The Springfield Fire Department has won the city's first Battle of the Badges blood drive competition, beating out the Springfield Police Department in a friendly matchup to provide blood for transfusion patients.

The Springfield Fire Department has won the city's first Battle of the Badges blood drive competition, beating out the Springfield Police Department in a friendly matchup to provide blood for transfusion patients.

A trophy was awarded  to the fire department at a press conference at the department's headquarters Friday morning.

"It was a blood drive for all the city - city employees and residents," said Caitlyn Julius, an employee in the city's human resources department who helped organize the drive along with the American Red Cross.

The blood drive took place at Springfield Technical Community College on December 21.  Participants, including police officers and firefighters, voted for either the fire or police department when the signed in. The firefighters won by a single vote out of the 15 people who donated, Julius said.

"It was a critical need time," Julius said. "It had to be around Christmas or New Year's Eve, because people don't think about donating then."

Mayor Domenic Sarno was on hand to congratulate the fire department, and described the event as part of the city's ongoing efforts to collect needed blood for patients.

"Everybody knows I love my fire and I love my police," Sarno said.  "But in this instance, the fire took it to the police and gave more blood for people in need, so lets give them a big round of applause."

A federal class action lawsuit has been filed in Pennsylvania against Friendly's alleging the restaurant chain failed to pay employees overtime and other labor law violations.

A federal class action lawsuit has been filed in Pennsylvania against Friendly's alleging the restaurant chain failed to pay employees overtime and other labor law violations.

Friendly's Ice Cream, LLC., based in Wilbraham, owns more than 600 restaurants on the East Coast. Some are operated by franchisees while others are owned by the Western Massachusetts-based corporation.

Three former servers of Pennsylvania-based Friendly's locations filed the suit. Employees allege in the complaint that they routinely worked more than 40 hours in a week but were not paid overtime. 

"Overtime must be paid at a rate of at least one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for each hour worked in excess of 40 hours per week," the United States Department of Labor states on its website. Tipped employees who make under minimum wage in direct wages must be paid overtime at one and one-half times the state minimum wage, not their standard hourly wage, the labor department states. 

While making $2.83 per hour - minimum wage for tipped workers in the state - the servers say they spent a fifth of their shifts completing non-tipped duties, from cleaning to restocking shelves, tasks their lawyer argues should be paid at minimum wage. 

Employees also allege in the complaint that they were required to work during unpaid meal breaks. 

U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo of the Middle District of Pennsylvania said the wait staff presented sufficient facts for the suit to go forward, The Legal Intelligencer reports. 

Both a Pennsyvania franchisee and the Friendly's corporation were named in the suit. Rambo denied motions arguing a lack of connection between the two. 

"Here, plaintiffs have alleged in the complaint that FIC (Friendly's Ice Cream) was actively engaged in the day-to-day operation of all Friendly's restaurants, including restaurants it owned as well as those owned by franchisees," Rambo said, as reported by the The Legal Intelligencer. "Plaintiffs further alleged that FIC set the policies for all Friendly's restaurants, 'including policies relating to hiring, training, hours of work, overtime, timekeeping and compensation.'"

Bidding on the gun that killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin two years ago in Florida started at $5,000.

Amounts pledged in the auction for the handgun George Zimmerman used to kill Travyon Martin have so far exceeded $65 million, as an apparent bidding war has erupted between anonymous participants with names like "Weedlord Bonerhitler" and "Racist McShootface."

The skyrocketing bidding from a starting bid of $5,000 almost certainly means the online auction has been hijacked by those seeking to shut it down.

According to the Associated Press, other pseudonyms used to drive up the sale price of the controversial weapon include "Donald Trump" and "Tamir Rice." Rice was the 12-year-old black boy shot to death by Cleveland police in 2014 as he played with a pellet gun.

The anonymous names made it virtually impossible to separate the legitimate bidders from the pretenders seeking to sabotage the process.

The gun here is the same weapon used by Zimmerman to kill the 17-year-old Martin in 2012 in Orlando, Florida.

Zimmerman, a neighborhood security guard, approached Martian as the teen was walking from a store to his father's house. A verbal confrontation became a physical one and Zimmerman ended up shooting Martin, killing him.

This June 20, 2013 file photo, George Zimmerman listens as his lawyer questions would-be jurors as part of his trial in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman would be acquitted of second-degree murder.(AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Gary Green, Pool, file) 

He was later acquitted of murder by a Florida jury that determined he acted in self-defense.

The shooting sparked protests and a national debate about race relations. Thousands protested in cities throughout the country, and the incident was one of several that led to the formation of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Justice Department later decided not to bring a civil rights case against Zimmerman.

Zimmerman told the press the gun was returned to him after the trial, and he decided to auction it off as a piece of American history.

As he told a Florida television station "I'm a free American, and I can do what I'd like with my possessions."

The gun, 9 mm Kel-Tec PF-9, retails for around $350.

The decision to put it up for bid was met with an immediate outcry.

The Martin family has remained quiet, but Daryl D. Parks, a lawyer representing the family, was quoted in the Washington Post saying "It is insulting to this family that he would decide that he would sell the gun that he killed their child with. Think about what that means: This is a gun that took a child's life and now he wants to make money off of it."

Zimmerman said he intends to use a portion of the money "to fight BLM (Black Lives Matter) against Law Enforcement officers, ensure the demise of Angela Corey's persecution career and Hillary Clinton's anti-firearm rhetoric"

Angela Corey is the Florida State Attorney appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to prosecute Zimmerman in the death of Martin.

