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37 new police officers for Springfield, Holyoke and East Longmeadow sworn in during Westover ceremony

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The academy class had 30 Springfield appointments, five from Holyoke and two from East Longmeadow

HectorMoralezSr Jr.jpgSpringfield police officer Hector Morales poses with his 1-year-old son, Hector Morales Jr. after Thursday's police academy graduation

CHICOPEE — Hector Morales achieved his childhood dream Thursday afternoon. So did Dorota Beben.

Morales and Beben were among the 37 graduates of the Springfield Police Academy celebrated during a graduation ceremony Thursday at Westover Air Reserve Base. Before several hundred family and friends in an airplane hanger, the graduating class - 30 from Springfield, five from Holyoke and two from East Longmeadow - celebrated the conclusion of six months training and the commencement of a new career.

Morales, a Springfield officer, and Beben of Holyoke, each spoke after the ceremony of being pulled toward policing as children, inspired by family members who wore a badge.

“My uncle is a police officer,” Morales said of Springfield police officer Clayton Roberson. “When I was seven, I saw him in his uniform and that was it; I just fell in love with the job,” Morales said.


For Bebin, it was her father, Stanley, who was a police officer in her native Poland. When the family moved to Holyoke when she was nine, it was already implanted in her what she wanted to do when she grew up.

“I just always remember looking up to police officers my whole life,” she said. It was her father who pinned the badge on her dress uniform during the ceremony, which she said was both a tremendous honor and very emotion for both of them.

doritobebin3.jpgHolyoke police officer Dorota Beben

Throughout the ceremony, speakers described police work through broader themes of duty, public service and, yes, family.

Springfield police Lt. Harry Kastrinakis, director of the academy, said each of graduates would be linked forever, even across city lines.

“Six months ago, these 37 men and women began a journey to train to be the best police officers in the Commonwealth,” he said.

Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet said the hours are long, the work dangerous, and the accolades few.

“Your personal character and integrity will be the tools with which you will succeed. Always do your duty with honor,” he said.

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Frederick Seklecki, interim Holyoke police chief, said when he went on his first patrol 27 years ago, he remembers his first partner saying the two best tools a police officer can have are compassion and common sense.

With many of the graduates about to begin their first patrols on Saturday or Sunday, Seklecki said “Please look out for each other and, for God’s sake, be careful out there.”

Daniel Zivkovich, executive director of the Massachusetts Police Training Council, which sets statewide standards for police training, said urged them to always remember that they are police officers, not merely law enforcement.

Law enforcement is about making arrests and writing tickets, he said. Policing is about serving and protecting the community and its citizens.

“Always remember you are a police officer and a public servant, and you are not above anyone else,” he said.


French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, potential IMF chief replacement, to speak at Amherst College

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Lagarde is scheduled to speak Saturday; the lecture is free and open to the public.

Christine Lagarde.jpgView full sizeFrance's Finance and Economy Minister Christine Lagarde visits a Parisian supermarket and goods retailer in Paris Thursday May 19, 2011. Lagarde has emerged as a potential candidate to replace IMF chief, Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn who resigned Wednesday, saying he wants to devote "all his energy" to fighting sexual assault charges in New York. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

AMHERSTThe recent indictment and resignation of International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has left a void in the leadership of one of the world’s most powerful financial forces, and the woman many say is likely to take the helm will visit Amherst College this week.

French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry Christine Lagarde will take part in Saturday’s “Conversations with Honored Guests,” a day-long, campus-wide program of lectures and question-and-answer sessions.

Lagarde is scheduled to speak at Stirn Auditorium at 3:15 p.m. The lecture, like all others throughout the day, is free and open to the public.

The IMF is an organization of 187 countries that work together to foster global economic stability and reduce poverty. It is a specialized agency of the United Nations.

She has the backing of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg for the IMF job, according to Reuters. In a Reuters poll, 32 of 56 economists said she was the most likely person to be appointed.

Gaining international acclaim through her handling of the euro crisis during the global financial downturn, some analysts, like those at the UK newspaper The Telegraph, say Lagarde is uniquely qualified for the job. She would be the first woman to hold it since the IMF was formed in 1945.

Acting managing director John Lipsky has also thrown his support behind her.

With Strauss-Kahn out of the picture, Europe is attempting to maintain control while other nations like Mexico, Singapore and India would like to see one of their own lead the global lender.

Lagarde will receive an honorary degree at the college’s 190th commencement on Sunday.

Honorary degree recipients are chosen for “a record of distinction” and “relevant and important” achievements, said Megan Morey, who oversees the alumni and development programs.

“It serves as a source of inspiration for the kinds of careers and pursuits our graduates might choose,” she said.

At 2 p.m., Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve and now chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, also will speak at the Stirn.

Amherst College alum Kimmie Weeks, who has founded several organizations that help young people affected by war and poverty, especially in West Africa, will speak at Pruyne Lecture Hall at Fayerweather Hall at 11:15 a.m.

Massachusetts Senate approves changes in probation department

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The Senate and the state House of Representatives rejected Gov. Deval L. Patrick's proposal to merge probation for adult offenders with parole under the executive branch. Probation is set to remain under the judiciary.

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday unanimously approved legislation aimed at limiting patronage in the state Probation Department, but disagreed in some instances with a similar bill approved last week in the state House of Representatives.

Sen. Cynthia S. Creem, D-Newton, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, said she expects that a House-Senate committee would be created to craft a compromise bill, which would then need approval of both branches. The committee is expected to be appointed next week.

The Senate voted 39-0 to approve the bill. Like the House, the Senate rejected Gov. Deval L. Patrick's proposal to merge probation for adult offenders with parole under the executive branch. The House and the Senate agreed to keep probation under the judicial branch.

Mary E. Heffernan, secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said the bill's provisions on probation hiring and court management are consistent with proposals in the past by the governor and are necessary first steps.

deval patrick, march 2011, APGov. Deval Patrick is shown at a press conference this spring at the Statehouse.
But Heffernan criticized the bill for failing to move probation under the executive.

"Unfortunately, the bill does not deal with the systemic lack of accountability at the probation department, nor does it move Massachusetts towards a more comprehensive re-entry system. Moving the department into the executive branch would have been one way to do that. Regardless of who manages probation, there is more that can and must be done to improve accountability and coordination."

The House last week voted 152-0 to approve a bill to overhaul probation hiring.

