[Genealib] Genealogy Service to Prison Inmates

Mon May 1 09:35:34 EDT 2006

We have to be just as cautious with people who walk through our doors,
while recognizing that we can not close those doors to anyone who is not
an overt threat to public safety (and we have all had our share of those
experiences).  We are not always as helpful as we could be, but are not
required to be, when our "antennae go up," as Larry put it. When we are
suspicious of someone's motives, we are more likely to simply show them
the records or newspapers where they may find their answers, but we are
less likely to volunteer research tips unless in response to specific
questions.  

For years we had a team of researchers (private detectives?) from
another state who visited us quite often and were very friendly with the
staff.  They were reseaching living people and/or looking for living
descendants of specific individuals. They never asked for much help with
specifics, just wanted to know which newspapers were associated with
certain communities, where they could find records we did not have, etc.
Over time we realized they were probably researching heirships of coal,
oil and gas rights.  Since this was of possible financial benefit to
these people, does that make the privacy question or security issue less
valid or just as valid as the concerns expressed about stalkers?  Keep
in mind, we still do not know for sure exactly who these people were
working for and the exact purpose of their research.

Susan Scouras
Librarian
WV Archives and History Library
The Cultural Center
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East
Charleston, WV  25305-0300
(304) 558-0230, Ext. 742

-----Original Message-----
From: genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
[mailto:genealib-bounces at mailman.acomp.usf.edu] On Behalf Of Joy Rich
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 10:36 PM
To: genealib at mailman.acomp.usf.edu
Subject: Re: [Genealib] Genealogy Service to Prison Inmates
Importance: Low

This has been a thoughtful and interesting thread. Prisoners should be
treated as fairly and respectfully as 
anyone else. But I would think that librarians are permitted to use
their discretion and judgment on behalf of 
the living. If that doesn't fall under any library's or library
association's policies, maybe it needs to be 
added.

A request for personal information about the living and their families,
dead and alive, can be a warning 
signal. I think it's best for librarians on the outside to communicate
with prison librarians about requests 
made by prisoners.

In the genealogical society library I worked in, one of our female
volunteers used to sign her full name. She 
receiving an angry letter from a prisoner, addressed to her by name in
care of the society, because she didn't 
find as much information as he had requested. Realizing that signing her
full name would allow someone to 
easily find her home address in the telephone book, she then began
signing with just her initials.

I'm sending a very long post, but please read it. The posts below are
from the APG listserv.

Joy Rich

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
From: "D. Jane Carpenter" < Jane at Buildatree.net>
Subject: Questionable mail
Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2005 18:15:52 -0600A friend of mine who lives in
California and is a researcher sent the following letter to me today. I
thought it significant to let list people be aware of Mr. Beldotti and
his research endeavors!!!

To all in SLC - [AND JANE SENDS THIS ON TO ALL APG LIST READERS ]

Yesterday I received a very eloquently written letter by a man named
Dennis J. Beldotti who was requesting my assistance in his research
attempts to prove his family's connection to the movie actress, Alyssa
Milano. He stated that he has been researching his family for several
years and that he also does genealogy for other people -- he even said
if I needed anything from MA to let him know. He also asked if I knew of
anyone in SLC that I could refer him to for other genealogy pursuits in
the future.

The front of the envelope had his return address simply as a post office
box in Norfolk, MA. However, the back of the envelope had the following
message stamped across it: THIS CORRESPONDENCE IS BEING FORWARDED FROM A
MASSACHUSETTS CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION.

Upon reading that, I immediately got on the internet and used my
research skills to find out more about him. Dennis J. Beldotti is
currently serving a life sentence in a Massachusetts state prison for
the violent rape and brutal murder of a young woman! He was also
involved in child pornography and an occult! So much for nice sounding
letters . . .

If he had contacted me via the phone or through an e-mail instead of by
snail mail, I might not have ever known his true identity. Obviously I
don't plan to do this research for him but I do want to warn you to be
aware of him in case he should try to contact one of you for help in SLC
since so many of you advertise on websites, etc. Beware!!

D. Jane Carpenter, MLS
Carpenter Genealogical Services
PO Box 11682
Salt Lake City, UT. 84147-0682
www.Buildatree.net

---- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marcia D. Melnyk" <mdmelnyk at comcast.net>
To: <APG-L at rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2005 5:03 PM
Subject: Prisoners & research

Dear APG members,
    I serve as president of a genealogical society. We recently received
a well-written letter from Mr. Dennis J. Beldotti asking about our
organization. We sent him an information packet and later received his
check and membership application. Then we received another envelope from
him that was stamped with the "correctional facility" warning. I decided
to do a little research myself.
    I went on-line and searched by his name and came up with several
references regarding his reason for imprisonment as well as this thread
on RootsWeb. It turns out that he was convicted of first degree murder
(for a very heinous crime). In his application he included pedigree
charts for his research. These included not only his family line but the
pedigree charts and research on the family of the young woman he
murdered. He stated in his letter that he was preparing to publish a
manuscript on her family (of course he did not mention who she was). I
only discovered it when I was reading articles on the murder and it
listed her maiden name.
    My concern is that our membership includes a directory listing our
members names, addresses, and surnames of interest. While Mr. Beldotti
may very well be researching his ancestry we have no control over what
other prisoners will have access to our directory or what the names and
addresses might be used for. Such personal information could be used for
identity theft, stalking, and any number of other illegal acts.
    Can we, legally, refuse to accept him as a member? If so what is the
best way to word such a rejection? We do have an obligation to our
members to protect their personal information. Genealogists as a whole
tend to be trusting of others researching the same names and places. How
do we, as an organization, protect our members from fraud while still
assisting the networking that we all find so helpful? Any ideas out
there? since this thread was already on the list I assume others have
similar questions regarding our rights to accept or reject applicants.

Marcia, APG memberate: Tue, 19 Jul 2005 15:57:43 -0700 (PDT)
From:  Ray Beere Johnson II <raybeere at yahoo.com>
To: APG-L at rootsweb.com
Message-ID: <20050719225743.9568.qmail at web31012.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [APG] Dennis J. Beldotti part two
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

     What really concerns me is the implication,
since this man was "researching" his "connection"
to Alyssa Milano, a TV and movie star, that he is
a compulsive stalker who not only stalked and
killed one victim, who he apparently also
"researched", but who probably feels a "need" to
"research" others, and possibly to kill them as
well, should he ever get the opportunity. Even if
he has not violated any condition of his
sentence, the warden should be informed, since
this information should be considered if a parole
board ever grants him a hearing. I know I
wouldn't want any society I am a member of to
allow someone like this to join. If he contacts
me at any point, I will send a copy of any
communicaton to the warden of MCI Norfolk, and
other than that not reply at all. I don't
consider that he even deserves the explanation
that I do not regard gratifying his sick needs as
a legitimate grounds for research.
     If we do not all take every measure possible
to stop such individuals, they will surely harm
the reputation of all genealogists. Perhaps the
APG needs to develop a database of individuals
who are likely to contact professionals for
illegitimate purposes; we could each consult this
before risking involvement in this type of
"research".
                        Ray

Ray Beere Johnson II - Genealogist
279 East Central Street, Suite 259
P. O. Box 95
Franklin, Massachusetts 02038

raybeere at yahoo.com
FAX: 508-541-6788 

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