Angela Craig, 55, of Windsor, Connecticut, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in U.S. District Court in connection with embezzling $250,000 from her late employer after his death in 2012.

SPRINGFIELD -- A Connecticut woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Thursday to embezzling more than $250,000 from her late employer's widow.

Angela Craig, of Windsor, waived a criminal indictment and admitted to one count of wire fraud in connection with forging her late boss' signature on business checks and depositing them into her personal bank account.

The statutory maximum for the crime is 20 years. However, she faces up to 21 months in prison under a plea agreement with prosecutors, according to court filings. 

In pleadings filed with the court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Deepika Baines Shukla said Craig stole the money from Springfield businesses Mainline Industries and Allen Street Realty between 2012 and 2014. She signed her deceased employer's name on the checks using a signature stamp, the charging documents read.

Carlo Rovelli 

Corporate records and other public filings show the business was owned by Carlo Rovelli, of West Springfield. His obituary shows Rovelli died in June 2012 at 67. He left a wife, two children and several grandchildren.

A graduate of American International College, his obituary states he launched the business in the 1970s after first working for a swimming pool company.

"Craig concealed her fraud from her employer and auditors of Mainline and Allen by entering false invoices and records into the companies' electronic accounting system, Quickbooks," the charges read. 

"Craig also concealed her fraud by neglecting to pay Mainline and Allen bills and by failing to submit employee tax withholdings as required by the Internal Revenue Service and the State of Massachusetts, so that her employer would not notice lower balances in the companies' bank accounts," the document states. 

Craig, 55, is scheduled for sentencing on June 22 before U.S. District Judge Mark Mastroianni.

A large fire Thursday has caused an overpass on Interstate 85 to collapse in Atlanta.

ATLANTA -- A large fire Thursday has caused an overpass on Interstate 85 to collapse in Atlanta.

The massive blaze is burning underneath I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road, WSB-TV reports. It has shut down several roads in northeast Atlanta.

Witnesses said troopers were telling cars to turn around on the bridge because they were concerned about its integrity. Minutes later, the bridge collapsed.

Black smoke can be seen for miles.

Here's a view of the section of US Interstate 85 in north Atlanta that collapsed after a massive fire https://t.co/SjeU0ttQbl pic.twitter.com/vaN6AFoJtV

-- CNN (@CNN) March 30, 2017

So just drove past this blazing fire on the highway??? #atlanta pic.twitter.com/o6FayXiWwb

-- Rebecca Lancaster (@rebeccamlan) March 30, 2017

#Atlanta #Midtown #Buckhead Separation #Peidmont #Fire #Bridge pic.twitter.com/BXGg0sx1pZ

-- UMRocks (@MichiganManInGA) March 31, 2017

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield expected the Holyoke Historical Commission vote on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 to impose a delay in demolition of the closed Mater Dolorosa Church, which continues to be subject of possible sale talks between the Diocese and a nonprofit group, officials said Thursday.

HOLYOKE -- The Historical Commission's vote to delay a proposed demolition of the closed Mater Dolorosa Church was expected and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield will continue seeking demolition approval from the state, an official said Thursday.

Meanwhile, talks continue on a possible sale of the church by the Diocese to a nonprofit potential buyer, Mater Dolorosa Church Preservation Society of Holyoke Inc., officials on both sides said.

Also, the former Immaculate Conception Social Hall at 94 Ely St. appears to be headed for demolition. That would remove another property that has been a point of dispute between the city and Diocese, officials said.

The Diocese has appealed the lack of a permit from the city to demolish the church to the state building code appeals board.

"We will continue to seek an emergency order through the state appeal's process," Diocese spokesman Mark E. Dupont said.

The Historical Commission's 4-0 vote on Wednesday to impose a demolition delay was disappointing but unsurprising and defies reason, he said. Consultants have determined that age and deterioration have made the steeple of the 116-year-old church at Maple and Lyman streets unsafe and pieces have broken off and fallen to the ground, he said.

"This delay flies in the face of a comprehensive structural report, by a certified and bonded structural engineer, which cited a clear and present public safety concern. When feasible, historic preservation is a worthy endeavor but it should never come at the expense of public safety," Dupont said.

But the Diocese critics whose comments dominated the Historical Commission's more than six-hour public hearing process declared they disagree with and don't trust the Diocese. They contend that structurally the church is strong and problems cited by consultants could be corrected with routine maintenance the Diocese has neglected.

The Historical Commission determined that the proposed demolition of the church, which was built and paid for by Polish immigrants in 1901, would be detrimental to the historic and architectural integrity of the neighborhood. They voted to impose a six-month delay in demolition.

"We voted for the delay with the intention of working with the Diocese to try to find an alternative to demolition," commission co-chairman Joseph Paul said.

The church's future formed the heart of a more than six-hour public hearing process before the Historic Commission. Four hours took place on March 7 and more than two hours on Wednesday at City Hall, Paul said.

