Mitt Romney has solidified support within his party for the presidential nomination but is locked in a tight race with President Obama as attention turns to the general election, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds.

Photo by Jim Cole / Associated PressAn officer walks by the motorcycle of Greenland Police chief Michael Maloney Wednesday in Hampton, N.H. during a wake service for the chief, who died when he and other officers were trying to serve a warrant at a Greenland home. Click on the link, below, for a report from New England Cable News about the hundreds of police officers who turned out for Maloney's services.

• Bullet pierces 9-year-old boy's jersey in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood [WHDH-TV, Channel 7, Boston]


• U.S. military condemns photos of troops posing with Afghan corpses [Wall Street Journal]


• President Obama, Republican Mitt Romney in dead heat, new poll shows [New York Times]


• Central Massachusetts rescue workers search for Northrbridge man in Purgatory Chasm in Sutton [Telegram & Gazette]


• Police officers from all over pay tribute to New Hampshire police chief killed in shooting [New England Cable News]


• Nearly 1,000 college-age party goers leave mess at Puffer's Pond beach in Amherst [Daily Hampshire Gazette]


• GSA official’s wife reportedly accompanied him on trips at taxpayer expense [Washington Post]


• 10 runner remain hospitalized following Monday's Boston marathon [Metro West Daily News]


• Twitter posts tagged #westernma in Western Mass. [MassLive.com]


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Dick Clark, the television host who helped bring rock 'n' roll into the mainstream on "American Bandstand," has died. He was 82.

FILE - In this undated file photo released by ABC, Dick Clark hosts the New Year's eve special from New York's Times Square. Clark, the television host who helped bring rock `n' roll into the mainstream on "American Bandstand," has died. He was 82. Spokesman Paul Shefrin says Clark died but did not provide further details. Clark had continued performing even after he suffered a stroke in 2004 that affected his ability to speak and walk. (AP Photo/ABC, Donna Svennevik, File)

LYNN ELBER
AP Television Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dick Clark, the television host who helped bring rock 'n' roll into the mainstream on "American Bandstand," has died. He was 82.

Spokesman Paul Shefrin says Clark died but did not provide further details. Clark had continued performing even after he suffered a stroke in 2004 that affected his ability to speak and walk.

Long dubbed "the world's oldest teenager" because of his boyish appearance, Clark also was a successful businessman. He hosted an annual New Year's Eve special and supplied a variety of game shows and music specials to TV, including and the American Music Awards.

The original "American Bandstand" was one of network TV's longest-running series as part of ABC's daytime lineup from 1957 to 1987. Over the years, it introduced stars ranging from Buddy Holly to Michael Jackson to Madonna.

School districts across the country, including the nation's largest, are weighing that question as they seek to balance the risks of inappropriate contact with the academic benefits of social networking.

The Associated PressIn this April 4, 2012 photo, Nkomo Morris, a teacher at Brooklyn's Art and Media High School, works on her classroom computer in New York. Morris, who teaches English and journalism, said she has about 50 current and former students as Facebook friends. That could be a problem if the new rules instruct teachers not to friend students. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Should students and teachers ever be friends on Facebook? School districts across the country, including the nation's largest, are weighing that question as they seek to balance the risks of inappropriate contact with the academic benefits of social networking.

At least 40 school districts nationwide have approved social media policies. Schools in New York City and Florida have disciplined teachers for Facebook activity, and Missouri legislators recently acquiesced to teachers' objections to a strict statewide policy.

In the New York cases, one teacher friended several female students and wrote comments including "this is sexy" under their photos, investigators said. A substitute teacher sent a message to a student saying that her boyfriend did not "deserve a beautiful girl like you."

Such behavior clearly oversteps boundaries, but some teachers say social media — in particular Facebook — can be a vital educational resource if used appropriately, especially because it's a primary means of communication for today's youngsters.

"Email is becoming a dinosaur," said David Roush, who teaches media communications and television production at a Bronx high school. "Letters home are becoming a dinosaur. The old methods of engaging our students and our parents are starting to die."

New York Chancellor Dennis Walcott plans to release social media guidelines this month, saying recently that teachers "don't want to be put in a situation that could either compromise them or be misinterpreted."

Roush does not accept students as friends on his personal Facebook page but has created a separate profile to communicate with them — something that runs afoul of Facebook rules restricting users to a single profile. He used the page to get the word out quickly about a summer internship on a cable-access show, and a student who learned about it from the Facebook post won it.

"If I would have emailed him, if I had tried calling him, he never would have got it," Roush said.

Nkomo Morris, who teaches English and journalism at a high school in Brooklyn, said she has about 50 current and former students as Facebook friends. That could be a problem if the new rules instruct teachers not to friend students.

In that event, "I'd send out a massive message, and I would unfriend them," Morris said.

In the meantime, Morris manages her privacy settings so neither current nor former students see her personal information but do see posts about current events. She also lets students know whether something on their Facebook pages raises a red flag, such as sexual content.

"They're not always as savvy as I am," Morris said. "They haven't really grasped the level of formality out in the real world."

Efforts like New York's have been subject to legal wrangling and resistance from teachers and their advocates.

Missouri legislators last year passed a law that barred teachers from using websites that allow "exclusive access" with students 18 years old or younger. Teachers complained that they would be banned from Facebook and Twitter.

A judge granted an injunction, declaring that the law "would have a chilling effect" on free-speech rights. The legislature then repealed the restrictions and passed a new law directing school districts to develop their own policies.

Some districts adopted a model policy by the Missouri School Boards Association, decreeing that staff members must use district-approved devices when communicating electronically with students. The guidelines are intended to make it easier for supervisors to monitor teacher-student interactions.

The Missouri State Teachers Association believes some of the local policies are too restrictive. Spokesman Todd Fuller said the association will support its members if they are disciplined under those new rules.

"We're prepared to deal with the first issue where a teacher's rights are being infringed," he said.

In New York City, a United Federation of Teachers spokesman said the union would not comment without seeing the district's new guidelines.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said she hopes the new policy considers First Amendment rights as well as "the enormous potential for benefiting students' education that is represented by technology."

Musical theater teacher Charles Willis was suspended in 2010 from Braden River High School in Florida for friending more than 100 students on Facebook and for allegedly posting sexually suggestive images and acronyms for profane words. He is now in a non-classroom job at another school, said John Bowen, a school board attorney.

Willis' lawyer did not return a call from The Associated Press. In comments to the Bradenton Herald in March, Willis noted that students aren't innocents.

"For anyone who says that a teacher shouldn't curse in front of students, I say they haven't been on a football field or in the dugout in a baseball game," he told the newspaper. "If you could go incognito in those settings and somehow gather audio, you might be surprised at what is said."

Doctoral research at the University of Southern California found 41 districts nationwide that have approved social media policies.

Under a policy approved by the school board in Muscogee County, Ga., in November, school employees are "strongly discouraged" from allowing students access to personal websites. Districts in Tampa, Fla., and Norton, Mass., also have wrestled with the issue.

