5.John Curran — Direct/Cross
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THE COURT: We have a slight logistical problem that we're going to solve. We have to take another recess.
(Recess taken at 11:36 a.m.)
(The Court and jury entered the courtroom at 12:05 p.m.)
THE COURT: All right. Mr. Watkins.
MR. WATKINS: The defense calls John Curran.
COURT CLERK: Sir, want to step up here, please? Step up to the box. Remain standing. Raise your right hand.
JOHN CURRAN, Sworn
COURT CLERK: Have a seat. Please state your name for the record and spell both your first and last name.
JOHN CURRAN: My name is John Curran. J-o-h-n, C-u-r-r-a-n.
DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. WATKINS:
MR. WATKINS: Good afternoon, Mr. Curran.
JOHN CURRAN: Good afternoon.
MR. WATKINS: Mr. Curran, where do you currently live?
JOHN CURRAN: I live in Watertown, Massachusetts.
MR. WATKINS: Were you born in Boston?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes, I was.
MR. WATKINS: Where were you raised?
JOHN CURRAN: I was raised in Mission Hill, in Roxbury.
MR. WATKINS: Have you always lived in the Boston area?
JOHN CURRAN: I have.
MR. WATKINS: How old are you currently?
JOHN CURRAN: I'm sorry?
MR. WATKINS: How old are you currently?
JOHN CURRAN: I'm 73.
MR. WATKINS: Are you employed?
JOHN CURRAN: No, I'm retired.
MR. WATKINS: What did you do before you were retired?
JOHN CURRAN: I worked for 35 years for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I was a grant reader, and I would monitor grants once it was funded.
MR. WATKINS: In addition to your regular job, did you also do volunteer work and other work?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes. I've been a volunteer coach in boxing through USA Boxing for 47 years.
MR. WATKINS: So at what age did you get started with boxing?
JOHN CURRAN: Probably when I was six. My father and I -- it was a connection that we had. And we would go out in the backyard, and I learned how to throw a jab and the basic punches and movements.
MR. WATKINS: Did you fight yourself when you were younger?
JOHN CURRAN: I did. I fought in smokers, and I fought in the Marines.
MR. WATKINS: Is there a time where you moved from actual fighting to doing training?
JOHN CURRAN: There's -- I think I had my last fight when I was 19 years old, and then I started working out on my own. And people would ask me how to do certain things, how to throw a jab, how to hit the bag, how to hit the speed bag. And eventually I would be sacrificing part of my workout to work with other people, and that's how I started training people.
MR. WATKINS: Did you find that you enjoyed that aspect of it?
JOHN CURRAN: Very much so.
MR. WATKINS: And is that mainly what you've been doing for the last four decades?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes.
MR. WATKINS: Was there a time where you became associated with the Somerville Boxing Club?
JOHN CURRAN: There was, 1988 to approximately 2008.
MR. WATKINS: What kind of program was the Somerville Boxing Club?
JOHN CURRAN: It was a boxing gym, not necessarily a health club. It was -- we had professionals and we had amateur boxers.
MR. WATKINS: What ages of people would you see at the club?
JOHN CURRAN: We would have guys from 12 to 34.
MR. WATKINS: Were there lots of kids there?
JOHN CURRAN: There were at times. It was very popular. We had the world heavyweight champion in the gym, and so that was a magnet to other boxing aficionados.
MR. WATKINS: Do you know who Tamerlan Tsarnaev is?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes, I do.
MR. WATKINS: What are your first memories of meeting Tamerlan Tsarnaev?
JOHN CURRAN: My first memory was that he was kind of charming. He certainly was eager to participate. And my problem with him was that he was -- he didn't listen to the coaching instructions. He fought with the European style, straight up, different type of hand movements than American boxing. And so it was trying to work with him, teaching him how to box the American style, and he was reluctant to pick that up.
MR. WATKINS: When he first came to your gym, did he already have some skills, boxing skills?
JOHN CURRAN: He did. He had basic boxing skills but, again, in a European mode.
MR. WATKINS: Coming to your gym, some kids have skills coming there but most do not; is that fair to say?
JOHN CURRAN: Most do not. Most do not, and that's what the training or teaching is.
MR. WATKINS: I'd like to show Mr. Curran Exhibit 3264, which I don't think there's an objection to.
MR. MELLIN: That's fine, your Honor.
THE COURT: Mr. Mellin.
MR. WATKINS: Mr. Curran, on the screen do you see a picture?
JOHN CURRAN: I do.
MR. WATKINS: Let's wait.
JOHN CURRAN: I see Tamerlan and I see his father.
MR. WATKINS: Mr. Curran, can you wait just a moment?
MR. WATKINS: Is it on the -- it is, okay.
MR. WATKINS: Can you identify who the two people in that picture are?
