Concerns that casinos could lead to greater criminal activity led Massachusetts' top prosecutor to urge the state's gambling overseers to come up with regulations combating money laundering, human trafficking and other illicit activities.

By PHILIP MARCELO, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) -- Concerns that casinos could lead to greater criminal activity led Massachusetts' top prosecutor to urge the state's gambling overseers to come up with regulations combating money laundering, human trafficking and other illicit activities.

Mass. Attorney General Maura HealeyMARK M. MURRAY / THE REPUBLICAN FILE

Attorney General Maura Healey suggests that the state Gaming Commission requires casinos to file timely reports to the state about suspicious activity and large cash transactions and to incorporate "zero tolerance" language in employee and vendor contracts about trafficking in people and drugs, among other measures.

"Such regulations should deter would-be money launderers, and identify those engaged in other criminal enterprises, such as drug traffickers, human traffickers, loan sharks and organized crime," Healey wrote in the letter dated March 27.

State Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said the panel will discuss the letter.

"Obviously, everyone is opposed to money laundering and human trafficking," he said Thursday. "The question is, What's the most effective way to make sure that these things are minimized? ... We don't want to blow it out of proportion, but you do want to think aggressively and creatively about how you make sure these things don't become problematic in our state."

The American Gaming Association, a casino industry trade group, called Healey's concerns "completely misguided " and indicative of a "deep and disappointing bias against the casino gaming industry."

The organization said it recently provided Healey's office with a "comprehensive document" about the industry's anti-money laundering efforts, which it says were developed in coordination with the federal government.

Healey, a Democrat and casino opponent elected in November, has promised to make gambling enforcement a priority, saying she'll be looking to ensure casino consumer protection laws are enforced, criminal activity is prosecuted and casinos honor the commitments they've made to cities and towns.

After years of debate and controversy, Massachusetts' casino industry launches in earnest with the expected June 24 opening of a $225 million Penn National Gaming slot parlor on the Rhode Island border.

Two other major resort casinos are also in development: an $800 million MGM casino in Springfield and a $1.7 billion Wynn casino in the Boston suburb of Everett.

In a related development, Revere's mayor is calling on Healey to launch an investigation into a land deal between Wynn Resorts and the state transit agency.

Revere Mayor Daniel Rizzo, whose administration is suing to block the casino development, suggests Healey look into how the deal came about, including why much of the discussions happened outside of public view, how Wynn became the "winning bidder" and how the $6 million sale price was reached.

"Allowing a state agency and a private developer to act in this manner erodes the public's confidence in government," he wrote in a Thursday letter. "Wynn has been allowed to proceed with this project seemingly unchecked, with little regard for law or impacted communities."

State Gaming Commission members said Thursday that they are closely watching the issue. Healey's office and Wynn Resorts did not immediately comment.

The casino purchased the roughly 1.75 acres, which are part of a bus repair facility, for the resort's main point of entry.

But the governor's office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has said the state Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority violated state regulations when it completed the land deal before it could complete its own review.

The Most Rev. Mitchell Rozanski and Paul Gagiliarducci, who is leading the effort to develop the new school, will attend the first meeting to answer questions from parents about the creation of the new high school.

SPRINGFIELD — As the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield continues its review of potential sites for a new merged regional high school, it has scheduled two sets informational meetings for parents of students affected by the plan on April 13 and 28.

The April 13 meeting ,to be held at 7 p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Middle School in West Springfield, is geared to parents of Cathedral High School and Holyoke Catholic High School, the two schools that will be merged under the plan. Parents of St. Michael's Academy, an elementary school in Springfield, are also invited to attend the meeting.

The Most Rev. Mitchell Rozanski and Paul Gagiliarducci, who is leading the effort to develop the new school, will attend the first meeting to answer questions from parents about the creation of the new high school.

The second meeting on April 28, which is also set for 7 p.m. at St. Thomas school, will focus on questions from parents of students attending other Catholic elementary schools in the diocese. Those schools also would serve as feeders to the new high school.

"We will discuss some of the site information at the parents meetings, but do not anticipate a final site to be identified by those sessions," Dupont said.

Bishop Rozanski annnounced that a merger of Cathedral and Holyoke Catholic was the best choice for the future of Catholic education in the diocese.

Cathedral students have been attending classes in a former Memorial elementary school in Wilbraham since its building was severely damaged by the June 2011 tornado. The tornado also damaged the St. Michael's Academy property.

In 2002, students at Holyoke Catholic were forced to relocated from its antiquated and unsafe building in downtown Holyoke to the former St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Granby – and four years later to its current location in the former Assumption School in Chicopee.

Proponents of rebuilding the new school on Surrey Road – including U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce – have been vocal in their support of the East Forest Park neighborhood location for the merged school.

Neal helped secure $29 million in federal disaster aid to rebuild Cathedral, A spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the funding is not tied to a specific site.

The news of the upcoming parent meetings first appeared on www.iobserve.org a news web site run by the diocese.