Nancy Willard, author of "Cyber Savvy: Embracing Digital Safety and Civility," believes school districts should set up their own online environments and use tools like Gaggle.net and ePals.com, which have been designed for educational purposes. There is also Edmodo, a Facebook-like network for teachers and students.

The problem with Facebook, she said, is that it was set up for socializing.

"On Facebook, flirting is encouraged," she said. "You are encouraged to post your relationship status and your relationship interests. That's not appropriate for a relationship between teachers and students."

James Giordano, a guidance counselor at a Bronx high school, said that he makes a habit of waiting about four years after a student has graduated to friend one and that he's glad the district is discussing the issue.

"I hope that they distinguish between personal Facebook pages and pages that are professional," he said. "It would be a shame if Facebook altogether was banned from use by educators, because it's a valuable resource."

Although U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, raised significantly more money than his competition in the first quarter of 2012, his challengers are boasting that they raised more money from individual donors.

View full sizeDemocratic U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, Andrea Nuciforo Jr. and Bill Shein are all competing for the Democratic nomination to represent the new First Congressional District from Massachusetts in the House of Representatives. (Republican file photos)

Although U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, raised significantly more money than his competition in the first quarter of 2012, his Democratic challengers are boasting that they raised more money from individual donors.

Neal, who currently represents the 2nd Congressional District in Massachusetts, parts of which were incorporated into the new 1st district, ended the quarter with about $2.4 million in his war chest. The new district includes all of Berkshire County, most of Hampden County and parts of Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester counties.

Neal raised $122,875 between Jan. 1 and March 31, with $21,625 from individual donors with the remaining $101,250 contributed by a number of political action committees, according to data from the Federal Election Commission.

Former State Sen. Andrea Nuciforo Jr., the Berkshire Middle District register of deeds, pulled in $42,493 in individual donations.

Bill Shein, a political activist and writer, raised $11,282 in contributions from individuals all of whom donated $99 or less, in accordance with his self-imposed campaign contribution limit.

As of March 31, neither challenger has received any money from political parties or PACs, according to FEC data, although Nuciforo, during his decade-long run as a state senator, accepted sizable contributions from lobbyists.

Campaign finance has been the primary topic in the 1st Congressional District race so far with Shein and Nuciforo working to paint themselves as outsiders to a corrupt system of money and favors in Washington which they say Neal epitomizes.

Following the release of the new FEC data this week, both challengers took aim at Neal, charging that the 12-term congressman's big PAC donations show he is out of touch with the electorate and part of the problem in Washington.

"The momentum among progressives is clearly in our court, and this quarter's numbers back that up. Not only did we raise twice as much as Richie Neal from actual voters, he continues to base his constituency on corporate donors, millionaire lobbyists, and powerful special interest groups like Wal-Mart, Dow Chemical, and big tobacco firms like Altria," Nuciforo said in a statement. "How can Richie Neal say he votes in the best interests of progressive voters, while basing over 80 percent of his campaign on fundraising from groups who are in bed with, and embraced by the Republican party?"

Shein praised his supporters and went on to question the people behind many of Neal's individual donations.

"A substantial number of Rep. Neal's 'individual' donors are registered Washington lobbyists and their clients who have absolutely no connection to western Massachusetts, and have absolutely no concern for the well-being or best interests of those of us who live here," Shein said. "They are simply hired guns seeking to give further economic advantage to their clients, and they have no other reason for contributing.

Neal's campaign struck back, defending his campaign contributions and referring back to how far Neal has come since he first got into politics.

"Congressman Neal welcomes the support of employees like police, firefighters, teachers and nurses and other laborers who have generously contributed to his re-election campaigns over the years," said William Tranghese, a spokesperson for Neal. "He began his career with a $5 fundraiser in Springfield, and he continues to receive hundreds of individual contributions from people across western Massachusetts. These donors who live and work in the region are a good reflection of the broad support he enjoys in the district."

A July 2011 article about campaign finance disclosures revealed that Neal's percentage of PAC contributions was higher than any of the other member of the Massachusetts House delegation.

In response to the article, Tranghese told the Associated Press that PAC contributions have no effect on how Neal votes in Congress, a statement which Shein and Nuciforo have contested.

As of March 31, Nuciforo had $133,917 left over after expenditures totaling $137,906. Shein had $5,515 cash-on-hand, after spending $5,766.

While all three candidates have been traveling throughout the newly drawn district meeting voters over the past few months, the race has been relatively quiet as Neal defends his seat from members of his own political party for the first time in years. Neal, who has served in Congress since 1989, was previously the mayor of Springfield and before that, a Springfield city councilor.

All 3 major U.S. stock indexes sank after a dismal report about bad loans on the books of Spanish banks.

By CHRISTINA REXRODE | AP Business Writer

File photo | Associated PressTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

NEW YORK — It hardly needed it, but the U.S. stock market on Wednesday got another reminder of how its fortunes are inexorably tied to the European economy.

All three major U.S. stock indexes sank after a dismal report about bad loans on the books of Spanish banks. The day before, U.S. stocks had soared after Spain held a successful auction of 2-year bonds.

The results underscored how the stock market can whipsaw on even incremental news out of Europe, and it has done just that for the past couple of weeks. In the 12 trading days of the second quarter so far, the Dow has fallen by triple digits four times, with Europe as a notable factor. Twice, it has risen by that same proportion.

It's not just the news itself, which can vary from hopeful to horrific and back again in just a couple of days. It's that investors have been inconsistent in how they react, sometimes shrugging off what seems like significant developments and at other times seizing on what seems piecemeal.

It's a time when "one headline can get you to change your mind," said Gary Flam, portfolio manager at Bel Air Investment Advisors in Los Angeles. "When you go from one day being concerned about Spain to the next day, 'Oh, they had a good auction,' that's a lack of conviction," meaning investors aren't sure what to think.

The market "is really difficult to classify" at the moment, added Mike Schenk, senior economist at the Credit Union National Association, a trade group. "On one hand you hear about 'best day since whatever,' on the other hand you have days and weeks that don't look good at all."

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 82.79 points to 13,032.75. That was a U-turn from Tuesday's gain of 194 points.

The euro fell and Treasury prices rose as nervous investors looked for safe places to store their money. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell back below 2 percent and was 1.98 percent in afternoon trading.

A flood of first-quarter earnings also influenced the market in temperamental ways. Of the S&P 500 companies to report earnings so far, 78 percent have recorded per-share earnings that beat analysts' estimates, according to FactSet senior earnings analyst John Butters. But that hasn't always been enough to lift their share prices. IBM and Intel beat estimates late Tuesday but fell the most in the Dow on Wednesday because investors were disappointed by flat revenue. St. Jude Medical and money manager BlackRock also beat estimates but their stocks fell anyway.

