A man died in an early Wednesday morning blaze in the East Forest Park neighborhood in Springfield.

1/22/14 Springfield- Republican Photo by Mark M.Murray- The scene of a house fire on Euclid Avenue.The home is covered in ice as it was destroyed by the blaze. Mark M. Murray 

SPRINGFIELD - Western Massachusetts missed a significant snowstorm, waking up to about an inch to 2 inches of snow Wednesday, while contending with bitter cold and a below zero wind chill advisory until Thursday for Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties.

The low temperatures contributed to the difficulty in fighting a fire on Euclid Avenue where emergency personal discovered a body in the wreckage.

Firefighters relied on heavy equipment as they probed the fire scene and searched a missing person in the two-family home in the East Forest Park neighborhood. The water froze, creating heavy ice that made the burned-out structure even more unstable.

Ten people escaped from the blaze at 67 Euclid Avenue, but fire a missing man was found dead on the first floor after 1 p.m.

Dennis Leger, aide to Commissioner Joseph Conant, said the body was sent to the state medical Examiner’s office for identification, Leger said. He said the cause of the blaze has yet to be determined.

The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross was aiding those who were displaced.

With below zero temperatures forecast overnight Wednesday, the Friends of the Homeless announced it was expanding the number of beds available.

Executive Director William Miller said the Friends of the Homeless Resource Center provides space for expansion when it becomes necessary to accommodate upwards of 170 guests on a given night.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts state police said the driver of a tractor trailer hauling road salt was hurt during a crash on the ramp to Exit 8 off the Massachusetts Turnpike westbound in Palmer. The driver was not identified.

Police said the truck rolled over the westbound off-ramp to Exit 8.

The exit ramp was closed Wednesday afternoon while fuel from the truck was cleaned up.

The ramp was re-opened about 4 p.m.

The snowstorm which lasted from Tuesday to Wednesday stretched from Kentucky to New England, but hit hardest along the heavily populated Interstate 95 corridor between Philadelphia and Boston. As much as 14 inches of snow fell in Philadelphia, with New York City seeing almost as much, before tapering off. Temperatures were in the single digits in many places Wednesday and were not expected to rise out of the teens.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio, a Brooklyn resident who campaigned on closing gaps between rich and poor city residents, was asked why some Manhattan avenues, including the wealthy Upper East Side neighborhood, still were covered in snow when a Brooklyn thoroughfare was plowed clear to the pavement. Some parents complained about a decision to keep the nation’s largest public schools system open.

De Blasio said officials made the right call in anticipating that streets would be passable enough for students to get to school safely.

Schoolchildren had the day off in Boston, Philadelphia and many parts of Rhode Island, Connecticut, upstate New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. Federal workers in Washington got a two-hour delay in their work days Wednesday after a day off Tuesday because of the snow.

Boston got only about 4 inches of snow, but more than a foot of snow was reported just south of Boston, and 18.3 inches in Norwell. About 10 inches was reported in Providence and 8 inches near New Haven, Conn. On Cape Cod a blizzard warning was in effect through Wednesday afternoon.

Tisei will challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. John Tierney to a rematch in Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District.

Republican Richard Tisei is expected to announce Thursday that he is running for Congress, challenging incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. John Tierney to a rematch in the 6th Congressional District.

Tisei is planning an announcement event for 2 p.m. in his hometown of Wakefield, at the Wakefield Americal Civic Center.

In a press release announcing the event, Tisei notes that he came within 1 percent of defeating Tierney in 2012, and was endorsed by a number of major newspapers, including the Boston Globe.

Tisei was elected to the state House in 1984 and the Senate in 1990. He served as state senate minority leader from 2007 to 2011. In 2010, Republican gubernatorial nominee Charlie Baker tapped Tisei to run for lieutenant governor as his running mate, but Baker lost the campaign to Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick. Tisei in 2012 was considered the state Republicans’ best hope to win a congressional seat. Despite the state’s Democratic leanings, Tisei raised slightly more money than Tierney during that race - $2.3 million to Tierney’s $2.1 million. But Tierney won reelection by 4,330 votes.

Tisei is a fiscally conservative and socially moderate Republican, who supports abortion rights and gay marriage. Tisei is openly gay and was married in July to his partner Bernie Starr. The two co-own a real estate company.

Tisei formed an exploratory committee in October aimed at looking at whether to mount another run against Tierney.

"The critical challenges facing our country have not diminished since 2012," Tisei said at the time. "Rather, they seem to be getting worse. The hyper-partisanship exhibited by both parties on a daily basis has created a stranglehold on our government and is preventing us from moving forward.”

National Democrats and Republicans have already been active in the race, even before Tisei formally declared his intentions to run. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ran a paid web ad attacking Tisei for wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The National Republican Campaign Committee launched a website attacking Tierney for his vote for a congressional progressive budget and highlighting questions about Tierney's family's involvement in an illegal gambling ring in Antigua.

Marc Brumer, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said, “The Tea Party hasn’t changed much in a year and neither has Richard Tisei. Richard Tisei spent over a year in hiding after voters rejected him in 2012 for calling the tea party ‘a god-send’ and attempting to force his reckless agenda on Massachusetts middle class. Voters don’t support repealing health care reform, protecting benefits for the wealthy, or denying a woman the right to choose any more now than they did when they rejected Richard Tisei in 2012.”

The district covers the North Shore and most of Essex County.

Casey, 65, an important witness for the prosecution in the Berkshire triple murder trial against Hall, spent hours on the stand in Hampden Superior Court.

SPRINGFIELD - David Casey testified Wednesday he helped Adam Lee Hall bury the chopped up remains of three men in a 4-foot-deep trench on a Becket property.

