Judge said she accepted sentence because it was within state sentencing guidelines.

Brian Turner (Creative Commons)

SPRINGFIELD – Two men pleaded guilty Wednesday to beating a man with a hard object in Holyoke to collect a $2,000 loan.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Bertha D. Josephson accepted the agreement between prosecution and defense that gives the two men suspended jail sentences and probation.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew J. Shea said William Fiore, 22, of Wilbraham, drove a truck up to the victim, touching him with it and causing him to fall and hit his head on a fire hydrant.

Pedro Berrios, 39, of Springfield, was the passenger in the truck and the person who had lent $2,000 to the victim, Shea said.

Shea said Fiore got on top of the victim and was hitting him, and both Fiore and Berrios were beating him with a brick or other hard object they found on the ground.

Daniel D. Kelly, Berrios’ lawyer, said although his client’s record is five pages long and he had a lot of arraignments, Berrios’ convictions were “few and far between.”

Vincent A. Bongiorni, Fiore’s lawyer, said his client has no criminal record and has learning disabilities that have caused him to bond with people who treat him as a peer, as Berrios did.

Shea said Fiore was the “muscle” in the loan collection attempt, but Bongiorni said “nothing could be further from the truth.” He said Fiore, who has a pacemaker for heart defects, went to Holyoke out of loyalty to Berrios.

Josephson said she would accept the plea agreements because they were within state sentencing guidelines.

Both men pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (the truck and the hard object) and one count of assault and battery to collect a loan.

Fiore was sentenced to two years to the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow on the loan collection assault, but that sentence was suspended with two years probation. On the other two charges he got two years to the jail, but that sentence was also suspended with two years probation.

Berrios was sentenced to two years probation on the assault and batteries and on the loan collection assault he was sentenced to two years to the Ludlow jail with that sentence suspended with two years probation.

Shea said the 37-year-old victim has an unrelated cocaine trafficking case pending against him.

Shea said Berrios and Fiore previous to their guilty pleas reached a settlement with the victim in which they gave him $15,000 cash and the motorcycle he had given Berrios as collateral. The victim doesn’t want the two men to go to jail, Shea said.

Josephson asked Shea if it was troubling to him that the two defendants had contact with the victim and paid him money.

Shea said the prosecution did not take the private agreement between victim and defendants into consideration when it reached the agreement in the criminal case.

“There was no quid pro quo,” he said. The victim was going to testify if it went to trial.

The former GOP state senator and one-time candidate for lieutenant governor is hoping to oust incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. John Tierney in the state's 6th Congressional District.

Richard Tisei, a Republican challenging Democratic U.S. Rep John Tierney to represent the newly drawn 6th Congressional District in Massachusetts, drops off his signatures on May 15, 2012. (Photo courtesy of Tisei's Congressional campaign)

BOSTON (AP) — Republican congressional hopeful Richard Tisei has collected enough voter signatures to secure a place on the fall ballot.

Tisei — joined by a small group of supporters — delivered the signatures to the Massachusetts state secretary's office on Tuesday.

The former GOP state senator and one-time candidate for lieutenant governor is hoping to oust incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. John Tierney in the state's 6th Congressional District.

The race is seen as possibly the best chance Republicans have in Massachusetts to recapture one of the state's U.S. House seats.

Tisei has raised more money than Tierney during the current election cycle, although Tierney had more cash on hand as of the end of March.

No Republican has represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House since the late 1990s.

The study of 400,000 people is the largest ever done on the issue.

AP Photo/Orlin WagnerIn this Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008 photo, espresso flows into a cup at a coffee house in Overland Park, Kan. A large U.S. federal study concludes people who drink coffee seem to live a little longer. Researchers saw a clear connection between cups consumed and years of life. Whether it was regular or decaf didn't matter. The results are published in the Thursday, May 17, 2012 New England Journal of Medicine. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

MILWAUKEE — One of life's simple pleasures just got a little sweeter. After years of waffling research on coffee and health, even some fear that java might raise the risk of heart disease, a big study finds the opposite: Coffee drinkers are a little more likely to live longer. Regular or decaf doesn't matter.

The study of 400,000 people is the largest ever done on the issue, and the results should reassure any coffee lovers who think it's a guilty pleasure that may do harm.

"Our study suggests that's really not the case," said lead researcher Neal Freedman of the National Cancer Institute. "There may actually be a modest benefit of coffee drinking."

No one knows why. Coffee contains a thousand things that can affect health, from helpful antioxidants to tiny amounts of substances linked to cancer. The most widely studied ingredient — caffeine — didn't play a role in the new study's results.

It's not that earlier studies were wrong. There is evidence that coffee can raise LDL, or bad cholesterol, and blood pressure at least short-term, and those in turn can raise the risk of heart disease.

Even in the new study, it first seemed that coffee drinkers were more likely to die at any given time. But they also tended to smoke, drink more alcohol, eat more red meat and exercise less than non-coffee-drinkers. Once researchers took those things into account, a clear pattern emerged: Each cup of coffee per day nudged up the chances of living longer.

The study was done by the National Institutes of Health and AARP. The results are published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Careful, though — this doesn't prove that coffee makes people live longer, only that the two seem related. Like most studies on diet and health, this one was based strictly on observing people's habits and resulting health. So it can't prove cause and effect.