That came after the Diocese sought an emergency demolition permit from Building Commissioner Damian J. Cote on Jan. 27 to take down the church.

Cote disagreed that the structure was imminently such a danger and on Feb. 1, referred the matter to the Historical Commission.

The Diocese shut down Mater Dolorosa Church in June 2011 because Diocese officials said there declining parishioner numbers and the steeple was unstable. The decision has been fought and criticized since.

An attempt to safeguard the church by including it in a proposed Polish Heritage Historic District on Lyman Street was rejected in April 2015 by an 8-7 City Council vote.

The Diocese combined Mater Dolorosa with the former Holy Cross Church to form Our Lady of the Cross at 23 Sycamore St.

The Mater Dolorosa Church Preservation Society of Holyoke Inc. wants to preserve the church as it is perhaps for use as a concert hall or gathering place, said John Fydenkevez , of Chicopee, president and a director of the group that formed on Oct. 4.

"The Mater Dolorosa Church Preservation Society of Holyoke Inc. is pleased with the six-month delay on the (demolition) of Mater Dolorosa Church. We will continue our negotiations with the Diocese and are certain we can come to agreement that will be positive for everyone," Fydenkevez said in an email Thursday.

Dupont said the Diocese continues to discuss a sale of the church with Mater Dolorosa Church Preservation Society of Holyoke Inc.

"I certainly can confirm we have had conversations with this group but would refrain from any characterization of our communications," Dupont said.

'Reprehensible' neglect or 'overzealous' targeting of Catholic community forms latest Holyoke-Diocese dispute (photos)

Regarding 94 Ely St., Cote issued a notification of violations on March 20 to the Diocese and ordered that it remove, repair or make safe the building that he said is hazardous.

Unsafe conditions at the site include roof damage from fallen trees leading to water infiltration, broken glass, the hazardous material of asbestos siding strewn on the lot and damaged brick masonry, Cote said

Dupont said Cote was being disingenuous since the Diocese requested permission from the city to take action on the building in November.

On Thursday, Dupont said, "On a more positive note, we have been led to believe that Mr. Cote has reversed himself with regard to the .... social center emergency demolition request, withdrawing it from the Historic Commission review."

Not exactly, Cote said.

"They were ordered to make it safe. Demolition is one option to comply, fencing is as well. They installed a fence today. I would not say I 'support' demolition. They will be issued a permit to (demolish) if they submit a complete application," Cote said.

The issue of 94 Ely St. is not longer before the Historical Commission, Paul said.

"They took it off our plate," he said.

But U.S. District Court of Texas Judge Ed Kinkeade ordered that the case be moved to New York.

Despite expressing skepticism about the motivations of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in investigating ExxonMobil, a Texas judge has moved a lawsuit relating to the investigation out of Texas to a court in New York.

"This Court is not the proper venue to rule on the merits of Exxon's claims," wrote U.S. District Court of Texas Judge Ed Kinkeade.

Healey began an investigation in April, demanding extensive documents and testimony from ExxonMobil to determine whether the oil company knew and lied to the public and investors about the impact of burning fossil fuels on climate change. Schneiderman launched a similar investigation in New York.

ExxonMobil sued, arguing that Healey's investigation is politically motivated and meant to get ExxonMobil to change its position on climate change, and that she is using her law enforcement power at the behest of environmental activists to obtain Exxon's internal documents.

Separate court cases were pending in Texas and Massachusetts. Healey had tried to get the entire case transferred to Massachusetts.

The Texas ruling sheds new light on the political maneuvering behind the investigations.

Part of the reason Kinkeade ordered that the case be transferred to New York is that the attorneys general announced the lawsuit at a press conference in New York in March 2016. ExxonMobil is using that press conference as part of its evidence that the attorneys general are using the investigation to pressure the company to change its stance on climate change.

According to the judge, Healey and Schneiderman met the morning before the press conference with a global warming activist, Peter Frumhoff, and a global warming litigation attorney, Matthew Pawa. The attorneys general then spoke at an AGs United for Clean Power press conference with former vice president Al Gore, where Healey discussed the investigation as a way to hold companies accountable for "deceiving investors and the public."

The order cites emails from a meeting that Frumhoff and Pawa had with the Rockefeller Family Fund in New York in January 2016 planning a so-called "Exxon campaign." Emails show that the group wanted to establish the public perception that Exxon is a "corrupt institution" that has pushed humanity toward "climate chaos and grave harm." The group wanted to delegitimize Exxon as a political actor, encourage divestment and force officials to dissociate from Exxon, all during the 2016 election campaign.

ExxonMobil argues that the press conference shows that Healey and Schneiderman's intention was "to pursue their respective political agendas, silence Exxon, and violate other constitutional rights of Exxon."

Kinkeade appeared to express some skepticism about Healey and Schneiderman's motivations for launching an investigation now into the possibility that ExxonMobil misled investors starting in the 1970s. ExxonMobil has since 2006 acknowledged the risks of greenhouse gas emissions.

