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City having trouble finding a new auditor.
By Michael Holtzman
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Aug 16, 2010 @ 10:21 PM
Last update Aug 17, 2010 @ 12:40 AM
FALL RIVER — The city continues to struggle to find a new auditor to replace Kevin Almeida.
City Administrator Shawn Cadime said the administration is working with a consulting firm to hire a part-time auditor while the search continues. They reopened the application process a couple of weeks ago after one person declined the job and no other candidates brought municipal auditing experience, Cadime said.
Efforts to reach out to those in the job directly at municipal governments and through the Massachusetts Municipal Association have not brought any candidates, Cadime and Human Resources Director Madeline Coelho said Monday.
They, along with Mayor Will Flanagan and Almeida conducted a handful of auditing interviews, Cadime said.
Almeida on July 7 began an $85,000 job as school department finance manager after 2 ½ years as city auditor. It was a slight pay increase, but about $8,500 more when the 8 percent pay cut most municipal officials were required to take was factored in.
He said school auditing has been his goal.
Cadime said Almeida continues to work a couple of hours a week to keep the most recent audit report on task.
Since shortly before Almeida left, the city promoted Stacey Medeiros to the position of assistant auditor, Cadime and Coelho said.
She had handled those duties since Dec. 1, 2008 as the head administrator clerk, Coelho said. Under the union contract, her clerk’s salary of $34,431 was increased to $48,981, the second step on the assistant auditor’s rate, she said.
Her salary since being promoted June 23 was put at the fourth step, or $54,167 before the 8 percent pay cut, Coelho said.
The city had been prepared to hire an assistant auditor in early 2008, but did not follow through after the state began reducing local aid, officials said.
The auditor’s position is one of three in the finance sectors the administration has been trying to fill after Flanagan fired the tax collector and assessor two months ago.
He promoted Ida Geraldes, a 25-year city employee who worked as employee benefits administrator as tax collector. Geraldes began her job a week ago.
A week earlier, Richard Gonsalves, a city resident with nearly 30 years of experience in the assessing field, 18 in Seekonk, became the new administrator of assessing.
In a related matter, Cadime said that David Grab, treasurer and director of administrative services that oversees the auditing, assessing and tax collections departments, had not participated in the interviewing or hiring of the new department heads under his domain.
“Right now everything’s staying the same. It might be revisited down the road,” Cadime said. “Right now David Grab is director of financial services.”
Flanagan hired Grab in March after firing the previous treasurer/director of administrative services shortly after taking office.
E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com.
Well, this is wonderful news. The Titticut Follies that Fall River's financial administration has become is actually keeping qualified people from coming here at a time when the economy is still digging out of a huge hole and many professionals in the field are looking for employment.
This was predictable. Why, you might ask? Because for years the City has had just about the worst possible reputation at DOR and Municipal Finance professional groups in Massachusetts. Believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, most true public finance professionals are honest people who have an appreciation for doing things correctly, efficiently, and most importantly, HONESTLY and LEGALLY. They , by state law, must take sworn oaths of office, and adhere to a professional code of ethics no less important that any other profession, and I might add, better than attorneys. Given what goes on in Fall River, you would not think this to be the case. But it is the way the rest of Massachusetts' municipal financial officials work.
The Sylvanagan administration does not plan ahead. They knew many changes in their professional financial and administrative people had to be made well prior to taking office., The "GREAT LIE" cabal involved in hiding the sewer deficit made that clear. But what has happened since?
This mayor has fired those who have publicly screwed up well after their transgressions were known, almost as a political public molification reaction. The firings of the previous finance director, tax collector and assessor were done in reactionary fashion with little apparent thought to the optimum timing and long term impact of those decisions. There is virtually NO HOPE that the tax rate will be ready any time before late December, 2010. The movement of the auditor makes closing Fall River's financials as close to impossible as it can be. What qualified auditor or municipal accounting professional wants to walk into the auditing mess and morass of financial reports and incomplete auditing records from some other accounting agent? It will take close to a year to be brought into a clear picture, and that's with a very qualified accountant with adequate staff, neither of which will be the case! This is a monumental disaster.
WE have hired a chief assessor from a town which has a similar management reputation to Fall River. Everyone in Fall River feels better about themselves when compared to Seekonk. It is an administrative and financial armpit of a community! It's reputation for political skulduggery is worse than Fall River;'s, if that is possible. Yet a man comes here to replace an assessor fired under duress, and takes a home town discount to do so, to watch over the tax assessment administration of a community with vastly greater number of parcels than the community he just left? Folks, NO ONE EVER takes a cut in pay to work for an administrative back water like Fall River! NEVER! For qualified financial professionals, a low paying, badly staffed, financially stressed and hyper political community like Fall River usually requires a pay PREMIUM to come here! That, plus a guaranteed contract. Even then, you'd have virtually NO TAKERS.