The original auction house, Gunmaker.com, decided to pull out after plans for the auction were met with criticism.

A second auction firm, United Gun Group Auction, quickly stepped in and announced it would begin accepting bids on the weapon.

Bidding started at $5,000 and quickly took off overnight Thursday into Friday morning. The site appeared to be down momentarily Friday morning but it was back online shortly afterward.

United Gun Group Auction appeared to be making an effort to weed out fake names. Weedlord Bonerhitler and Racist McShootface had each been deleted.

As of Friday afternoon, the leading bid was $65,039,000 by someone of the name Craig Bryant. That user name has since been deleted but the last bid remains active.

Bidding ends in four days.

The gun, 9 mm Kel-Tec PF-9, retails for around $350.

If the auction proceeds and the winning bid is indeed legitimate, it would make the Zimmerman gun the most expensive weapon sold at auction - by far.

Two of George Washington's saddle pistols sold for $1.9 million in 2002.

An 1886 Winchester rifle given to the man who captured Geronimo sold this week for $1.26 million.

Selling for $65 million would put the Zimmerman gun in an echelon normally reserved for works of art.

Edouard Manet's oil painting "Spring" was purchased by the Getty Museum in 2014 for $65 million.

Thrillist recommends visitors must stop by Herrell's Ice Cream and The Dirty Truth, and that they shouldn't leave without hiking Mount Tom, exploring Look Park and strolling through Smith College's Botanic Garden and Museum of Art.

NORTHAMPTON -- If you're looking for a quick getaway to a quaint locale, The Paradise City is among the top options, according to food, drink and travel site Thrillist.

Northampton made Thrillist's list of "the best small U.S. cities to spend the weekend," along with other New England communities such as Newport, Rhode Island and Burlington, Vermont. 

The site says it looked at thousands of cities with populations under 90,000. "Local experts," as Thrillist calls them, considered restaurant and bar scenes, parks, museums and outdoor activities. 

Thrillist recommends visitors must stop by Herrell's Ice Cream and The Dirty Truth, and that they shouldn't leave without hiking Mount Tom, exploring Look Park and strolling through Smith College's Botanic Garden and Museum of Art.

The listicle also touts the 11-mile Norwottuck Rail Trail into Amherst, the Northampton Brewery and the arcade-bar Quarters in nearby Hadley. 

Other Thrillist suggestions include breakfast at Sylvester's, burgers at Local, pizza at Joe's Cafe, seafood at Eastside Grill, coffee at the Roost and cannoli at La Fiorentina. The Green Room, McLadden's and Tunnel Bar were also noted as go-to drinking spots. 

Northampton's music scene even got a plug, with nods to The Academy of Music, the Calvin Theater and Iron Horse Music Hall.

Check out the full list here.

The Holyoke Historical Commission and the Boston Society of Civil Engineers have organized the "infrastructure day" to celebrate the Holyoke Dam with tours, exhibits and other activities Saturday downtown from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

HOLYOKE -- Tours of the Holyoke Dam and a shuttle service will be offered Saturday among the slate of activities for "Holyoke Infrastructure Day."

"It's going to be a rolling adventure," Olivia Mausel, Holyoke Historical Commission chairwoman, said in a phone interview Friday.

Events will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Included will be tours of the Robert E. Barrett Fishway and "big rigs" of the Holyoke Fire and Police departments displayed at Holyoke Heritage State Park, along with other exhibits at the park, the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center and the Holyoke Public Library (see below).

The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority has loaned a trolley to shuttle folks to exhibits at the park, the dam and to the South Hadley canal system, Mausel said.

Besides the highlighting of the city's past achievement in infrastructure, with the dam, and of the future, with the computing center, the day will include a special visitor, Mausel said: Clemens Herschel III, grandson of the "noted engineer" and hydraulics expert of the old Holyoke Water Power Co., Clemens Herschel (1842 - 1930). The elder Herschel while in Holyoke developed the Venturi meter, which was the first large-scale, accurate device for measuring water flow, according to thisdayinwaterhistory.wordpress.com.

"You will have the chance to learn about the dam and canals, explore the civil engineering that built the city, see student competitions, and participate in fun family activities," read the event's Facebook listing.

The Holyoke Historical Commission and the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers are organizing the events. Last year, the latter organization highlighted the stone-arch Choate Bridge over the Ipswich River in Ipswich.

The dam was built in the mid-to-late-1800's to take advantage of the city's proximity to the Connecticut River and the grade and flow of the river to build the hydroelectric facility. The Holyoke Dam powered the late 19th and early 20th century mills in Holyoke, and now owned by the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department (HGE), provides electricity for thousands of residential and business customers.

Holyoke Infrastructure Day: by Mike Plaisance

Patrick Cahillane and Kavern Lewis fielded audience questions at a Goshen forum.

Two Democrats vying to replace Hampshire County Sheriff Robert Garvey, who is retiring after more than 30 years, each made their case to voters at a candidates forum held in Goshen on Wednesday night.

The Hampshire County Sheriff serves a six-year term and is in charge of the Hampshire County Jail and House of Corrections in Northampton, which serves 20 communities.

Patrick J. Cahillane pointed to his decades of experience in the sheriff's department and at its jail, while Kavern Lewis said he would bring diversity and greater community outreach to the position.

Lewis, 28, from Baltimore, said he has 10 years of law enforcement, corrections and security experience.