In a letter to parents, Rozanski wrote, "I hope that this can be a forward-thinking meeting focused on the future needs of this new school."

The meetings will include a presentation as well as time for questions and concerns about the new high school to be addressed.

The bishop has also announced that the diocese has retained the services of Partners in Mission, an academic consultation firm, which will work with Gagliarducci on strategic planning, marketing and development, as well as on leadership and governance issues. A representative from the firm is scheduled to be at the meeting.

Dupont told iobserve that Partners in Mission will begin its analysis by visiting both high schools next week.

Regarding progress on a site, all Dupont would say is that work is progressing and that multiple locations are currently being evaluated.

Seven people have taken out nomination papers for mayor in Springfield in just the first three days that papers are available.

SPRINGFIELD - The list of potential candidates running for mayor of Springfield continued to climb on Thursday.

A total of seven people have taken out nomination papers for mayor, as of Thursday afternoon, the third day that papers were available the Election Office at City Hall, according to Election Commissioner Gladys Oyola.

"While the mayoral seat seems to be drawing the most interest from prospective candidates the proof will be in the pudding," Oyola said. "Pulling nomination papers for any office shows an interest in running. However, returning the 500 signatures necessary to run for mayor is the true indication of how serious a candidate is."

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, of 109 Carroll St., was the first to take out the papers, and said he is running for re-election.

Two other candidates, who have formally announced their candidacies for mayor, also took out papers this week: Johnnie Ray McKnight, of 9 Hollywood St.; and Salvatore S. Circosta, of 24 Burlington St.

Others taking out papers for mayor by late Thursday were: Michael Jones, of 146 Maynard St.; Michaelann Bewsee, of 27 Mystic St.; Jeffery P. Donnelly, of 120 Lucerne Road; and Beverly Savage, of 36 Sumner Terrace.

Those taking out papers for mayor have until July 28 to return them to the Election Office with at least 500 signatures of registered voters in order to qualify for the fall ballot.

The election is Nov. 3, and a preliminary election will be held in September if there are more than two candidates for mayor. There would also be a preliminary election if there are more than two candidates running for any ward seat on the City Council, or if there are more than 10 candidates running for the five at-large council seats.

The prosecution rested its case on Thursday after calling more than 100 witnesses over the course of two months. Defense attorneys will call their witnesses on Monday and expect to be finished presenting their side that day.

FALL RIVER - The prosecution in the murder trial of Aaron Hernandez has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, his defense argues in a new motion that asks Judge Susan Garsh to bypass the jury and find him not guilty.

Hernandez, a former star tight end for the New England Patriots, is one of three men accused of shooting and killing 27-year-old Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro in June 2013. The prosecution rested its case on Thursday after calling more than 100 witnesses over the course of two months.

Those witnesses included numerous forensics experts, friends of the suspect and victim, Hernandez's fiancee Shayanna Jenkins, Patriots team owner Robert Kraft and Alexander Bradley, who is suing Hernandez for allegedly shooting him between the eyes four months before the murder.

Defense attorneys will call their witnesses on Monday and expect to be finished presenting their side that day. The prosecution will have a chance to offer a rebuttal. Closing arguments could be heard as soon as Monday or Tuesday, and then the jury will start deliberations.

The motion filed in Fall River Superior Court states there is sufficient evidence to charge Hernandez with accessory after the fact, and possibly enough to convict him. He acknowledges withholding information from investigators, providing the other suspects with the means to flee the state, and telling his fiancee to get rid of a box in their basement, which prosecutors believe may have contained the murder weapon.

But since he's not charged with accessory, none of those details matter, the defense asserts. Prosecutors need to prove Hernandez was at the scene of the murder when it took place and that he intended to play a role in the commission of the crime.

"It is well-settled that proof of a defendant's presence at the scene of a crime and association with the principals is insufficient to support a conviction," the motion reads. The motion acknowledges that prosecutors do not need to prove a motive to kill Lloyd, but they have failed "to present any evidence that Hernandez had any reason whatsoever" to commit the crime or even want him dead.

The motion relies heavily on decisions from the Supreme Judicial Court, including a case called Simpkins. In that case, the court sided with defense attorneys who asked the judge for a not-guilty ruling. The prosecution's case was based on circumstantial evidence, like the fact that the suspect had an encounter with the victim a week before his death and helped others hide weapons afterward.

Hernandez's defense team appears to admit in its filing that he was at the scene of the murder, saying "there is substantial evidence" he was at the North Attleboro industrial park in the early morning hours of June 17, 2013, where Lloyd's bullet-riddled body was later found. There is no evidence, though, showing what Hernandez did while he was there, the attorneys argue.

The motion calls evidence of bad blood between Hernandez and Lloyd "lame." Witnesses offered contradictory testimony about Hernandez's behavior two nights before the murder: Some said he was aggressive while with Lloyd at a Boston nightclub, but the woman who babysat Hernandez's daughter said she ran into them later and spent the night partying with them.