So then we come to Mr. Grab. Hey, Mr. Grab, have you figured out who the spy is in your office? You know, the one running to a certain member of the FROED Board of Directors, the member who worked so tirelessly for Sylvanagan's election? Can you be that dumb that you havent' figured it out yet? How do you think people commenting on the pages of the HN knew of you sitting around all the time in your office playing solitaire on your computer? And whats' this crud about you not having a hand in hiring the people on YOUR Finance "TEAM"? A man of talent and pride would have walked away over less. Don't even have me try to swallow that jive about you being available to come here with a cut in pay because of a shorter commute! But then again, you had little knowledge of the situation in your own tax collector's office with money laying around for months on a clerks desk. You didn't have internal reports or a schedule of tax commitment due dates to start asking questions when funds weren't being deposited? That alone proves you haven't a clue and are typical of the people in whose hands this sad City now places it's financial and administrative future . This is one sad tale my friends.
And it's been predictable since Sylvanagan gave those asinine responses about the CSO Fee being an illegal tax. Talk about nonsense and purposeful jive! He and Torres concocted sham legal opinions to make the argument when in truth they had absolutely no working knowledge of any section of public finance what-so-ever! Just because you've worked as a municipal attorney doesn't mean you have a scintilla of a clue about the day-to-day financial operations of a municipality. They just don't, and that's a fact. And the arrogance to think they do, when combined with the level of political hubris they are now exhibiting, places Fall River in the very precarious financial position the City is in currently. But don't expect a word from Sylananagan &Company. They have no clue because they don't know a thing about municipal finance.
All you can expect from the current administration is more hiring of unqualified, politically connected fools willing to bend the laws and rules to Sylvanagan's purposes and the firing of scapegoats for the coming financial failures that are heading unfettered right down the City's throat. The cascade of blunders will continue unabated. Sylvanagan's utter lack of insight into the City's financial condition is completely frightening and will be his final undoing. One year or two year commitments of grant funds to plug revenue holes will only serve to inflate expenses without providing matching revenues in future years. It's all about avoiding the tough problems today for political gain with this politician sociopath and his buddies at FROED. Just what Fall River likes, just what it's used to.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Nature Abhors a Vacumn
City Councilors press mayor to rethink YMCA funding
By Michael Holtzman
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Aug 11, 2010 @ 10:50 PM
Last update Aug 11, 2010 @ 11:54 PM
FALL RIVER — Six of nine city councilors sent a message to Mayor Will Flanagan Tuesday night they thought his decision to pull funds from the $10 million to $11 million YMCA renovation and affordable housing project was dead wrong.
They also want Flanagan to find a way to resurrect the prior commitment of $1.5 million in Community Development funds after Director Frank Duffy said it remains their best option to make the century-old downtown building viable.
YMCA SouthCoast proposed 42 single-room occupancy rental units on the top two floors, of which 11 would be Section 8 subsidized units designated to this site.
Flanagan pulled the funds five months ago, saying low-income housing was detrimental to downtown revitalization.
“The only thing stopping this project is a few units that have Section 8. That is sad,” council Vice President Linda Pereira said. “I think the mayor is absolutely wrong in pulling that funding.”
“You should hold true to the previous administration to give the YMCA the funds. We do not want the administration to pull the funding,” echoed President Joseph Camara, who, liked Pereira, has often disagreed with Flanagan.
“I don’t think it falls into the category of new low-income housing. I think this is a different animal,” said Councilor Eric Poulin, who’s often backed Flanagan’s proposals, including the recent budget that passed 5-4.
“It would put people to work. I think we should do it,” Councilor Leo Pelletier said of the 130 jobs YMCA officials said the project would have created.
Five years in the planning after receiving the CDA commitment in 2008, Duffy said, “We were literally shovel-ready Sept. 1.”
Led by Pereira and Councilor Brad Kilby, who called Flanagan’s actions “unconscionable,” council members on a voice vote said they’d send a letter to Flanagan to reconsider his stance and tell others being given over $1 million in HOME funds to wait on their projects.
Councilor Michael Lund, a staunch low-income housing opponent, joined the majority saying the city’s recreational needs and YMCA building improvements tipped his vote. Councilors Pat Casey and Raymond Mitchell indicated they felt differently, while Councilor Brian Bigelow registered no opinion three days after being arrested for allegedly soliciting a prostitute in a sting operation.
Flanagan showed no intentions of changing his mind.
“I am standing on my principles and truly believe it’s in the best interests of the city not to increase low-income housing,” he said. “I’m not going to bow to political pressure, and not going to waiver under political pressure.”
As Duffy and CDA Executive Director Michael Dion answered council questions on the project, building needs, some $7 million in expected government funding and income guidelines, Camara and Pereira clashed with City Administrator Shawn Cadime on the rationale to halt it.