"I was a police officer in Washington, D.C., a patrol deputy in Charleston, South Carolina, I was a corrections officer for a state prison in Vermont, and I was a corrections officer in New Hampshire," said Lewis, adding in response to an audience question that he now runs his own security company and works as a substitute teacher in the Amherst-Pelham regional school district.

"Once elected, I'll be the first gay sheriff in the state, the youngest in the state, and the first black politician in this county," said Lewis. "We need diversity. It is time for diversity. We are in 2016. Maybe back in the day it was a little different, but now things have definitely changed. And I think it's time for that change."

Cahillane, 58, a Northampton native, has been assistant superintendent at the Hampshire County jail for 14 years, in charge of day-to-day operations at the facility.

"I am the best candidate because I have over 30 years of experience working for the Hampshire County Sheriff's Department," said Cahillane. "I have dedicated my career to this community."

Cahillane said he earned a degree in criminal justice at Westfield State College and a master's in criminal justice administration at Western New England University while working as a correctional officer at the facility. "I worked my way up through the ranks," he said.

Cahillane touted various progressive programs instituted under Garvey, and said he would continue to use a "team approach" with inmates to make sure they re-enter society successfully. He said he would seek stable funding for "Bridge to the Future," a 16-bed pre-release house in Northampton that involves mandatory employment and strict rules.

Lewis has a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice Homeland Security from Argosy University, according to his LinkedIn profile. "It's not only my professional experience that makes me qualified. It's what I can do for the people themselves. And I think that's more important," he said.

For instance, Lewis said he would make an effort to connect with the schools. "Right now our kids are heading in the wrong direction. And we need to be able to educate them and give them the right tools, because at the end of the day they are our future," he said.

The candidates delivered two-minute opening statements, then fielded audience questions on issues including the opioid epidemic, recidivism and community reentry, diversity in staffing, the relationship between the sheriff's department and local police departments, and efforts to make the jail a green, energy-efficient facility.

Voters will choose between the two Democrats in the Sept. 8 primary. So far, no Republican candidate has emerged.

Wednesday's event also featured presentations by Adam Hinds and Andrea Harrington, candidates for the state Senate seat now held by Benjamin Downing,  and from Mary Hurley and Jeff Morneau, who are running for Governor's Council. The forum was hosted by the Hilltown Democratic Coalition, and held at the Goshen Congregational Church.

Amherst Board of Health member Julie Marcus said everyone needs to get involved in gun safety. The board has asked the Select Board to enroll with "Mayors Against Illegal Guns."

AMHERST -- The Board of Health has asked the Select Board to take a stand against national gun violence by signing a statement of principals in solidarity with other communities working to prevent it.

In the letter to the Select Board, health board members ask the select board to enroll with "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" to have access to information and resources that it develops or makes available.

Without a mayor, the Select Board is the highest elected town office and can enroll in the program.

Areas of concert for the board, according the letter, include the "role of guns in accidental shootings by young children having access to improperly stored guns, guns and domestic violence and intentional and unintentional self-inflicted gun wounds by troubled adults."

"Amherst is a very safe community," said Board of Health member Julie Marcus, but she said it's imperative that all communities take a stand for responsible gun ownership.

It has to be "a bottom up activity. There's never going to be a top down" movement, she said.

The National Rifle Association is too powerful a lobby, she said.

The board's purview is public health, and this is another means to take care of the public's health, she said.

While mass shootings draw headlines, 35,000 die from guns every year, Marcus said. "Most are unrecognized," she said, noting the numbers include victims of domestic violence, accidents or suicides and that there are suicides in Amherst.

Marcus said it's incumbent on everyone to take a stand on the issue of gun safety. "We're treating it as harm reduction," she said.

Marcus said taking a stand "is certainly within our purview" because gun-related deaths are one of the leading killers in the U.S.

The letter is in the Select Board packet for the meeting Monday night at the Amherst Regional Middle School.

BOH Letter to Select Board by MassLive2

A 50-year-old WARE woman is the third former employee of thee now-closed VIP Lounge to admit selling cocaine to undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the now-closed bar.

NORTHAMPTON - A 50-year-old WARE woman is the third former employee of the now-closed VIP Lounge to admit selling cocaine to undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the now-closed bar.

Mary Anastas pleaded guilty in Hampshire Superior Court Thursday to five counts of distribution of cocaine and one count of conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Judge Daniel A. Ford agreed to adopt the sentencing recommendation that attorneys reached as part of a plea deal: A 2 1/2-year House of Correction sentence with one year to be served direct and the rest suspended.

She will be on probation for three years after her release, and the rest of her sentence could be reinstated if she violates the conditions of her probation: that she remain drug and alcohol free and submit to random screenings.

It's the stiffest sentence so far in the 2015 case that led to four employees of the former bar being accused of selling cocaine on the job.

Two others pleaded guilty last month and were given lighter sentences partly because of their lack of records and their low-level involvement in the drug scheme, according to the attorneys in their cases.

Russell McIntire, 55, pleaded guilty to charges of distribution of a class B drug and conspiracy to violate drug laws and was sentenced to two years probation.

His wife, Marie McIntire, 54, pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to violate drug laws and had her case was continued without a finding of guilty for the length of a six-month probationary term.

The last of the four employees charged in connection with the sting, Francis Oyola, 54, was charged with two counts of distribution of cocaine and one count each of intent to distribute cocaine, subsequent offense, and conspiracy to violate drug laws. His case is still ongoing.

In court Thursday, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Jeremy Bucci said that on five dates between March and May of 2015, Anastas sold or arranged to sell cocaine to undercover agents or officers while she was bartending.