One of the biggest differences in the bills is that the House approved new deputy court administrators for the seven departments of the Trial Court. The Senate did not include those positions.

The deputies would serve under a new court administrator, who would be appointed to a five-year term by the state Supreme Judicial Court. The administrator would oversee administrative duties including the hiring of nonjudicial employees and budgets, contracts and leases.

A chief judge, who currently handles administrative duties, would remain and would be in charge of judicial functions such as planning, assigning and disciplining of judges.

Lawrence Dullea, head of a union of probation officers in the National Association of Government Employees, said he was concerned about the costs of hiring seven new deputy court administrators. Dullea said that he supports major aspects of the bill, but that in some ways the bill was creating another layer of bureaucracy to deal with the probation scandal.

"We're hurrying to do this," Dullea said in a recent interview.

petro.jpgRep. Thomas Petrolati of Ludlow agreed to give up his position as speaker pro tempore in the wake of the probation scandal.

The Senate also approved a measure giving the court administrator authority to transfer money between line items in the court budget. The Legislature in the past has shielded the probation department from transfers.

The legislation follows a report by independent counsel Paul F. Ware, who investigated hiring in the probation department. The report found that hiring in probation under former commission John J. O'Brien was corrupt and was tilted heavily in favor of candidates recommended mostly by state legislators. Ware said a rigged hiring process undermined qualified applicants. Ware's report said that probation officials established a bogus hiring process to conceal that jobs were being given to applicants with personal or political connections to legislators or judges.

Late last year, Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati, D-Ludlow, agreed to step down from his speaker pro tempore's position after he was mentioned many times in the report by Ware. The report detailed Petrolati's efforts at patronage in the probation department and said he received campaign contributions from 87 employees of the probation department.

Petrolati voted in favor of the House bill last week. Petrolati has said that he was pleased to recommend qualified candidates for jobs in probation, but that the final say on hiring was with Judge Robert A. Mulligan, the chief justice for administration and management.

In a letter to Senate Republicans in November, Attorney General Martha M. Coakley said Ware's report outlined some serious violations of public trust. Coakley wrote that she assembled a team of prosecutors to investigate probation hiring. The U.S. Attorney's Office is also investigating.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr, R-Gloucester, said the probation department has operated for too long under a dark cloud where politics tainted hiring and promotion. Tarr said approval of the bill will help restore public confidence.

"The Ware report uncovered a serious patronage issue within the probation department which needs to be addressed,” Tarr said. “Probation officers play an important public safety role, and it is imperative that these positions be filled by individuals who are truly qualified for the rigors and demands of the job.”

brucetarr.jpgSenate Republican Leader Bruce Tarr said new bill will restore confidence in probation department.

The legislation overhauls hiring by requiring applicants for probation jobs and court officers to pass an exam and be screened before advancing to an interview.

The bill also requires that all recommendations for state government and court jobs be written and made public for successful candidates. It also requires that the letters be weighed after candidates are in the final stage of the hiring process, something that could limit political influence.

The bill would also require all applicants for jobs within the executive, legislative and judicial branches to disclose the names of all immediate family members who are state employees. The information would be public if people are hired.

Springfield loanshark Albert Calvanese's cash to finance work on new organized crime cases

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Newhouse said debtors threatened by Calvanese would rather go to prison than testify against him.

State, local and federal law enforcement agencies will divide $768,000 seized from a Springfield loanshark under an agreement announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz.

The money was seized during a multi-agency investigation of Albert B. Calvanese, 48, of Springfield, who pleaded guilty to two loansharking counts in U.S. District Court in Boston in December 2007.

U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris ordered him to serve 63 months in prison and forfeit $132,000. In a related civil case, Calvanese was ordered to surrender an additional $636,308 from his loansharking business.

While the case was based on the extortion of a Wilbraham businessman, Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd E. Newhouse said in court the defendant was an especially feared figure in the loansharking business, and state and federal investigators struggled for years to build a case against him.

In a successful bid to keep Calvanese from being released on bail following his November 2006 arrest, Newhouse played an audio tape that purportedly captured the sounds of Calvanese punching former mortgage broker Mark L. McCarthy, of Wilbraham, a government witness who owed $20,000 in gambling debts.

While in custody, Calvanese made threats against McCarthy in recorded calls from a prison phone, according to Newhouse, who said other loan-sharking victims insisted they would rather go to prison than testify against him.

Investigators from the Springfield FBI office, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Massachusetts State Police Special Services Section and the Springfield Police Department worked on the case.

Ortiz congratulated the agencies for shutting down one of the area’s largest loansharking operations, and said the proceeds will be used to build new cases against organized crime across the state.

The money will be distributed to the Hampden District Attorney’s office, which will get $127,262; Berkshire District Attorney, $127,261; the FBI, $153,196; the Massachusetts State Police, $51,870; the Springfield Police Department, $76,598; and the Internal Revenue Service, $232,119.

Moammar Gadhafi forces rocket Libyan rebel fighters in mountains

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NATO airstrikes resumed in Tripoli; a Libyan government official said 6 sea vessels docked in the city's port were hit.

By MICHELLE FAUL and SARAH EL DEEB

051911 libyan rebels.jpgRebel fighters act as security in downtown Benghazi, Libya, Thursday, May 19, 2011. Moammar Gadhafi's forces rocketed rebel fighters Thursday in the formidable strongholds and training camps they have built up in the strategic mountain heights southwest of the Libyan capital, rebels said. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

BENGHAZI, Libya — Moammar Gadhafi's forces rocketed rebel fighters Thursday in the formidable strongholds and training camps they have built up in the strategic mountain heights southwest of the Libyan capital, rebels said.

The two sides appeared to be fighting for control of the two highways to the north and south of the Nafusa mountain range, which slices across the desert south of Tripoli to the western border with Tunisia. Rebels, in particular, have used the road, bringing in supplies for camps to train fighters for what they hope will be a future push on the capital.

NATO airstrikes resumed in Tripoli overnight. A Libyan government official said six sea vessels docked in the city's port were hit — five coast guard boats and a warship. Flames and smoke could be seen rising from one of the vessels.

The shuddering airstrikes could be heard as Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim spoke to reporters at a late-night news conference. He said that in a meeting Tuesday with Russian leaders, an envoy offered to withdraw Libyan fighters from cities if rebels do the same, as part of a peace deal.