Casey, 65, an important witness for the prosecution in the Berkshire triple murder trial against Hall, spent hours on the stand in Hampden Superior Court.

His testimony had been previewed by Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless in his opening statement, and it was as gruesome as predicted.

Casey said on Aug. 28, 2011, Hall came to his Canaan, N.Y., home and told a tale which left him dazed and shocked.

He said Hall told him he killed David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell - whom he referred to as the “retard,” “the fat guy,” and (a racial epithet) respectively.

Hall, 36, of Peru, is facing 20 charges, including multiple counts of murder and kidnapping from three separate incidents from 2009 through 2011.

In August 2011, weeks before he was to testify against Hall, Glasser and his roommate, Frampton, and their friend Chadwell, all of Pittsfield, disappeared.

Their dismembered bodies were found in Becket nearly two weeks later.

Hall was a ranking member of the local Hells Angels when he, David Chalue, 46, of North Adams, and Caius Veiovis, 32, of Pittsfield, kidnapped the three victims from Frampton’s Pittsfield home sometime in the early hours of Aug. 28, 2011, and fatally shot them, according to prosecutors.

Hall is being tried first.

The trials were moved to Hampden Superior Court after defense lawyers said publicity in Berkshire County would make it impossible for a fair trial.

Casey said Hall said he was holding Glasser by his hair and had the gun pointed at him. The gun misfired, and Glasser ran into the woods when he rechambered the gun.

He told someone to get Glasser and that person got him, shot, but didn’t kill him, and brought him back to Hall, Casey said.

He said Hall said he was mad because he wanted to kill Glasser himself. Hall said he told Glasser he warned him what would happen if he testified against him.

Glasser pleaded for his life and promised not to testify, according to what Casey said Hall told him.

He fatally shot him.

Casey said Hall said he went over and stabbed Chadwell while he was on the ground.

He left Chadwell and came back and saw he was sitting up moaning.

Casey said Hall said they killed Chadwell.

Casey said Hall said he cut Glasser’s head off, held it up by the hair, and talked about how ugly he looked.

Hall said they gutted the three men and chopped their heads and legs off, Casey said.

He said Hall said one of the men said he was really into torturing and cutting up the victims.

Hall said it was raining heavily when they did this.

Casey said Hall said he felt “very satisfied.” He went home and slept like a baby.

Casey said he had been in the Berkshire County House of Correction since September 2011. He is charged with three counts of accessory after the fact to murder, as well as three counts each of accessory after the fact of kidnapping and witness intimidation.

Casey said he only knew Hall through business, having done excavation work at the Hells Angels clubhouse in Lee and at Hall’s Peru property.

According to Casey, Hall threatened harm to himself, his girlfriend, his sister and his sister’s boyfriend if he didn’t do the job he wanted.

Casey was doing work on Daniel Cole’s property in Becket at the time, and his excavator was there.

When Hall left that day the plan was for Casey to meet Hall at an acquaintance's property where Hall had left a car with the bodies in it.

Casey said it was at that property Hall introduced Chalue to him. Hall said Chalue was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood.

Casey said Hall drove the car to Cole’s property and met him there.

There Casey dug the hole.

“It was more or less like a trench,” Casey said.

Hall loaded plastic garbage bags into the buckets on the excavator, saying they were “really sloppy” and they were triple bagged.

They buried the bags and put the dirt and rocks back in on top, Casey said.

Asked by Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless what kind of retaliation he feared, Casey said, “When I was digging the hole I wondered whether I was going to go into it too.”

Defense lawyer Alan J. Black grilled Casey about his changing statements to police each time he spoke with them.

When Casey didn’t remember things he or police said in interviews, Black would show him a transcript of the interview.

Black concentrated most on statements made by police telling Casey if he cooperated he would make out better, and if he didn’t, someone else would cooperate.

Casey agreed, a detective said, “That’s three counts of murder.”

“That scared you didn’t it? And that’s because you didn’t want to spend the rest of your life in jail?” Black asks.

Casey said yes.

“Isn’t it true at the end of the day all your different stories and all your lies was an effort to keep your involvement away from police?” Black asked.

“No,” Casey said.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in a visit to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said she wants to address issue of rising student debt. Watch video

January 22, 2013 – Springfield, Mass. – U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks to constituents Wednesday during a visit to the downtown building where her Western Massachusetts office is located. Directly behind her is Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. At right, is state Sen. James Welch, D-West Springfield. (Staff photo by Michael S. Gordon)Michael S. Gordon 

AMHERST — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said Wednesday she wants to see students concentrating on their studies rather than worrying about debt.

The Massachusetts Democrat visited the University of Massachusetts for the first time Wednesday as part of a Western and Central Massachusetts swing, and got a brief tour of the new Life Sciences Laboratories, met with Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy, Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement Michael Malone and faculty, and heard about some of the projects the university is involved in. She then talked to students about her plans to help them reduce debt.

In the spring, she plans to file legislation that would allow students to refinance debt at a lower rate. Mounting debt is harming students and also hampering the economy, she said. She said student debt amounts to $1.2 trillion dollars and the federal government is earning a $186 billion profit from it.

“It’s an economic issue, it’s a moral issue,” Warren said. Students can’t buy cars or homes facing that kind debt.

“The question is about our values,” the Bay State's senior senator said. Having the government earning that kind of profit “is fundamentally wrong.”

She said she has some allies in Congress, but the fight is going to be over where the money comes from to fill that profit. Congress has to start by looking at tax loopholes, she said.

“We need to invest in every young person,” she told students.

By they year 2020, two out of every three jobs will require a college education, she said. “We’re going to be five million people short,” she said, asserting that making college affordable is key. Warren said affordability comes in part from students graduating in four years, and she praised UMass’ commitment to that. UMass keeps costs affordable with more funding from government. She said when she went to a commuter college, it cost $50 per semester. In part costs were low because the government paid a greater share.

