Today, Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined legislators and public safety officials to participate in a ceremonial signing of S.2963,An Act Relative to Justice, Equity and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth.

Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito were also joined by Senate President Karen Spilka, Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano, Senator William Brownsberger, Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz, Representative Claire Cronin, Representative Russell Holmes, Representative Chynah Tyler, MA Chiefs of Police Association President Ed Dunne, and former MA Association of Minority Law Enforcement Officers President Larry Ellison to participate in the ceremonial signing.

The legislation will create a mandatory certification process for police officers, increases accountability and transparency in law enforcement and gives police departments a greater ability to hire or promote only qualified applicants. The new law also identifies the general circumstances under which police officers can use physical force, and places strict limits on the use of so-called ‘no-knock warrants.’ In addition, the legislation requires law enforcement to seek a court order when conducting a facial recognition search except in emergency situations.

Click here to learn more about the new law.

A response to a crash overnight in Medford led to arrests of the car’s occupants for illegal possession of a rifle and other crimes and resulted in injuries to the first-responding Trooper after his cruiser was hit by an SUV while on scene.

At approximately 1:20 a.m., a Trooper on patrol out of the State Police-Medford Barracks responded to a report of an erratic driver who had crashed into the median on Route 93 northbound near Exit 33 in Medford. The crashed vehicle was a white 2013 Toyota Corolla with two male occupants.

While the Trooper was about to exit his cruiser to check on the occupants of the Corolla, the cruiser was struck from behind by a white 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan sport utility vehicle operated by a 28-year-old Haverhill man. The impact of the crash pushed the cruiser into the Corolla in front of it.

The Trooper, whose name is not being released, suffered upper body injuries and was transported by ambulance to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was treated and released at about 5:25 a.m.

Meanwhile, Troopers Jorell Berberena and Harold Sousa responded to assist in the moments after the cruiser was struck. The investigation into the Corolla that had crashed — and which had been reported by a witness as having been operated erratically prior to its crashing – resulted in the arrest of both occupants.

When Troopers approached the Corolla they observed an odor of alcohol emanating from the car and from both occupants. The driver additionally showed physiological signs of alcohol impairment, and was given several field sobriety tests, leading to the determination that he was impaired.

During an inventory search of the Corolla, Troopers located a plastic bag containing 126 Xanax pill and 12 additional pills shaped like mushrooms, four-leaf clovers, and sea shells. The bag was sticking out of the pocket of a pair of jeans behind the passenger seat that belonged to the passenger. In a second plastic bag, Troopers located approximately 3.5 grams of a substance believed to be marijuana.

Troopers also located in the vehicle a black backpack that contained a Kel-Tec Sub-2000 collapsible rifle, three large capacity magazines, 33 nine-millimeter rounds and 12 .40-caliber rounds. The serial number of the rifle had been scratched off. Neither occupant of the Corolla are old enough to be eligible for a license to carry to a firearm in Massachusetts (both are 18).

The driver of the Corolla, ABRAHAM ESTRADA, 18, of Lawrence, and the passenger, GERALDO COSTA MARIANO Jr., 18, of Framingham, were both charged with the following offenses:

1. Illegal possession of a large capacity weapon;
2. Illegal possession of a large capacity feeding device (3 counts);
3. Possession of a firearm without a Firearm Identification Card;
4. Possession of ammunition without a Firearm Identification Card; and
5. Possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number.

Troopers also charged the driver, ESTRADA, who holds a learner’s permit but not a driver’s license, with the following offenses:

1. Operating under the influence of liquor;
2. Negligent operation of a motor vehicle; and
3. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Troopers additionally charged the passenger, COSTA MARIANO (who is not old enough to legally possess marijuana in Massachusetts) with the following offenses:

1. Possession of a Class E narcotic; and
2. Possession of a Class D narcotic.

Both defendants were booked at the Medford Barracks and were expected to be arraigned today in Somerville District Court.

Additionally, Sergeant Robert Navas conducted an investigation of the 28-year-old Haverhill motorist who struck the cruiser. As a result of that investigation, that driver was cited for a move over violation. That driver was not injured.

The City of New Bedford has roadwork sites for the upcoming week of January 11, 2021 – January 15, 2021 and they are as follows:

Eversource:

• No work scheduled.