A second problem with the prosecution's case, the defense argues, is the lack of evidence that Hernandez either pulled the trigger or arranged for someone else to do it. He texted another suspect, Ernest Wallace, hours before the murder to demand he come to Massachusetts from Connecticut, but the texts did not mention Lloyd or any criminal activity.

"There is absolutely no evidence that the killing of Lloyd, whoever was responsible for it, was planned at all, rather than a spontaneous occurrence," the motion reads. "And there is certainly no evidence that Hernandez ever intended, planned, or agreed to kill Odin Lloyd."

Hernandez was seen in his own home surveillance video holding an object that prosecutors and at least one firearms expert claim was a Glock handgun, like the one used to murder Lloyd 10 minutes before the video was taken. The defense argues that even if the object were a gun, he was carrying it in his own house, not outside, like the indictment claims.

Friday's proceedings are expected to deal with motions such as this. Judge Garsh can rule on the request for a not-guilty finding at any time, even if the jury convicts Hernandez.

If Garsh rules in favor of the defense motion, the prosecution has the right to appeal.

Stay with MassLive.com for continuing coverage of the trial of Aaron Hernandez. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

David Stearns, 33, of has denied two counts of rape of a child aggravated by age difference and 12 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old.

SPRINGFIELD - David Stearns, 33, of Wales has denied two counts of rape of a child aggravated by age difference and 12 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old.

Stearns, of 41A Lake George Road, pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday in Hampden Superior Court.

Judge Richard J. Carey set bail at $2,000 cash, the amount Stearns posted when arraigned in Palmer District Court.

According to court records some of the alleged crimes happened between Aug. 18, 2013 and Nov. 25, 2014.

Others are listed as happening between Aug. 18, 2008, and Nov. 25, 2014.

A pretrial hearing is set for July 30.

The case is being prosecuted by Matthew W. Green with Joan Williams representing Stearns.

Troopers will hold a sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location in Suffolk County on April 10 and 11, according to Col. Timothy Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police.

BOSTON — Troopers will conduct a sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed Suffolk County location on April 10 and 11, according to Col. Timothy P. Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police.

The goal of the grant-funded checkpoints is to increase public safety by removing intoxicated motorists from state roads, according to State Police.

The checkpoints will operate during varied hours and the selection of vehicles won't be arbitrary, police said.

 

Ivan Gonzalez and Justin Jackson are charged with two counts of home invasion and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with an April 2014 home invasion.

Buffy Spencer | bspencer@repub.com 

SPRINGFIELD - A Springfield woman testified Thursday that two men came into her kitchen on April 19, swinging butcher knifes, screaming and "going crazy."

Belinda Wallace said she and her adult son backed into a corner of the kitchen and her son held up a chair to keep the knives away.

Wallace was testifying in Hampden Superior Court in the trial of co-defendants Ivan Gonzalez, 28, and Justin Jackson, 24, with court records listing their address as 3 Norfolk St., Springfield.

They are charged with two counts of home invasion and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon last year.

Assistant District Attorney Amy D. Wilson said in her opening statement that the incident took place shortly before 4 p.m. at 358 Wilbraham Road where Wallace, her husband and some of her children lived at the time.

Wallace testified as soon as the the men left she called police. She was brought in a detective's car across the street and Gonzalez and Jackson were brought out for her to look at while she was in the car.

She said she was 100 percent sure Gonzalez and Jackson were the two men who were in her kitchen with knives. Wallace said she could not understand what the men were screaming.

Thomas E. Robinson, Gonzalez's lawyer, told jurors in his opening statement, "Ivan Gonzalez and Justin Jackson are innocent. That is what we expect to show."

He said they never went into Wallace's house. He said jurors should consider whether or not prosecution witnesses have a motive to lie.

Robinson said two defense witnesses will testify they were at Adams Park next to the Wilbraham Road home and Gonzalez never went inside the home.

One of those witnesses was with Gonzalez when he went to Adams Park to play basketball, Robinson said.

Other people came to play and an argument erupted, ending in Gonzalez being beaten by a group of men. Gonzalez managed to get away but at no time went in the Wilbraham Road house, Robinson said.

Lauren F. Olanoff, lawyer for Jackson, said her client was never even near the park, let alone near the Wilbraham Road home. She said the two defense witnesses with testify to that fact.

She said defense witness Javier Figueroa will say Gonazalez had some words with people on the porch of Wallace's house and they had some words back.

Gonzalez's friend will he and Gonzalez went to the 3 Norfolk St. house to patch up Gonzalez's injuries from the beating, Olanoff said.

She said police went into the Norfolk Street house and brought Gonzalez and Jackson out.

She said Wallace initially said two Hispanic men invaded her home, while Jackson is African American.

Wallace said a younger son told her there was a fight in the park and she went to a window to watch. She said she saw a man who she recognized from the neighborhood try to leave the fight.

That man had on red shorts and a red shirt. She said when the same man showed up in her kitchen wearing red shorts she knew it was the man who had been beaten in the park.

She saw the two men who were in her kitchen walk to the Norfolk Street home, she said.

Both Olanoff and Robinson questioned Wallace on several things she said at a past hearing they pointed out were different than what she testified to on the stand Thursday.