But with so many people, more than a decade of follow-up and enough deaths to compare, "this is probably the best evidence we have" and are likely to get, said Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health. He had no role in this study but helped lead a previous one that also found coffee beneficial.

The new one began in 1995 and involved AARP members ages 50 to 71 in California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Atlanta and Detroit. People who already had heart disease, a stroke or cancer weren't included. Neither were folks at diet extremes — too many or too few calories per day.

The rest gave information on coffee drinking once, at the start of the study. "People are fairly consistent in their coffee drinking over their lifetime," so the single measure shouldn't be a big limitation, Freedman said.

Of the 402,260 participants, about 42,000 drank no coffee. About 15,000 drank six cups or more a day. Most people had two or three.

By 2008, about 52,000 of them had died. Compared to those who drank no coffee, men who had two or three cups a day were 10 percent less likely to die at any age. For women, it was 13 percent.

Even a single cup a day seemed to lower risk a little: 6 percent in men and 5 percent in women. The strongest effect was in women who had four or five cups a day — a 16 percent lower risk of death.

None of these are big numbers, though, and Freedman can't say how much extra life coffee might buy.

"I really can't calculate that," especially because smoking is a key factor that affects longevity at every age, he said.

Coffee drinkers were less likely to die from heart or respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, injuries, accidents or infections. No effect was seen on cancer death risk, though.

Other research ties coffee drinking to lower levels of markers for inflammation and insulin resistance. Researchers also considered that people in poor health might refrain from drinking coffee and whether their abstention could bias the results. But the study excluded people with cancer and heart disease — the most common health problems — to minimize this chance. Also, the strongest benefits of coffee drinking were seen in people who were healthiest when the study began.

About two-thirds of study participants drank regular coffee, and the rest, decaf. The type of coffee made no difference in the results.

Hu had this advice for coffee lovers:

— Watch the sugar and cream. Extra calories and fat could negate any benefits from coffee.

— Drink filtered coffee rather than boiled — filtering removes compounds that raise LDL, the bad cholesterol.

Researchers did not look at tea, soda or other beverages but plan to in future analyses.

Lou and Mariann Maris have already compared them. Sipping a local brew at a lakefront coffee shop, the suburban Milwaukee couple told of how they missed coffee after briefly giving it up in the 1970s as part of a health kick that included transcendental meditation and eating vegetarian.

Mariann Maris switched to tea after being treated for breast cancer in 2008, but again missed the taste of coffee. It's one of life's great pleasures, especially because her husband makes it, she said.

"Nothing is as satisfying to me as a cup of coffee in the morning," she said.

Mary Kennedy had had trouble with drugs and alcohol and had two high-profile arrests around the time her husband filed for divorce in July 2010.

File photo by Peter Kramer / Associated PressRobert F. Kennedy Jr., right, and wife Mary Richardson Kennedy, are seen in this 2009 photo.

BEDFORD, N.Y. – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s estranged wife, Mary Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in her home Wednesday.

Attorney Kerry Lawrence, who had represented her in a drunken-driving case, said he didn’t know the cause of her death at age 52.

Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s property in Bedford, north of New York City, but wouldn’t release the dead person’s name.

Westchester county executive’s office spokesman Ned McCormack, however, confirmed that the body was that of Mary Kennedy. He said the medical examiner has taken Kennedy's body to an office in nearby Valhalla, but said he couldn't say anything about the cause of death until the autopsy.

Mary Kennedy’s family cited her devotion to her four children in remembering her.

“We deeply regret the death of our beloved sister Mary, whose radiant and creative spirit will be sorely missed by those who loved her,” the family said in a statement issued by Lawrence. “Our heart goes out to her children who she loved without reservation.”

Kennedy was the second wife of Robert Kennedy Jr., a prominent environmental lawyer and the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, both assassinated in the 1960s. They married in 1994.

Mary Kennedy had had trouble with drugs and alcohol and had two high-profile arrests around the time her husband filed for divorce in July 2010.

She was charged that August with driving under the influence of drugs, not long after she pleaded guilty to drunken driving when police reported her seeing her car hit a curb outside a school near her home. Police said she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent; the legal limit is 0.08 percent. Her license was suspended.

Her nephew by marriage, Joseph P. Kennedy III, is running for the seat in Congress currently held by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell for the ninth day out of 10, and gold, oil, and the euro all dropped to multi-month lows.

By PALLAVI GOGOI | AP Business Writer

Associated PressNewly appointed caretaker Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos, right, poses with outgoing Prime Minister Lucas Papademos prior their meeting and after his swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace, in Athens on Wednesday May 16, 2012. Council of State head Panagiotis Pikrammenos, 67, was appointed earlier Wednesday to head a government that will lack the mandate to make any binding commitments until new elections, which are expected June 17. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

NEW YORK — The unending turmoil in Greece spread fallout across the financial markets Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell for the ninth day out of 10, and gold, oil, and the euro all dropped to multi-month lows.

Greece called a new round of elections for June 17 after coalition talks to form a government fell apart. The president said depositors were pulling hundreds of millions of euros out of banks, weakening the country's strained financial system.

The main cause for investor worry was that Greece would pull out of the group of countries that use the euro, and that that would throw the global markets into chaos.

For U.S. stocks, it was a fairly quiet day, but another decline in a month that has been relentlessly downbeat. The Dow fell 33.45 points to 12,598.55, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.86 points to 1,324.80.

