MORE INFO TRICKLES OUT ON THE COLUMBUS AVENUE MURDER
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THE WEEKEND EDITION AUG. 30-SEPT. 1, 2019) — The murder of Stephanie Olivieri, coupled with the “Tyjaye and Zyir Shoot-O-Rama” (T & Z, two of the finest courtesy of JIV and your Pittsfield Public Schools), piled onto the savage beating and stabbing of two people outside Cumby’s on First Street has ignited a level of exasperation and frustration not seen in Pittsfield in many a moon, and we don’t mean any candidates in Ward 1.
The mayhem would be bad enough stag, but accompanying it to the danse macabre is the F-Troop action of Berkshire County district attorney Andrea Harrington, police chief Mike Wynn, and mayor Linda Tyer. Where are Capt. Parmenter, Corp. Agarn, and O’Rourke Enterprises when you need them? We’ll leave Chief Wild Eagle and the Hahkowees out of it for the moment.
It’s as if this endless wave of a violent summer froze the unqualified trio in the headlights. Picture that deer on the side of the Taconic State Parkway while you’re motoring at 90 mph from Yonkers at, say, 3:22 a.m. Their statements after the incidents, particularly the curbside murder on Columbus Avenue, did nothing to calm the public or give them the vital information they need with killers on the loose. Their assurances that the public had and has nothing to fear only stoked the insecurity rampant in Pittsfield.
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Once upon a time, the trio and the underlings they control would have been successful in capping this gusher, but no more. There’s a new invention called social media and texting that enables informed an uninformed sources to have their say — as both have … and will. Thus, in the absence of official professionalism and a caring public safety system, those in the know and out of it will add to the information and the confusion.
Evidently, though they will profess otherwise, this isn’t much concern to Harrington, Tyer, and Wynn. The triumvirate did their best to limit if not discourage community feedback. What else can you call the lack of availability to free questioning from the press? Where was the press conference? The timely sharing of information? Where was their obligation to Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski, the poor, taxpaying saps who are funding these follies? Hiding behind statements composed by committee and issued by spokesperson-flacks doesn’t qualify as responsible behavior toward the decent, taxpaying folks who only want to be able to live in peace without daily worry for their safety.
In the pull of this incoming tide, THE PLANET has served the vital public function of community “bulletin board,” in the process offering a steam valve to relieve some of the pressure on a cooker that might yet blow its top before long. Moreover, we have provided the community with key shards of the story, enough to add to and in some instances counter the “verse-and-chapter” official information.
For example, our sources have shared with THE PLANET and the public the many inconsistencies in official statements, the most glaring is the claim that the public was never in harm’s way and is not now.
Compare that with contradicting claim that Olivieri, sitting in a car in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods of the city at 3 a.m., was an “innocent victim.” How do those two statements square? If she was an innocent victim, it means the public was and still is in danger, with the killer or killers on the loose. If she was the intended victim, how could she be deemed “innocent” or even a victim at all?
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Piecing together information running like an Amazonian wild fire into THE PLANET‘s inbox and communications center, it appears that:
- ShotSpotter failed, sending police to the wrong location.
- Officials learned of the shooting not from ShotSpotter but from 911.
- A transcript of the 911 call exists, but authorities have thus far refused to release it.
- Olivieri died of a gunshot wound to the head.
- She was presumed dead at the scene and determined by medical staff at BMC to be DOA — dead on arrival.
- 11 shell casings were found at the scene. There are conflicting reports, one saying they came from one weapon, another saying from at least two different weapons. The latter, if true, would indicate multiple shooters.
- Multiple shooters would be consistent with witness who say they heard overlapping, un-sycopated gunfire.
- The district attorney’s office and Wynn both told Tyer of the murder before Tuesday’s mayoral debate. That has been one of the burning and most controversial questions throughout this entire debacle.
- The murder is thought to be connected to an “embedded” criminal ring (primarily drugs and sex trafficking) operating “at will” in the city.
- Officials are exploring leads suggesting that the T & J shootings and the Cumby hit are connected to the actions on Columbus Avenue.
- The local ring appears to be a tentacle of a criminal enterprise tracing back to Springfield, with other arms in Hartford, Albany and other locations in New York State, particularly along the Taconic.
- The local ring has mules in the Pittsfield Public School system, particularly the middle schools where kids are still dumb enough to think this type of action is cool.
- The shooting is part of a turf war between rival gangs who both (if two; there may be more than two) claim “ownership” of the lucrative West Side and Tyler Street. North Street, particularly Wahconah Street, and the northern end and northwest, also are valued as prime turf, not only for drugs but for flesh peddling.
THE PLANET presents this information unvetted. None of it has been officially confirmed. We believe in the veracity of our sources. That said, if any of this information is incorrect or false, we stand eager to publish corrections, especially from relevant offices. Our goal is to present the most accurate information, always striving to serve the public with the truth as best we can determine it.
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Getting back to We The People, it remains to be seen if any of Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski’s frustrations translate to the voting booth. They might, but before anyone counts on a storming of the Bastille by torch-bearing, shit-upon citizens, keep in mind the insular level of near-total apathy The Suits have built up in Benigno Numine.
THE PLANET‘s traffic has gone bumper-to-bumper all week in response to the mayhem. Of the hundreds of comments, we present three you might have missed. The first sums up the commonly held view on the streets that the Kapanskis aren’t buying what officials have had to say:
JOHNNY ABSURD — Somewhere in Pittsfield, in an office of high regard, there sits some big wigs trying to come up with a plausible story for the public. They already know we are stupid based on the people we elected so that may explain the Pablum they drizzled out recently. And the thing is that this is not the only low info assault lately. If it were not tourist season maybe we would be brought more up to date. BOOOMMM!!!
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The next one captures well the public’s scorn for the claim that the public is in no danger:
GHOST RIDER — A drive by murder 266 feet from the Police Community Outreach Center. Shots fired near an MSP trooper on patrol. Next it will be shootings near 39 Allen Street! Oh, I forgot the ones at Lach’s Lounge and the Park Square shooting a decade ago. Sorry, my bad! But it’s good to hear that the public is in no danger!!!
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Finally, this testimony from one of the West Side’s majority, that is, the 99% of the people who live there and are being held hostage by the riff raff and by official ineptness:
JIM — The apparent homicide on Columbus Avenue in Pittsfield early Sunday morning is a tragedy for the family of the victim and a nightmare for the residents of the neighborhood. In the absence of information, the fears of residents will be amplified, and unfortunately that information did not emerge as quickly as it should have.
The office of District Attorney Andrea Harrington was slow to release the name of the victim to “provide the family privacy,” according to a spokesman. Certainly, time is needed to notify next of kin but there is no specific family right to privacy, certainly not an open-ended one. The DA has established a precedent that other families may expect it to follow in the future. On Wednesday, the DA’s office revealed that the victim was Stephanie Olivieri, 32, of Yonkers, N.Y., and formerly of Becket.
The DA’s office also described the shooting as an isolated incident, which angered many neighborhood residents who took to social media to express that anger.
This was the fifth shooting in that area in a month’s time and the second involving injuries. Another shooting on Columbus Avenue left a teenager injured last November.
The statement by the DA’s office Wednesday that the victim is not believed to be the intended victim painfully recalls the shooting death in that vicinity of Asiyanna Jones in 2017. These incidents might be unrelated but they are part of a pattern of gun violence in a neighborhood where residents fear for their safety and the safety of friends and family members.
Mayor Linda Tyer’s statement that residents need not fear for their safety in the wake of this “tragic event” didn’t address the concerns of residents who needed specific acknowledgment of the gun violence plaguing their streets and assurance that City Hall was aware of the big picture beyond one “event.” Violence on the eve of an election poses problems for an incumbent, as was seen four years ago when Ms. Tyer challenged a mayor who faced the same issue in largely the same neighborhood.
Vague reassurances won’t calm residents waiting on edge for the sound of gunshots.
That anger was in evidence at a meeting of community members on Tuesday (“DA investigating Columbus Avenue shooting as a homicide,” Eagle, Wednesday).
Volunteers with the West Side Community Outreach Post, which was formed earlier this year as a partnership between the city and the neighborhood, discussed formation of a larger group that would reach out to residents to find solutions to crime. This movement indicates a lack of confidence in the city and in the Police Department, which was not represented at Tuesday’s meeting. The concerns of volunteers that the police department has not embraced their efforts and is waiting for the outreach post to fail are troubling and suggest that police must do more to win their confidence.
The DA’s office, City Hall and the Police Department cannot expect a worried neighborhood to accept on faith that violent incidents are isolated, that there is no reason to fear, and that all is under control. There are no simple solutions or easy answers to deep-rooted crime problems that are complex in scope, and residents shouldn’t expect them. They should, however, expect timely information and frankness from the appropriate officials. Neither were forthcoming in the immediate aftermath of the latest outbreak of deadly gun violence in the West Side. (This statement by Jim was first published in The Berkshire Eagle)
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Finally, we visited the Melissa Mazzeo for Mayor official website (mazzeoformayor.org), looking for any reaction to these events. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. All we found was this statement on “Public Safety:”
Our police officers and other public safety officials deserve the full support of our City. Like many communities, Pittsfield is facing an opioid crisis and the resulting uptick in crime. Working together as a community, we have an opportunity to make significant headway in dealing with this epidemic. We also cannot ignore the gang activity, nor can we ignore the vulnerability of Pittsfield as a pass-through community for criminal activity. We must make decisions about our law enforcement resources based on fact and actual data points, informed by best practices, to make a real impact on our overall neighborhood safety.
As boilerplate, we’ve seen worse. We’re struck by the fact that the website has no reaction to or statement about the recent mayhem. Perhaps Mazzeo simply wants to get through primary day and then attack. If that’s the case, it’s the wrong approach. The current “public safety” situation in Pittsfield needs to be specifically addressed. It’s not playing politics to do so, and even if it is so what? She wants to be mayor with a difference? Now is the time the city needs someone like that, but that time came and went.
The Mazzeo Facebook page had even less. It featured Mazzeo running about 20 feet with Pittsfield’s Marathon Man, Sal Marinaro. With all due respect to Sal, that beautiful little man we all love, one would hope for something more. Facebook and websites are interactive and 24/7, the perfect forum for Mazzeo to weigh in on these important matters. Missy missed out by playing it safe. It’s no way to be elected mayor.
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We welcome your continued comments on this important issue — and other, if you so choose.
Have a great weekend, everybody.
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“Yes, I am proud. / I must be proud to see / Men afraid of God afraid of me” — Alexander Pope, from The Dunciad.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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“Nothing you can know that isn’t known
Nothing you can see that isn’t shown…
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play THE GAME”
“It’s easy”
“How often have you been there? / I’ve been enough to know. / What did you see when you were there? / Nothing that doesn’t show.”
“So we sailed up to the SUN
‘Til we found the sea of green
And we live beneath the waves……
As we live a life of ease (a life of ease)
Everyone of us (everyone of us)
has all we need (has all we need)
Sky of blue (sky of blue) and sea of green (sea of green)
In our yellow (in our yellow) submarine (submarine) Ah-Ha!”
Yellow/Sun. Sub/Under-Marine/Water
Some very good and interesting facts. Let’s think of a couple others:
*Notifying the victim’s family (in police terms-Next of Kin Notification), does not take that long, unless the deceased is homeless, has no ID on him/her, etc. In most all other cases, like this one, PPD would simply call/email Yonkers PD, fill them in and ask them to make the death notification and have the family call PPD detectives. If PPD/MSP went to Yonkers, that’s an absolute waste of time and resources.