The trial is scheduled to continue Friday in front of Judge Mark D. Mason.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Wednesday approved changes to new law that sparked boycotts of the state amid fears that it would allow discrimination against lesbians and gays.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on Wednesday approved changes to new law that sparked boycotts of the state amid fears that it would allow discrimination against lesbians and gays.

Meanwhile, the Arkansas House voted 76-17 to pass a revised bill after Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked for changes in the wake of mounting criticism. Hutchinson signed it only moments after the vote, saying the new version recognizes that "we have a diverse workforce and a diverse culture."

Pence had asked lawmakers to clarify language in the religious objections law earlier this week as businesses canceled conventions and governments banned travel to the state.

The House and Senate approved the changes Thursday after intense negotiations with business and community leaders, and Pence signed it late in the day.

The revised legislation prohibits providers from using the law as a legal defense for refusing to provide services, goods, facilities or accommodations. It also bars discrimination based on factors that include race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or United States military service.

The law will take effect July 1.

"Over the past week, this law has become a subject of great misunderstanding and controversy across our state and nation," Pence said in a statement. "However we got here, we are where we are, and it is important that our state take action to address the concerns that have been raised and move forward."

The new legislation marks the first time sexual orientation and gender identity have been mentioned in Indiana law.

The Arkansas measure is similar to a bill sent to the governor earlier this week, but Hutchinson said he wanted it revised to more closely mirror a 1993 federal law. Supporters of the compromise bill said it addresses concerns that the original proposal was discriminatory.

Like Pence, Hutchinson has faced pressure from the state's largest employers, including retail giant Wal-Mart. Businesses called the bill discriminatory and said it would hurt Arkansas' image. Hutchinson noted that his own son, Seth, had signed a petition urging him to veto the bill.

After Hutchinson signed the compromise bill, the House voted to recall the original proposal from his desk. Conservative groups said they would have preferred Hutchinson sign the original bill, but they grudgingly backed the compromise measure.

"The bill that's on the governor's desk is the Rolls Royce of religious freedom bills. It is a very good bill," said Jerry Cox, head of the Arkansas Family Council. "The bill that just passed ... is a Cadillac."

The revised Arkansas measure only addresses actions by the government, not by businesses or individuals. Supporters said that would prevent businesses from using it to deny services to individuals. Opponents said they believed the measure still needs explicit anti-discrimination language.

The original bill "gave us a black eye. This bill ices it," said Rita Sklar, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. "We still need some Tylenol."

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group, called the new law an improvement but said it could still be used be used to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

The revised bill also faced opposition from Republicans frustrated over the governor's request for changes to a proposal he had initially planned to sign.

"I, for one, do not appreciate someone hiding behind this body when they're unwilling to take a stand one way or the other," Republican Rep. Josh Miller of Heber Springs said.

Similar proposals have been introduced this year in more than a dozen states, patterned after the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, with some differences. Twenty-one states now have comparable laws on the books.

Gov. Charlie Baker and other top state officials joined the final listening session of an opioid addiction state task force. They heard a litany of heartbreaking stories and pleas for more treatment beds, better insurance coverage and more education.

BOSTON - Barbara O'Brien is only 16, but her life has been touched by heroin.

Her brother has struggled with addiction for eight years. "It not only affects his life, it affects everyone around him more than he probably realizes," O'Brien said. O'Brien has spent nights crying because she does not know where her brother is. Some nights, her mother would not come home, because she was looking for O'Brien's brother to get him into treatment. O'Brien used to be embarrassed to tell friends that her brother was a heroin addict.

O'Brien urged an opioid working group on Thursday to provide more education in cities, towns and schools to people of all ages.

"If more people were educated on the topic, it wouldn't be so hard to talk about it, because they would realize they're not alone in struggling with a family member who is an addict," O'Brien said through her tears.

The working group, established by Gov. Charlie Baker, is chaired by Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders and charged with developing a statewide strategy to combat opioid addiction. The group held the final of four public listening sessions at the Statehouse. The first three - in Greenfield, Worcester and Plymouth - drew a combined 1,000 attendees. Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Attorney General Maura Healey joined task force members in listening to a litany of heartbreaking stories and pleas for more treatment beds, better insurance coverage and more education.

Jenna Cochrane said her nephew, Michael O'Connor, came to her in November and admitted that he was a heroin addict who had ended up in the emergency room twice after overdosing. Cochrane begged him to get help and made a list of detox facilities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. They sat in her car in a McDonald's parking lot and called every one.

"Every single one said no beds, no beds, no beds," Cochrane recalled.

Cochrane took O'Connor to an emergency room and lied and said he was suicidal, so the hospital would have to hold him. He stayed in the hospital for eight days, but no detox beds opened up.

"Its sickening," Cochrane said. "There's no other disease in this world you'd be turned away for health care. It's discriminatory and it's disgusting."

O'Connor was released from the hospital. He died Jan. 9.