Camara said low-income housing is not increasing because 13 homeless families allowed 48 people to live at the YMCA recently.
“There’s not 42 SRO units,” Cadime said.
When Camara pressed his point, Cadime shot back, “Are you suggesting we should increase the Section 8 housing?”
Camara loudly asked the former School Committee member if he wanted to switch positions and run again for elected office.
Earlier in the lengthy debate, Pereira said the project enabled the YMCA to bolster safety where the upper floors lacked sprinklers and other code updates.
Pereira said the YMCA had hired architects on good faith. Included in its $550,000 in pre-construction expenses was $33,000 for a building permit just before Flanagan and the CDA removed the funds.
“Are you supporting extra low-income housing?” Cadime asked Pereira.
“That’s not what it is. It is for more than that,” she said.
Pereira said a housing subsidy and income was needed to provide future revenue.
At one point, Dion told the council the 31 units outside the 11 Section 8 rooms would fall into the 50-60 percent of medium income eligibility, $25,250 to $30,300.
Duffy said Wednesday the lack of sprinklers in the upper floors with housing “had never been an issue” with the building “grandfathered” from current codes. It was last used for SRO units in 1986.
Meanwhile, Cadime confirmed Tuesday night and Flanagan wrote the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to say the city would forgive a $250,000 loan to the YMCA and reduce its HOME entitlement grant.
The city has the option to foreclose on the loan. “However, the city does not want to pursue this action due to the severe hardship it would cause the YMCA,” Flanagan wrote HUD.
Cadime said the YMCA on its own could raise the $10 million to $11 million, a figure called impractical in this city, noting difficulties of the Boys & Girls Club raising $1 million.
“As of now, the project is really at a standstill,” Duffy said. “We’re looking at other options, but our number one priority is really to go through with this project and renovate the building.”
E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com.
Every bad decision eventually comes back to haunt you. That is especially true in the public sector.
When a commitment is given by one administration to send grant funds to a worthy cause, especially for a construction project like the one at the Y, it is simply NEVER the case that a following administration does a 180 degree change in decision and pulls that funding back. Not when a commitment has been made and plans have been put into place to proceed. Not when major costs have been engendered as a result of that earlier commitment of funds. And NOT EVER when it deals with a valuable community resource like the YMCA in Fall River.
Sure, you'll have Mayor Sylvanagan and his messenger boy, Cadime, scurrying about using ridiculous terms like "my principles" and making bold, political statements that, in the course of a City Council Meeting, are way out of place and blatantly political. That's what happens when backs are against the wall despite the opportunity given the administration of Bag-Boy Sylvanagan to change their grievously wrong decision and still maintain their sainted "principles".
This crew of Executive Office incompetents cannot see the clear option that they have been given to change a bad decision . They are such rookies, the lot of them, that their total inexperience in administration AND politics is clearly showing . That's also what happens when winning the next election is the only thing you can see, when you have chronic reelection tunnelvision.
By agreeing to retract the decision to pull funds from the Y project, Sylvanagan & Company could simply state that they agree with the objectives and widespread support of the Y project, yet still maintain the stance in opposition to increased low income housing in the Fall River in general, but the central business district (cbd) in particular. (One must note Sylvanagan & Company's mute acceptance of the Wampanoag Mills development which will bring many, many more new REAL low income and Sec. 8 units to Fall River. Could it be because THAT developer in known for granting thousands of $$$$$$$ in campaign contributions to local elected officials in the communities in which he builds and manages housing?) Sylvanagan & Company defined every unit in the Y project to be low income, when in fact, that is far from factual. But they maintained their hard line and refused to budge They backed themselves into the corner they now inhabit. They are wrong, politically, on this issue and have misread popular sentiment. The overwhelming majority of Fall River voters support both the Y's mission and this project. But the rookies find it hard to admit an error even though in the long run it will be to their benefit, both community improvement wise and politically. The shriek of youthful inexperience and lack of foresight , both politically and in administering Fall River, is loud and clear.
Mayor Sylvanagan is on a losing streak of incredible proportions right now. While the Gaming Bill will most likely pass in the future, there are absolutely ZERO guarantees that one will be placed on Wampanoag lands, the 300 acres formerly set aside for the Bio-Park. There is also little chance of that land being declared sovereign tribal land, especially while the Aquinnah Wampanoags are studying plans for a casino on lands already identified as sovereign tribal land on Martha's Vineyard. One has to doubt the feds moving heaven and earth in record time to review the Mashpee Wampanoags request for the land in Fall River to receive tribal designation. Most experts place that period to be 5 to 7 years. And there are at least two other viable sites with American backing already in the Southeast Zone.