"We are even prepared to go as far as withdrawing our army from all Libyan cites and population centers," he said. "This is a new offer."

Ibrahim said the offer was the furthest the government had gone since fighting broke out against the rebels. He said as part of the deal, NATO would also have to halt its strikes of Libyan targets.

There was no immediate comment by rebel leaders based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

The rebels have rejected previous offers, emboldened by NATO strikes that have helped them cling to swaths of the country, and because they say they don't trust Gadhafi's regime.

Government officials said early Friday that the overnight NATO strikes targeted six vessels in Tripoli's sea port — a crucial lifeline for the government-held parts of the country because there is a no-fly zone in place over Libya.

Five of the vessels were coast guard boats, said Mohammed Rashid, general manager of the Tripoli port. The six was a warship docked for repairs in the port, he said.

Rashid said the coast guard boats were used to patrol Libyan waters for immigrant boats trying to make it to Europe, to prevent polluting activities and search-and-rescue activities.

The port official said some damage was done to the port, but that it was minimal. A government official later said they feared that ships would shy away from the Tripoli port after the NATO strikes, driving up the cost of basic goods that arrive by sea, and insurance costs.

In a tour given to reporters at a distance from the area, a warship could be seen on fire. Large, licking flames and plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the ship.

AP television footage showed the strikes hitting the area. There was a loud boom and then a flash of orange and red as explosives detonated. It appeared that some five strikes targeted the area. Afterward, gunfire and anti-aircraft fire could be heard crackling around Tripoli.

Another strike early Friday targeted a police academy in the Tripoli neighborhood of Tajoura, a government official said.

Also on Thursday, Gadhafi appeared briefly on Libyan state TV, his first appearance in several days.

As the fighting in the mountains intensified this week, the rebel leadership in the east of the country said Thursday it was receiving graphic reports of hospitals overwhelmed with casualties and of wounded having to be loaded onto donkeys and smuggled past government blockades to get treatment elsewhere.

The situation in the Nafusa mountains "remains dire, really dire," said Jalal al-Gallal, a spokesman for the rebel governing council, based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

The mountain range has been one of the few zones of opposition in western Libya since the early days of the uprising against Gadhafi's four-decade rule in mid-February. Most of the rebel forces are concentrated in the east.

The long highways on either side of the mountain range are key to both sides. The government needs easy passage without harassment from the ridgeline above if it wants to keep control of a huge swath of the west.

The rebels run supplies from the border. Also, they have used the passageway to smuggle back fighters who had fled battles in other parts of the country and ended up in Tunisia, said Omar Hussein, a spokesman for the Nafusa mountain rebels.

Their position on the roads from the mountains to the former rebel stronghold of Zawiya on the north coast and Tripoli beyond made them a target, he said.

"Gadhafi knows that the rebels' plan is to come down from the mountains, then head to Zawiya, and from there to Tripoli. He is trying to delay this march," Hussein said.

Much of Thursday's fighting focused on the city of Zintan, the rebel command center for the mountain range. Rebels fought to hold back government troops rocketing their positions to the east and southeast of Zintan, said resident and activist Hamed Enbayah. The shelling killed at least one rebel fighter and wounded three others, he said.

NATO airstrikes in Libya's embattled western mountains are having no noticeable effect, a rebel representative from Zintan told reporters Thursday.

"We were there for three days, and Gadhafi forces never stopped shelling" Zintan, Ahmed Bin-Moussa told a news conference the day he arrived in the rebel bastion of Benghazi.

Points along the entire mountain range have been under intensified attack since early this week. Residents of some areas said the fighting had trapped them inside their homes and cut off food and medical supplies.

Britain's defense secretary, Liam Fox, told lawmakers on Thursday that U.K. fighter jets have fired at least 240 missiles in about 440 sorties over Libya since NATO's campaign of airstrikes began. Fox outlined the figures in a written statement and said they were accurate up to May 8.

El Deeb reported from Cairo. Additional reporting by Diaa Hadid in Tripoli and Bouazza ben Bouazza in Tunis.

Springfield firefighter Curt Marcellin promoted to captain, first black to earn that rank in department history

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Marcellin said he is proud to be a part of the city's history of racial diversity, and hopes to hold the door open for others to follow.

curt marcellin fire department captainCurt M. Marcellin

SPRINGFIELD - Curt M. Marcellin says those who are first have a responsibility to lead the way for those that follow.

Marcellin, 47, an East Forest Park resident, was recently promoted to the rank of captain. He becomes the first black firefighter to obtain that rank in the history of the Fire Department.

In a brief ceremony held on May 4 at fire headquarters with his family in attendance, Marcellin was promoted by Commissioner Gary S. Cassanelli.

Marcellin, a 15-year veteran, said that on a personal level, he is proud of his achievement. Passing the captain's exam was not easy, and neither was the amount of time spent preparing for it, he said.

"I am pleased to be promoted, first and foremost," he said.

At the same time, Marcellin says he is both pleased and honored for his part in the city's racial history.

"I'm proud of that fact, that I'm a part of that history," he said. "In a way, I'm closing one chapter, but I'm opening another in terms of diversity."

The department has one commissioner, one deputy chief, four district chiefs and 15 captains. Marcellin is assigned to Station 10 on Main Street in Memorial Square.
Marcellin was appointed a firefighter on July 3, 1995. He was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant on April 22, 2002.

Marcellin said he knew and worked alongside Leonard A. Corbin, who in 1969 became the first black person appointed to the department.

Corbin worked for 32 years until 2001. He died in 2008, and the city has since installed a memorial to him by the Mason Square station.

"I respected him. He opened a lot of doors for us," Marcellin said.

curt marcellin casanelli family promotionView full sizeSpringfield Fire Commissioner Gary Cassinelli, left, shakes Curt M. Marcellin's hand at a recent ceremony celebrating his promotion. Present are his father, John Marcellin, and wife, Myra Marcellin.

He also remembered another mentor, James Schider, one of the first wave of black firefighters who followed in Corbin's footsteps. It was Schider who once said to him, "Lenny opened the door, and I'm just a chock in the door for young guys like you to come in and take advantage of the opportunity."

Marcellin is active in the community through his church membership, with FIRE of Western Massachusetts and the Caring Health Center. He said his promotion provides him a responsibility to be a mentor for those who come after him.

The department is more than 40 percent minority, and Marcellin said some of the new people coming have exceptional potential to reach as far as they want to climb.