JOHN CURRAN: In the boxing helmet is Tamerlan Tsarnaev, and on the left in the black shirt is his father.
MR. WATKINS: Now, looking at that picture, is that the approximate age of when he was coming to the gym and you were working with him?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes, that's approximately when he started.
MR. WATKINS: Talking about the helmet he has on, is that standard equipment, to have headgear at a younger age?
JOHN CURRAN: It's mandatory that you wear headgear in amateur boxing, a mouthpiece, and a cup. And the headgear has a stamp on the back of it that says, "Certified by USA Boxing."
MR. WATKINS: Now, let's talk a little bit about that. USA Boxing is a umbrella organization?
JOHN CURRAN: It is. It's the umbrella organization for Amateur Boxing United States.
MR. WATKINS: There are also -- Somerville Boxing Club, how would that fit into the USA Boxing organization?
JOHN CURRAN: In order to compete in an amateur contest, your coaches had to be certified by USA Boxing by taking a test every two years. The boxers have to be certified. That's basically it. And our club was certified under the LBC, which is a six-state region, the New England region. That LBC covers the whole region.
MR. WATKINS: And are you yourself a certified boxing coach?
JOHN CURRAN: I am.
MR. WATKINS: And have you really always been your career with one exception? Have you always been certified?
JOHN CURRAN: I believe so, yes. I mean, this started -- this certification started from a court case in the '90s. So that's when it became mandatory.
MR. WATKINS: Now, you had started to talk about boxing in the European style. That was something you noticed with Tamerlan?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes.
MR. WATKINS: And can you describe how that's different than the style that you're used to as a coach?
JOHN CURRAN: Most boxers, American boxers, sit on their legs. They bend their knees. And Tamerlan would be straight up, which is very similar to most European boxers, stand straight up. And the punches are a little different than -- instead of throwing a hook in this position, he throws a hook straight out and across his body.
MR. WATKINS: While you were coaching him, was that something that you tried to change?
JOHN CURRAN: I did. I tried to change that. It was very frustrating trying to change it.
MR. WATKINS: Why was that? What was frustrating about it?
JOHN CURRAN: Well, he was reluctant to change the style. It was a style that he had learned in Russia.
MR. WATKINS: When Tamerlan came to the gym, would he be accompanied by his father sometimes?
JOHN CURRAN: His father a number of times.
MR. WATKINS: What were your impressions of his father?
JOHN CURRAN: Very proud of his son, very supportive of his son, encouraged by his ability in the ring. And it looked like he would -- Tamerlan would try harder when his father was there. Did not try as hard when his father wasn't there.
MR. WATKINS: Did his father also try to give him advice?
JOHN CURRAN: Periodically. And I'd have to caution him about it and just say, Hey, listen. We're trying to teach him stuff and he's not listening.
MR. WATKINS: Over the -- does the Somerville Boxing Gym, at that time did it charge a fee?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes. There was a membership fee that was paid at the front desk. And sometimes these kids couldn't afford it, and we'd let them slide for a while. But if you were being taken advantage of, you would put your foot down and say you have to pay. That's how we keep the lights on. None of the coaches at that time were getting paid.
MR. WATKINS: Was there -- do you recall particular difficulties with Anzor paying the fees?
JOHN CURRAN: I had no prior knowledge of that. There was a woman that handled the books, and she has since died.
MR. WATKINS: In addition to his father, would Tamerlan be accompanied by anybody else to the gym?
JOHN CURRAN: I saw Jahar probably twice in our gym.
MR. WATKINS: When you mention Jahar, do you see him sitting at the table here?
JOHN CURRAN: Young man right there.
MR. WATKINS: Do you recognize him from earlier on?
JOHN CURRAN: I do. I think he was probably ten or eleven years old when he was in the gym.
MR. WATKINS: When you'd see Jahar in the gym with his brother -- well, describe that relationship.
JOHN CURRAN: I think they had a close relationship, and I mentioned to somebody that he was like a puppy, following his brother.
MR. WATKINS: So -- well, you continued to coach Tamerlan, to the extent he would listen, over some years?
JOHN CURRAN: I think there were a couple of years in maybe 2005 and 2006, and then I had him on the National Golden Gloves team. He won the local New England Golden Gloves.
MR. WATKINS: Perhaps I could stop you there. I want to go to an article in the Lowell Sun.
MR. WATKINS: Again, your Honor --
MR. MELLIN: Objection, your Honor.
MR. WATKINS: -- I don't think there's any objection.
MR. MELLIN: There is an objection. Relevance.
THE COURT: Overruled. I'll allow it.
MR. WATKINS: Showing you Exhibit 3240.
THE COURT: This --
MR. WATKINS: First of all --
THE COURT: Just to be clear, this will be admitted, Mr. Watkins.