She has already cosponsored “a skin in the game” legislation that would require universities to pay a fine to the federal government if the school has a large number of students who default on their debt. The idea is to ensure students are graduating so that their degrees are worth something.

Warren told students that she will need their help and the help of students all over the country to work for the refinancing bill. She told faculty that she will continue fighting for doubling the funding for research for the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.

Warren was in Springfield in the morning and was heading to Worcester after she left

Warren said although it was her first visit, she is well aware of the value of a UMass education. Five of her staff members graduated from the university.

Under questioning from Forsyth, Samatha Fisk, blood analyst for the state police crime lab, said Healy’s blood alcohol level was .20, more than twice the legal limit.

SPRINGFIELD – The second car in a fatal chain reaction accident in Holyoke made no attempt to slow down as it approached a car flipped on its side on Lincoln Street, witnesses testified Wednesday in Maureen Healy’s vehicular homicide trial.

“There was no breaking ... I didn’t hear any breaking at all,” said Kevin Roberts, of Lincoln Street, who had run out to the street to help Healy escape from her 2003 Honda.

Moments later, the second car hit the Honda and caused fatal injuries to Lincoln Street resident Thomas Monahan, who also ran outside to help Healy around 11:40 p.m. on June 4, 2011.

Testifying during the first day of Healy’s trial in Hampden Superior Court, Roberts said the driver of the second car, later identified as Tiffany Renardson, 23, of Holyoke, seemed stunned after smashing into Healy’s car.

“I didn’t see it; I didn’t see it,” Roberts recalled her saying.

Healy, 33, is facing one count of motor vehicle homicide while under the influence of alcohol. Charges against Renardson were dropped last year.

Following jury selection Tuesday, the trial began with opening statement by defense and prosecution lawyers and testimony from several witnesses and a Holyoke police investigator.

Defense lawyer Michael O. Jennings told jurors that his client was not responsible for the death of Monahan, whom he described as a good Samaritan helping at an accident scene.

Renardson had ample time had ample time to see the accident scene and avoid it, but made no effort to slow down and actually appeared to speed up, Jennings said.

That, Jennings said, was what led to Monahan’s death by blunt force injury, not the actions of his client, who was sitting on a neighbor's porch when the second accident occurred.

But Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth said Healy set the events that led to Monahan’s death in motion when she crashed into a parked car outside his 144 Lincoln St. home.

Under questioning from Forsyth, Samatha Fisk, blood analyst for the state police crime lab, said Healy’s blood alcohol level was .20, more than twice the legal limit.

As lead investigator, Magarian went over much of the evidence already presented, including a shovel prosecutors say Rintala used to hack a door to her house to suggest a break-in.

NORTHAMPTON — The wife and daughter of Mark Oleksak took the stand Wednesday in the murder trial of Cara Rintala, confirming that Oleksak had been shopping with them on the afternoon of March 29, 2010, when Annamarie Cochrane Rintala was killed.

Cara Rintala, the victim’s wife, is charged with first degree murder in the slaying. Autopsy results show Cochrane Rintala was strangled, according to prosecutors. Police summoned by a 911 call from a neighbor arrived at the couple’s 18 Barton St. home in Granby at about 7:15 p.m. to find the defendant with her wife’s paint- and blood-spattered body in her lap, wailing.

Rintala, who has pleaded innocent, maintains that investigators failed to look hard enough at other suspects, naming Oleksak as one of them. Oleksak worked as a paramedic with the victim and professed his love for her in texts messages that detail a flirtation between the two. He appeared visibly uncomfortable on the stand Tuesday and even more so Wednesday under cross-examination by defense lawyer David P. Hoose.

Despite the embarrassment of having his love for a lesbian married to another woman detailed in public, Oleksak’s testimony established his whereabouts in and around his Westfield home on the day of the killing. His wife and daughter affirmed under oath that he went on a series of errands that day and was with them from mid-afternoon to early evening.

Donna Oleksak told the jury that Tuesday, the day her husband first took the stand, was their 30th wedding anniversary. Although she admitted under cross-examination that Mark Oleksak was dishonest and unfair to her concerning his relationship with Cochrane Rintala, she said they were shopping at Bob’s Discount Furniture during the time Cochrane Rintala was strangled, according to the prosecution’s time-line.

One of the reasons the defense maintains Oleksak is suspect is because records show he bought kitty litter. Cat hairs were found on the victim’s body, although Cara and Annamarie Rintala did not have a cat. The Oleksaks say they haven’t had one either since putting down their pet Frosty in 2005. Donna Oleksak told the jury her husband bought the kitty litter to absorb an oil spill from their furnace.

Shannon Oleksak, 27, who is in the Air Force Reserve, testified that she also went to Bob’s Discount with her parents that day, looking for a kitchen table set. Under questioning by Hoose, she acknowledged that her memory of March 29 was indistinct when police questioned her months later.

State Trooper Jamie Magarian, the lead investigator for the case, followed the Oleksaks to the stand. He testified that he thoroughly checked out Mark Oleksak, who voluntarily submitted his fingerprints and DNA and gave police access to his bank and cell phone records. Magarian said he also checked the alibi of Carla Daniele, a Springfield policewoman who had a prior relationship with the victim. Daniele said she was at an East Longmeadow health club on the afternoon of March 29, an assertion Magarian said is confirmed by surveillance tapes.

The defense contends that Daniele is also a prime suspect because of her history with Cochrane Rintala. Hoose offered into evidence a card from the victim to Daniele saying, “I love you.”

As lead investigator, Magarian went over much of the evidence already presented, including a shovel prosecutors say Rintala used to hack a door to her house to suggest a break-in. He also said that he and other police sifted through an area of the local landfill 200 feet in circumference and 20-30 feet deep in fruitless search for evidence.

