Retired Mass State Police Sergeant Avoids Prison In $21K PPP Loan Fraud Case: Feds Retired Mass State Police Sergeant Avoids Prison In $21K PPP Loan Fraud Case: Feds
Retired Mass State Police Sergeant Avoids Prison In $21K PPP Loan Fraud Case: Feds A retired Massachusetts State Police sergeant will not face prison time after admitting to fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program loan that was later forgiven, federal authorities announced. Damian Halfkenny, 54, of Boston, was sentenced on Friday, July 23, to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, $21,333 in restitution, and $21,333 in forfeiture, the US. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts announced Monday. Federal prosecutors charged Halfkenny with one count of wire fraud in April. He later pleaded guilty. According to prosecutors, Halfkenny earned …
Wrong-Way Mass DUI Driver Hits 90-Year-Old, Overturns Tractor-Trailer On NY Highway: Cops Wrong-Way Mass DUI Driver Hits 90-Year-Old, Overturns Tractor-Trailer On NY Highway: Cops
Wrong-Way Mass DUI Driver Hits 90-Year-Old, Overturns Tractor-Trailer On NY Highway: Cops A wrong-way, drunken Massachusetts driver struck a 90-year-old man's pickup truck head-on on the New York State Thruway before a tractor-trailer overturned trying to avoid the wreck, police said. David Thomas Russell, 24, of Westfield, MA, was driving a 2021 Ford pickup northbound in the southbound lanes when he struck a 2025 Ford pickup driven by a 90-year-old Glens Falls man head-on, at approximately 4:40 a.m., on the southbound side of Interstate 87 near Exit 21A in Coeymans, NYSP said. A 2026 Freightliner tractor-trailer driven by a 34-year-old Troy man swerved to av…
Ex-Boston Children's Nurse Charged With Assaulting Teen Patients; DA Warns Of More Victims Ex-Boston Children's Nurse Charged With Assaulting Teen Patients; DA Warns Of More Victims
Ex-Boston Children's Nurse Charged With Assaulting Teen Patients; DA Warns Of More Victims A former Boston Children's Hospital nurse is accused of sexually assaulting two teenage boys in his care, and prosecutors believe there could be more victims. John Tam, 33, of Hopedale, is charged with four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person age 14 or older and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a patient by a healthcare provider, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden.  The alleged incidents happened in September 2022 and January 2025, according to Hayden. Boston Children's Hospital has not publicly responded to Tam's arrest as of p…
Western Mass Sex Offender Heads To Prison After Police Find Him Sharing CSAM: Feds Western Mass Sex Offender Heads To Prison After Police Find Him Sharing CSAM: Feds
Western Mass Sex Offender Heads To Prison After Police Find Him Sharing Csam: Feds A registered child sex offender from Massachusetts will spend the next 12 years in federal prison after investigators connected him to illegal images and videos of child sexual abuse material shared across multiple online platforms, authorities announced.  Michael Scott Myers, 39, of Lunenburg, was sentenced in federal court on Wednesday, July 23, by U.S. District Judge Margaret R. Guzman. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after his prison term. Myers pleaded guilty in March 2026 to one count of possession of child pornography, following his arrest in Decemb…
Former Miss Hall's Headmaster Indicted in Teacher Abuse Scandal, DA Says More Charges Possible Former Miss Hall's Headmaster Indicted in Teacher Abuse Scandal, DA Says More Charges Possible
Former Miss Hall's Headmaster Indicted in Teacher Abuse Scandal, DA Says More Charges Possible Former Miss Hall's School headmaster Jeannie Norris has been indicted in the teacher abuse scandal that has already led to rape charges against a former teacher. Berkshire County District Attorney Timothy J. Shugrue announced on Wednesday, July 22, that Norris, 80, of Durham, North Carolina, has been charged with one count of reckless endangerment of a child. The indictment comes as the investigation into abuse allegations at the Pittsfield all-girls school continues. Shugrue said he expects more charges against Norris, who served as headmaster from 1996 to 2012. The case follows the March…
Fill-Up Of The Valkyries: Mass Gas Station Turns Pumps Into Concert Hall With Live Orchestra Fill-Up Of The Valkyries: Mass Gas Station Turns Pumps Into Concert Hall With Live Orchestra
Fill-Up Of The Valkyries: Mass Gas Station Turns Pumps Into Concert Hall With Live Orchestra The only thing most drivers expect at the pump is sticker shock. One Massachusetts gas station is giving them a string quartet instead. Quincy Gas in Quincy has been surprising customers this year with live orchestra performances just steps from the pumps. The unexpected soundtrack has caught attention on social media, turning routine fill-ups into moments that drivers are talking about long after they leave. Owner Harvey Kertzman said the idea was simple. "People are paying so much money for gas, and they get the gas but don't leave with a smile on their face," Kertzman told The Boston Gl…