*I’m not defending Chief Wynn, but the DA is the one who calls the shots. You can’t really expect her to know what she’s doing, I mean, isn’t she the equivalent to a one-half of an attorney?
*I don’t think you’ll see many negative comments coming from Melissa Mazzeo either. Black on black violence is taboo amongst Restorative Justice believers. And her being a staunch Democrat in MA, speaking against it, would bring the wrath of others.
*The only true solution, is zero tolerance policing.
*Again, this is counter productive to Harrington and Tyer’s restoring equal justice to “oppressed minorities.” Especially, since the majority of the violent crimes committed in Pittsfield, are being committed by young, black, males.
*How about using some of those million of dollars in grant money, to pay OT to PPD, MSP, to work 4-6 months, Thursday-Sunday, 9PM-4AM.
*Those who work these OT details, print their stats in the paper, twitter, Facebook, etc. This way, only those willing to work and work hard, gets the OT. Not senior officers who disappear and sleep the time away.
*Chief Wynn needs to order his men/women officers to use a Giuliani-like “Broken Windows,” philosophy. I mean, if Giuliani and William Bratton (NYPD Chief) can clean up NYC, Pittsfield can be cleaned up too.
*I agree with a poster from yesterday, I would immediately end the Cops and Cones, except on Third Thursday’s, 4th of July, etc. Officer Derby is needed on the front lines to stop the gun violence. If DARE taught us one thing, feel good programs like this, do nothing but make good pressers for Mayors and Chiefs, and allow that cop to avoid service calls-you know, do the actual police work he/she was trained for. Trust me, ask a beat cop what he/she thinks of Cops and Cones.
***This one I think is huge and dangerously misleading. The claim that it’s an “isolated incident,” and/or “there is no public safety concern…” Now, this is usually used when it’s a murder/suicide. Both the suspect and victim are known. Usually a domestic violence/homicide situation fits these “buzz words.” Now, if the shooter(s) are not known, how can they deem this an “isolated incident?” Or tell us the “public is safe.” How, you don’t know who the shooter is or even, if this is his/her first shooting/murder.
I look forward to more of this. But to change it up just a tad, I found this little nugget for all these snow-flakes denouncing “white privilege.”
How about taking those millions of dollars and employing young, black, minority, disadvantaged, whoever, whatever, people with a quality wage that ensures a decent living.
People who go to work everyday are not out here shooting people. I guarantee it.
People who are out shooting people at night don’t want a job, not even one that pays 100,000 per year, even if all they had to do was show up on time and spank the monkey all day.
I guarantee it.
you confuse “facts” with your “opinions”
You cannot distinguish facts from opinions.
You cannot distinguish facts from opinions.
How are your sexual perversions doing? Treating others like yourself won’t help, nor will accusing them of false crimes.
Call me all the names you want. Shakey, you’re the deviant, not me.
Someone is triggered!
No just calling out ,a lowlife liberal ,who slanders rather than responsds.
You, are the dolt who uses sexual curses and claims, when Your idiocy, don’t fit facts.
Have fun in section 8!
Pittsfield needs a clean sweep of City Officials. Citizens are shut out and shit on. Neither Tyer or Mazzeo are the right candidate for Mayor. It is a shit show from top to bottom.
The citizens need to demand a change in the PPD Dept, our current chief has been there to long as it is. He has proven that is is not up to the job. Same thing with the school Dept. The superintendent is useless and out of touch with reality. There is a reason Lee got rid of him and it’s high time Pittsfield followed suit.
Let’s be logical for once in Pittsfield.Would you rather have 3 million in overtime for sand and salt or pay 3 million to patrol streets to prevent crime?please turn up street lights and cut tree limbs.Not one department runs well.Mazzeo gets 4 years to figure out how to consolidate schools.
There is a huge problem in the Pittsfield school in the special education department.The school committee has been fed data for 10 years and that data led you down a deadend street and now they want to go back where they started with the alternate school.
To the Seniors in Pittsfield you need to get ready to hand over a huge increase in property taxes to Tyer.There is no oversight at city hall.Mazzeo is a one woman ovwalking oversiight committee.Why is asking questions about budgets so rare in Pittsfied?
why would they question budgets? they are all on taxpayer welfare, and that will include Mazzeo, she was no longer able to work…so runs for office
It’s my understanding that MM’s back is so painful she can no longer work.
Isn’t there a legal requirement in MA to keep kids mainstreamed? I thought with IEPS and 504s they have to accommodate. Maybe I don’t understand this special school but it sounds like a segregation and separate but not equal pot for the trouble makers. I see the appeal for the administrators but doubt it will help other schools with learning because ineffective elementary teaching is why they are where they are at middle school and high school levels. There are also far too many staff. If an elementary teacher can not understand the math up to 5 grade in order to teach it they should be fired, because they are too stupid to teach.
Watching Kerwood being asked questions by Mazzeo was painful.Kerwood had the look of a guy who is about to look for a new job.He did not look confident that he would be back at city hall and I think he’s right.If Tyer does not work out of the schools she will lose in a landslide.Tyer has a huge school problem and she needs to solve the problem.Taxpayers just want their kids uninterrupted when trying to learn.No student has the right to abuse teachers…..How does Tyer overcome a 4,000 vote deficit.Pittsfield cant afford Tyer.
If you care about the schools then stop supporting Progressives because they are the ones promoting Restorative Justice which is all about keeping bad behavior kids in the school system. Same with so many other issues facing this city whether it’s crime or taxes. The Progressive philosophy is the cause of all of these issues worsening in this city and in this country.
I agree kerwood he could never answer any questions he always says i will have to get back to you on that he is afraid of saying the wrong thing to any questions being asked of him
Pittsfield voters need to stop making stupid decisions. Run independent candidates to provide relief from this all consuming Progressive philosophy. The local politicians do think that voters here are stupid which is why so little respect is given to the community when it comes to just about anything. It’s why the mayoral race is so tame despite the fact that this city is in really bad shape and there are endless issues to discuss and argue about, but instead we hear crickets.
Seems like they are all friends behind the scenes and they know the Progressive philosophy will endure in this area no matter who is elected. I though Kalinowsky did the most do challenge the incumbent Tyer, but the other candidates were so tame and unwilling to rock the boat.
Seems like they are all friends behind the scenes and they know the Progressive philosophy will endure in this area no matter who is elected. I though Kalinowsky did the most to challenge the incumbent Tyer, but the other candidates were so tame and unwilling to rock the boat.
The issues of crime and taxes and school problems should be very hot topics of discussion in this election, but we are getting the sound of crickets for the most part which is what is wanted by the locals in charge. Don’t challenge the status quo.
All good comments. Too many in power in bed with one another. It is an orgy of confusion, ineptness and disfunction.
The conundrum is, how do you get rid of these misfits and replace them with officials that have both the skill and desire to do their jobs with the citizens they work for in mind.
And the answer is that you can’t, short of a mass march on city hall singing Bella ciao.
Best advice is pack up your shit and get out. You can’t fix this. They are like the plastic in the ocean. It will take longer than you have to fix it.
How to fix Pittsfield
It all starts with public safety
Fire Chief Wynn, he’s had a over a decade to prove himself and all he’s proven is that he’s the worst person for the job.
Hire Mazzeo but insist she be a one term mayor. Her biggest priority would be to guide the ship as it changes captains, the city needs a professional manager, not a mayor. She must work to change the charter.
Renegotiate the ShotSpotter contract. For the money paid it’s not effective. Over $200k a year with a new bill because the service is expanding is a waste of money.
Every location that has a ShotSpotter sensor should also have a camera. A camera that goes directly back to the police department and dispatch or, if need be, 911 dispatch. Chief Wynn and Mayor Linda Tyer were told this well prior to the install of ShotSpotter and ignored the suggestion. ShotSpotter with cameras works much better it allows police to have an eyes on at a notification, stops police from running out to false positives, and gets to the second eyes on of whatever is happening. Video is also much more compelling in court.
Hire more police. Good ones, not ones used to being able to abuse their power and deal drugs on the side. Get rid of the ones that sleep on the job, steal from victims and dealers alike. The ones who lose their firearms and use drugs.
Redeploy current police in strength to troubled areas in a “shock and awe” fashion. Randomly overwhelm an area with police presence. Random saturation will disrupt criminal activity. Double and overlapping patrols in the late evening and early morning. Heavy patrols when school is letting out. A car on every corner of a given area with shifting and roving patrols.
The only way you can disrupt crime is to make it difficult to commit crime. Chief Wynn and Mayor Linda Tyer take a reactive approach to public safety, wait for the crime, wait for the shots to be fired, collect the evidence, clean up the dead bodies. Nothing to see you are safe, as long as you stay in your homes and wear a BPV.
Fire DA Andrea Harrington. She may be a nice person, she may have a good heart, she may want to do the right thing and help people. She can do all those things volunteering at a soup kitchen, her local PTA, or as a volunteer victims advocate.
As a DA, Andrea Harrington is dangerously incompetent, wastes money, doesn’t have the respect of her “loyal” staff, and certainly doesn’t have the respect of law enforcement or the community as a whole.
Only when you disrupt crime will the other things slowly begin to fall in place. Less dealers on the street, less violence from said dealers, less drugs being sold, less addicts. Less property crime from addicts stealing to get money for a fix.
Less property crime, people feel safer, people feel safer, they venture out, spend more time shopping, investing in their neighborhoods, investing in their businesses.
The future success of Pittsfield all starts proactive policing, something Chief Wynn, Mayor Linda Tyer, and DA Andrea Harrington know absolutely nothing about.
I briefly researched some crime statistics I could find that include race- the MASS sex crimes offender registry. Turns out only 12 of the 90 references to offenders living or working in Pittsfield are people of color.
I wonder which registrant Mad Trapper is?
So I guess all the white power posters on here can worry about how people of color contribute to crime, but. They can rest assured if there’s kiddie porn, sexual assault, or molesting kids, it’s probably one of their creepy white neighbors.
Go away Schlitzie.
Too close to home? Are you on the registry?
Shakey slanderer. How do You determine race/color from your keyboard?
I am concerned with the state of affairs in Berkshire County’s version of “Dodge City”. Chief Wynn is no Marshall Dillion ,and Tyer and incompetent DA Harrington have made a dangerous city, worse than fearsome.
Concerning your slander, I respect the Planet giving micro-Saprophytes like yourself a means to vent their ignorance.
Schlitzie, your stats match demographics, so what’s the big deal?
Bill Clinton fits your mold well, Shakey.
So does Biden, and Willie’s friend Epstein, Huma’s Hubby Wiener.
Meanwhile, feel free to slander those whom you don’t agree with. Planet is free speech
Shakey,
According to US census, “Whiteys” as you like to refer to, are 87% of PITTSfield population.
12/90 X 100% = 13% are people of “color”, registered sex offenders. Did you get by 3rd grade math?
Or just playing the race card again, and again , and again,………
I’ll call YOU out as a RACIST!!!!!
Now that is, IF, they bothered to register as a sex offender.
Since we are flooded with criminal aliens of color, think they register if they even show up in court?
DA Harrington will just let them go to rape, pillage and plunder. Ma will give them drivers licenses and public assistance USA citizens pay for.
While you have your race cards out, Shakey.
How many “people of color” committed homicides in PITTSfield this year vs “Whiteys”?
We want to know, or won’t Wynn/Harrington tell you?
I hate “white trash” as much as any other.
Shakey, is just pushing the racial, color and creed , divisions, started/inflamed by Barry Sotero.