The Dow has been on a nearly unbroken slide since May 1, when it closed at a four-year high. Since then, it has had just one up day, and that was a gain of only 20 points on May 10.

The average has lost 4.4 percent in May and is headed for its first losing month since September.

"We're in a period where there's little conviction to buy," said Richard Cripps, chief investment officer at brokerage Stifel Financial. "The road ahead is too uncertain because of European concerns and the presidential election later this year."

Elsewhere in the markets, it was an eventful day:

• The dollar continued its two-week climb against the euro. The dollar improved to $1.27 per euro, the strongest since January, as traders worried about a messy exit from the euro bloc by Greece.

The stronger dollar drove the Indian currency, the rupee, to an all-time low. The rupee sank to 54.44 against the dollar, surpassing the prior low of 54.39 on Dec. 15.

• The price of benchmark U.S. crude oil fell by $1.17 to finish at a seven-month low of $92.81 per barrel. It is down nearly 13 percent since the beginning of May.

The prices of commodities that are traded in dollars, like oil and gold, tend to fall when the dollar rises. A report also showed U.S. crude supplies at the highest level in 22 years.

• The price of gold fell $18.60 to $1,538, the lowest since December. Gold is approaching a 20 percent decline, the traditional definition of a bear market, from its peak of $1,907 in September.

Besides the stronger dollar, exaggerated optimism about gold's prospects was an important factor in the sharp decline, said Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Montreal-based Kitco Metals.

"Effectively, reality has caught up with the market," he said.

• As investors fled to safer U.S. government bonds, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hit its lowest level this year, 1.76 percent.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 19.70 points to 2,874.04.

Worries about Europe also spread beyond Greece. Spain's prime minister warned that the country, which is trembling under a 24.4 percent unemployment rate, could be locked out of international markets due to problems in the EU.

One note of hope on the European debt crisis was sounded by Doug Cote, chief market strategist of ING Investment Management. He said Greek leaders would realize that tightening the country's budget would be better than the chaos that would follow if Greece abandoned its euro neighbors.

"Is there the possibility that Greece would choose Armageddon? Sure," he said. "But why they would choose to inflict more pain on the Greek people is beyond me."

There was positive news on the U.S. economy, but it wasn't enough to get investors excited. Construction of homes rose 2.6 percent from March, and U.S. factory production increased 0.6 percent in April, helped by a gain in auto production.

Target stock bucked the broader market and rose 24 cents after a strong earnings report. Target said revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 5.3 percent, the strongest performance in six years for that period.

Target's results may illustrate that Americans are beginning to spend cautiously as economic uncertainty persists. Though the job market is still shaky, the falling price of gas has given shoppers hope.

Among other stocks making big moves:

• JC Penney plunged 19.7 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index, after the retailer reported a bigger-than-expected first-quarter loss. Sales plummeted as shoppers are rejecting the retailer's new plan of getting rid of big sales throughout the year in favor of everyday low pricing.

• Abercrombie & Fitch fell 13 percent after reporting that its first-quarter net income shrank 88 percent because of higher costs and declining sales in established stores and in Europe.

• General Electric rose 3.2 percent, the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow, after the company said its finance unit will pay a special dividend of $4.5 billion to the parent company this year. It had suspended the payments in 2009 during a freeze in credit markets.

The custodians' contract mirrors the contracts for other School Department collective bargaining groups.

File photo | The Republican

WEST SPRINGFIELD – The School Committee recently approved a two-year collective bargaining agreement for school custodians that offers no cost-of-living raise for fiscal 2012, the current financial year.

The janitors’ union is the last of the department’s collective bargaining groups to come to an agreement with the School Committee, the board having recently also approved a contract for school nurses. The remaining five unions represent administrators, teachers, clerical workers, food service employees and teachers aides. The contracts mirror each other in terms of cost-of-living increases.

The board voted 7-0 recently to approve a contract with Local 888 of the Service Employees International Union, according to Kevin A. McQuillan, acting assistant school superintendent. It represents about 30 school janitors.

The pact allows for raises in fiscal 2013, which starts July 1 and is the second year of the agreement. It provides for a 1 percent raise immediately in fiscal 2013, followed by another 1 percent raise halfway through the academic year. Both the agreement with the custodians and the nurses include language changes that raise the cost of health insurance co-payments, making such services as an emergency room visit cost employees $100.

McQuillan said the school district is continuing to negotiate for an additional year with the custodians’ union as the rest of the department’s unionized employees have synchronized three-year agreements.

The hourly starting rate for a custodian or housekeeper is $14.63, with the rate increasing to $16.61 an hour after four years. The hourly starting rate for a head custodian or groundskeeper foreman is $18.15 with the rate growing to $22.22 an hour after four years.

The agreement with the nurses is a three-year pact that offers no cost-of-living raises for the current financial year. The board adopted the pact with the local unit of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

School Department Business Manager Carey G. Sheehan said the second year of the nurses’ contract offers a 1 percent cost-of-living raise to start with and another 1 percent increase halfway through the academic year. The third year offers no cost-of-living increase, but provides for an $800 pay increase for employees at the top salary step.

The pact allows employees to use two of their sick days to stay out of work when a family member is ill.