Kinkeade asked several pointed questions, which he did not answer. These included: "Are the two attorneys general trying to further their personal agendas by using the vast power of the government to silence the voices of all those who disagree with them?" Did reluctance by Schneiderman's office to be open about meeting with Pawa "suggest that the attorneys general are trying to hide something from the public?"

Kinkeade also said the attorneys general have "conveniently cherry picked what they share with the media about their investigations," telling the press that they were investigating Exxon for fraud but not sharing information about the closed-door meeting with Pawa and Frumhoff.

However, Kinkeade concluded that the issues raised by ExxonMobil should be resolved in New York.

Healey is expected to file a further motion asking that the case be moved to Massachusetts, where a judge already ruled that Healey's investigation can continue.

"We are glad that Judge Kinkeade has finally agreed with our position from the start -- that Exxon Mobil may not file suit in Texas to block our ongoing investigation," said Healey spokeswoman Chloe Gotsis. "As we have made clear time and again, Exxon, like other companies we investigate, is subject to Massachusetts laws, and we will continue to argue that this frivolous lawsuit should be dismissed." 

The city is seeking proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of the former Ring Nursing Home property on Ridgewood Place, which is zoned for single-family homes.

SPRINGFIELD -- The city, having recently finished demolition of the former Ring Nursing Home, is offering the property for sale and redevelopment, possibly for single-family homes.

Associated Building Wreckers of Springfield recently demolished the tax-foreclosed property at 22 Ridgewood Place in the Maple High-Six Corners area, which had been a blight in that area for more than a decade, officials said. The parcel is about two-thirds of an acre in size.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the goals are getting the property back on the tax rolls and finding a use compatible with the residential neighborhood.

"My administration always looks first to see if we can get these properties back on the tax rolls, generating revenue back to the city. But just as important is that there is a conducive and positive development that's compatible to the neighborhood," Sarno said.

City officials and residents gathered at the former nursing home property in January to cheer the start of demolition. Code Enforcement Commissioner Steven Desilets, among those gathered, called the structure a "nightmare" for the neighborhood, dangerous and beyond repair.

Proposals to buy and redevelop the site must be submitted to the city's Office of Procurement at City Hall by April 26 at 2 p.m. All proposed uses should comply with the existing Residence A (single-family home) zoning requirements.

"The city will only consider reuses that involve parking for abutting and/or residential use, green space, open space and residential, single-family reuse," the city states in a summary of its request for proposals. "Additionally, the city will also consider proposals that split the lot into more than one parcel for single-family, residential, new construction."

Proposals that involve owner occupancy of the homes will score higher than proposals not having owner-occupants, the city states.

The city foreclosed on the nursing home property in 2007 for nonpayment of taxes.

The cost of demolition, asbestos and hazardous materials remediation, and site cleanup was $423,379. The city used a combination of federal Community Development Block Grant funds, city funds and a $50,000 grant from the state Attorney General's Abandoned Housing Initiative to finance the demolition and cleanup.

There were multiple attempts to sell the nursing home property in past years but no feasible plan emerged for reuse of the building.

The property is within a historic district, but the building itself was not deemed historically significant, officials said. Any new construction on the property, however, will need to be reviewed and approved by the Springfield Historical Commission.

The property, which is 29,535 square feet, is being sold "as is."

The city will establish a committee to review all proposals received for the property. Any sale off the property will need approval from the mayor and City Council.

Sean R. Barrett of Ashfield, formerly of Westfield, pleaded guilty in connection with suspicious devices found in two yards in Westfield.

Conor Berry | cberry@repub.com 

SPRINGFIELD -- A former Westfield teenager on Friday pleaded guilty in Hampden Superior Court to two felony explosives charges in connection with suspicious devices found in two yards in that city in April 2016.

Sean R. Barrett, 18, of Ashfield, was sentenced to two years probation by Judge Daniel A. Ford.

Saying "kids do stupid things," defense lawyer Susan E. Hamilton asked Ford to continue the case without a finding so Barrett would not have to live his life with a felony conviction. Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth wanted some jail time, recommending six months in the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow.

"I think the crime is too serious for a continued without a finding," Ford said, opting for probation as a sentence.

Hamilton said Barrett, who has been out on bail, is working and living on a farm in Franklin County now.

Barrett pleaded guilty to two counts of a crime defined in state law as "Throwing, secreting, launching or placing of incendiary device."

The case of his co-defendant, Patrick J. Baker, 19, of Westfield, is still pending.

According to information at the time of their arraignment, Westfield police arrested the pair after responding to a call about a suspicious device found outside 83 Woodmont St.

Three more devices were found outside 88 Woodmont St., where both teens were living, police said. The devices were plastic bottles that were foaming and appeared to contain pieces of metal, according to police, who compared the devices to "Drano bombs" that can be seen in numerous YouTube videos.

The incident led to an emergency hazmat response and prompted authorities to close Woodmont Street for several hours as they investigated. The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad used a robot to check the devices, "which were rendered inert," court records state.