In fact, we face the real possibility of losing BOTH the casino and Bio-Park because of Sylvanagan & Company's and FROED's reckless decisions. Now they want to throw in with a developer of VERY questionable origins, Richard Baccari of Rhode Island, alleged to have bribed a RI state rep $25,000 for assistance on a development project, to place the Bio-Park on land Baccari owns in Freetown, land serviced by the Route 24 cutoff originally designed, or so we were told, the Bio-Park, now the Wampanoag casino site. The possibility exists that this was the objective all along! Isn't THAT a heart warming thought! Oh, what tangled webs we ALLEGEDLY weave, eh , Bag-Boy?
Look at what has been happening since the beginning of his administration. Aside from a ridiculous law suit against " Lund the Terrible", strip joint maven and constitutional law advocate, which we cannot and will not win, Sylvanagan & Company has been an reactive administration , not proactive. We have been behind the curve, never in front. WE follow disaster, never move forward with positive and constructive financial , economic and administrative initiatives. It's an administration of incompetence , inexperience and lack of foresight. It appears to be all about the next election, and because that's the "elan vitale" of this cast of executive miscreants, we are wasting precious time and opportunities to solve the City's fundamental problems that existed when Sylvanagan took office, and will most likely still remain when he leaves.
Nature abhors a vacuum. There is a hideous vacuum on the 6th floor of City Hall. The passage of time will show this to be the case, Fall River will feel the results and it will not be pretty. And it will fall on the residents AND mayor Sylvanagan & Company. No one will escape unscathed.
A rep for the YMCA shows photos to show what the property would look like after rehab.
By Michael Holtzman
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Aug 11, 2010 @ 10:50 PM
Last update Aug 11, 2010 @ 11:54 PM
FALL RIVER — Six of nine city councilors sent a message to Mayor Will Flanagan Tuesday night they thought his decision to pull funds from the $10 million to $11 million YMCA renovation and affordable housing project was dead wrong.
They also want Flanagan to find a way to resurrect the prior commitment of $1.5 million in Community Development funds after Director Frank Duffy said it remains their best option to make the century-old downtown building viable.
YMCA SouthCoast proposed 42 single-room occupancy rental units on the top two floors, of which 11 would be Section 8 subsidized units designated to this site.
Flanagan pulled the funds five months ago, saying low-income housing was detrimental to downtown revitalization.
“The only thing stopping this project is a few units that have Section 8. That is sad,” council Vice President Linda Pereira said. “I think the mayor is absolutely wrong in pulling that funding.”
“You should hold true to the previous administration to give the YMCA the funds. We do not want the administration to pull the funding,” echoed President Joseph Camara, who, liked Pereira, has often disagreed with Flanagan.
“I don’t think it falls into the category of new low-income housing. I think this is a different animal,” said Councilor Eric Poulin, who’s often backed Flanagan’s proposals, including the recent budget that passed 5-4.
“It would put people to work. I think we should do it,” Councilor Leo Pelletier said of the 130 jobs YMCA officials said the project would have created.
Five years in the planning after receiving the CDA commitment in 2008, Duffy said, “We were literally shovel-ready Sept. 1.”
Led by Pereira and Councilor Brad Kilby, who called Flanagan’s actions “unconscionable,” council members on a voice vote said they’d send a letter to Flanagan to reconsider his stance and tell others being given over $1 million in HOME funds to wait on their projects.
Councilor Michael Lund, a staunch low-income housing opponent, joined the majority saying the city’s recreational needs and YMCA building improvements tipped his vote. Councilors Pat Casey and Raymond Mitchell indicated they felt differently, while Councilor Brian Bigelow registered no opinion three days after being arrested for allegedly soliciting a prostitute in a sting operation.
Flanagan showed no intentions of changing his mind.
“I am standing on my principles and truly believe it’s in the best interests of the city not to increase low-income housing,” he said. “I’m not going to bow to political pressure, and not going to waiver under political pressure.”
As Duffy and CDA Executive Director Michael Dion answered council questions on the project, building needs, some $7 million in expected government funding and income guidelines, Camara and Pereira clashed with City Administrator Shawn Cadime on the rationale to halt it.
Camara said low-income housing is not increasing because 13 homeless families allowed 48 people to live at the YMCA recently.
“There’s not 42 SRO units,” Cadime said.
When Camara pressed his point, Cadime shot back, “Are you suggesting we should increase the Section 8 housing?”
Camara loudly asked the former School Committee member if he wanted to switch positions and run again for elected office.
Earlier in the lengthy debate, Pereira said the project enabled the YMCA to bolster safety where the upper floors lacked sprinklers and other code updates.
Pereira said the YMCA had hired architects on good faith. Included in its $550,000 in pre-construction expenses was $33,000 for a building permit just before Flanagan and the CDA removed the funds.
“Are you supporting extra low-income housing?” Cadime asked Pereira.
“That’s not what it is. It is for more than that,” she said.
Pereira said a housing subsidy and income was needed to provide future revenue.
