CITY REFUSAL TO RELEASE PHS SCANDAL REPORT HARKENS BACK TO THE BLACK DAYS OF ‘THE CIVIC AUTHORITY’ booNdoGGLE
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
First of Two Parts
(FOrTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY JUNE 8, 2026) — You have to go back to the Civic Authority debacle to come up with a more blatant example of Bitchfield’s political graft that exceeds the city’s refusal to publish the $155,000 taxpayer-funded “independent” report on the Pittsfield High School scandals.
In this two-part series, THE PLANET enlightens those who weren’t around in 2000. It provides context.
Those who lived through the Civic Authority scheme remember what it’s like to have government steamroll its citizens in favor of a select few in cahoots with The Suits. The conspiracy involved the administration of Gerry Doyle and the local daily that used to be known as the Berkshire Eagle. It was barroom politics intersecting with a already-failing daily rag.
Three elements came into play:
- Pittsfield had lost its MLB-affiliated professional baseball team.
- To solve this, the city proposed building a new stadium.
- A consultant’s study examined almost 20 potential sites. Miraculously, it selected the parcel on Center Street where CVS not stands.
- To solve this, the city proposed building a new stadium.
- The daily newspaper then known as the Berkshire Eagle, in another amazing coincidence, owned that very parcel of land, which had been contaminated by previous commercial occupancies.
- In a “courageous” editorial stance, the Eagle published story after story about how ideal the site would be, conveniently not disclosing its ownership position.
- The newspaper then had a feisty columnist called Dan Valenti, who fearlessly in his column “City Limits” defied management and wrote about how disastrous the plan would be.
- In a “courageous” editorial stance, the Eagle published story after story about how ideal the site would be, conveniently not disclosing its ownership position.
- That’s because of mayor Gerry Doyle, who wanted to expand his power beyond the will of voters and the needs of citizens.
- To do this, he proposed creating the so-called Civic Authority, which would have unlimited power, including eminent domain rights.
- The Civic Authority would consist of seven “community leaders,” with the mayor having appointing authority over a majority of five seats, all stooges, making it beyond the reach of voters.
- To do this, he proposed creating the so-called Civic Authority, which would have unlimited power, including eminent domain rights.
———- ooo ———-
In short, the Eagle and the city conspired to used the baseball park as an excuse for the former to dump a polluted site it couldn’t sell and for the latter to receive nearly limitless, and “legal,” power. Of course, the parties put the plot together in secret. They might have gotten away with it, except for a feisty talk show host named Dan Valenti, who broke the story live on the air on his daily soiree titled The Dan Valenti Show on WBRK AM & FM. The Suits didn’t count on Valenti having sources in every city hall office and a bushel load in the Eagle newsroom.
One of THE PLANET‘s city hall sources tipped us off of an extremely unusual move made by the city council. The council, working in tandem with Doyle, approved the enabling legislation. Over a sleepy weekend, under cover of darkness, council president Tom Hickey gave the Civic Authority bill to our feckless state legislators to advance the legislation through the State House in Boston in the form of a Home Rule Petition.
That Monday morning, Valentine his radio show disclosed the sleazy move. Next thing you know, citizens — led by Dave Potts, just an ordinary guy who came out of nowhere, and Ann Leaf, who had a home on South Center Street — revolted.
The all-powerful Civic Authority backers, using the tantalizing prospect of a new stadium as bait, were caught off guard. They expected to pulverize any opposition. Instead, they awakened, for the first and last time in Bitchfield’s post-modern history, to citizens saying “No!” They forced a special election.
The Suits poured lots of money into a sophisticated marketing campaign to sway the vote. This included buying blocks of time on The Dan Valenti Show. A high-profile double agent, who publicly identified with The Suits but secretly served as THE PLANET‘s conduit to inside information, told us that they intended to compromise Valenti, expecting him to resign or give way to a tamable guest host rather than accepting sponsorship for “the stadium.”
They were wrong. We aired the commercials and gave them our very best “Art Fern” sell, confident that the editorial portion of the show would speak the truth.