"One of the defendants stated to his mother that he searched how to make bombs on YouTube then placed them outside," Westfield police officer Michael Gibbons said in a criminal complaint filed in Westfield District Court.

Hamilton said Barrett's mother died when he was 4 years old, and after being raised for a while by grandparents, he was "shuffled among" foster care families.

She said Barrett now understands the seriousness of what happened even though he had viewed it as more of a science-type experiment at the time.

David Grossack has been charged with murder on Friday in the death of a Lynn woman whose body was found decomposing in her apartment, following his arrest earlier this week on similar charges for an Everett man's death.

David Grossack has been charged with murder in the death of a Lynn woman whose body was found decomposing in her apartment, following his arrest earlier this week on similar charges for an Everett man's death.

Grossack, 47, was charged with murder on Friday after the Essex County District Attorney's Office obtained a warrant in connection to the death of Kathleen Burgess.

Burgess, 56, was found in an advanced state of decomposition at a 40 Newhall St., Lynn, apartment on Dec. 29, 2016, according to a statement from the district attorney's office.

Police were notified by the Burgess' daughter, who went to check on her mother after not hearing from her for a few days. 

Burgess and Grossack had been in a dating relationship and he had been at her apartment, investigators learned.

The office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of Burgess' death was homicide by blunt force trauma and identified multiple facial fractures.

Grossack will be arraigned on the murder charge Monday in Lynn District Court.

This is the second case of a decomposing body that Grossack has been charged in connection with.

Grossack was on the State Police "Most Wanted" list up until his arrest in Pittsfield on Tuesday.

He is charged with the killing of Frank Brescia, 65, whose decomposing body was discovered inside an Everett apartment in February. Neighbors noticed a strong odor coming from the apartment and the landlord performed a well-being check, finding Brescia's body in an advanced state of decomposition.

The Middlesex District Attorney's Office is prosecuting that case.

Mayor Karen Cadieux, Superintendent Nancy Follansbee, and Principal Kevin Burke all issued statements. Police Chief Robert Alberti said he could not comment at this time.

EASTHAMPTON -- Local officials issued statements Thursday affirming that racial discrimination and violence will not be tolerated at Easthampton High School, and promised a full investigation into an alleged race-based assault.

Hundreds of students walked out of class Thursday morning followed a Wednesday incident where a white student was allegedly assaulted by one or more students of color after the white student reportedly posted a racial insult to social media. Some students said there have been other race-based incidents at the high school.

The students marched to the city's municipal building, where Mayor Karen Cadieux and Superintendent Nancy Follansbee stepped outside to meet with them. The students were told to head back to class, and were promised a follow-up meeting.

Later that afternoon, Cadieux and Follansbee appeared at an all-school assembly, as did Principal Kevin Burke, Vice Principal Sue Welson, Police Chief Robert Alberti, and Police Captain Chris Patnode.

The first official communication came in the form of a Thursday morning email from Follansbee to parents:

This morning a group of our high school students made a peaceful march to the Municipal Building. Mayor Cadieux and I talked with the students and asked them to return to the high school where we would meet with them to address their concerns.  The Easthampton Police were present and escorted the students as they marched to ensure their safety.  I will send more details on what precipitated the march and the student concerns later today.  All appropriate actions are being taken by Principal Kevin Burke.

Cadieux released a statement on behalf of Burke, which was first published by WLLP/Channel 22 News. The statement acknowledges the social media post and a "physical altercation" in the school parking lot:

Our community, which includes students, staff, parents and administration does not condone hate speech or offensive language nor do we condone violence for any reason.

Yesterday in our parking lot there was a physical altercation between EHS students. What preceded the assault was a post on social media that included a racial slur. Both situations are not acceptable.

Let me be clear both hate speech and violence in all of its forms will not be tolerated here at EHS nor in the Easthampton community.

"Right now there is misinformation regarding past and present events that have occurred at EHS. I want to caution everyone to make decisions and formulate opinions based on fact.

"I want to make you aware of our next steps

* Today we will conduct a full investigation of what occurred and disciplinary consequences will result.

* This morning the faculty met and was informed of the events and discussed how to support students.

* We will meet with student leaders of each grade during first block to open a dialogue to hear students

* We will inform parents and guardians

* We will be reaching out to the community to find ways to address these issues and begin the healing process.

* We will continue to work together to address intolerance.

Also Thursday, Burke sent a "robo-call" to parents, Cadieux told The Republican. The call stated the following, she said:

Late Thursday afternoon, Cadieux and Follansbee issued a joint statement:

Kevin Burke, our high school principal and Sue Welson, our assistant principal thoroughly address any issues that are brought to their attention. Their actions today are evidence of this.

This afternoon Superintendent Follansbee, Police Chief Alberti, Police Captain Patnode, Principal Burke, Assistant Principal Welson, and I met with all high school students in an assembly in the gymnasium. Students were given an opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns and to ask questions. The exchange of thoughts, questions, and responses was always respectful. We believe it was a learning experience for all who participated and an important step in opening lines of communication to address student concerns.

