Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

September 16, 2008

To The South Of Boston, A Trial For Rape May Be The Accused’s Least Concern Given DNA match To Prostitute’s Murder

In Worcester Superior Court, testimony is scheduled to begin today in the trial of a Berlin man charged with raping and trying to suffocate a woman last year in a West Boylston motel. The defendant, Alex F. Scesny, 38, has also been identified by law enforcement as a “person of interest” in the unsolved slayings of several area prostitutes. Today he is facing trial on charges of rape, assault with intent to murder, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (to wit: a pillow) allegedly occurring on March 17, 2007.

In April, District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. labeled Mr. Scesny a “person of interest” in the 1996 strangulation death of 39-year-old Theresa K. Stone in Fitchburg. Cold case investigators turned their attention to Mr. Scesny after a DNA profile derived from biological evidence recovered in the West Boylston rape investigation was shown to match a genetic profile from a swab taken during Ms. Stone’s autopsy, according to a state police affidavit filed in court. He later described Mr. Scesny as a “person of interest” in the deaths of five other women who were known to have worked as prostitutes in the Main South section of the city.

While Scesny’s DNA has only linked him to Theresa Stone’s murder, the similarities between the cases has stirred fears of a possible serial killer.

September 15, 2008

Springfield Massachusetts Ambulance Patient Changes Seats In Motor Vehicle And Role In Criminal Justice System

by Altman & Altman

Have you ever heard the saying “the lunatics are running the asylum”? We begin the week with a story about an interesting twist on it.

It was last night. Sunday night. All around the Commonwealth, people were preparing for a new week of work and school. The clock struck 9:30pm. Perhaps you were getting ready to retire for the evening, resting up for what the week would bring. An ambulance patient in Springfield, Mass., however, had other ideas. He decided to overtake and commandeer the ambulance.

The unnamed joy rider was being taken to Mercy Medical Center. The gentleman had been reported as acting erratically. Suddenly, he decided to turn things around. He attacked and started beating the medical technicians, successfully chasing them out of the ambulance on Chestnut Street. Once the technicians jumped ship (or ambulance), he took control of the vehicle and began driving. Apparently a stickler for consistency, he drove erratically through Springfield, hitting a Peter Pan bus, a car and then a parked car on Main Street, said Springfield Police Lt. Robert Strzempek.

September 12, 2008

Criminal Justice Odds Being Beat In New Bedford, MA

by Altman & Altman

In New Bedford, Massachusetts, what appears to be a man walking with a figurative “Please Lock Me Up Forever” sign on his back is beating incredible odds.

The man, Allen Thurston, 36, is a convicted level 3 sex offender. After he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, he was arraigned yesterday in New Bedford District Court on an assault and battery charge.

The prosecutor pressed the court to revoke Thurston’s bail; the judge would not do so. Police, naturally, are said to be “concerned” as to why his bail was set so low. Their reasons seem logical enough:

September 11, 2008

Drug Busts Make This A Bad Week For Marihuana and Heroin Trade South and West Of Boston

by Altman & Altman

It has been a bad week so far for Massachusetts drug conspiracies. First, members of a joint Anti-Crime Task force confiscated 500 pounds of marijuana and more than $180,000 in cash from a weekend drug bust in Swansea, Massachusetts. The marijuana alone has a street value of more than $600,000. Then, in Holyoke, an Easthampton man and four Holyoke men were arrested Tuesday on charges including possession of heroin and possession of a loaded firearm.

After a month long investigation and 24-hour surveillance, John C. Mendonca, 38, of Fall River, who had been living at an East Providence hotel, was pulled over Saturday by an East Providence police officer. A search of his vehicle found prescription drugs, several cell phones and a box containing a large amount of cash. Search warrants were taken out for four of Mendonca’s known haunts, including two locations in East Providence and two in Fall River. The searches revealed a 2001 Dodge Caravan with 500 pounds of marijuana, a money counting machine believed to be tied to Mendonca’s alleged drug operation, 10 cell phones and a potpourri of additional drugs.

