Community Corner

Regional Roundup: Fatal Car Crash, Taxi Bribery and More

A round up of local headlines for the week of May 12.

 

MBTA Once Again Looking Into Possibility of Billboards at Rt. 128 Garage

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The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will soon be studying the possibility of placing two billboards at the Route 128 MBTA garage in Westwood near the Westwood/Dedham line.

“No final plan has been developed but we do plan to offer a proposal in the near future,” said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. “Under their contract with the MBTA, Clear Channel has the right to that location (subject to T approval of the plan). Engineering studies need to be conducted prior to a formal presentation of a proposal.”

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Pesaturo said he did not know when the engineering studies would take place but they "should have a better idea within a month."

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At Norwood's first day of the 2013 Special/Annual Town Meeting Monday the town voted to approve the implementation of a bylaw that would make smoking marijuana in public a finable offense. They also voted to reconsider the article pertaining to a one-year moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries in town.

Article 6 dealing with the public consumption of marijuana was approved by Town Meeting Members to allow Norwood Police to impose a $300 fine for anyone caught smoking marijuana in public.

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Canton Man Indicted in Alleged Logan Airport Taxi Bribery Scheme

 

A Canton man was among five Massport employees indicted earlier this week by the Suffolk County Grand Jury for allegedly taking bribes in exchange for preferential treatment for taxi cab drivers picking up passengers at Logan Airport, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said.

James Mulrey, 45, and the four others were named in a 53-count indictment.

Mulrey is accused of five counts of soliciting or accepting a bribe as a public employee and two counts of soliciting or accepting an unlawful gratuity as a public employee.

Cab drivers at Logan are supposed to line up in rows until they get their turn to enter a terminal cab stand staffed by a ground transportation unit agent, also known as a "cab starter." The indicted starters are accused of allowing the drivers to skip the line in exchange for bribes.

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Sean Jackman, 24, of Stoughton, the driver in last weekend’s fatal car crash in Canton, was arraigned May 13 on multiple charges, including motor vehicle homicide and drunk driving.

Jackman was arraigned at Boston Medical Center, where was hospitalized following the single car crash, which killed the lone passenger in the vehicle, Evan Bard, a junior at Curry College.

Bard, 20, from Agawam, was killed instantly, officials said. She was a nursing student and was a member of Curry’s cheerleading team. Jackman suffered head injuries and "wore a neck brace and had several cuts on his face at the arraignment," CBS Boston reports.

At the request of Assistant District Attorney Melissa Brooks, Jackman was held on $500,000 cash bail, according to a release from the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. He pled not guilty to the charges.


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