"The opportunity in the future for firefighters to meet and exceed me is theirs now," he said. "That's when I become the chock in the door."

More than 30 U.S. cities cut from anti-terrorism grant program

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The Department of Homeland Security said narrowing the list of cities eligible for Urban Areas Security Initiative grants is part of larger budget cuts.

By PAUL J. WEBER

SAN ANTONIO — More than 30 smaller and mid-sized U.S. cities are losing about $170 million in federal anti-terrorism funding that began after the Sept. 11 attacks, perplexing some local officials at a time when information gleaned from Osama bin Laden's hideout suggests al-Qaida is being encouraged to attack smaller targets.

The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that narrowing the list of cities eligible for Urban Areas Security Initiative grants is part of larger budget cuts that eliminated more than $780 million in grant money from the last federal budget. New York, Washington and 29 other high-threat urban areas will still receive grants this year.

Texas took the largest hit, with Austin, El Paso and San Antonio being dropped after the cities received a combined $14.5 million in funding last year. Ten states were left with no cities receiving funds after New Orleans, Honolulu and Indianapolis were cut.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose city region will continue to receive around the same $151.5 million as years past, praised the decision to prioritize the most high-risk cities instead of thinly spreading the money around.

Texas officials were not as pleased.

"Any significant cuts to homeland security funding degrades our ability and capability to protect, respond and recover from terror attacks or natural disasters," said Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the state's top law enforcement agency.

In El Paso, just across the border from bloody Ciduad Juarez, Mexico, city officials have used about $5 million in grant funds annually to purchase equipment such as chemical detecting equipment, thermal imaging cameras and emergency response vehicles. Mayor John Cook said he hopes there will be more money to include El Paso again next year.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said cities no longer on the list will continue to receive federal homeland security dollars funneled down from grants given to each state.

Rep. Peter King, chair of the Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement that the allocations "in this difficult fiscal climate" reflect his and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's "recognition that New York and Long Island remain the top target of al-Qaida and its affiliates and need continued federal funding."

New York and Washington were targets of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and have traditionally received the most attention, and money, from the federal government.

In other cities and regions, including in upstate New York, the news that millions of dollar would be lost was met with vocal opposition.

"This is a glaring example of the real-world impact on western New York of the extreme cuts the new House majority is focused on," said Rep. Brian Higgins, a New York Democrat who serves on the Border and Maritime Security and Counterterrorism and Intelligence subcommittees. "The budget is a statement of our national priorities. Keeping our border safe, protecting a region with a history of terrorist cell activities should top the list. Yet, we have people protecting big oil at the expense of national security and that is costing this community and could cost this nation dearly."

The grant program was launched in 2003 in response to security threats in the wake of the terrorist attacks. Initially the money was available only to New York City, Washington, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston. But since 2008 more than 60 cities have been awarded the risk-based grants.

The cuts come at a worrisome time for law enforcement. After the killing of bin Laden, U.S. authorities have recovered evidence from his compound in Pakistan that the terror leader was encouraging his followers to target smaller U.S. cities in future attacks.

In Fiscal Year 2010, 54 smaller cities were eligible to split almost $310 million in funding. Ten larger, higher-risk cities, like New York and Washington, vied for about $525 million. Thirty cities in 23 states and Washington will now share more than $662 million dollars. The lion's share, about $540 million, will be split by the 10 largest cities.

Also included in the cities losing money are Providence, R.I., and Tucson, Ariz.

In Providence, city emergency management director Peter Gaynor said he was perplexed by the decision, especially given intelligence culled from the raid in Pakistan earlier this month. The state's top emergency management official, meanwhile, called the wholesale loss of funding "a complete shock."

"It was a surprise and to some extent a slap in the face," said J. David Smith, executive director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.

In Texas, the Dallas and Houston areas remain eligible to receive around a combined $66 million this fiscal year. Cook said the funds to El Paso have made the city much more prepared since 2006. Yet he was OK with being dropped from the list this year.

"It's a little bump in the road, but we'll be fine," Cook said.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent and chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Connecticut stands to lose about half of the Homeland Security money its cities have received in recent years.

Bridgeport and Hartford, which received a combined $5.5 million last year, are among the cities being cut from the program.

"I understand that everyone must sacrifice to bring our federal deficit under control," Lieberman said in a statement. "But I do not support cutting the budget on the back of our national security, particularly since foreign and homegrown terrorists will continue to strike us at home."

Associated Press Writers Alicia A. Caldwell in Washington, Ian MacDougall in Providence, R.I., Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, NY, Beth Fouhy in New York City and Juan Carlos Llorca in El Paso, Texas contributed to this report.

Mass AG: Man reaped millions with fake MBTA passes

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A Massachusetts man is facing larceny charges for allegedly producing millions of dollars' worth of counterfeit monthly passes for Boston area public transportation lines that were then sold online at discounted rates.

MBTA Orange line.jpgInvestigators said the fraudulently produced monthly "ghost" passes were being used by passengers on all forms of MBTA transportation, including the commuter rail, subway, and buses.

By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man is facing larceny charges for allegedly producing millions of dollars' worth of counterfeit monthly passes for Boston area public transportation lines that were then sold online at discounted rates.

Attorney General Martha Coakley said 27-year-old Andres Townes, of Revere, worked at Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc., a company contracted by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to produce monthly passes. She said his alleged scheme was the largest of its kind in the history of the MBTA.

Coakley said that as far back as 2007, Townes produced and sold up to 20,000 of the illegally produced passes through websites, including Craigslist. She said the MBTA traced 400 passes in March alone that totaled about $70,000.

Although the passes were unauthorized and the T reaped no financial benefit from them, they appeared legitimate and worked as other passes, making them virtually undetectable.

Coakley said the alleged scheme was only discovered after a commuter rail operator asked a rider where he had bought his pass. When the rider said he'd purchased the pass on Craigslist, the operator became suspicious and confiscated the ticket.

An investigation by the MBTA Transit Police found that despite opening electronic gates, the printed serial number in the MBTA database did not show the card had ever been activated. Hundreds of similar passes in use by passengers were then discovered, investigators said.

"We believe that this scheme would have gone undetected into the future except for an alert commuter rail operator," Coakley said.

Investigators said the fraudulently produced monthly "ghost" passes were being used by passengers on all forms of MBTA transportation, including the commuter rail, subway, and buses.