He said that she made the sale herself twice - including one time when she asked the officer if he was a police officer, and after he denied it, sold him the drug. Two other times she arranged for the undercover officer to buy from Oyola and one time, from Russell McIntire, while both men were at the bar with her, Bucci said.

Kelly told Judge Ford that his client wasn't "getting rich" from selling drugs, but was doing so to support her own addiction. He said she has struggled with narcotic addiction since her youth.

"She's been one step above the law, poverty, addiction, all those things," he said. She has stopped using heroin after getting prescribed methadone, he said, but wasn't able to kick her cocaine addiction.

Ford said he will recommend to the Department of Correction that Anastas serve a portion of her sentence at a drug rehabilitation facility.

The show, which takes place three times a year, runs thru Sunday May 15th. The other editions of the 2016 season are July 12-17 and September 6-11.

BRIMFIELD — The traffic, both of the foot and vehicle variety, was heavy during Friday's edition of the Brimfield Antique and Collectibles show along Route 20.

The Brimfield flea markets show, which takes place three times a year, runs thru Sunday. The other editions of the 2016 season are July 12-17 and Sept. 6-11.

According to the online Brimfield Antique homepage, the gathering has grown to 21 independent shows and calls it "Antique and Collectible Capital of the United States. Expect to see things rarely seen anywhere else in the world."

On Friday, Joel Radmin of Belle Harbor, New York, was toting a unique find that garnered ooh's and aah's from shoppers and dealers passing by. One could call it a rusty fish, but it was quite the catch – a fish sculpture made from found gardening implements.

"I plan to find a place for it in the yard," Redmin commented. Belle Harbor is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens.

Bienvenido Nunez, 38, the enforcer for the Springfield chapter of the Latin Kings street gang, pleaded guilty to drug and firearms charges in U.S. District Court.

SPRINGFIELD -- The enforcer for the local chapter of the Latin Kings gang pleaded guilty to drug and firearms charges in U.S. District Court on Friday.

Bienvenido Nunez, 38, admitted to selling cocaine to a government informant and having a stolen, loaded gun when members of an anti-gang task force arrested him and 11 other suspected gang members in an early morning sweep last year.

Nunez, also known as "King Apache," of Springfield, was labeled as the so-called "enforzador," or head of security for the Springfield chapter of the Latin Kings. The local club had gained statewide prominence within the Chicago-based national street gang in recent years, according to FBI agents.

A burly defendant with forearms covered in tattoos, Nunez looked the part as he pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni on Friday morning. He offered polite but clipped answers as Mastroianni ran through the standard colloquy for change-of-plea proceedings. This includes asking defendants about their educational, medical and work histories.

Nunez said he was a New Jersey native, and had worked as a construction worker, janitor, nightclub bouncer and was an amateur mixed martial arts fighter for a stint in Miami.

"Did you have a manager?" Mastroianni asked.

"I did," Nunez responded.

"Did that provide you with a source of income?" the judge continued.

"A little bit," Nunez answered shortly, adding that his bouts were amateur fights.

Under his plea agreement with the government, Nunez faces a potential penalty of 18 months in prison at his sentencing hearing. If Mastroianni exceeds the recommendation -- which he has been known to do -- Nunez can withdraw his guilty plea, per the agreement.

According to a sworn statement by FBI Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force leader Mark Karangekis, a former member of the Latin King's ranks agreed to work for the government. The unnamed witness agreed to make "controlled buys" of guns and drugs to take down high-ranking members including Nunez and Jose Cartagena, the "inca," or leader of the local chapter.

Cartagena pleaded guilty to a single count of heroin distribution earlier this month and faces up to 16 months in prison under advisory sentencing guidelines.

Based on the charges, the task force appeared to angle at chipping away at the upper echelon of the Springfield Latin Kings by prosecuting them for single drug sales as opposed to a wider-ranging racketeering case.

For Nunez's part, he pleaded guilty to selling seven grams of cocaine for $680 in August, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Wagner. Cartagena, 38, pleaded guilty to selling 300 bags of heroin to the informant in July.

Nunez also admitted that a .40 caliber Beretta pistol investigators recovered from his backpack was in fact his, as were 11 rounds of ammunition in the gun. Wagner said the gun had been stolen.

Nunez is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 19.

A lawsuit filed in the 2013 death of Pamela Sampson at Cooley Dickinson Hospital Childbirth Center is very strong because a state report has already determined that the hospital failed to meet the standard of care when it did not diagnose her eclampsia, an attorney said in court Thursday.

NORTHAMPTON -- A lawsuit filed in the 2013 death of Pamela Sampson at Cooley Dickinson Hospital Childbirth Center was allowed to proceed after a medical tribunal heard from attorneys in the case Thursday.

Stella Xanthakos, the attorney for Sampson's family, said in Hampshire Superior Court that the suit is very strong because a state report has already determined that the hospital failed to meet the standard of care when it did not diagnose her eclampsia.

The medical tribunal agreed with Xanthakos that there was sufficient evidence for the case to go forward against the hospital and six of the seven medical providers who are being sued. The suit can still proceed against the other doctor, Dr. Navneet Marwaha, as long as the family posts $6,000 bond, court staff said.

The family and estate of Sampson is suing the hospital and the medical providers claiming negligence, loss of consortium and intentional infliction of emotional distress in connection with her death.

"It's very clear that Ms. Sampson didn't need to die," Xanthakos said. "She had symptoms. They were ignored or not understood."