The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 5.64 points to 1,385.14 and the Nasdaq composite index fell 11.37 points to 3,031.45. The declines come after a stellar first quarter, when the Dow and the S&P 500 both recorded their best openings to the year since 1998.

To be sure, the European debt crisis isn't new. But Wednesday brought fresh reminders that the situation is impossible to predict.

The International Monetary Fund issued an unsettling report saying banks could cut back significantly on lending to preserve capital. A Dutch bank refused to give a break to Greece's Hellenic Railway Organization and Athens' metro on money they owe, underscoring how difficult it will be for indebted countries to hammer out rescue agreements when there are so many competing interests to please. And a leader of the European Union slammed the 27 member countries, scolding them for administrative barriers that keep them from sharing workers and resources and potentially endangers any recovery.

"We don't have clarity there, we don't know what's going to happen, and we don't know if things don't go our way what the ramifications will be," Schenk said. "You and I and the rest of the investment world will continue to worry about uncertainty and volatility for a good while."

Spain reported that the proportion of bad loans at its banks has risen to an 18-year high, and its benchmark stock index fell 4 percent.

For all the headlines that the Greek crisis generated, Spain is potentially a much bigger problem. Greece makes up about 2 percent of the gross domestic product of the 17 countries that use the euro, but Spain makes up 11 percent. Its problems also raise questions about how far the crisis will spread.

"If you see deterioration in Spain, you've got to ask yourself, 'What happens with Portugal? What happens with Italy?'" said Quincy Krosby, market strategist for Prudential Financial.

Investors will be closely watching Spain's sale of 10-year bonds Thursday. Those results could drive the market for the rest of the week.

Excluding Greece, major European markets fell. That was a reversal from the previous day, when Spain's bond auction sent European stocks storming to their best day in four months.

Britain's benchmark index fell 0.4 percent after the Bank of England hinted that it doesn't plan to extend its bond-buying program, which essentially pumps money into the economy and is meant to lift stock prices. Similar revelations from the Federal Reserve have hurt the U.S. market.

In Germany, a relative stalwart among countries that use the euro, there was strong interest in a sale of 2-year government bonds. Though that could be construed as good news for Germany, it's also a sign that investors are nervous about the region's economy. People tend to plow their money into safe-haven bonds when they don't have much confidence in stocks.

Among other stocks making big moves:

• U.S.-listed shares of YPF, the energy company seized by the Argentine government, plunged nearly 33 percent.

• Halliburton, the oil services company, rose more than 4 percent after posting a 23 percent jump in first-quarter profits.

• Yahoo rose more than 3 percent after reporting late Tuesday that it had notched a year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue for the first time since 2008.

Bonilla has been wanted in Keyser, W.V. in connection with a 2001 killing of a woman.

Vicky "Lucky" Bonilla

HOLYOKE - Federal, state and local law enforcement arrested a 32-year-old Holyoke man on Leary Street on Wednesday, ten years after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with a 2001 homicide in West Virginia.

Vicky “Lucky” Bonilla was taken into custody without incident at 19 Leary Drive by members of the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force, Holyoke and Springfield police, and members of the state police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team.

He was wanted by police in Keyser, W.V. since 2001 after becoming a suspect in the death of a woman there. Police allege he killed the woman following an argument.

A spokesman with the U.S. Marshals said Bonilla was able to stay on the run for so long by frequently changing his name. He is also a convicted sex offender in the state of New York, and required to register with local police in each place he lived, as required by federal law.

U.S. Marshal John Gibbons said in a prepared statement commended each of the agencies involved and said “This was a big arrest in our efforts to make Massachusetts a safe place to live.

Keyser is a small town of about 5,500 people in the north east corner of West Virginia, roughy 90 minutes by car west of Hagerstown, Maryland.

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Longmeadow looks for excellent recyclers in honor of Earth Day.

LONGMEADOW – In order to celebrate residents who make a conscious effort to recycle the town has joined with Allied Waste to look for “exceptional recyclers.”

From now until May 11 the town’s trash hauler Allied Waste, the recycling commission and the department of public works will be looking for people who recycle more then they throw out.

“Allied Waste is providing money so we can give up to 15 families $20 gift cards as a show of appreciation for their efforts to recycle,” said Arleen Miller, the Western Massachusetts municipal recycling coordinator. The gift cards will be awarded at a small ceremony during Long Meddowe Days on May 19.

In 2006 the town adopted a waste reduction program which limited households to one 36 gallon barrel of trash per week. Excess trash must be disposed of in Town of Longmeadow approved bags. In the past six years the program has saved the town $519,000 in disposal fees and received about $400,0000 in revenue from the recycling efforts, Miller said.

“In fiscal year 2011 the town saved $114,348 in disposal fees and earned about $70,000 in recycling revenue which is used to run the program,” Miller said.

While the recycling contest is primarily meant to encourage people to recycle, it will also give the commission an opportunity to enforce the rules, particularly about 36 gallon barrels.

“There are some people who still have 60 or 95 gallon barrels and if we see those we will place a sticker on them and the trash will not be picked up,” she said. “Overall residents do an amazing job of recycling, but this is a chance to give people a reminder.”

Miller said the drivers of the trucks came up with the suggestion that families who own the bigger barrels could use them to put their recycling in.

“The recycling truck has the capacity to pick up the bigger barrels with the hydraulic arm, unlike the regular trash trucks,” she said.

On April 28 the town will host a variety of activities in honor of Earth Day including an event from 9 a.m. -2 p.m. at the town’s recycling center where residents are encouraged to drop off old textiles.

“What many people don’t know is that organizations like the Salvation Army and Goodwill have expanded their definition of textile donations to include basically anything that is dry and not moldy. They will take old stuffed animals, pillowcases and sheets, ripped or stained clothing,” she said.

Miller said the organizations can sell the material to companies who use it for rags and other scrap.

“They can actually make money off the things they may not be able to sell at the store,” she said.

More information on Earth Day activities can be found on the town’s website www.longmeadow.org.

Sen. Scott Brown was named the legislator of the year on Thursday for working to repeal a medical device tax included in the president's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

A medical trade group named U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass. legislator of the year on Thursday for working to repeal an excise tax on medical technology included in the president's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, a trade group which honors one Republican and one Democrat each year for their work on medical innovation policies, recognized Brown's work on S. 262, a bill which would void the 2.3 percent medical device tax bundled into the president's health care overhaul.

Brown has been an outspoken critic of the health care legislation since running for office in 2010 following the death of longtime Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The medical device tax, specifically, has become an issue in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts as Brown's chief Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren and he have both denounced it, citing the potential detriment state's vast landscape of medical technology companies.

The Advanced Medical Technology Association, a medical technology advocacy group, recently released a report concluding that in Massachusetts alone, that the tax would impact more than 1,800 jobs.

Defenders of the law say that the criticisms of the excise tax are overstated and the health care law would increase business for medical technology companies as more people would have health insurance.

Warren previously said that there was a better way to address the tax rather than throwing out the entire health care law, as Brown has suggested, and she penned an editorial for the trade journal Mass Device this week to tout her stance.