Our callers, running 9-to-1 opposed to the Civic Authority legislation, deluged the call-in lines, giving fuel and sustenance to the grass-roots efforts of the Potts-Leaf initiative. And wouldn’t you know — come the day of the special selection, Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski prevailed. They sent The Suits down to a stunning loss. For a brief moment, citizens and taxpayers had reclaimed ownership of their government.
PART TWO ON WEDNESDAY.
——————————————————————-
“We should give city government over to the monkeys. They will only steal bananas” — Sir Donald Turpentine, Knight of the Bath.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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The 6-figure legal report & NDA’s were paid for by the Pittsfield taxpayers who are not allowed to know what really happened at PHS.
Mayor Peter Marchetti said that the city is being threatened with lawsuits. That is his justification for blocking the release of the report.
On Tuesday night, the Pittsfield City Council will take its final vote on Mayor Peter Marchetti’s proposed fiscal year 2027 municipal operating budget.
The only economic growth in Pittsfield is in its record-breaking city spending, its large underclass population, and the sitting Mayor’s BIG beer belly.
One Pittsfield really means that Earl and the 2-Pete’s Pittsfield politics pounds, pummels, pulverizes, and punishes people’s purses.
I wonder if this all falls under the purview of racism, I mean look at Allie Shepard and her sister. if anyone is a poster child for cancer and over tanning it’s them wiggas *not a hard R!*
The Teachers Union is no match for our City Officials. Why do you think it took 20 years to close one School? We could have consolidated and closed 3 Schools decades ago.
When a political body meets, they are supposed to present an AGENDA whereby everybody is able to see the elected official’s voices on the items that they are voting on.
The people overwhelmingly opposed the sitting Mayor’s “War against the Underclass” residents of Pittsfield:
Anti-Panhandling proposal (failed)
Anti-Homeless proposal (failed)
Closure of the number one high-needs Morningside Elementary School (passed)
On Tuesday night, the people overwhelmingly oppose the sitting Mayor’s record-breaking municipal operating budget proposal that will face its final vote before the Pittsfield City Council. It will cause even worse financial pain for commercial and residential taxpayers.
Many years ago, the people overwhelmingly opposed the proposed Civic Authority (failed).
It leads me to conclude that the real AGENDA is for the wealthy, the vested interests (corrupt Unions), and the special interests (the greedy political insiders and their big campaign donors).
One would have to be INSANE to believe that Pittsfield politics is a form of grassroots democracy. I hope that the career politicians will be voted OUT of elected office so that I may be proven wrong.
JM,
I think you should put your higher education to work. I suggest to complete a research project on all towns/cities in MA that have a census similar to Pittsfield (Westfield,Leominster, Fitchburg,…). Look to see their budget, the size of each department and the cost of these departments. See what individuals make in the cities and you could compare them to Bitchfield! I think it would expose the largess of the Bitches that the backhanded slap the Kapanski’s get everyday. Let me know what you think. I can help by sending out info on other places if need be
Would be valuable report generally
Thanks for the memory refresher and history lesson Dan. Let it also be known that that the city stole the very land they wanted to put it on, during “urban renewal” in the 1960s. Another waste of tax dollars and the bastards stole my family home among others on Church Street, for Pennie’s on the dollar.
I recall a report of a Civic guy telling a opponent that his house was on in the tracks of their project, and he was going to take it in eminent domain for naught, and there was nothing he would be able to to stop him.
Bastards in your government? I assure you that if you shot a cannon full of grapeshot into a crowd of local leaders, you will definitely hit at least one bastard.
Will the Planet delve into the money launderiy Gerry set up, also know as the Colonial?
Gerry’s efforts are still paying, the players, who paid to play , all those years ago.
Typical Demonratic distraction technique, while citizens were distracted by a never happening stadium, he quietly directed the money to a government subsidized money laundering enterprises.
Or the smaller version of Odumbers Solindra cash machine.
Gerry’s real Magnum Opus, was the General Electric settlement, allowing the spoilage of an entire county , for pennies on the dollar.