Coakley said investigators are still trying to determine the full extent of the alleged scheme, which she said likely produced "something under $5 million" in illegal passes since 2007

MBTA General Manager Richard Davey said the T is ending its contract with Cubic and seeking reimbursement for the value of the illegally produced passes. He said the MBTA has also removed the equipment that allowed Cubic to produce passes.

Davey warned riders that the MBTA does not sell passes on Craigslist and does not sell them at discounted rates.

Cubic Transportation Systems said in a written statement that it is cooperating with authorities.

"Our company has numerous safeguards designed to prevent fraudulent production or distribution of Charlie Tickets," the statement said, referring to the monthly MBTA passes. "We also intend to undertake a full internal investigation of this situation, with the expectation that additional safeguards will be put in place to prevent future fraud."

It's not immediately known if Townes has an attorney. He was scheduled to be arraigned in Salem District Court on Friday.


Jesenia Reed of Springfield arrested following fight with mom, standoff with police

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Springfield resident Jesenia Reed, 18, of 9 Murray Hill Ave. was taken into custody on Wednesday following a dispute with her mother and an armed standoff with police.

jeseniareed18.jpgJesenia Reed

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield resident Jesenia Reed, 18, of 9 Murray Hill Ave. was taken into custody on Wednesday following a dispute with her mother and an armed standoff with police.

At about 12:40 a.m., a neighbor called police to report a loud disturbance and argument and when officers Daniel Leon-Resto and David Ramos arrived, Reed's mother let them in the house.

According to a press release issued by the Springfield Police Department, the mother explained that she went to the basement and shut off electricity to her daughter's room after the 18 year old refused to lower her music.

A loud argument ensued after this leading to the neighbor's 911 call.

As police entered Reed's bedroom, she allegedly began throwing things at them before grabbing a kitchen knife and assaulted officers Maciej Jasinski and Roberto Gonzalez who were called to the scene as back-up, according to Sgt. John Delaney, executive aide to Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchett.

"The female refused to drop the knife in a stand off that lasted several minutes," Delaney said. "The officers did a great job talking the distraught female into placing the knife on the ground."

Reed was taken into custody and charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest.

Arraignment information from Springfield District Court was not immediately available.

Union radio ad faults Sen. Brown on Medicare stand

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A health care workers union is launching a radio ad faulting U.S. Sen. Scott Brown for saying he supports a Republican budget that would turn Medicare into a voucher system.

Scott Brown, Feb 2011, RepubU.S. Sen. Scott Brown

BOSTON (AP) — A health care workers union is launching a radio ad faulting U.S. Sen. Scott Brown for saying he supports a Republican budget that would turn Medicare into a voucher system.

The union, 1199SEIU, said it hopes to persuade Brown to vote against the budget.

Brown's position has evolved in recent days.

On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Republican said in a statement that he favors the direction Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan's budget takes toward reducing spending, But Brown declined, through a spokesman, to say if he backs the Medicare overhaul or would vote for the budget.

Brown's comments came four days after he told a luncheon crowd in Georgetown, Mass., that he would vote for the budget.

His spokesman says it's not surprising that special interest groups opposed to Brown would run "misleading and untrue attacks."

For more information on the union's stance on the issue, click here.

Taliban attack US vehicles in Pakistan as revenge for killing Osama bin Laden

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The Taliban detonated a car bomb next to two U.S. consulate cars carrying Americans in northwest Pakistan on Friday, wounding some of them in a strike the militants said was in revenge for the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

PakistanPakistan army soldiers are on alert at the site of a bombing in Shabqadar near Peshawar, Pakistan on Friday, May 13, 2011. One week later, the Taliban detonated a car bomb next to two U.S. consulate cars carrying Americans in northwest Pakistan on Friday May 20 in a second act of retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

By NAHAL TOOSI & RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writers

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — The Taliban detonated a car bomb next to two U.S. consulate cars carrying Americans in northwest Pakistan on Friday, wounding some of them in a strike the militants said was in revenge for the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

One Pakistani passer-by was killed and at least 10 people were believed to have been wounded, including an unknown number of Americans. It was the first attack on Westerners since the May 2 raid by American commandos on bin Laden's hideout in an army town around three hours from Peshawar, officials said. The Americans' wounds were not serious, an embassy spokesman said.

The Pakistani Taliban, an al-Qaida allied group behind scores of attacks in recent years, claimed responsibility.

"We say to the Americans and NATO that we will carry out more deadly attacks and we can do it," Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said in a phone call from an undisclosed location. "We had warned that we will avenge the martyrdom of Osama."

No high-ranking U.S. official was in the vehicles, which were making a routine trip to the consulate, said U.S. Embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez. He said Americans in one of the vehicles received minor wounds, did not say how many were traveling. Police said there were two "foreigners" in the damaged vehicle.

Americans traveling in Peshawar normally used armored vehicles.

Peshawar lies just outside Pakistan's tribal regions, where al-Qaida and the Taliban are based.

Bin Laden RaidFILE - This May 3, 2011, file photo, shows a view of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. U.S. officials briefed on the secret mission to get Osama bin Laden in Pakistan say the raid's planners knew it was a one-shot deal. Those behind the raid predicted at the time that outrage over the breach of Pakistani sovereignty would make it impossible to try again if the raid came up dry. (AP Photo/Aqeel Ahmed)

The city has witnessed many of the suicide and other bombings that have scarred Pakistan over the past five years, the vast majority against Pakistani government and security force targets. Foreigners in Pakistan have also been targeted, but not nearly as much.

Last week, the Pakistani Taliban killed more than 80 Pakistani recruits for a paramilitary border force in double suicide attacks close to Peshawar. They said those blasts were also in revenge for the death of bin Laden.

Pakistani TV footage showed that the car that was hit was a large, sport utility vehicle. It appeared to have veered into a pole and the hood was damaged. Nearby buildings also were damaged in the blast.

The U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, which is believed to house a significant CIA presence hunting al-Qaida and associated groups, has been targeted in the past.

In August 2008, Lynne Tracy, then the top U.S. diplomat at the consulate, survived a gun attack on her armored vehicle. In April last year, militants used car bombs and grenades to strike the consulate, killing eight people. None of the dead were U.S. citizens, but several were security guards working for the consulate.

The attackers Friday used 110 pounds (50 kilogram) of explosives, said senior police official Liaquat Ali Khan.

