Prosecutors argued that Roman, 45, of Holyoke, was the gunman who shot 28-year-old Tiago, of Chicopee, three times in the head on Jan. 29, 2010.

File photo | The RepublicanMiguel Roman at his 2010 arraignment in Holyoke District Court in the death of Shaun Taigo.

Updates a story posted Thursday at 2:45 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD – After deliberating more than two days, a Hampden Superior Court jury Thursday returned a guilty verdict in the trial of Miguel Roman, accused in the January 2010 Holyoke murder of Shaun M. Tiago.

Jurors, who started deliberating Tuesday, reported at 11:30 a.m. Thursday that they were deadlocked, but resumed their work after receiving further instruction from Judge Constance M. Sweeney.

The guilty verdict came in just after 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

Defense lawyer Greg T. Schubert said after the verdict, “I was mystified by the verdict. They must have heard evidence that I didn’t.”

Prosecutors argued that Roman, 45, of Holyoke, was the gunman who shot 28-year-old Tiago, of Chicopee, three times in the head on Jan. 29, 2010.

Tiago’s body was found early that morning on Newton Street in Holyoke, a few blocks from where he was seen leaving the Mambo Cafe on High Street with four men.

Roman was arrested shortly along with Angel L. Gonzalez, of Holyoke; his brother, Felipe Gonzalez, of Chicopee; and Luis Alberto Soto, of Springfield. The four were in the car with Tiago, according to testimony, when Tiago was shot.

The prosecution said Roman was the shooter.

Angel Gonzalez still faces a murder charge for Tiago’s death. Murder charges against Soto and Felipe Gonzalez were dropped, and the pair testified against Roman in the case.

Soto and Felipe Gonzalez still face a charge of accessory after the fact of murder.

First-degree murder convictions in Massachusetts carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole.

Assistant District Attorney Eduardo Velazquez read an impact statement written by Patricia LeClair, Tiago’s mother. She said her son was troubled and had addiction issues, but was a loving son and a generous person.

“My whole world has been shattered,” she said.

LeClair said all of her son’s relatives are equally devastated by the death.

Sid Tiago, Shaun Tiago’s father, said, “My son’s death was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

He said now he will never know if his son would have stopped using drugs and been able to better his life.

Tiago said his son was a loving and trusting soul.

“He took the wrong road and did things that he wasn’t proud of. He was not a bad person. He was a good person,” Tiago said.

Ameristar was extremely pleased with the reception a casino proposal received during a meeting in Springfield attended by about 500 people.

A Las Vegas-based company next month is planning to complete the purchase of land in Springfield for a proposed casino and is hopeful of putting the proposal before voters in the city next year, a leader at the company said Thursday.

Troy A. Stremming, senior vice president of government relations for Ameristar Casinos Inc., said he is planning to meet with Kevin E. Kennedy, the new chief development officer for Springfield, early next month to discuss the casino proposed for the site of the former Westinghouse plant on Page Boulevard.

Stremming said company officials were "extremely pleased" with the reception the casino proposal received during a meeting on Dec. 6 in East Springfield attended by about 500 people.

Stremming said the site is the "premier location" for a casino in Western Massachusetts and Springfield.

"We're confident it is going to be a casino resort," Stremming said.

Springfield would stand to collect millions of dollars in property, motel and meals taxes and impact fees if a casino located in the city. Officials could also make deals to assure jobs for residents and contracts for local businesses. Ameristar has said the project would create 2,000 construction jobs and 2,800 permanent jobs.

Ameristar is planning to compete for the single casino license authorized for Western Massachusetts in a new state law that legalizes expanded gambling.

Republican file photo by Don Treeger An overflow crowd attended an East Springfield neighborhood council meeting earlier this month at Mary Mother of Hope Church to hear a presentation by Ameristar Casinos. Here, Ameristar CEO Gordon R. Kanofsky talks to the crowd.

The law authorizes one slot parlor and up to three casino resorts in different zones around the state, including one for anywhere in the four counties of Western Massachusetts.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno has said he supports casinos in general and that he is keeping an open mind about the Ameristar proposal.

"Mayor Sarno has indicated previously that any and all proposals the city receives from casino companies would be forwarded to the city’s Economic Development Office for review as is the case with any proposal relating to economic development within the city of Springfield," Thomas T. Walsh, communications director for Sarno, said Thursday.

After completing due diligence, Ameristar plans to close toward the end of next month on the sale of the 41-acre site at Page Boulevard and Interstate 291, he said. Ameristar said it would pay $16 million to buy the land from an affiliate of the O'Connell Development Group Inc., which had anticipated a large-scale retail project on the site.

"We have absolutely no intention to back out," Stremming said.

The company is working on a plan for carrying traffic from I-291 to the proposed casino without disrupting the nearby residential neighborhood, he said, a chief concern of some people at the Dec. 6 meeting.

Republican file photoRep. Sean Curran

While he said he is willing to listen to the company, Rep. Sean F. Curran, a Springfield Democrat whose district includes the proposed Ameristar casino, said he believes the casino would cause lots of problems with traffic on Page Boulevard.

"I personally don't think it would be a constructive addition to the neighborhood," said Curran, while emphasizing that a five-member state Gaming Commission would oversee and license casinos and that state legislators have no authority in the process. "I personally don't think it is a good idea, but it is not my call."

Curran said that if the city is considering a casino resort, it would make sense to locate the development in downtown Springfield near the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and tie it into proposed commuter rail from Hartford to Springfield.

Stremming said an Ameristar casino would not be an island in the city. The company would hire local people and contract with local vendors, he said. "Our goal is to grow the entire city of Springfield," he said.

Stremming said it would be difficult to purchase a similar amount of land in the downtown. If a casino were built in the downtown, it could require the relocation of businesses and people and it would also face traffic challenges, he said.

Stremming said Ameristar paid a premium for the Page Boulevard land, but the cost per acre still is a good price for a casino resort. Stremming said the company paid slightly more than if a big box retailer were to buy the land and build on it.