Other:

• Contractor (North Turf) will be on site at Hazelwood Park installing the gutter system for the new bowling greens. Field lighting to be installed (weather permitting).
• The City will be working on a sewer service and site cleanup at the Victory Pond warming house. Final restoration of the grass area will be in the Spring of 2021.
• Department of Public Infrastructure will be filling potholes city-wide on a continuous basis.
• The contractor (Revoli Construction) is scheduled to repair traffic signal sensors and perform general clean-up of the work area along King’s Highway between Tarkiln Hill Rd and Route 140 overpass. There will be temporary lane closures during working hours. Traffic signage will be posted, and police details will be on-site. Access will be maintained to all businesses during construction.
• The contractor (Baystate WinSupply) is scheduled to continue large water meter replacements at various locations throughout the city. There are no anticipated traffic controls for this work.
• Due to ongoing construction at the High Hill Reservoir residents may experience discolored water. The water is safe, and the discoloration will be temporary. We recommend allowing the water to settle for a few hours and then flushing your service line by letting the bathtub run for a few minutes until the water clears.

** Please note: Contractors will continue to follow guidelines and protocol regarding COVID-19 social distancing while conducting work in construction zone.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation the Department of Public Infrastructure will be closed to the public entry. Office staff is available to assist by email and telephone.

Mayor Jon Mitchell today announced that the City and New Bedford Police Department will implement the recommendations of the Commission on the New Bedford Police Department’s Use of Force Policies, consistent with state law and the NBPD’s collective bargaining agreement.

The members of the Commission were drawn from a variety of professional backgrounds and lived experiences. Together they met weekly over the course of six months, held two public hearings and made ongoing requests to the public for feedback on the policies.

In its report, the Commission recommended measures in the Department’s policies that would strengthen the following concepts across all three policies by:

• Providing substantive guidance on de-escalation for tense situations throughout the Department’s policies
• Including a ‘duty to report’ clause in the Department’s use of force policies, whereby officers must report violations of the policy and other appropriate actions during their duty
• Including a ‘duty to intervene’ obligation, whereby officers must intervene in any instance of excessive force by a fellow officer
• Requiring training and demonstrated proficiency on use of force policies, as well as training on implicit bias, cultural competency, and working with individuals with mental illness and autism
• Providing an annual analysis and summary of use of force instances that is made available to the public

The Commission was established by Mayor Mitchell in June; at that time, the Mayor signed on to the Obama Foundation’s Mayor’s Pledge, which called on mayors across the United States to commit to reviewing use of force policies, engaging the community for its input, reporting the findings of the review, and reforming community police use of force polices. The Commission’s recommendations, as well as related recommendations, observations and concerns made by the Commission, will be adopted by the Department consistent with the Department’s collective bargaining agreement and state law.

On a related note, Chief Joseph Cordeiro has announced that he is rescinding the former High Energy Patrol Initiative directive, superseded by the Department’s Walk and Talk directive and community policing philosophy, effective today.

Mayor Jon Mitchell noted, “I am grateful to the members of the Commission for their time and dedication in reviewing the Police Department’s use of force policies. NBPD is an effective police department, whose work in recent years has led to significant reductions in crime and a strengthening of the public’s trust. But we know that trust requires continuous nurturing, and that a successful police department is one that seeks always to improve itself. The Commission’s recommendations will enable the Department to upgrade its use of force practices and will bolster its legitimacy in the eyes of the public.”

“The success of modern policing is dependent on positive collaboration and an inclusive partnership with the community. This is a continuum in relationship-building and mutual trust, which is a foundational tenet of our community policing philosophy,” said Chief Cordeiro.

The Commission’s members included:

• City Councilor Brian K. Gomes (Chair), Chair of the, City Council Committee on Public Safety
• John G. “Buddy” Andrade, Director of the Old Bedford Village Development Corp.
• Marcus Brito-Barros, an organizer of the Black Lives Matter protests in New Bedford
• City Councilor Naomi R. A. Carney
• Helena DaSilva Hughes, Executive Director of the Immigrants Assistance Center
• Chuck DiChiara, Massachusetts Police Training Institute
• Hon. Armand Fernandes, retired Associate Justice, Massachusetts Trial Court
• Gail Fortes, Executive Director of the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts
• Rev. Ramiro Monteiro, International Church of the Nazarene, New Bedford
• Deputy Chief Paul Oliveira, New Bedford Police Department
• Marcelina Pina-Christian, Chair of the New Bedford Human Relations Commission
• Rita Ribeiro, retired New Bedford Police Department sergeant and School Committee member for Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School
• Maria Rosario, Executive Director of Northstar Learning Center
• Bruce Rose, former President, New Bedford Branch of the NAACP
• Robert Schilling, criminal defense attorney
• Andrea Sheppard Lomba, Director of United Interfaith Action of Southeastern Massachusetts
• Peter Silva, designee of the New Bedford Branch of the NAACP
• Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sowa, Bristol County District Attorney’s Office
• Hank Turgeon, President of the New Bedford Police Union
• Noah Williams, New Bedford High School Class of 2017 alumnus and current student at Georgetown University

By Matt Murphy
State House News Service

More people moved out of Massachusetts than relocated to the Bay State in 2020, with retirees and people seeking a change in lifestyle driving the overall migration out of the state, according to a recent study by a national moving company.

United Van Lines found Massachusetts to be one of the the top 10 states in the country that people were moving from as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated people’s decisions to relocate and the years-long trend of people moving south and west continued.

Idaho topped United’s survey for inbound moves, followed by South Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota and Arizona as popular destinations.

New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Connecticut and California saw the greatest percentage of movers leaving, with Massachusetts ranking eighth.

“United Van Lines’ data makes it clear that migration to western and southern states, a prevalent pattern for the past several years, persisted in 2020,” said Michael Stoll, an economist and University of California, Los Angeles professor, in a statement released by the company.

“However, we’re seeing that the COVID-19 pandemic has without a doubt accelerated broader moving trends, including retirement driving top inbound regions as the Baby Boomer generation continues to reach that next phase of life,” Stoll said.

United reported that 56.6 percent of its Massachusetts business was from customers leaving the state, while 43.4 percent of moves were people and family relocating here, primarily for work or family. The company tracked 3,355 moves in and out of Massachusetts in 2020.

The Boston metro area did not make United’s list of Top 25 urban areas for inbound or outbound migration, but the Worcester-Fitchburg-Leomister area ranked 18th on the outbound list with 64 percent of movers leaving the region on a United van.

Customers cited work as the most common reason for moving to Massachusetts, with 40.4 percent of inbound moves related to a job, followed by family at 30.6 percent, retirement at 12 percent and lifestyle at 10.4 percent.

However, the survey doesn’t necessarily reflect overall population trends.

With the 2020 Census concluded, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated in December that as of July 1 the state’s population had held steady in 2020 at close to 6.9 million residents, down by about 1,300 people from its 2019 estimate. The full decennial Census count will not be available until later in 2021.

Of those leaving Massachusetts, 35.2 percent of United customers surveyed said it was because of work, while equal numbers of people (24.2 percent) said they were leaving to retire or for family. Another nearly 20 percent said they left for a change in lifestyle.

Retirees moved in the biggest volume to Delaware, according to the United Vans survey, followed by Florida and South Carolina.

Minnesota was the most popular destination for people moving for family, and movers decided Wyoming offered the best change of pace for their lifestyle. Nebraska boasted the highest percent of people moving in for jobs.

In New England, states saw different moving patterns over the past year.

Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire all witnessed more moves into the state than out, with the numbers almost split in New Hampshire, while the two higher-cost states – Massachusetts and Connecticut – experienced the reverse.

PREIT has executed a lease with Aldi for a 21,000 square foot grocery store, further delivering on its promise to solidify the region’s retail node and diversify the mall’s retail offering. This new-to-portfolio grocer will open in fourth quarter of 2021, joining Burlington who opened in the first quarter of 2020 in the space formerly occupied by Sears that had been proactively recaptured by PREIT.

Dartmouth Mall is the dominant enclosed retail destination within a 30-mile radius in Southeast Massachusetts – well-located near popular vacation destinations of Cape Code, MA and Newport, RI.

Aldi joins a dynamic roster of tenants including Burlington, Old Navy, Hollister, H&M, Five Below, Carter’s and Francesca’s.

PREIT is focused on reinventing its platform by creating distinctive multi-use destinations, marked by a healthy mix of multifamily housing, hotels, entertainment, dining, health/wellness, green space, working space, and local small business retail, capitalizing on bullseye locations to produce a broader consumer base, create stronger business models and provide greater market flexibility.

