By Bruce Ditata

On the anniversary of his inauguration as POTUS, Donald J. Trump yearned for a Mar-a-Lago getaway, celebratory gala with his deep-pocketed cronies, the exhilaration of basking in praise he always yearns for.

Instead, he found himself shuttered in the White House, unable to join the opulent festival at his beloved Florida retreat. Outside the security moat on Pennsylvania Avenue, protestors chanted slogans, pounded drums, carried signs-against Trump and his policies, as well as for women’s and immigration advocacy. It was one of hundreds of women’s marches across the nation to coincide with the anniversary of the President’s inauguration.

A short distance away from the executive offices on Capitol Hill, lawmakers lobbed verbal grenades across the aisles in the United States Senate after a vote to keep the government running, which failed on the day before Trump’s anniversary.

The vitriol flowed like the champagne at Mar-a-Lago with Democratic and Republican members blaming each other for the government shutdown which, officially, began on January 20.

Democratic Senators perseverated on their unwillingness to “kick the can down the road” on the need to establish long term funding and public policy agreements to fund the Dream Act, border security, military personnel, children health insurance, medical facilities, and immigration legislation.

Republican Senators, conversely, accused their Democratic colleagues of being intransigent on issues they have always supported for the sake of one single issue- the Dream Act- the long established program due to expire in March of 2018 which offers a path to citizenship for the offspring of illegal immigrants, young people who call America their home, the only country they have even known.

Meanwhile, the stalemate in the Senate rages on and the government shutdown continues, a situation labelled as “trench warfare.” It has elicited harsh attacks against Democratic Senators by Trump subordinates, while the President has remained, mostly, silent with the exception of an anti- Democratic Party tweet and an aggressive, campaign style attack advertisement.

Where is the leadership from the Oval Office, the decisive intervention of a self-proclaimed deal maker, who railed against his predecessor, Barack Obama, for failure to bring both political parties to the negotiating table?

Without Trump working decisively to end the impasse, does this stalemate, causing the federal government to grind to a halt-the question becomes will historians in point of fact, accurately categorize it as the #TrumpShutdown? 

Today at about 4:15 p.m., State Police from the Middleboro Barracks responded to a single vehicle crash on Route 24 Southbound, south of Exit 15 in Bridgewater, which resulted in two ejections and serious injuries to a passenger.

Preliminary investigation by Trooper Cory Melo indicates that a 36-year-old New Bedford man was traveling on Route 24 Southbound in a 2000 Toyota Corolla when, for reasons still under investigation, the vehicle left the roadway and crashed into the wood-line. As a result of the crash, the operator and a 46-year-old female passenger were both ejected from the vehicle.

The passenger was subsequently flown by MedFlight medical helicopter to Tufts Medical Center in Boston for treatment of serious injuries. The operator and a 10-year-old passenger were transported to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton for treatment.

The cause of this crash remains under investigation. State Police were assisted on scene by Bridgewater Fire and EMS, Bridgewater Police, Raynham Police, and MassDOT.

A south Florida woman, who purported to be a psychic, was sentenced on Wednesday, January 17, in federal court in Boston for impeding the Internal Revenue Service by hiding more than $3.5 million of income that she was paid by an elderly Martha’s Vineyard woman.

Sally Ann Johnson, a/k/a Angela Johnson, a/k/a Angelia Johnson, a/k/a Sally Reed, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 26 months in prison and was ordered to repay $3,567,300 to the victim and to pay restitution in the amount of $725,912 to the IRS. In October 2017, Johnson pleaded guilty to attempting to interfere with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

Johnson owned and operated various businesses, including Flatiron Psychic, Psychic Match, Inc., and Psychic Spiritual Salon, Inc., all of which purported to offer “psychic readings,” “spiritual cleansing & strengthening,” and “meditation & healing.”

From 2007 to 2014, Johnson was paid over $3.5 million by an elderly woman living on Martha’s Vineyard to purportedly perform spiritual cleansing and healing services to rid the woman of demons through repeated exorcisms. Rather than reporting her income to the IRS and paying taxes on it, Johnson took steps to conceal it. Specifically, Johnson used an alias and directed the woman to send payments to at least three different bank accounts with which Johnson was associated, including an account in another person’s name. Johnson then withdrew large portions of the woman’s payments from the accounts in cash. In addition, Johnson accrued substantial charges on a credit card held in the name of the elderly woman, who ultimately paid the credit card bills, thereby concealing from the IRS the true extent of Johnson’s income. Neither Johnson nor any of the businesses she operated filed a tax return or paid taxes on the income she received from the woman.

A Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles clerk was sentenced Wednesday, January 17, in federal court in Boston for her role in a scheme to produce false identification documents.

Evelyn Medina, 56, of Boston, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release. In October 2017, Media and co-conspirators Annette Gracia, 37, of Boston; Kimberly Jordan, 33, of Randolph; David Brimage, 46, of Boston; and Bivian Yohanny Brea, 41, of Boston, agreed to plead guilty to one count of producing without lawful authority an identification document or a false identification document. In December 2017, Angel Miguel Beltre Tejada, 32, a Dominican national illegally residing in Jamaica Plain, was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated identity theft. Tejada will also be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentence imposed.

In October 2015, law enforcement received an anonymous letter alleging that a corrupt RMV employee was providing Massachusetts identifications and drivers’ licenses to individuals who were using false identifications. An investigation revealed that several Haymarket RMV clerks – Medina, Gracia, Jordan, and Brimage – were working with Brea and Tejada to fraudulently provide Massachusetts licenses and identification cards to illegal aliens for cash.

The scheme involved several steps. Tejada and Brea would obtain identification documents belonging to United States citizens in Puerto Rico and sell them to clients who were seeking legitimate identities in Massachusetts. These clients included illegal aliens, individuals who were previously deported, and an individual who admitted to previously facing drug charges. Tejada would receive several hundred dollars in cash each time he sold identification documents. Brea received up to $2,700 per identity for her role in the scheme, which included helping clients obtain the documents and facilitating their acquisition of Massachusetts identity documents.

Typically, Brea and the client brought the stolen identities to the Haymarket RMV, where Medina, Gracia, Jordan, and/or Brimage would accept hundreds of dollars in cash to illegally issue authentic RMV documents, including Massachusetts licenses and ID cards. The clerks also accepted bribes to use the RMV’s system to run queries, including Social Security number audits, to confirm that the identities the clients were stealing actually belonged to verifiable individuals.

New Bedford Police honored the promotion of Sgt. Justin Kagan to Lieutenant and Officer Michael Cassidy to Sergeant and honored Officer Jeremy DeMello with the chief’s award for his outstanding accomplishments within and outside the department during a ceremony Friday at Keith Middle School.

Sgt. Kagan is a 13-year veteran of the force. He began his career with the New Bedford Police Department in 2005 and was promoted to Sergeant in 2012.

He has received a number of honors, including a Red Cross hero award, a Massachusetts Police Association medal of valor and a commendation from the U.S. Department of Justice for outstanding service as a witness in a criminal case.

He has done an incredible amount of good work for the city and the people he serves, Chief Joseph Cordeiro said.

Officer Cassidy is a 24-year veteran of the force.

His honors included being named Officer of the Year by the Exchange Club and receiving two life-saving awards.

Officer Cassidy has served the city and its residents with dedication and honor, Chief Cordeiro said.

Officer DeMello is a 12-year veteran of the force.

He was honored for bringing Presents with Police to the New Bedford Police Department in 2016. Through this program, underprivileged children are paired off with police officers to shop for themselves and their family members to ensure they have Christmas presents. He is also a school resource officer at Roosevelt Middle School.

Through his work with Presents with Police and at Roosevelt, Officer DeMello changed the lives of children for the better, Chief Cordeiro said.

Chief Cordeiro said all three men serve their department and their community with distinction.

He urged them to continue to build bonds within the department and in the community and encouraged them to embrace the community policing philosophy.

“You want to be able to leave here someday and say, I’ve done my best to serve people,” Chief Cordeiro said.

City Council president Linda Morad, speaking on behalf of the City Council, thanked the honorees for their service. “We appreciate what you do for our city every day,” she said. “We look forward to your wonderful, outstanding service to the City of New Bedford.”

As the result of a several months long investigation by the Wareham Police Department Detective Division, the criminal charge of (Communicating) a Threat with Serious Public Alarm with regard to an incident that occurred in Wareham on July 10th, 2017 during a summer session of the Wareham School Department, specifically targeted toward students and faculty at Wareham High School and Middle School.

On July 10, 2017, Wareham Police Department officers and detectives, assisted by Wareham Fire Department personnel, school officials, and several law enforcement agencies, including the Mass. State Police and SEMLEC SWAT personnel responded to the Wareham High School and Middle School complex when an anonymous email received during the morning hours of the summer school/camps activities communicated a threat involving the use of a weapon to cause great harm. The incident was addressed with all precautionary measures in mind to preserve the safety of the children and staff attending the school session, as well as the safety of all responding personnel. Thankfully, the threat incident proved to be unfounded, and everyone involved, especially children of all ages, were safe and reunited with their family members.