We are all encouraging any parents, staff, or students who have concerns or questions that have not been addressed to get in touch with Principal Burke, Assistant Principal Welson, or with the Superintendent.

The purpose of the march this morning as stated by a student who organized and led the march was to send a message that racism and hate speech are not okay and are not tolerated in our schools or in our community. His message to Principal Burke was, "I am organizing a SCHOOL WIDE walk out in support of spreading ACCEPTANCE."

Alberti told The Republican that he could not comment because there is an ongoing investigation involving juveniles.

"I did nothing wrong. And if I did, it was in Holyoke," Pronovost said as he was placed in custody in Chicopee. Watch video

This is an update of a story posted at 3:48 p.m. Friday.

CHICOPEE - As he was led to the booking desk at the Chicopee police station, John Pronovost wished to report a kidnapping -- his own.

Lt. John Pronovost (THE REPUBLICAN FILE) 

Pronovost, a lieutenant with the Chicopee police, had been removed from the St. Patrick's Parade on March 19 in Holyoke, handcuffed and taken to the Chicopee police station, where he was placed in protective custody. All this was done because Pronovost had apparently had too much to drink -- to the point where he was described by police as "combative, borderline disorderly."

Only the way Pronovost saw it, he had been abducted in Holyoke by Chicopee police who were out of their jurisdiction and brought across city lines against his will. He said he planned to sue.

"I did nothing wrong. And if I did, it was in Holyoke," he says at one point, according to a video of the booking process. "You guys kidnapped me from Holyoke against my will. 

He also says that if anyone at the station contacts his family, he will add them to the lawsuit. "Just so you know," he said.

The 30-minute video was released Friday by the city of Chicopee in response to a records request by The Republican. Video of Pronovost being placed into custody, and a narrative by one of the officers who took him into custody at the parade, were released to area press.

It had previously been reported that Pronovost had gotten into trouble at the parade, that he had been placed in protective custody after he appeared to get very intoxicated and acted in a belligerent manner.

He was not arrested, but placed in protective custody, or held at the station until he sobered up enough to be able to care for himself.

Police Chief William R. Jebb announced March 24 that he had suspended Pronovost for five days for his actions during the parade. Even though he was off duty at the time, he was in public and wearing his uniform. He was not armed.

In addition to the five days without pay, Pronovost was removed from his post as the department's head training officer. When he returns to work, he will serve as daytime supervisor for the uniform shift.

In the video, when Pronovost is brought into the dock, he is not in uniform. He is wearing a white T-shirt and has a green shamrock necklace around his neck. He would eventually take it off and put it in his pocket, but a booking officer removed it from his pocket and placed it with the envelope containing his possessions. Pronovost can be heard saying that he wants it back.

According to the incident report prepared by Lt. Patrick Major, who was driving a Chicopee police cruiser in the parade, he was ordered by Jebb to put Pronovost in the car for the rest of the route.

Pronovost refused to get in, and Major continued along the route.

About five minutes later, Major was told to break off from the route and circle back to get Pronovost. By that time, Pronovost had "exited the parade formation," and officers who were with him were trying to calm him down.

Major wrote that when he approached Pronovost, the lieutenant was screaming obscenities at the other Chicopee police officers who were trying to restrain him.

"It appeared to me that Lt. Pronovost was intoxicated. He had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, was unsteady on his feet (having tripped during the parade route), and was slurring his speech," he wrote.

With Pronovost becoming "combative, borderline disorderly," Major instructed another officer to handcuff him and put him in the back of the car.

Pronovost refused to be driven home or to the hospital and would not let anyone call his wife. This left no choice but to bring him to the Chicopee police station, and Major reports that Pronovost in the back of the car was "screaming, swearing and crying at times."

When brought into the booking desk, Pronovost declares he is being falsely imprisoned and that he would sue the department and every officer involved in his being detained.

He repeatedly said he did nothing wrong.

This led to, at one point, a brief discussion between Pronovost and the booking officer, Sgt. Jeffrey Nadeau, about his level of intoxication.

"Your level of intoxication is so high that you are unable to take care of yourself," Nadeau said.

"Do I sound intoxicated, sir?" Pronovost asked.

"Yes," Nadeau replied.

"Beyond your beliefs?" Pronovost asked.

If Nadeau replied, it was too soft to be picked up by the microphone.

Moments later, Nadeau is called out of view by another officer, leaving just Pronovost on screen.

In the silence, he lowers his head, and with his arms crossed in front of him, he begins to sway slightly back and forth, as if he is asleep on his feet. When someone opens a door, his head pops up as if he is startled awake.

The video eventually shows him being led to a cell where he would be allowed to sleep it off.

In the final video showing him being released, apparently hours later, it is as if nothing happened.

Pronovost puts on his shoes, grabs his possession and says, "OK, guys, I'll see you guys tomorrow morning."

"Good luck, John," says a different officer behind the desk.

"Thank you," Pronovost can be heard saying from off screen.

