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.”