Cara Rintala’s original trial last March ended in a hung jury. None of the Oleksaks testified in the first trial. Magarian will resume his testimony under cross-examination on Thursday.

Police are investigating a report Wednesday afternoon from a 12-year-old boy who said he was approached by a stranger on Westerly Road who invited him to get into his van, police said.

 

LUDLOW - Police are investigating a report Wednesday afternoon from a 12-year-old boy who said he was approached on Westerly Road by a stranger who invited him to get into his van, police said.

The boy, whose name was not disclosed to the press, told police he refused to get into the van, and the driver eventually drove away, said Sgt. Daniel Valadas.

The boy was not harmed.

He told police he was waiting for his brother at Westerly Circle and Waverly Road shortly before 4 p.m. when a brown van approached. The driver asked if he wanted to get in. The boy refused and the man asked "are you sure?" and then drove away on Westerly Circle. The boy called his mother who then reported it to police.

The driver was described as a white male, in his late teens or early 20s with short brown hair and clean shaven, Valadas said.

The van was brown and was described by the boy as "old and dirty," Valadas said. It also had a white license plate with red and blue lettering.

Police ask that that if anyone has any information that could identify the van or the driver, they should call the Ludlow Police Department at 413-583-8305.

Cote Dubay was charged with five counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and three counts of assault and battery.

LUDLOW - A 20-year-old Springfield man surrendered to Ludlow police on Tuesday afternoon after fleeing the scene of a pedestrian accident in which he struck two Big Y employees with his car in the parking lot of the Center Street supermarket.

Cote DubayLudlow Police photo 

Town meeting last year approved bylaws regulating industrial medical marijuana facilities. The rules require strict security regimens

A man demonstrates in favor of medical marijuana, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011, in Las Vegas. Associated Press 

SOUTH HADLEY – Two companies are seeking the town’s permission to grow medical marijuana indoors at the former James River Graphics location at 26-28 Gaylord St. in South Hadley Falls.

They will submit their proposals on Monday at public hearings before the South Hadley Planning Board.

Plans submitted by Patriot Care Corp., with a business address of 139 Stow Road, Harvard, show they would employ “20 to 30 people full time.” and would cultivate just over an acre of marijuana, at 45,247 square feet.

Their submittal to the Planning Board includes discussion about the positive uses of marijuana and describes a potpourri of ingestion forms: by smoking; using a vaporizer; and by eating “baked goods and the like are prepared with butter or oil that have been infused with medical marijuana.”

Robert Mayerson is listed as the chief executive officer of Patriot Care. Their hearing starts at 6:45 p.m. at Town Hall.

Baystate Compassion Center, which has also submitted a proposal with the city of Springfield, says it plans to hire “6 employees which may increase to as many as 14 employees as the business progresses in coming years” at the Gaylord St. location.

Its South Hadley proposal includes a 31,342-square-foot cultivation area and would be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Michael Schneider, 1414 Main St., Suite 1900, Springfield, is listed as the project applicant. The hearing is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.

Records on file with the South Hadley Assessors office show the building at 28 Gaylord St. has an assessed valuation of $4,054,400 this year and is owned by US Industrial Gaylord L.P.

It also owns 26 Gaylord St., and that property is assessed at $80,500.

Both of the proposals detail elaborate security plans.

Town Meeting last year approved bylaws regulating industrial medical marijuana facilities. The rules require strict security regimens.

Massachusetts voters approved a ballot question in 2012 that legalized marijuana use for illnesses that include cancer, glaucoma, and Parkinson’s disease, under a doctor’s supervision.

Steve Wynn and others from Wynn Resorts and Everett made their case for their planned resort casino

SOUTH BOSTON -- Officials from Wynn Resorts and the City of Everett made their case for their planned waterfront casino during a stripped-down, 50-minute presentation that consisted primarily of pitching from casino magnate Steve Wynn.

For over 25 minutes, Wynn went over why his casino in Everett was superior to the proposed Mohegan Sun casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere. Wynn touted the luxury of his properties, pointing out that all four of his casino properties are rated five stars by Forbes.

"The fact of the matter is there is only one five-star multiple establishment in the gaming industry in the world, by Forbes, and that's Wynn," said Wynn.

Wynn needled the planned project in Revere, repeatedly calling it a 3-star hotel lacking waterfront views. "You don't build a 3-star hotel in our industry anymore. It's yesterday's newspaper, it doesn't get the job done," said Wynn.

Wynn ripped the planned Revere casino for its horizontal design. The Everett casino's consists of one large tower, something Wynn says creates a better experience for the customer and employees.

"God lives in the details in these buildings," said Wynn.

According to Revere officials the planned casino at Suffolk Downs has two hotels, one of which is rated as four stars. The other hotel planned for the racetrack casino is a boutique hotel.

Wynn President Matt Maddox articulated the company's financial stability in a presentation to the commission while managing to get in a dig at Mohegan Sun. "We are the owner, the operator, and the financier," said Maddox.

Maddox said that during the financial downturn Wynn did not have to lay off many employees due to financial maneuvers during the economic downturn at the company while Mohegan Sun has cut 3,000 employees from its peak. Wynn has laid off Wynn employees as recently as 2010.

"We are very cautious when it comes to our balance: 2.7 billion in cash-on-hand and 2.4 billion in the bank, the other 300 million is working capital on the floors," said Maddox.

Maddox said he expects the casino to draw 20,000 visitors a day while creating
6,000 long term jobs, 4,000 at Wynn and 2,000 in the surrounding area, along with 4,000 temporary construction positions.