He said the second U.S. vehicle arrived shortly after the attack and whisked away the Americans.

The U.S. raid that killed bin Laden in Abbottabad has badly damaged Pakistani-American relations.

Pakistan is angry it was not warned in advance that the Navy SEALs team would storm bin Laden's compound, and insists it had no idea the terror mastermind was hiding there. U.S. officials have visited Pakistan in recent days to try to patch up differences, and assure Pakistan's continued cooperation in the battle against al-Qaida and allies Islamist militant groups.

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Toosi reported from Islamabad.

Earthquake hits western Turkey, injuries and fatalities reported

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A 5.9-magnitude earthquake partly collapsed some buildings and one mosque in western Turkey, killing at least three people and injuring nearly 100 people, authorities said Friday.

APTOPIX Spain EarthquakeOne day before an earthquake struck Turkey, two earthquakes struck southeast Spain in quick succession, killing several people, and injuring dozens and causing major damage to buildings, officials said. The epicenter of the quakes with magnitudes of 4.4 and 5.2 was close to the town of Lorca, Spain, and the second came about two hours after the first. (AP Photo/Israel Sanchez)

By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake partly collapsed some buildings and one mosque in western Turkey, killing at least three people and injuring nearly 100 people, authorities said Friday.

The quake that struck at 11:15 p.m. (2015 GMT) on Thursday, sent terrified residents running from their homes before midnight. It was centered in the town of Simav, the Istanbul-based Kandilli Observatory said.

Two people, including one who jumped out of a window in panic, were killed in Simav, Environment Minister Veysel Eroglu told reporters. An elderly woman died of a heart attack in another town, Inegol, authorities said.

Eroglu said 79 people, including some who suffered injuries after jumping from balconies and windows and those who suffered from heart attacks or panic-related shock, were taken to hospitals in Simav. He said only one of the injured was in serious condition.

Fifteen others were treated at hospitals in the neighboring province of Usak, said Seracettin Com, a senior health official.

The Red Crescent, the Muslim equivalent of the Red Cross, said the temblor partly collapsed two empty buildings in Simav, along with a five-story building and a mosque. Authorities evacuated the state hospital in Simav and transferred the injured to other hospitals in the region, the governor's office said.

Bilgin Turkmentepe, a member of the search and rescue group Akut, said some elderly people did not notice the cracks at one mosque at dawn and only left morning prayers after their warnings.

Many residents spent the rest of the night in their cars or in the streets as authorities cautioned them against re-entering their homes. The Red Crescent set up soup kitchens and dispatched tents to the area, said Tekin Kucukali, head of the organization told NTV television.

Murat Nurlu, head of the emergency earthquake center at the prime minister's office, said a team has been dispatched to a silver mine in Kutahya where an alleged leak from a cyanide pool was reported several days before the quake hit the area. Eroglu, however, said measures have already been taken at the site.

The quake was followed by about 50 aftershocks, the strongest with a preliminary magnitude of 4.6 that shook Kutahya, said Mustafa Erdik, head of the Kandilli Observatory. He warned of more aftershocks in the coming days.

Most of the town of Simav was without electricity and telephone lines were down, reports said.

Idris Bal, a lawmaker who was in Kutahya, said he experienced the quake on the fifth floor of an apartment building.

"It was so strong that we could not even move in the first few seconds," Bal told NTV television. "People are waiting in their cars now."

The quake was felt as far as the Aegean city of Izmir, the northwestern city of Bursa, Istanbul and the city of Edirne, close to the Greek and Bulgarian borders.

There were no immediate reports of damage in the ancient city of Ephesus, which lies just outside Selcuk, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Izmir. Ephesus was part of Ionian Greece in its early days and now is in predominantly Muslim Turkey.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is crossed by fault lines.

In March 2010, a 6.0-magnitude quake knocked down houses in five villages in eastern Turkey, killing 51 people. In 2003, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake killed 177 people in the southeastern city of Bingol, including 84 children whose school dormitory collapsed.

In 1999, two earthquakes with a magnitude of more than 7 struck northwestern Turkey, killing about 18,000 people.

Western Massachusetts energy prices, at a glance

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Here are the average energy prices in the Pioneer Valley for the week ending today.

energy price May20.JPGView full size

Police: Man wanted for TD Bank robbery at Holyoke Mall displayed 'bomb-like device'

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The suspect is described as a white man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his hair, which had purple highlights in it. He was also wearing large, dark-tinted sunglasses.

1992_chevrolet_corsica_4_dr_lt_sedan-pic-16121.jpegThe suspect fled in an older four-door Chevy, possibly a Corsica like the one pictured above, with an undisclosed amount of cash.

HOLYOKE - Police are still following leads as they pursue the man who robbed the TD Bank at the Holyoke Mall on Thursday.

Around 5 p.m., a man entered the bank on the first floor of the mall and displayed something appearing to be a bomb as he demanded cash.

"He showed the teller a silver cylindrical object with a red digital number display duct taped on and connected to wires," said Lt. Matthew Moriarty. "We don't know if it was actually a bomb or not as he took it with him."

The suspect left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money and fled in a car described as an older four-door Chevy. Initial reports indicated the car was a Chevy Beretta, but those vehicles were only available in 2-door coupe models. The sedan equivalent of the Beretta is the Corsica.

The suspect is described as a white man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his hair, which had purple highlights in it. He was also wearing large, dark-tinted sunglasses. He is approximately 5-feet, 7-inches tall, and believed to weigh between 150 and 160 pounds.

Police are still going over surveillance footage from inside the bank and the surrounding area as they work to identify the suspect.

Anyone with information about the incident or who may have seen the suspect or the vehicle at the mall on Thursday is asked to call the Holyoke Police Department at 413-536-6431 or the anonymous tip line at 413-533-8477.

Thermal imaging of Greenfield buildings nears completion; city touts potential for energy savings

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The reports on the buildings will be available on a password-protected website. The city will not have access to the records.

Commercial Building IR Image - Sagewell (2).jpgAn infrared image of a commercial building provided by Sagewell Inc.

GREENFIELD – A thermal imaging initiative designed to show residents and businesses owners how to improve their buildings’ energy efficiency is almost complete.

The city announced that about 500 people will receive free efficiency reports in an effort to help them curb costs and reduce their carbon footprints.

