On Wednesday, July 29, at about 3:30 p.m. Wareham Police received reports of an unresponsive woman being pulled from the water at the beach on Cleveland Way. Upon arrival, officers found citizens performing CPR on the female victim.

She was taken to Tobey Hospital and was later pronounced deceased. The victim is identified as Maria Moitoso (81), of Buzzards Bay.

It appears that this was an accidental drowning; however the case remains under investigation by Wareham Police detectives and the Massachusetts State Police.

The Wareham Police appreciate the efforts of the citizens who did their best to revive the victim prior to the arrival of emergency responders.

“This is my son Peyton. He is autistic and has Mood disorder and ADHA. He is 20 years old, 5 ft 6 in, blue eyes, has a wolf tattoo on one arm and another tattoo not sure what it is, on the other arm. Both on the upper arms.

He left angry last night and managed to find his way to the Woods of Wareham. He left there at 6:00 am and hasn’t been seen since. Please let me know if you see him anywhere. He has a black “Sons of Anarchy” zip-up jacket on and dark basketball shorts, black Nikes. He may be trying to get to New Bedford.

Please share to any New Bedford pages, I am not a part of any but will ask to join those groups until he is found. No money, no wallet, he ditched his backpack so it’s just him.”-Brooke Forester.

If you see this young man, please contact Wareham Police at (508) 295-1212 or his mother on her Facebook page.

Chris Lisinski
State House News Service

Landlords who are unable to remove non-paying tenants due to a statewide moratorium on evictions and foreclosures face “potentially devastating” economic harm, an attorney argued in Suffolk Superior Court Thursday.

A lawyer representing landlords squared off with attorneys for Massachusetts and a range of housing justice groups over whether a judge should step in and lift the temporary ban on removals, which supporters say protects thousands of renters from losing their homes during a global pandemic. Attorney Richard Vetstein contended those claims, arguing that scrapping the moratorium would not lead to a tsunami of evictions and that the policy violates landlords’ constitutional property and court access rights.

“This is literally state reps trying to be housing court judges, and it’s gone too far,” Vetstein, who is representing landlords that claimed they have lost thousands of dollars in unpaid rent from tenants during the state of emergency and have no recourse to reclaim it, said.

State attorney Jennifer Greaney said the Legislature is well within its rights to order stays in court action, stressing that landlords will still have the right to pursue action against tenants once the public health crisis ends.

The moratorium was scheduled to end on Aug. 18, but Gov. Charlie Baker used an option available to him under the new law to trigger an extension until Oct. 17. Through more than two hours of oral arguments, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Paul Wilson did not indicate how he plans to rule on the case in which plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction. At the end he said he would “issue a decision as soon as I can.”

A Plainville man was arrested yesterday and charged with attempted enticement of a minor.

David Cerasuolo, 47, of Plainville, Mass., was charged by criminal complaint with one count of coercion and enticement of a minor, or attempt thereof. Following an initial appearance via videoconference in federal court in Boston, Cerasuolo was detained pending a probable cause and detention hearing scheduled for July 31, 2020.

According to the criminal complaint, Cerasuolo used chat applications to engage in conversations with an individual he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, but was actually an undercover federal agent. During these conversations, Cerasuolo attempted to entice the 13-year-old to engage in sexual activity and sent her several photographs of himself, including one displaying his penis.

The charging statute provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. 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 and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The Plainville, Arlington, Boston and Newton Police Departments and Massachusetts Department of Correction provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Deitch of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The details contained in the criminal complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Katie Lannan
State House News Service

Cape Cod officials aired their frustrations Thursday with private house parties they said have contributed to an uptick of cases in the region, and urged residents to continue wearing masks, practicing social distancing and otherwise complying with public health guidance.

“There’s evidence that the community spread is limited, so we’re talking about private events, which admittedly is frustrating, particularly given the fact that there is ample fresh air and sunlight and breezes on Cape Cod,” Truro Sen. Julian Cyr said on a conference call with other members of the Cape’s reopening task force. “It’s frustrating to see these private events occurring, particularly if they’re occurring indoors. Private events at which physical distancing and mask-wearing are not occurring are the clear accelerate that is spreading the virus on Cape Cod.” Cyr said he can relate to the desire to socialize, but urged people to do so responsibly. He suggested visiting with friends outdoors, in chairs spaced apart from one another.

Thirteen people tested positive for COVID-19 in connection with a house party earlier this month in Chatham, Board of Selectmen chair Shareen Davis said. Davis called it “reckless and dangerous” to ignore public health guidance and said officials wanted to impress upon young people “that their actions have impact” and they could spread the highly contagious virus to loved ones who may be at higher risk.

If you are a fan of Dunkin’s your favorite location may be affected by recent news. The quintessential New England coffee destination Dunkin’ announced they will be closing 800 locations – approximately 8% of their stores – throughout the U.S. In addition, the company stated that closures may be extended to 350 locations outside of the country.

Pruning their low-volume sales locations is a decision made by the Quincy-based business and comes in light of their recently released 2nd quarter earnings. Half of the locations will be in Speedway convenience stores.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected revenue for most businesses around the world and is likely a factor in the decision.

Police Chief Edward J. Walsh and Fire Chief Timothy Bradshaw report that the Taunton Police and Fire Departments responded to a residence Wednesday evening for a report of an unresponsive child in a swimming pool.

At approximately 5:30p.m., Taunton Police, Fire and EMS were dispatched to an address on Washington Street. Police were on scene in less than one minute, and officers pulled a 2-year-old child out of the pool and immediately began providing medical aid and CPR. Additional Police and Fire personnel arrived shortly after and assisted until EMS arrived.

