Crime

 A fire that broke out at a Massachusetts church not long after Easter services is being investigated as a possible arson, according to the FBI and state and local law enforcement agencies. The fire started about 5:30 p.m. April 9 at the Faith Lutheran Church in Cambridge. Firefighters from 18 engine companies and eight ladder […]

A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing a Google employee whose 2016 death launched an effort to train women in self-defense, prosecutors said. Angelo Colon-Ortiz, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a robbery count in a deal that ensures he will serve at least 45 years in prison, the Worcester County district attorney’s […]

Quite a piece from MassLive.  Good reporting.

The Boston Herald reports that a man formerly of Hyde Park who looked at child pornography on a state-monitored computer while out on release for another child pornography-related offense will serve a decade behind bars. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV sentenced David Ladeau, 66, in federal court in Boston to 10 […]

As the criminal case proceeds against 36-year-old Stephanie Lak on charges of possessing and sharing child sexual abuse materials, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins is reaching out to parents and caretakers who may have had contact with the former nanny on the site Care.com. Lak was arraigned on April 28, 2021, on a charge […]

A 53-year-old Canton woman who previously pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1.4 million from the nonprofits she worked for has been sentenced to six years in prison, federal authorities said, as reported by MassLive.com In addition to the years in prison, Nicole Lescarbeau, also known as Nicole Coulibaly, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge […]

A Billerica man was indicted on sexual exploitation charges in U.S. District Court in Boston Philip Toronto, 43, faces two counts of sexual exploitation of children, as reported by masslive.com Toronto was arrested in February following an investigation into his activities by the U.S. Postal Service police and Massachusetts State police. According to court documents, investigators were led […]

The Boston Globe reports that Paul R. Shanley, a key figure in the clergy sex abuse scandal that began in Boston and shook the Roman Catholic church worldwide, was released from prison Friday and arrived in the small town of Ware, Mass., walking with a cane and looking frail. After spending 12 years in state […]

Newton police made multiple arrests on Jan. 10 at Tedeschi’s Food Shop on Winchester Street. Assigned to liquor enforcement, police spotted a young man head into the store around 8:40 p.m. He left carrying two 30-packs of beer, and loaded it into a gray Jeep with MA plates. Police questioned the man, and seized two […]

The Pittsfield Licensing Board has lifted the three-month suspension of a city bar’s liquor license, provided the bar owner sells it, which could happen within the next 60 days. The board’s unanimous decision on Tuesday means Hermann Alexander’s will remain closed until owner Mitchell Grossjung successfully finds a buyer for the license, reports the Berkshire […]

Wicked Local Somerville reports on alleged illegal gambling being conducted at Michael’s in Somerville. The ABCC is weighing disciplinary action. Under state law, gambling is any wager between participants or spectators of an event of more than $5 in a public place. Betting in pool halls, bowling allies or on sports is considered illegal. While […]

A former inspector for the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABC) pleaded guilty last week to extortion charges and received jail time for using his position of authority to extort money from an Everett business under his jurisdiction. Arthur Hitchman, 41, of Melrose, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Jan. 11th, in Middlesex Superior Court to charges […]

Greenfield’s Board of License Commissioners has ordered the Easy Street Nightclub to remain closed through this holiday weekend – a traditionally busy time for Western Massachusetts eating and drinking establishments – after a series of recent problems, including the arrest of a co-owner of the nightclub on drug charges last month. Bar owner Ivan Tristan […]

Police in Foxboro, Mass. arrested a Taunton man who led them on an almost hour-long chase after fleeing the scene of a car crash along Route 495 Northbound last Friday evening. 50-year-old Howard Stockbridge was arrested and charged after rear-ending a Rhode Island man’s car on 495 North in Foxboro and then driving away from […]

District Attorney Michael Morrissey hosted more than 150 educators and police from across Norfolk County at an all-day conference providing strategies to prevent and address underage drinking and other dangerous behavior, according to patch.com “The time to address underage drinking is before it comes into court as an alcohol-fueled assault, or the car crash that […]

Good article in southcoasttoday about fake ID’s going “high-tech,” and the difficulty law enforcement and local business owners have in discerning which ID’s are fake. Businesses may want to consider buying a machine that can read the license and help determine whether it is legitimate.

The Taunton Daily Gazette has a story on how the Taunton Police are getting tougher with sting operations and are on the hunt for liquor license violations and underage drinking. The state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security has awarded a $9,700 grant to the Taunton Police Department specifically to combat underage drinking.

Alcohol-related visits to local emergency rooms spike whenever Boston teams win championships and have parades, but effective public-safety oversight means we don’t experience the same sort of “horrendous” violence that other cities experience when they win, the Boston Public Health Commission reports. The commission says it compiled ER stats from Boston championship runs dating back […]

CBS news reports that fake ID’s in Massachusetts and elsewhere are becoming more sophisticated, with the advent of better technology, and present a public safety challenge. Re-creating holograms has spawned a lucrative, underground market for false ID’s.

The Brockton Enterprise reports that City Councilor Tom Monahan wants to explore ways to better promote downtown businesses after the License Commission Wednesday night rolled back the closing time of Joe Angelo’s Cafe & Deli. During the three-hour hearing, commission members voted to reduce the weekend hours of Joe Angelo’s from 2 a.m. to 1 […]

The Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts’ top federal judge, Mark Wolf, has said that Boston City Council’s authority to oust Chuck Turner from office last month following the councilor’s conviction for accepting a bribe is legally uncertain, and Turner’s lawsuit to regain his seat might be turned over to the state courts. Wolf ordered lawyers […]