"I have a lifetime of pain and suffering ahead of me as do my family members because of negligence in not providing health care to individuals with the disease of addiction," Cochrane told the task force.

According to state statistics, there were nearly 1,000 deaths in 2013 from unintentional opioid overdoses, an increase of 46 percent over 2012. Unintentional overdoses led to more than 2,000 hospital stays in 2013. The state police have reported more than 200 overdose deaths so far this year.

The spike of overdoses has led to a renewed political focus on the issue. The Legislature last year convened a task force, then passed a law that, among other things, requires insurers to cover 14 days of inpatient care without preauthorization and to cover abuse deterrent drugs. Baker, after taking office, .

Both Baker and Healey have talked about the need to educate doctors about the dangers of prescribing addictive painkillers too frequently and to crack down on doctors who prescribe them irresponsibly. Baker said nationally, 80 percent of heroin addicts first became addicted to prescription drugs.

Healey said Thursday that she wants to look at problematic prescribing and dispensing practices; put in place a better prescription drug monitoring program; do more to educate students and families about identifying and preventing addiction; and work with health care providers and insurers to ensure better access to treatment and recovery services. "We really need to come at this issue from so many different fronts in order to really be able to get at this terrible disease," Healey said. "Everyone needs to be at the table, because every day people are dying here in this state."

At the hearing, health professionals, recovering addicts and family members made a range of proposals: requiring insurers to cover more recovery programs, including 12-step programs or those with a religious component; putting money toward more detox and recovery beds; creating a system where follow-up care is more readily available and covered by insurance; providing more education to students in schools; and replacing the beds that were lost when a residential recovery program in Boston closed after the Long Island bridge was condemned. Many also talked about removing the stigma around addiction.

"Having a disease doesn't make you a bad person," said Delaney Tivnan, whose father died of a heroin overdose.

William Pfaff, a Billerica tattoo artist, founded a Facebook page "Heroin is killing my town" after his best friend and his daughter's boyfriend died from heroin use. His group now acts as a support network, connecting addicts and their families to peers who can help them, and helping to find people services like detox beds. Pfaff was one of a group of people wearing neon yellow shirts that read, "Are you listening?"

Pfaff said he came to the hearing to ask: "How many people are going to die while you people on the panel gather information?"

Foye, 50, was in October sentenced to two years in jail for tampering with substances, two counts of possession of a class B substance (cocaine and Oxycontin) and two counts of larceny of a drug.

This is an update to a story first posted at 2:18 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD - Former Ludlow Police Lt. Thomas Foye looks back on his descent into drug addiction with some amazement.

Foye, 50, was in October sentenced to two years in jail for tampering with substances, two counts of possession of a class B substance (cocaine and Oxycontin) and two counts of larceny of a drug. The veteran officer was arrested for stealing drugs from the evidence room. He was arrested in his own office in 2013.

Fitted with an electronic bracelet from his pre-release program in Hampshire County, Foye spoke publicly for the first time since his sentencing in Hampden Superior Court in October. He appeared at a heroin and opiate addiction symposium at U.S. District Court.

Foye followed a panel of seven speakers from the law enforcement, medical and drug treatment communities.

However, Foye's 20-minute address drew the only standing ovation of the day. In a fairly steady voice, he told a story of a most unlikely path to becoming an addict.

"It's a question I still ask myself: how the hell did I get here?" he told an audience of more than 100, which included many of his former law enforcement colleagues. "It's nice to see faces I haven't seen in a long time."

He had a strong upbringing with supportive parents, a college education, a solid marriage, three children, and a long career with the police department that drew many accolades and commendations. Foye was the longtime head of the detective bureau and served on an FBI task force. He had arrested many addicts, responded to overdoses, drug-related suicides and had warned schoolchildren of the dangers of drug use at countless community events. He even served on the Ludlow School Committee.

"I lived a good life. I really did," he said.

He said he took his first OxyContin pill after shoulder surgery a few years back. Two subsequent surgeries required more pain medication and he came to the unsettled realization that he was addicted. Foye went through bouts of sickening withdrawals, he said. His doctor kept feeding him new prescriptions to stave off the sickness and try to wean him off painkillers.

"The short version is I began to acquire pills illegally; so I broke the law," Foye said. "I found myself looking in the mirror and ... I'm praying to God and I'm saying: 'Why? Why can't this stop? Why can't I stop this?' This is the one damn son-of-a-bitch that I could not beat on my own. I was losing the fight."

Foye said he felt relief, not dread or panic when he was arrested by state police on Aug. 15, 2013. The matter had been under investigation within his own department, the Hampden County district attorney's office and the Massachusetts attorney general's office.

He had gone into the evidence room without authorization that morning and was later arrested with cocaine in his possession, authorities said at the time.

Foye did not address cocaine use during his presentation, but described the police officer who stayed with him overnight in a detox facility following his arrest.

"Some day I think I want to be that guy," Foye said, adding that he believes there has to be "some dignity" in drug addiction treatment.

"We're afraid of being weak. In my position, in my job, I didn't get paid for being weak. That wasn't in my job description," he said.