Workers for the Woburn-based company Sagewell, Inc., drove through the city in hybrid vehicles equipped with thermal imaging cameras, photographing buildings to determine where better insulation could be used. If heat loss can be prevented, it could keep energy costs and consumption down.

The imaging is part of a study sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources that will analyze this data in buildings from different time periods. Anyone who wants his or her building’s information used in the study can ask by sending an email to priority@sagewell.com.

Anyone who does not want imaging done on his or her building can send an email to optout@sagewell.com. The imaging is still ongoing, but will be complete soon depending on the weather, said Sagewell president and CEO Pasi Miettinen.

The cameras record only the surface temperatures of the objects directly in front of them and cannot “see” through windows.

To help offset the costs of insulation and other energy efficiency improvements, many residents are eligible to participate in Mass Save, which helps users find incentives for upgrading old appliances, utility discount rates and fuel assistance, among others.

Carole Collins, the city’s energy and sustainability coordinator, said Sagewell “can draw some conclusions and then streamline some ways to make energy efficiency easier.”

The reports on the buildings will be available on a password-protected website. The city will not have access to the records.

For those who want to make efficiency improvements, but do not qualify for Mass Save, there are “definitely other resources available,” Collins said, such as the Franklin County branch of the non-profit Community Action.

This winter and spring, Sagewell has imaged over 60,000 buildings in 13 communities, said Miettinen.

“Ten to 15 percent of the buildings can get quite reasonable savings. They may be as high as 30 percent,” he said. “For a building with a $4,000 or $5,000 heating bill ... that’s a pretty significant savings.”

That figure does not include additional savings that can be gained through Mass Save or other programs.

Miettinen said the imaging is a good investment for the government, as well, because it can keep fuel assistance demand down.

“So many people are like, ‘Please take a picture of my house!’” Collins said.


AM News Links: NY man spends life savings on doomsday ads, Pittsfield teen lands 209 felonies for graveyard vandalism, and more

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Staten Island man spends life savings on doomsday ads, Pittsfield teen gets hit with 209 felonies for graveyard vandalism and more of the morning's headlines.

vanishing-on-7th-street-review.jpgActor Hayden Christensen steps over clothes left behind from the rapture in the 2010 post-apocalyptic thriller Vanishing on 7th Street. In the film, the population of Detroit has almost completely disappeared overnight, but a few people remain and try to survive long enough to figure out what happened.

NOTE: Users of modern browsers can open each link in a new tab by holding 'control' ('command' on a Mac) and clicking each link.

Sunrise report: Forecast, poll and more for Friday May 20

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Today's poll: What's your favorite rainy-day destination in the Pioneer Valley?

05.19.201 | SOUTHWICK - A little downpour didn't stop these guys from getting their golf game in at Southwick Country Club.

The Forecast

We might -- might -- see the sun at some point today, says ABC 40 / FOX 6 meteorologist Dan Brown:

We're not expecting a ton of sunshine but at least we're heading in the right direction. There will also be some pop-up showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon so don't put the umbrella away just yet.

Thunderstorms are most likely after 2 p.m. today -- and, overall, the chance of precipitation is 50%. Highs should be in the low 70s.

The National Weather Service has also issued a hazardous weather outlook, warning that thunderstorms today and tomorrow could produce intense rain and small hail.

The weekend is looking mixed. Brown says that "... we'll see a mixture of sunshine and clouds with just a few showers and storms Saturday afternoon then finally on Sunday we may actually get a nice dry day."

Find the full forecast here.




Today's Poll

Sunday may be dry, but the forecast is still calling for clouds and a 20% chance of precipitation. Saturday, barring the Rapture, may still bring us rain and thunder.

If you're starting to go stir crazy, you're probably not alone. Luckily, our little corner of the world offers a decent number of indoor activities.

What's your favorite rainy-day destination in the Pioneer Valley? Instead of a poll today, we'll just do an open thread. Offer your nominee in the comments.

Thursday's results: Yesterday, we asked, "Does the John Jay College on sexual abuse by Catholic priests assign appropriate blame for the crisis?" 81.82% said, "no," and 18.18% said "yes."




Thursday's Top 5

The top 5 headlines on MassLive.com on May 19 were:

  1. 2011 St. Mary's High School Prom[photo gallery]

  2. 2011 Chicopee High School Prom [photo gallery]

  3. Springfield Police Academy Class 0511 Graduation [photo gallery]

  4. Police charge Texas mother Julianne McCrery with boy's death in Maine

  5. 2011 Enrico Fermi Senior prom [photo gallery]




Quote of the Day

"In a way, I'm closing one chapter, but I'm opening another in terms of diversity."
— Curt M. Marcellin, who recently became the first black firefighter to obtain the rank of captain in the history of the Springfield Fire Department. Read Patrick Johnson's story here.

Jane Seymour: Arnold Schwarzenegger has more than one love child

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The actress made the remarks on the red carpet at the premiere of the film "Love Marriage Wedding."

Arnold SchwarzeneggerAustrian-American, actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger seen here in an April 4, 2011 APfile photo.

Celebrities are weighing on the break-up of former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's 25-year marriage to Maria Shriver.

But "Dr. Quinn" actress Jane Seymour caused a stir when she remarked on a red carpet photo-op that she had heard Schwarzenegger fathered more than one child out of wedlock.

"From what I gather, I think there will be lots of information coming people's way," Seymour told a CNN reporter. "I heard about two more (out of wedlock children) somebody else knows about. I even met someone who knows him well."

Seymour made the comment at the red carpet premiere of "Love Marriage Wedding."

She also told the celebrity scribe, ""The moment I heard it, that there was an announcement of their separation - he was obviously jumping the gun before everyone else told the world of the news."

The 63-year-old Schwarzenegger admitted to Shriver that he had fathered a teenage love child with their housekeeper. Media outlets have identified the woman as Mildred Baena.

Shriver moved out of the couple's home a week before they announced the end of their marriage on May 9.

Since then, Schwarzenegger has kept a relatively low profile. He has delayed his Hollywood comeback as he braced for what could be a costly divorce.

Shriver has released a brief statement about the end of her marriage.

"This is a painful and heartbreaking time. As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives and heal. I will have no further comment."


Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn gets $1 million bail in NYC sex assault case

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The onetime potential French presidential contender is charged with sexually attacking a New York City hotel maid.

strauss-kahnInternational Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn listens to proceedings in his case in New York state Supreme Court, Thursday, May 19, 2011.