Had General Electric been held to account, for permanently destroying any opportunity for future growth.the settlement would of been ten times more.
The once great Shitfueld manufacturing site, is even more of a disaster than the Boston site.
Both sites now unusable for the pharmaceutical industry, due to toxicity
As Taxatwoshits is heavily dependent upon the pharmaceutical industry, as is Harvards subsidies. In case you missed why Trump is so Despised by Pfizer and Big Media…
The next great idea, was/is Battery Storage and manufacturing….until the Green New Scam imploded….
Which one of Gerry’s crimes, will the Planet have the courage to explain and expose.
The real question is Who put Gerry the post turtle in the mayor’s office…
Seeing the pattern yet?
Gerry was just an early Autopen, Demonrats purchased th e Oval Office with free money, instead of drinks.
6/9/26@1:00am
Tom
TOM
Good recall. The Colonial, the GE settlement, EV Worldwide and its “1000 manufacturing jobs” that never materialized … and there is a fourth: The health insurance scheme, where premiums on city workers’ health insurance wasn’t paid and the money “diverted elsewhere.” That one got exposed due to great work by Ken Ramsdell and Terry Kinnas but nothing was done, even though the city could have collected millions on the bonds of Doyle and then city treasurer David Kiley. It was all set to go, but then … new mayor Sara Hathaway went back on her promise to go after the bonds. Then Sen. Andy Nuciforo, for whom Sara once worked, went to Boston, and POOF! Then next thing you know ol’ Jed’s a millionaire.
June 09, 2026
Re: Nuciforo went to Boston, an POOF!
Hello blogger Dan Valenti,
I have followed the DISGRACED Boston politician, CORRUPT financial lawyer, and GREEDY Massachusetts marijuana businessman named Andrea Francesco Nuciforo Junior over the past 30 years of my close to 51-year-old adult life. LUCIFORO is my – Jon Melle’s – Enemy #1.
While Nuciforo grew up in Pittsfield (Mass.) where his father of the same name was a Pittsfield State Senator and then a Pittsfield Judge in the Probate and Family Court system, and his Uncle was a Pittsfield State Representative who supported the founding of the community college system where his wife worked as a professor at Berkshire Community College, and she also served as Pittsfield’s 1st woman Mayor, Nuciforo always really lived in Boston for almost all of his adult life. Nuciforo had no business being a Pittsfield State Senator (1997 – 2006) due to the fact that he made his adult life in Boston.
Nuciforo owns a $1 million mansion in Pittsfield’s elitist Gated Community neighborhood that is only 0.3-miles from former Mayor Linda Tyer and her 3rd husband, CPA Barry Clairmont’s mansion, that is west of Berkshire Community College near the Hancock border. Nuciforo also resides in an upscale Boston residence. Nuciforo is a millionaire who is closely connected to the political insiders in Pittsfield and Boston alike.
Nuciforo is NOT a friend of the common people in Massachusetts. His reputation is negative with newspapers writing that he is mean-spirited, corrupt, disgraced, and a fringe politician. The Boston Globe wrote about Nuciforo’s deep pockets and insider connections that he used to co-found his lucrative marijuana company called Berkshire Roots.
I do NOT understand why anyone who cares about good people, the government, the law, Massachusetts’ multi-billion-dollar marijuana industry, and even myself – Jon Melle – who has been persecuted by LUCIFORO over the past 30 years of my adult life, could write any favorable words about Nuciforo.
I know that I am NOT supposed to hate, but I am direct, so I openly write that I HATE LUCIFORO with all of my being. Nuciforo is 62 years old in 2026, which means that he has around 2 decades of life left, and I hope that LUCIFORO will rot in HELL for eternity. Nuciforo is a no good Son of a BITCH-field.
Best wishes,
Jon Melle
So she was corrupt all along.
Who’s old Wed?
Fine post by TB, by the way. And GE continues its screwing with the fake EPA monitoring which the city happily munches down.
Ol jed – what’s that about?
OK, scratch Jed. He must be a metaphor for Zed.