At one point, Dion told the council the 31 units outside the 11 Section 8 rooms would fall into the 50-60 percent of medium income eligibility, $25,250 to $30,300.
Duffy said Wednesday the lack of sprinklers in the upper floors with housing “had never been an issue” with the building “grandfathered” from current codes. It was last used for SRO units in 1986.
Meanwhile, Cadime confirmed Tuesday night and Flanagan wrote the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to say the city would forgive a $250,000 loan to the YMCA and reduce its HOME entitlement grant.
The city has the option to foreclose on the loan. “However, the city does not want to pursue this action due to the severe hardship it would cause the YMCA,” Flanagan wrote HUD.
Cadime said the YMCA on its own could raise the $10 million to $11 million, a figure called impractical in this city, noting difficulties of the Boys & Girls Club raising $1 million.
“As of now, the project is really at a standstill,” Duffy said. “We’re looking at other options, but our number one priority is really to go through with this project and renovate the building.”
E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com.
Every bad decision eventually comes back to haunt you. That is especially true in the public sector.
When a commitment is given by one administration to send grant funds to a worthy cause, especially for a construction project like the one at the Y, it is simply NEVER the case that a following administration does a 180 degree change in decision and pulls that funding back. Not when a commitment has been made and plans have been put into place to proceed. Not when major costs have been engendered as a result of that earlier commitment of funds. And NOT EVER when it deals with a valuable community resource like the YMCA in Fall River.
Sure, you'll have Mayor Sylvanagan and his messenger boy, Cadime, scurrying about using ridiculous terms like "my principles" and making bold, political statements that, in the course of a City Council Meeting, are way out of place and blatantly political. That's what happens when backs are against the wall despite the opportunity given the administration of Bag-Boy Sylvanagan to change their grievously wrong decision and still maintain their sainted "principles".
This crew of Executive Office incompetents cannot see the clear option that they have been given to change a bad decision . They are such rookies, the lot of them, that their total inexperience in administration AND politics is clearly showing . That's also what happens when winning the next election is the only thing you can see, when you have chronic reelection tunnelvision.
By agreeing to retract the decision to pull funds from the Y project, Sylvanagan & Company could simply state that they agree with the objectives and widespread support of the Y project, yet still maintain the stance in opposition to increased low income housing in the Fall River in general, but the central business district (cbd) in particular. (One must note Sylvanagan & Company's mute acceptance of the Wampanoag Mills development which will bring many, many more new REAL low income and Sec. 8 units to Fall River. Could it be because THAT developer in known for granting thousands of $$$$$$$ in campaign contributions to local elected officials in the communities in which he builds and manages housing?) Sylvanagan & Company defined every unit in the Y project to be low income, when in fact, that is far from factual. But they maintained their hard line and refused to budge They backed themselves into the corner they now inhabit. They are wrong, politically, on this issue and have misread popular sentiment. The overwhelming majority of Fall River voters support both the Y's mission and this project. But the rookies find it hard to admit an error even though in the long run it will be to their benefit, both community improvement wise and politically. The shriek of youthful inexperience and lack of foresight , both politically and in administering Fall River, is loud and clear.
Mayor Sylvanagan is on a losing streak of incredible proportions right now. While the Gaming Bill will most likely pass in the future, there are absolutely ZERO guarantees that one will be placed on Wampanoag lands, the 300 acres formerly set aside for the Bio-Park. There is also little chance of that land being declared sovereign tribal land, especially while the Aquinnah Wampanoags are studying plans for a casino on lands already identified as sovereign tribal land on Martha's Vineyard. One has to doubt the feds moving heaven and earth in record time to review the Mashpee Wampanoags request for the land in Fall River to receive tribal designation. Most experts place that period to be 5 to 7 years. And there are at least two other viable sites with American backing already in the Southeast Zone.
In fact, we face the real possibility of losing BOTH the casino and Bio-Park because of Sylvanagan & Company's and FROED's reckless decisions. Now they want to throw in with a developer of VERY questionable origins, Richard Baccari of Rhode Island, alleged to have bribed a RI state rep $25,000 for assistance on a development project, to place the Bio-Park on land Baccari owns in Freetown, land serviced by the Route 24 cutoff originally designed, or so we were told, the Bio-Park, now the Wampanoag casino site. The possibility exists that this was the objective all along! Isn't THAT a heart warming thought! Oh, what tangled webs we ALLEGEDLY weave, eh , Bag-Boy?
Look at what has been happening since the beginning of his administration. Aside from a ridiculous law suit against " Lund the Terrible", strip joint maven and constitutional law advocate, which we cannot and will not win, Sylvanagan & Company has been an reactive administration , not proactive. We have been behind the curve, never in front. WE follow disaster, never move forward with positive and constructive financial , economic and administrative initiatives. It's an administration of incompetence , inexperience and lack of foresight. It appears to be all about the next election, and because that's the "elan vitale" of this cast of executive miscreants, we are wasting precious time and opportunities to solve the City's fundamental problems that existed when Sylvanagan took office, and will most likely still remain when he leaves.