Wynn's projections for the competitive gaming business in eastern Massachusetts show a typical casino would generate $500 million in gaming revenue but that their property would generate over $800 million due to their ability to attract a higher level of clientele.

During his remarks before the commission, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, Jr. talked up the benefits of having the casino in Everett while painting a sad picture of his city.

"We're not 10, 20 miles away from Boston. We are Boston. We are on the border. But we don't have the infrastructure. We don't have the commuter line. We don't have the Silver Line extension, we don't have a T station in the city. We don't have anything, we don't even have a hotel," said DeMaria.

DeMaria said the project has the potential to be a catalyst for a scale renewal of the land along Everett's waterfront and Route 99.

During an interview after the event, Wynn said that he went after Mohegan Sun because he was focused on the five commissioners, not the audience.

"I felt the only thing that was important was to be simple and get to the point," said Wynn.

There are multiple court cases filed regarding the proposed biomass project in East Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD — A proposal to build a $150 million biomass wood-burning plant in East Springfield remains under litigation in two courts, with one hearing scheduled in March on a developer’s fight to obtain two building permits.

The developer, Palmer Renewable Energy, that filed suit against the city and the Zoning Board of Appeals in March of 2011, is scheduled for a hearing on March 17, in Land Court in Boston.

The board of appeals had overturned the two first-stage building permits for the biomass project two years ago, leading to the lawsuit in Land Court. Palmer Renewable Energy is proposing the 35-megawatt, wood-to-energy plant on the grounds of the Palmer Paving Co. property near the intersection of Page Boulevard and Cadwell Drive.

The building commissioner issued the permits for the project, but the Board of Appeals overturned that action as petitioned by the City Council and three residents.

“We think the building commissioner was correct in his determination and hope the judge will uphold that determination,” said Thomas A. Mackie this week, who is a lawyer for Palmer Renewable Energy.

Lawyers representing the Board of Appeals and residents will also be heard before the Land Court. The zoning board, in overturning the building permits, stated that Building Commissioner Steven Desilets overstepped his authority because the project’s special permit was revoked by the City Council.

James T. Donahue, representing the zoning board, said he would anticipate that the Land Court will uphold the board’s ruling “as a reasonable interpretation of the ordinance.”

Meanwhile, Palmer Paving Co., recently purchased the vacant Friendly's Restaurant property on Page Boulevard for $975,000, which abuts Palmer Paving and the biomass site.

Frank P. Fitzgerald, a lawyer representing the ownership of Palmer Paving and the biomass plant and its manager, David Callahan, said the owners are considering new uses for the Friendly site in connection with the paving company, and not tied to the biomass project, he said.

Palmer Renewable Energy was granted an air quality permit for the biomass project from the state Department of Environmental Protection, but the project has been on hold with ongoing litigation.

Project opponents have argued that the biomass plant would worsen air pollution and harm public health.

Palmer Renewable Energy has argued that the plant would involve state-of-the-art technology and would not harm public health.

Mackie said that a separate suit in Land Court challenges the legality of the City Council’s decision to reject special permits for the project. That case is still pending.

In addition, there was a suit filed in Hampden Superior Court in 2012 that separately challenges the state’s air quality permit for the biomass project. That case has been stayed by agreement of the parties, Mackie said.

The appeal in Superior Court was filed by the Conservation Law Foundation, Arise for Social Justice, the Toxics Action Center and residents.

The City Council had initially approved a special permit for the biomass project in 2008, but revoked it in 2011.

The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill authorizing $177 million in state spending to support six state military bases and, according to supporters, put Massachusetts in a stronger position should the federal government close or realign military bases.

By Michael Norton, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON — The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill authorizing $177 million in state spending to support six state military bases and, according to supporters, put Massachusetts in a stronger position should the federal government close or realign military bases.

"All the states are looking at this in a very competitive way," said Sen. Ken Donnelly (D-Arlington) said before the Senate voted 37-2 for the so-called military bond bill.

Sen. James Eldridge (D-Acton) and Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville) opposed the bill, noting that military funding is a federal responsibility and cautioning that capital spending on other state priorities would likely be at risk given the state’s borrowing limits.

Noting the federal military budget of $594 billion in fiscal 2014 and a 69 percent increase in that budget since 2001, Eldridge said there are deserving and job-creating education, construction, health care and clean energy sector initiatives that could benefit from state investments.

"When we are thinking about the use of this bond money to match the federal dollars to create jobs, let’s pause and think that a much better use of our taxpayer dollars, whether state or federal, is for domestic purposes," Eldridge said.

Supporters of the bond bill said 11 other states are spending on military installations to preserve and build jobs in the face of potential base closings. They also emphasized that investments in military bases also support private sector jobs and research with applications in the private sector.

"These capital dollars, this is unprecedented in its magnitude," Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Stephen Brewer said during debate. "This bill today sends a very strong message from this Senate."

Senate President Therese Murray voted for the bill and said after its passage, "I believe that this is a very important vote you took today. You are also protecting the Coast Guard, that protects our fishermen, our boaters, and intercepts the drug dealers that bring their drugs to our shores."

Veterans Affairs Committee Co-chairman Sen. Michael Rush said military installations in Massachusetts support more than 46,000 jobs and deliver an annual economic impact of $14.2 billion.

The bond bill (S 1988), Rush said, was the "signature initiative" of a task force created by former Lt. Gov. Tim Murray. The House unanimously passed its military bond bill (H 3726) on Nov. 13.

The move lays the groundwork for the expulsion of Rep. Carlos Henriquez.

By MATT MURPHY
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON -- The House on Thursday raised the possibility of Rep. Carlos Henriquez returning to Beacon Hill to testify in his own defense, approving an order that empowers a House panel to take witnesses into custody as it lays the groundwork for hearings to consider Henriquez's expulsion from the House or other disciplinary action.

