prison

News

Cops arrest Shawn Drumgold on drug charges

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Blackstonian Editor’s Note: Shawn Drumgold is a friend of the Blackstonian. He and His Family remain in our prayers and we wish Shawn the best after suffering a life altering tragedy of his wrongful imprisonment. Cops arrest Shawn Drumgold on drug charges By Laurel J. Sweet  |   Friday, January 28, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage A man awarded — but not yet paid — $14 million by a jury for the 14 years he languished in prison after a wrongful murder conviction was busted by Boston cops Wednesday for allegedly peddling heroin and crack cocaine. Shawn Drumgold, 45, of Fall River was rounded up from an apartment on Cardington Street in Roxbury with more than a half-dozen other individuals and what police executing a search warrant reported was seven bags of heroin and 12 bags of crack cocaine on the kitchen floor, five bags of crack inside a pill bottle and an open bag of crack with a straw sticking out on a bedroom table. Police said they found cut-off baggies on Drumgold. “I can’t imagine he was intending to distribute anything. It certainly seems he’s made some poor choices. I talked to him at Christmas and he was doing great,” said Drumgold’s longtime defender, attorney Rosemary Scapicchio. Drumgold, who is married and a father, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Roxbury District Court to possession with intent to distribute heroin and crack and two counts of violating the state’s drug laws. Judge David Weingarten released Drumgold on $500 cash bail. In 1989, Drumgold was convicted of the notorious 1988 murder of 12-year-old Darlene Tiffany Moore. In a crime that shocked the city, Moore — who was perched on a mailbox — was gunned down on a summer night by two masked individuals who fired into a crowd. The case remains unsolved. Drumgold’s conviction was overturned in 2003, and a U.S. District Court jury awarded him $14 million in October 2009 for the freedom he lost while behind bars. That money has not yet been paid. “The city is awaiting the (federal) court’s entry of a final judgment on the verdict,” said Bill Sinnott, the city’s corporation counsel. “It will then consider its options for the filing of post-trial motions.” Drumgold “walks the streets, and people think he’s a rich man. He doesn’t have $2 in his wallet,” Scapicchio said. “He wants to go to school. He’s struggling to get a job. I feel bad for him.” Meanwhile, Moore’s “case remains open,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office. He declined to comment on Drumgold’s arrest. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1312509

News

Chuck Turner sentenced to 3 years in jail

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Chuck Turner sentenced to 3 years in jail By Laurel J. Sweet  |   Monday, January 25, 2021  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage A federal judge today sentenced former city councilor and civil rights crusader Charles “Chuck” Turner to three years in jail for pocketing a $1,000 bribe while in office and then lying about it to the FBI. U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock sentenced Turner to 36 months this afternoon and three years of supervised release. And, the judge added, he must repay the $1,000 bribe. The Harvard-educated Turner, 70, of Roxbury, was facing up to 35 years in the slammer for taking a wad of cash from Boston businessman Ron Wilburn during a 2007 “preacher’s handshake” in Turner’s district office. Wilburn claimed to be seeking political muscle to obtain a liquor license for a proposed nightclub in Roxbury, but was videotaping the exchange as an undercover operative for the FBI. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1311965

Events, News

From Cell Block to City Block; a Discussion on Prisons and Public Safety Feb. 5th

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Dear Community, You are invited to participate in a very important community dialogue about how Prisons affect Public Safety (a link made even clearer after the Mattapan Massacre and the Officer Maguire losing his life in Woburn). In the past 3 years we have had 3 Commissioners leave the Department of Corrections which has been plagued by scandals and accusations of corruption. With the seat currently vacant, prison overcrowding, a record high in suicides and skyrocketing costs we will discuss the implementation of an independent Oversight Committee. The meeting with feature a short multimedia presentation and various speakers. What: From Cell Block to City Block; a Discussion on Prisons and Public SafetyWhere: 2nd Floor of the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center 1350 Tremont St When: Saturday Feburary 5th from 4 to 6 pm Sharp