Western Mass Man Who Left Rotting Dead Body Inside Home For Weeks After Murder Sentenced: DA Western Mass Man Who Left Rotting Dead Body Inside Home For Weeks After Murder Sentenced: DA
Western Mass Man Who Left Rotting Dead Body Inside Home For Weeks After Murder Sentenced: DA A Massachusetts man will spend up to two decades in prison after admitting he unlawfully killed another man and left his body inside an apartment for weeks. Taaniel Herberger-Brown, 44, of Greenfield, was sentenced today to 18 to 20 years in state prison in connection with the February 2024 death of Christopher Hairston, 34, of Greenfield, the Northwestern District Attorney's Office announced.  Investigators said the two men got into a physical altercation inside the apartment on Feb. 29, 2024, and Hairston died during the fight. Authorities said Herberger-Brown did not call for m…
Tire-Slashing Confrontation Turns Deadly: Central Mass Man Convicted In 2020 Murder Tire-Slashing Confrontation Turns Deadly: Central Mass Man Convicted In 2020 Murder
Tire-Slashing Confrontation Turns Deadly: Central Mass Man Convicted In 2020 Murder A confrontation over slashed tires in a Worcester neighborhood ended in a deadly stabbing, and a jury has now convicted the man responsible. Benjamin Willie, 26, was found guilty Friday, July 17, of second-degree murder in the 2020 killing of 29-year-old Josue Rios, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. announced. The fatal stabbing happened on June 30, 2020, in Worcester's Grafton Hill neighborhood. Prosecutors said Rios confronted Willie after catching him slashing the tires of vehicles parked in the area. During the confrontation, Willie stabbed Rios. Rios was taken to…
Police ID Springfield Man Who Died After Being Found Shot In Wooded Area Police ID Springfield Man Who Died After Being Found Shot In Wooded Area
Police ID Springfield Man Who Died After Being Found Shot In Wooded Area A man found with a gunshot wound in a wooded area in Springfield earlier this week has been identified as police continue searching for answers. Sean Pendergrast, 49, of Springfield, was found around 2:40 a.m. Monday, July 13, in the 200 block of Parker Street after officers responded to a report of shots fired, the Hampden District Attorney's Office said Friday. Paramedics took Pendergrast to Baystate Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries. The Springfield Police Homicide Unit, under the direction of Captain Trent Duda, is investigating the killing alongside the Hampden Dis…
Man Asleep In Uber Wakes Up To Multiple Criminal Charges In Central Mass: Police Man Asleep In Uber Wakes Up To Multiple Criminal Charges In Central Mass: Police
Man Asleep In Uber Wakes Up To Multiple Criminal Charges In Central Mass: Police A routine Uber disturbance ended with the seizure of dozens of grams of suspected fentanyl and the arrest of a Southbridge man wanted on serious criminal warrants, police said. Giovanni Taboado, 28, of Southbridge, was identified as the passenger after officers responded around 2:46 a.m. Tuesday, July 7, to Cohasse Street for a report of an Uber rider who refused to get out of the vehicle. When officers arrived, they found Taboado unconscious in the back seat. Officers safely removed him from the vehicle. During the encounter, police said they found a large amount of suspected drugs package…
Mass-Native Journalist Says Phones Seized After Iran Trip, Emergency Court Fight Begins Mass-Native Journalist Says Phones Seized After Iran Trip, Emergency Court Fight Begins
Mass-Native Journalist Says Phones Seized After Iran Trip, Emergency Court Fight Begins A Boston-born journalist Max Blumenthal is asking a federal court to order the return of two smartphones seized by US Customs and Border Protection, arguing the government violated his constitutional rights and put confidential sources at risk. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee filed the emergency motion in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Blumenthal's behalf. The filing seeks the return of both phones and any information copied from them. Blumenthal was detained for about two and a half hours after returning to the United States on July 10 from a…
Witnesses Unable To Save Pilot After Plane Crashes Into Massachusetts State Forest Pond Witnesses Unable To Save Pilot After Plane Crashes Into Massachusetts State Forest Pond
Witnesses Unable To Save Pilot After Plane Crashes Into Massachusetts State Forest Pond A pilot was killed after a small plane crashed into Curlew Pond in Myles Standish State Forest, prompting a rescue effort by first responders and nearby good Samaritans. Authorities have identified the pilot as 81-year-old Richard Carrara of Kingston.  The crash happened around 7:45 a.m. Thursday, July 16, when Plymouth Police received a report of a plane down in Curlew Pond in the Plymouth state forest. The vessel was overturned in the water, with the pilot trapped inside just off the shoreline.  Plymouth police, firefighters, and several good Samaritans rushed into th…