Stremming said a goal is to reach agreement with Springfield next year and then hold a ballot question.

Sarno said he would ask the City Council to support a city-wide vote on any casino agreement for Springfield. Under the bill, the state's three most populated cities, including Springfield, would have to hold a ward vote unless they choose to put the question to all voters.

"Our goal is certainly to get this on the ballot in 2012," Stremming said.

Ameristar's competition includes the company that owns the Mohegan Sun, which is proposing a casino for Palmer. Hard Rock International of Florida and a local group called Paper City Development are proposing a casino for Holyoke, but may face opposition from Holyoke Mayor-elect Alex Morse, who has said he has "some grave reservations" about a casino for Holyoke.

Penn National Gaming of Pennsylvania has not unveiled a site yet but has said it is considering a proposal for a casino for Western Massachusetts.

The Republican file photo | Don TreegerAmeristar Casinos CEO Gordon R. Kanofsky speaks to an overflow crowd at an East Springfield Neighborhood Council meeting earlier this month.

Some of the tainted cheese may have been distributed in Massachusetts, and state officials are warning people not to eat it.

Fromagerie Marie Kade cheese products made in Quebec are subject to a recall.

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Thursday announced a warning to consumers to avoid eating cheese and milk products under the brand Fromagerie Marie Kade because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes,
organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

The announcement came following notification by the U.S. Food and Drug Administation on Wednesday that cheese from a dairy plant in Quebec that had been already been subject of a voluntary recall last month had somehow made it to a Cedar Market in Norwood.

Cedar Marker sold some of the possibly tainted products to Bahnan's International Cafe in Worcester.

The recalled products distributed in Massachusetts have the brand name “Fromagerie Marie Kade.”

All cheese products involved bear establishment number 1874. Any “Best Before” dates up to and including those listed below, are affected by the alert. The cheese products that are the subject of the consumer alert in Massachusetts include:

• Akawi Cheese Best Before 08 MAR 2012
• Baladi Cheese Best Before 08 FEB 2012.
• Shinglish Cheese Best Before 07 NOV 2012
• Tresse Cheese Best Before 10 NOV 2012
• Vachekaval Cheese Best Before 10 MAR 2012
• Halloom Best Before 01 MAY 2012
• Moujadale Best Before 04 MAY 2012

So far, there are no reports of illnesses in Massachusetts related to the cheese, officials said. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. It can also cause miscarriages and still births among pregnant women.

People who have the products in their home are advised to throw them away.

People with questions may call DPH Food Protection Program at 617-983-6712.

People were "scratching their head" after an associate of a late New England crime boss sold his "mess" of a house in a weak market for almost $1 million more than the asking price.

By LAURA CRIMALDI

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – People in the state real estate industry were "scratching their head" after an associate of a late New England crime boss sold his "mess" of a house in a weak market for almost $1 million more than the asking price to two brothers now facing criminal charges, a police affidavit says.

Authorities on Thursday announced the arrests of Eugene O'Brien and Timothy O'Brien, who are accused of pulling off a $2.2 million fraud to buy the Narragansett home of Frederick Carrozza Sr., who ran a business from the same Providence office as the late reputed mob boss Raymond L.S. Patriarca.

Narragansett real estate agent John Hodnett wrote in an email two months after the September 2006 sale that the $2.4 million deal was one of the most "bizarre" transactions the market had seen in a while.

"This home has been on and off the market over the past 10 years between 595K and $1.5 (million). It was last on the market for $1.5 (million) this past February," Hodnett wrote in an email quoted in the affidavit. "To see this close at $2.4 (million) with a mortgage (of) $2.28 (million) is mind boggling and turning all of the comps upside down. Most people are under the assumption that there may be more than meets the eye on this one."

Investigators began looking into the sale of the home after the lender foreclosed last year, state police Lt. Michael Winquist said. A confidential source told authorities the sale price was suspicious and crimes may have been committed, he said.

Two area real estate agents told investigators the 4,900-square-foot home, located near a beach, was in poor condition in 2006 and required "a lot of money and work," the affidavit said. An attorney who offered to buy the property from Carrozza for $1.2 million called it a "mess" and planned to raze it, the affidavit said. A forensic appraiser determined the house was worth $910,000 when it sold, Winquist said.

Carrozza, who is not facing charges, made about $2 million in the sale, the affidavit said. He did not promptly return a message seeking comment Thursday.

Eugene O'Brien, who is from Wesport, Mass., and has worked in the mortgage industry, made more than $95,000 from purchasing and refinancing the property, and Timothy O'Brien, an acupuncturist from South Kingston, made $100,000, the affidavit said.

They're each charged with obtaining money under false pretenses, conspiracy and money laundering.

Eugene O'Brien, 50, and Timothy O'Brien, 55, financed the purchase with a mortgage from Coastway Credit Union in Cranston, Winquist said. He said $120,000 was given as a down payment but few mortgage payments were made.

A few months after the purchase, sole ownership of the home was turned over to Eugene O'Brien, who paid off the initial loan with a new mortgage and home equity line from Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Winquist said. The home was not maintained, its property taxes went unpaid and no one ever moved into it, he added.

When Eugene O'Brien secured new financing in December 2006, he did not disclose on his loan application that he had purchased three properties in Rhode Island and Massachusetts between Nov. 6 and Dec. 14 for more than $1 million total, the affidavit said. The properties fell into foreclosure.

Eugene O'Brien also is facing more than $600,000 in federal and state tax liens, the affidavit said.

After appearing in court on Wednesday, Eugene O'Brien was ordered to pay a small amount of surety bail, and Timothy O'Brien was released on personal recognizance, said defense attorney S. Joshua Macktaz, who represents Timothy O'Brien.

"My client Tim O'Brien maintains his innocence, and we look forward to defending the case in court," Macktaz said.

Eugene O'Brien was referred to a public defender, court records show. No telephone number for him could be located.

The brothers return to court in February.

A firm that buys foreclosed properties paid $850,000 for the home last year and sold it for $610,000 to another buyer that August, Winquist said. The original home sale is still under investigation, he said.