There are nine full-time school nurses and one part-time school nurse. The starting rate this year for a nurse with a bachelor’s degree is $49,761 and the annual pay for a nurse with a master’s degree and five years experience is $58,076.

Representatives of neither the custodians’ nor the nurses’ union could be reached for comment.

The gala was held to recognize more than 200 community members and alumni who have previously donated to the foundation.

Photo by David FriedDoris Youmell, of Southampton, cuts the ribbon at the dedication of the new Loughman Living Room, named in honor of her cousins, the late John and Celeste Loughman. Joining her are Westfield State University President Evan S. Dobelle and WSU Foundation Director Donald Bowman, right, in Scanlon Banquet Hall.

WESTFIELD – The Westfield State University Foundation held its second annual donor recognition event, a “Celebration of Philanthropy” on Saturday in Scanlon Banquet Hall. The gala was held to recognize more than 200 community members and alumni who have previously donated to the foundation.

The master of ceremony was alum Robert Johnson, the current president and chief executive officer of Special Olympics Massachusetts. Johnson began his career as a special education teacher and administrator. He was the state’s chief compliance officer for special education and helped to develop Chapter 766, our state’s comprehensive special education law, and authored the state’s regulations for the approval of private schools that serve publicly funded special needs children.

Johnson is a member of the Westfield State Class of 1970 who earned a master’s degree in 1972. He received an honorary doctor of public service degree in 2010.

“Those in attendance represent our most generous donors who have recognized the importance of stepping up, and we are profoundly grateful,” said Donald Bowman, foundation director. “It is our fervent hope that, in the coming weeks and months, we can illustrate to you the power of major gifts, planned gifts, and transformative gifts – and to provide the opportunities for you to consider joining us in major academic initiatives like university’s upcoming 175th anniversary in 2013.”

During the gala, there was a special ceremony to rename the Scanlon Living Room the Loughman Living Room in honor of the late Celeste Loughman, former professor of English. Loughman worked as a professor for 26 years until her retirement in 1998 and served two terms as chairwoman of the English Department. She received the university’s Distinguished Service Award in 1980.

With the death of Loughman and her husband, the Loughman estate transferred $300,000 to the Westfield State foundation to create an endowed scholarship fund to support students majoring in English. The scholarship will be given annually to a sophomore, junior or senior majoring in English who demonstrates academic achievement and financial need.

University president Evan S. Dobelle said he appreciates the relationships formed between the university and the community and hopes to strengthen those bonds.

“Our ongoing relationships with the city of Westfield and numerous not-for-profit organizations are enhancing quality of life on campus, while our faculty, staff and students offer outstanding service wherever they are needed in the community as eager volunteers, interns and board members,” Dobelle said.

Proceeds from the event will help purchase a tree to be planted at Gateway in memory of the accident victim.

HUNTINGTON – Emily J. Savery was known for her artistic flair, one she even exhibited in the doodles she would draw on notes to friends, and it is a talent that has inspired an art show in the teen’s memory.

Savery, an 18-year-old senior at Gateway Regional High School from Middlefield, was killed in a Feb. 17 car crash on Bates Road in Westfield, but the impact she had on her friends and the school community remains vibrantly alive through her art.

An art show celebrating Savery’s life will be on display Thursday night in the Gateway Performing Arts Center where other student works will also be highlighted, as well as musical performances.

The exhibit was created by other students to reflect Savery’s personality as well as honor and celebrate her life, according to Gateway spokeswoman Wendy V. Long.

“In honor of Emily’s artistic personality, Kyleigh Lund, 18, a close friend of Emily’s, is putting together an art show of Emily’s artwork, which will include other student’s artwork dedicated to Emily,” she said.

Lund, of Chester, said the event has generated a great deal of excitement among the members of the Gateway community who have joined the fund-raising effort by donating their own works of art to honor Savery.

“It’s pretty overwhelming,” she said. “Everyone is really supportive.”

Lund, along with Emily Lessard, 18, of Russell; Abbi Thompson, 18, of Blandford; Cedie Henry, 18, of Worthington, and Ashlin Dion, 18, of Huntington, who was also in the vehicle when it crashed, organized the event with the help of Savery’s mother, Ann Savery, of Blandford, in just four weeks.

“Her mom has collected Emily’s art that she did on the side and in art classes,” Lund said. “Emily had a lot of talent. She was a natural talent and would draw pictures on anything.”

In addition to the artwork, including about 15 to 20 pieces created by Savery and an additional 10 or so donated by others, student musical performances will be featured during the event, Lund said, as well as a presentation by Henry, who “will talk about who Emily was as a person.”

“This will be a big celebration of Emily’s life and what an amazing person she truly was,” Lund added.

Savery was the kind of person, Lund noted, who at first wanted to open her own bakery, but after taking a woodshop class in school decided instead to pursue a career in woodworking.

“She was really good with woodworking and had just decided she wanted to be a carpenter,” she said. “Woodshop was her favorite class. At first she wanted to open a bakery then she decided she wanted to be a carpenter. They are very different, but that just captures who she was.”

Lund said she expects a turnout of about 100 people, but is hoping for more. The money raised from the $2 art show admission fee, she added, will be used to purchase a tree to be planted at the school in Savery’s name.

Long said the evening will also include a bake sale by seniors who will use the proceeds to purchase butterflies that will be released in Savery’s memory at the high school’s graduation ceremony on June 8.