This year, last year, over time, horrible crimes committed by poor people, most of whom are white in the Berkshires.
But there are many more white pedophiles in Pittsfield than black pedophiles.
Now I’m wondering if Mad Trapper is class 2 or class 3 on the registered sex offender list.
Shakey,
I’m a freeborn man. No restrictions on my life no matter how you try to slander me.
Calling me all that you have, is slander.
I could sue You, but can’t get dirt from a indigent.
Now , where is your section 8 housing? Paid any taxes last 10 years?
Shakey,
I’m not on any of your lists of : friends, perverts, felons and sex fiends.
Nor any local/state/federal list, for ANY crimes.
You are a libelous POS.
Skakey,
How many times , have you been committed, for insanity? 3 , 4, 5?
Been to Jones how many times?
What public asisstances are you on?
Not a probationer’ parolle or “sex offender” , all of which you seem fascinated with, and label other innocent citizens with.
Why do You libel others with such?
It seems the vast amount of perverts are liberals, do some research on that.
Are you one of the new age perverts? The ones that promote sex to 6 year olds in public education.
Why do you start the name-calling and then act so offended? you can’t take anyone standing up to you because you’re a bully and a worthless anchor on society.
Dementia is setting in and you are Exhibit A as to why we should de-fund medicare.
You always start the name calling , and libelous rants.
Then blame those whom you have slandered, if/when they respond.
How LIBERAL of you, Shakey.
Mr. Police Report,
Chief Wynn is the duly appointed civil service chief, like it or not. The job was put into civil service to take the politics out of it. Only the mayor could fire him, and only for a damn good reason.
DA Harrington is the duly elected DA. She can’t be fired either.
As for Tyer, well of course she is the duly elected mayor, and is about to be re-elected despite crime, unless Mazzeo gets with it, real quick, as they say.
Mazzeo already declared at the so called debate that she would be a 4 year mayor – not sure if that means a one termer, or that she would serve her full term.
You “fire” the mayor Linda Tyer by not electing her.
Chief Wynn is not part of the civil service system, he is an at will employee who can be fired by the new Mayor.
You fire DA Andrea Harrington by electing someone else who has more qualifications that just being a woman with a law degree and zero experience.
Chief Wynn is a civil service chief, and Tyer appointed him permanently, so you are incorrect.
Harrington was elected not too long ago, and voters had their choice between her, and an established, career, law and order but fail and balanced prosecutor, and they chose the progressive feminist trauma informed DA you have now, and she has many years left before she can be voted out.
Tyer can be voted out, but like I said, tain’t likely.
The Pittsfield school employees can barely teach in their own schools because they vote in people who will give them more money every year, but who also believe in Restorative Justice in the schools. How is this any different from voters who vote Progressive just for the weed? They will accept any crazy political philosophy to get what they want. This does make voters very stupid and the politicians are using them to promote their own political agenda.
Pat if you don’t already have a key on your keyboard with the word “progressive” on it you should have it added.
Regressives and liberal has nothing to do with budgets.People just cant say no.Your conservative national debt for rich people tells you all you need to know about Republicans being able torun budgets.
Interesting that the Police Dept had no representatives at the West Side meeting. It sounds like the “collaboration” between residents and police is terribly one-sided.
Someone asked on the previous thread why the girl’s car had MA plates. On Facebook there’s a comment that she moved to Yonkers ten years ago but had recently returned home. She was planning on going back, the poster said. If you look at the car, there is an Italian flag decal on the back. I think we should assume this car was an Italian girl’s ride.
Which means the narrative that she drove up here with someone or for someone in the middle of the night and ended up on Columbus at 3:30am is false. It was Saturday night, or the extension of, and I think we can assume whatever she was doing at the murder scene was part of whatever she had done that evening. If Lach’s was still open, we’d assume she’d been there.
It’s actually an Irish flag on the Silver 2014 Chevy Malibu.
Registration is active, original registration date 3/1/18, inspection pass on 7/27/2019.
Welp there goes my theory!
Do we know whose car it is/was?
Dan,
Great posts this week. Us Kapanskis have been clamoring for sunshine to be shined on the crime Tyer campaigned on 4 years ago. Notice how she ain’t campaigning on the crime problem now? I should point out that “Jim’s” post was a cut and paste from The Eagle’s Editorial – ya I know it’s hard to believe the Eagle actually printed that, but to their credit, they did, so for attribution, what you re-posted was the Eagles editorial. Jim did post the link, but then cut and pasted the story underneath, but didn’t say so, so it was unclear.
The communication frustration is understandable all around, and a golen opportunity Missy missed. As you point out, a big miss on Mazzeo’s part. A swing and a miss would have been better than not stepping up to the plate. If this happened under Bianchi, Tyer would have been standing down on Columbus Ave with her posse and a camera rolling, grandstanding. In fact she did so when Bianchi was mayor. Mazzeo is way behind the 8 ball, and unless she gets with it, and I mean quick, she’s done. She better higher a professional campaign type, dump 100k into her campaign, and light it up like the Christmas tree in Park Square each December, or she’s done. Have a nice long peacful weekend everybody.
J-99
Yes, as Jim stated, The BB first published this. I left out the credit as a little “zinger” for the many times they have stolen my scoops, only to re-publish them days later without credit, as if the paper investigated on its own. You are right, though, to call me on this, and we will correct the record.
Great follow up column today, Dan. Sorry if I wasn’t clear that I cut and pasted the Eagle editorial. Like Johnny said above, I too was surprised to see the Eagle come out with such a forceful editorial that I had to post it and give them kudos.
Okay. have a nice weekend. I’m getting outta doge city for a few days.
I kind of feel like Mazzeo doesn’t really want the mayorship anymore… If I recall she hemmed and hawed awhile before deciding to run. Is she now having candidate remorse? I wouldn’t blame her!
That’s a good point. Being the mayor of Pittsfield isn’t a great job.
Mayor Linda Tyer does it because she’s not qualified to do anything else. Linda Tyer is not qualified to be Mayor either but she has the political clout to get the job. It’s very much the story of DA Andrea Harrington, horribly unqualified but politically connected.
I honestly think that Mazzeo wants (wanted) the job because she thought she could do better. But really the job of mayor, in Pittsfield, is like being promoted to Captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg. I get that Tyer has no other job prospects, needs the money, and hopes to parlay this into retirement or another govt gig so that’s why she’s clawing her way though ineptness to hold onto her job.
Mazzeo might be reconsidering or just pacing herself for after the primary. Why show all your cards when there are still 4 players in the game.
There ain’t exactly a plethora of qualified municipal managers living in Pittsfield to run for mayor.
hence the need to move from elected mayor to the need for an appointed city manager.
It opens up the candidate pool and adds verifiable qualifications
The city wouldn’t pay for a quality manager, and a quality manager would have no reason to move to Pittsfield. It would take at least $200k and 1 year severance for dismissal without legal cause, not to mention all the other standard benefits, for someone with my experience and qualifications to even consider it.
Do you think the City can put together that kind of package?
Yes I think they can and could. There’s so much waste in the city as it is. If mayor Linda Tyer gets $70k? It would be $130k bump as the cannabis businesses come online, it would be easy to make up that gap.
There are An jobs and redundancies within Pittsfield that can be combined or eliminated.
maybe there would be some applicants, but let’s face it, ain’t happening.
Schlitzie, you’re barely qualified to clean up after one of the circle jerks you’re obsessed with.
MM honestly did want the job. Probably she still does. Your remarks and those in today’s column mention the two possibilities: (a) She has buyer’s remorse on running or (b) She’s keeping her powder dry until after the primaries. The analogy you use in your last sentence fits (b) perfectly. My guess is that it’s (b), but it’s an interesting question to eye as we move forward.
Beginning to think she’s a token. Candidate, like Judith knight in da race. Very little effort, and public safety is a big issue to let slide.
After the primaries, MM’s team should have a sit down, or a Pittsfield buzz-word-collaboration, with Kalinowsky. Kalinowsky has a true insider knowledge of the ineptness of PPD.
Ask her, how many officers are working 70-80 hour weeks, every week, working construction OT. So, they do their 40 hours for the city and then their “real” work sets in-OT. Do you think these tired officers are going to give the city their best 40 hours? Hell no, that’s time to sneak off into the woods or other hiding spots and sleep on shift and hope the radio doesn’t call your number.
Police Report is correct, it’s basically a more thorough plan than my first post. In order to fight back crime, you have to have a zero-tolerance approach.
But, this is where the problem lies. DA Harrington won the election on bashing “whitey,” and talking about the oppressive conditions that affect the minority community. Problem is, the minority communities not playing ball with Harrington. They are shooting, killing, and dealing drugs, in Pittsfield, like it’s the OK Corral.
Go ahead Mayor Tyler, DA Harrington, Moon, TF-Country Buffet-B…….get to that collaborative efforts.
On more point, I do agree with PPD on the Westside Community Out Reach, and staying away from it. Why should PPD go and support it? The WCOR just wants to extend their grip into PPD. Sorry, but when you can’t even control your own people, don’t look to control others.
Bottom line-The Westside community wants to get better, besides zero tolerance from the police, they need to start policing their own.
Shakes, you would get the $200,000 you say it would take to get a quality City Manager by using money saved by not paying salaries and benefits for a Mayor and City Council.
There is still a legislative body led by a mayor.
In many other communities with a city manager and a mayor and city council, the mayor is just a figurehead.
They get paid a nominal amount and are more like PR people.
True, however there is still a cost to that council and mayor structure. Consider that switching to it really just eliminates the current mayor position and doubles the pay for a new city manager. I’m definitely an advocate for it, but it is not cheap and the gains will be slow to materialize.
I feel this about the city council and pretty much all of the elected state officials. They are not competent to do anything else and so they run for office. 90% seem totally unable to have a job elsewhere and so they run for office.
I wondered about the quotes on the editorial mentioned above which I didn’t think sounded realistic overall – especially the bit about cops not ripping off overtime. All the State guys were senior. Plus — Spot shorter seems like a waste, and also how lazy are the police they don’t patrol the bad areas so they have to rely on the stupid gadget. And more men in blue shenanigans in Springfield, drunk coppers pick a fight. Sounds about right.
Where do I start??
“She was presumed dead at the scene and determined by medical staff at BMC to be DOA — dead on arrival.” So the ambulance and first responders are the first to be in on the trojan horse?? Ok guys lets load her in the ambulance even though she’s dead to help the mayor and police chief. Then on arrival at the hospital they trauma team jumps on board and makes believe they resuscitate the victim. But then comes the hard part, convincing the ICU to take the dead victim and play Weekend at Bernies until after the mayoral debate. Stop and think how ludicrous the whole scenario sounds. I’m not sure an LSD fuel fantasy could make up this story.
“Innocent victim”? probably not the best choice of words. Unintended target seems more appropriate. The victims in these cases are not innocent by the traditional definition of the word. They are hanging out with a criminal element that thrives on weapons and violence so they should expect they could become a victim at any moment whether or not they are the one carrying the heat or doing the crimes directly. An innocent victim would have been someone sitting on a doorstep eating their Popsicle and got hit by gunfire. Oh but wait, at 3:30 am law abiding innocent citizens are in bed sleeping.
The connection between Cumbys and the shooting?? You are probably right with this one. Good chance, because as I said these criminal elements are after each other trying to dominate the criminal trade.