Nature abhors a vacuum. There is a hideous vacuum on the 6th floor of City Hall. The passage of time will show this to be the case, Fall River will feel the results and it will not be pretty. And it will fall on the residents AND mayor Sylvanagan & Company. No one will escape unscathed.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Time To Face the Truth
Councilor Brian Bigelow during his arraignment after being arrested in a prostitution sting.
Arrests made in Operation John
By Michael Holtzman
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Aug 09, 2010 @ 11:21 AM
Last update Aug 10, 2010 @ 12:32 AM
FALL RIVER — City Councilor Brian Bigelow pleaded not guilty Monday in Fall River District Court to a charge of offering to engage in sex for a fee following his weekend arrest in a prostitution sting that snared 23 people in total.
Bigelow, 49, of 1367 Robeson St., was one of the first to be arraigned around 10:15 a.m.
His case was continued to Oct. 22 for a pre-trial conference. He is represented by city attorney Michael Sousa, who entered the plea.
Dressed in a dark suit, blue shirt and gold print tie, Bigelow, who serves on the Diman School Committee in addition to the City Council, reiterated an early statement that he has no intention of resigning.
“I have no plans to resign,” Bigelow told a swarm of media gathered outside the Fall River Justice Center.
“He is emphatically denying the charges.” Sousa said.
He declined to state anything about his client’s actions the night he was arrested. “We’re here today to get the process started,” Sousa said.
“I find it’s a personal matter, a family matter. My family’s coming first,” Bigelow told The Herald News.
He paused and said, “yes” when asked if the married father of four had received their support.
“Not good,” he said, when asked how he felt. “Anyone wouldn’t feel good about it.”
Bigelow said he planned to attend Tuesday night’s City Council meeting and said he would talk to his colleagues personally.
He finished fifth in the race for nine council seats in 2009. He had been appointed to the council a year earlier, after finishing 10th in the race , when Thomas Kozak resigned his council seat in February 2008.
Bigelow said he took a vacation day from his job with Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson and planned to return to his job on Tuesday. Later Monday, about 4:30 p.m., he received notification from Hodgson that he had been suspended from his job pending an internal investigation.
After speaking briefly outside the courthouse following his morning arraignment, Bigelow and Sousa headed up Borden Street with three cameramen following close behind.
Among the others arrested in the prostitution sting organized by Mayor Will Flanagan and police Chief Daniel Racine, four admitted to sufficient facts and had their cases continued for six months until Feb. 11.
They were assessed $300 in court costs and fees and assigned to participate in AIDS awareness programs.
The penalty for soliciting sex, a misdemeanor, can be up to one year in jail, a fine up to $500 or both.
Those pleading sufficient facts to the charges were identified as Ronald D. Coulombe, 55, 501 Riverside Ave., Somerset; Peter Feijo, 33, 22 Arthur St.; Juvenil L. DaSilva, 42, 120 Diman St.; and Paul R. Mendonca, 63, 132 French St.
While Bigelow is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 22 at his lawyer’s request, Judge Beverly Cannone scheduled the remaining 18 pre-trial hearings between Sept. 3 and Oct. 6.
Those hearings will be held for:
E-mail Michael Holtzman at mholtzman@heraldnews.com.
It happens to every one of us at some time during our lives. It's not a function of wealth or station. Every person who has ever walked on the face of this earth comes to what is popularly called these days "a come to Jesus moment", a line in the sand that has been crossed and has caused you great pain, and often , shame. It hurts and can be devastating to yourself and your loved ones.
The self destructive urges that seem to part of the human fabric at times never ceases to amaze me. But once an incident occurs, there are ramifications that we are blind to before a poor decision has been made. In the present case the amount of pain and anguish caused to Mr. Bigelow and his family, a wife and four children, is already being played out in the comments section of the Herald News (HN). The casual statements and rumors erupting, some going back several years, can be nothing but painful to the Bigelow family and the public ordeal has just begun.
I have faced challenges based on my own bad decisions in the past. I hurt my own loved ones. I suffered publicly for my personal foibles and have seen the world and so called friends turn a blind and cold eye my way. It is a deep and terrible , and definitely lonely, place to be. And it takes years to recover peace of mind, both you, your loved ones, and between you all, together.. And there are permanent scars that serve as visible reminders of what your bad decisions have delivered.
