By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, FRIDAY, DEC. 17, 2011) — In a sense, the timing of the welfare fraud story you will read in just a bit (below) is perfect, given the hefty tax increase Mayor Ruberto proposed and the city council set in stone Wednesday night in Pittsfield. Thus, the fruits of the council’s June approval of the mayor’s FY2013 budget ripen.

Merry Christmas, again, Pittsfield taxpayers. Your council didn’t have the where-whithall to cut a penny out of the budget, and you — as you do year after year — pay the price.

A couple of points. First, it’s no coincidence that the council approves the budget in June but sets the tax rate at the classification hearing well past Election Day. Do you ever notice how much bad news gets announced AFTER the elections? Do you think it would have any effect on the outcomes of Election Day if the tax classification hearing were held, say, a week before the elections? It sure would.

Second, my Right Honorable Good Friend Mike Ward was correct when he pointed out (paraphrasing) that We The People have become conditioned to “expect” a 2-3% increase each year. Through apathy, We The People have allowed themselves to be beaten into meek submission. How ironic, when they actually OWN the government and the pols and officials are merely the hired help.

THE PLANET is waiting for some mayor or the majority of ANY duly-constituted Pittsfield city council to declare: “We have heard the outrage of honest, law-abiding, struggling taxpayers. We will for once stand for them. This year, we are decreasing taxes for them.” How do you do this.

(A) Trim fat. That has not been done. Two quick examples: the over-generous pension deals negotiated by certain public employee unions over the years. Pension reform could address this. Also, a bloated bureaucracy in the school department, particularly the cost of administration and management.

(B) Raise revenue. There’s money waiting to be had. Again, two quick examples: reform of the not-for-profit tax dodge being perpetuated in the city. Also, lower the taxpayers share of providing health insurance for municipal workers to 70%. Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski now pay 85%. Most private sectors companies that provide insurance (not all do) do so in the 50-50 or 60/40 range. A 70-30 municipal split is more than generous and saves the city millions. We count that as budgetary addition by subtraction.

The point is, taxes do NOT have to go up each year. Take note, incoming city council and Mayor Bianchi.

Yes, Mike Ward’s comments may have frosted some, but again, he’s only testifying to the true state of affairs. People have stopped caring — that’s how we should interpret Ward’s comments.

— Some have become frustrated and fed up. They drop out and seethe.

— Others never cared in the first place.

— Still others are too busy trying to keep their heads above water. Their incomes are flat or falling. They must tighten their belt. How dare anyone expect government to do the same?

Case of Outrageous Welfare Fraud Should Rankle Every Honest Citizen of This State

— Still others, probably well more than one out of every two citizens now, can be classified in some category of … what do we call it? … undesirable, freeloading, bummery, riff-raff? These are the ones who live off of welfare, do drugs, and get a free ride. To be sure, there’s a legitimate need to provide a temporary helping hand to honest, good people who have been knocked down, but we can no longer afford to fund the lifestyles of a growing number of deadbeats who have clearly chosen Pittsfield as their Shangri-La.

With all of this as a preamble, dig this story from the Boston Herald (note that EBT refers to “electronic benefit transfers”):

Beacon Hill Republicans are calling for a massive overhaul of the state’s welfare system after a crew of alleged Lynn grifters was charged with scamming thousands from taxpayer-funded EBT cards — including some who allegedly took the public money as payment for crack.

“I want to see major reform here in Massachusetts,” fumed state Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, a Taunton Republican heading a legislative panel reviewing the EBT program. “You can spend that money on anything you want. There’s no oversight.”

The latest example of alleged rampant abuse occurred in Lynn, where authorities said four convenience stores let customers withdraw hundreds in cash while keeping half as a fee. Agents from the federal Department of Agriculture, along with state troopers from Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office and Lynn police, raided the stores yesterday, arrested eight people and seized a half-kilo of crack cocaine and 700 grams of heroin, officials said.

Undercover cops allegedly used EBT cards at the market on several occasions to withdraw $80 in cash at a time, which was used to buy $40 worth of crack. The other $40 would be kept by the store as a fee, Essex First Assistant District Attorney Jack Dawley said in Lynn District Court yesterday. An undercover state trooper also witnessed many “blatant drug deals using EBT cards” at the store, Dawley said.

“This is an affront and an insult to all taxpayers,” Blodgett said.

“This money is supposed to be going to those who need it,” added Lynn Police Chief Kevin Coppinger. “It’s outrageous.”

Charged with cocaine dealing and EBT fraud are store owners Midlher Cherubin, 41, and his son, Allan, 20; and Jean Saint Preux, 23, all of Lynn; and Jayson Powell, 26. All four pleaded not guilty and were ordered held on high bail. Lawyers for the Cherubins said the store owners had no knowledge of the alleged fraud or drug sales.