Police say Jerome Isaac cornered Gillespie in the elevator as it opened on the 5th floor of her New York apartment building, then sprayed her with gasoline and set her ablaze as she screamed.

Associated PressAn undated photo of Deloris Gillespie provided by the Gillespie family is on display before a press conference by her children, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, in New York. Deloris Gillespie died on Dec. 17 after being sprayed with gasoline and set ablaze in her apartment building's elevator in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood. Gillispie's funeral is scheduled for noon Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 at the First A.M.E. Zion Church in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. (AP Photo/Gillespie family)

By VERENA DOBNIK

NEW YORK – The weeping, cash-strapped relatives of a woman torched in the elevator of her apartment building said Thursday that she was kindhearted and helped a homeless man and paid with her life.

Deloris Gillespie's children told reporters that the 71-year-old had hired Jerome Isaac to do some chores in her Brooklyn apartment.

And on Dec. 17, "he ended up killing her," said Gillespie's son, Everett Hayes, holding back tears.

"For someone to set someone on fire — that's ridiculous!" he said. "I mean, what is this country coming to?"

Hayes joined Gillespie's daughter, cousin and brother at a news conference in the offices of New York City Councilwoman Letitia James, D-Brooklyn, who has been assisting them in the days after Gillespie's death.

They sat side by side, with a smiling picture of Gillespie taped on the wall behind them.

A memorial service is scheduled for Friday at the First A.M.E. Zion Church in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.

The family says it doesn't have enough money to pay for the service or other costs related to the death.

Associated PressEverett Gillespie, right, son of Deloris Gillespie looks on with his sister Sheila Gillespie Hillsman, second from right, and J.C. Causey, left, as Tracy Gillespie, speaks during a news conference to discuss the murder of their mother, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, in New York. Deloris Gillespie, 73, died on Dec. 17 after being sprayed with gasoline and set ablaze in her apartment building elevator in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood. Deloris Gillispie's funeral is scheduled for noon Friday, Dec. 30, 2011 at the First A.M.E. Zion Church in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The handyman, Jerome Isaac, is charged with first-degree murder and arson in Gillespie's death. Police say he cornered her in the elevator as it opened on the fifth floor of her apartment building in the Prospect Heights neighborhood, then sprayed her with gasoline and set her ablaze as she screamed. Surveillance cameras captured Isaac wearing an exterminator's mask and gloves as he ignited her with a barbecue lighter.

He surrendered to police a day later, reeking of gasoline.

Isaac, 47, told police Gillespie owed him money. She had told neighbors the handyman was stealing from her.

Associated PressPolice say he cornered her in the elevator as it opened on the fifth floor of her apartment building in the Prospect Heights neighborhood, then sprayed her with gasoline and set her ablaze as she screamed.

A defense attorney said last week he had been in touch with his client and would evaluate all possible defenses.

Daughter Sheila Gillespie Hillsman said she helped the Manhattan medical examiner's office identify her mother's remains so a positive identification could be made and a death certificate issued.

Hillsman traveled from her home in Gary, Ind., after getting the news and said the New York community responded with open arms to the family's grief.

"It's just been really hard, but I've really received a lot of love from New York, and I really appreciate it," she said. "I got a lot of hugs on the street."

James said a Manhattan hedge fund manager who did not know Gillespie had come forward offering to donate $10,000 to pay for the memorial service and other expenses. But there was no such deposit in the fund that the politician set up to help the family; only $800 is now available, donated by friends and neighbors.

James said she spoke again with the money manager Thursday, was assured he would cover the costs and considered the issue resolved.

Hayes, of Stuart, Fla., said he was "tapped out."

"We're at the bottom now," he said.

His mother, at the time of her death, was still working as a clerk at a post office in Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood.

A native of Bastrop, La., she had moved to New York as a young woman, settling in Brooklyn, where she attended a Baptist church while reaching out to anyone who was struggling in a neighborhood that has rapidly been gentrifying, relatives said.

"Deloris was always aware that she was her brother's keeper," said her cousin, Tracey Gillespie, also from Gary, Ind.

Many protesters have promised to interrupt campaign activities, and organizers promised more confrontations with campaign offices of Republican presidential hopefuls.

Associated PressMegan Felt, 24, is arrested while protesting Ron Paul's stance on the Environmental Protection Agency outside his Ankeny, Iowa, campaign office on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. Felt was also arrested at Wednesday's protest inside a Des Moines Wells Fargo bank branch. (AP Photo/The Des Moines Register, Regina Zilbermints)

By MICHAEL J. CRUMB

DES MOINES, Iowa – Police arrested more than a dozen Occupy protesters Thursday in Iowa who are targeting Democrats and Republicans just days before the state's closely watched lead-off presidential caucuses.

Five protesters were arrested outside the Iowa campaign headquarters of presidential contender Ron Paul in Ankeny before the group moved on to the Iowa Democratic Party headquarters in Des Moines, where 12 more were taken into custody. All were ticketed for trespassing and released.

The protests are part of an Occupy the Caucuses effort launched this week in Des Moines that has attracted activists from around the country. Many of them have promised to interrupt campaign activities, and organizers promised more confrontations on Friday with campaign offices of Republican presidential hopefuls.

Occupy the Caucuses spokeswoman Danielle Ryun, who was among those arrested at the state Democratic Party headquarters, said the goal is not to be arrested. But since campaign officials won't listen to them, protesters are willing to be arrested to get their message across, she said.

"It would be great if we could show up, issue our concerns and have the candidates acknowledge us and change their platform," she said.

Those arrested in Des Moines included a 14-year-old girl who was released to her father at the scene. On Thursday, seven protesters were arrested outside Republican Mitt Romney's Des Moines headquarters.

Iowa Democratic Party Executive Director Norm Sterzenbach said the protesters were given the opportunity to express their opinions and party officials listened to their concerns, but he said occupying the party offices was unacceptable.