Related photos:

 

Robert Honsch, accused of murdering his wife in 1995 in Tolland State Forest, is slated to go to trial in May.

SPRINGFIELD -- Jury selection for the murder trial of Robert Honsch is slated to start May 12, but the first witness testified Friday.

The defense witness, Dr. Itiel Dror, was in this country from his home in London so his trial testimony was video recorded for use in the trial.

Dror -- who outlined his research, education and teaching in the area of cognitive bias -- was questioned first by defense lawyer Paul Rudof and then cross-examined by Assistant District Attorney Karen J. Bell.

He testified that the accuracy of fingerprint analysis decreases when the analyst has information about previous results or knows specifics about the case in question.

The trial of the 73-year-old Honsch, accused of killing his wife in 1995, is expected to take three to four weeks, the lawyers told Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney.

On Oct. 6, 1995, a body with a gunshot wound to the head was found in Tolland State Forest. The killing remained a cold case until 2014, when the body was identified as that of Marcia Honsch, 53, of Brewster, New York.

In Connecticut, Robert Honsch is charged in the fatal shooting of his daughter, Elizabeth Honsch, 17. Her body was found behind a shopping plaza in New Britain, Connecticut, on Sept. 28, 1995.

Honsch was arrested in July 2014 in Dalton, Ohio, where investigators said he was living under an assumed name with a new wife and three children.

Sweeney ruled recently that Bell can present information about Elizabeth Honsch's killing at trial. 

Bell has said three "palm type impressions/prints were recovered from the trash bags in which Elizabeth Honsch's body was found" in Connecticut. She said they were compared to Honsch's palm prints by a forensic scientist at the Ohio attorney general's office. Honsch's prints used for comparison were taken by the Wayne County Sheriff's Department in Ohio.

"The prints on the trash bags match the defendant's prints taken by the Wayne County Sheriff's Department," she wrote.

A Massachusetts State Police fingerprint analyst examined the prints in this state and also found they matched, Bell has said.

Dror said the problem with the Massachusetts examiner's analysis is that he had the results of the Ohio analysis in which a match was declared. And the Ohio analyst was given information about the case, he said.

There is never a 100 percent match, Dror said, because human skin is elastic, and so analysts have to make judgments about the similarity of two prints.

Under questioning from Bell, Dror acknowledged he is not saying the Massachusetts print analyst was wrong, or that the two people who verified that analyst's conclusions were wrong.

Five men were arrested on drug charges in Walpole on Thursday.

WALPOLE - Five men were arrested in Walpole early Thursday morning, after a raid on a residence led law enforcement officials to discover a "trafficking weight" amount of Fentanyl pills and other opioids, according to the Walpole Police Department. 

The men arrested have been identified as 26-year-old Nicholas Bonfilio, 48-year-old Christopher Punis, 52-year-old Francis Keegan, Jr., 63-year-old David Curran, and 64-year-old Randolph Beardsley. 

Law enforcement officials from multiple agencies--including a drug task force and a regional SWAT team--raided a residence at 252 Norfolk Street at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, discovering the drugs as well as four firearms and ammunition. 

Police say that as a result of the raid, the five men were arrested and are now facing a number of charges, including conspiracy to violate the state's drug laws, being present where heroin is kept, and possession with intent to distribute.

Additionally, Christopher Punis faces a charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition without an FID card.  

The men were arraigned in Wrentham District Court on Thursday, during which time all of them pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. 

The men are scheduled to return to court on April 25 to attend a pre-trial conference.

A Colorado man who has pleaded guilty to killing his wife more than two decades ago led authorities to her body, which was buried under the grave of a World War II veteran.

GREELEY, Colo. -- A Colorado man who has pleaded guilty to killing his wife more than two decades ago led authorities to her body, which was buried under the grave of a World War II veteran.

John Sandoval. AP 

John Sandoval, 52, pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 1995 death of Kristina Tournai-Sandoval, The Greeley Tribune reports.

As part of a plea deal in which he would be credited for the eight years already served for a previous conviction, he led investigators to the remains at a Greeley cemetery where he used to work as a groundskeeper.

Sandoval hid the body in a grave where the veteran was buried. The man had died shortly before Tournai-Sandoval disappeared.

Authorities had suspected he buried her body in a recently dug grave but were unable to locate it until now.

Sandoval was convicted in 2010 and was sentenced to life in prison in his wife's death. But an appeals court overturned his case last year, ruling that a judge wrongfully allowed evidence that Sandoval stalked other women, as well as expert testimony correlating stalkers with murderers.

Until the plea bargain, prosecutors faced a second trial in which police had no physical or DNA evidence, confession or witnesses to the death of the defendant's  wife, who had sought to divorce him in 1995.

John Morrison co-founded the Pleasant Street Theater and was a Ward 4 City Councilor.

NORTHAMPTON -- A co-founder of the once-iconic Pleasant Street Theater has been arraigned on child pornography charges in California.