But as the sitting senator, Brown's work caught the attention of the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, which presented him with its highest award.

"It is an honor to be recognized by the many medical companies devoted to advancing health care, particularly the Massachusetts companies that are members of ARM," Brown said in a statement. "In Massachusetts, we are very proud of the role we play in cutting edge research and developing the latest medical treatments. I am committed to being an advocate for basic and transitional research, and bringing the results of that research to the American people so it can improve their lives."

Brown was also honored by the Medical Device Manufacturers Association in 2011 for his work to repeal the tax.

The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the health care law and when it rules, the decision could retain the entire law, overturn portions of it or strike down the law entirely. If the court upholds the law and legislation such as Brown's S. 262 doesn't pass, the 2.3 percent medical device tax will go into effect in 2013.

Soon to graduate from the Longmeadow college, Telesha Williams has a big long-term goal.

Photo by Cori WilliamsTelesha Williams, a Bay Path College student, shows some of her greeting cards she is selling as part of a micro-business she developed for her entrepreneur class.

LONGMEADOW – Bay Path College senior Telesha Williams is a young woman with short-term and long-term goals and the willingness to work hard to achieve them.

Her immediate goal is to make a profit at a micro-business she developed for a class in entrepreneurship – creating and selling greeting cards for student and professor interaction. All profits will go to her favorite charity, the Jimmy Fund, to fight cancer in children.

The cards are designed for students to let professors know they’ve had an impact or inspired them, or for professors to tell students how well they’ve done.

“There’s a gap between saying thank you formally and just saying it,” Williams said. “The cards allow students to say what they want in a more formal way. A note is different from an email. I think professors appreciate a nice card every now and then.”

Williams said she looked online to get ideas and wrote the sayings on the cards herself, using her own photographs on the covers.

She plans to sell her cards all over campus – in dorms, in the dining hall, in classrooms – and is determined to turn a profit.

But making and selling greeting cards is not Williams’ long-term goal.

Born and raised in Jamaica, the oldest of seven children of Monica Campbell, Williams came to this country in 2006 to work as an au pair for Longmeadow residents Jane and Gary Rome.

“They are such a wonderful family,” Williams said. “Now I’m one of the kids.” In fact, it was through her host family that she had the opportunity to get an education.

“I came to this country at 20, with no intention of going to school,” she said.

But in 2008, with the help and encouragement of the Romes, she enrolled at Springfield Technical Community College. When she finished there, she moved on to Bay Path College.

“Bay Path feels like a community,” said the marketing major. “The women here have a genuine love of knowledge, and they are friendly and welcoming.”

Her next educational goal is to get her master’s degree in business administration, and she is hopeful it will be at Bay Path.

Williams has a specific idea of what she wants to do with her degrees – to open and run an orphanage in her native Jamaica.

“Children are dear to me,” she said. “I want to return to my country and have an impact on children and help educate them, and I want to involve the community in that work.”

She knows it will take a couple of years of planning and fund raising, but she believes having a degree from an American college is important for cultivating relationships and gaining knowledge.

“My mother is very excited about my getting an education. She couldn’t be more proud. I am the first in my family to graduate from college,” Williams said. She understands she’s setting an example for her younger siblings. Two of them are now furthering their own educations.

But her larger plans are in the future. Right now she’s selling greeting cards – both pre-made and custom-made.

Anyone interested in purchasing cards may contact her via email to tewilliams@baypath.edu. Her cards sell for $3; custom-made cards, using the buyer’s own photos and a customized narrative, sell for $5.

Because graduation at Bay Path this year falls on Mothers’ Day, May 6, Williams has created a Mothers’ Day postcard for $2 and will offer custom-made creations for $4.

Arillotta testified he and Fusco toasted Gary Westerman's murder over cognacs hours after the brutal killing.

NEW YORK — Mafia turncoat Anthony Arillotta told jurors in an ongoing murder trial in federal court that he and defendant Emilio Fusco toasted the brutal killing of a police informant in 2003 with cognacs and celebrated their new found kinship with a hug.

Anthony Arillotta

"It was like a gesture that we had just accomplished something. We were like brothers," Arillotta, a mob soldier-turned-prosecution witness testified in U.S. District Court on Wednesday.

Fusco, 43, of Longmeadow, is standing trial for the murder of street thug and police informant Gary D. Westerman, in addition to a murder conspiracy against Springfield mob boss Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno the same year. Fusco also stands accused of racketeering, drug dealing and extortion as a "made member" of the New York-based Genovese crime family. He had denied the allegations against him.

Wednesday was Arillotta's second day on the witness stand and his second trial in the same Manhattan courtroom as the government's star witness against his former mob cohorts. Last year, Arillotta's most trusted enforcers, Fotios "Freddy" Geas and his brother Ty Geas, and his former boss, Arthur "Artie" Nigro, of Bronx, N.Y., were convicted on nearly parallel charges thanks in large part to his testimony.

Arillotta also was charged in the case in 2010 and turned government witness shortly thereafter, leading investigators to the wooded lot where he testified that he, the Geases and Fusco shot and bludgeoned Westerman to death before burying him in a wooded lot in Agawam, Mass.

A story with more details from Wednesday's testimony will be posted later tonight

Rooke said he does not want to consider increasing the trash fee until the mayor agrees to test the market on health insurance.

File photos | The RepublicanLeft to right, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and City Councilor Timothy Rooke.

SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke have stepped up their debate on the city’s health insurance plan, with Rooke saying there could be millions of dollars in savings through competitive bids and Sarno saying the existing program is already saving millions.

In response to the mayor’s recent proposal for city fee increases, including a hike in the trash fee, Rooke said he first wants the city to agree to go out to bid on health insurance and will urge councilors to support that position.

Sarno, while not ruling out a request for proposals, praised the city’s participation since 2007 in the state-provided health insurance program under the Group Insurance Commission.

“We have done the right thing with health insurance,” Sarno said recently during a meeting with the Editorial Board of The Republican. “We have looked at it inside and out. Political pressure continues, whether union or elected officials, to hold this thing hostage.”

Sarno said that any change in health insurance would need to be negotiated with all city unions; that could bog down and lead to more layoffs and cost taxpayers more money.

Rooke said he believes unions support going out to bid and would support any change in health insurance that saves money without decreasing benefits. While Rooke said there is little cost to seeking proposals and no risk, Sarno said the process is costly and time-consuming.

The city’s health insurance and dental program costs approximately $82.7 million annually, with the city covering 75 percent of the cost and the employees and retirees covering 25 percent.

A letter from Blue Cross Blue Shield, presented by Rooke, states it would expect the city to realize “significant savings” if the mayor chooses to go out to bid. Rooke said he expects the savings would fall between $4 million to $8 million (10 percent).