NEW YORK — Lawyers arguing whether ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn should get out of jail while he awaits trial on attempted rape charges have used two famous examples from different sides of the spectrum to make their case — Roman Polanski and Bernard Madoff.

Prosecutors brought up Polanski, the French filmmaker whom U.S. authorities pursued for decades after he jumped bail in a 1977 child sex case.

Defense lawyers have mentioned Bernard Madoff, the financier who was freed on high bail and strict house arrest, the same conditions that a judge approved Thursday in a bail package for Strauss-Kahn.

The onetime potential French presidential contender is charged with sexually attacking a New York City hotel maid. He denies the allegations.

After Strauss-Kahn spent nearly a week in police custody and then jail, the judge agreed to free him on $1 million cash bail plus an additional $5 million bond — provided he's confined to a New York apartment, under armed guard and electronic monitoring.

He wasn't immediately released from the city's bleak Rikers Island jail, where he had been kept in protective custody and on a suicide watch. But his lawyers expect he'll get out Friday, after he posts the bond and authorities review the security arrangements involved in his house arrest.

The 62-year-old French economist and diplomat briefly wore an expression of relief after state Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus announced his decision in a packed courtroom. Later, Strauss-Kahn blew a kiss toward his wife.

Strauss-Kahn didn't speak during the court proceeding. But as he headed back to jail for what he hoped would be a final night, lawyer William W. Taylor called the bail decision "a great relief for the family" and said Strauss-Kahn's mindset was "much better now than before we started."

The ex-IMF head is accused of attacking a 32-year-old housekeeper Saturday in his $3,000-a-night hotel suite. The West African immigrant told police he chased her down a hallway in the suite, forced her to perform oral sex and tried to remove her stockings.

"The proof against him is substantial. It is continuing to grow every day as the investigation continues," Manhattan assistant district attorney John "Artie" McConnell told the judge Thursday as prosecutors announced that Strauss-Kahn had been indicted on charges including attempted rape and a criminal sex act.

The indictment, a crucial procedural step in a felony case, marked a grand jury's "determination that the evidence supports the commission of non-consensual, forced sexual acts," District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said. Strauss-Kahn, whose lawyers have suggested evidence won't support a forcible encounter, is due back in court June 6.

The bail decision came less than a day after Strauss-Kahn resigned as managing director of the IMF, the powerful organization that makes emergency loans to countries in financial crisis.

In his resignation letter, he denied the allegations against him but said he would quit in order to "protect this institution which I have served with honor and devotion" and to "devote all my strength, all my time and all my energy to proving my innocence."

Prosecutors had argued against his release, citing the violent nature of the alleged offenses and saying his wealth and international connections would make it easy for him to flee.

At his arraignment Monday, a prosecutor suggested that if Strauss-Kahn were released and ran, he could end up "just like Roman Polanski," whom the Swiss government declined to extradite last year in the child sex case in the U.S. in which he had jumped bail decades ago.

On Thursday, defense lawyers offered a notorious example of their own: Madoff, the fraudulent financier who stole billions of dollars from investors. Before Madoff pleaded guilty in the federal case and was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009, he was freed on $10 million bail, under house arrest and private guard provided by the same firm Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have proposed to monitor him. Taylor cited Madoff as he noted in court that "there have been other high-profile cases where (defendants) have been released."

Taylor called the proposed arrangement "the most restrictive possible conditions," although he suggested few precautions were necessary.

"In our view, no bail is required to confirm Mr. Strauss-Kahn's appearance. He is an honorable man. He will appear in this court and anywhere else the court directs, and he has only one interest at this time, and that is to clear his name," Taylor said.

A different judge had ordered Strauss-Kahn held without bail Monday; his lawyers subsequently added home confinement to their bail proposal. His wife, the French television journalist Anne Sinclair, has rented a Manhattan apartment for the couple, Taylor said.

Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Obus said the conditions played a major role in his decision to allow bail, but he warned Strauss-Kahn he might reconsider "if there is the slightest problem with your compliance."

Strauss-Kahn nodded in response. Dressed in a gray suit and an open-necked blue dress shirt, he had arrived stony-faced, though he turned to give a quick smile to his wife and daughter Camille, seated in the audience along with about 100 reporters. They and other journalists, lining a sidewalk below, formed the biggest media throng at the courthouse at least since Mark David Chapman was arrested in 1980 for killing John Lennon, court spokesman David Bookstaver said.

In France, a Socialist lawmaker and longtime Strauss-Kahn ally, Francois Pupponi, expressed relief at the decision to allow the former finance minister to leave jail. "There's finally a bit of good news in a terrible week," he said on BFM-TV. "We were no longer expecting good news."

The political wrangling over who will succeed Strauss-Kahn at the IMF already has begun. European officials, including Germany's chancellor, the European Commission and France's finance minister, have argued that his replacement should be a European.

Some authorities from China and Brazil have said it is time to break Europe's traditional dominance over the position and appoint someone from a developing nation. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has asked for an "open process," without mentioning specific candidates.

Springfield police probe Friday morning robbery of United Bank at State and Main streets

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The suspect was last seen in a dark van last seen puling onto Stockbridge and Willow streets

05.20.2011 | SPRINGFIELD - Police at the scene of a bank robbery at the corner of Main and State streets Friday morning.
unitedbankrobbert0520.jpgSurveillance photo of man suspected of robbing United Bank at Main and State streets in Springfield Friday morning

SPRINGFIELD – A man suspected of robbing a downtown bank Friday morning was foiled when a dye-pack burst as he fled on foot, rendering the stolen cash useless.

Sgt. John M. Delaney said the suspect entered the United Bank branch at 115 State St, at about 9:30 a.m. and handed a teller a note that stated he was armed and demanded money.

The teller gave the suspect a small amount of cash to the suspect and he fled down State Street to Main Street and then to Stockbridge Street where the dyepack burst, Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said.

The suspect dropped the bank bag and took off his dark-hooded sweatshirt. Last seen wearing a light blue T-shirt, the suspect then jumped into a dark-colored van.

The suspect, who was also wearing a baseball cap when he walked into the bank, is described as being 6 feet tall, approximately 25-years-old and wearing dark jeans.

Those with information are urged to contact the detective bureau at (413) 787-6355. Those who wish to report a crime anonymously may use the Text-a- Tip program. To do so, address a text message to “CRIMES,“ or “274637,“ and begin the body of the message with the word “SOLVE.“

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