Episode Transcript
[00:00:16] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Wednesday, March 11th. A Quincy man has been sentenced to federal prison for bank fraud and money laundering.
[00:00:28] 71 year old Eric Banks is among eight local people charged in a scheme involving millions in stolen U.S. treasury checks. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. The U.S. district Court in Boston handed down his sentence on March 4. Banks pleaded guilty in November to one count of bank fraud and five counts of money laundering. Banks obtained a stolen U.S. treasury check for over 1.1 million made out to a New York based company. Banks then formed a Massachusetts based entity with the same name, opened a bank account for that fake entity and deposited that check. Prosecutors said Banks then conducted multiple illegal money transactions to conceal the source of the funds from the stolen check. Banks also created a second fake entity and opened a bank account using its name. Other people who obtained and deposited stolen U S. Treasury checks then transferred more than $1.3 million to that bank account created by banks. Seven other people were charged as part of the scheme.
[00:01:45] A retired religious studies professor accused of swindling a woman that he met on a Christian dating website out of tens of thousands of dollars will not have his case dismissed. On Monday, Gregory Shaw appeared before a judge in Quincy District Court. Shaw learned that his attorney's second attempt to get the case dismissed was denied by the judge. According to prosecutors, Shaw scammed a woman he met on Christian mingle out of $80,000. Investigators believe the retired Stonehill religious studies professor used a fake name in, gained the woman's trust and convinced her to send him money. Shaw's attorney, David Duncan, claimed that his client was also a victim and that the real scammer used Shaw's identity to carry out the fraud. Authorities dispute that claim and point to electronic records they say show Shaw was an active participant in the scheme. Prosecutors also noted that Shaw only repaid the money after police became involved. Shah's next court hearing is scheduled for April 9th.
[00:02:56] A Cohasset man appeared in court yesterday accused of shooting and killing his family dog from a second story window. The man said he was trying to hunt coyotes and accidentally shot the dog. Christopher Lucas was arraigned in Quincy District Court facing charges that include animal cruelty and hunting without a license. The charges stem from an August incident when Police say the 59 year old man was attempting to hunt coyotes from his second floor window on Hillside Drive in Cohasset. That's when Lucas allegedly shot his wife's 14 year old pet dog in the head, killing the animal in the driveway. Police say the whole thing was caught on the homes security camera system and ultimately led to Lucas's arrest. Prosecutor said that after shooting the dog, Lucas put the animal in his car and drove it to Maine to bury it. Investigators say Lucas did not have a valid Massachusetts hunting license at the time and that the shooting occurred outside the state's legal hunting season.
[00:04:05] In addition, Lucas was allegedly putting out bait to lure in the coyotes and hunt them, which is illegal. Cohasset police suspended Lucas's license to carry and seized several other firearms from the home. In court, prosecutor said Lucas told his wife he thought he was shooting a coyote. A defense attorney for Lucas said that he and his wife are going through a divorce and suggested that's why this is coming to light right now. Lucas was ordered to stay away from his wife and turn over all of his weapons. The judge rejected a request that he stay in the state and on a GPS monitor.
[00:04:49] A community meeting will be held tonight regarding a proposal for a new Taco Bell restaurants in the parking lot of the Super Stop and Shop on Newport avenue in Quincy. Ward 3 Councilor Walter Hubley is hosting the meeting tonight at 6:30 at the Wollaston School. Taco Bell is proposing a new freestanding restaurant with a drive up window. Neighbors at a previous Planning Board meeting brought up concerns about traffic, parking and flooding in the area. The applicant will be at tonight's meeting to explain the project and answer questions. The proposal requires approval from the Planning Board and zoning boards as well as the City Council.
[00:05:29] This would be the second Taco Bell in Quincy. There is a location on Hancock street in Wollaston.
[00:05:37] The Quincy Planning Board tonight will discuss a proposal for a shipbuilding and repair business on Victory Road at Marina Bay. Plan also calls for an additional 39 parking spaces to the 282 space parking lot, bringing the total to 321 spaces. Also on the agenda tonight a proposal for three new townhouses on Bates Avenue. Proposals for a new five story seven unit building on south street and a private vehicle charging station and battery storage site on Hancock street will be continued to the April meeting. The meeting is set for 6pm at Old City hall will be live on QATV Channel 9 and qatv.org Governor Healey demanding the Trump administration provide a $1,745 refund to every household in the state, arguing federal tariffs increase costs for consumers and businesses. The Governor made her demand in a letter sent yesterday to Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. Healey's letter follows a decision by the U.S. supreme Court that struck down Trump's tariffs and a ruling by a federal judge in New York that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by the Supreme Court are now due refunds. Healy estimates that over $4.8 billion is owed to consumers in Massachusetts. In her letter, the governor argued the tariffs amounted to unlawful taxes, which caused Massachusetts residents to pay higher prices across groceries, household goods, construction materials and other consumer products. Since the Supreme Court's decision, Trump has moved to use a different, albeit more limited, legal authority to impose a global tariff. Last week, Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined a new lawsuit challenging that action.