Sarno said he sees no basis for Rooke’s estimate and would be the first to seek proposals if there was any evidence that the city could save money. The city’s health insurance climbed significantly in the past under private insurance plans, as compared to a 1.4 percent increase announced for the coming year under the state plan, he said.

The city must decide by October if it will change insurance or will be locked in for another three years under the state program, Rooke said. The full council has approved resolutions in the past in favor of going out to bid on health insurance.

The Group Insurance Commission insures state employees and some public authorities, as well as 37 communities statewide. Eight additional communities, including Lowell and Monson, will join the state program on July 1, said Dolores Mitchell, commission executive director.

Mitchell said the commission will cooperate with Springfield officials, if they want to go out for proposals, and will provide the city with all needed data. However, Mitchell said, “The record appears to show that communities that join the GIC get the benefit of our lower premiums.”

The large size of the commission helps generate the lower costs and premiums, she said.

No community has withdrawn from the state program, Mitchell said.

Rooke said there are communities that are not joining the state program because they have found they can save money by designing their own programs.

Sarno said the state program offers “sustainability and predictability.”

"We have a cross-section of folks and leaders who are really concerned about what this will do to the soul of our city," council president Timothy Paul Baymon said.

File photoTimothy Paul Baymon, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New England of the International Communion of the Holy Christian Orthodox Church

SPRINGFIELD — The Council of Churches of Greater Springfield has formed a coalition to oppose the siting of a casino anywhere in Western Massachusetts, particularly Springfield.

“We have a cross-section of folks and leaders who are really concerned about what this will do to the soul of our city,” Archbishop Timothy Paul Baymon, president of the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield, said Wednesday.

He said the council of churches is composed of nearly 300 affiliate churches throughout Western Massachusetts, and back in the mid-1990s, was the leading opponent against casinos in Springfield, along with former Mayor Charles V. Ryan and the Rev. Ann E. Geer.

The Council of Churches is making its stance known because of recent comments made by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who told The Republican that he will “fight tooth and nail” for a casino in Springfield, citing the needed jobs and revenues it would bring to the city.

Sarno has said he hopes a casino could open sooner than the three- to five-year estimate provided by the Gaming Commission given the city’s great need for jobs and revenue, but the head of the commission, Stephen P. Crosby, said speeding up the timetable is unlikely.

Sarno declined further comment on Wednesday.

Baymon said the mayor’s statements that he is fighting for a Springfield casino and seeking quick action on the issue alarmed the council.

“We’re saying, ‘Not so fast,’ ” Baymon said. “The city has not spoken. We also know what harm it has done and will do to a community.”

So far, Ameristar Casinos of Las Vegas is the only casino operator that has a stake in the city, having purchased the former Westinghouse site off Page Boulevard in January for $16 million. Penn National Gaming of Pennsylvania also said it is looking for a site in Springfield.

Anti-casino demonstrations are in the works, and Baymon said they also plan to utilize the power of social media to get their anti-casino message across. They are using the popular tagline, CasiNo, which also is used on signs by opponents in Monson and Palmer, where Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun wants to build resort casino across from Massachusetts Turnpike interchange 8.

“We’re intensely lining up for major opposition ... Our churches are going to be speaking to this issue. We’ll be making a lot of noise,” Baymon said.

“We’re going to rally our supporters and be a strong voice,” Baymon said.

Baymon said outside pro-casino groups are pressuring communities with funds and their ideas for job creation.

There are other ways Springfield can become a better city, “rather than taking the road for a quick fix,” Baymon said. He said casinos deteriorate communities, and he commended Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse for taking a stand against casinos.

According to the press release from the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield, gambling is a regressive means of raising state revenues, which adversely affects the poor.

“We oppose anything that would harm this region in order to provide economic gain for the commonwealth. Churches see the effects of poverty every day and work together to meet the basic needs of the poor: food, clothing, shelter, education and employment. We believe that locating a casino in Western Massachusetts will exacerbate these needs and further stretch our social service agencies that are already overwhelmed trying to meet these needs,” the release states.

“The casino brings the hope of economic gain to people who are already desperate and likely to believe that gambling will help their situation ... gambling is an addiction; we should not provide another venue for this or any other form of addiction.”

The release states that casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas have fallen into bankruptcy, and cites the financial struggles the Connecticut casinos – Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun – have experienced.

Only one Western Massachusetts casino license will be awarded. MGM Resorts International of Las Vegas is looking for a Western Massachusetts casino site after backing out of Brimfield. Hard Rock International of Florida, in partnership with Paper City Development, targeted Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke for a resort casino, but the mayor is opposed. The former Pavilion Mall site in Westfield also has emerged as a potential site for a casino as there have been talks with the mayor there, but no players have been named.

Jennifer Baruffaldi, spokeswoman for the pro-casino group Citizens for Jobs and Growth in Palmer, said she respects the opinion of the Council of Churches, but believes the benefits of a casino “far outweigh the negatives.” Baruffaldi, a proponent of the Mohegan Sun project, said she feels the jobs and revenue will help the town – and region.

“I’m just looking forward to Palmer being an economic engine for the western and central region,” she said.

Regarding the concerns about debt, increased crime and addiction that the council raised about casinos, Robert W. Young Jr., another casino supporter from Palmer, said they are valid points and have been addressed in the legislation, as the casinos will pay fees to be used for social service recovery programs.

Representatives from Mohegan Sun and Ameristar did not respond to a request for comment on the Council of Churches press release.

The Council of Churches of Greater Springfield is asking churches, political leaders and residents to oppose and defeat the location of a gambling casino in Springfield or any other Western Massachusetts community. For a casino to open in a community, there must be a binding vote in favor of it.

“It is misguided that the city of Springfield, once a great industrial and prosperous community providing honest wages to a growing middle class, is willing to support an improvident business owned by an out-of-state corporation, the result of which will most likely further undermine our citizens,” stated Rev. Lauren Holme, pastor of Bethesda Lutheran Church.

Back in 1994, Springfield voters defeated casino gambling by fewer than 1,000 votes in a non-binding referendum. Opponents, led by former mayor Ryan and Geer, the former executive director of the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield, argued that crime would follow a casino. Former Gov. William F. Weld had signed an agreement to allow a Wampanoag Indian-owned casino in New Bedford and a single, unrelated casino in Hampden County; it later was defeated by the Legislature.

That year, Ryan, who was chairman of Citizens Against Casino Gambling, said a casino in Springfield would produce 3,000 to 5,000 “casualties” a week.

“They will be our homeless of tomorrow. They will be our suicides of tomorrow,” Ryan was quoted in the newspaper at the time.

Ryan also faulted city leaders for not taking a stand, pro or con, on casino gambling and leaving the fight against casino gambling up to “a 67-year-old lawyer at the end of his career” and the Council of Churches of Greater Springfield.

Police have yet to determine a motive for the shooting but had ruled out that it was gang related. Watch video

The Republican | Greg Saulmon04.18.2012 | SPRINGFIELD - The victim of the shooting was found at the bottom of a set of wooden stairs at 528 Union St., investigators said.