"Not only does it interfere with the important work that our volunteers and staff do to engage Iowans in the political process, by physically blocking our staff from entering or exiting the building sets a very dangerous precedent," Sterzenbach said in a statement.

Protesters at Paul's campaign headquarters were protesting his proposal to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency if elected.

Ryun said the Paul campaign headquarters were locked when protesters arrived. By locking their doors, campaigns "are signaling to us that they have become disengaged," Ryun said.

A telephone message left for a Paul campaign spokesman was not returned.

At the Iowa Democratic Party's offices, protesters targeted President Barack Obama, demanding that he put a stop to home foreclosures, turn down campaign donations from Wall Street, and end indefinite detentions of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

"They're all going to get equal play on this," Ryun said. "We are very disillusioned with every candidate."

Eight protesters were arrested at the party's offices on Dec. 19.

Police in Des Moines and Ankeny said the protesters were given the option of leaving and told if they refused they would be arrested. Police said the arrests were peaceful and no force was used.

The Occupy movement began in New York and has spread across the country. Activists generally protest the growing gap between rich and poor and corporate influence over government.

Firefighters and employee from company dragged the burning clothes outside to the canal to extinguish the flames.

HOLYOKE - Some oily clothing and rags that had just been washed caught fire Thursday afternooon in a clothes dryer in an industrial building at 63 Jackson St., Fire Department spokesman Lt. Thomas G. Paquin said.

Firefighters were called to the 8-story building at about 3:30 p.m., he said. They found some clothing and rags on fire inside a dryer, and the fire was starting to spread. The cloth apparently overheated in the dryer and burst into flames, he said.

Firefighters and employee from company dragged the burning clothes outside to the canal to extinguish the flames, he said. Damage was confined to the clothing, and the building itself was unhamed. The fire department had to ventilate the building to clear out the smoke and fire extinguisher power, he said.

One employee at the site was treated on scene for a mild case of smoke inhalation but did not require a trip to the hospital.

The property is owned by Peter McAvoy, Paquin said.

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Huntsman: "A day or two after the Iowa caucuses play out, no one will remember what went on there, and everyone will be focused on New Hampshire."

By HOLLY RAMER and STEVE PEOPLES

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is interviewed while attending a Rotary luncheon in Laconia, N.H., Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

LACONIA, N.H. – The political world is spinning in Iowa this week. And Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman says he doesn't care.

He's hunkered down in New Hampshire, waiting for Tuesday's Iowa caucuses to end and the race to turn to this fiercely independent state — the only one where the former Utah governor is competing in earnest.

"It's wondrously quiet here in New Hampshire these days. We have it all to ourselves," Huntsman said Thursday night in Wolfeboro, where he attracted a crowd of roughly 200 people in the town where rival Mitt Romney has a summer home.

"A day or two after the Iowa caucuses play out, no one will remember what went on there, and everyone will be focused on New Hampshire," he said on the second day of a 13-day marathon of campaigning that ends with the Jan. 10 Republican primary.

Come this time next week, the Republicans who triumphed in Iowa will campaign here with momentum on their side and they'll have to contend with Huntsman, who has planted a flag in the state. Polling suggests his popularity in New Hampshire may be growing, but his margin for error in the race certainly is not.

He conceded the obvious, acknowledging that he cannot remain a viable presidential contender — and likely won't stay in the race — if he finishes below third place in New Hampshire, where Mitt Romney has a comfortable lead in polls and a strong organization from his failed 2008 bid.

"If we cross that threshold and the headline or the storyline is, 'Huntsman did better than expected, he exceeded market expectations,' then you know you've done something and you can carry on," he told The Associated Press from the back of a black SUV speeding toward the Laconia Rotary Club.

It's a relatively low bar, but a bar nonetheless set by a candidate who has been careful not to set the terms for his departure from a contest that's been difficult from the beginning.

Huntsman was expected to be a force in the race long before he officially joined the crowded field in June. Handsome and well-spoken, the 51-year-old California native offered a unique set of qualifications as a former GOP governor with experience working under four presidents, three Republicans and Democrat Barack Obama, whom he served as ambassador to China.

Perhaps it's the connection to Obama, but Huntsman has struggled to win over the more conservative voters who typically dominate Republican primaries. It could be that he offers more moderate positions on global warming, the war in Afghanistan and gay rights. Despite those stances, he has portrayed himself as the most electable conservative and has promised not to pander to the likes of businessman turned TV star Donald Trump or to shift positions simply to score political points.

Huntsman retreated to New Hampshire largely out of necessity; the state, like South Carolina, allows independents to participate in the Republican primary. Iowa, where social conservatives and evangelicals tend to dominate, wasn't the right fit for a Mormon like him.

Overall, his strategy is similar to John McCain's in 2008 — hope that New Hampshire's independent voters lift him to victory, giving him momentum heading into next-up South Carolina and Florida. But that carries risks because Huntsman would have to court them without turning off Republicans whose support he'd need to build a broad — and winning — coalition for the GOP primary.

"It's our strategy," says Huntsman. "I might as well own it."

He has spent the past few months working to build a campaign organization in the state, so much so that he's competitive with those of Romney, Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, considered his strongest competitors. Going all in, he moved his national headquarters from Florida to New Hampshire in September but has struggled to win big-name endorsements in the state. Still, Huntsman recently earned the backing of three newspapers, including the state capital's Concord Monitor.

But without the funds for a full-fledged television advertising campaign, Huntsman has depended on outside help to deliver his message to the full electorate. An independent super PAC designed to help Huntsman spent $1.2 million earlier in the month on two weeks of television ads aired across the state. His campaign released an online video this week that jabs Paul as "unelectable." But Huntsman acknowledged Thursday that the campaign may not have the money to air the ad on television.

He's partly relying on New Hampshire's reputation for going its own way.

"People here in New Hampshire, they're not influenced by what comes out of another state," Huntsman said earlier this week. "They want to do their own (due) diligence, they want to get to know the candidates, they want to draw their own conclusions. So, putting our eggs in the first primary basket is a good strategy."

