BY DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY JULY 29, 2020) — The yield of our followup on the firing of Helen Moon, late of D.A. Andrea Harrington’s office, can best be described as the holdings of a sprung bear trap entombed in Al Gore’s lock box and hidden in a bank vault. No one, and THE PLANET means no one, is dishing. As many of you know, we first broke the story Monday. Having done our due diligence, we can share the meager but tantalizing results.

• The reticence of those connected to the inner workings at Harrington Central speaks loudly. Sources have gone D&D — deaf and dumb in street talk. The atmosphere is tense.
• Moon was fired for “insubordination.” What exactly the mutiny entailed we can’t say. Many observers of Pittsfield and county politics have offered theories, but as of yet no definitive  narrative has emerged.
• The Boring Broadsheet sic’d their green city reporter, Amada Burke, on the story. Though she and the paper learned of this as did everyone else on THE PLANET, she didn’t give credit. That’s professional courtesy The BB doesn’t practice, probably because we beat their newsroom so many times with our our “one-man mob scene.” Burke shared some white bread from DA spokesman Andy McKeever: “We are proud of the work [Moon] did during her time here. Our community should be tremendously grateful to her for that work. We are looking forward to seeing what Councilor Moon accomplishes as she continues to serve on the City Council,” he said. Right. Proud enough to fire her. As we predicted, Harrington is hiding behind “it’s a personnel matter.” The public pays for the sideshow, but when it goes bad, the Kapanski’s aren’t allowed to know why.

• Sources in the DA’s office said they knew of Moon’s firing but that’s it. This suggests Moon was martyred to serve as an example lest anyone else in the office even think of going rogue. Moon managed Harrington’s  campaign for the office, so the morale-squashing message goes, “If I unceremoniously dump her, I can eliminate your sorry ass.”
• Don’t expect the mayor to get near this story.
• “A tight lockdown” as in gag order is about the only fact that the wise guys can agree on at this point.
• How will the firing affect Moon’s responsibilities as Ward 1 councilor?
• How will if affect her relationship with Ward 6 councilor Dina Lampiasi Guiel. Both Moon and Lampiasi did not respond to THE PLANET‘s questions. The relationship between the two women — both on the council, both owned by Harrington — will be interesting to watch. Lampiasi doesn’t like Moon. One inside observer said, “I don’t know why people think Dina and Helen are best pals.  Nothing could be further from the truth.” Could this relationship factor into the mystery of the firing?
• The Pittsfield Police Department is spiking the football in the end zone over the news of Moon, who called for defunding the police during budget deliberations.

THE PLANET isn’t talking about some useless office but Berkshire County’s top cop. What does a DA do?

A district attorney

• Sets the tone of law enforcement in a jurisdiction.
• Has a tidal pull on policing, investigative work, and the courts. A strong and honest DA will produce vigilant and fair judicial outcomes. A weak DA will destroy prosecutorial morale, infuriate police, and frustrate the courts.
• Determines whether the elective office will be prosecutorial or political.

• Directs her own investigative and policing teams (in Harrington’s case, state troopers).
• Presents cases to the courts.
• Recommends sentencing.
• Is the only attorney allowed to participate in grand jury proceedings.

The point is, the public needs to know what’s going on. As usual, however, the transparency that The Suits like to brag about is about as clear as a three-foot-thick wall of stone.

———- ooo ———-

In a followup to our continuing coverage of  ServiceNet’s scandalous closing of the homeless facility at the former St. Joseph’s High School on Maplewood Avenue, THE PLANET presents another exclusive. We have obtained a copy of ServiceNet’s contract with the city of Pittsfield, plus the addendum. We present them without annotation. THE PLANET hopes to give details, as salacious as they might turn out to be, in The Weekend Edition. Meantime, you armchair lawyers out there, what do you make of the deal, which we are at this point taking at face value. That assessment could change. Her are the links:

ServiceNet 2019-2020 and ndment 

Don’t tell anyone you saw these contracts here. You’re not supposed to know about them.

——————————————————————————————-

“Martyrdom has always been the intensity, never of the correctness, of a belief” — Homer.

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.

The views and opinions expressed in the comment section or in the text other than those of PLANET VALENTI are not necessarily endorsed by the operators of this website. PLANET VALENTI assumes no responsibility for such views and opinions, and it reserves the right to remove or edit any comment, including but not limited to those that violate the website’s Rules of Conduct and its editorial policies. PLANET VALENTI shall not be held responsible for the consequences that may result from any posted comment or outside opinion or commentary as provided in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and this website’s terms of service. All users of this website — including readers, commentators, contributors, or anyone else making use of its information, hereby agree to these conditions by virtue of this notice. When PLANET VALENTI ends with the words “The Usual Disclaimer,” that phrase shall be understood to refer to the full text of this disclaimer. Copyright (c) 2020 by Dan Valenti.