SPRINGFIELD - A 34-year-old city man died after being shot in the head late Tuesday night outside some apartment buildings on Union Street in the city’s Old Hill neighborhood.

The victim, Dennis Jordan, died from at least one gunshot wound, according to Springfield Police Capt. Peter J. Dillon, head of the Criminal Investigations Bureau.

Dillon said police are trying to determine a motive for the shooting.

So far, they have been able to rule out that it was related to gangs. He said it may be drug-related but only because that section of Union Street has seen a high level of drug activity.

Detectives are investigating leads, and interviewing Jordan’s family and friends, and anyone else who knew him, he said.

Dillon declined to say how many times Jordan was shot. He would only say he was hit at least once.

He said police are hesitant to release specific details about the shooting in the press while interviewing witnesses so as not to contaminate the investigation.

Police were called to the rear of 528 Union St., a 4-story apartment building at the corner of Union and Orleans streets at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday for reports of gunfire.

Dennis Jordan

Members of his family told CBS3, the Republican’s media partner, that Jordan was friendly and well-liked by those who knew him. Although Dennis was his first name, people called him by the familiar version of his middle name, Mike, they said.

His mother, Ethel Walton said her son was very friendly.

“He didn’t deserve to die like this. He did not deserve this,” she told CBS3.

His brother, David Jordan, recalled him as always smiling. “He was always cracking a joke and willing to help out,” he said.

David Jordan said he heard of the shooting and came to Union and Orleans, only to see his brother’s body still on the ground.

O'Brien said she ran against a "very, very different" Mitt Romney when she lost to him in the 2002 Massachusetts election for governor.

File photo | The Republican09.26.2002 | SPRINGFIELD – Gubernatorial candidates Democrat Shannon P. O'Brien and Republican W. Mitt Romney shake hands after their debate at Western New England College.

BOSTON — Former state Treasurer Shannon P. O'Brien says this year's presidential election is going to be very close, but that voters may ultimately decide that they trust the incumbent Democrat more than his likely Republican opponent.

"People trust him," O'Brien said of President Barack Obama. "They may not like everything he has done but I think they trust the core of him as a person, as a political figure. I don't think you can say the same about former Governor Romney. That may be the deciding factor. It's trust. Who do the people of this country trust to protect them in the future?"

O'Brien does not have a formal role in Obama's campaign, but she does have firsthand experience running for a top executive post against his probable Republican rival, W. Mitt Romney.

O'Brien on Wednesday spoke with reporters about this year's presidential election and reflected on the state election of 2002, when she was the Democratic nominee for governor and lost to Romney by a little less than five percentage points in the general election.

In a phone interview, Rep. Todd M. Smola, a Palmer Republican who supports Romney, said there is "no foundation" for saying Romney is untrustworthy. Smola said O'Brien "still holds animosity" and obviously is not going to say anything positive about Romney.

"I have not heard anybody say that when Mitt Romney was governor, they thought he was an untrustworthy governor," Smola said.

O'Brien, a former Easthampton state legislator, suggested that voters may not trust Romney because of his reputation for changing his positions on certain issues. O'Brien said she ran against a "very, very different" Romney in 2002 and the outcome of the governor's contest may have also been different if Romney held the positions then that he holds now.

Shannon O'Brien

"I think that one of the most interesting things is 10 years ago – Mitt Romney was fighting tooth and nail to make sure that the voters in Massachusetts believed that he would be a progressive Republican, not even a moderate, but a progressive, strongly pro-choice, in favor of health care for all citizens in Massachusetts and across the country and someone who was strongly in favor of gay rights," said O'Brien, who is an advisor and consultant for certain technology companies in clean energy, health care and financial services.

She said Romney is basically saying what he needs to say to get elected by a very conservative Republican party regardless of maybe his true feelings or his past positions.

"Now, as we see him go through the Republican primary process, we see a very, very different candidate. Ten years later, it's a very, very interesting change in him as a candidate but also I think as a person."

Smola said Romney is similar to all politicians in changing his opinions over time.

"What politician doesn't adjust and move on issues when they feel it is appropriate?" Smola asked.

A member of an old political family in Western Massachusetts, O'Brien returned to the Statehouse on Wednesday to attend an event to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the operation of the state Lottery, which she oversaw as treasurer for one term.

Ten years ago, O'Brien was poised to become the first woman ever elected governor in Massachusetts after winning a difficult four-way Democratic primary that included the then president of the Massachusetts Senate and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich.

The governor's office was up for grabs after the incumbent, A. Paul Cellucci, resigned in 2001 to become ambassador to Canada and his successor, acting Gov. Jane M. Swift, bowed out of the contest after Romney announced his candidacy.

In 2002, Romney said he personally opposed abortion but supported a woman's right to choose and current laws on abortion. As a candidate for president, Romney has described himself as "pro life" and said that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned and the issue returned to the states.

Romney opposes gay marriage and civil unions, but he appointed an openly gay Republican as his state transportation secretary and during the 2002 campaign, he supported certain benefits such as health insurance for domestic partners.

As governor, Romney also signed the state's near-universal health insurance law, making it difficult for him to criticize Obama's 2010 national health care law.

O'Brien said there are some echoes of 2002 in Romney's run for president this year.

"I think that Romney is holding true to what happened 10 years ago," she said. "He is seriously outspending his opponent, he is running lots of negative advertising, which is certainly helping him win. He began that a long time ago. He is continuing it. Good luck to him. It's been very successful."

There are other parallels.

Smola said Romney is running on some of the same issues as 2002 when he promoted his record as a successful businessman and later followed through on a pledge to balance the state budget without raising broad-based taxes. "Mitt Romney's record speaks for itself," Smola said.

People are also cynical about Washington and worried about the economy this year. Shortly after she was defeated by Romney, O'Brien said that people were "very cynical" about Beacon Hill in 2002 and concerned about taxes during a downturn in the economy.

O'Brien said she expects "a very very close" presidential election, a prediction underscored by a new poll released Wednesday. The CBS News/New York Times poll found Romney and Obama tied at 46 percent support apiece among registered voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

"When the unemployment rate is above 7.2 percent, it's very difficult for any incumbent president – Democrat or Republican – to win re-election," she said.

The council will go into executive session at its meeting May 2 to discuss Cykowski.

Donald Cykowski

EASTHAMPTON – The City Council Rules Subcommittee presented a code of ethics to the full council Wednesday night calling for professional conduct and civility among its members.

Daniel D. Rist, rules committee chairman, said the code was developed based on the state House code of ethics.

The decision to create the code came following an ethnic comment in December by City Councilor Donald L. Cykowski. The code does not address the Cykowski comment in particular.

The council plans to review the draft and discuss it at its meeting next month, however, councilor Joy E. Winnie, who said she will be unable attend that session, raised concerns about some of the language.