Panelists include Edward Schreiber, director of addiction and treatment services at Carson Center at Valley Human Services; Dr. Ruth Potee, chairwoman of Healthcare Solutions Opioids Taskforce of Franklin County; Sullivan; Sherann Jackson of Liberty Preparatory Academy; Steven Winn, vice president of the Behavioral Health Network; Marcy Julian, regional manager of Learn to Cope; and Michael Ferguson, acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The event was part of a statewide series entitled "In Our Own Backyard," which addressed the universality of the heroin/prescription drug epidemic in urban centers, suburbs and rural areas. Panelists discussed the lack of adequate treatment beds, the resistance by insurance companies to fund longer-term treatment and the alarming rates of drug usage by Americans.

Ferguson told the audience that Americans use 99 percent of the world's supply of hydrocodone and 82 percent of the world's supply of oxycodone. He said one of the emerging threats has become heroin laced with Fentanyl, a powerful narcotic estimated to be up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni joined U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz for opening comments at the event. He said later that he wished more of the local school principals and school committee chairs he invited had attended.

"I could go through town by town and tell you what the drug of choice is at the high schools ... and the middle schools," Mastroianni said, referring to his previous tenure as Hampden District Attorney. "A lot of communities say no it's not here it's over there; it's somewhere else ... that's not true."

Current Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni and Police Commissioner John Barbieri also attended the conference along with many other law enforcement and government officials.

Troopers will conduct sobriety checkpoints at an undisclosed Worcester County location on the evening of Saturday, April 4, into the morning of Sunday, April 5, according to Col. Timothy Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police.

A sobriety checkpoint will be conducted at an undisclosed Worcester County location on April 4 and 5, according to Col. Timothy P. Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police.
The purpose of the grant-funded roadblock is to increase public safety by removing intoxicated motorists from commonwealth roadways. The checkpoint will be operated during varied hours and the selection of vehicles won't be arbitrary, police said.

In Massachusetts, 326 motorists died in crashes in 2013, including 118 from alcohol-related crashes, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report on driving fatalities.

Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

Gov. Charlie Baker is pumping another $2 million into a program designed to encourage Bay State residents to switch to electric vehicles.

BOSTON (AP) -- Gov. Charlie Baker is pumping another $2 million into a program designed to encourage Bay State residents to switch to electric vehicles.

The money will go to the state's electric vehicle rebate program, administered by the Department of Energy Resources.

The program offers Massachusetts residents rebates of up to $2,500 if they choose to buy or lease electric vehicles.

So far, the program has provided rebates for more than 700 zero- and low-emission vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles, and zero-emission motorcycles.

Zero and low-emission vehicles save drivers on fuel and maintenance, while emitting less carbon dioxide.

Money for the program comes from auction proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the nation's first multi-state "cap-and-trade" program. Massachusetts participates in the initiative.

The unidentified man and woman were in their 50s and from Cleveland, Ohio, police Sgt. Ricardo Cruz told The Associated Press.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A couple was found dead Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide aboard a Holland America cruise ship that docked in Puerto Rico, officials said.

Holland America 

Cruz said blood was found in the cabin aboard the Ryndam, but it was unclear how the couple died. "We don't know yet whether an object was used or what the motive was," he said.

He said the ship's crew found the bodies when they checked on the couple after not seeing them for a while.

The FBI has taken over the investigation.

It was unclear exactly when the couple died. The ship departed Tampa, Florida, on Sunday for a two-week cruise in the southern Caribbean. It stopped in Key West on Monday and then spent two days at sea before docking in historic Old San Juan on Thursday, Holland America spokesman Erik Elvejord said.

"We are terribly saddened by this tragic event," the company said in a statement.

Cruise ship passengers said they were not aware of what had happened.

"This is a shock to me," said Mark Moore of Watertown, New York, who was traveling with his wife.

He said the crew had roped off part of the ship and hung a sheet in the hallway as passengers disembarked around noon.

The Ryndam was scheduled to depart Puerto Rico late Thursday and arrive in St. Thomas on Friday.

The victim's purse was said to have contained an unspecified amount of cash and food stamps.

Boston transit police are searching for the person seen in this surveillance photo who is suspected of stealing a bag from a woman in a wheelchair on a bus in Cambridge on Monday.MBTA Transit Police photo 

MBTA Transit Police are looking for a man they say stole a bag from a woman in wheelchair on a bus in Cambridge on Monday.

According to police, the suspect, described as a Hispanic male, approximately 5 feet, 4 inches tall, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, a waist length black leather jacket, blue jeans, black shoes and a black face mask fled from a bus as it stopped at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Sydney Street.

Radio station WBZ-AM reported that the suspect was standing right next to the victim and timed the theft so he could flee when the bus stopped.

Other riders started yelling when they saw the suspect take the woman's bag she said contained food stamps and cash, the station reported.

"It's a disgusting act," Transit Police Lt. Richard Sullivan told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "We're judged by how we protect the most vulnerable citizens among us and this right here was captured on video."