Mendonca is currently on federal probation from a 2002 drug bust. Swansea Deputy Police Chief Robert Furtado said police believe there were two men involved in Mendonca’s drug operation, but no one else has been charged. Furtado said because Mendonca was on federal probation, federal marijuana trafficking charges are being sought. Furtado also said that this was the biggest drug bust he said he has seen in more than three decades on the force .

September 10, 2008

MASSACHUSSETTS COURT STAFF FACE WHITE COLLAR ACCUSATIONS

by Altman & Altman

According to this week’s Massachusetts Lawyer’s Weekly, the Commonwealth is having a tough time with certain …irregularities… regarding Probate Court staff. A few weeks ago, Middlesex County’s Register of Probate was arrested for allegedly stealing cash from government copying machines. This week, in Suffolk County, a state auditor’s report is raising questions of malfeasance in Register of Probate’s Office.

According to the report, $12,885 in “voided” transactions disappeared from cash registers in the office of Richard P. Iannella, the register for the Suffolk Probate & Family Court, between July 2000 and June 2002. In addition to not complying with regulations that secure cash flow, Iannella is said to have failed to fill out a form explaining the shortfall, the report states.

Iannella, a former Boston city councilor who has served as register since 1996, said the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has investigated the matter. “I’m certainly not at liberty to discuss with you an investigation,” Iannella said, “but we turned the office upside down. We made every effort possible to determine how the monies were stolen, and unfortunately it ended up inconclusive.”

September 9, 2008

Lynn Man Enters Fray And Faces Attempted Murder Charges

by Altman & Altman

According to today’s Lynn Item, Carmet Cruthird of Lynn was arraigned Friday on attempted murder charges after he allegedly stabbed a man outside a Liberty Street apartment building the day before. However, the circumstances appear a bit sketchy and are likely to not be resolved until the time of trial…which usually takes about a year.

Mr. Cruthird, a gentleman of 60 years, is said to have been involved in some kind of brawl which resulted in a stabbing. Gerald Nason, also of Lynn and 22 years of age, was the recipient of the knife’s blade. However, while law enforcement has labeled him the “victim” of this story, the facts leading up to the stabbing are apparently blurred. For example, one witness said that Cruthird was actually the one being assaulted by a small group of men when he pulled out a knife in self-defense. Other witnesses said that Nason was trying to break up a fight involving Cruthird and another person when he was stabbed.

Everybody seems to agree that the incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. outside of Cruthird’s apartment building.

September 8, 2008

Lowell, Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting His Baby

by Altman & Altman

In Massachusetts, a Lowell father that pleaded guilty to assaulting his own son will serve 18-months in a house of correction and 5 years probation. Ty Chan entered his plea in Lowell Superior Court for assault and battery on a child causing serious bodily injury.

The incident occurred on the morning of November, 17, 2007. Lowell police were summoned to an apartment in Middlesex Street following a report of domestic assault. Chan’s 22-month-old son was there and bleeding. According to witnesses, Chan bit his son’s lip.

The 26-year-old Lowell resident says he took cocaine and ecstasy that day. He was arraigned two days after the incident.

Domestic Violence in Massachusetts
Physical violence inflicted on one family member by another is considered domestic violence. Massachusetts law makes it mandatory for law enforcement officers to arrest anyone accused of domestic violence-regardless of whether or not they are guilty of the crime. Many cases of domestic violence are not always what they seem, which is why it is important for the accused to get legal help as soon as possible.

Massachusetts Domestic Violence Statistics:

• There were 42 domestic violence-related murders in 2007.
• 13 suicides.
• There have been about 29 domestic violence-related deaths in Massachusetts (so far) in 2008.

Dad sent to jail in assault on baby, Boston.com, August 29, 2008
Dad Pleads Guilty To Biting Toddler Son’s Lip, WCBV.com

Related Web Resource:

General Laws of Massachusetts
Continue reading

September 8, 2008

A Salem, Massachusetts, A Teenage Life Is Forever Altered By Drug Charges

by Altman & Altman

This week, we start our daily blog with an eye toward the north shore, where, according to the Salem News, last fall, Christopher Al-Nabulsi was a star at Salem High School. At 17, he was captain of the football and lacrosse teams, played basketball and was a peer mentor. And then he made a mistake which many assume would simply get him a “slap on the wrist”.