And he reminded the few dozen New Hampshire voters at a Rotary Club luncheon on Thursday of New Hampshire's tradition.

"You're going to upend conventional wisdom once again Jan. 10. And we're going to go on to win this election," he said. "I'm just putting you all on early notice."

At least in New Hampshire, he's scoring points for bypassing Iowa.

"He's made a great choice coming here," said Jim Emery, a retired automotive repair shop owner who attended Huntsman's town hall meeting in Pelham on Wednesday night and dismissed the Iowa caucus results as essentially meaningless. Emery, a registered Republican, said electability is a top concern — but he hasn't settled on a candidate yet.

"Ron Paul has some great ideas — totally unelectable," Emery said. "Newt Gingrich probably knows the inside better than anyone else, but again, I question electability. Romney is probably the front-runner for a reason, but he doesn't inspire — I don't know — a sense of fire. He doesn't set me on fire."

And therein lies another Huntsman challenge — his low-key demeanor.

He freely admits that he's not a verbal bomb thrower in a political era where brash rhetoric is often rewarded, particularly by a Republican electorate looking for a nominee who will aggressively take it to Obama. Huntsman tries to turn his style into a positive, saying that he's outlining goals that are achievable, while his opponents are "campaigning on a bunch of nutty ideas to whoop up folks in a crowd."

The vandalism appears to be random because none of the owners of the vehicles seem to have any connection with each other, police said.

LONGMEADOW - Police are investigating reports that as many as eight vehicles parked in different parts of town were vandalized within hours of each other early Thursday morning, said Capt. John Stankiewicz.

The total damage has been estimated as high a $4,000. In some cases, vehicles were struck with chunks of asphalt, lumber and "for sale" signs. Damage included broken windows and dented side panels, he said.

The vandalism appears to be random because none of the owners of the vehicles seem to have any connection with each other, he said.

The cars were damaged in different neighborhoods around town, including Clifford Lane, Laurel Street, Merriweather Drive, Lawrence Drive, and Eton Road.

Witnesses told police they saw a white man in a ski hat throw something at a car and then leave in a tan four-door sedan.

Stankiewicz said anyone with information should call the police Detective Bureau at (413) 565-4195)

View Vandalism spree in Longmeadow, Dec. 29, 2011 in a larger map

Fennessey said he will likely seek damages on behalf of Ruz Martir-Lopez in the death of Rusty the toy poodle

File photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanSharon M. Kozik is seen trimming a Shih Tzu in 2002.

WILBRAHAM - The owner of a dog that died from injuries allegedly inflicted by a dog groomer has hired Walpole attorney Robert Fennessey, a former animal officer with the MSPCA, to represent her in an expected civil suit.

Fennessey said he will likely seek damages on behalf of Ruz Martir-Lopez for negligence, breach of contract, conversion of property, and for the negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress against Lotte’s Professional Dog Grooming and its owner, Sharon M. Kozik. He said he could file a formal demand for damages, or if necessary file a civil suit in District or Superior Court.

Kozik is accused of hitting the dog, a toy poodle named Rusty, over the head with a pair of electric clippers, causing its death.

Kozik was arraigned in absentia on animal cruelty charges last week in Palmer District Court, with her lawyer denying the charges. The presiding judge granted a motion by Kozik's attorney to let her skip the arraignment and the reading of the charges.

She is due back in court on Jan. 20 for a pre-trial conference. If convicted, Kozik faces a maximum sentence of five years in state prison or 2 ½ years in the House of Correction

Kozik was released on the condition that she stay 100 feet away from Martir-Lopez.

Following an investigation by Wilbraham police and the MSPCA, Kozik was charged with killing the dog. Kozik originally told investigators the dog died of a seizure, but a necropsy revealed a skull fracture, according to the MSPCA.

When confronted with the report, Kozik told investigators she had struck the dog but only with her hand.

Fennessey said that by harming the dog, Kozik violated her both her duty to the dog and the trust of the owner.

This happens all too often, and somebody has to be held accountable for that," he said.

“Grooming of pets is an unregulated industry in Massachusetts, and many death and injuries occur at the neglectful hands of untrained or abusive groomers,” said Fennessy. “Unfortunately, the law generally views animals as property, but Rusty, like so many of our pets in America, was much more than just mere property."

In recent months, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation has been fighting with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over who is responsible for paying millions of dollars in infrastructure costs related to the project.

Associated PressVisitors walk around the National September 11 Memorial, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011 in New York. The memorial announced that it has had a million visitors since the site opened to the public in September. The museum entrance is at right. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

By DAVID B. CARUSO

NEW YORK – Work on a planned museum at the World Trade Center has ground to a halt because of a financial dispute, and there is now no possibility it will open on time next year, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday.

The underground museum commemorating victims of the 9/11 attacks was scheduled to open in September on the 11th anniversary of the disaster, a year after the opening of a memorial at the site that has already drawn 1 million visitors.

But in recent months, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation has been fighting with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over who is responsible for paying millions of dollars in infrastructure costs related to the project.

The Port Authority, which owned the trade center and is building the museum, claims that the foundation owes it $300 million. The foundation claims that the authority actually owes it $140 million, because of delays in the project.

The dispute has been simmering for some time, and some details of the work slowdown were reported in November, but Thursday marked the first time that the mayor and other officials have acknowledged that the fight would mean the museum will not open in 2012.

"There is no chance of it being open on time. Work has basically stopped," Bloomberg said. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on a recent radio program that the Port Authority was "on the verge" of suing the foundation, but both the mayor and the Port Authority said Thursday that negotiations over the matter continue.

"I'm sure we are going to work something out with the Port Authority," Bloomberg said. "They've got a difficult budget situation. I'm sympathetic to that."

Despite security hurdles and ongoing construction, tourists from around the world have already made the memorial at the site a regular stop on their visits to New York City. Since it opened to the public Sept. 12, more than 1 million people have visited the memorial plaza, officials said.

The site now draws about 10,000 visitors a day, which would put it on pace to match or exceed the 3.5 million who visit the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building annually.