It’s risky business coming out to early after an incident and increasing the chance you make a wrong statement till all of the facts have been brought together. But I think the time has finally come the Mayor and law enforcement must come out early and hard and make a statement, any statement to let the public know they are listening. But the first thing that needs to happen is the Mayor needs to tell Wynn to stop all his traveling to teach policing in other communities or adding to his resume. Mike it’s time for you to grab to put the big boy undies on, grab your bootstraps and get involved with your own department and lead the effort (not delegate) to make a dent in these incidents. When a major fire or incident breaks out there’s a 95% chance you will find the fire chief at the incident. Same needs to hold true for the police and their major incidents. Chief Wynn is highly qualified and knowledgeable and now if the time to use it here at home.
FM
As to your first point, if sources are correct, she was thought to be dead when police broke into the car. Death, however, is not as cut-and-dry as many think. A person can be alive and show no outward signs. It takes a medical examiner and trained staff to be certain of “technical death,” defined as that point at which resuscitation is impossible. No one truly knows that point, and until it is reached, medical staff are trained to try to attempt revival and to be alert for any signs of life. We agree that it is “risky business” to come out too early in an incident with everything you know and, more importantly, with what you don’t know. We understand that investigators need time. That is not the same, though, as facing the cameras and the scribes and sharing key facts then taking questions. Agree, too, with the need for the mayor to have a heart-to-heart with Mike Wynn. He is police chief of Pittsfield, Mass., not an itinerant lecturer. He spends way too much time away. He needs to be out and about, everywhere, actually. There are a lot of good men and women on that force who are floundering as a unit because of the lack of proper management and direction. Mike Wynn is good with textbook stuff and telling others how to do their job, but his track record on actually running the PPD is mediocre at best.
She was unresponsive at the scene. Sitting 15 minutes with significant blood loss and a horrific injury. They did very little lifesaving measures on scene and virtually none at the hospital because she was dead.
There was no grad conspiracy except that her condition was know to DA Andrea Harrington, Chief Wynn, and Mayor Tyer well before it was released to the public. The information wasn’t released purposefully so as to not add fodder for a debate. It was not to afford the family privacy (which isn’t even a legal issue) nor was it because they didn’t notify the next of kin.
Her brother was notified and made a plan reservation and flew to NY as soon as he had the money. He set up a gofundme page on Sunday, published it on Monday. There were neither compelling privacy issues or family notification issues. There were no law enforcement reasons not to release the information. There are actually a number of suspects and known bad actors. It’s more an issue of actually getting evidence but that doesn’t explain away why the public wasn’t notified.
Here’s the base scenario and it’s “similar” to Asiyanna Jones.
Girl hangs out with bad crowd, bad crowd includes drug dealers and drug dealer romantic interest. Boyfriend gets into a fight over drugs. Rivals pursue boyfriend, end of night, running gun battle ensues after girl pulls over at a house.
Is she an innocent bystander if she’s driving around with someone selling drugs and carrying a gun or is she a co-conspirator? Would that more likely be the reason that DA Andrea Harrington and Mayor Linda Tyer quickly claimed that the public was “safe”?
Then just say that, it looks like a woman was shot and killed because of some drug and gang related activity gone wrong. She may have known her assailants and the intended victim.
Pittsfield is already used to women getting killed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.
PR you sure act like you know alot about her care. I believe you ars bs. First responders don’t make believe to do minimal care because someone looks dead, especially for a victim that age. There most likely little done in the field because it was trauma which requires expedient transport to the hospital.
I’m guessing that first responders and those in their circle of communications are actually the people who DID first share the news of the fatality, within their circle, and news travels fast.
As Dan mentioned re: social media, it was reported on Facebook long before any public statement was made. People talk and it’s a small town. I knew the deceased name Sunday morning by noon. So no, there was no acting or faking it with a dead patient. Everyone already knew she was dead. Officials just refused to reveal that info.
Tyer is drowning in bad press. Mazzeo is being kind, she is running mostly on crime.interfering at this time duration a campaign would not help the situation.
Sally Says it’s The Trickle Down Theory of communication. Only problem is there is no offical information trickling down to The Kapanski’s, leaving bloggers, facebookers, etc to fill the void, true or not, as you wrote Dan.
While DA Harrington can’t be fired, can’t an elected person be removed by a citizen petition garnering enough signatures to force a recall vote?
It was always obvious that DA Harrington wasn’t qualified. Her only qualifications were: a) a license to practice law; b) a woman; c) a Progressive; d) backing of the Democrat party bosses.
It’s long overdue that the Progressive agenda simply doesn’t work.
Interesting idea Truthsayer. Both Harrington and Tyer are self-described social justice politicians. That may have sounded good to the berkshire brigades who run elections around here but the people are suffering.How is that justice? They are looking at everything through a politicians lens “How will this make me look and get me elected?” We need public safety now!
The lure of the progressive candidate is two fold.
For the rich and privileged constituents, electing a progressive makes them feel like they are “doing something”.
It feeds their savior complex and assuages their guilt. It also lets them rub elbows with the underclass but only so much that the color or dirt doesn’t rub off.
For the underprivileged and minorities, it satisfies their need for reparations and payback from “the man” who has been keeping them down and impressing them. The hope of expungement is strong an foothold at unraveling the injustices they perceive.
DA Andrea Harrington believes in none of this. These are buzzwords and marketing catch phrases used to get her elected.
DA Harrington had the following objectives in getting elected:
1) To use the office as a stepping stone to feed her personal belief (aka ego) that she is destined for greater things in politics. (Since her mentor is the former mayor of NA, we’ll call that JB3 Syndrome with delusions of godliness.)
2) To make a whole lot of money while having to do pretty much nothing to get it, and build a state pension to boot.
It’s amazing that her diminutive size allows her to pack that much ego into it.
If she’s not doing her job, it’s time for the taxpayers to yank her back with a recall.
She expects to be the next AG
If people in Pittsfield and West Side Residents in particular are unhappy with her poor performance they should demonstrate outside of her office and outside of the courthouse to wake up judges who send these terrorists back to the neighborhood they already terrorized.
Concerning lack of candor of the Mayor/Police Chief/DA/School Dept JIV.
Flood them them all with FOIA requests.
It will keep them busy and scare the hell out of them. If they don’t comply then they will get to go to court, as a defendant. Then have to comply, or crowbar hotel
Sounds like you and the waterboy are developing this strategy in a two man circle jerk.
Schlitzie, this isn’t the place to talk about your fantasies.
you must be a part of it too.
Shakey,
Your posts are vile and repulsive, much as yourself.
You cannot engage in coherent discourse, so You choose to slander and insult, as that is the best of Your ability.
You seem to have latent sexual phobias as you also label others with sexual perversions , without cause/backing/evidence.
Get a counselor, to deal with your sexual perversions and metal health issues.
Shakey, why your fascination with sexual perversions? Are you a rapist/pedophile/sex trafficer?
You even go to the point, of accusing innocent others of such perversions, Your enamor.
Why is that?
Because that’s exactly the POS you are.
Nice response Shakey,
At least You didn’t try Racist again and again………
You don’t know me from Adam, Shakey.
You are a well qualified, POS , from your posts here.
Keep it up!!! We love toying with idiots.
TO SHAKES AND TRAPPER
Ok, fellas, you’ve had your trading of personal salvos. THE PLANET asks both of you to move on to more substantive comments. If you can’t resolve your difference, you can at least ignore each other. Don’t understand why you two guys have to resort to the kind of name calling we see here. You’re both better than that. Thanks.
I listened to a live radio show on 89.9 FM this morning at from 9 to 10 AM. It was hosted by our Pittsfield police chief and had other related topics about police work and speaking with people who work in the police force. They briefly read a letter from the BB mentioning the shooting incidents and homicide this weekend at the beginning of the radio program, but that was all the mention I heard of it. I guess that was their statement on the subject that it is being investigated.
Nobody on the radio show went into any details about our current crime and drug problems or the public response to not hearing about the homicide until late Tuesday or was it Wednesday? Or whether all of the violence incidents were related.
Rumor that there was a person hit by a car on Elm st yesterday. Rumor that a police cruiser was involved in an accident near park Square yesterday. What would be the lag time for a decent newspaper to get stories like this to online print?
Given the Left Winged Parrot/Rutberg took 3 days for a murder, what is the rush on old news?
At 8:30 p.m. Thursday night, Officer Matt Killeen was heading north just past West Street. He was responding to a call, with emergency lights on in a 2017 Ford Explorer. He collided with a 2013 VW Jetta driven by Sheila Aitken of Cheshire. Accident is under investigation by Patrol Division supervisors and the Traffic Bureau.
I’m just curious: so how would y’all sleuths monitor and stop a would-be assassin traveling from the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Springfield to Pittsfield, approaching a predetermined target, and eliminating his/her target?
The point is: if someone wants to shoot a target in Pittsfield there’s very little or if anything a Tyer, Wynn, or Harrington can do to foil the plot. Unless of course you’ve recruited a school of willing informants or advanced notice of their itinerary is received from another law enforcement agency. And even then there’s just so many informants around strong enough to snitch on a powerful & violent gang member or an outta town hired gun.
Everybody’s a cop and mayor on this site.
I’m guessing no one on this site bothered to take out papers for a public office? Exactly!
No one is saying that there are assassins coming to shoot someone.
What most are saying is that crime is at an all time high due to inactivity and incompetence by those most responsible for curbing its behavior.
How do you stop crime? You actively patrol, you don’t wait for the bodies to pile up and then send in police after the fact.
You actively patrol because patrolling and a constantly rotating police presence is what deters crime. A State Trooper, on a call, in Pittsfield HEARD gunshots and was close enough and fast enough to get there. More cops on the street, means more arrests, until such time as crime goes down and arrests go down.
You can’t have it both ways. Chief Wynn can’t be the top cop and not be “responsible” for mitigating crime.
Mayor Linda Tyer can’t campaign on Bianchi’s perceived poor response to crime and then be the mayor under who’s administration Pittsfield made it to the top 10 most dangerous cities in MA.
DA Andrea Harrington and her progressive agenda and incompetence fuels both the drug trade and crime with promises of diversion and restorative justice.
It makes it MUCH easier to recruit mules, runners, and lookouts when the threat of jail time is taken off the table.
All Mayor Tyer, Chief Wynn, and DA Andrea Harrington have done is make it easier to commit crime in Pittsfield and Berkshire County.
The collusion between the three is what really bothers me. The shooting was not called a murder until AFTER the mayoral debate for political reasons, despite it being a DOA.
The only way to stop further collusion is to vote Tyer out of office.
PoliceReport, I agree with all of your posts.
If you could walk into Walmart, put a 60 inch TV into your cart and walk it out of the store without paying for it, you’d do it.
Same for drugs, same for violent crimes, etc. That’s the atmosphere these clods Harrington, Tyer, and Wynn have created.
Don’t do the crime if you cant do the time. That’s out the window. Without the threat of any real punishment, Pittsfield should adopt Nike’s motto for the local perps:
“Just Do It!”
“If you could walk into Walmart, put a 60 inch TV into your cart and walk it out of the store without paying for it, you’d do it.”
No, I wouldn’t. And neither would the vast majority of people. Maybe you should hang out with people who have morals.
Crime may be at an all time high, but if it is it’s because economic opportunity is at an all time low.
This proves you are not in the know. There is a heavy presence of MSP uniformed patrols in Pittsfield all the time. There are joint community task forces out there doing patrol, they are mostly plainclothes in unmarked vehicles and don’t have a billboard on their vehicle saying I’m a cop here I am. Read any of the articles in the newspaper and often you will see jointcredit to multiple agencies that are working together on these initiatives. Unfortunately all the social justice warriors in this world are tying the hands of law enforcement and making it harder to their job resulting in what you are seeing.
