The Monfils Conspiracy: The Conviction of Six Innocent Men

by Denis Gullickson, John Gaie

On November 21, 1992, Thomas Monfils, an employee at the James River paper mill in Green Bay, Wisconsin, disappeared. After an intensive search, his body was found the next evening, submerged in a pulp vat. The police called it murder. In 1995, six of Monfils' coworkers were wrongfully convicted of his death, the result of a preordained theory and a reckless prosecution. Highly detailed and meticulously researched, The Monfils Conspiracy reveals the true story of a botched case that landed six innocent men in prison. Through extensive interviews, court documents, police reports, and other documentation, Denis Gullickson and John Gaie present a powerful look at the troubling events surrounding the death of Thomas Monfils and the mistake-riddled investigation that followed. Gullickson and Gaie trace the futile twenty-nine month investigation between the time of Monfils' death and the conviction, one pock-marked with dead end leads and overlooked evidence. Using solid facts, they lay bare the weaknesses, inconsistencies, and secrets in the prosecution's case and the jury's erroneous rush to judgment. As recently as 2001, a federal judge ordered the release of one of the men, citing a lack of evidence, and further suggesting the original proof as unsound. Fifteen years after Monfils' death and a dozen years after his coworkers' convictions, The Monfils Conspiracy shatters the myths surrounding this case and opens the door to justice-and the truth.

Genres: Nonfiction

520 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Co-authors, Green Bay WI area. Currently fighting for the freedoms of five innocent men serving life terms for a murder they did not commit."

Reviews

[Allison Bednarek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read. I grew up in Green Bay during this and my sister when to HS with Monfils. My biggest questions is didn’t their Attorneys do anything? Seems so obvious

Awesome read. I grew up in Green Bay during this and my sister when to HS with Monfils. My biggest questions is didn’t their Attorneys do anything? Seems so obvious

Would love to discuss

Bednarekj@aol.com

[Tanya T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember this case being all over the news back in 1992. I had always wondered how they could have tried 6 men all at once as a group. I didn't think that was even logical or ethical? Each man should have been allowed to be tried seperately with their own attorneys ( which each of them did have their own) but just reading the jury selection process was ridiculous. One attorney could eliminate someone that could have been potentially helpful for another defendant. While at times the Author seemed to repeat himself, but definitely made you realize that these men were targeted by an over zealous investigator who used threats and other less than honest tactics. For those not familiar with the case, the book is about the " Murder" of a paper mill worker supposedly by 6 of his coworkers after his body was found floating in a vat of pulp inside a large paper mill. Thomas Monfils had called the Green Bay police to report a coworker Keith Kutska was about to steal equipment from the Mill. He asked to remain anonymous but later the GBPD did release the taped call to Kutska himself. Who then, along with coworker's confronted Monfils at work. All witnesses described it as non physical confrontation lasting only minutes before they all walked away to their various work stations. Shortly after Monfils is missing from his designated machine and found 32 hours later floated dead inside a vat. The rest is conflicting accounts of whether it was a murder or a suicide. After reading this, I truely think atleast 5 of these men are innocent. I'm not so sure about Kutska, but another suspect is brought up in this book that was never talked about in the media. Interesting read. One of the 6 men has since been released and helped with the writing of this book.

[susan roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply affected by this book!

I've always been fascinated with miscarriages of justice, it never ceases to amaze me how the victims of such injustice don't lose their minds. This book however involves 6 innocent men, a victim and countless families. There is something so unsettling about this case that I truly feel I will never be able to walk away from it. I only hope that more people read this and are as affected as I have been,maybe there is strength in numbers. I feel a great burden to do something for these people. This is a travesty like no other. Read this book.

[Joely · Rating 3 out of 5]

The situation that led to this book is devastating. Six innocent men were convicted of murder and this book unravels the massive amount of indifference and corruption that allowed it to happen. The book overall is really dry, and can be quite a snooze at times. Massive props to the authors to do the work that the Green Bay Police Department obviously decided not to do themselves. FTP. Defund the Police.

[Dawn A Chuilli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

This book brings to light points that definitely should be explored. This book makes you think. I suggest an one who had heard of this case to read this book.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting, but I can't say it was well written. It was very repetitive in places. As I was reading I felt very much like the author was trying to fill pages rather than tell the story. Considering how compelling the story is, and the fact that the author did what appears to be some very detailed investigations, it's too bad that it wasn't written better. Clear and to the point.
As a Green Bay resident who worked at the plant in question a couple years after the events of the book, I was very interested in the more in depth story than what was offered in the Green Bay press. The book delivered that well. There is definitely more in the book than was ever presented in the press. It's just the repetition that takes away from the overall story.
As a final note - the description of the plant environment are horrible. Describing the facility using the 'hellish' descriptive words was over the top dramatic. Is the plant loud? Yes. Is it dark and frequently dirty? Yes. Do the employees grind out the day being vibrated to death by the machinery? Hardly. For many of them, much of their day is in the climate controlled, quiet control room environment. It may not be for everyone, and some of the days are long, dirty, and hard, but much of the time is more comfortable than a lot of people work in.

[Toby Resch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the injustice that continues today in Wisconsin regarding one of the most notorious cases in the state's history, the Tom Monfils case. It revolves around the death of paper mill worker Tom Monfils, the conviction of six of his co-workers, the witch hunt propelled by the police and prosecution, and reveals the true innocence of these six men.

This tragedy has never ended. Although one of the men, Mike Piaskowski, had his sentence overturned by a federal judge in 2001, the other five- Keith Kutska, Dale Basten, Reynold Moore, Mike Hirn, and Michael Johnson-remain behind prison bars today, waiting for the truth to come to light. This book exposes all that went wrong with the investigation; a rogue lead detective, mishandling of the autopsy and the scene of the discovery, the "Way to go Kutska!" bandwagon, the prosecution's tricks (joint trial, questionable "witnesses", lying to the jury) and a negligent jury.

This book is just more than a good read. It is a call to action to exhonerate five men imprisoned unjustly. For more information visit sixinnocentmen.com.

[Lynnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is huge, it moves along quickly (besides learning about how a paper plant works.) It raised serious doubts about the Monfils case, and the role of the GBPD in general. Coupled with the fact that that had lots to lose if there was no conviction, this book leaves you wanting to find out what you can do to help these men at the very least get a new trial.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was OK. Since you knew the premise before you read it, it doesn't really answer the question of, if they didn't do it, who did? It did bring up some interesting questions about the investigation and how it was handled.

[a m a n d a · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Had to read this book since I am from Green Bay and it’s nice to read a true crime book from where you are from.

To me this book could have been better organized. I feel like a lot of information was repeated. But it was a good book that had a lot of information about the crime.