“Friends of Emily described her as a perfectionist, but always smiling and happy,” Long said. “Her presence would light up an entire room. Along with the outdoors, mechanics, music, cheerleading, and being a part of the Middlefield Fair every year, art was one of her favorite pass-times.”

Just before 12:50 a.m. on Feb. 17 near 233 Bates Road in Westfield, a 1994 Ford Escort driven by Jay Franklin, 23, of Upton, left the roadway, hit a stump, overturned and caught fire. Savery was pronounced dead at Noble Hospital, Dion was hospitalized with liver damage and Upton now faces charges with drunken driving and vehicular homicide. Randy Smith, 22, of Douglas, was the fourth occupant of the vehicle.

Wilfredo Ocasio disclosed during the jury vetting process that he had been an inmate at the former York Street Jail.

File photo | The RepublicanThe federal courthouse on State Street in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD — The mystery of the missing Powerade at the federal courthouse wasn’t very mysterious for long.

A jury foreman in a wrongful death trial last week was booted from the panel on his first day for allegedly lifting several cases of Powerade, bottled water and other soft drinks from the parking lot while surveillance cameras rolled, according to officials.

Wilfredo Ocasio, a machine operator from Springfield, was chosen as leader of an eight-member panel on May 7 in U.S. District Court, court records state. The same day, however, Ocasio was caught on camera in the secure parking lot in the rear of the building at 300 State St. backing his SUV into a spot and loading several cases of unattended beverages into the trunk, said Edward McDonough, a defense lawyer in the civil trial.

The lawsuit was brought by the spouse of a female inmate who had died of cardiac arrest prompted by drug withdrawal while in the custody of the Hampden County House of Corrections in Ludlow in 2005. Jurors found the jail was not liable for the inmate’s death.

McDonough on Wednesday said he was pleased with the jury’s verdict, but agreed that the apparently thirsty former foreman was a bizarre twist in the case.

“I’ve never had anything happen like that in all my years of trying cases. I couldn’t believe it,” when U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor told lawyers of the surveillance tape and his decision to dismiss the juror.

McDonough added the Ocasio disclosed during the jury vetting process that he had been an inmate at the former York Street Jail two decades ago, but had a relatively satisfying experience there — so McDonough opted not to challenge Ocasio as a member of the panel.

“I thought: I have three preemptories — what do I do? He seemed like a nice fella, so I decide to keep him. But when the judge told us what happened, I said: I knew I should have gotten rid of that guy,” the lawyer joked.

U.S. Marshals confirmed that Ocasio has been served with a summons, but the precise charge he will face is unclear. No date has yet been set for his appearance. What would undoubtedly be a trivial accusation in other venues is propelled to the federal case level by virtue of the fact that the alleged incident unfolded on federal property.

Ocasio did not return calls for comment. But, a woman who answered the phone at the address he listed in court records said she was his sister, and that her brother was disappointed over being ejected from the panel.

“He was excited about getting chosen. He said that he thought the drinks had just been left there and they didn’t belong to anyone,” Migdalia Ocasio said. “I told him that things don’t just call from the sky.”

In fact, the Powerade, bottled water and iced tea belonged to an aide in U.S. Congressman Richard E. Neal’s office, according to a spokesman for Neal. The employee was in the midst of moving the drinks from one car to another when he ran back into the building, and returned to find they had disappeared.

The congressman’s office is located on the second floor of the same building. Marshals said the surveillance tape showed an SUV drive by the refreshments and back into the space where they sat before a man emerged and loaded the drinks into his car.

The man was later identified as Ocasio, lawyers and federal officials said.

“While our colleagues were surprised and disappointed that their personal items were stolen on federal property, the entire staff is very grateful to the United States Marshals for their professionalism and swift response. They always make the new courthouse on State Street a safe place to work and visit,” said William Tranghese, a spokesman for Neal.

The case will be investigated and handled by agents with the Federal Protective Service, an agency under Homeland Security that provides security to federally owned and leased buildings.

The jury’s verdict came after the panel began bleeding members on the first day of testimony. In addition to Ocasio’s departure, another juror was excused a day later because she reported being overwrought by video introduced into evidence portraying attempts to revive the inmate, Cynthia Brace, 41.

The six-member panel that rendered a verdict was the minimum allowed in a civil case. Typically, there are at least two alternates to provide the court a cushion for unforeseen events such as illness or family emergencies.

Mayor Domenic Sarno announced an interfaith service will be held June 1 to mark the tornado anniversary.

View full sizeThe Republican | Don TreegerLt. Gov. Timothy Murray, left, announces $300,000 over three years for DevelopSpringfield to use in efforts to rebuild tornado-damaged areas of Springfield. On the right is Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and in the rear (center) is Kevin Kennedy, Springfield's Chief Development Officer and a board member of DevelopSpringfield. Also in the rear (right) is board member Steven F. Bradley, Vice President of Government & Community Relations and Public Affairs for Baystate Health.

SPRINGFIELD – Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murphy has promised $300,000 in additional state funding to help with tornado recovery projects here.

Murray announced the new funding during a news conference at DevelopSpringfield, a non-profit group leading the city’s tornado rebuilding effort.

“Springfield has achieved significant progress since the tornadoes, but there is more work to do,” Murray said. “We remain committed to working alongside our partners until all businesses, residents and the entire community are back on their feet,” he said.