Chances are the would be assassin would be the product of a Harrington or Rutberg in some other local. Stupidity in justice is nationwide.
BM , many on this blog would make a better mayor than Tyer. Even tetracycline Shakes and school committee.
You become the drug trap of New England.Everybody slows down in Nassua NY because it’s a trap.We have the drug jail for the state 1 mile out of Pittsfield.Build a reputation .Judges ,we all know who let people with 3 violent crimes ,assult,sex assault, gun,and how the hell does a 23 year old be arrest for a 4th crime…..keep them in jail so they wont hurt anyone…..violence is punishable .Tyer ran on crime and 48 months later she’s had it…..wont work Linda as your down by 4 k
Brian
Have a feeling you may have an information advantage.
Seems your thinking this was a robbery of a rival drug mule, which would make sense as the Cumby beatings were to find out who ratted out the shipment, be another fatality soon if your correct.
Imagine multiple blood trails with 11 casings recovered and overlapping shots reported. And crime scene took 12 hours to process.
Be interested if caliber of projectile matches spent casings at scene or
Lach’s lounge murder by pro with small caliber revolver,as no casing was recovered and nobody heard shot. Still unsolved murder
Previous da attempted to frame a local repeat offender , to appear tough on crime prior to election he rightfully lost & has judges questioning every case in Berkshire County as detectives suborn perjury on numerous occasions and have zero credibility.
The cases now being dismissed like lachs murder, are from previous administration, should not be attributed to present da.
Hunch says door number 2 and suspect is long gone, onto next job. Explains spotshoter inaccuracies also. And authorities knowing the general public wasn’t at risk.
We agree this started long before ms Harrington was elected, And citizens have no confidence in law enforcement and are reluctant to participate. Which works to criminals advantage.
3rd scenario is a vigilante who is robbing the money couriers.
Most likely a police officer, privy to information ,has a Dirty Harry complex , and growing piles of cash.
Reliable sources report that the victim was seen aroundfor so
E time now. Did she drive up from Yonkers that night? Who knows ? The police should have know within seconds who the car was registered to. Obviously they have no reason to release that information now but it’s a part of the puzzle.
Don’t be mislead. The players in this game are mostly locals. Some may be transplants from other cities but they live here now, for all intents and purposes. They have friends, family, girlfriends, etc from the area and they have established a presence, regardless of their origins.
This is not a case of a midnight assassin traveling to Pittsfield to wage war.
Yes, these people have general beefs with other groups – for a variety of reasons. And criminally minded behavior as a way of life. But this could have easily been the result of some acute incident of disrespect or conflict Saturday night. I do believe the gang war / on-going feud narrative is a bit dramatic. Not untrue necessarily, just not as Hollywood as it has been presented.
Although I agree in part, a large majority of the shootings and crime are turf related over drugs. Both the guns and drugs are not local and are coming from Springfield via Boston, Connecticut, Albany via NYC.
The local crews are particularly inept at what they do but they are still plodding along because Chief Wynn is even worse at what he does.
Dylan Ducharme
Ryan Henault
Paul Lewis
Zackary Kirkland
James Daley
Dennis Ducharme
Shameen Howard
Aquireya Howe
Jose Perez Felix
Edward Chapman
Anthony Tsina
Yonatan Lara
Shaina Sayers
Melissa Daniels
Jacob Ferry
and untold minors who are never named but mule and hold and will shoot you if they can.
Raids targeting Springfield-Berkshires drug trafficking net 4,500 bags of heroin, 7 arrests
Posted Monday, April 8, 2019 7:33 pm
By Bob Dunn, The Berkshire Eagle
This story has been corrected to reflect that seven arrests were made.
PITTSFIELD — Seven people accused of running a complex drug-trafficking operation between Springfield and Berkshire County were arrested Friday in a coordinated series of raids.
Investigators say the scheme, conducted by at least seven individuals, trafficked more than 23,000 bags of heroin into Berkshire County over a two-week period. During the raids police seized thousands of bags of heroin, cocaine, a pair of handguns, ammunition, a ballistic vest, thousands in cash and other evidence.
Police arrested Dylan Ducharme, 23, Ryan Henault, 21, Paul Lewis, 24, Zackary Kirkland, 20, and James Daley, 26, all of Pittsfield, and Shameen Howard, 27 and Aquireya Howe, 22, both of Springfield. They were arraigned on their respective charges in Central Berkshire District Court on Monday before Judge Robert T. Santaniello.
Twenty-eight-year-old Dennis Ducharme, of Pittsfield, named in court documents, is being sought in connection with the investigation.
Howe and Daley were ordered held on $5,000 and $10,000 bail, respectively, and are both due back in court May 2. The remaining defendants are being held without bail, pending hearings scheduled for April 11.
Beginning on March 13, investigators were granted a series of wiretap warrants for cellphones belonging to targets of the investigation and a warrant authorizing the installation of a GPS device on a vehicle. On Thursday investigators applied for and were granted search warrants for the residences of Dennis Ducharme, Kirkland, Henault, Howard and Howe as well as their 2018 Nissan Rogue.
According to court files, police believe Dennis Ducharme operated a large-scale drug operation in Pittsfield and allege that he received his supply from Howard and Howe, who would bring heroin into Pittsfield from Springfield.
Friday’s raids resulted in the seizure of nearly 4,500 bags of heroin, weighing approximately 112.4 grams. Police said Howard and Howe delivered heroin to the other suspects at least eight times between March 22 and Friday, in amounts ranging between 1,500 and 4,000 bags.
On Friday, police learned that the group was organizing a resupply into Berkshire County of 3,000 bags of heroin. Police surveilled a Brown Street residence and about 2:55 p.m., stopped the Nissan used by Howe and Howard who were inside with Dylan Ducharme. The three were removed from the vehicle and declined to speak with police.
Police found Dylan Ducharme carrying 60 bags of what appeared to be heroin and about $5,650 cash. Inside the car, police found another 3,000 bags of what is believed to be heroin, hidden in cereal boxes in the trunk and another $1,160 in cash.
About the same time, police raided Howe and Howard’s Chestnut Street apartment in Springfield. In that search, police recovered more bags containing suspected heroin, dealer paraphernalia and $20,000 cash.
Police also stopped Henault’s vehicle on West Street and found him with about $9,200 cash. Inside Henault’s apartment, police found cocaine and dealer paraphernalia, according to court files.
Police also searched Dennis Ducharme’s Wahconah Street apartment and found cash, a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun loaded with a 10-round magazine, a ballistic vest and dealer paraphernalia.
Police had also surveilled Lewis’ vehicle and watched him pick up Daley and Kirkland before stopping the vehicle on West Housatonic Street. That search yielded more bags of heroin, two bags of cocaine, nearly $3,000 cash and a digital scale.
A search of a Canal Street apartment associated with the investigation recovered a 9 mm Glock semi-automatic handgun with a magazine containing 17 rounds, and other loose pieces of ammunition.
All eight suspects have been charged with trafficking in heroin between 100 and 200 grams and conspiracy to violate drug laws.
Dennis Ducharme, Lewis, Kirkland and Daley face charges of trafficking in cocaine between 18 and 36 grams. Henault has been charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Dennis Ducharme also faces two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearms identification card, two counts of possession of a large capacity feeding device and one count of committing a firearms violation with one or more previous violent offenses.
If convicted of the heroin-trafficking charges, each defendant faces up to 20 years in state prison.
What’s the disposition of this case?
Here’s an interesting tidbit Dennis Ducharme was arrested for many of the same crimes 9 months prior with a $100k bail. He was out on the street. Interestingly still, a year prior to that he was arrested for heroin and weapons violations.
He was ROR. It seems every time he gets arrested someone intercedes and he then moves up the stud dealer ladder.
PR, many on your list can be found with a facebook search…..I wouldn’t call them mules….more like jackasses.
These are people who have cases pending or have been convicted, both locals and others all part of various drug trafficking rings. There was an assertion that drug dealers around Pittsfield aren’t part of a larger operation. You can google, PACER, BOP, or Facebook search any of those names. They will show inter-connectivity and a scale of reach of the drug operation in Berkshire County.
What interesting tidbits of information. A lot of dots connected here.
Thanks PR.
That is an interesting list. I believe that out of the 9 of those people who are from Pittsfield, 8 are white. Sort of discredits a lot of the other crap you’ve spewed. You have the bigoted, simplistic mindset that our last DA Capeless had. Thank God he’s gone.
Who gives a shit what color they are? Deal with the dumb shits.
Police Report, what is it that Wynn is not doing? He seems like a smart guy.
He’s not effectively policing.
Police on the street make the difference, not police handing out ice cream, not police playing basketball or handing out basketball hoops, not police doing cute little videos, not police doing radio shows, not off lecturing at events.
All of those things are police PR, generally reserved for locations that have much larger police forces or have specific grants for community policing.
The PPD is down in strength due to injuries, retirement, and pending criminal trials for officersThe. Get the officers out on the street. That radio show takes over 6 hours to produce. That’s 6 hours of wasted time people aren’t patrolling. It provides little or no real information, there is no “transparency” it’s an attempt at marketing. The chief thinks he’s an on sir personality now.
“The Police Department is trying to respond to the 24-hour media market.”
Conversations continued and with radio being less personnel intensive, Wynn with Lt. Gary Traversa and Officer Darren Derby agreed to produce a show.
“We knew that would be more manageable. We could do that even if we could only get one on-air personality out there, it could still work,” the chief said.
This is called spin. Smart Chief Wynn basically says that all this is is propaganda. A way to provide “context” and to get “his side of the story out.”
That’s not transparency.
He supported the idea of bringing closed internal affairs reports to a public forum with the Police Advisory and Review Commission because that gives him a chance to at least provide additional context.
“Am I thrilled that we are going to be airing dirty laundry? No. But, I’d rather I brief it out than send you a redacted internal affairs investigative report and you run a story on it without me getting to comment on it,” Wynn said.
Here’s how out of touch this guy is. Chief Wynn thinks the public doesn’t think we have real gangs, I’m pretty sure only the very few stupid think we don’t have real gangs, that all of this is just a local problem.
“We really see misunderstandings around a couple of key things. One is longtime residents who have been here for generations who can’t shake the belief that, despite the fact we are a city, we are the Berkshires and the country and real crime doesn’t happen here. That we don’t have real gangs. They hold on to that belief. They go to the community academy and are briefed by anti-crime or the drug unit or go on a ride-along — that’s your perception and here is the reality — and they are kind of taken aback,” Wynn said. “The other one we really see is people who have no idea how few resources we actually have available at any given time.”
https://www.iberkshires.com/story/60493/Pittsfield-Police-Add-Radio-Show-to-Information-Transparency-Efforts.html
Ironically, in the picture of the crime scene run in the BE showing the back of the victim’s car, you can clearly see the speed limit sign is tagged.
Maybe instead of handing out ice cream, they might think about hiring a gang expert. I met this guy once. He was very knowledgeable and pointed out numerous signs of gang activity in Pittsfield.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.masslive.com/news/2017/05/gang_expert_police_departments.html%3foutputType=amp
And while the police wait to catch the big fish, more drug users die and the system is failing under the weight of a community addiction crisis. While many are to blame, past methods are not working and something else needs to be done.
irrelevant
Sally Says just say “no” – ain’t no body forcing the dope into people.
People are r e s p o n s e a b l e for their own lives..
No one can save you but yourself.
Most people need a mirror not another government rescue program.