Sampson was one of three deaths that occurred after or during delivery at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital Childbirth Center within a few months in the winter of 2013-2014. The other two were infants.

As a result of the deaths and three other serious incidents at the center in a two-year period, the state Department of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid investigated the hospital and found they failed to provide adequate care in those incidents. The hospital pledged to make a number of changes.

Xanthakos submitted to the tribunal the report as well as a letter from an expert supporting the claim that the medical staff was to blame in Sampson's death.

The tribunal made up of Judge Daniel A. Ford, attorney Gary Ensor and Dr. David Cramer heard Xanthakos recount how the hospital allegedly failed to diagnose Sampson with eclampsia or preeclampsia, a life-threatening condition that can occur during pregnancy. Her symptoms, including high and rising blood pressure, nausea, pain, confusion and agitation, began at home and by the time she delivered the child she was unresponsive, the suit alleges.

A CT scan confirmed that Sampson had suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and she was transferred by helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she died Dec. 30, 2013.

Xanthakos repeated in court what the suit states: that the medical staff knew she was beyond recovery and only sent her overnight to Boston so she would not die at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.

"What they did caused the death not only of this patient, but two others," she said.

The other two deaths occurred in early 2014. One baby died while stuck in the birth canal after staff allegedly failed to assess the risk of the mother's tipped pelvis. The other infant was born without a heartbeat and died after staff did not adequately monitor its heart rate, the Department of Public Health report found.

The attorney for the defendants, Amber K. Knouff, did not argue about the merits of the plaintiffs' case against the hospital, doctors Edward Patton and Barbara Jones or nurse midwife Amy Metzger.

She did argue that the supporting evidence that Dr. Marwaha and delivery nurses Mary Grace Ferrante, Kathryn Johnson and Kathleen Crane were to blame in the death was shakier and the family should be required to post bond in those cases. She said Marwaha was one of the doctors who signed off on the helicopter ride but that there is no evidence of negligence.

The delivery nurses are named in the suit, she said, because the plaintiff argues in the suit that they failed to tell Dr. Jones about the high blood pressure. But, she said, that completely contradicts another claim of the suit: that Jones was made aware of the high blood pressure.

In civil suits, bond is posted to ensure that a defendant's court costs would be paid if a judge or jury sided with him or her.

Lawsuit blames baby's brain damage on delivery doctors at Cooley Dickinson Hospital

Daevon Ramsey, 20, of Springfield, acknowledged the gun was his. Charges against co-defendant Louis Pittman were dropped. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD -- Court cases against two men accused of firearms offenses have ended quietly, unlike the uproar surrounding their arrests in June of last year.

Prosecutors on May 9 dropped a charge of carrying a firearm without a license against 20-year-old Louis Pittman of South Hadley. He had been charged in Hampden Superior Court.

The document dropping the charge stated that, based on a gunshot residue test, co-defendant Daevon Ramsey pleaded guilty earlier this year to possessing the gun in question, also without a license. The 20-year-old Springfield resident had gunshot residue on his hands, according to court records.

Ramsey was sentenced by Judge David Ricciardone to 18 months in the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow. He had 284 days credit on that sentence for days spent in jail awaiting trial.

The two were arrested by police responding to reports of gunshots at Cambridge and Burr streets.

Officers found a vehicle struck by multiple bullets and recovered 15 9-mm shell casings from the road, Springfield police information officer Sgt. John Delaney said at the time.

Sarno unloads on trial judges for low bails for repeat violent offenders

The men were arrested about 100 yards away after police found a 9-mm handgun that had recently been fired, Delaney said. No one was injured in the shooting, police said.

Cash bail was set at $50,000 at their arraignments in Springfield District Court.

At a press conference later that day, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno used the incident as an opportunity to criticize trial judges for granting low bail and lenient sentences. Police Commissioner John Barbieri and City Councilor Thomas Ashe also expressed frustration over defendants being released on low bail.

At the time of his arrest, Pittman was on probation and wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet from a 2013 case, Sarno said.

Pittman had been arrested for his part in what was originally described as an armed home invasion. He pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm in August and was sentenced to 21/2 years in jail.

Ramsey, meanwhile, had been arrested in December 2013 on charges including armed assault and battery. Police alleged Ramsey and another suspect jumped and robbed a man in Forest Park.

"It becomes very, very aggravating when the Springfield police are taking these negative individuals off the street, but they are allowed right back on the street. It becomes very demoralizing," Sarno said during a press conference in his office.

Sarno called the defendants - 19 years old at the time - "frequent flyers," or people who have had repeated run-ins with the law.

"When people break the law in my city, we work damn hard to get them off the street," Sarno said.

"I say to the court system that some of these negative offenders need to be held. There's plenty of room in the jails," Sarno said. "This is a call out to the court system and to some of the judges that you can't just sing Kumbaya to them."

People awaiting trial for serious gun, drug or gang offences need to be held on high bail amounts, Sarno said, while people convicted of those offenses need to serve serious time.

The Hampden County Bar Association called Sarno misguided in placing the onus of Springfield's violent crime problem on trial judges and the perception of low bail.

The association's statement said Sarno was, in effect, demanding judges violate the Fifth Amendment and state Trial Court rules in their bail decisions. Setting higher bails discriminates against people who cannot pay the amount and helps people who have the money to post bail, it said.

Barstow's farm receives 14,000 tons of organic food waste in total each year from 15 food companies.