The child was transported to a nearby hospital by Brewster Ambulance and was taken by medical helicopter to a Boston Hospital. The child was reported to be breathing on their own, but no other updates are available at this time on the child’s condition.

“I commend the work of the officers for arriving on scene as quickly as they did, within one minute of the initial call,” Chief Walsh said. “The quick actions of both the police and fire personnel is a testament to their training and ability to act under very stressful circumstances.”

The incident is under investigation by the Taunton Police Department.

who.int photo.

Chris Van Buskirk
State House News Service

If supervised drug consumption sites were allowed in Massachusetts, Wrentham resident Lynn Wencus said the child she lost to overdose might still be alive today.

“As long as somebody is breathing, there’s always a chance for recovery,” the Team Sharing member said during a Wednesday rally.

The prospect of legal areas to consume controlled substances has long been a point of contention on Beacon Hill as questions about legality, implementation, and implications for professionals have circulated since the sites were first proposed.

Advocates for the measure gathered in front of the State House Wednesday urging the legislature to pass a bill that would (S 2717) create a 10-year pilot program for at least two sites where clinical professionals would monitor peoples’ use of controlled substances.

Organizers held the rally in honor of Aubree Esters, a longtime advocate for supervised sites. Sen. Julian Cyr, Senate chair of the Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Recovery Committee, said in the weeks before her death, Esters had spoken at length with Cyr’s staff about the legislation.

“This would give us another tool to save lives as the opioid epidemic continues to ravage communities across the commonwealth,” the Truro Democrat said. “This is ever more important in the time of COVID-19 when we have such isolation, when those who use drugs and who are struggling with drug use and addiction are so isolated.”

Under the legislation, the sites must provide hygienic spaces for consumption, on-premise health care professionals to monitor for overdoses, sterile injection supplies, and provide access to naloxone. The Department of Public Health would consider site operators for licensure only after local boards of health sign off on their participation.

Insite Vancouver opened in 2003 and became the first legal supervised drug injection site in North America and cities including Boston, San Francisco, Denver, and Philadelphia have considered opening similar locations.

“Let’s get these safe consumption sites going because we desperately, desperately need them,” Wencus, also a member of non-profit Team Sharing, said.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has previously threatened to prosecute any effort to create a supervised consumption site program but in 2019 a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that the sites would not violate a section of the Controlled Substances Act as government prosecutors once alleged.

The bill is the result of nearly seven months of work from the Harm Reduction Commission, a group that was created after legislators toyed with the idea of creating the sites but instead decided to charge the commission to study the topic.

The Department of Public Health released data in early February showing that a total of 2,023 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths occurred in 2019, down from 2,031 in 2018. The number peaked in 2016 at 2,097, according to the data, setting the overdose death rate at 30.5 per 100,000 residents.

Miriam Komaromy, medical director at Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction, recalled a time when naloxone was considered “bizarre and exotic.” Now, she said, the country finds itself in an era when the use of the opioid overdose prevention drug is common.

“Safe consumption sites are the same. They have excellent evidence for their benefit for saving lives, for engaging people in treatment if they’re interested in treatment, for helping to prevent the spread of infectious diseases,” she said at the rally. “There are so many reasons to embrace safe consumption sites and we can’t let the stigma and the politics overwhelm our efforts.”

Two-thirds of the Committee on Mental Health endorsed the bill in mid-May, sending it to Senate Ways and Means where it has remained over the past month.

The House voted Wednesday to extend formal sessions for the rest of 2020, and the Senate seems on board with that idea, raising the possibility that legislators could take up the bill at some point in 2020.

Mary Althoff turns 60 next week and has used IV drugs since she was 14-years-old. She said she would like to see a moment in time when injection drug users have the right and privilege to use in a safe environment.

“I’ve watched a lot of people overdose unnecessarily. I’ve lost a lot of lives unnecessarily. My life could have been lost unnecessarily,” she said. “So please bring it to bear, give these people an opportunity to do what they have the right and privilege to do.”

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) today announced that the risk level for eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus in the communities of Carver and Middleborough in southeastern Massachusetts has been increased from moderate to high.

This risk level increase follows additional EEE positive mosquito samples. EEE virus has been found in 16 mosquito samples this year. No human or animal cases of EEE have been detected so far this year. 

“The mosquito surveillance results indicate that the virus activity has increased in one area in southeastern Massachusetts,” said Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH. “We want people to be aware that the EEE virus is present in mosquitoes in the area and are encouraging residents to take steps to avoid mosquito bites.”

DPH is working with the local communities, local Mosquito Control Projects, and other mosquito control experts to coordinate surveillance and discuss appropriate public health response activities.

The EEE virus also has been confirmed this year in tested mosquito samples in Franklin County, which increased the risk level of EEE to moderate in the communities of Orange, Athol, Wendell and New Salem. The town of Plympton in Plymouth County is also at moderate risk for EEE.

There were 12 human cases of EEE in Massachusetts in 2019.

“We always take EEE very seriously,” said DPH State Epidemiologist Dr. Catherine Brown. “It is important for residents to know that in communities at high risk for EEE, we encourage use of mosquito repellent and scheduling outdoor events to avoid the hours between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes most likely to spread EEE are most active.”

People have an important role to play in protecting themselves and their loved ones from illnesses caused by mosquitoes.

Actor Bill Murray visited New Bedford today and picked up some Mexican food at Mi Antojo Mexican Restaurant.

“Whats a better way to start the morning? Than meeting a all time favorite actor? Bill Murray?? Mi Antojo Mexican Restaurant – S 2nd st” – William Santiago Jr.