News

Lawyer: Chuck’s suffered enough Asks judge to spare ex-pol jail time

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Lawyer: Chuck’s suffered enough Asks judge to spare ex-pol jail time HAVE MERCY: Defense attorney Barry Wilson argued that Chuck Turner, seen above speaking at the Cambridge Friends Center on Saturday, should get supervised release instead of incarceration.By Laurel J. Sweet  |   Monday, January 24, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local CoveragePhoto by Christopher Evans Disgraced former City Councilor Chuck Turner’s lawyer is begging for mercy for his client, saying hard time will leave the convicted bribe-taker with no means of supporting himself and no time to rebuild his lost retirement. Attorney Barry Wilson said Turner’s conviction on public corruption charges and his expulsion from the City Council has dealt the 70-year-old a “catastrophic” financial blow. The fallen civil rights crusader — whose pocketing of a $1,000 bribe to grease the skids for a proposed nightclub in Roxbury cost him his $87,500 councilor’s salary and his pension — loaned his campaign committee $175,000 of his own money in the past 11 years, Wilson reveals in his sentencing memorandum to U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock. In order to justify the loan, Wilson told Woodlock, “Mr. Turner had to convince his wife that one day the political committee would have enough money to pay them back.” The campaign fund is now below $5,000. Wilson, claiming in the new court filing that his client already has suffered “a life-altering experience,” will ask for a term of supervised release, rather than incarceration, when Turner stands before Woodlock tomorrow. A jury convicted Turner in October of attempted extortion and making false statements to the FBI in connection with a $1,000 “preacher’s handshake” he was videotaped taking in his Roxbury district office in 2007 from Hub businessman Ron Wilburn, an undercover FBI informant. Still, Wilson argued in his memorandum, “There is no support that his office was ‘up for sale.’ ” Wilson charged that Turner, because he’s black, is a victim of “selective prosecution.” Federal prosecutors are asking for 32 to 41 months behind bars for Turner, a maximum of just under 3A years. Woodlock could send the disgraced politician away for up to 35 years. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also has asked Woodlock to order Turner repay the $1,000 bribe. Neither Turner nor Wilson could be reached yesterday. Turner’s former fellow councilors, meanwhile, are asking a different jurist — U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf — to uphold his ouster last month. Turner is suing the board on the grounds that a rule the council implemented in January 2009 after he was indicted, which empowers the panel to vote out any member convicted of a felony, is unconstitutional. The council points out in court filings that Turner himself voted in favor of Rule 40A because he was confident he would be acquitted. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1311543

News

Power to oust Turner at issue Lawsuit may go to state courts

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Power to oust Turner at issueLawsuit may go to state courts By Tracy JanGlobe Staff / January 16, 2011 The Boston City Council’s authority to oust Chuck Turner from office last month following the councilor’s conviction for accepting a bribe is legally uncertain, and Turner’s lawsuit to regain his seat might be turned over to the state courts, said Massachusetts’ top federal judge. US District Judge Mark L. Wolf ordered lawyers representing Turner and the city to submit their recommendations as to where the case should be decided by noon Friday. FULL STORY HEREhttp://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/01/16/legality_of_turner_ouster_uncertain_judge_says/?camp=obinsite

News

US asks judge to send Turner to prison Says behavior in court ‘amplified the crimes’

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US asks judge to send Turner to prisonSays behavior in court ‘amplified the crimes’ By Andrew RyanGlobe Staff / January 22, 2011 Federal prosecutors urged a judge to send Chuck Turner to prison for a minimum of two years and nine months in a scathing sentencing memorandum that used the former Boston City Council member’s own words against him. Arguing that grandstanding at rallies and in the media “amplified the crimes,’’ the six-page document quoted Turner 11 times. Turner described his prosecution as a “witch hunt,’’ called the US Constitution an “illegal document,’’ dismissed photographs of him accepting a $1,000 bribe as doctored, and argued that the government was trying to take him down because “they saw the power of communities of color rising up.’’ FULL STORY HEREhttp://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/01/22/us_asks_judge_to_send_turner_to_prison/?p1=Local_Links

News

Rep. Tierney’s wife sentenced to prison

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Rep. Tierney’s wife sentenced to prisonBy Laurel J. Sweet  |   Thursday, January 13, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Patrice Tierney leaves Federal Court with her husband, Democratic US Representative John F. Tierney, after a federal judge sentenced her to 30 days in jail for aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns.Photo by Nancy Lane In a shocking turn of events, a federal judge this afternoon sentenced the wife of U.S. Rep. John Tierney to 30 days in prison followed by five months of house arrest for “aiding and abetting” the filing of a false tax return by her brother, a fugitive from justice. Prosecutors did not request jail time for Patrice Tierney, asking for 90 days house arrest, but U.S. District Court Judge William Young did give her prison time. Patrice Tierney’s brother, Robert Eremian, is on the run from federal charges he was operating an illegal Internet gambling operation in Antigua. She did not make a statement in court and she must report Feb. 28 to begin serving her sentence. It is not clear where she will be locked up. John Tierney, a Democrat who has represented the 6th Congressional District since 1997, has said his wife was betrayed by her brother and believed his income came from selling or licensing software to legal Internet gambling businesses. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1309273