HADLEY -- Cabot Creamery Cooperative has won the 2016 U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award for Outstanding Dairy Processing & Manufacturing Sustainability in part through the efforts of Barstow's Longview Farm in Hadley and the Agri-Mark plant in West Springfield.

Cabot, owned by the Agri-Mark dairy cooperative, won the award for its Real Farm Power program, which includes Barstow's and its anaerobic digester, which turns organic waste into electricity.

As Agri-Mark explained in a recent news release: Geissler's Supermarket stores in Connecticut collects food scraps and delivers them to Barstow's.

There, the organic material is put into an anaerobic digester that blends it with the farm's cow manure and byproducts from dairy and citrus processing, vegetable canning, breweries, sugar production and other industries.

In partnership with Vanguard Renewables, the renewable energy produced by the anaerobic digester is sent in the form of energy credits to Agri-Mark's Cabot pant in West Springfield, where the farm's milk is processed. This offsets all of the energy needed to make Cabot butter.

Barstow's receives 14,000 tons of organic food waste in total each year from 15 food companies.

The farm has been able to reduce its carbon footprint by 5,680 tons per year, Cabot said.

 

Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to sentenced former Lee Police Chief Joseph Buffis, convicted of extortion, to 51 months in prison; the defense will seek probation at his May 17 sentencing.

SPRINGFIELD -- As the long-awaited sentencing of former Lee Police Chief Joseph Buffis nears, lawyers in the case have submitted dozens of pages of dueling arguments to a federal judge.

Buffis, 57, was convicted of one count of extortion "under color of right" after a three-week trial nearly a year ago in U.S. District Court. He was acquitted of 10 additional criminal counts related to his alleged siphoning $55,000 from a police-sponsored Christmas toy fund for needy children.

He is scheduled for sentencing May 17.

The jury found Buffis guilty of extorting $4,000 from two former Lee innkeepers in exchange for scuttling a prostitution investigation that was gaining steam. The panel found him not guilty of robbing the Laliberte Toy Fund of $55,000 over five years.

Prosecutors contended Buffis siphoned money from the fund to pay his bills, shower gifts on his son and pay his daughter's school loans. Buffis countered that he bought gifts for the charity out-of-pocket all year, and reimbursed himself with donations.

The jury appeared to buy the defense's arguments. Buffis took the witness stand in his own defense over two days and weathered a battering by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Breslow on cross-examination.

U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni has publicly characterized the long-running case as all but a swing and a miss by the government.

Prosecutors have portrayed the fallen chief as a "brazen liar" who tarnished his former department's reputation in the bucolic town in the Berkshires where he was a fixture for decades. They say he stole from the poor and from his own officers, plus preyed on the crushing shame of Tara Viola and Thomas Fusco, the couple exposed in the prostitution sting in 2011.

The government is asking Mastroianni to sentence Buffis to 51 months in prison -- higher than the top end of sentencing guidelines. It also asks that Buffis repay Viola and Fucso. Testimony and evidence showed that money ended up in Buffis' personal bank account after he arranged for potential criminal charges to be squashed.

Buffis has said he was merely interested in giving the couple a second chance, in keeping with his style as a longtime police officer.

In his own words in a letter to Mastroianni:

"After 35 years in law enforcement ... I find myself asking you to consider giving me a second chance as I have done for many others who have crossed my path when I was in a position to do so."

The defense is asking for probation, pointing out that Buffis' reputation and career are in tatters. He struggled to find a $15-an-hour job in the aftermath of the closely followed prosecution; his family has been publicly embarrassed; and he will lose a $1 million pension as a result of the conviction, his lawyer said.

"I am now a convicted felon. Forever labeled a 'crooked cop.' That is not who I am. My life and the lives of my wife, daughter and son have been forever damaged. We all have suffered greatly," Buffis wrote in a two-page letter to the judge.

He and other members of his family, including his wife, daughter and in-laws, denounced what they believed was an overzealous prosecution and slanted media reports.

By contrast, Buffis' former subordinates -- those who remained on the force after his firing in 2012 -- wrote in letters to the judge that they feel betrayed by their onetime leader.

"The very foundation of policing is found in having the respect, trust and support of the community. Mr. Buffis chose to exploit that trust for personal gain," one letter read, adding that Buffis did nothing to set his department apart after he was indicted.

"Officers quickly felt the faith in our department erode. We felt helpless, could not escape ridicule, and our reputation as an agency suffered immensely.... Mr. Buffis made it difficult to do our job."

Though he was not charged criminally for it, the government also presented evidence at trial that Buffis allegedly stole $14,000 from the Lee Police Association, another police-sponsored charity.

Mastroianni has barred prosecutors from arguing certain points at sentencing. These include any of the theft allegations for which Buffis was acquitted. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.

The Republican will be in the courtroom and will provide live updates from the sentencing hearing.

The city created an incentive program in 2015 that gives those who purchase 3-family homes and live in them a $16,000 grant.

CHICOPEE - A request to change the zoning of a residential lot to make a three-family house legal, sparked concerns about solving the problem illegal multi-family homes spread throughout the city.

Adelina and Jose Vincente applied to change the zoning of their Monroe Street home from Residential B, which allows two-family homes, to Residential C, which allows three families. The home has been assessed and taxed as a three-family since at least 1980 and has three electric meters, one for each apartment.

The home was finished as a three-family when the couple purchased it around 1980, but recently when they went to refinance bank officials found the third apartment was illegal, Adelina Vincente said.

She said they even refinanced the home in 2007 and did not have a problem with the third apartment at that time.