Over the course of the past decade, as an initial step in this transformation, PREIT has reinvented its properties through the introduction of a variety of uses including entertainment venues, extensive dining programs, off-price and value purveyors, fitness centers and others. The addition of Aldi marks the third grocer addition to PREITs portfolio.

“The addition of Aldi to Dartmouth epitomizes PREIT’s go-forward strategy to redefine our assets to serve a multitude of purposes,” said Joseph F. Coradino, CEO of PREIT. “As part of this strategic approach to strengthen its region-leading asset pool, PREIT intends to complement Dartmouth Mall’s strong tenant performance with the addition of best in class tenants to satisfy our customers from day to night.”

“Congratulations to Lieutenant Kyle Canastra who retired from the New Bedford Fire Department this past weekend.

On behalf of the administration and his brothers and sisters, we would like to thank him for his dedication and commitment to the City of New Bedford for the past 30 years and wishing him a happy and healthy retirement!”

New Bedford Fire Department photo.

“The traditional ‘last day’ ceremonies honoring Chief Timothy Francis have been radically altered due to Covid-19 restrictions.

However, we would be remiss if we did not honor his 42 years of service to our town. Therefore, members of the Fairhaven Fire/EMS department, along with other agencies, will be conducting a parade to take the Chief home for his final ride as Department Chief.

Please do not be alarmed if you hear a lot of sirens and see many emergency vehicles with their lights on between 1 PM and 2 PM on Friday, January 8th.

The parade will begin at the Fairhaven Fire Station and turn right onto Washington st. From there it will tour the center of town. There will be a brief ceremony at the town hall, practicing socially distant measures. From there, the parade will proceed towards north Fairhaven, where the Chief will be delivered to his drop off point.”

Colin A. Young
State House News Service

Sports betting was not the only gambling-related matter left on the cutting room floor when the final economic development bill emerged from five months of negotiations early Wednesday morning. Negotiators also scrapped plans to have the Gaming Commission take a serious look at the circumstances around the one casino license left unissued.

The state’s 2011 expanded gaming law gave the Gaming Commission the power to grant up to three resort casino licenses. So far, two have been awarded — to MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor in Everett. Region C — the commission’s name for Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket counties — has been an unsettled matter for the commission for years. Ever since the Gaming Commission rejected a commercial casino proposal in Brockton in 2016, questions have lingered over whether a developer would put up the minimum $500 million for a casino that would face competition from the three gaming facilities already open here and nearby casinos in other states. Adding to the complexity of the situation is the possibility that the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe could revive its plan for a $1 billion casino in Taunton regardless of whether the Gaming Commission decides to reopen the process to license a third resort casino in Massachusetts.

Rep. Carol Doherty, a Taunton Democrat, co-sponsored language that was included in the House’s economic development bill in July that would have required the Gaming Commission to produce “an evaluation of economic conditions within region C and surrounding areas with respect to the region’s ability to sustain” a resort casino and an evaluation of the likelihood that a resort casino applicant could submit an application that would provide value to the region before 2024.

The Gaming Commission has addressed Region C in fits and starts in recent years, but in early 2020 sought answers to specific and business-related questions around a potential market analysis of Region C through a formal request for information. The pandemic upended the commission’s plans to review the feedback it received, but the commission has said it still intends to delve more deeply into the matter.

The former bookkeeper of a New Bedford-based seafood company has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with embezzling nearly $600,000 from her employer.

Kara Howland, 37, of New Bedford, was charged with bank fraud and filing a false tax return. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the parties have agreed to a sentence, subject to the Court’s approval, of 18 to 36 months in prison, a fine and restitution. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.

According to court documents, between January 2016 and December 2019, Howland embezzled $598,241 from her employer by writing checks from her employer’s bank accounts to pay her credit card bills. Howland altered the company’s internal accounting records to make it appear that the checks were paid to legitimate vendors. Additionally, Howland did not report or include the funds that she embezzled on her federal income tax filings, resulting in a tax loss of $180,863.

The charge of bank fraud provides a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million or twice the gross gain or loss. The charge of filing a false tax return provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joleen D. Simpson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; and Craig A. Marech, Resident Agent in Charge of the Providence Office of the U.S. Secret Service, made the announcement today. The New Bedford Police Department also provided assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of Lelling’s Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.