The order, okayed in a lightly attended session, gives Ethics Committee Vice-Chairman Rep. David Nangle the power to issue a "writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum" to secure the attendance of material witnesses in connection with its investigation of a complaint received on Jan. 15, the day Henriquez was convicted of two assault and battery charges stemming from a domestic violence incident last summer.

Nangle was also granted the power to direct the House sergeant-at-arms or the chief general court officer or his assistant to take custody of and secure a witness appearing before the Ethics Committee.

The House last week granted the Ethics Committee subpoena power for its investigation, but the new step appears designed to compel an inmate - in this case Henriquez - to appear before his colleagues on the Ethics Committee as they consider disciplinary action.

Rep. Paul Donato, who presided over the informal session where the House adopted the order, said he could not discuss the matter because he sits on the Ethics Committee.

While subpoena powers were given to the committee through the end of January, the power to take a witness into custody for the purpose of testifying was granted through Feb. 28.

Henriquez has resisted calls from House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Gov. Deval Patrick and others to resign.

An aide to Speaker DeLeo declined comment Thursday about next steps in the case of Henriquez, whose attorney on Thursday filed a notice of appeal of the jury's verdict.

Henriquez was led to jail immediately following his conviction, ordered to serve six months of a two-and-a-half-year sentence.

His alleged victim is not identified in the complaint, but is described as a 69-year-old who met Nannen at a retirement seminar he ran.

View full sizeGerald Nannen 

EAST LONGMEADOW - An East Longmeadow insurance and securities broker has been administratively charged with fraud by the Secretary of the Commonwealth's securities division, which alleges Gerald W. Nannen was self-dealing and cheating.

According to a 62-page complaint released by William F. Galvin's office on Thursday, Nannen, president of Senior Financial Advisors in East Longmeadow, borrowed $90,000 from one client and failed to repay it while advising him to invest in Texan oil wells in which Nannen had a hidden financial interest.

"His obligation to these clients of his is to get the best opportunity for investment that he could, not to look for opportunities to make money off them or through hidden investments," Galvin said. "We don't need people like this in this business. Oftentimes people are trusting and have the right to be trusting."

A call to Nannen's office for comment was not returned; it is not clear whether he has retained a lawyer.

His alleged victim is not identified in the complaint but is described as a 69-year-old who met Nannen at a retirement seminar he ran.

"Client 1" ultimately received a $1 million settlement from an unspecified lawsuit, and Nannen began hitting him up for loans, according to the complaint, in exchange for promissory notes with 50 percent annual interest.

Galvin said his focus is to bar Nannen from the industry and to recoup the alleged victim's lost investment money.

Nannen will be subject to an administrative hearing, not yet scheduled, but the administrative charges out of Galvin's office do not preclude criminal prosecution.

Hammers, formerly of the state Medical Examiners Office here and now a New York medical examiner, said she could not say in which order the injuries were inflicted on each victim.

SPRINGFIELD - Dr. Jennifer Hammers testified at Adam Lee Hall’s Berkshire triple murder trial Thursday that she could not say whether the dozens of gunshot, stabbing and cutting injuries to the three victims came before or after death.

Hammers, who did autopsies on the three men, said the fact that they were dismembered - and that by the time they were found there was significant decomposition - prevented her from making some definitive findings medical examiners would ordinarily be able to make.

Hammers, formerly of the state Medical Examiners Office here and now a New York medical examiner, said she could not say in which order the injuries were inflicted on each victim.

The men’s arms, legs and heads were cut off, she said.

She said she listed their cause of death as “homicidal violence,” and for each listed injuries contributing to the death.

Hammers said she could not say if one particular injury in itself was fatal.

Hall, 36, of Peru, is facing 20 charges, including multiple counts of murder and kidnapping from three separate incidents from 2009 through 2011. Testimony is expected to continue Friday.

In August 2011, weeks before he was to testify against Hall, David Glasser and his roommate, Edward Frampton, and their friend Robert Chadwell, all of Pittsfield, disappeared.

Their dismembered bodies were found in Becket nearly two weeks later.

Hall was a ranking member of the local Hells Angels when he, David Chalue, 46, of North Adams, and Caius Veiovis, 32, of Pittsfield, kidnapped the three victims from Frampton’s Pittsfield home sometime in the early hours of Aug. 28, 2011, and fatally shot them, according to prosecutors.

Hall is being tried first.

The trials were moved to Hampden Superior Court after defense lawyers said publicity in Berkshire County would make is impossible for a fair trial.

Carol Chadwell Smith, Robert Chadwell’s sister, sat in the courtroom crying often as the discovery of her brother’s remains and the results of his autopsy were detailed.

Photos of the injuries were circulated to the jury as they were introduced.

Defense lawyer Alan J. Black had asked the photos not be shown on the large screen in the courtroom.

Kinder reminded jurors when they were selected they were asked if they could be fair even after seeing graphic photos depicting dismemberment and injuries.

He asked them to look at the photos without emotion.

Hammers detailed injuries to each man.

Chadwell had a gunshot wound in his cheek; a gunshot wound with holes in his back and front; and two gunshot wounds in the torso.

He had two stab wounds on his neck; two shallow wounds on a wrist; a blunt force injury to the chin causing the lower jaw to have many fractures; and rib fractures.

Hammers described a cutting injury to Chadwell from the pubic region up to the bottom of the rib cage going into the abdominal cavity. Alongside that were four superficial wounds.

Frampton had five gunshot wounds: one in the left cheek; one in the back of the left shoulder; and three in the arms.

There were three stab wounds on Frampton’s jaw line and one on his neck; a wound to the chin; other wounds on the shoulder; and wounds on the torso.

