Hon. Colleen McMahon:
I am in the unenviable position of trying to describe how Craig Carton, who made the stupid mistakes for which he was convicted of, was not at all that person that you had in front of you in your courtroom to me, my wife, or my family in the almost ten years that we knew him.
Craig came to know me because as a writer for the website Bob’s Blitz we frequently made fun of him for his work on WFAN. Emails eventually were exchanged and while we at the Blitz continued to ‘bust his chops’ – we developed a friendship. Imprimis, via email. Secondly, over the phone. Eventually, in person.
That Carton / Bob friendship grew into one in which my wife and my father also interacted with Craig. Invited to WFAN studios to watch the then Boomer & Carton show in June of 2011 – Craig ended the show live on air by thanking us for coming in.
I’m sure you are quite aware of Craig’s charity work. Mikey Strong. The NYPD. Tic Toc Stop. We attended several of his efforts there too. May 15, 2012 Craig opened the New Era Pinstripe Bowl Charity Golf Tournament in front of various sports celebrities by naming me in his speech which was great – but what you don’t see is Craig, who had met Wendy for all of 15 minutes the year before, entering the Forsgate Country Club’s dining area (filled with 300 people) and walking directly to us...giving Wendy a kiss. (He is that kind of guy and we do have that video at home privately.)
Two months later Wendy, my father, and I were guests of Craig’s to watch his ‘Spike TV MMA Uncensored’ program in NYC. My dad still talks about how it felt like we were all old friends. Craig introduced us to all the UFC guests and we all took pictures together.
But the absolute best example that I can use to illustrate the guy Craig Carton is to us comes from later 2014/early 2015. I introduced Craig to a close friend, Rich Toth. Rich had a technology that would allow parents to watch instant replays of their kids’ sporting events instantaneously.
I brought Rich and his partner to one of Craig’s kid’s (actually probably several of Craig’s kids…) flag football games. They demo’d the technology and Craig really liked it. He sat down on the sidelines with Rich and I walked away to let them talk. Craig gave Rich a serious game plan and laid out how he would help him get the tech into the hands of the right people. The people who could help Rich the most and not at a big monetary cost to boot.
I returned to the two of them as Rich was asking, “OK, and what cut do you want for helping us out?” Craig turned to Rich and said, “I don’t want anything. I do it (pointing to me) because of my friendship with Bob. And if in five years you make a ton of money and want to give me a taste, fine. And if you don’t want to – that’s fine too. Just take care of Bob.”
Rich was floored. As was Carton, on air, a few months later when I let him know that Rich Toth had died. Craig also was floored in 2014 when I let him know that a young cancer battler, Anthony Crimeni, who once wanted nothing but to meet Boomer & Carton (he had), had also died.
The Rich Toth story and Craig Carton’s on air reactions to the death of two people he barely knew but obviously immediately bonded with? That is the Craig Carton we know. The one we are spiraling internally thinking about today. Please keep this Craig Carton in mind, the real CC, as you decide what sentence is fair. And please give me a call if you have any additional questions.
Respectfully,
Bob
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