(Defendant's Exhibit No. 3240 received into evidence.)
JOHN CURRAN: Yes. I recognize myself, Tamerlan, Tamerlan's father, and Gene McCarthy, the other trainer that was working with me.
MR. WATKINS: Is it on the jurors' screens?
MR. WATKINS: Why don't you tap as you go. If you tap on that screen, it will make an arrow perhaps.
JOHN CURRAN: This is John Curran. This is Tamerlan Tsarnaev. This is Gene McCarthy. And this is Tamerlan's father.
MR. WATKINS: Now, this article, you've looked at this in the past, correct? You've seen this article?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes, I do.
MR. WATKINS: And this is -- well, what newspaper --
MR. MELLIN: Objection to the article. Objection to the article being displayed. The photograph is one thing. The article is something totally separate.
THE COURT: Well, we can limit its purpose. It's to show there was an article about the event, I guess, not to prove any particular fact that might be asserted in the text.
MR. WATKINS: You've reviewed this article?
JOHN CURRAN: I've read this article recently, yes.
MR. WATKINS: And do you recognize the writer as being a boxing writer in Lowell?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes. He's -- Carmen has been the Golden Gloves writer for the Lowell Sun for a number of years.
MR. WATKINS: And it describes Tamerlan and his fights in the Novice Class?
JOHN CURRAN: Correct.
MR. WATKINS: Because you're in that picture, you were coaching him in the Novice Class of the Golden Gloves?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes.
MR. WATKINS: So let's talk a little bit about the Golden Gloves. First, how does that fit into the USA Boxing umbrella organization, if it does?
JOHN CURRAN: At that time, there was a little in-house fighting between the Golden Gloves nationally and USA Boxing nationally. The Golden Gloves did not really want to adhere to a number of the rules that were set up by USA Boxing, and so they would allow a foreign athlete to fight in a non-Olympic year. And that's what happened in 2009.
MR. WATKINS: Let's talk about it. First, in -- first, let's talk about the Golden Gloves itself. That's an annual tournament?
JOHN CURRAN: It's seven weeks long. It's in January and February, and it's taken place in Lowell, Massachusetts.
MR. WATKINS: Was that a -- that's a competition that you've been to for many, many years?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes. I've been there for most of my boxing career.
MR. WATKINS: In 2009, did you see Tamerlan Tsarnaev boxing at the Golden Gloves?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes, I did.
MR. WATKINS: Over the course of that seven weeks, a boxer, how many times might he box?
JOHN CURRAN: He may have boxed four times.
MR. WATKINS: If a boxer loses during the course, then --
JOHN CURRAN: Then he's out of the competition.
MR. WATKINS: In 2009, Tamerlan Tsarnaev made it to the finals?
JOHN CURRAN: He made it to the finals and he won the finals.
MR. WATKINS: As a result of winning the finals in 2009, what did that mean? What did he get?
JOHN CURRAN: He gets the opportunity to go to the national competition. That year it was Salt Lake City, Utah.
MR. WATKINS: Like fighters, do trainers get selected to go to that --
JOHN CURRAN: That's correct.
MR. WATKINS: And in that year, who was the trainer who was selected to go?
JOHN CURRAN: I was selected and Bobby Russo from Portland, Maine.
MR. WATKINS: So did you accompany the champions from Lowell to Salt Lake City?
JOHN CURRAN: That, I did.
MR. WATKINS: Can you talk about that experience with Tamerlan Tsarnaev?
JOHN CURRAN: We were leaving from Manchester Airport and he was sick. And at that year there was a particularly bad strain of flu. It was very contagious. And there was another guy on the team that had the same problem. So I put those two guys together and separated them from the rest of the team. And then periodically I would check on them to see how they were doing, did they have soup or something to eat or whatever.
MR. WATKINS: This is once you got to Salt Lake City, you were checking on them?
JOHN CURRAN: Correct.
MR. WATKINS: Did Tamerlan Tsarnaev get very far through that competition in Salt Lake City?
JOHN CURRAN: No, he did not. He was sick, and he fought his first fight. And I think in the first round he dropped his opponent, and then he ran out of gas and completed the fight, but he just was totally exhausted.
MR. WATKINS: Going a year ahead to the 2010 Golden Gloves competition, were you again in Lowell?
JOHN CURRAN: I was.
MR. WATKINS: Did you again see Tamerlan Tsarnaev fight there?
JOHN CURRAN: I did.
MR. WATKINS: Now, were you his trainer at that time or was somebody else?
JOHN CURRAN: I believe somebody else might have been his trainer at that time.
MR. WATKINS: What was your experience with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, knowing the boxing industry, about his allegiance to trainers?