There was a deep horizontal wound in the upper back which went through the skin and muscles of the back which cut the spinal cord; there was a wound in the lower back; and a wound in the left thigh.

There was a wound from the pelvic area to the base of the ribs that went through the abdominal cavity.

Glasser had three gunshot wounds: one through the ear into the head; one in the left jaw; and one on the thigh.

There were three stab wounds in Glasser’s back, two were two inches deep and one was slightly deeper.

There was a laceration on his eyebrow. On the top of the head were three soft hemorrhages with bleeding underneath the scalp consistent with a blunt injury.

Prior to Hammer’s testimony, jurors heard State Police Sgt. Christopher Meiklejohn, who supervises the detective unit for the Berkshire District Attorney’s office.

He said on Sept. 9, 2011, when police received information the men might be buried on a property in Becket, they went there.

They began digging and an excavator was brought in to remove big boulders and a six foot long rock slab. Trenches were made for runoff of a liquid was primarily water with globules of a fatty substance “like the skin on top of turkey soup,” he said.

They began to see black plastic under the slab.

They saw a severed human arm on the top of one bag.

Eventually 15 bags were brought to the medical examiners office, he said.

Early Thursday jurors heard from Henry Sayers of Sayers Auto Wrecking in Pittsfield and Jason Hassan, who worked at the salvage yard.

Sayers said Hall often brought in scrap to sell and was paid by the weight.

Hassan said when Hall brought a Buick in to be scrapped Aug. 29, 2011, the dashboard was stripped apart, the interior was soaked with water, the back seat was missing, there were no rugs on the back floor, and there was no carpet in the trunk.

On Wednesday David Casey testified Hall transported the plastic bags of the mens’ remains in the Buick.

Casey, 65, of Canaan, N.Y., is charged in the case with three counts of accessory after the fact of murder, three counts of accessory after the fact of kidnapping, and three counts of accessory after the fact of intimidation of a witness.

Jennings asked the witness if he had been drinking before coming to court and if a member of the district attorney’s office had smelled alcohol on his breath Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD – Two passengers in Tiffany Renardson’s car testified she slammed on her brakes before colliding with an overturned vehicle on Lincoln Street in Holyoke in a chain reaction accident that killed a neighbor in 2011.

Taking the witness stand in Hampden Superior Court, two cousins - Alex and Noah Stasinos, both of Holyoke - contradicted testimony from previous witnesses that Renardson never slowed down before crashing into the 2003 Honda owned by Maureen Healy, who is standing trial for vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol.

“Tiffany slammed on her brake and we slid - it seemed,” said Alex Stasinos, who was Renardson’s boyfriend at the time. “She broke and then, like 5 seconds after that, we hit,” he says.

Healy, a records clerk for the Holyoke Police Department, was charged following the double crash on June 4, 2011 which left Thomas Monahan, 53, of 144 Lincoln St., fatally injured.

Monahan and several neighbors ran outside after help Healy after she slammed her car into a parked SUV while driving home from the Sand Castle bar. After extracting Healy from her overturned vehicle, Monahan suffered head injuries when Renardson’s car slammed into Healy’s.

Renardson, 24, was charged with negligent motor vehicle homicide, but the case was dropped following completion of a state police accident report.

A neighbor, Rachael Smith, of 142 Lincoln St., took the stand Thursday and recalled seeing a woman standing in the road, holding a flashlight and shouting “stop, stop” as Renardson’s car approached.

Renardson was expected to testify Thursday, but was not called. While Superior Court Judge Tina S. Page, Assistant District Attorney James M. Forsyth and defense lawyer Michael O. Jennings discussed the possibility of Renardson’s testimony during a closed-door session, it remains unclear if she will testify later in the week-long trial.

The Stasinos cousins, meanwhile, offered conflicting accounts of their activity before the crash. Noah Stasinos said he, his cousin and Renardson spent 2 or 3 hours at the Sand Piper, listing to friends playing in a band.

But Alex Stasinos estimated the Sand Piper visit lasted 35 minutes; neither cousin recalled seeing Renardson drinking in the bar, but acknowledged they were not with her the entire time.

The cousins – who were both under the legal drinking age at the time - were granted immunity after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating Monahan’s death. During his testimony, Alex Stasinos tangled with Jennings, who repeatedly challenged his description of events at the Sand Castle and on Lincoln Street.

“You know you can only be prosecuted if you don’t tell the truth?,” Jennings said.”Yeah, absolutely,” he replies.

Later, Jennings asked the witness if he had been drinking before coming to court and whether a member of the district attorney’s office had smelled alcohol on his breath Wednesday.

“No,” he replied.

Another witness, Rachael Smith, of 142 Lincoln St., took the stand Thursday and recalled seeing a woman standing in the road, holding a flashlight and shouting “stop, stop” as Renardson’s car approached.

State trooper David Sanford also testified that there was no skid marks or other evidence that Renardson had slammed on her brakes before the crash.

Testing showed Renardson was traveling at 35 mph, the speed limit on Lincoln Street, when she collided with Healy’s car, Sanford said.

The campaign platform on Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh's website may be gone but like most things on the internet nothing is truly gone forever.

BOSTON — The campaign platform on Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh's website may be gone, but like most things on the internet, nothing is truly gone forever.

The Boston Globe's Andrew Ryan noted earlier today in a post that the mayor's position papers have all disappeared from his website. Walsh press secretary Kate Norton told the Globe that the removal of the position papers was not an attempt to hide things but part of “the natural process of closing down a campaign operation."

It was later pointed out by the Dorchester Reporter's Gintautas Dumcius and others that the policy papers are actually still accessible online through the use of websites like The Wayback Machine.

