$1M Lottery Jackpot: West Springfield Winner Eyes New Car With His Payday $1M Lottery Jackpot: West Springfield Winner Eyes New Car With His Payday
$1M Lottery Jackpot: West Springfield Winner Eyes New Car With His Payday A West Springfield man said he plans to replace his 2005 car with something new after he won $1 million in the Powerball lottery.  David Goncalves won the seven-figure sum after he matched the first five numbers on his Quic Pic ticket in the Oct. 7 drawing. Those numbers were 47, 54, 57, 60, 65, and the Powerball was 19.  Had he matched the Powerball, he would have won the $1.4 billion jackpot. Goncalves picked up his $1 million prize (before taxes) on Oct. 20.  He bought the ticket at Stop & Shop at Riverdale Road in Springfield. The store will get a $10,000 …
'Special Kind Of Evil': Child Sex Trafficker Who Recruited NY Victims Gets 40 Years In Prison 'Special Kind Of Evil': Child Sex Trafficker Who Recruited NY Victims Gets 40 Years In Prison
'Special Kind Of Evil': Child Sex Trafficker Who Recruited NY Victims Gets 40 Years In Prison A convicted sex trafficker will spend decades in prison for forcing underage girls into prostitution. New York resident Christopher Thomas, age 40, of Colonie in Albany County, was sentenced to 40 years behind bars Monday, Oct. 30, in Albany federal court. According to prosecutors, Thomas coerced numerous vulnerable children and young women, some as young as 16, to engage in sex work for his financial benefit between 2018 and 2020. His crimes spanned New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. In March 2023, following a 5-day trial, jurors convicted Thomas of 16 counts, including s…
Man Conned 300 Mass Families To Pay For His Plastic Surgery, Vacations, Gambling: Feds Man Conned 300 Mass Families To Pay For His Plastic Surgery, Vacations, Gambling: Feds
Man Conned 300 Mass Families To Pay For His Plastic Surgery, Vacations, Gambling: Feds The only thing the kids who signed up for MB Sports Camps learned about baseball was how to steal — but not bases.  Mehdi Belhassan, 53, of Tampa, Fla., was convicted last week after a six-day trial of two counts of wire fraud, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said. He was accused of stealing $380,000 from 303 families across the state and country and a $191,000 advance from an online payment company.  Belhassan ran the annual MB Sports Camps. In 2019, however, he collected parents' money like usual, but this time, ran away with it to pay for plastic surgery and "extravagant…
Massachusetts 2nd Best In US For Healthcare; Midwestern State Claims Title: Study Massachusetts 2nd Best In US For Healthcare; Midwestern State Claims Title: Study
Massachusetts 2nd Best In US For Healthcare; Midwestern State Claims Title: Study Massachusetts is home to some of the best healthcare systems in the country, but another state claimed the crown in a new survey.  Forbes Advisor compared all 50 states under four categories, including healthcare access, outcomes, cost, and quality of hospital care.  Each category is given a score on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 indicating the worst result for that category. Only Minnesota scored better than Massachusetts.  The study revealed that the Bay State has the lowest percentage of residents without health insurance coverage (2.50 percent) and the highest number of …
Scary Good: Best Horror Movie Set In Mass. Is This Classic, Report Says Scary Good: Best Horror Movie Set In Mass. Is This Classic, Report Says
Scary Good: Best Horror Movie Set In Mass. Is This Classic, Report Says A tongue-in-cheek website ranked the best horror movie set in each state — did your favorite Massachusetts-based classic make the cut? We’re gonna need a bigger boat. Just in time for Halloween, the self-described “punk news site” The Hard Times ranked the best horror movie set in each US state. So, which Massachusetts-set film made the cut? The 1975 Steven Spielberg classic, “Jaws.” Set in the fictional New England town, Amity Island, the thriller (based on a book published the year before) follows a marine biologist, police chief, and caption on a hunt for a massive killer shark a…
Rite Aid Will Close Stores In Mass, Connecticut After Filing For Bankruptcy Rite Aid Will Close Stores In Mass, Connecticut After Filing For Bankruptcy
Rite Aid Will Close Stores In Mass, Connecticut After Filing For Bankruptcy Rite Aid, the pharmacy giant that filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, Oct. 15, plans to close 154 underperforming stores nationwide, according to a new filing. Some of those closures will be in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  Related: Why Is Rite Aid Filing For Bankruptcy? Rite Aid announced earlier this week that declining sales and rising debt forced the company's hand in filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The chain has more than 2,100 stores nationwide, and reducing rent costs will play a large part in bringing its balance sheet back into the black.  The only store in Massachusetts…