The funding – to be released in $100,000 increments over the next three years – will help defray costs for rebuilding the Brookings Elementary School, the South End Community Center and other projects, Murray said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said the funding was just the latest sign of a collaboration between state and city government to rebuild after the June 1 tornado.

More than $3 million in state funds have been used to repair homes, find housing for displaced residents and other projects, Murray pointed out.

In a related development, Sarno announced Wednesday that an interfaith service will be held June 1 to mark the tornado anniversary.

The service will begin at 4:00 p.m. in Old First Church at Court Square. At 4:37 p.m., church bells will be rung to mark when the tornado touched down in Springfield, the mayor said.

The tornado left a 39-mile path of destruction from Westfield to Southbridge, killing three and damaging or destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.

“It is not the disaster that we celebrate, but the spirit of the city and how we came together in support of their neighbors,” said Sarno.

For information, contact the Spirit of Springfield at (413) 733-3800.

The code states that the council will not tolorate discrimination or offensive behavior based on race, color or religion.

EASTHAMPTON — The City Council unanimously adopted a Code of Ethics Wednesday night that sets standards for professional conduct and civility among its members both in council chambers and in public.

A draft was submitted last month, but there were concerns raised about a phrase regarding a councilor’s personal life. Those concerns were addressed in the new version, but three councilors felt the new version went too far as well.

The new code states it applies “whenever a City Council member is in any public setting.”

Previously the language said it would apply “where the conduct or activity of a City Council member's personal life, as can be reasonably foreseen, becomes the subject of general public notice.”

Councilor Joy E. Winnie objected to the old and new clause and proposed removing it, but five counselors disagreed, so it remained.

The code stipulates:

“the city council requires an atmosphere of professional conduct and civility among its members and shall not tolerate harassment, discrimination, or offensive behavior based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation.”

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

File photo | The RepublicanCity Councilor Donald Cykowski

The City Council unanimously adopted a resolution in January condemning discrimination and intolerance in the wake of Cykowski's comment, "Where's a Puerto Rican when we need one?"

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

Cykowski also came under scrutiny this winter after renewed attention to allegations that he had harassed former library director Rebecca Plimpton for years before she left the position in 2007. Cykowski, a library corporator at the time, resigned from that board earlier this year. A group of residents in Easthampton are working to recall him.

He was not at Wednesday’s meeting because he was ill, according to council members.

“We need to remember we have an ethical obligation,” said Daniel D. Rist, rules committee chairman.

Earlier this month, the council met in executive session to talk about Cykowski. The council has no authority to remove a member and said that was up to the voters.

But five of the nine councilors signed this statement at the May 2 council meeting:

“In light of the documented racial comment made in December 2011, if the allegations of sexual harassment at the Williston Library are proven true, the undersigned councilors believe councilor Cykowski should consider resignation in the best interest of the City Council and the City of Easthampton."

Two councilors were absent and Cykowski and Councilor Chester A. Ogulewicz Jr. did not sign.

Northwestern DA David Sullivan said he expects to officially release the name of the driver once a positive identification has been made by the medical examiner.

Jim Russell photoPublic safety officials responded to the scene of a fatal, one-car crash on Route 202 in Belchertown late Monday night. Authorities on Wednesday night tentatively identified the driver as Ashley Goetz, 26, of Amherst.

BELCHERTOWN — Law enforcement officials have tentatively identified the person who died Monday night in a single car crash on Route 202 as Ashley Ellen Goetz, 26, of Amherst.

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan said he expects to officially release the name of the driver once a positive identification has been made by the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Goetz, whose parents live in Eagan, Minn., was a graduate student in the University of Massachusetts Master of Fine Arts fiction writing program.

The crash was called in at 10:35 p.m. Monday. Police found a vehicle sitting perpendicular to the road when they arrived on the scene. The exterior of the vehicle was burned.

Mary Carey, communications director for the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, said in a statement Wednesday night that due to the extensive damage to the car, it was not possible to make an immediate positive identification of the driver. Cary said Goetz had been driving the car earlier Monday evening.

Police said it appears the car was traveling south on Route 202 when it drifted across the northbound travel lane and slightly off the roadway before striking the utility pole.

The crash remains under investigation by Belchertown police, state police with the Northwestern District Attorney’s office and the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.

Hundreds of family and friends gathered to celebrate Beane, the Agawam native who was the public address announcer for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

STURBRIDGE – The booming voice that caromed around every nook and cranny of Fenway Park is silenced, but to the many people touched by Carl Beane, the memories will live on.

One week after his death of a heart attack, hundreds of family and friends gathered Wednesday night at the Sturbridge Host Hotel to celebrate Beane, the Agawam native who rose from sportscasting to become the public address announcer for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

His career was celebrated on Friday in an on-field ceremony at Fenway, but Wednesday's memorial was for his many friends in Western Massachusetts.

A 1971 Agawam High School graduate, Beane became the Red Sox public address announcer in 2003. He had already been well known to the Red Sox as a radio reporter, known in Western Massachusetts for his work at radio station WARE.

Upon becoming public address announcer, Beane's signature introduction at each game was unchanging. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Fenway Park,'' he greeted each and every crowd.

“You knew him as the booming voice that filled every corner of Fenway; we knew him as the one who used to give us sponge baths,” his younger brother, Allan “Butch” Beane said during the memorial.