I cannot fully understand what Mr. Bigelow is going through, both he and his family, at this moment. Every personal tragedy, and that is what this is, has a uniqueness all it's own. But I do know that to get beyond these moments requires patience and understanding and energy devoted to healing all the wounds that arise from such a debacle. And I know from personal experience that it cannot be done by trying to act as if nothing is wrong. Sometimes you are the only one who cannot see the depth and breadth of what your poor decisions have caused. Maybe it is a simple human defense mechanism to protect the mind from having to absorb so much maladjusted behavior that grievously hurt both yourself and your loved one, and let down those who depended on you. But in order to live a full and happy life once again, you have to start the lengthy process of healing. And unfortunately, most times you can only heal yourself.
So my best advice to Mr. Bigelow is to resign and end the public spectacle for your sake and your family as well. You cannot think only of yourself and how you will appear to others. You've lost that war, so surrender to the reality of what has happened. No one believes you, and you have to be wary of those who are supporting you and what their motives are. Most of all, whatever you were doing , your work life, your political life, your responsibilities as a public servant, have been a dangerous thing to your health. I mean, driving around in a known drug and prostitution area at 1:15 in the morning and soliciting sex from an undercover police officer is not the actions of a happy man. And I find it hard to believe that this was your first time, or that you' have no other pressures on you that caused this terrible act outside of societal norms. You deal with criminals in your line of work, you are aware of the STD rates in the area for drug addled streetwalkers in Fall River. No, Mr. Bigelow, you have already been tried and convicted by your peers, all 90,000 of them. Whatever the formal disposition of your case, it matters little in the actual scheme of things.
End this mess for right now by resigning and taking care of yourself and your loved ones before WORSE things happen. You need help. Get it. And resign your public offices. It's time to face the truth. Be responsible to yourself, your family and the City.
Monday, August 9, 2010
HIGH HOPES...ah, yeah!
Let's all here it for Mayor Will Sylvagan !!!
What, NO??!!
OK
Coming soon as a major motion picture direct to DVD release
Filmed in the fabulous new technology, FALL RIVER VISION
With an introduction by Leo Pelletier, Marilyn Roderick , John Mitchell Esq.,
"Justice"Joe Camara , and Brian "SoulPatch" Bigelow
Special appearance by Mike "The Drizzle" Herren
with all proceeds going to the Fall River Shelter for Battered and Abused Women
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Brian Bigelow, 22 Others Arrested In 'Operation John'
Boston News
Channel 5
City Councilor Arrested In Sex Sting
Brian Bigelow, 22 Others Arrested In 'Operation John'
POSTED: 4:50 pm EDT August 7, 2010
UPDATED: 5:22 pm EDT August 7, 2010
The Herald News/Fall River
Brian Bigelow...aka Mr. Soul Patch, a Fall River city councilor was among nearly two-dozen men arrested over the weekend during a prostitution sting operation, said police.
Authorities said City Councilor Brian Bigelow was charged Friday night with offering to engage in sex for a fee after he being approached by a female police officer. The officer was working undercover as a prostitute, in the area of 26 Morgan St.
Police said ‘Operation John’ was organized after Mayor Will Flanagan received numerous complaints about prostitution activity in numerous neighborhoods.
Along with Bigelow, authorities also arrested 21 other men and one woman
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...Looks like "Sportcoat the Lesser", aka Brian Bigelow, aka " Mr. Soul Patch", aka, employee of Bristol County Sheriff Tom "charge them for the maggots in their hard tack" Hodgson, aka, Sylvia/Flanagan BUM KISSER and close associate, caught what Bob Seeger calls the FIRE DOWN BELOW, as the song says, and did the dumbest thing since Mayor Sylvia/Flanagan hired his indolent brother as a janitor for the Fall River School system. That's way to much outstanding stupidity for one weeks time even for a stupidity factory like Fall River.
Brian, Brian, Brian, dude, couldn't you go out of the City?...or better yet, out of the county? How about out of state, to Providence? BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Mr. Soul Patch has to get a burnin' yearnin' for some real down home Fall River dirty girl cookin', right knucklehead? I sincerely hope he had protection with him, because, you know, a Fall River recovery debutante like the kind you're likely to meet on Morgan Street is very likely to have Hep C or the HIGH FIVE (HIV). My oh my oh my, what will the lady of the house say? Bad times in his little castle, I'm sure. Brian, you are a dumb ass, and instantly radioactive.
Congratulations you idiot - you've earned your social pariah status. And you have got to be the single dumbest guy I know.
My sincere and heartfelt condolences to your wife and kids, if you have them. You did this to yourself , and they are innocents whose lives have been butt raped by your actions. It's on you pardner. If I was you, I'd resign now and get on with taking care of your family, if there's still time.
Do the smart thing, not the Fall River thing. You already did the Fall River thing and it put you in the position you are in.
Channel 5
City Councilor Arrested In Sex Sting
Brian Bigelow, 22 Others Arrested In 'Operation John'
POSTED: 4:50 pm EDT August 7, 2010
UPDATED: 5:22 pm EDT August 7, 2010
The Herald News/Fall River
Brian Bigelow...aka Mr. Soul Patch, a Fall River city councilor was among nearly two-dozen men arrested over the weekend during a prostitution sting operation, said police.