The council “shall not tolerate harassment, invidious discrimination, or offensive behavior based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation… Furthermore, this code of ethics shall apply where the conduct or activity of a City Council member’s personal life, as can be reasonably foreseen, becomes the subject of general public notice," the draft code of ethics reads.

Winnie said she was concerned about the clause governing a member’s personal life and wanted it clarified. She said, “We still have the constitutional right to freedom of speech.” Rist responded, “You don’t have the right to discriminate.”

The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution in January condemning discrimination and intolerance in the wake of Cykowski's comment, "Where's a Puerto Rican when we need one?" The comment came after then-Councilor Ronald Chateauneuf had trouble opening a door. 


Cykowski apologized, but the remark drew criticism from the Springfield branch of the NAACP.

Cykowski also came under scrutiny this past winter after renewed attention to allegations that he had harassed former library director Rebecca Plimpton for years before she left the position in 2007. Cykowski, a library corporator at the time, resigned from that board last month.

The City Council, meanwhile, at its May 2 meeting plans to have a private discussion about what has transpired with Cykowski. Vice president Joseph P. McCoy made the announcement at the council meeting. President Justin P. Cobb was unable to attend the meeting, but the pair had talked.

The City Council decided not to go into executive session April 4 after receiving a letter from lawyer Robert A. Bertsche, who represents the Daily Hampshire Gazette. He urged the council to hold the discussion in open session. But last week, City Attorney John H. Fitz-Gibbon said the council could go into executive session to discuss the matter.

The United States should work to end satellite broadcasts of propaganda by the Iranian government around the world, she said.

Photo by Don Treeger / The RepublicanNobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi acknowledges the honorary doctorate degree bestowed upon her during a ceremony at Westfield State University Wednesday. Behind her is Evan Dobelle, WSU president.

WESTFIELD – Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi Wednesday said the United States should take sanctions against Iran that target the government rather than hurt its people.

“I have to say any sanctions have to be such that they do not hurt people. Sanctions should aim at the power of the government,” Ebadi said speaking Persian through a translator during an interview at Westfield State University. The Iranian human rights activist was in the area to receive an honorary degree from the university.

Ebadi said the Iranian government uses satellites to beam propaganda around the world. She pointed to one program that features students forced to incriminate themselves and call themselves “Spies of the West.”

“Everyone knows they have been tortured,” Ebadi said.

The United States should stop the satellite broadcasts instead of taking sanctions that deprive the people of food, medicine and education, she contended.

An attorney, the 64-year-old Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work for women and children’s rights and for freedom of speech. Ebadi was the first Muslim woman and the first Iranian to attain that honor.

She is the founder and leader of the Association for the Support of Children’s Rights in Iran. Ebadi went into exile in 2009, the year Iranian authorities are said to have frozen her bank accounts, arrested her sister and confiscated her Nobel Peace Prize Medal.

The Nobel laureate spends most of her time traveling and speaking for the cause of human rights.

“My purpose in doing this traveling is to bring the voice of the people of Iran to the people of the world,” Ebadi said.

She is currently campaigning to win the release of 50 university students imprisoned in Iran for such crimes as “freedom fighting,” Ebadi said.

As for whether Iran is working to develop a nuclear bomb, Ebadi said she can’t say one way or another, but that that country should drop its nuclear program anyway out of concern for the environment.

Ebadi said she fears that issue of human right in Iran will be forgotten if the United States and Iran will come to agreement on the nuclear issue.

As for the threat of an attack by Israel on Iran over the nuclear issue, Ebadi said it is unlikely because of the “scary consequences” that could mean for Israel, which she described as surrounded by Islamic countries.

In awarding Ebadi her degree in a campus ceremony attended by about 80, Westfield State University President Evan S. Dobelle praised her as “one of the truly great women of the world.”

She speaks up for the rights of women, children, journalists and the oppressed, according to Dobelle.

Ebadi praised the young people in the Occupy Wall Street movement,.

“I don’t agree with everything they do, but I agree with one of their mottoes. ‘We are the 1 percent’,” she said, adding that under such conditions societies cannot thrive.

“Many societies have attained democracy at different times, but have lost it, unfortunately,” Ebadi said.

She compared democracy to a flower.

“If we don’t take care of it every day it will die,” Ebadi said.

Police have been working with UMass officials and landlords to prevent parties from becoming unruly.

AMHERST – All Police Department officers will be scheduled to work, some up to 16-hour shifts, during the next two weekends to thwart traditional rowdy student parties.

The parties normally occur a week or two before the end of the semester at the University of Massachusetts and local colleges.

“The entire department has been ordered to work,” said Capt. Christopher G. Pronovost. That means 43 officers will be on the job.

Anyone with a day off is being called into work and some officers will work 12- to 16-hour shifts, he said.

The parties, known as "Hobart Hoedown," drew 1,000 or more to Hobart Lane apartment complexes in years past. Last year police blocked non-resident traffic from Hobart Lane and from Nearby Puffton Village apartments to keep crowds down. Two years ago, some attendees threw bottles at police as they attempted to break up the crowd.

Police will patrol on foot and bicycle and will be very visible in typically problem areas, the captain said. State police will augment the local officers’ presence, he said.

Part of the strategy over the last few years is working with property owners and UMass officials to emphasize that no large-scale event is going to be tolerated.

He said property owners have talked to tenants and in some cases hired private security, he said.

“Our number one priority is safety. That’s what it boils down to.”

Despite the number of weekend calls to police about loud parties or public drinking, he believes things are improving. “We’re making slow steady progress.”

He said that UMass has been very receptive. Last year, the university adopted a new code of student conduct that applied to students living on or off campus.

They let students know there are consequences for their behavior and have acted when necessary.

“It’s a constant reeducation. We’re slowly trying to change the attitudes.”

Campus police will be able to back Amherst police, said UMass spokesman Edward F. Blaguszewski.

Similar no-nonsense steps are being enacted in Connecticut as state, local and college police are be cracking down on any public drinking, partying and all-around nuisance behavior by students at the University of Connecticut.

All UConn students are being warned that they will be held responsible for their actions, on campus and off, and no sanctioned events are planned for the next few weekends. Parking lots and some roads on campus will be closed and on-street parking bans will be in place.

Campus and state police will be stationed on and off campus starting this weekend, and "will take necessary and appropriate enforcement action to ensure the safety of all students during the final weekends of the school year," according to a release from the Connecticut State Police.

Of the 3 jackpot-winning ticket holders from the March 30 drawing, only Merle and Patricia Butler came forward publicly.

Associated PressMerle and Patricia Butler, of Red Bud, Ill., pose with a novelty check during a news conference at the Red Bud Village Hall on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 in Red Bud, Ill. The retired southern Illinois couple has claimed the third and final share of last month's record $656 million Mega Millions jackpot. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

By JIM SUHR

RED BUD, Ill. — Merle Butler routinely laughed off what became the well-worn exchange among locals in Red Bud the instant word swept through the tiny southern Illinois village that a Mega Millions lottery ticket bought there scored a share of a record $656 million jackpot.