Boston.com reported that the incident happened about 3 p.m. on Monday, and noted no value was set for what was stolen.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts or identity of the person shown in the photo captured by a bus surveillance camera is asked to contact the Transit Police's criminal investigations unit at 617-222-1050.

Anyone willing to assist but wishing to remain anonymous text a tip to 873873 or use the anonymous feature on the T's SeeSay app.

"It's tremendous," said Davey, who was state transportation secretary during the administration of Gov. Deval L. Patrick, "The T's fate is in the hand sof Springfield."

SPRINGFIELD — Without Chinese manufacturer CNR Changchung's decision to locate a plant in Springfield and build new rail cars for the MBTA, Boston might not have any Olympic dreams, Richard Davey, CEO of Boston 2024 Partnership, said on Thursday.

When Boston began considering its Olympic bid, Davey said the CNR deal was "number one of seven priorities" promoters considered as key to the city's pitch for the Olympic bid.

Davey, former state transportation secretary under Gov. Deval L. Patrick, said Boston could never handle the transportation needs of visitors without the new Red and Orange line rail cars CNR will build at the former Westinghouse site on Page Boulevard.

Davey called the deal that will make Springfield the American headquarters for the Chinese company "tremendous" to the bid.

"The T's fate is in the hands of Springfield. There's no way we could hold the Olympics without the Red and Orange cars," he said.

Davey made the comments during a meeting with the editorial board of The Republican prior to attending an event at the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame where Western Massachusetts leaders were making a pitch for a piece of the Olympic action.

Davey said his organization backs a statewide referendum on the Boston 2024 Olympic proposal, preferably to be held in November 2016 on the same day American voters will elect a new president.

Davey believes that once Massachusetts residents understand the long-term benefits to the commonwealth, they will get behind the proposal.

Planners are already talking about the Deerfield River as a potential venue for canoeing events, Davey said. "Athletes care deeply about the venues for their sports," Davey said.

The fact that Springfield is the home of the Basketball Hall of Fame and Holyoke is the home of the Volleyball Hall of Fame will be a significant to promote if Boston secures the Olympic bid.

CNR announcement

 

Boston 2024 organizers say they look forward to listening to local residents and giving Western Massachusetts a role before and during the Olympics, but they are also committed to a Games centered around Boston.

Western Massachusetts economic development officials plan to use a public meeting in Springfield on Thursday to pitch organizers of the Boston 2024 Olympic bid on an expansive vision of the Games that would include multiple events in the state's western counties.

The head of Boston 2024 said he looks forward to listening to local residents and ensuring Western Massachusetts has a role before and during the Olympics, but the organization is also committed to a Games centered around Boston.

Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council, has been working with the sports commission of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau on a proposal to bring Olympic benefits to Western Massachusetts.

"I think we can put together a package that presents an opportunity for Western Massachusetts, working with our colleges and universities, our existing businesses, to have an economic development role both short term and long term in being a significant part of the Olympics," Sullivan told The Republican/MassLive.com.

Sullivan, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs under former Gov. Deval Patrick, will be pitching a former colleague of his - Richard Davey, Patrick's former transportation secretary, who is now CEO of Boston 2024.

Davey said he is "open" to the proposal. But, he said, "I think we just have to understand how that fits into the overall message of our bid, which is a walkable, sustainable games."

The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. It will give Boston 2024 organizers a chance to hear from Western Massachusetts residents and will let residents learn details of the Olympic bid. Taekwondo Olympian Sharon Jewell will be among the presenters from Boston 2024.

The local officials will offer a presentation created by University of Massachusetts crew coach Jim Dietz and Ted Fay, who once coached the Olympic cross country ski team.

"What our goal is is to get them to start thinking about some of the options that are available here in Western Massachusetts if this goes forward," said Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We want to remind them of the history of sport in our region."

The vision laid out by the local officials will include extensive use of the Mullins Center and other stadiums at UMass Amherst and the MassMutual Center in Springfield for basketball, volleyball, soccer, rugby and field hockey.

The officials also are touting a facility for rowing, cycling and equestrian sports.

"We're known nationally and internationally for those events right now," Sullivan said.

The economic development officials have had one meeting so far with Boston 2024. According to Davey, organizers are already considering a slalom course in Shelburne Falls. However, Boston 2024 has also touted its bid as a "walkable" Olympics, with most venues are likely to be in the Boston area. There are other constraints on venues, like the preference of national sporting foundations. Boston 2024 would be required by the International Olympic Committee to build a village to accommodate all the athletes in one place.

Davey said he envisions Western Massachusetts being involved in ways other than venues - through the torch relay, activities with youth sports and a "cultural Olympiad" that shows off local arts and culture in the years preceding the games. Davey said athletes who come to train before the Olympic village is completed could stay at colleges including UMass and use their training facilities. He also wants to ensure that the Basketball Hall of Fame and Holyoke's Volleyball Hall of Fame have a role in the Olympics.

"I think the Olympics are about more than just venues during that 30 day period, and I want Western Massachusetts, I want the Pioneer Valley, to be involved in a long-term, meaningful way," Davey said.