Authorities said City Councilor Brian Bigelow was charged Friday night with offering to engage in sex for a fee after he being approached by a female police officer. The officer was working undercover as a prostitute, in the area of 26 Morgan St.
Police said ‘Operation John’ was organized after Mayor Will Flanagan received numerous complaints about prostitution activity in numerous neighborhoods.
Along with Bigelow, authorities also arrested 21 other men and one woman
MR. SOUL PATCH LOVESSSSS THE LADIES
Brian, Brian, Brian, dude, couldn't you go out of the City?...or better yet, out of the county? How about out of state, to Providence? BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, Mr. Soul Patch has to get a burnin' yearnin' for some real down home Fall River dirty girl cookin', right knucklehead? I sincerely hope he had protection with him, because, you know, a Fall River recovery debutante like the kind you're likely to meet on Morgan Street is very likely to have Hep C or the HIGH FIVE (HIV). My oh my oh my, what will the lady of the house say? Bad times in his little castle, I'm sure. Brian, you are a dumb ass, and instantly radioactive.
Congratulations you idiot - you've earned your social pariah status. And you have got to be the single dumbest guy I know.
My sincere and heartfelt condolences to your wife and kids, if you have them. You did this to yourself , and they are innocents whose lives have been butt raped by your actions. It's on you pardner. If I was you, I'd resign now and get on with taking care of your family, if there's still time.
Do the smart thing, not the Fall River thing. You already did the Fall River thing and it put you in the position you are in.
LOSER...Mr. Soul Patch, my man!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Shameful is as Shameful does
I have been asked several questions about the Mayor's hiring of his brother to a job in the School Department as a janitor.
He is the head of the School Committee by virtue of being Mayor of Fall River...it is unthinkable that one so incompetent and so unprepared for the responsibilities on the office he holds would then turn around and put the final nail in the coffin of bad public opinion by an act of arrogance and hackery which directly refutes everything he said he stood for and would do if elected as Mayor. He has truly hoisted himself up on his own petard. It is right and just to assail him publicly for this decision, which everyone with functioning brain cells knows he forced through the School Committee. Only his collection of "Don't Be Negative, it's A beeeeutiful day in the Fall River" Flanagan bum kissing droids think otherwise.
It is not at all clear that he and the School Committee did not violate the letter and spirit of the law by making this appointment:
However...I bet his brother is more qualified to be the City's Tax Collector than the women he put in THAT position....
This City is doomed!
Photo taken during mayoral campaign, showing Flanagan's Moms (holding sign) , City Councillor Pat "never met a mayor I wasn't a hemorrhoid for" Casey and Fall River School system's newest Janitor, in the background, sporting the gang look! Oh yes, he must be a real bright boy, this one. You can hear it now.."What's the point of bein' Mayah if ya can't hiyah ya bruthah?.. I want him outta heeah, he needs a payin' jahb with insuuurence!"
Let me be direct in response:
It is not at all clear that he and the School Committee did not violate the letter and spirit of the law by making this appointment:
" Each such local director shall maintain rosters of labor service employees, by class, for each departmental unit in his city or town in the manner specified by M.G.L. c. 31, §71 and PAR.19 (2)(c).Just the dumbest thing this dummy as mayor could have done. It's a slap in the face of every taxpayer in Fall River, and every employee of the City. It IS a big deal. One of the commemters tried to equate what this mayor has done to what JFK did with hiring his brother Bobby to be the US Attorney General. I mean, what is in the water in Fall River to induce people to write such madness with the likelihood it will be printed? I just cannot understand the thought process. But what can you do...it's the exact same thought process that elected this personally chosen by FROED Board members incompetent and camera crazy boy as mayor.
All registers, requisitions, certifications and reports thereon, records of appointment, or copies thereof, and rosters shall be readily available for public inspection at the city or town hall or offices during regular business hours. Notice shall be posted at the location where such documents are made available advising applicants of their right to appeal to the administrator and, if they continue to be aggrieved, to the civil service commission with respect to any alleged irregularities. "
However...I bet his brother is more qualified to be the City's Tax Collector than the women he put in THAT position....
This City is doomed!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Jill Stein, Green-Rainbow Candidate for Governor, Speaking at Citizens for the Common Good
For all of you interested, here is a video of Jill Stein, Green-Rainbow Candidate for Governor, Speaking at Citizens for the Common Good. The presentation concerns the gaming legislation pending for signiture on the Governor's desk.
Jill Stein, Green-Rainbow Candidate for Governor Speaking at Citizens for the Common Good from MondoLizzie on Vimeo.
Jill Stein, Green-Rainbow Candidate for Governor Speaking at Citizens for the Common Good from MondoLizzie on Vimeo.
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