What’s it about? Why, crawdads, of course.
Got it already!
Jed? Clampett on the t v series. Beverly Hillbill you batteries,
Right, I forget. I was never good with names, but id recognize him for sure. And, that’s a fine insult, I shall steal it.
and Jethro is now president
Finally a real funny one.
It certainly beats our last “president,” Bernie Lomax.
Really though, who was our last president? Didn’t we go four years without one?
Went four years without any wars. Now we have a new one every week. This week it is Cuba
4 years of wars
Comment lost. We absolutely could not afford the chaos of Biden. The chaos those corrupt and (by definition of corrupt) incompetent creatures sowed is directly why we are now fighting wars.
It is imperative that we do not let Iran seize control of the water routes and succeed in driving us out of the Asian trade routes too.
If we were to lose to Iran, we will be driven economically and strategically back to 1830. With the success of the Soviets and Chinese in fomenting communist/NAZI chaos in our governments (PLATNER,) we would have no hope of surviving another Gettysburg, and would strictly live here, in some peace, at the pleasure of foreign stewards.
Chaz
Whomever pushed start on Autopen, president by committee or is it commie?
Tom
Political parties had grown to such strength that voters’ choices were determined long before the primary balloting. To even join a debate, you had to buy in. Trump ended that for the GOP. The Democrats took to the extreme and found their voters became sheep. They just choose a feeble man, stick or her on the ballot, no choices, and call. That their primary. The only selection is by self styled Soviet bureaucrats interviewing and vetting creatures to put on the presidential ticket. Democrats are happy with that though, so maybe that works for them.
We paid not just for Liberty, which is everything, but most immediately to escape the ravages of being colonized. That is, by 1775, those British settlers were Americanized and a distinct foreign body belonging to the Crown. Not pioneers severed from immediate assistance from the Motherland nor subjects freely trading and governing with her; theyvwere simply colonized. Our escape rendered clear the fate we would have lived as seen by the resulting famine and ongoing abuse of African people even today. The old shackles were unchained, but left ready in place for future theft and murder.
Political parties had grown to such strength that voters’ choices were determined long before the primary balloting. To even join a debate, you had to buy in. Trump ended that for the GOP. The Democrats took to the extreme and found their voters became sheep. They just choose a feeble man, stick or her on the ballot, no choices, and call. That their primary. The only selection is by self styled Soviet bureaucrats interviewing and vetting creatures to put on the presidential ticket. Democrats are happy with that though, so maybe that works for them.
Dan
Being a mick myself,I gave the other Mickey ( Kaybee) a pass. In case you missed his government payment for services rendered,hubris is a wonderful trait in an adversary.
Irish courtesy,,,
Lucifero probably has a federal prosecutor problem, for cannabis license racketeering, Pittsfield Largest Thieves liquidation is strategic.
Blanch and Dhillon just waiting to clear bent judges in 1st district.
Karen Read fiasco is not an anomaly, it’s systemic corruption.
Instituted by Stephen Beyer, who as gatekeeper, prevented exposure by denial of any petitions for political power.
Katanji jackson brown(,autopens most beneficial gift to Republican party) has zero credibility, so all justices now forced to review all 1st circuit petitions.
Harry Reid nuclear option part 2.
Notice how quickly 1st circuit appeals court, is overturning , lunatic leftist judges?
They are terrified Alito and Thomas will get evidence of their racketeering.
Good news is sunlight is coming,,,,
Remember when trial court Gestapo David Hadley assaulted Graig Gitania ,for attempting to petition the government in district Court? It’s a pattern, practice or custom of civil rights violations.
Which you are also a victim of.Hadleys brother a bent district Court judge- nepotism former Pittsfield district Court judge- Paul Smyth concealed as federal prosecutor,in exchange for judgeship.
Seeing the pattern yet?.