His given name was Carleton, but everyone knew him as Carl, Allen said. Everyone except his family and friends for Agawam who knew him as “Rocky.”

“Rocky loved his family and his friends. And he left this earth doing what he loved the most,” he said.

In tribute to his brother's signature line from the Red Sox games, he closed by saying “Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, thank you for loving my brother."

Beane's widow, Ann Lorraine Beane, spoke briefly. She said Carl to her was not just “The voice of Fenway Park.”

“I knew him as a husband, as a loving father and a loving grandfather. I knew him as a man with an unshakable faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” she said. “I shall miss him every day that I will be on this earth, but I know I will see him again when I go home to the Lord.”

A memory from his other brother, Darryl Beane, that was read during the service spoke of three brothers who were into mischief and sports and doing everything together.

“The last quality time we spent with him was when we went to see 'The Three Stooges' movie,” Darryl said.

The three boys grew up watching the Stooges, and “Rocky was our Moe. It didn't matter who was Larry or Curley; Rocky was our Moe. He was our leader,” Darryl said.

Family and friends spoke of a man with limitless generosity, of compassion. To know Carl Beane was to be his friend, and Carl Beane had a lot of friends.

Heather Bates, 25, and Allison Peters, 26, both of Agawam, drove out for the service to express their sympathy to the family. Each met Carl Beane once – and each said he let them try on one of the Red Sox World Series rings.

“He was a very nice gentleman,” Bates said. “He let me try on one of his rings, and I got a picture of it.”

Peters said, “His generosity meant a lot to us. It speaks to the kind of man he was.”

State Senator Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, said Carl was a friend and a constituent. The two would often visit the local schools together, and he recalled dozens of children being allowed to try on a ring.

“He brought a lot of joy to a lot of people,” he said.

Although his work at Fenway Park was in the announcing booth and not on the playing field, Brewer said “You don't have to wear a uniform to be a legend.”

Acting students will get to visit a stage combat instructor at Mount Holyoke College.

submitted photoJorge Diaz Vargas and Gabriela Carrero Negron perform as Romeo and Juliet in last year's Connection Acting Shakespeare program.

submitted photoChristopher Rios tries out a kite he made last year in the Connections art club summer program.

HOLYOKE – The School Department is offering three summer programs at Peck Community School.

All three are part of the system’s Connections After-School Program.

“These programs will each offer hands-on learning opportunities, and chances to engage with other students in an inclusive, supportive learning environment,” Connections Director Jorge L. Castellano said in a press release.

An Adventure in Learning is for students in grades 6 and 7. Students will participate in four clubs daily: Mad Science, Real World Math Skills, Empowerment Club, and Hip Hop and Poetry.

Students will do science experiments, practice math and business skills, and express themselves through hip hop and poetry.

SASS: Students Aspiring for School Success is a transition program to help eighth-graders prepare for the step to high school.

Students learn study skills and get tips on what to expect from current high school students. They also go on field trips, such as to a water-adventure park.

Acting Shakespeare is for students in grades five to eight who love to act. Students get the chance to explore Shakespearean language, practice hand-to-hand stage combat and develop public speaking skills.

Students will read, write and perform their own vignette from a Shakespearean play, as well as perform it for family and friends at the outdoorCenter for Renaissance Studies at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst .

They also will have the chance to visit Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley, to work with a stage combat instructor from Hampshire Shakespeare.

Each program is first come, first served. For information call (413) 313-7710 or email jcastellano@hps.holyoke.ma.us or sspence@hps.holyoke.ma.us.

No injuries were reported in the 2:15 a.m. fire at 141 Pine St. that gutted parts of Pine and Suffolk streets.

Holyoke Fire Department photoA March 7 fire consumes a home at 139 Pine St.

HOLYOKE – The cause of a fire at 141 Pine St. that destroyed three buildings and damaged a fourth March 7 has yet to be determined, an official said Wednesday.

Local officials remain in touch with the state Department of Fire Services, which is analyzing debris from the fire, said Lt. Thomas G. Paquin, Holyoke Fire Department spokesman.

The fire began in a home at 141 Pine St. and was reported at 2:15 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Flames consumed the wood-frame structure at 141 Pine St.

The fire spread to an adjacent vacant five-story apartment building at 139 Pine St., gouged the nearby headquarters of CMS Landscaping at 175 Suffolk St., and forced tenants of a fourth building at 133-137 Pine St. to flee when the fire spread to their three-story brick row house.

Kenneth Prouty was charged with indecent assault and battery and assault and battery in connection with a sexual assault the allegedly occurred outside a temporary emergency shelter established at Ware High School after the October snowstorm that caused widespread power outages.

NORTHAMPTON – A Worcester County man denied charges in Hampshire Superior Court Wednesday that he sexually assaulted a woman last fall at an emergency shelter at Ware High School.

Kenneth Prouty, 52, of West Brookfield, is accused of assault and battery and indecent assault and battery for allegedly forcing a 35-year-old female acquaintance to perform a sexual act outside the school gymnasium, according to the office of Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan.

The school had been established as an emergency shelter after the Oct. 30-31 snowstorm that caused widespread power outages throughout the region.

Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder released Prouty on personal recognizance and ordered him to stay away from the alleged victim and her residence. Prouty also was required to surrender his guns and firearms license to local police while the case is pending.

He is due back in court for a July 17 pretrial hearing.