It Didn’t.

In December, a 15-year-old schoolmate paid Christopher $15 for a bag of marijuana. She then informed the school officials of the transaction. They confronted him and he confessed. They then searched his backpack and found three more packets of marijuana. He was arrested and expelled from school. He was also charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute in a school zone, each bringing a 2 year mandatory jail sentence (apart from the other charges which Christopher also faced).

September 5, 2008

Boston Area Duo Said To Defraud Dunkin’

by Altman & Altman

The Brookline Tab has reported that former Brookline resident Carolyn Kravetz has been indicted in federal court for acts of mail fraud and tax fraud. Her co-defendant, Boris Levitin, hailing from Brighton, merely faces charges of mail fraud.

Federal prosecutors claim that a Ms. Kravetz, a communications director for Dunkin’ Brands from May 2004 to October 2005, steered hundreds of thousands of dollars of work from a Canton-based company to a contractor in return for a 50 percent kickback. The two attended Boston University in the 1980’s (the “greed is good” era) where they gained an education as well as each other’s friendship. The two were apparently very close in 2004 when prosecutors claim that they agreed that Ms. Kravetz agreed to steer Dunkin’ Brands contract work to Mr. Levitin’s graphic design and technical publishing firm, Luminophore Inc. In return, prosecutors said, Mr. Levitin agreed to kick back to Ms. Kravetz one-half of his gross revenues from Dunkin’ Brands. After depositing a check from Dunkin’ Brands, Mr. Levitin would send a check equal to half of the amount to Ms. Kravetz, according to the indictment filed last week in federal court in Boston.

From September, 2004, through November, 2005, Ms. Kravetz allegedly deposited checks from Luminophore into her personal account that totaled nearly $200,000. Mr. Levitin allegedly received nearly $400,000 spread among six checks over a 15-month period, including full payments for many projects that he hadn’t even started. According to the indictment, Mr. Levitin completed one project and performed some work on two others (of the 15 invoiced projects) , but never submitted any work to Dunkin’ Brands on the remaining 12 projects.

September 4, 2008

North Of Boston, An Alleged Teenage Crimewave Faces Actual Jail

by Altman & Altman

Yesterday’s Salem Daily News told the tale of Angelo Diiorio, age 18. The young man, had been ordered by the court to confine himself to his home while awaiting trial on charges of vehicular homicide and child rape. In fact, he was even ordered to wear an ankle bracelet. According to the police, however, this condition of release was a bit too difficult for Mr. Diiorio to follow as he was found behind a Danvers business attending a meeting (scheduled fight) with another youth this past Saturday night. The court remedied the youth’s impulsivity by making him a guest of the Commonwealth for 60 days.

According to law enforcement, the two teens were arrested at approximately 10 p.m. as they were in mid-conference (“swinging at each other”) regarding a desired acquisition (a girl). The meeting was forcibly adjourned with the resulting charges of disorderly conduct, trespassing, and possession of marijuana. For poor lovesick Diiorio, however, these charges were the least of his problems as the arrest resulted in the court’s revoking Diiorio’s bail in his pending Salem rape case. Diiorio had been indicted last year on a charge of rape, which involved the alleged sexual assault on an 11-year-old girl during a Christmas Eve gathering in Danvers in 2006. Two weeks later, on January 5, 2007, Diiorio was allegedly at the wheel of a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse when he lost control on Route 1 in Revere and crashed, killing a 17-year-old girl in Peabody, for which he faces charges of vehicular homicide and negligent driving to endanger. Investigators say the crash was caused when Diiorio and another driver decided to race each other on the highway.

The respective prosecutors in these cases opined to the court that his latest arrest indicates Diiorio doesn’t take court orders seriously.