VALLLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL April 2017 A few months ago The Valley Patriot began to investigate the goings on at the Boxford police station. Rumors about a department out of control because of a police chief who is “mailing it in” motivated us to start requesting documents. Instead of cooperating with the press and being […]
By: Tom Duggan – 3/30/17 Former Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua’s Chief of Staff Lenny Degnan, was denied an appeal of his conviction for his role in soliciting a bribe from Allied Waste, the company that contracts with the City of Lawrence for trash removal. Degnan was sentenced to pay a fine of $10,000 and serve 18 months in […]
Lawrence City Worker Justo Garcia was found not guilty on two counts of public corruption Thursday afternoon in Salem Superior Court. Garcia, a campaign worker for former Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua, was put in charge of the city parking garages and parking lots while Lantigua was in office. Garcia was charged with giving false […]
Conservative radio talk show host John MacDonald walked out of his show, live, on the air Tuesday morning, after the 980WCAP radio station owner, Sam Poulten, “invaded” the program to ‘redirect’ the on-air conversation about Hillary Clinton’s emails and give the Clinton party line on what the host was discussing with his guest, Republican, Mary Burns. […]
Boston – A 16-year veteran officer of the Lawrence Police Department was indicted today in connection with attempting to use his position as a police officer to extort cocaine from a drug trafficker. John R. Desantis, Jr., 44, of Methuen, was indicted on one count of extortion and attempted extortion under color of official […]
By: Tom Duggan, 4-4-16 Former Lawrence Mayor Willie Lantigua is in trouble again with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF). The state’s political watchdog agency has fined Lantigua another $1,875 (as of 4-3-16) for refusing to file his 2015 year-end, campaign finance reports with the state. The reports were due on January […]
By: Dr. Bharani Padmanabhan – March, 2016 Healthcare costs are a huge percentage of the Commonwealth’s annual expense and a significant burden on both public and private employers’ budgets. Eventually all the spending gets reflected in the insurance premiums we all must pay. It naturally follows that huge attention must be paid to ensure that […]
By: Tom Duggan – March, 2016 Salisbury residents Stacie and Mark Warcewicz, owners of The Meadow at Red Ridge Farm have filed a lawsuit against the Town of Salisbury for illegally placing unenforceable restrictions on their business license. The Warcewiczs say that after years of holding weddings on their property with full consent from the […]
By: Tom Duggan, Feb, 2016 Last month, I had the displeasure of spending a day in Waltham at the state’s Board of Registration in Medicine, also known as BORIM. They are a state board appointed by the governor (this board was appointed by Gov. Patrick) to oversee the disciplining of doctors accused of wrongdoing. […]
Murphy was paid privately for work on permit applications and plans submitted to the Conservation Commission; then reviewed those applications and plans as consultant to the Conservation Commission. The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission issued a $10,000 fine against Robert Murphy, a former consultant to the Town of Canton Conservation Commission (ConCom). The Ethics Commission found that […]
IT’S NICE TO BE NICE… OR IS IT? THE NICE GUY CANDIDATE Salisbury Selectman Chuck Takesian is a nice guy, isn’t he? Everybody loves Chuck. It’s hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about him. When he dies people will give the old cliché that “everybody loved him, nobody had a […]
Displayed his Sheriff’s ID when asking business owners to take down his campaign opponent’s campaign signs The State Ethics Commission has fined Suffolk County Sheriff, Steven Tompkins after he admitted to violating G.L. c. 268A, the conflict of interest law, in 2013 by identifying himself as Sheriff when asking eight business owners in his district to take […]
By: Tom Duggan – September 2015 MORE ON SALISBURY Salisbury beach residents say they are fed up with Town Manager Neil Harrington and the board of selectmen ignoring their complaints about the town overcharging for sewer and water. For those who only have property occupied at the beach during the summer, homeowners are charged […]
Last month while watching the Salisbury Selectmen meeting, I noticed how openly and blatantly they violate their own policies for public participation at their meetings. I also noticed how they rudely talk over members of the public and try to silence those who have something to say that the selectmen would rather conceal. They call public […]
By: Tom Duggan, July 31, 2015 The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) has granted a hearing to former members of the Salisbury Board of Health, after Town Manager Harrington fired the entire board for trying to expose corruption, conflicts of interest, fraud, “apparent government waste” and retaliation against them as “whistleblowers”. The suit was filed […]