John Morrison, 71, was arrested at his home in San Francisco's Crocker Amazon neighborhood on March 13 after a search turned up numerous devices with hundreds of videos and images, including ones showing minors in sex acts with adults, according to various news reports.

Police obtained a warrant after launching an investigation in November into an individual who was uploading and trading child pornography through a smartphone messaging app.

Morrison is charged with one count of possession of child pornography and three counts of distribution of child pornography, all felonies. He allegedly had more than 600 images, including more than 10 depicting children under the age of 12 and some depicting acts of sexual sadism or masochism.

Morrison ran children's outreach programs for a nonprofit film institute in Marin County, and was education director at the California Film Institute in San Francisco. His involvement in the institute's programs is the subject of an ongoing investigation. He resigned from the institute soon after his arrest.

Morrison served as Ward 4 City Councilor in Northampton for several terms in the 1990s. He wrote film reviews for The Valley Advocate and Disney Magazine.

Morrison opened the Pleasant Street Theater in 1976 with business partner Richard Pini. After the art house theater closed in 2007 under different ownership, the Amherst Cinema Arts Center re-opened its doors, but it closed for good in 2012.

Morrison was also co-founder of the related Pleasant Street Video store, which closed in 2011 after a 25-year run.

Morrison moved to San Francisco in 1999, according to his LinkedIn profile, where he describes himself as "a practicing Buddhist and meditator and a fading Marxist."

"Presently I am also the Co-Block Captain for my Neighborhood Watch in San Francisco and have recently been appointed to the Citizens Advisory Committee for the San Francisco Transportation Authority," Morrison's profile states.

Anyone with more information on the case, and potential victims, is asked to call the SFPD Special Victims Unit at 415-558-5500.

Obituaries from The Republican.

A man from New York was arrested in Springfield on Tuesday and is now facing a charge related to heroin trafficking.

SPRINGFIELD - A New York man was arrested in Springfield on Tuesday evening and is now facing a heroin trafficking charge. 

37-year-old Rey Flores was behind the wheel of a Chevy Equinox headed east on Route 291 in Springfield when a State Trooper noticed he had failed to stop at the bottom of the Dwight Street exit. The Trooper proceeded to pull him over.  

Over the course of the motor vehicle stop the Trooper searched Flores's vehicle, discovering a hidden compartment holding 25,000 packets of heroin with a street value of over $100,000. 

Flores now faces one charge of heroin trafficking. He was booked at the Springfield State Police Barracks before being transferred to the Hampshire House of Correction for lack of $10,000 bail.  

Two men and woman were arrested Friday in connection with a raging fire that caused the collapse of an elevated portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta, according to CNN and other news sources.

ATLANTA -- Two men and a woman were arrested Friday in connection with a raging fire that caused the collapse of an elevated portion of Interstate 85 in Atlanta, according to CNN and other news sources.

The arrests were confirmed by Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Cortez Stafford.

Authorities identified one suspect as Basil Eleby, who was charged with first-degree criminal damage to property. Two others, Sophia Bruner and Barry Thomas, were charged with criminal trespass, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"We believe they were together when the fire was set and Eleby is the one who set the fire," according to Jay Florence, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Insurance.

The three were taken to the Fulton County Jail after questioning.

Florence declined to say how the fire was started or how authorities identified the three suspects, the newspaper said.

WSB-TV reported that it learned that at least one of the suspects may be "transient."

Atlanta's dreadful rush-hour traffic could be extra nasty for months to come while repairs are underway to fix the highway, a heavily traveled route through the heart of the city.

Traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby streets as drivers were forced to take a detour Friday, the morning after the blaze caused the concrete to crumble.

The collapse took place a few miles north of downtown, and the effects could fall most heavily on commuters from Atlanta's densely populated northern suburbs. They will have to find other routes to work or ride mass transit.

Georgia Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry said 350 feet of highway will need to be replaced in both directions on I-85, which carries about 400,000 cars a day through the city and is one of the South's most important north-south routes.

He said repairs will take months but declined to be more specific.

The collapse effectively "puts a cork in the bottle," Georgia State Patrol Commissioner Mark McDonough said.

The fire broke out Thursday afternoon in an area used to store state-owned construction materials and equipment, sending flames and smoke high into the air. Fire authorities had said they had not determined how the blaze started.

McMurry said his department stored coils of plastic conduit used in fiber optic networks beneath the span but insisted they were noncombustible.

No injuries were reported. Firefighters shut down the section of highway before it gave way, and made it to safety themselves after hearing the road cracking and seeing concrete go flying, authorities said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao promptly released $10 million for the initial repair work, and the Federal Highway Administration promised more in emergency repair funds. Officials gave no estimate of how much the job would cost.

Fire causes I-85 bridge to collapse; state of emergency declared; traffic plans

Built in 1953 and renovated in 1985, the span scored high in its most recent inspection, receiving a rating of 94.6 out of 100 in 2015, said Natalie Dale, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Transportation Department.