While Planning Board members were sympathetic to the plight of the Vincente family, they said they did not want to create a spot zone, or a parcel of land that is zoned differently than other nearby property. Most of the land on Monroe Street is zoned for single or two-family homes.

"Our job is to clean these (spot zones) up rather than adding to the problem," said James Dawson, development manager for the Planning Department.

City Planner Lee Pouliot said he has been finding a number of three-family homes throughout the city that are improperly zoned. It is especially coming to the forefront since the city created a mortgage incentive program in 2015 that provides a $16,000 forgivable loan to people who buy three-family homes and commit to live in one of the apartments.

The program, which forgives the $16,000 if the owners live in the home for 16 years, was developed to increase the number of owner-occupied three-families and to help those landlords make repairs and renovations to their property.

But recently Pouliot said one of the three-family homes had to be removed from the program because he could not find any records that permits had been taken out to convert the home to a three-family. He has found others as well.

Many of the homes do have separate electric meters because Chicopee Electric Light does not check if the apartments were built legally. Assessors also do not check for building permits when they are taxing a home, he said.

The Planning Board decided to table the request so more research could be done on the home. If there is evidence the apartment was added before a certain time or done in a certain way it could be considered legally non-conforming to the zone.

A fast-burning fire at 106 Edgemont Street left a family of three homeless as flames worked their way from the basement to the attic,gutting everything in between.

SPRINGFIELD— Three people were left homeless after a fast-burning fire gutted the interior of a single-family home at 106 Edgemont Street Saturday morning.

Firefighters said heavy smoke was pouring from the first and second-floor windows when they arrived at the scene just after 7 a.m. Before long, smoke was coming from the attic windows as well, as the flames worked through all three floors of the two-and-a-half story home.`

Firefighters took turns working in the heat of the burning building. As one team made its way out of the structure, a second team was waiting to go in. Exhausted firefighters downed bottles of water before changing out air bottles for the breathing packs used in the smoky environment.

Dennis Leger, executive aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant, said all floors, from the basement to the attic were gutted by the fire. He said the house is uninhabitable after the fire worked its way up the rear of the building. Damage to the structure was placed at between $80,000 and $100,000.

The American Red Cross was notified and will help the displaced people with their immediate needs for shelter, clothing and food.

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue is recommending increasing the penalties related to buying and selling tobacco that has not been properly taxed, in order to crack down on the black market.

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue is recommending increasing the penalties related to buying and selling tobacco that has not been properly taxed. For example, the penalty for selling cigarettes without a license would jump from a fine of $50 to a maximum fine of $50,000, with the potential for jail time.

The goal is to crack down on the black market, which is used to evade paying Massachusetts excise taxes.

"Over the past several months, the Illegal Tobacco Task Force has been working on a framework for collaboration and joint investigative and enforcement action by its member agencies," said Nicole St. Peter Mac Dermott, a Department of Revenue spokeswoman.  "The mission of the task force is to stem the flow of illegal tobacco products into Massachusetts and the resulting loss of state tax revenue.

"The task force will work with the governor and state Legislature to update and modernize the state's tobacco tax laws to stiffen fines and penalties so that they act as an effective deterrent to unlawful activity and increase compliance." 

The task force includes representatives of the revenue department, the state police, the attorney general, the treasurer and the departments of public health and public safety. It is still discussing the recommendations, which will be part of a report due to the Legislature July 1. The recommendations could be considered by lawmakers next year.

"The task force is doing what we as wholesalers have been talking about for years. It's to crack down on the illegal tobacco trade," said Paul Caron, executive director of the Holyoke-based Northeast Association of Wholesale Distributors. "Whatever they do is going to be a tremendous help to legitimate wholesalers and retailers that are abiding by the rules, paying taxes and doing all the things we have to do to control the sale of tobacco."

According to a 2013 report, Massachusetts loses between $74 million and $295 million a year due to people illegally avoiding paying taxes on cigarettes. Massachusetts' excise tax of $3.51 per pack of cigarettes is one of the highest in the country, and that creates an incentive for people to buy cigarettes in lower-tax states and sell them illegally in Massachusetts. An illegal tobacco commission issued a report in 2014 that recommended ways to crack down on tax evasion. It did not recommend lowering the tax.

The state agency task force is an outgrowth of that earlier commission, and it provides a way for the agencies charged with collecting revenue and enforcing laws to coordinate efforts related to the illegal tobacco trade.

On Thursday, cooperation between state agencies resulted in the arrest of a Holyoke man, Pedro Perez, for running a multi-state illegal tobacco distribution network in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The Department of Revenue proposals would for the first time prohibit cash transactions between cigarette retailers and suppliers, and would require retailers to purchase cigarettes from a distributor who is licensed by the state. Out-of-state distributors can get a license to sell in Massachusetts.

These offenses would be punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 for a first offense and $25,000 for subsequent offenses, with the potential for up to five years in state prison or 2.5 years in a county jail.

The purpose of the new rules would be to create an electronic record of all sales and to eliminate cash sales on the black market.

Caron, who was a member of the original illegal tobacco commission, said this was one of the commission's recommendations. Illegal cash sales from unlicensed sellers are a particular problem with smokeless tobacco, which has an extremely high excise tax, he said.

"Pennsylvania has no excise tax on smokeless tobacco, so people fill the trunk of their car and find retailers willing to buy smokeless tobacco cheaper," Caron said. Retailers will then sell the illegal tobacco from under the counter, for cash, to customers they know.

