<div>UPDATE 6 (21 June 2026): We filed a motion to reset the briefing schedule, which was granted by the court. The new briefing deadline is 15th July.
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<div>Thankfully the appeal is fixed cost. The normal rate is $500/hr (which is actually relatively inexpensive here), and I think he's already spent more than 20 hours on this case.
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<div>More to come as things develop.
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<div>Please keep sharing, if only to get this story out here. I'm also leaving donations open for anyone who hasn't contributed yet but would like to; I'd like to reimburse whst I can to the donors who borrowed money to make this happen. (I'm setting up the "automated goal" in gfm so it doesn't discourage anyone.)
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<div>Thank you again, everyone. It still feels surreal that this is actually going.
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<div><strong>Waste Management, Inc. pledged a million dollars to make sure I never see a cent from them.</strong>
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<div>I've been a security architect and cryptography specialist for more than 20 years. In 2017, Waste Management (the Fortune 200 trash company) tried to put me away for 23 years to save one of their drivers from prison for assaulting me. I've been fighting them on defamation, malicious prosecution, fraud, and more than thirty other counts ever since, and now I need your help.
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<div>One cool October morning, Waste Management driver Roy Palmer deliberately knocked me to the ground with a 40-ton garbage truck in a dirty Baltimore alley.
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<div>I was after spending the previous year asking the company to stop their ear-shattering pre-dawn waste collections that were violating Baltimore's health code and waking dozens of residents three mornings each week.
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<div>That morning I was standing in front of the truck, trying to reach Palmer's manager on the phone. When he saw this, he got in the cab, watched me through the windshield, and put it in gear. I was facing away, mid-voicemail, when the truck hit me.
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<div>The next day the manager, Adam Tsottles, who had never met me, drove to the Baltimore District Court and swore under oath that I had tried to steal the truck. Though I didn't know it until months later, that day his lies had me charged with "attempted theft of between $25,000 and $100,000."
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<div>Tsottles had Palmer's own handwritten statement and the truck's DriveCam video sitting on his desk, and swore to the court they supported his lies.
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<div>To this day, Waste Management claims the DriveCam footage was "lost," and no one outside the company has ever seen it.
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<div>Palmer's note, which called me "crazy" and "off his meds," was withheld from me for seven years. I saw it for the first time in September 2024.
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<div>Without any supporting evidence, the charge was dropped, but the damage to my reputation was already done, and catastrophic. In July 2018, the government of the United Arab Emirates rescinded a Director-level offer to lead their national Public Key Infrastructure, the job of my career, after the attempted-theft charge surfaced on the background check.
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<div>For more than three years, I have been functionally homeless and forced to rely on the kindness and generosity of my friends, family, and partners to keep me off the street.
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<div>I couldn't find an attorney or firm willing to take on such a behemoth, so I've had to fight their expensive corporate lawyers alone for nine years, spending every penny I've had to keep the case alive through five courts.
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<div>But despite all of my procedural gains, including successfully winning the right to depose the Assistant General Counsel for Waste Management, my case was dismissed late last year. The right argument from the wrong mouth sadly doesn't reach the ears of the Court. It wasn't because I was incorrect; it was because I was unrepresented.
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<div>Last night, however, an attorney agreed to take up my appeal for $10,000. He's been an appeals specialist for more than three decades, and I trust his work and his ethic.
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<div>If the appeal succeeds, the case goes to trial, guaranteed.
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<div>Two generous friends have already sent a combined $1,500 to get things rolling. I'm asking everyone for an additional $8,800 here to cover the remaining retainer plus GoFundMe's processing fees, so the attorney can be paid this week and begin work.
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<div>I know times are tough for a lot of us, so if you can't give, please share my story. The docket is C-02-CV-24-000546 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, for anyone who wants to read the unabridged version. I'll happily answer any questions you may have.
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<div>Please help. The appeal brief is due June 15th (less than 45 days from now) and the attorney can't start work until he's paid.
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<div>Every dollar goes to legal fees; I'd rather have justice permanently than a place to live temporarily. Anything left over will help pay off the mountain of debt this fight has cost me already.
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<div>Thank you so much to everyone that has donated and/or shared already. I can't tell you how humbled and grateful I am for all your support.
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<div>And if you're still reading, you're an absolute legend. Thank you for listening.
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<div>With my sincere and eternal gratitude,
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<div>Matt O'Reilly
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<div>UPDATE, MAY 06: A generous person offered to match any donations, so we're actually at twice whatever number is displayed above. (Nearly $8,000 in 12 hours.)
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<div>UPDATE 2: I haven't any adequate words. I'll try to find some to put here later. But until I do... thank you all.
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<div>UPDATE 3: In less than 24 hours, we got there! O_O
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<div>Your generosity got us across the line, and the appeal is officially able to move forward. I am humbled and grateful to everyone who gave and/or shared. I cannot find words to express how much.
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<div>One donor (who asked not to be named) pledged to match every dollar that came in up to the goal, but to make the match, they took on personal debt. Every dollar in from now on goes towards easing their burden.
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<div>So please keep spreading the word... the more people who know about this fight, the harder it will be for Waste Management to continue to try to bury it!
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<div>UPDATE 4; The attorney has been paid and I am awaiting the representation agreement.
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<div>Update 5 (4th June 2026): My(!) Attorney is Ron Schwartz, and he officially made his appearance before the Appellate Court of Maryland yesterday. The appeals case number is ACM-REG-2210-2025, and the opening brief is due Monday week, 15th of June. Thank you, again, to everyone who has shared and/or contributed. This would have been impossible without you.
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Anonymous

Dan Yopp

Phil Young

Ellen DeSitter

Avi Zamites

Bronwyn McLain

Diana Guillermo

Alexander Miller

Rachel Anne OReilly

Sean Guthrie

Help me end nine years of being run over by Waste Management

Help me end nine years of being run over by Waste Management

Still $4,865 to go. Help us build momentum.