You need to be informed or somehow get educated about addiction Sally.So just walk away and watch the bullets fly through the neighborhood.Tyer has PR Pittsfield and the Berkshires long enough.Is not just a Pittsfield thing.What you don’t know about Dalton,Lenox,Stockbridge,Great Barrington wont hurt you.
Can you repeat that in English?
SALLY
Thing is, just saying “no” DOES in fact work for some, maybe many. The will to power in walking away from an addiction is given to some people, who find it within themselves. For those who won’t, don’t, or can’t walk away, we have to remind everyone that for whatever reason, they MADE THE CONSCIOUS CHOICE to mess around with the bad juju in the first place. They ignored all the warnings, advice, and red flags. They CHOSE to do that. Addiction is merely the consequence of an informed (deformed) choice.
Stop administering Narcan and let all the Pittsfield dope fiends die.
Damn straight Dan. Some people change. Next thing you know somebody like TSC will be telling us addictions’ a disease.
Overeating is a disease. Too much jogging is a disease. Funny how we want to blame “disease” for our bad choices. People change when they decide to become adults and kick it. Some can cold turkey, while others make use of all the help that is available. They do not stay where they are and wallow in mire. Change take courage.
Dan,
A good friend of mine has a son who was an elite ski racer. A serious injury led to huge amounts of pain pills from an irresponsible doc and eventually heroin. Screw your “it was his choice so too bad for him” crap. Life is more complicated than that.
Blare
BLARE
Agreed. Life is more complicated than we realize or understand. So is choice and consequence. I might add that ski racing, while being an adrenaline kick, is also risky business. One chooses to engage in it, and the odds for serious injury go way up compared with more sedate pastimes, such as Wiffleball and Pickleball. In playing the game, you agree to assume the risk. An irresponsible doctor might provide massive amounts of pain pills, but one doesn’t have to take them. One can refuse or consume them moderately. Then to escalate to heroin? That’s not a choice? I have a friend who recently suffered a snapped fibula, bone through skin — An ugly Joe Theisman-type break. They operated, put rods in, and she’s now in recovery. She, too, was offered a healthy dose of Oxy. She refused. She is dealing with the pain in alternate ways, aided by nothing stronger than Motrin 800 mg. Choice is all.
Dan,
Couple of points. 1. Every injury is different, especially orthopedic ones. Injuries around a joint are generally accompanied by pain that is orders of magnitude greater than non-joint injuries. Great for your friend that Motrin alone made the pain tolerable, but that says nothing about any injury beyond hers. 2. Your spiel about risk-taking has no point and is irrelevant. 3. The kid was 15. Go to hell with your “its his own fault” moralizing.
You’ll probably delete this comment once again, but why not extend this line of thinking to alcohol and tobacco use? We are all very familiar with the negative health effects of both, and that many if not most cancers can be traced to the use of alcohol and tobacco. I propose that anyone who drinks or smokes either cigarettes or cigars and subsequently becomes ill be quarantined and forced to die without medical intervention. If they survive they will just continue to be massive drains on our limited Healthcare resources. It’s their choice, and they know the consequences.
Blare
BLARE
No, we won’t delete this comment. That is not our first priority. Thanks for your feedback. I can attest that my friend Chris was in considerable pain. She does have a high pain threshold, however, and is practiced in body-mind control. That’s a lot to ask for a 15-year-old, granted, but where were the parents? Why did they allow such an overdose, and were they not in control of the meds? And how on earth did the youth “progress” to heroin. No contest to your point about alcohol and tobacco use. As you say, they experience the results of free will. Life is hard, babe. Anyway, thanks for the pushback.
Dan,
Kids are crafty and it’s difficult for parents to see clearly when their kid is in crippling pain. This also took place a few years before “opioid abuse” became well known and understood. But the parents did indeed make a terrible mistakes in not monitoring more closely and they may never forgive themselves. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. Regardless of who’s at “fault,” what we’re talking about is whether this kid (now young adult) should be written off and treated with contempt. You say yes, I say no.
Passing judgement is easy. Showing compassion and working toward solutions is harder.
Blare
BLARE
No one is judging, and it’s a false choice to present the options you do. I do not say “yes,” incidentally, in this case.
Dan,
No one is judging? C’mon, Dan. You just wrote “people change when they decide to become adults and kick it…they do not stay where they are and wallow in mire.” That sounds pretty judgmental to me.
I would also say that arguing against using narcan to revive OD victims, i.e. letting them die, implicitly passes just a bit of judgment as well.
Addiction is complicated. I don’t think that many old-school types, especially in law enforcement, get that. To them it’s a simple matter of right vs. wrong, which is why they focus on the personal choice angle. They are reflexively averse to new approaches and methods to deal with the problem because of a combination of stubbornness, ignorance and vindictiveness.
Blare
Good work, Dan.
Can’tt you folks be good to one another?
ShotSpotter fails again. It picks up “three rounds” then “five rounds”
that were an echo from the first three rounds.
They say witnesses said gunshots, well many others have said fireworks. But no evidence was found, no criminals caught, no video because they were too cheap to ad in video surveillance, and a system erroneously reporting echos.
The tech pointed officers with the Pittsfield Police Department to the 400 block of Wahconah Street, where it had picked up three gunshots around 11:31 p.m., according to Lt. Jeffrey Bradford. Almost simultaneously, he said, ShotSpotter detected five more rounds near Wahconah Street and Greylock Terrace.
Officers didn’t find any evidence at the scene, Bradford said, but witnesses in the area reported hearing gunfire.
“We suspect that the second ShotSpotter activation may have been echo from the first shots,” he said.
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/shotspotter-picks-up-several-gunshots-on-wahconah-street-in-pittsfield,583580
Wonder why they installed the microphones there? What percentage of gang members are given housing and food by the government? Government generates as much profit from crime as the gangs do. Citizens have little to fear from these gang squabbles, but the tax bills will reduce their standard of living and take years off their lives
With all the goings on, multiple shootings, murder, savage assaults, what does the Eagle lead with? A story about north Adams getting a new website, by a company that does a large number of city and town websites.
The Eagle seems to be running on fumes. Have they given up?
PoliceReport: Many Pittsfield citizens are still confused about the internal mechanism Mayor Tyer implemented to get Chief Wynn
anointed as “Permanent Chief”.
There was no cohesive information disseminated about this selection process, except that it was not part of the usual MA civil service as an applicant list had expired for the position, and that Tyer opted out of MA civil service and had her politically appointed personnel department design and administer her own version of a so called merit based testing ( civil service)and chief’s selection.
Who were the other applicants and was there a test ? Who created and graded the test, etc. ?
We’re cognizant that Chief Wynn’s politically active wife was one of Tyer’s campaign managers and that there are strong political ties between the Chief and the mayor’s political cult. His coronation ball at the museum was also a media circus and a first.
Please, if possible clarify this selection process.
Originally Wynn was an interim/acting captain then they renamed him acting chief. It’s an end run around the civil service process. If interim/acting you don’t have to pick from the list, it’s not based on a score.
One of Mayor Linda Tyer’s first moves was trying to get Chief Wynn in under his old 2009 score. She actually spent taxpayer money on the appeal which is unheard of. No Mayor files a civil service appeal, the Chief does, at most an ethical Mayor would file a letter in support. The appeal denial was carefully worded to admonish her and at least reminder her to at least keep the appearance of no conflict of interest.
Since Mayor Linda Tyer’s request was denied, she then rigged the system further by adopting the “verbal” test over the written test. There were three candidates applying for the job, the written test is considered more objective and the verbal test is more subjective. It is well known that if you have a candidate in mind, do the verbal test.
That’s what was done.
Mayor Linda Tyer made some incredible statements in her letter, about the hearing, and to the news.
She called it an “injustice” and wanted them to retroactively accept a score over 7 years out of date.
She didn’t consider that it would be an “injustice” to other candidates to use a test score so out of date.
She didn’t consider it an injustice that she changed the test to favor a candidate.
She didn’t consider it an injustice to only ask for Chief Mike Wynn to get this kind of waiver, the fire department continued with an acting Chief.
Granted his wife/fiancée was not part of Mayor Linda Tyer’s inn we circle for her campaign.
Her excuse, “Law enforcement is still my priority,” because it’s not like you can ask for waivers for more than one person at a time.
This was a political appointment of a Chief who has led Pittsfield to being one of the most violent cities in MA.
Matt Hill is a great person to talk to about all of this.
Isn’t Matt still with the PPD? I’m sure he will appreciate you naming him as the source for the above. Should make for a comfortable working relationship with Chief Wynn.
Matt Hill, as the Union Rep for 447S, has gone on record, to civil service board, to the union, to the rank and file, and to the news EVERY time it’s come up.
He has the unique perspective of a union delegate, trying to protect the rights of supervisors against unfair practices by Mayor Linda Tyer.
Members of the police union, who had opposed Tyer’s request, applauded the commission’s ruling.
“All we asked for was a fair process,” said Pittsfield Police Sgt. Matthew Hill, who represents Local 447S, the union for department supervisors. “We really wanted to see the Civil Service process followed.
Matt is protecting others against the “injustice” that was Mayor Linda Tyer trying to give political payola to her then campaign members fiancée.
/
Precisely, PR. The Boring Broadsheet continues to fails in its obligation to be the Fourth Estate for an otherwise unprotected public. The paper has sold out, which is worse than being bought out. Meanwhile, its numbers continue to drop (in the case of the physical paper, plummet). THE PLANET and iBerkshires continue to eat away at The BB’s online numbers. Outlook grim at BB HQ. Selling the building, bricks, and mortar, we hear, is part of a long-term exit strategy for its final folding (probably two years out). Owners continue to extract the profits (yes, it’s still profitable because of lack of competition) but are putting nothing back into the business. Retention rate among the young and eager staff members, especially those with talent, is poor. The only stability comes from the old timers there, who have no other options and are too scared to rock the boat.
https://www.iberkshires.com/story/60749/Hearing-for-Pot-Cultivation-on-Pittsfield-Peck-s-Road-Continued-.html
Pot to be grown on Pecks Road if they can get a permit, but neighbors are very worried about the skunk smell throughout their neighborhood. Williamstown rejected pot being grown there after very wealthy home owners did not want to have their neighborhood smelling horrible after their “lifetime investment” in their homes. Great Barrington is having the same issue. No doubt Pittsfield will begin to smell like a skunk on top of all of our other problems since recreational pot is really setting up shop in this city.
All agriculture has smells. Get over yourself.
A nice field of corn or some other vegetable is tolerable. A stinky skunk smell is not. Should this be a women’s issue? Are men immune to the stench of skunk pot?
All agriculture doesn’t attract armed robbers, employees getting tied up, homicide, google the crime scenes and get real Ted.
But a super soaker and a few gallons of Roundup.
Stop all illegal drugs coming over the border. This should have been done years ago. These drugs are destroying this country from within.
Fentanyl should not be used anywhere including in hospitals that use it on end of life patients. Having a use for it means that it needs to be cultivated. There are plenty of other ways to ease terminal patients out of this world without using deadly Fentanyl. Creating a supposedly “good” use for these deadly drugs is stupid because there is nothing “good” about these deadly drugs.
Do you remember the War on drugs that Bush and the Republicans waged.Reagan and his conservatives agreed with others as just say no.What does that get you.
Why didn’t Clinton and ZerObama end it?
They had the wrong war. It should be a war on the border to keep out the dangerous drugs. Once the stuff is here, it’s too late.