JOHN CURRAN: At this time he was a heavyweight, and a heavyweight division is anybody from 178 pounds to 201 pounds. He was under the assumption that somehow I could bypass the rules and --
MR. WATKINS: Let me stop you there because you're getting a little bit ahead of me. In 2010, did he again win some fights?
JOHN CURRAN: He did win. He beat the eventual guy that went to the Nationals.
MR. WATKINS: And his name, do you remember who that was?
JOHN CURRAN: Bryan Daniels, I believe.
MR. WATKINS: In that competition, did you -- how many times did he beat Mr. Daniels?
JOHN CURRAN: He beat him twice that I remember.
MR. WATKINS: That includes the finals in Lowell, correct?
JOHN CURRAN: Correct.
MR. WATKINS: So, again, if it had been like 2009, he would have been able to go to the Nationals, the Golden Glove Nationals?
JOHN CURRAN: Correct. But in 2010, USA Boxing put their foot down and said, No, no foreign athlete can advance beyond the Regional.
MR. WATKINS: And so was Tamerlan Tsarnaev able to go to the Nationals?
JOHN CURRAN: No, he was not.
MR. WATKINS: Did he talk with you about ways to fix that?
JOHN CURRAN: Yes. He thought that I could pull a rabbit out of a hat and make it possible for him to go.
MR. WATKINS: And was that possible?
JOHN CURRAN: No, not at all, not at all.
MR. WATKINS: Now, did you act as his trainer beyond 2009 when you were in Salt Lake City?
JOHN CURRAN: I may have worked with him prior to the 2010 Golden Gloves.
MR. WATKINS: Maybe I should back up. The Golden Gloves, this is for the entire region, the LBC region that you mentioned?
JOHN CURRAN: No. The beginning of the Golden Gloves is for the -- for Lowell. And then we have a Tournament of Champions, which encompasses four other states -- or three other states: Connecticut, Vermont, and New Bedford. And we have what we call a Tournament of Champions. So the winners from Lowell fight the winners from those other areas in the Tournament of Champions. The winner of that goes to the national competition.
MR. WATKINS: So given the number -- the length of the tournament and the number of fighters there, one has to be pretty good to win?
JOHN CURRAN: Correct, if everything -- all the stars are lined up, yes.
MR. WATKINS: After 2010, did Tamerlan Tsarnaev continue to train at gyms that you were associated with? Did you ever see him again?
JOHN CURRAN: I saw him maybe two times after that. He would stop by our gym and work out.
MR. WATKINS: When you say "our gym," were you at a different gym?
JOHN CURRAN: Right now I'm at South Boston Boxing Club.
MR. WATKINS: And you would see him a couple of times there?
JOHN CURRAN: I just -- yeah, a couple of times, and then I wouldn't see him for months.
MR. WATKINS: As a long-time coach and trainer, would you recommend that a boxer spar without the headgear and mouthguard that we saw in that prior exhibit?
JOHN CURRAN: No, I do not recommend that at all. As a matter of fact, the whole system has changed now that, in order to fight in the Olympics, you fight without a headgear, which is new this year.
MR. WATKINS: But that's not something you agree with?
JOHN CURRAN: No, I don't agree with it. I think they should wear headgear.
MR. WATKINS: That's all I have, your Honor.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. MELLIN:
MR. MELLIN: Good afternoon, Mr. Curran. You were never the defendant's boxing coach, correct?
JOHN CURRAN: I'm sorry?
MR. MELLIN: You were never the defendant's boxing coach, correct?
JOHN CURRAN: I was never the defendant's -- no, I trained him.
MR. MELLIN: No, no, this man, Jahar Tsarnaev.
JOHN CURRAN: No, not at all.
MR. MELLIN: And you --
JOHN CURRAN: I didn't even -- he didn't even box. I mean, it wasn't his sport.
MR. MELLIN: Right. What was his sport?
JOHN CURRAN: I believe, according to the newspapers, wrestling.
MR. MELLIN: All right. And you said that you saw him twice, is that right?
JOHN CURRAN: Correct, when he was a young boy, when he came to the gym. And while we would be working on the floor, he might be inside the ring just rolling around or bouncing off the ropes or getting the feel of what it was like to be in the ring.
MR. MELLIN: The times you saw him he was nine or ten years old, correct?
JOHN CURRAN: Correct, I believe.
MR. MELLIN: At least ten years ago, correct?
JOHN CURRAN: Correct.
MR. MELLIN: Thank you.
MR. WATKINS: Nothing further, your Honor.
THE COURT: All right, Mr. Curran. Thank you. You may step down.
MR. WATKINS: May I have just a moment, your Honor?
The defense calls Kendrick Ball.
COURT CLERK: Sir, want to step up here, please. Step up to the box, if you would. Remain standing and raise your right hand.