Tourists — some reverent, some just there to gawk — have long been a staple at ground zero, but until this summer the closest they could get were the high fences that ringed a bustling construction zone where the twin towers once stood.

Negotiating fences and legions of construction workers is still part of any trip to the memorial. All visitors must reserve free tickets in advance and pass through a security screening. But the hurdles haven't stopped people from coming. Memorial officials said visitors have hailed from all 50 states and 120 countries.

Anthoula Katsimatides, a memorial board member whose brother, John, was killed at the trade center, said the attention is welcome.

"It truly touches my heart and reaffirms the importance of this memorial to know a million people have already come here to honor and pay respects to my brother and the thousands of other loved ones who died in the attacks," she said in a written statement.

Visitors to the site today can walk on a tree-covered plaza and see the two massive pools that sit in the footprints of the fallen towers. Each pool is ringed by waterfalls, and a parapet engraved with the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died on 9/11 and in a 1993 bomb attack.

Visitors can also get a close-up look on construction of One World Trade Center, now 90 stories high and on its way to being the nation's tallest building.

The original design for the rebuilt trade center included four other office towers, a transit hub and a performing arts center, as well as the memorial and museum.

Two towers and the transit hub are under construction. On Thursday, the memorial foundation set up a board of directors for the planned performing arts center, for the first time. The board includes trade center developer Larry Silverstein, Disney executive Zenia Mucha and Brookfield Properties co-chair John Zuccotti.

More than $100 million was set aside for the center by a downtown rebuilding agency and architect Frank Gehry was hired to design it, but private fundraising never began. Only one of four arts organizations originally chosen to anchor the center is still planning on moving in and officials say construction wouldn't begin for several years.

Associated Press writer Samantha Gross contributed to this report.

Talbert W. Swan II said the local NAACP is "not completely satisfied" but are giving Mastroianni a chance to fulfill his promise of a complete and exhaustive review.

The head of the Springfield area NAACP said members are appeased with the response from the Hampden District attorney to his request for an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of a Springfield man by a city police officer Nov. 6.

Police said Tahiem Goffe, 18, was shot by officer Matthew Benoit as Goffe ran the officer down on Taylor Street during an investigation of a stolen car. The officer was hit by the vehicle and hospitalized.

Hampden District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni said the Springfield Police Department Detective Bureau is doing an internal investigation, a state police ballistics team is looking at the evidence, and his office would review the shooting.

In a Thursday release, Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, said members, “while not completely satisfied,” are “conciliated” by Mastroianni’s “stated efforts to ensure that there will be a complete and exhaustive review, free from interference of conflict or the appearance of such conflict.”

North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission said that the country would never deal with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Associated PressIn this image made from KRT video, North Korea's next leader Kim Jong Un is seen during a memorial service for late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/KRT via APTN)

PYONGYANG, North Korea – North Korea warned rival South Korea and the rest of the world Friday not to expect any change after Kim Jong Il's death, sending a tough message as Kim's young son strengthened his position as supreme leader.

North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission said that the country would never deal with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, a conservative who stopped a no-strings-attached aid policy toward the North in 2008, and that it would unite around new leader Kim Jong Un.

The stern message came a day after North Korea ended official mourning for Kim Jong Il and declared Kim Jong Un supreme leader of the ruling party and military at a massive public memorial for the elder Kim. The top levels of government have unified around Kim Jong Un, who is in late 20s, in the wake of his father's death Dec. 17.

"We declare solemnly and confidently that the foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet group in South Korea, should not expect any change from us," the National Defense Commission said in a statement. "We will never deal with the traitor group of Lee Myung-bak."

The commission said the "evil misdeeds" of the Lee administration reached a peak when it prevented South Koreans from visiting North Korea to pay respects to Kim Jong Il, except for two delegations led by a former first lady and a business leader, both of whose husbands had ties to North Korea.

The North's statement is a warning for Seoul not to take the new leadership lightly, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University.

"It is also raising the stakes in case the South wants better relations so Pyongyang can extract greater concessions" during any later talks, Koh said. He added that it's "too early to say the North is dashing hopes for reforms."

Indeed, the North, while blasting the South's leader, offered a bit of hope for improved ties with the South, saying it "will continue to push hard toward the path of improved relations."

But it added that any better ties won't be "based on the deceitful ploys South Korea is employing by mixing 'toughness' and 'flexibility.'" Seoul has signaled a change in its approach toward Pyongyang in recent months, saying it will be more flexible in dealing with the North.

On Thursday, a somber Kim Jong Un, dubbed the Great Successor, stood with his head bowed at the Grand People's Study House, overlooking Kim Il Sung Square, named for his grandfather who founded modern North Korea. A sea of mourners gathered below.

"Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un is our party, military and country's supreme leader who inherits great comrade Kim Jong Il's ideology, leadership, character, virtues, grit and courage," Kim Yong Nam, considered North Korea's ceremonial head of state, said in a speech.

Kim Jong Un was flanked by top party and military officials, including Kim Jong Il's younger sister, Kim Kyong Hui, and her husband, Jang Song Thaek, who are expected to serve as mentors of their young nephew.

"The father's plan is being implemented," Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, a Hawaii-based think tank, said of the transfer of power. "All of these guys have a vested interest in the system and a vested interest in demonstrating stability. The last thing they want to do is create havoc."

Still, given Kim Jong Un's inexperience and age, there are questions outside North Korea about whether he is equipped to lead a nation engaged in long-stalled negotiations over its nuclear program and grappling with decades of economic hardship and chronic food shortages.

But support among North Korea's power brokers was clear at the memorial service, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people filling Kim Il Sung Square and other plazas in central Pyongyang.

Associated Press Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee and writers Hyung-jin Kim, Foster Klug, Scott McDonald and Sam Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

Becker was arrested after his mother called police to report that her son was being "disruptive".

EAST LONGMEADOW - A 24-year-old man was taken into custody on LaSalle Street Monday after his mother told police her son was being “disruptive” and had active warrants for his arrest, police documents show.