Charged with EBT fraud in the sweep were Amimada Jean Geffide, 33; Amanda Repp, 24; and Sheena White, 27, all of Lynn; and Pierre Saint Fort. All four were released on personal recognizance.

In the wake of Herald reports that found EBT cards were used to buy booze, lottery tickets, jewelry and other luxuries, the Legislature created a panel to review the program. O’Connell, who chairs it, wants restrictions on what can be bought. Current rules allow welfare recipients to withdraw up to $300 in state cash per month, in addition to federal food stipends.

“I want a complete overhaul of the system,” said Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth). “It’s a farce.”

Jennifer Kritz, state Department of Transitional Assistance spokeswoman, said the agency regularly probes fraud and recovered $4 million in 2010. “We take allegations of fraud very seriously,” she said.

———————————————————–

The Berkshire Delegation Speaks Out (all Except for Gail Cariddi, whose Constituents Must Fend for Themselves)

THE PLANET contacted the entire Berkshire delegation for their comments on this outrage. We present then here in full, as they sent them. We asked Reps. Gail Carridi, Paul Mark, Tricia Farley-Bouvier, Smitty Pignatelli, and Sen. Ben Downing the following questions:

* Do you share the outrage?

* Will you support “a complete overhaul of the [EBT] system,” As Sen. Hudland of Weymouth has pledged? In what form will this take?

* Are you aware of any such abuse in your district?

* Do you intend to investigate the use of EBTs in your district to ensure that this is not happening here?

* Feel free to add anything you wish.

We heard from the entire delegation except for Rep. Cariddi. We present them in the order received.

SEN. BEN DOWNING (FIRST TO RESPOND)

SMITTY PIGNATELLI

I am absolutely disappointed and outraged with the most recent reports of deliberative fraud and abuse of the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system between a welfare recipient and a convenience store owner in the city of Lynn. It is not acceptable that taxpayer money is being wasted in such a way. We have to keep in mind, though, while fraud and abuse is despicable, there are many people that abide by the rules and depend on EBT cards and state assistance to feed and care for their families. Even though the vast majority of people use their cards for legitimate purposes, it is true that some people continue to abuse the system and we need to do better in stopping them.

We made progress this past year by passing bills that prohibit people from purchasing alcohol, lottery tickets and tobacco with their EBT cards and levying stiff penalties, such as fines up to $25,000 and up to 5 years imprisonment, on the store owners that sell these items to them. I also think the bill that establishes a commission to study this issue and come up with recommendations is a good step as well. But at the end of the day, regardless of any more legislation, this comes down to enforcement at both the state and local level. What good is going to come out of passing more legislation if we can’t enforce what we already have? Regulations exist stating how EBT cards can be used, but obviously we lack on the enforcement side. We need stricter penalties and fines for liquor or convenience stores that participate in this abuse and perhaps give local licensing boards greater authority to suspend or revoke liquor licenses in connection with this abuse. It makes sense that if a store owner is caught in such activity that they should be faced with stiff penalties, including denying them the right to sell lottery tickets or offer keno games. I believe this would go a long way in deterring store owners from accepting EBT cards for these purposes. Without such enforcement, we can have all the rules and regulations we want, but people will continue to scam the system if we can’t back up our words with actions.

TRICIA FARLEY-BOUVIER

* Do you share the outrage?

Yes

* Will you support “a complete overhaul of the [EBT] system,” as Sen Hudland from Weymouth has pledged? In what form will this take?

I support changes that will prevent crooks from robbing a system designed to help those in need and look forward to the recommendations of the panel chaired by Rep. O’Connell.

* Are you aware of any such abuse in your district?

No

* Do you intend to investigate the use of EBTs in your district to ensure that this is not happening here?

If law enforcement personnel or residents of my district know of abuses in the 2nd Berkshire District I encourage them to contact me.

THE PLANET thank our Right Honorable Good Friends in the Berkshire Delegation (save one). We shall let you judge these  answers for yourself. You can be sure of two things, and both apply statewide and locally. Where electronic benefit transfers are used in this manner,

(1) The fraud is more widespread than just this egregious case (they are the dopes who just happened to get caught), and

(2) The System doesn’t not know how widespread the abuse actually is.

In light of the fact that Pittsfield taxpayers have just been dumped on again with a huge tax increase, and given that there is such abuse going on locally, even ONE CASE OF THIS TYPE OF PUBLIC SCAM CANNOT BE PERMITTED.

You’ve heard from your representatives — except for Cariddi. They are paying attention to this story and they read THE PLANET. We want your comments and solutions. Think of it as placing a direct call to your rep.

—————————————————————————–

WEEKENDS ARE WONDERFUL THINGS, AND THE WAY A RABBIT SPRINGS ONTO A NEW PATH, SO WE WRAP UP OUR RIGHTEOUS WRATH AND VENTURE INTO THE WEEKEND, AGAIN, WITH FRIENDS.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE”

LOVE TO ALL.