6/10/26@9:00am
Tom
I ran the reasons why voters in Bitchfield voted against the Civic Authority in 2001 through an AI program. I won’t cc the entire post, but will highlight the key points:
1. Fear of Eminent Domain Abuse
2. Opposition to a Costly New Baseball Stadium
**The central purpose of the proposed Civic Authority was to oversee and manage a new, $18.5 million downtown baseball stadium. Proponents argued a modern facility was necessary to keep an affiliated Minor League Baseball team in the city. However, voters viewed the project as an unnecessary financial risk driven by elite developers and city officials rather than the public interest.
Sound familiar, Lumpy? Dumpster Earl? Wimpy White?
3. Protection of Historic Wahconah Park
**You see how much the Bitchfield “leaders” really cared about the history of Wahconah Park. They let the stadium and the bleachers rot. But hey, at least we got a Ricky Rumpus Roundabout on Tyler Street.
4. Scant Transparency and Public Process
***This sums up the Bitchfield Pubic Scohol Report Skandel in a nutshel.
NO TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC PROCESS
NO TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC PROCESS
NO TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC PROCESS
Not sure if you saw, but The Planet might need to take up a collection of Bitchfield Hegh Scohol’s finest Dean, Da Dancn’ Dean Lavonte Wiggins.
Seems Da Dancin’ Dean’s Maserati is getting repo’d for non-payments.
A judge has allowed a bank to repossess Lavante Wiggins’ Maserati for lack of payments | Crime | The Berkshire Eagle
Thanks, MARK. Good idea, a Go Fund Me Page for Da Dancin’ Dean so he can get his Maserati back. Then we can begin a Go Fuck Me page to pay for his court fees. Great points in the parallel between the Civic Authority and the Still Secret PHS Scandal Report. Also, if the idea was to create an Authority for the ballpark, they would have done a Stadium Authority. Sad truth is that the ballpark was simply the means to a greater, evil end.
Not one speaker at the council budget tonight. Sad.
Funny how things worked out. Only Pittsfield turns down a modern stadium 18 million at that time, probably twice that now, using no tax payers money. They did that to preserve Wahconah park and the West st neighborhood. Fast forward, taxpayers are paying a half million to demolish Wahconah park, West st neighborhood is a dump. The cherry on top is taxpayers are also on the hook for a sub-par Stadium for 15++++ Million. Everyone who voted against the Civil Authority can kiss my Ass!
Kicker is there was nothing wrong with Wahconah Park,,,just the remainder of the Civic Authority crowd screwing over the Kapanski’s. It would have taken less than $100,000.00 to bolster underneath the grandstand
SHiRL
Good one. The $30 million for Wahconah Park is the second time the ballpark has been used to screw The Kapanskis. $30 million, so Lumpy, Voltron, etc. can have a beer garden.
The fact that they didn’t even seek renovation bids speaks volumes. What made Wahconah Park unique and quirky was its wooden grandstand. Now we’re getting a 16 million dollar pavilion.
Joe
Turned down an imaginary Ford plant also, what’s your point?
Or are you missing the point?
Tom. Nothing imaginary. Larry Bosidy was going to build it. Taxpayers were not. Unfortunately they came out with their pitch forks and torches and made the Civic Authority the Evil Empire. Don’t know anything about a Ford plant.
They be talking bout Mr. Wiggins not paying fer his Mazerati.
Is it blue?
Moody…(Dennis the Menace twin) says very one agrees on this budget and thanks all who’ve done the work on it? No Dennis, your happy with i am not.
Wow Dan. A last minute ask of the mayor to amend a mayoral order to restore a thousand bucks out of his order. Which can’t be amended. A thousand dollars??????????? Lumpy and the Clowncil are a joke.
A Carnival of Idiots.
Another accident at Onota and Columbus. Time for another light Dina.
Well you can’t pay if you don’t work,I assume.
Selling Drugs or Dean of Students?
Driving it free for 1 1/2 years…gives me an idea
People we re doing that with houses too. Put down 5%, then foreclose 5 years later. A good deal for them, and it resulted in a trillion dollar bailout to the bankers, who we already knew, are not very intelligent, at least with money.
Let us also give a nod to The Three Amigos, which I believe were named by no other than Dan – Scapin, Guzzo, Blanchi