Eatery Named As Mass's Best Hole-in-the-Wall Breakfast Place By New Report Eatery Named As Mass's Best Hole-in-the-Wall Breakfast Place By New Report
Eatery Named As Mass's Best Hole-in-the-Wall Breakfast Place By New Report A Middlesex County restaurant that serves up some very loaded waffles has been named the best "Hole-in-the-Wall" breakfast place in Massachusetts by a new report.  Vic's Waffle House, located in Tewksbury at 283 Old Main St. (Route 38), was recognized as Massachusett's best hidden gem for breakfast by Cheapism's "Best Hole-in-the-Wall Breakfast Place in Every State."  According to the report, the eatery serves up waffles that are "anything but ordinary." Choices offered on the restaurant's menu include waffles loaded with fresh fruit such as peaches and apples; a bacon-stuffed waffle toppe…
Lottery Payday: Mass Winner With Sense Of Humor Wins $25K A Year For Life Lottery Payday: Mass Winner With Sense Of Humor Wins $25K A Year For Life
Lottery Payday: Mass Winner With Sense Of Humor Wins $25K A Year For Life A Massachusetts lottery winner wishing to remain anonymous chose a tongue-in-cheek name for the trust that would collect their big check last week.  A representative of Needle Johnson Nominee Trust of Wellesley claimed the first $25,000 check for their client who, on August 7, won the Lucky For Life drawing, which guarantees them that amount every year for the rest of their life.  However, the winner chose the lump sum of $390,000 before taxes rather than the annuity payments, lottery officials said.  The winning ticket was purchased at Village Convenience Store at…
Hotel Rooms Canceled To Make Room For Migrants Ahead Of Army-Navy Game: Report Hotel Rooms Canceled To Make Room For Migrants Ahead Of Army-Navy Game: Report
Hotel Rooms Canceled To Make Room For Migrants Ahead Of Army-Navy Game: Report At least 70 people, including many veterans, suddenly found themselves without places to stay ahead of the upcoming Army-Navy college football game in Massachusetts after their hotels canceled their rooms to make room for migrants, according to a report by CBS News. The cancellations were made at three hotels owned by Giri Hotel Management, where veterans attending the iconic game's debut at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Saturday, Dec. 9 had been hoping to stay afterward, according to a report by CBS News from Thursday, Oct. 5.  When travel agent Mar…
BJ's To Pay $9M For Not Reporting Air Conditioner Defect Linked To Death Of NY Mom, Feds Say BJ's To Pay $9M For Not Reporting Air Conditioner Defect Linked To Death Of NY Mom, Feds Say
BJ's To Pay $9M For Not Reporting Air Conditioner Defect Linked To Death Of NY Mom, Feds Say BJ's Wholesale Club has agreed to pay $9 million in penalties for failing to immediately report a known defect with an air conditioner it sold linked to the death of a mother after a house fire. The move by the Massachusetts-based company, located in Marlborough in Middlesex County, resolves its charges by the US. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The CPSC said BJ’s knowingly failed to immediately report to it, as required by law, that portable air conditioners manufactured by Royal Sovereign International, Inc. and sold by BJ’s, contained a defect that could create a substantial p…
Tractor-Trailer Driver Gets Jail Time For Fatal Mass Pike Crash Tractor-Trailer Driver Gets Jail Time For Fatal Mass Pike Crash
Tractor-Trailer Driver Gets Jail Time For Fatal Mass Pike Crash A 70-year-old tractor-trailer driver from Connecticut will spend time in prison for his role in a crash on the Massachusetts Turnpike that left a man dead.  Hartford County resident Stanley Kardys, age 70, of West Granby, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for his role in an April 2021 crash in Berkshire County that killed 69-year-old Gary Litwin of Ludlow, the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday, Oct. 4.  Earlier Report - CT Man Facing Charges After Fatal Mass Turnpike Crash According to the DA's Office, on April 23, 2021, just be…
'So Grateful I Could Puke': Jeopardy! Champ From Massachusetts Returning To Iconic Quiz Show 'So Grateful I Could Puke': Jeopardy! Champ From Massachusetts Returning To Iconic Quiz Show
'So Grateful I Could Puke': Jeopardy! Champ From Massachusetts Returning To Iconic Quiz Show Of the thousands of contestants to appear on Jeopardy! over the years, not many get asked back a second time; Brendan Sargent is among the lucky few. The 34-year-old Massachusetts native, originally from Worcester and now living in Los Angeles, will return to the iconic quiz show, appearing on a “Champions Wild Card Tournament” episode airing Thursday, Oct. 5. “It happened again. I’m back on Jeopardy! Babyyyyy!!!” Sargent said on Facebook. The St. John’s High School and Boston University alum first competed on the show in March 2021, appearing in two episodes and going home with $9,600. …