[00:07:39] Healey's letter also urges the administration to reconsider the global tariff approach, arguing they will also raise costs for consumers and businesses. The governor is running for reelection and has said her campaign will focus on driving down costs. Senator Ed Markey, another Democrat who is running for reelection this year, also announced yesterday that he's part of a group co sponsoring a bill that would exempt small businesses from Trump's latest tariffs.
[00:08:10] Gillette yesterday revealing plans to invest nearly a billion dollars in a new global headquarters and innovation center in Boston, anchoring its future in the city where the company was founded more than 125 years ago.
[00:08:26] In a major announcement, Gillette confirmed plans to purchase 232 A Street in South Boston as the site of its upcoming grooming headquarters and technical innovation center. The move represents one of the most significant milestones in the company's modern history and the single largest investment Gillette has ever made in Boston. The decision to establish its new headquarters in Boston as part of a larger integrated strategy that includes development of a custom, nearly $1 billion innovation center, a major expansion of Gillette's Andover manufacturing facility a long term master plan to redevelop the company's 31 acre South Boston campus.
[00:09:12] The A Street site, currently permitted for more than 324,000 square feet of research and development space, will house cutting edge commercial and R and D operations including ground floor retail, community benefits and modern workspace designed to support collaboration, talent growth and next generation product development. As part of a multi year transition, blade and razor manufacturing will move from South Boston to a new 200,000 square foot advanced manufacturing facility in Andover beginning later this year.
[00:09:52] A police sergeant is being hailed as a hero for rescuing a woman having a mental health crisis on the train tracks in Abington early last Friday morning, according to the Abington Police Department. Dispatch received a 911 call reporting a woman walking in the middle of Plymouth street Just after 6am Last Friday Sergeant Stephen Markart arrived at the scene and recognized the woman was in significant distress. She stepped onto the railroad tracks as a train was approaching. Body camera video provided by the Abington Police Department shows Sgt. Marquette grabbing onto the woman and dragging her to safety despite her protests. With the train closing in, he refused to let go of the distressed woman.
[00:10:42] More officers and an ambulance arrived to the scene shortly thereafter to help the woman, who was transported to an area hospital for evaluation.
[00:10:53] The season's first North Atlantic right whale mothers and calves were spotted off the coast of Massachusetts on Monday as scientists see some positive signs for the critically endangered species. Researchers on an aerial survey with the Centers for Coastal Studies saw two mother whales and and their calves in the middle of Cape Cod Bay. They appear to be on their way to join at least 40 other right whales deep diving for food in the southwest corner of the bay. According to the federal government, 22 right whale offspring have been spotted during the calving season that runs from mid November through mid April. Center says that's the highest number of calves in 15 years, an encouraging statistic. There's already been more than 100 individual right whales spotted in Cape Cod Bay this season, including a record 33 sightings in January.
[00:11:48] The two right whale mothers seen on Monday are familiar to researchers. There are estimated to be just 384 right whales left on the planet. The New England Aquarium says there's been a trend of slow growth over the past four years. The biggest threats to the whale population are ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. Last week, aquarium scientists documented a rare sighting of blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, just 15 miles south of Martha's Vineyard.
[00:12:22] A check of business news this morning. Stocks are mixed. The Dow was down 34, the Nasdaq rose 1, the S&P dropped 14.
[00:12:31] Asian stocks were mostly higher.
[00:12:34] The dollar rose, the euro was up and oil at just over $87 a barrel.
[00:12:41] In sports, the spurs beat the Celtics. San Antonio 125 to 116. The seas will be in Oklahoma City to take on the thunder tomorrow night at 9:30 and the Bruins speed LA 2 to 1 in overtime. They'll host San Jose tomorrow night at 7.
[00:13:05] The forecast from the National Weather Service today becoming mostly cloudy with a high of 54 for tonight. Cloudy and a low 41. Scattered showers tomorrow with a high of 61.
[00:13:19] Friday Mostly cloudy at a high 44 and sun and clouds on Saturday. High the marine Forecast calling for 2 foot waves. Northeast winds 10 to 15 becoming easterly 5 to 10 knots later today. High tide 6:18pm sunrise 7:02 and sets at 6:45.
[00:13:44] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Wednesday, March 11th.