"Are you the winner?" someone would ask.

"Yeah, sure, I won it," the retired Butler played along each time.

Little did anyone in the 3,700-resident town know Butler wasn't kidding.

On Wednesday, 19 days since that drawing, Butler and his wife, Patricia, finally stepped in front of news cameras and reporters to publicly claim their $218.6 million stake of the jackpot — the secret the famously private retirees and grandparents had no trouble keeping for so long.

Until going public to get the lump-sum windfall of $111 million after taxes, the Butlers had told fewer than five people — the closest of family and friends — of their newfound wealth. They also consulted an attorney and a cadre of financial advisers to sort out how to invest it.

"I answered most of the time truthfully and said, 'Yes, I did (win).' Most of the time, people didn't catch it," Merle Butler, 65, chuckled during the Illinois Lottery news conference in his hometown's village hall.

"I figured the quieter I keep it, the better we are."

The couple, who have grandchildren, have no immediate plans other than to craft an investment strategy. Perhaps months down the road, "there could possibly be a vacation in there," quipped Butler, a former computer systems analyst and Vietnam veteran.

Of the three jackpot-winning ticket holders from the March 30 drawing, only the Butlers came forward publicly. The Illinois Lottery requires, with rare exceptions, that winning ticket holders appear for a news conference and related promotions, partly to show that it pays out prizes. The winning ticketholders in Kansas and Maryland were able to remain anonymous.

The boon for the Butlers was also big for Red Bud, a village about 40 miles from St. Louis that's more known for its yearly firemen's parade and its elaborate downtown Christmas displays. About 100 locals gathered outside the village hall to see who the winner was, then clapped, whistled and yelled "Congratulations!" as the Butlers emerged briefly and were whisked away in a police car.

"Everyone now knows who we are," Mayor Tim Lowry told The Associated Press of the village's 15 minutes of fame since the March 30 drawing. "We used to be a joke on a T-shirt saying, 'Where the Hell is Red Bud?'"

"They deserve it," added Brenda Holcomb, a retired bartender thrilled it was someone from Red Bud — and not a passing motorist — who'd won with the ticket bought at the local MotoMart convenience store. "Of course, it would be better if I had it. I'd have a Miller Lite truck parked outside here right now."

Merle Butler recounted the moments after discovering they had won. He said that when he first heard the numbers on the evening news, he rechecked them a couple of times before telling his 62-year-old wife.

"She giggled for about four hours, I think," he said.

The Butlers stayed up all night, learning a little after daybreak that three tickets shared in the spoils. When Butler arrived at the bank the minute it opened that day to put the ticket safely in a lockbox, a worker quipped, "I guess you came to put your ticket away," unaware that was the truth.

"'Yeah, I won this thing,'" Butler replied. "I laughed it off."

With money that could allow them to relocate anywhere, the Butlers pledge to stay put. Merle Butler called Red Bud a "comfortable, family-oriented community."

"We've lived here a long time. We don't plan to go anywhere else."

None of it could be better to Michael Jones, the Illinois Lottery's superintendent who had hoped all along that the holder of the Red Bud ticket was a local.

"I wanted Red Bud to bask in the rewards," Jones told the AP. "If you wanted to have a perfect example of the randomness, the luck, this is it — a ticket bought at a MotoMart in as picturesque a town as Red Bud. It's like out of a Frank Capra movie."

Although initial reports indicated someone might have still been the house, it appeared later that everyone was out.

Photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanFirefighters respond to the scene of a structure fire at 45-47 Rutledge Ave in Springfield's South End on Wednesday night.

An update to this story was posted at 11:07 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD - Firefighters responded to a fire in a three story wood frame house at 45-47 Rutledge Avenue in the city's South End Wednesday night.

Flames could be shooting out of the second and third floor of the house.

Although initial reports indicated someone might still be inside the house, by about 9:30 it appeared everyone was out.

Public safety officials blocked off Rutledge Avenue to traffic.

The map below shows the approximate location of a structure fire on Rutledge Avenue in Springfield:

View 45-47 Rutledge Ave., Springfield in a larger map

More details coming on MassLive and in The Republican.

The fire began in the second floor and may have been started by someone staying in a vacant apartment without permission.

This is an update of a story that was originally posted at 9:22 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD - Thirteen people were displaced and several pets killed in a Wednesday night fire that swept through a three-story apartment building on Rutledge Street in the city’s South End.

None of the residents were injured, but one firefighter had to be treated for an eye injury, said Dennis Leger, aide of Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

Firefighters also found two dead dogs on the first floor. Two pets on the third floor were unaccounted for.

The fire at 45-46 Rutledge St., reported at about 9 p.m., apparently began in a second floor apartment that was supposed to be vacant but was apparently in use by people not authorized to be there, Leger said.

When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, heavy and smoke were spilling out the second floor.

Tenants on the third and first floors were displaced because the building was declared uninhabitable from the fire, smoke and water damage.

The estimated cost of damaged was more than $80,000, he said.

A building next door sustained an estimated $10,000 damage when the heat from the flames caused its vinyl siding to melt, Leger said.

Leger said the fire is considered suspicious because it started on the second floor, which had the electricity shut off.

“Apparently vagrants going out there,” he said. “Someone has been saying people have been going in the second floor and using candles, so that’s where we’re heading with (the investigation).”

The city Arson and Bomb Squad later determined the fire started on the second floor porch and caused by careless disposal of smoking materials, he said.

View full sizeThe Republican | Patrick JohnsonManuel Ramos holds his dog, Pookie, while across the street their home at 45-47 Rutledge St. burns. Ramos said two other pets were killed.

First-floor tenant Manuel Ramos, who has lived there with his family since 2007, said rightful tenants had complained that someone was staying on the second floor but nothing was done about it.

The building had been foreclosed upon and placed in a receivership some months ago. When the complained to the receiver about a squatter on the second floor, they were told it would take money to evict the man.

“The guy on the second floor. He’s not supposed to be there,” he said.

“He’s got no gas, no electricity, not lights. it’s all candles,” he said. “We told the receive about it and he said it would take money to evict him.”

As he talked directly across the street from his burning home, Ramos cradled his pet dog, Pookie, a Chihuahua mix that he rescued. He was unable to get his two other dogs and they died in the fire.

His family got out safely, but in the excitement his wife suffered a seizure after fleeing the apartment and had to be taken to the emergency room.

“We lost our mattresses, our furniture, our clothing — Everything is lost,” he said. “It’s not right.”

The third floor tenant, David Aviles said he was downstairs visiting Ramos on the first floor when someone shouted the house was on fire.

They could see the flames in the front porch on the second floor.

He said he immediately ran to the third floor to try to save his pets, three dogs and a cat. He was only able to retrieve two of the dogs and assumed the other dog and the cat were killed.

“I lost everything. I lost all my papers, everything,” he said.

Like Ramos, he said the whole fire could have been prevented.


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