSHUA, located in the Fox Valley in Wisconsin that “brings together people of many faiths to build community and act on issues of injustice.”

In addition to this amazing intervention, we had the good fortune of having the entire event recorded. Yes! Really! And it gets better…

Film crew: Damon Schneider, Jeremy Jordan, Mike Putchel   (Photo courtesy of Damon’s friend Dan)

Last year (2025) I learned of a new documentary in the works about the Monfils case that is being produced by Damon Schneider. I kept hearing from various colleagues that they had been contacted by Schneider and were being asked to do interviews for his film. In January (2026) Damon reached out to me with the same request. In his email, he explained that he lives in the Milwaukee area. As a courtesy because I live in the Minneapolis area, he suggested we could do the interview by phone. We worked out the logistics and on Thursday, February 12, 2026 we completed an over-the-phone interview I thought went quite well.

I let Damon know about the May 2nd event. He expressed interest in attending and asked if it would be okay to record parts of it to use in his documentary. My response to him was…would he be willing to record the entire event? Damon agreed and arrived with two other colleagues; Mike Putchel, and Jeremy Jordan. They recorded all of it!                                                                    (In time I hope to have access to the recording for widespread sharing.)

In addition, Damon had asked if any of the Monfils Six guys would be there and inquired specifically about Mike Johnson. Damon had not yet interviewed Johnson for the documentary and was hoping to conduct one after our event concluded. I let him know that all three Mikes would be there and that Johnson was open to doing the interview.

(LtoR) Damon Schneider, Mike Johnson, Mike Putchel, Jeremy Jordan.  (Photo courtesy of Damon Schneider)

Afterwards some of us, including each of the Mikes, gathered at a nearby pub to grab a bite to eat before going our separate ways. It was there that I made a proposal to them that will definitely make a powerful statement at our next event. This proposal was agreed upon and will be disclosed at a later date.

 

Prior to May 2nd, I experienced considerable anxiety because of the many unknowns as to how this event would turn out. My anxiety was from a lack of my ever having worked with musicians, and the fact that we were doing this together for the first time on the day of the event! There were redeeming factors to this madness. I had sent…in my opinion…a rather unpolished, audio version of my narrative to Karli and Jason beforehand so that they could become familiar with the content and tone of my voice. Other than that, there were no practice runs or in-person “dress rehearsals.”

(Photo courtesy of Jared Manninen)

(Photo courtesy of Jared Manninen)

But there’s no doubt that Karli and Jason are very accomplished, very talented musicians which helped put me at ease…somewhat. Okay…I was worried that I’d make them look bad. Karli thoughtfully reassured me that this would go well and to not worry. We arrived at the venue that day, each of us with the intent of pouring our hearts into what we both do best; sharing meaningful stories through notes and words. Though attendance was less than hoped for, we thank those who cared enough to be there. And we—Karli, Jason and myself—view this session as an outstanding trial run that could lead to more of the same.

And alas, I’m proud to announce that through successful coordination efforts, we have secured both a date and a venue for another event. Thanks to ESTHER, this next one—also free for attendees—will take place at:

Fox Valley Technical College                                                                                                              Date: October 15, 2026                                                                                                                          Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm

A good fit? Naturally…

Thanks for taking the time to read this posting. If you ever have questions or feedback about any of my content, please feel free to reach out. I’d love to hear from you!

Connecting With Quality Friends at Eden Vista…  

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Good friend and fellow advocate for six innocent men, Shirley DeLorme now resides at a senior living community in Green Bay called, The Village at Eden Vista. Through her efforts, I was scheduled to give a book talk to its residents on Thursday, July 31, 2025.

When doing these events, I always keep in mind that sometimes it is more about the quality of my audience than the quantity. That was certainly the case with this event which summoned a modest group of 15-20 attendees made up of both residents and staff. It was held in the basement theater space and was a mixed group of those who were aware of the Monfils case and those who were not.

Photo courtesy of The Village of Eden Vista

Our exoneree, Michael “Pie” Piaskowski, joined me for this event. And this time, I provided a slide show to accompany my usual presentation of introducing myself, summarizing the case, announcing him as my guest, and finally, fielding questions from the audience.

Locatelli family circa 1964 (Joan Treppa’s immediate family)

Shirley was the first to arrive downstairs. Aside from her welcomed presence, one other woman stood out quite prominently. Judy is a retired attorney who grew up in Green Bay. She had practiced elsewhere and was not in the area when the Monfils case saturated news headlines. In fact, she had only recently returned to her hometown of Green Bay.

I asked what her level of understanding of the case was. “I was kept abreast by colleagues in this area during that time,” she explained. “I wanted to attend today to hear more details and to learn what has happened since. If you have extra books with you, I’d like to buy one.” I signed her copy and showed her the four additional signatures near mine. “I was able to get some of the six guys to sign the books as an added bonus for these events,” I said to her. She was thrilled.

Following the presentation, Judy’s background became apparent when she asked a number of very technical questions regarding appeals, procedure, etc., which Mike Pie handled with ease. She was also interested in knowing whether or not the other five men were still in prison. Shirley asked a number of questions as well, as a way to help the rest of the audience gain an appreciation of the flaws in this case.

During questions, I shared Shirley’s role of hosting the Family and Friends (FAF) meetings at her home. I shared photos taken of her with various family members of the six men. The photos also included John Gaie and Denis Gullickson, authors of the book, The Monfils Conspiracy.

Back row L to R: Denis Gullickson, Lee Basten, Mike Pie, Clayton Kutska Front row: Shirley DeLorme, Gina Martin, Claire Micoliczyk

John Gaie, Shirley DeLorme, Mike Hirn

After every one else had left, both Shirley and Judy hung out with us to chat further. Much more was discussed about the case. Judy also shared an impressive list of prominent people she considered as close friends. Those in the political arena such as Wisconsin Senator, Tammy Baldwin and Virginia Senator, Tim Kaine are among her closest. Judy promised to share my book with Senator Baldwin.

Both women walked with us to the front entrance and lingered for a bit longer. As we exited the building I said to Mike Pie, my husband, Mike, and Clare, “There’s always at least one interesting connection made at these events. You just never know what that connection will be and where it might take us.”