Since the time of the incident, Wareham PD detectives have conducted exhaustive investigation of this matter, which resulted in the criminal charge being filed at Wareham District Court, and a complaint issued by the Juvenile Court Clerk. The matter is scheduled for arraignment procedures in the Juvenile Session at Wareham District Court on Wednesday, January 24th.

Chief Kevin Walsh said, “I am proud of the efforts of the detectives involved in this case, whose relentless and diligent investigation clearly shows that Wareham PD did not rest until all measures were taken and probable cause to file a criminal charge was attained. I also hope that our citizens, including our youth, realize the seriousness with which the Wareham Police Department and Wareham School Department address this type of matter.”

State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey, New Bedford Fire Chief Michal C. Gomes, and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro said the cause of the January 17, 2018 fatal fire at 282 Tinkham Road, New Bedford was the improper use or disposal of smoking materials.

The victim, identified by the Office of the District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III as 56-year old Agnes Leite, was rescued by the fire department. Paramedics administered a cyanide antidote to Ms. Leite and were able to resuscitate her, but she died later at the hospital. Cyanide is one of the toxic, deadly gases produced when household furnishings burn.

Chief Gomes said, “I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of Ms. Leite.”

The fire started on a mattress in a second floor bedroom where the victim was found. She was known to roll her own cigarettes, which are not required to be fire resistant as commercially produced cigarettes are. All cigarettes sold in Massachusetts must be “Fire Standard Compliant” and resist ignition when not being actively smoked.

The fire was jointly investigated by members of the New Bedford Fire and Police Departments and State Police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Smoking caused fatal fires in December in Abington and Springfield and is a possible cause in other 2018 fire deaths. Smoking was the cause of a major apartment fire in Rutland on January 12 that displaced 50 people. State Fire Marshal Ostroskey said, “If your New Year’s resolution was to try to quit smoking, now’s a good time to quit again. Many people aren’t successful the first few times.” The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has a Smoker’s Helpline 1-800-QUIT-NOW. Talk to a quit coach today, or ask your doctor about the many ways they can help you.

Local artists, crafters, dealers of antiques and vintage collectibles, and local food producers will have a new place to display their products for sale in Fairhaven this summer at the Huttleston Marketplace, to be held on Saturdays on the lawn of the town’s Visitors Center. From mid-June and until Labor Day weekend, the marketplace will have vendor spaces available in an attractive and convenient setting at Route 6 and Main Street, next to Fairhaven High School.

“This is intended to be a vibrant little crafts and vintage collectibles fair that happens every week on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,” say Fairhaven tourism director Chris Richard, who is organizing the market. “It will provide very affordable space for crafters, artists, and other compatible merchants to set up shop, so to speak. Vendors can sign up for a single week, several weeks, or for the entire twelve-week season. Besides arts and crafts, antiques and collectible, I hope to see some fresh produce, plants, prepared foods, and maybe even a little bit of live entertainment.”

Guidelines for vendors have been created to help insure the quality of the products sold. Crafts must be hand made in New England. Imprinted clothing such as T-shirts that are not handmade, must have images created by the sellers that have local significance. Antique and vintage items must be of a certain age and condition and have collectible value. Food products must be made locally.

“The public coming here each week will see select, unique things for sale. There won’t be any new mass-manufactured goods, multi-level marketing products, or garage and rummage sale items,” says Mr. Richard. “Shoppers will be supporting creative artisans from our own region.”

Application forms and guidelines for vendors are available now and can be downloaded from the Fairhaven Office of Tourism website at http://fairhaventours.com/huttleston-marketplace. For additional information about the Huttleston Marketplace, you can email Chris Richard at FairhavenTours@fairhaven-ma.gov or call 508-979-4085.

Due to the expected low wind chill for this evening (21 degrees) the overflow will be opened again tonight. All inquiries can be forwarded to Sister Rose House and 1-800-homeless.

Numerous members of the public have reported to State Police that they received hoax telephone calls yesterday that showed the phone number of the calls’ origin to be the number of the State Police Middleborough Barracks, 508-947-2222.

When the call recipients answered, they were told to hold for an officer regarding a complaint or charges that had been issued against them. The “officer” then told the call recipients they needed to pay a fine of several thousand dollars or face a lawsuit to resolve the matter.

The calls are hoaxes. Anyone receiving calls like these, or calls of any similar nature, should immediately hang up. Never go anywhere or provide any personal information or money as a result of an unsolicited, unexpected, or suspicious phone call. Please be aware that no police department will ever call someone to tell them there is a warrant or complaint against them, and no police department will ever ask for any amount of money to be turned over to it.