Holyoke police arrested a Southwick man and charged him with drug and other offenses after he allegedly ran a red light near the intersection of Hampden and High streets.

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now.

1) Patriots seventh-round draft pick Alfonzo Dennard to be arraigned on felony charges [Nick Underhill]

2) Bankrupt Hostess to lay off 187 workers in Connecticut; warns it may close all operations [Journal Inquirer of Manchester]

3) Holyoke police: Southwick man charged with drug, driving offenses after running red light [Conor Berry]

4) Feds: Jury foreman stole soft drinks belonging to aide of Congressman Richard Neal from U.S. District Court parking lot [Stephanie Barry]

5) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife Mary found dead in Bedford, N.Y. [Associated Press]

The tools let firefighters remove victims from car crashes by slicing through and prying apart metal.

Photo submitted by Holyoke Fire DepartmentFirefighters will demonstrate these "jaws of Life" extraction tools on an old car for the Holyoke City Council June 5.

HOLYOKE – The City Council is taking a field trip to the Jaws of Life.

Councilors on June 5 will see firefighters demonstrate newly obtained versions of the hydraulic tools, called the Jaws of Life, which allow for extricating victims from car crashes by slicing through and prying apart metal, officials said.

The demonstration will be done at 6 p.m. on an old car in the lot behind Fire Department headquarters, 600 High St.,, Lt. Thomas G. Paquin said Wednesday.

Council President Kevin A. Jourdain told councilors about the demonstration Tuesday and said it will precede the council’s regular meeting, at 7 p.m.

Chicopee Deputy Fire Chief James McInerney said the 36-year-old man got his arm caught in machinery at Parisi Incorporated, a custom architectural millwork manufacturing facility at 1380 Sheridan St.

CHICOPEE – An employee of Parisi Incorporated, a custom architectural manufacturing business at 1380 Sheridan St., was seriously injured after getting his arm caught in machinery at the Sheridan Street facility Wednesday, according to Chicopee Deputy Fire Chief James McInerney.

Colleagues of the man managed to free his arm from an operating press prior to the arrival of emergency at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

McInerny told 22News that the 36-year-old victim sustained serious "crushing injuries" to his hand and arm. The worker, who was not publicly identified, was taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for treatment. An update on his condition was not immediately available.

It was unclear if officials from the federal Occupational Safety Health Administration might investigate the incident. An OSHA official reached this morning at the Springfield office was unaware of the incident and said he could not comment.

Parisi is headquartered in Newtown, Pa., just northeast of Philadelphia. Company president Joe Parisi did not immediately return a phone call. Parisi designs, creates and installs custom woodwork and millwork for office, retail and restaurant settings, according to its website.

MAP showing approximate location of Parisi Inc. on Sheridan Street in Chicopee:

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A 2-year, $8.1 million project will replace the aging Davitt Bridge.

Republican graphicPeople can easily enter Chicopee Center from Front Street, Exit 2 off Interstate 391 and several other ways.

CHICOPEE — The bridge that leads to the city’s downtown will be closed for more than two years starting on Monday.

The Davitt Bridge, which connects Front Street to Granby Road, is to be closed through August 2014 for the $8.1 million state rebuilding project, said Michael Verseckes, Department of Transportation spokesman.

Preliminary work on the bridge, which spans the Chicopee River, began in September. Northern Construction Service, LLC., which has been hired to do the work, first planned to close the bridge in December, but there were delays in preparations, Verseckes said.

The city and local legislators have worked with the Department of Transportation to contract with the company to work 60 hours a week instead of 40 so the bridge can be completed quicker and the inconvenience to downtown merchants and their customers will be minimized, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said.

At least 30 of the business owners started mobilizing in the fall to create a campaign to make people aware of the many ways to reach Chicopee Center so they do not take their business elsewhere, especially in the struggling economy.

William J. Wagner, president and chief executive officer of Chicopee Savings Bank, said he has not used the Davitt Bridge in at least five weeks to prepare for the closing.

“I have used all the alternatives. It hasn’t added one iota of misery to my life,” he said.

The merchants have come up with six alternative routes to reach downtown Chicopee without crossing the Davitt Bridge and set up a website — http://www.easytoenterchicopeecenter.com/ — which lists them all.

One the advantages is Chicopee Center is easily accessed from Exit 2 off Interstate-391. Nearly everyone from surrounding communities already uses the route and will barely notice the bridge is closed, Wagner said.

While he does not know about other businesses, Wagner said a significant amount of deposits and loans at Chicopee Savings Bank comes from people who do not live in the city and more than half of the loans are made to residents of other communities.

He said he also found that it was easy to reach downtown from Memorial Drive by driving to the end of the road, crossing the Deady Bridge and reaching downtown by Front Street.

Wagner predicted Front Street might have a little extra traffic during the bridge closing and said Exit 2 gets a little backed up during key commuter times, but neither route had much of a problem.

Downtown merchants together raised about $20,000 to spend on advertising to tell people it is still easy to reach their businesses. An added benefit is the campaign is also reminding people about the different businesses located downtown, he said.

Wagner said some believe it is going to destroy businesses, but most agree with him that it may be inconvenient but not devastating.

File photo | The RepublicanThe William F. Davitt Bridge over the Chicopee River is slated to close and January and undergo repairs that will keep it closed until September 2014.