Residents who live in areas where potential pot is to be grown need to go bowling at Ken’s Bowl, get your hair done at Salon Experience or stop at Liquors Inc. and take a deep breath. All you can smell is the famous skunk odor. Now this is coming from an “indoor” pot farm. This odor also permeates the residential streets off Plastics Avenue. The City could care less about these businesses and residential taxpayers. This neighborhood which use to be a nice quiet family orientated neighborhood has gone down fast in the past two years. Not only do they have to deal with the skunk odor, they also have the Spectrum methadone zombies wandering around. Many times some of these “recovering” addicts are wandering the streets lying on taxpayers lawns asking for money and help. Residents call the PPD and once the cruiser finally arrives the resident is told “Oh, they are a frequent flyer, you don’t have to worry”. The cruiser then leaves only to be called back for the same issue a few more houses/streets away. Residents are given the same coined answers. At times residents have waited for the police to show up and end up driving to the police station to report the issue. So Tyer and Wynn have not only messed up the West side, it is also happening in the Allendale area. Both need to be fired/gone.
Merry,
for the record, my wife wanted to limit the licenses 10. Your candidate increased it to 35. That’s right 35. The logic behind this brilliant move…we needed the number to match the number of liquor licenses. I don’t remember there being a law saying the numbers match. Watch the debate, she says it herself.
Barry
This is the typical “logic” of Mayor Linda Tyer’s administration.
Ten or thirty-five, if it’s in your backyard does it really matter how many there are?
Yes she only wanted 10 and they would have been in the same locations, so what she wanted she got. Cannabis facilities right where they are.
If mayor Linda Tyer were any good at her job she would have pushed for RETAIL ONLY, no grow facilities and no processing facilities. Sadly she is unqualified to be mayor but she’s who we are stuck with.
Unqualified with a capital U.
First Barry, how the heck do you know who my candidate is? How do you know if I even live in Pittsfield? You said in an earlier post “you know who we are”! I did live in Pittsfield four years ago and as I responded to you many times before, I voted for your wife, but she has totally disappointed me and many others. I did watch the debate and just wondering if it was you that told her what to say and to make sure she shouted it? Are you two having bologna for supper tonight? You know Barry maybe you should have let your wife have a voice of her own, she might be in a better place, or maybe you should have just run for Mayor yourself. But then again you were not effective as a Councilor so you would not have won! Two peas in a pod!
My post had nothing to do with how many pot shops are around I was commenting on the odor coming from the Dalton Avenue “indoor pot farm” that the City promised the fumes would be taken care of by a great filtering system, which evidently does not work. Maybe you and Linda can also have a bologna sandwich for lunch! You also need to learn to read, did you go to the Pittsfield Public Schools??
Bologna. “That’s bologna”. What an ignorant statement for a mayor to spew from her mouth. Unfortunately, “We the People” the everyday citizens of Pittsfield are the victims of this inept Tyer administration.
Merry,
I like your banner.
Barry
Barry, why is 10 the magic number? Why not 1? I wouldn’t brag about 10 pothead shops.
Barry – What? Did you mean banter? Guess you did go to Pittsfield Public Schools. You might want to try fried bologna for lunch today.
M&B
Your comment brought back a fond memory. Fried baloney sandwiches were considered a treat back in the day. Fried baloney was the first thing I learned to cook. Next was Italian sausage over an open fire in the woods. Nothing better. Yeah, I think Barry meant “banter.” Typos, as THE PLANET well knows, will happen.
Sally Says the only thing better than fried bologna sandwhich is a raw bologna and peanut butter and lettuce sandwhich – it’s called the Rip Van Winkle.
And nothing like a Spam sandwhich too
Spam, spam, spam, spam.
Barry- So ironic (ha) that you are always quick to blame ‘the other candidate’ when something doesn’t go how you or your wife…(but mainly YOU as we all know you are the invisible hand)…doesn’t go how you want or is perceived as a poor decision. Mazzeo is only one member of the council unlike your wife who is the ONLY mayor.
BUT when it comes to issues that only your wife can control, such the lack of oversight of the chief in our recent crime spree, you are silent or quick to blame others or the city council and/or the ‘other candidate’ individually.
Ownership over real issues, over real problems is something you lacked on the council and your wife lacks as a mayor.
You can say Mazzeo blocked all these issues, created all these problems. etc. etc. all you want but in the end of the day Tyer is the only Mayor and Mazzeo is only one of ELEVEN on the council.
Can’t wait to see al the ‘examples’ you now come back with. Laughable. Not even worth responding to.
COME ON
Barry be real you know why that was changed to 35 don’t play dumb regarding your comment on melissa mazzeo lied about harrington threatening her I believe it Harrington would do anything to win just like you and your wife would do an have done your wife is a narcissist she wouldn’t know the truth if it jumped up and bit her in the butt
Makes me laugh when Mccandless gets millions and millions to take care of behaviors adds 30 new position and Tyer the CC and fake School Commitee say yes of course……We need to consolidate schools and get 35 cops on to the police department .This city is ass backwards.Behnke should report all spending as a courtesy to the CC every month.She should do this out of respect for the old people and veterans paying her 125k salary.Mccandless should OK this today.
City clowncil doesn’t approve paying the bills?
Are these troubled kids from Pittsfield or being shipped in. Have seen many out of town vans from ny coming here to go to Hillcrest.
Restorative Justice and Diversion sentencing are big business.
DA Andrea Harrington received quite a bit of money from BMC and Hillcrest staff and executives. It’s always good to payback your friends with government money when you can.
I’ve been blocked from following Andrea Harrington our DA. What did I do you may ask? I clicked on the follow button on her twitter page.
No fomo – fear of missing out – unless you want to watch her laud herself in front of her 300 followers as woman of the year as voted on by a group she founded. Question: are the mass. DAs still meeting or have they absconded to a bar somewhere to escape this idiot along with Rollins and Sullivan?
Do you think she manages her own account? Probably Dina or Moonshot.
Lol, you like to follow people you hate and hurl insults at them. She would be a moron NOT to block you. You behave like a child.
Blare, I don’t hate Ms. Harrington but she is an elected official and as such she is subject to public scrutiny and evaluation. BTW, I only clicked the follow button. I made no comment but I was blocked.
I rarely post tweets. I don’t know who it is that you think I comment to
Welcome to the club. I don’t “follow” anyone on the Twit, nor do I go on it. Andrea, however, has “blocked” me by not responding to our queries. The funny part of that is that THE PLANET has multiple sources in the courthouse and in the DA’s office itself. Andrea knows this, but she doesn’t know who — and she never will, for reasons that we shall keep inside the vest pocket. She thinks if she takes her football and goes home, the game is off, but there are other footballs.
Dan
Seems to be a deny and delay tactic, in violation of mgl 265 s37. Violation of civil rights, the First Amendment right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.seems Dennis and Andy both ignore request for information as does the whole office. Andy probably regrets career change
What are they hiding,their own criminal behavior?
We have a child for a District Attorney.
Four and a half toilets, over 430 dollars, one quarter.
Made a mistake 5 3 0.p for water.
Epidemic with these shootings. Twenty something shot or killed in Tx again. If our authorities don’t have anything to say,then it must not be a problem. What’s going to happen if a child gets hit? This is serious business Mayor and needs to be addressed again here.
Mayor Linda Tyer campaigned on the failures of Mayor Bianchi.
A large part of her focus had been on crime under Bianchi and how his ineffective policies had led to “unprecedented crime”
In Bianchi’s case he ran and was elected to two two-year terms.
As they put it:
“The way we’re set up, it’s almost a continuous campaign,” said Bianchi, who just completed his first year as mayor. “You sometimes get the feeling after a few months in office … [you’re] planning the next campaign.”
A four-year term would be particularly helpful for a first-time mayor, according to Ward 4 Councilor Christopher Connell.
“It seems the mayor’s first year is spent righting the ship, a perfect example of why we need a four-year term,” he said.
So Mayor Linda Tyer, sating she would improve on Bianchi’s record on crime had the following;
The ease of a 4 year term
A civil service Chief Wynn, adding to, as she put it “stability in the department”.
A DA, DA Andrea Harrington, who Mayor Linda Tyer feels philosophically aligned with.
“My endorsement comes with the strong belief that Andrea and I share similar values and we are like-minded. We both believe in creating opportunities for social justice and for thinking differently about entrenched problems,” Tyer said.
“Our leadership styles are similar in that we seek diversity of thought, opinion, and professional experiences to inform our decisions. We believe in building any bridge to find a solution or to advance a progressive idea.”
A city council that, for the most part, was a rubber stamp of most of her “initiatives”. Only recently has she had a difficulty with getting a majority.
A larger police force and budget.
So to recap
4 year term (no need for an election hustle and disruption), the Chief she wanted (Chief Wynn), the DA she endorsed (DA Andrea Harrington), a fairly complicit city council, with all of those advantages, why are things in the city so much worse?
Things are not worse. They are bad, just as they have been for many years. We will see in time how DA Harrington pans out, but make no mistake about the fact that anything is an improvement over an immoral DA with a God complex. Just imagine how much damage such a person might do in 15 years.
Blare
No imagination is required, look at the present rate of criminal activity in the Berkshires. This is a direct result of the previous administrations at district attorneys office, beginning with Ford in 80’s who spent more time using position to gather headlines, mostly for convictions which were overturned do the prosecutorial misconduct. Ms Harrington seems to be attempting to correct that trend, but is failing to honor her campaign promises to reopen all cases previous administration covered up for their friends and colleagues.
Which has added to the ever-growing rates of domestic& sexual abuse , and most alarmingly child abuse and exploitation.
Tyer just realized we are a City of Violence and the 12 year olds of Pittsfield are surrounded by losers.
DA Andrea Harrington now wants to add air conditioned, safe spaces for junkies to shoot up under medical supervision. They won’t be arrested and they will get medical assistance if they overdose.
Heroin Tourism thanks to DA Andrea Harrington and and her philosophically aligned supporter, Mayor Linda Tyer.
I guess this is part of the “red carpet” program. Heroin Tourism in Pittsfield.
Funny how the city fought so hard against methadone and Suboxone clinics but now want city sponsored shooting galleries.
With comfy seats, air conditioning, a medical staff (who’s gonna risk their license on that hot mess)
Somehow in her brief tenure as DA, Andrea Harrington got a medical degree. With her heavy case load of criminal prosecutions and trips to everywhere except superior and district court, it’s amazing at what she can come up with.
I wonder if Mayor Linda Tyer has a spare guest bedroom or a room above her garage for this endeavor.
What’s next opium dens at Dottie’s? Maybe they can convert one of the movie theaters into a heroin palace, M-W-F.
https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/supervised-injection-sites-gain-favor-worldwide-could-they-exist-in-berkshires,58364
PITTSFIELD — If drug users could inject themselves under medical supervision and without the threat of getting arrested, it could save lives. But would the community support such a bold step, rife with moral and legal questions on both sides of the issue?
The county’s top law enforcement official, District Attorney Andrea Harrington, says bringing supervised drug consumption services to Berkshire County is a conversation worth having because it’s “an idea that maybe would work.”
Earlier this year, Harrington and elected prosecutors from elsewhere in the United States visited Portugal to witness that country’s progressive drug policies.
Portugal’s medically supervised injection services — there, medical staff travel around in vans, providing sterile syringes and immediate care in the event of an overdose — have helped cut back the country’s drug mortality rate to one of the lowest on record.
Harrington acknowledged hurdles to clear in terms of building community support for the service in Berkshire County.
“There would need to be a much bigger conversation,” she said. “What I’m saying is, it’s an idea that maybe would work.”
So you agree that someone in opioid overdose should not receive Narcan?