The law would also clarify that there is a penalty for possessing and selling illegal tobacco products other than cigarettes, such as chewing tobacco or cigars, which fall under different regulations than cigarettes. The penalty can be as high as $100,000 or 10 years in state prison for someone possessing more than 30,000 untaxed tobacco products.

The penalties for several existing crimes would be enhanced. For example, the penalty for possessing a shipping case of cigarettes where the name and address of the person receiving the package from a manufacturer have been erased was punishable with a $25 to $100 fine and would now be punishable by up to a $500 fine per container and 2.5 years in jail.

State revenue officials say the current penalties are not steep enough to deter the illegal tobacco trade.

A number of other changes are being proposed to simplify and modernize tobacco laws. Some of the statutes have not been changed since the 1940s, and they reference outdated technology. The proposal simplifies laws related to the excise tax, which are now scattered in different places in the state's general laws. It would not change the tax rate.

There are also proposed changes to licensing -- for example, requiring tobacco retailers to renew their licenses yearly, instead of every two years, so state officials can better track which retailers have started or stopped selling tobacco.

Other changes would make the administrative procedures around tobacco forfeiture similar to those around narcotics offenses, and would use the money from forfeited tobacco to fund the illegal tobacco task force.

One change that was already made to tobacco laws as a result of the 2014 commission report is that retailers caught selling illegal tobacco can be stripped of their licenses to sell lottery tickets. This new law was included in the fiscal 2016 budget, although it has not yet gone into effect.

Caron said he is pleased to see the new proposals, although he cautioned that it will be more important to make sure the laws are enforced.

"It all comes down to enforcement," Caron said. "You can have the strictest laws. If it's not being enforced, it's all for naught."

Spokeswomen for Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and Healey, who both have representatives on the task force, declined to comment, saying both offices are still reviewing the proposals. The state police did not respond to a request for comment.

When a special police officer tried to stop her from re-entering the hospital and ordered her to leave the property, the defendant ordered him to retrieve her bus passes, according to the report.

SPRINGFIELD -- Shaina Michalski won't be needing those bus passes anytime soon.

After allegedly sucker punching a police officer during an disagreement over bus passes, Michalski was arrested and eventually ended up held without bail, according to court records.

Michalski, 27, of South Hadley, pleaded not guilty during her arraignment the next day in Springfield District Court to assault and battery on a police officer and furnishing a false name.

A judge set bail at $2,000 cash on the new charges and ordered her held without right to bail pending probation violation hearings in three earlier cases.

The new charges came after Michalski, angry that she had been discharged from Mercy Medical Center's emergency room, allegedly took her frustration out on Andrew Monts, a special city police officer assigned to the hospital.

"Ms. Michalski was upset, stating that the hospital was kicking her out without helping her with the issues she came in for," Monts wrote in the arrest report.

Adding to her aggravation, Michalski claimed the hospital had given her bus passes, but that she left them in the emergency room; Monts told her the hospital did not provide bus passes to discharged patients, the report said.

When Monts blocked her return to the hospital and ordered her to leave the property, Michalski ordered him to "(obscenity) go and get the passes" himself, according to the report.

Moments later, another officer spotted the passes in the netting of the defendant's backpack; Michalski grabbed them, held them an inch from Monts' face and yelled: "See, I told you I had them," according to the report.

"Ms. Michalski then pulled her arm back and swung her closed fist, making contact with my nose," wrote Monts, adding that he ducked a second punch.

Michalski was handcuffed, arrested and taken to the police station, where officers realized the name she had given them, Sabrina Perez, was false; they also found that three arrest warrants had been issued for Michalski in cases involving assault and battery, malicious damage and possession of heroin and cocaine, according court records.

Michalski, who is being held at the Western Mass Women's Correctional Center in Chicopee, is due back in court May 26.

Police are searching for the person who reportedly struck a 25-year-old woman over the head while she pushed a baby stroller and walked her 7-year-old daughter to school early Thursday.

DORCHESTER ‒ Police are searching for the person who reportedly struck a 25-year-old woman over the head while she pushed a baby stroller and walked her 7-year-old daughter to school early Thursday.

The woman, who police have not identified, was walking on Waumbeck Street near Trotter Elementary School around 7:15 a.m. when an unknown man reportedly bludgeoned her from behind with a blunt object, according to the Associated Press.

The attack split the woman's head open and she was taken to Boston Medical Center in critical condition, the AP reported.

Commissioner William Evans did not indicate whether the incident was random, but said it didn't appear to have been a robbery as the victim's purse was found in the stroller.

Police are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect and to come forward with any information relating to the attack.

The smell of alcohol filled the cruiser as Thompson, his eyes bloodshot and glassy, admitted he had been drinking before crashing into an oncoming motorcycle around 9:50 p.m., police said.

These were the top stories out of Springfield District Court this week. If you missed any, click on the links below to read them now.

Springfield Police report: 'I should be fine,' suspect in double motorcycle fatality says before nearly falling down during sobriety test

Julisa Diaz, killed in Springfield motorcycle crash, was going to graduate from Springfield College Sunday

Mother of victim in Springfield motorcycle crash went to court hoping driver would 'look in my face'

Prosecutor: Springfield men arrested with 193 bags of 'Donald Trump' heroin

Springfield man arrested after 2-hour Chestnut Tower standoff accused of throwing gun 30 stories to street below

Prosecutor: Springfield man made ex-girlfriend call mother before stabbing

Agawam man denies vodka-fueled threat to kill Springfield police officer

Woman denies punching Springfield police officer in nose