Opponents of the Olympic bid have argued that jobs and economic benefits will be concentrated in Boston, while all state taxpayers are at risk of having to pay for cost overruns.

Davey said he anticipates that areas outside of Boston will see some economic benefits from tourism and from work going to local suppliers and subcontractors, even if most of the construction is in Boston.

Boston 2024 officials say the bid will be privately funded, other than transportation projects that will help the state regardless of the Olympics and federal funding for security.

This is the first Pizza Studio in New England.

HADLEY - In three hours, the Pizza Studio had given away 256 pizzas and the day had just begun - the  restaurant at Hadley Corner is open until 8:30 p.m.

In exchange for the free pie, the California-based chain was asking people to donate to one of three charities. And the restaurant was going to match donations for each up to $500, said project manager Stephanie Jarm.

She said the line in the morning just after they opened at 11 a.m. stretched out the door. 

Offering the free pizza is a good way to spread the word about the restaurant and give people a chance to try it. It opened Monday.

The restaurant makes each pizza to order and with the thin crust and 1000-degree oven, it cooks in two minutes, Jarm said.

The jars for Whole Children, Dakin Humane Society and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts were stuffed with bills. She said they had been collecting for three days.

Selda Cejic from Amherst was there with her husband and two rescue dogs at an outdoor table. Her son told her about the offer and she wanted to try the pizza and donate to Dakin. Although her rescues were from Texas and Bosnia, she loves Dakin and collects food when she can.

And she and her husband both liked the pizza.

This is the first Pizza Studio in New England state and they company is looking to expand, Jarm said.

While the choose-your-own-concept from crust to topping is familiar in California, this is the first of its kind out here, she said. 

Kyle Loughlin, the Bridgewater State University student accused of sexually assaulting two young boys at the campus day care center, previously worked at a YMCA camp in Hopkinton and at a Sherborn elementary school.

A digest of news stories from around New England.

James Robarge 

Paul LePage 

It took the Hampden Superior Court jury a only few hours to acquit the two men in the trial in front of Judge Mark D. Mason.

Buffy Spencer | bspencer@repub.com 

SPRINGFIELD — Ivan Gonzalez and Justin Jackson were acquitted Friday in a Springfield home invasion case.

It took the Hampden Superior Court jury a only few hours to acquit the two men in the trial in front of Judge Mark D. Mason.

Assistant District Attorney Amy D. Wilson had told jurors in her closing argument the two city men committed a home invasion armed with knives in "a case of street justice." Defense lawyers Thomas E. Robinson for Gonzalez and Lauren F. Olanoff for Jackson told jurors in their closing argument their clients are innocent of all charges.

Gonzalez, 28, and Jackson, 24 — whose addresses are listed in court records as 3 Norfolk St. in Springfield — were each acquitted of two counts of home invasion and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Wilson said when Gonzalez got beaten badly by a group of men in Adams Park, he went to his nearby 3 Norfolk St. home and got his friend Jackson and butcher knives.

She said that on April 19, 2014, they went into the Wallace family home at 358 Wilbraham Road shortly before 4 p.m. swinging knives and yelling, while Belinda Wallace and her adult son Travis Wallace were backed into a corner.

When they found out none of the men who had done the beating had gone into the Wallace home, they left, Wilson said.

Belinda Wallace testified at trial she recognized Gonzalez from the neighborhood and she was 100 percent sure the two men were Gonzalez and Jackson when shown them while she was sitting in a detective car.

Both Robinson and Olanoff told jurors they should question why Travis Wallace, Christopher Wallace (Belinda's husband) and two of her other children who were in the home at the time did not testify. Robinson called them "all of these people you didn't hear from. Travis Washington was a named victim in the case."

Olanoff said jurors should consider whether Belinda Wallace could be lying to protect her own family. He said evidence showed Jackson was never in Adams Park nor anywhere near the Wallace home.

Olanoff said Wallace first told police two Hispanic men were the home invaders and that was what was first transmitted on the police radio.

"Look at Justin Jackson," Olanoff said pointing to his client. "He's black, he's African American. There's no mistaking that."

Both defense lawyers said the two defense witnesses testified they were at Adams Park next to the Wilbraham Road home and Gonzalez never went inside the home.

Wilson said Wallace had no bias against Gonzalez or Jackson. "They went there armed to get revenge, to get retribution," Wilson said.

Alexis Feliciano also pleaded guilty to home invasion, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault and battery.

SPRINGFIELD - Alexis Feliciano, 33, has been sentenced to 10 to 12 years in state prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder in a case where the victim was his estranged girlfriend.

Feliciano pleaded guilty and was sentenced April 1 by Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey.

Feliciano, of 414 Chestnut St., also pleaded guilty to home invasion, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (knife), one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (extension cord) and one count of assault and battery.

The prison term will be followed by five years probation. The crimes happened Feb. 21, 2014 in Springfield.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Melissa G. Doran. Feliciano was represented by defense lawyer Dale E. Bass.