Lauren Stewart, director of the Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, said intense heat can compromise even steel-reinforced concrete.

"With fires, especially fires that burn for long periods and with high heat, you can see structures, anything from buildings to bridges, can have their material properties degrade," Stewart said.

It's happened before. In 1996, a fire in a big pile of tires beneath I-95 in Philadelphia left a span too weak to handle cars, forcing authorities to shut down 4 miles of the busy East Coast route for repairs.

Andy Herrmann, a retired partner with the New York-based engineering firm Hardesty & Hanover, said there have also been a few instances of gasoline trucks crashing and causing intense heat that damaged overpasses.

In one example, a tanker carrying 8,600 gallons (32,550 liters) of gasoline ignited after crashing into a guardrail on an interchange connecting Interstate 80 to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California. Heat from the flames exceeded 2,750 degrees and caused the steel beams holding up the overpass to buckle and bolts holding the structure together to melt, officials said at the time.

Herrmann said concrete will undergo severe cracking at about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit and start disintegrating at higher temperatures. Building roads to withstand such heat would be prohibitively expensive, he said.

"We have limited dollars for maintaining our bridges," Herrmann said. "This is such a rare thing to occur."

 

Belchertown police are seeking to identify a suspect in an "ongoing investigation."

BELCHERTOWN - The Belchertown Police Department is attempting to identify a suspect who is believed to be involved in an "ongoing investigation."

Police haven't said what the investigation is or what the man is suspected of doing. 

However, police say they believe the man may be traveling in the car pictured above.

Anyone who believes they may be able to identify the suspect has been asked to contact Officer Robert Mann at 413-323-6685.

Numerous law enforcement agencies have issued alerts about a missing 23-year-old man from Southborough who went missing on Tuesday evening.

SOUTHBOROUGH - Authorities are searching for a missing Southborough man who attended a Celtics basketball game at the TD Garden on Wednesday evening and never came home. 

Michael Kelleher. Southborough Police Department  

23-year-old Michael Kelleher was last seen leaving the Boston sports arena at approximately 9 p.m. on the night of the game, said Southborough police in a statement. 

Kelleher's family filed a missing person's report with the Southborough Police Department the following evening when Kelleher did not return home. 

Kelleher's mother, Lori Tavella Kelleher, made a plea for her son's safe return home over social media on Friday.

"I'm heartbroken, exhausted and so scared for my son," she said. 

The missing man's mother also said that the co-worker who he attended the game with left without him after he did not return to her car afterward. 

"Please know that my son is missing and did not just go to a friend's house. He went to the Celtics game on Wednesday night with a coworker, was drunk and didn't meet up at her car for a ride home. She waited a bit and then left him in Boston drunk," she wrote.

Massachusetts State Police have issued a brief statement Friday night, alerting people to Kelleher's disappearance. 

Kelleher was last seen wearing brown pants, a Celtics jersey, a gray sweatshirt, and a Celtics hat, according to Soutborough police. 

Anyone who believes they may know the whereabouts of Kelleher have been urged to contact the Southborough Police Department at 508-485-2147, or the Boston Police Department at 617-343-4328.

Springfield Technical Community College's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Alliance Club hosted its eighth annual drag show, titled "Once Upon," in the Scibelli Hall theater on Friday night.

SPRINGFILD -- Springfield Technical Community College's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, Alliance Club hosted its eighth annual drag show, titled "Once Upon," in the Scibelli Hall theater on Friday night.

The drag show served as the annual fundraiser for the GLBTA Club, which the students use to attend conferences and host other events to raise awareness and educate individuals about the LGBT community and the various legal and social issues that they face.

Friday's event was a two-act show and featured drag performers from throughout Western Massachusetts, some of whom are STCC alum.

Local drag queen, Tytannia Lockhart, served as the event emcee for the second year in a row and was joined by a troupe of performers who got the crowd involved in the fun.

At a prosecutor's request, the judge also dismissed three charges filed against Danielle Martin in October after she allegedly assaulted a campus police officer at Western New England University.

SPRINGFIELD - A judge has agreed to combine the trials of two sisters who allegedly pummeled a woman outside Springfield bar last summer.

The sisters -- Danielle Martin, 21, of Springfield, and Jessica Martin, 26, of Ludlow -- pleaded not guilty during their arraignment Sept. 28 to assault and battery with serious bodily injury. Both are free on $500 bail.

They allegedly kicked and punched a 25-year-old woman outside Rory Fitzgerald's bar on Page Boulevard on Sept. 21, leaving her unconscious on the sidewalk.

No trial date has been set, but the cases were combined last week at the request of Assistant District Attorney Colleen Monroe. "The events in each case arise out of the same criminal episode," she wrote in a motion approved by Judge William Boyle.

The sisters are due back in court for a pretrial hearing on June 12.

At a prosecutor's request, Boyle also dismissed three charges filed against Danielle Martin in October after she allegedly assaulted a campus police officer at Western New England University.

The judge also ordered Danielle Martin to stay away from the WNEU campus.