News

Five members of parole board resign in wake of cop killing

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Five members of parole board resign in wake of cop killingBy Hillary Chabot  |   Thursday, January 13, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics Five members of the state parole board, including chairman Mark Conrad, above, resigned today in a massive shakeup of the agency following the 2008 release of Dominic Cinelli who police say gunned down Woburn officer John ‘Jack’ Maguire.Photo by Matt Stone Gov. Deval Patrick outlined today a massive Parole Board upheaval — including five resignations and three suspensions — following the release of a career criminal who police said gunned down a veteran Woburn cop the day after Christmas. The governor said the shakeup is meant to regain the public’s trust. “The public had lost confidence in parole and I had lost confidence in parole,” said Patrick, who faced outcry following the Dec. 26 slaying of Woburn police officer John “Jack” Maguire. “As I said to Mrs. Maguire when we spoke on the phone just a moment ago, none of this is going to bring Jack back … but what we have done and what we must do is all we can to regain the public’s confidence in a part of the criminal justice system which is vital to a successful criminal justice program.” The five Parole Board members who voted to release repeat violent offender Dominic Cinelli in 2008 — including Patrick’s former campaign volunteer and pick for Parole Board Chairman Mark Conrad — handed in their resignations last night. No violent or high-risk offenders will be released until the full Parole Board is rehired, Patrick said. Donald Giancioppo, the former Parole Board executive director, also resigned following the results of an investigation into Cinelli’s release by the Executive Office of Public Safety. He also moved to fire three other employees who were charged with overseeing Cinelli’s release. They are currently on suspension pending termination proceedings, Patrick said. Patrick — who had asked for the public’s patience during the review — said his harsh actions were necessary to restore the public’s trust in their own public safety. The governor said he’d file legislation tomorrow that would slap offenders convicted of a third violent felony with the maximum sentence. “I applaud the governor for the steps he took … I think he did the right thing,” said state Rep. James Dwyer (D-Woburn). “I thought they should have resigned right away.” “Ultimately, it is Cinelli and Cinelli alone who is responsible for the murder of officer Maguire,” Patrick added today. Patrick also named Josh Wall, now the first assistant district attorney in Suffolk County, the board’s interim executive director. Wall is expected to be named chairman. Patrick had ordered a review of the Parole Board following Maguire’s death, and the review detailed “several failings” before and after Cinelli was released, said Public Safety Undersecretary John Grossman. Parole board employees failed to notify the Middlesex District Attorney or all of his victims before Cinelli’s 2008 hearing. They also didn’t conduct monthly interviews with Cinelli’s friends or family members in the months leading up to Cinelli’s Dec. 26 heist to ensure his parole was going smoothly. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1309288

Economy & Business, News

Ex-Cambridge star Robinson gets 6 1/2 years for bank fraud

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Ex-Cambridge star Robinson gets 6 1/2 years for bank fraud By Travis AndersenGlobe Staff / January 8, 2011 Rumeal Robinson, the former Cambridge Rindge and Latin School star who clinched the NCAA men’s basketball championship for Michigan in 1989 with two free throws and later played in the NBA, has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for bank fraud, according to court documents filed yesterday. FULL STORY HEREhttp://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/01/08/ex_cambridge_star_robinson_gets_6_12_years_for_bank_fraud/?p1=Local_Links

News

Parole Board halts releases

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Parole Board halts releases By Laurel J. Sweet and Hillary Chabot  |   Friday, January 7, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics The embattled Parole Board will not release any more convicts with life sentences until a review of its notorious decision to release a triple-lifer is complete, the board said yesterday, even as a firestorm of criticism over the tragic ruling continued to erupt. Woburn officer John “Jack” Maguire was shot to death Dec. 26 as he tried to stop parolee Dominic Cinelli from fleeing an alleged department store diamond heist. “We certainly understand the anger and concern that many people are stressing,” said Executive Office of Public Safety Undersecretary John Grossman. “We share their concern and shock at the events of 10 days ago. We are engaged in a comprehensive review around Cinelli’s hearing and his supervision. At the end of that review, we’ll report to the governor and the governor will take the appropriate action.” Grossman said Parole Board members can’t legally halt parole hearings, but are canceling their executive hearings, in which decisions about releases of convicts with life sentences are made. Those hearings will not resume until the review is complete. Not good enough, cops said yesterday. As far as the board is concerned, “they want them all gone,” Woburn police Chief Philip Mahoney said, flanked by 75 of his fellow Bay State top cops outside Woburn police headquarters, where black bunting grimly marks last month’s line-of-duty death. “I am so upset with them,” Mahoney said of the board’s unanimous 2008 vote to set 57-year-old Cinelli free, despite a nine-page criminal record of armed robberies, the attempted murder of a security guard and two prison escapes spanning four decades. Cinelli was serving three concurrent life sentences. “I know a life sentence in Massachusetts is not a life sentence, believe me,” Mahoney said. However, Mahoney said he believes state officials will do a fair probe of the board’s release. Cinelli, who Mahoney said appeared to have been in compliance with the conditions of his parole, died from Maguire’s return fire. “He wasn’t prepared to die,” said the hero cop’s tearful big brother, Charles “Chuck” Maguire, 63. “He was one of those guys who wanted to work.” Police also pushed yesterday for the Legislature’s swift passage of a bill to abolish parole eligibility for habitual violent offenders. Mark K. Leahy, president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said all the red flags that Cinelli was not a good risk for parole were plain as day in his criminal history. “Any clear-thinking person realizes if it’s predictable, it’s preventable,” he said. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1307910

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