As @BostonGlobe notes, issues page gone from Walsh campaign site, but looks like some can be found here: http://t.co/KOzIJPWqG6* #bospoli

— Gintautas Dumcius (@gintautasd) January 23, 2014

For example, here's the housing page: http://t.co/zsGPHN2dSN #bospoli

— Gintautas Dumcius (@gintautasd) January 23, 2014

The author of many of those posts, Joyce Linehan, was appointed by Walsh as his chief of policy earlier this month.

Candaras recently announced a big to run for Register of Probate in Hampden County.

SPRINGFIELD - Ludlow School Committee member James “Chip” Harrington Thursday officially declared his intention of running as a Democrat for the 1st Hampden and Hampshire state Senate seat being vacated by state Sen. Gale Candaras.

James Harrington 

At an event held Thursday at the John Boyle O’Reilly Club, Harrington said, “I’m very excited for this race. I believe my real world experience will resonate with the voters of the district. I am not a career politician in search of the next job or title. I’m a business owner who has gladly served my community for more than 25 years in multiple capacities because it is the right thing to do, not for a paycheck or prominence.”

After 17 years in the Legislature, Candaras, D-Wilbraham, said she will run to become Hampden County register of probate.

“I feel I have an unmatchable set of experiences in my life that make me uniquely qualified to be in the state Senate,” Harrington said. He added, “There is no one else who has firsthand knowledge about our criminal justice system, having worked at a prison as a Corrections officer, in the courts as a coordinator and on the street as a cop.”

“I already have practical experience working in the Legislature and have been an elected member of municipal government in four different roles for over 24 years,” he said.

“To top it all off, I own a small business and have everyday knowledge of the struggles that other small business owners go through to provide jobs and serve their community.”

“I plan to bring all those experiences to bear on Beacon Hill,” Harrington said.

Longmeadow Republican Paul Santaniello said he is weighing a run for Candaras’ Senate seat or a House seat held by Democrat Brian Ashe.

Republican Debra Boronski, a longtime Chamber of Commerce activist, also is running for the seat.

On the Democratic side, state Rep. Angelo Puppolo of Springfield also is considering a run for Candaras’ seat.

Harrington has served in many elected positions in Ludlow. He served for four years on the Board of Selectmen, for three years on the Recreation Commission, for eight years as a town meeting member and for eight years as a School Committee member.

He also founded the Ludlow Football Association, the Ludlow Boys & Girls Triathlon, the Ludlow Pond Management Committee, the Ludlow Energy Committee, the Ludlow Landfill/Solar Field and co-founded the USMC Toys for Tots Parade in Ludlow.

He worked for four years as a correctional officer with the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, then as a legislative assistant in the Massachusetts House of Representatives before serving as the court services coordinator for Massachusetts Community Corrections for seven years. In 2003 he created C&R Harrington Inc., the company which runs his variety store in Ludlow. He also works part-time as a special police officer in Ludlow.

He is married to Noel Giard Harrington and they have two children.

The 1st Hampden and Hampshire Senate District encompasses Belchertown, East Longmeadow, Granby, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow and Wilbraham along with parts of Chicopee and parts of Springfield.

Carl Sittard announced he would not be seeking re-appointment to the Library Board of Trustees after serving on the board for 14 years.

CHICOPEE - The City Council is accepting applications to fill a position on the Board of Library Trustees following the resignation of a long-time member.

Carl Sittard announced he would not seeking re-appointment to the board when his term expires in February. He has served on the board since 2000 and thanked the Council for supporting his appointments to the board.

At the same time Karen K. Kamienski, a school librarian with 30 years of experience in the city, wrote a letter expressing interest in applying for the position. Councilor James K. Tillotson proposed the council accept nominations until the Feb. 4 meeting and then decide if it should make an appointment or continue to accept other letters of interest.

Carol Costa, who lives on State Street and is president of the Armoury Quadrangle Civic Association, said the large Skyplex venue in Springfield' entertainment district venue would be in a "troublesome area."

SPRINGFIELD — The License Commission voted 3 to 0 Thursday to deny an all-alcoholic license to reopen the Skyplex bar in Stearns Square in the downtown entertainment district two years after it closed.

License Commission Chairman Peter Sygnator said he recommended denying the license because of the capacity — 1,067 people, the proposed music on the roof deck, the exiting of patrons at 2 a.m. and the need to park 500 cars.

The downtown already is served by some smaller establishments, Sygnator said.

The applicants, Robin L. and Elmer E. Herrera, of Manchester, Conn., and proposed manager Michael Grant, of Springfield, said they plan to appeal the denial to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

Carol Costa, who lives on State Street and is president of the Armoury Quadrangle Civic Association, said the large venue would be in a “troublesome area.”

She said the kitchen is only a cubby hole able to hold a microwave and the use of the roof area would send noise into the neighborhood.

“Noise and crime negatively affects our way of life,” she said.

Robert Lauder of Chestnut Street said that bars emptying at 2 a.m. into Stearns Square is “always a problem.”

He added, “The owner will be sleeping in Connecticut while we’re awake listening to patrons blaring their horns and slamming doors at 3 a.m.”

Lauder added that the building needs $200,000 in renovations, and the owner was only proposing $30,000.

Anyone who walks in will have their feet “stick to the carpet,” he said.

The owner said she would be willing to change the name from Skyplex to Club Venu if that would make the abutters happy.

Proposed manager Michael Grant said the largest crowds were expected after 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

License Commissioner Robert Casey said that in the past the police force has been unable to control the large crowds in Stearns Square when there were two 1,000 person entertainment bars at Stearns Square.

License Commissioner Denise Kelsey said her main concern was about security.

Other residents said that such large venues in the past turned the downtown into “a combat zone.”

“Springfield should not be party town,” Lauder said. “It is time to return the city back to the people, not to the clubs. Springfield was once called the City of Homes.”