Blake Francis Becker, of 27 LaSalle Street in East Longmeadow, was arrested at 3:42 p.m. Monday on two charges of possession of a Class E drug and three outstanding warrants. The warrants included two charges of possession of a Class A substance and one charge of larceny that violated the terms of his probation.

Becker denied charges in Hampden District Court. He is being held on $1,000 cash bail or $5,000 surety. A pre-trial conference was set for Jan. 11.

A lawyer for the workers said that the payments represent tips withheld since 2002 plus interest.

The entrance to the mansion at the Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club in Lenox is seen in this 2009 photo.

LENOX – About 700 current and former workers at a Berkshires resort have received their share of a $7 million settlement with management.

Checks for thousands of dollars arrived in the mail this week for food-service and spa employees of the Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club in Lenox which was accused in a class-action lawsuit of withholding tips.

An attorney for the workers told the Berkshire Eagle the payments represent the tips withheld plus interest.

The workers said in addition to withholding tips dating to 2002, management told employees to lie to clients.

A judge approved the settlement last month.

Cranwell’s current manager, who’s been on the job less than a year, says the settlement is not an admission of liability and the resort is glad to have the matter behind it.

Cases of rabies are rare - only six cases were confirmed in the United States this year, two last year and four in 2009.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 11:18 this morning.

By MATT MURPHY

BOSTON - A Barnstable County man in his 60s has become the first confirmed case of human-contracted rabies since 1935, state public health officials announced Friday.

John Auerbach

At a press conference convened at the state’s Hinton Laboratory in Jamaica Plain, state Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach said the federal Centers for Disease Control confirmed the incident a day earlier. Auerbach said the man has been hospitalized in critical condition and that CDC officials believe bats living in the man’s home are responsible.

Cases of rabies are rare - only six cases were confirmed in the United States this year, two last year and four in 2009.

“There is no indication that the risk of rabies is growing either in the state or the country,” Auerbach said, standing alongside Lawrence Madoff, the state’s chief epidemiologist, and Catherine Brown, the state’s public health veterinarian. Auerbach added, “This is not a reason for people to panic.”

The disease, officials said, is nearly always fatal, officials said. “Almost everyone who contracts rabies dies,” said Madoff.

Public health officials said the man who contracted rabies has been hospitalized for several days but may have contracted the disease weeks or months earlier. The man, they said, never reported being bitten before he showed symptoms, and they noted bats’ teeth are small enough that a bite could go undetected.

Other members of his family who lived in the same house are being pre-treated for possible exposure, the officials said.

Brown said that the most common animals in Massachusetts carrying rabies are raccoons, skunks, foxes, bats, woodchucks and cats. Public health officials are reminding residents to avoid wild animals, cap their chimneys and close holes in attics or basements where bats or other animals might enter their homes.

Those bitten or scratched by wild animals should immediately wash the affected area with soap and water and seek medical attention, they said.

If the CDC confirms that a bat is responsible for the incident, the animals in the house will most likely be removed and agency officials will take steps to prevent them from reentering the home. But officials said they do not intend to euthanize the bats because doing so would provide little public health benefit. Rather, they emphasized that residents take precautions to avoid exposure to wild animals.

As John Connell was leaving the bar, he and Duffy allegedly exchanged words, Duffy shoved him and Connell fell, hitting his head on the pavement.

File photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanJames Duffy is seen during his arraignment on murder charges in Northampton District Court in 2009.

NORTHAMPTON – The estate of a Florence man who was killed during a scuffle outside Silk City Tap Room has filed a wrongful death suit against the bar, its owners and the man who pushed the victim.

Police found John M. Connell, 26, bleeding from the ears and mouth when they arrived on the scene in the early hours of Jan. 3, 2009. James M. Duffy, Jr., 27, of Northampton was charged with manslaughter for pushing Connell off a landing and down four stairs, causing him to hit his head on the pavement. Duffy pleaded guilty to the charges in 2010 and is serving a sentence of eight years probation.

According to prosecutors, Connell, who was drinking at the bar that night, became upset when he couldn’t find his coat. When Duffy tried to intervene between Connell and a bar bouncer, Connell broke a chain Duffy was wearing around his neck.

Later, as Connell was leaving the bar, he and Duffy exchanged words and Duffy shoved him. Connell fell backwards, hitting his head on the pavement.

In addition to Duffy and the Silk City Tap Room, Florence Family Enterprises, which owns the business, is named as a defendant in the suit.

According to the suit, Silk City continued to serve Connell alcohol even after he became unruly, causing him to become intoxicated. It also alleges that the bar and its employees should have defused the situation and were negligent for failing to intervene between Connell and Duffy.

As he scrambles to stop a slide in Iowa, Newt Gingrich's strategy amounts to this: hammer home a message about jobs and the economy while wrapping himself in the mantle of Ronald Reagan.

Republican presidential candidate, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, accompanied by his wife Callista, speaks during a campaign stop, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011, in Storm Lake, Iowa. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By SHANNON McCAFFREY, Associated Press

STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — As he scrambles to stop a slide in Iowa, Newt Gingrich's strategy amounts to this: hammer home a message about jobs and the economy while wrapping himself in the mantle of Ronald Reagan. But the loquacious former House speaker keeps struggling to stay on message.

On a 22-stop bus tour of Iowa, Gingrich finds himself unloading on his GOP rivals and reviving talk of a Greek cruise that nearly sank his campaign earlier this year. He fields questions about his work for mortgage giant Freddie Mac, ethics allegations and whether his three marriages make him a polygamist.

The economy? Jobs? Those issues sometimes have been lost in the mix.

"It's been wild and woolly," Gingrich acknowledged to a voter as his wife, Callista, collected a double cappuccino at a Sioux City coffee shop.

If there was ever a time when Gingrich has needed the discipline he's long lacked, it's probably now, as polls show his support tumbling in Iowa in the wake of a storm of ads assailing him as a Washington insider who used his influence to line his pockets.