I do wonder how many do die of opioid overdoses because they thought someone would be there with Narcan to revive them only to find out no one was there after all or it was too late.
Questions might be, How many die from overdosing because they believe there is a shot of Narcan that will save them? How many would have not taken the overdose in the first place without the belief that they had a second chance if things went awry?
It has been historically my experience that people shooting up know pretty much what they are doing. If they’ve progressed to that point.
More often than not it’s not the user but the drugs. They are being cut with relatively cheap additives per weight that are not expected. These “hot shots” are generally what kills.
The problem is significant increase in overdose deaths involving the opioid fentanyl, the emergence of more powerful fentanyl-related drugs like carfentanil, these are the drugs that are killing people.
I don’t think we should be providing state funded locations to shoot up.
What’s next, state provided hotel rooms for prostitution?
State provided shared office space to run gambling operations?
Perhaps some flea market space on Tuesday the common for the sale of stolen firearms. If you don’t have cash, you can use a credit card to buy little wooden tokens.
Definitely agree. Things have gone nutso. Maybe they should put the location right in the hospital where they can have their medical needs taken care of at the same time and be provided a buffet meal on their way out. Perhaps there could be an adjoining clothing store where free apparel would be available.
Seriously, what possible good end could this achieve? Why not just turn this task over to the parents and let them inject their own children? Does that sound insane because what is the difference really?
So there will be created a whole sub society of people, walking dead people, shuffling off to the “safe” place to get shot up? And for how long? Until they die of old age?
Perhaps a better plan would be to round of the nutso folk who think this is a good idea and shoot them up with some sanity solution because they have clearly lost site of reality.
DOOMIE
The sad fact of Pittsfield population is this. Overall, we continue to lose numbers. The subgroup of employed, decent citizens (i.e., taxpayers) is plummeting while their tax obligations go up up up. The growth area comes from a scary assortment of walking dead: Gimme groups who come here to con the system, families of those incarcerated in Tom Bowler’s Holiday Ranch by the mall (state takes care of the gratis), drug dealers and addicts, the methadone cluster, punks imported to Pittsfield from other (wealthier) communities who don’t want the riff raff (one of the conditions with all that “free” grant money our state reps brag about), imports from Berkshire Farm, more group homes … we could go on. Your term “nutso” is apt. The city is unrecognizable to those who remember “back in the day” — and we don’t mean pining for GE that will never come back. We mean there was no excusable reason why this implosion had to happen — but it did, thanks to a generation of bad politics that overwhelmed good, public-minded citizens and reps. If you’re a good one and you win office, you immediately are outnumbered and neutered.
PR
THE PLANET agrees. To your list, we might provide drugs and cigarettes in the public schools, because we know that kids are going to use them anyway. Might as well let them under “safe” conditions. And while we’re at it, give them free birth control and provide “bedrooms” in the school where they can “do it” in safety.
Amen.
I think its an absurd comparison to equate sexuality with IV opioid use.
Agree, completely.
How about we destroy the damn Opium plants in Afghanistan.
At this point it’s more the synthetic fentanyl plants in China.
Trump is trying to leverage China on this. A side note. FDRs grandfather made millions addicting Chinese to opium.
Sgt
Because the United States funded the talibans fight against the Soviet Union invasion for 9 years from 79-89 with the proceeds from the poppy fields.
The mistake was repeated again by Reagan in Iran-contra scandal. Which we are suffering through presently in Iran.
Perhaps Trump is correct in leaving other countries uninvaded and influenced by back channel means of support.
If a country attacks America, repeat Hero Shima and Nagasaki, which didn’t seem to hurt Japan that badly.
With a more controlled loss of life, and the understanding this big dawg bites.
Which seems to be new policy in Iran
Once Americans are out of Afghanistan, what’s the stop us from nuking them?
This is a HORRIBLE idea. Yes, the city did fight the methadone clinic. It was one of Mayor Jim Ruberto’s finest hours. And the city was winning. In court, Ruberto’s team won three preliminary hearings, and the city might have been well on its way to establishing a breakthrough legal precedent for municipalities to have the right to say no to junkies. But no. It’s gone full-swing the other way. That “much bigger conversation” Harrington mentions is code for “We’ll talk only with those who support this. If you have questions, like that menacing PLANET VALENTI, don’t bother calling.”
no, the City would not have won against methadone clinic, just like it would not win against the EPA.
SHAKES
It’s conjecture at this point, equally both ways. Fact is, the city had a compelling case. Three court decisions ruled in favor of local autonomy, that is, for a local community to decide what is best for its people. I do know that the city was prepared to go all the way with this. Same with the EPA. Anyway, thanks for your contributions here.
Thank goodness the City did not throw money away on losing court cases. The City has more important expenses like paying off police brutality victims.
SHAKES
Well, the city certainly has thrown money away on court cases, but fight against the meth clinic wasn’t one of them. A 3-0 record? Why, that’s almost perfect.
I think people who don’t understand drug culture and addiction don’t realize that these people – junkies we’ll call them – don’t care about the life or death risk.
There is no logical consideration of what might happen during or after they shoot up. Their biggest goal is to get high. And it’s to get the highest high they can get.
They know fentanyl can kill. They also know fentanyl delivers the high they crave. They call it fetty wop and that’s what they want. They don’t care about death. They want the high.
True that. One commentator to this board suggested, with mock veracity, that we should not administer Naloxone. Just let them expire. And you know, that might not be a bad idea. They obviously don’t care for consequences or risk. Why should the public? Food for thought.
Dan, Just my opinion but narcan is for people already in overdose. We should save them. Safe injection sites enable people to continue doing drugs. We should use the money as others have said here to have more treatment to get people off drugs. If we are going to go the prevention route, let’s buy bulletproof vests for the gangbangers.
There many instances after Narcan is administered and the person who od’s wakes up mad and violent because you ruined their high because after Narcan is used some users will experience withdrawal symptoms. This leads the user needing to get a fix asap to feel “better”.
https://youtu.be/8k4L97igDjY
You are absolutely correct. I do not carry Narcan, I will not administer Narcan.
Newly released police footage from a May shootout in Appleton, Wisconsin, shows paramedics reviving Ruben Houston — who reportedly was suffering from an opioid overdose on a coach bus — before the man pulled a semi-automatic on the first responders. He fired two shots, killing a firefighter and injuring a police officer. After an investigation, the Outagamie County district attorney said the two police officers involved were justified in fatally shooting Houston.
Cased closed. I, too, will not carry Narcan. If people are stupid enough to mess around with a known danger, immediate danger, they must take the consequences.
CHESHIRE
Yes. This is an ugly truth about Narcan that “THEY” don’t want publicized. So, natch, we are glad to provide the forum.
Thanks for your views, JAMES.
Most addicts were addicted by their doctor,and of story.Also seniors are the new growing segments because of injuries.So just let these Seniors die.
TSC
No need to “let Seniors die” … or anyone die. We are all going there in the end. That’s the beauty of it.
I agree dan i would like to tell you what my mother told me when i was a little girl and i am 60 now if people want to use these killer drugs and overdose let them expire will be 1 less druggy in the city may sound bad but i agree
Where is the information that can be used with security cameras at these mass shootings? Why doesn’t Pittsfield put in cameras in high crime areas? Also, put speed trap cameras and radar on busy thoroughfares like south street,many times a week speed and erratic drivers on south street for instance.
Andrea Harrington on healthcare and business…It’s like listening to a grade schooler. “It maybe could be a good idea” to have injection sites. All the way to Portugal to tell us this is her answer to overdose deaths. Portugal has free health care for addicts for as long as 3 years. Their economy is tanking but still they did not kill the healthcare program. It’s a government provided program and that cost is making a difference there. Who will pay for this here? There is no way you are going to replace insurance with government provided healthcare.
The whole idea from the far left Progressives is to get everyone dependent on government for everything. That gives the far left all the power over everyone.
Who told you this stuff Pat.Its wealthy propaganda to keep you on board.We are the most conservative country in the world.Keep believing the wealthy party line.
I am totally against the idea of providing a place for addicts to shoot up, for several reasons;
1. Addicts can’t hold a job….so how do they afford drugs? They steal. Would love to see the crime rates from Portugal.
2. Addicts will take up residence near shoot-up centers. Why leave town when they can “safely” shoot up or get clean needles at one of these centers. More layabouts looking for handouts!
3. Addicts do not contribute anything positive to society. A better idea is to provide rehab so they can return to the workforce and be productive citizens. That’s more compassionate than allowing them to destroy themselves with drugs.
4. Drugs destroy families, the cornerstone of society. Rehab is the answer.
Pittsfield is a mess. Vote Tyer out of office and recall Harrington.
Police Report, first of all thank you for your informative posts. I sit next to a scanner at work and hear this happen a lot. Was wondering if you could explain to me why when there is a minor MVA and the Dispatcher sends two cruisers to the scene, all of a sudden you hear at least two other cruisers say they are going also. Why is the Shift Supervisors not telling them NO, go patrol the streets? Are the Shift Supervisors even around?
It’s hard to say, department policy may require two cars, one for traffic control and one for the interview. As cars run single officer it would make sense.
Why they would roll four? Beats me. Often that happens when one of the drivers is injured or if it’s more major. Also if there’s an unlicensed driver or some other issue with passengers having warrants, they will roll more if for no other reason than transport.
Traffic.
I somehow missed this but I have to say this is one of the best posts I’ve read. It really hits all the high points
planetvalenti.com/2019/08/more-info-trickles-out-on-the-columbus-avenue-murder/#comment-179756
Link doesn’t work can you copy and paste comment?
I believe PoliceReport is referring to the comment by Markus Aurelius at the beginning of the comment section.
Thanks
Andrea Harrington is floating the idea of injection sites for one reason only: she is beholden to the ACLU backed consortium of funders and social justice groups that got her elected. Now she can turn around and point to 200 facebook comments screaming NIMBY. She has never given a single fig for drug addicts or worked on any program in the Berkshires or anywhere else. She is merely stepping on them like stones to a higher office.
I think it might got a little deeper.
I was thinking:
These are the talking points of her kind.
Who would this benefit?
The medical industrial complex under the guise of rehab.
Less money for the prisons, more for BMC and Brien Center.
Her ideas do indeed float. That’s why we flush our toilets.
If there are going to be places where addicts can safely shoot up they need to show appreciation. How about in exchange for each visit they donate an organ. An organ of their choice depending on what they have left. Perhaps a good blue eye gets you two visits. A kidney with at least ten years left also gets you two visits. A good clean lung might get you six months free fixes. If you want to donate a heart your whole family gets to shoot up free for a year.
Nothing in life is free. You either want that fix or you don’t
Perhaps someone would donate a brain to you.
Pretty sure I wouldn’t want most organs coming out of a junkie.
Mayoral candidates in cities with populations of 65,000 or less, as well as candidates who file locally, such as school committee candidates, will file up to three campaign finance reports to disclose 2019 election activity (pre-preliminary report, pre-election report, and the year-end report).
Pre-preliminary reports are due Sept. 3 for mayoral candidates in Greenfield and Woburn.
Pre-preliminary reports are due Sept. 9 for mayoral candidates in Amesbury, Braintree, Chicopee, Melrose, Methuen, Pittsfield and Waltham.
Pre-preliminary reports are only due if a candidate appears on a preliminary ballot. If a candidate does not appear on a preliminary ballot, the pre-election reporting period is Jan. 1 to Oct. 18, due Oct. 28.
Curious why would Barry donate two hundred dollars to Peter Whites campaign circa 2017.
So Pete could put a dowpayment on a personality?