He now trails rivals Mitt Romney and Ron Paul in Iowa polls and, even if he does manage to score in the top three in Tuesday's caucuses, he is still struggling to build an organization needed for the state-by-state primaries that follow.

Gingrich argues that his economic pitch is the key to victory, and he doubled down on it Thursday —or at least tried to.

He appeared in Storm Lake with noted Reagan economist Art Laffer, who praised Gingrich as "far and away the best person to bring this county back to prosperity." Gingrich outlined his tax-cutting economic proposal and implied he was the heir to Reagan's supply-side vision. But he also strayed into long-winded digressions on the federal government's regulation of particulate matter load and conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.

His trademark spray of ideas leaves some voters impressed — but overwhelmed.

"He has so many," said Ruth Lawlor, 76, who came to hear Gingrich speak at a chocolate store in Algona this week. "It's hard to keep track."

Gingrich's predilection to go for the jugular also has tripped him up, earning his self-described "positive" campaign headlines that he didn't want. In an interview on CNN this week, Gingrich took the bait.

He not only blasted Romney and Paul but used some of the most incendiary language of the campaign so far. Romney wasn't "man enough" to own up to the negative attacks launched at Gingrich, the former House speaker said. He placed Paul "totally outside the mainstream of every decent American."

Just days later, Gingrich seemed to be suffering from selective amnesia.

"The strategy of focusing on jobs and economic growth, staying positive and being pretty relentless in answering questions at every meeting is working," he said Thursday.

At his campaign events, Gingrich encourages his audiences to fire away with questions about allegations made in attack ads.

In recent days, he's been asked about an ethics fine he paid as speaker and his work for Freddie Mac.

"I don't understand numbers with all those zeros," said a man in Thursday's crowd, referring to the $1.6 million Gingrich's company earned from Freddie Mac.

Gingrich explained that he didn't take in all that money himself and that he fought to improve regulations and not increase funding for the government-sponsored entity.

The candidate argues that such forums give him an opportunity to set the record straight on issues that have been distorted. But they also dredge up the controversies.

One example came in a telephone town hall meeting Wednesday night when a caller likened Gingrich's three marriages to polygamy.

"Jesus very specifically states in the Bible that divorced people are really still married, which I think technically means now that you're a polygamist, and I'm wondering what you'll do to legalize polygamy in the U.S. if you were to be elected president," the man said.

Gingrich labeled the question "fairly unusual" and said he would oppose any effort to legalize polygamy.

The former Georgia congressman acknowledges his tendency to stray off script.

At Mabe's Pizza in Decorah he was asked why his Republican rivals have been so eager to embrace government intervention in the economy.

He paused and an impish smile crept across his face.

"I'll just get in trouble," he said.

The $300,000 ad campaign is expected to begin running across New Hampshire this weekend, according to an adviser for the organization known as Our Destiny PAC.

View full sizeRepublican presidential candidate, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is interviewed while attending a Rotary luncheon in Laconia, N.H., Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

By HOLLY RAMER & STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press Writers

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman on Friday urged New Hampshire voters to stand up to the status quo and reject Mitt Romney, while a group of his supporters prepared a new television ad calling Romney a chameleon willing to do anything to get elected.

The $300,000 ad campaign is expected to begin running across New Hampshire this weekend, according to an adviser for the organization known as Our Destiny PAC. The adviser was not authorized to comment publicly.

"Two serious candidates remain," a voice says in the ad, which flashes images of Huntsman, the former Utah governor, and Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and front-runner in New Hampshire. "One willing to say anything, be anything. One who can actually do the job."

It continues: "One state can stop the chameleon. Vote Jon Huntsman."

Huntsman, who served as ambassador to China in the Obama administration, has not been anywhere near that pointed in his criticism of Romney. Speaking to employees at a Portsmouth software company Friday, he said Romney would be unlikely to change the "trust deficit" in Washington given that Romney has "half of Congress supporting him."

"Who's going to want to change anything when you've got the status quo supporting you?" Huntsman said. "You can have a candidate who's going to fight for change who is not going to be in the hip pocket of special interest groups, or you're going to have the status quo choice."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also wouldn't do anything to restore trust in Washington, Huntsman said.

"Speaker Gingrich is not the kind of person who is going to be able to deal effectively with the trust issue because you can't deal effectively with the trust issue if you are a fixture of Washington, D.C., and have been for 40 years."

Huntsman, who is skipping Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, is betting his candidacy on a strong finish in New Hampshire's Jan. 10 Republican primary, which is open to independents as well as registered Republicans.

Huntsman entered the presidential contest with great expectations earlier in the year. But national polling suggests he's still largely unknown to many Republican voters. He's also struggled to raise enough money to pay for his own television advertising campaigns. On Wednesday, he told The Associated Press he's likely to leave the race unless he finishes in the top three in New Hampshire.

Pam Hicks, one of the software company workers, said she was 100 percent adamant before meeting Huntsman that she would not vote for him. After the event, Hicks said she was reconsidering although she doesn't like his anti-abortion views or his opposition to gay marriage, which is legal in New Hampshire.

"We believe nobody has the right to tell us how to live our lives," she said.

Still, Hicks said she planned to do more research on Huntsman.

"He needs a more serious look," she said.

Our Destiny PAC has now spent roughly $1.9 million on New Hampshire advertising to help Huntsman. That's more than any other outside group or other campaign has spent in the state, according to numbers obtained by The Associated Press.

The action was taken as state legislators failed to agree on a new map.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut's highest court will name a special master to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries after lawmakers failed to agree on a new map.

The Connecticut Supreme Court will choose its representative from two out-of-state professors recommended by state Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

Chief Justice Chase Rogers said during a hearing Friday that the name will be announced next week. That person will have until Jan. 27 to submit a congressional map to the court.

Lawmakers recommended Bernard Grofman, director of The Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of California, and Nathanial Persily, a political science professor at Columbia University in New York.

Rogers says she still hopes the legislative commission originally charged with redrawing the lines will reach a bipartisan deal in the meantime.