Episode Transcript
[00:00:16] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Wednesday, October 1st. A court hearing that was scheduled today for former Quincy Elder Services Director Tom Clasby has been postponed. Class B was set to accept a plea bargain today in US District Court in Boston after being charged with embezzling over $120,000 in cash and goods in April of last year. Class B's attorney Claudia Lagos filed a motion to postpone the hearing last night. Class B had previously agreed to plead guilty to several charges and except for the dollar amount, no new court date has yet been set.
[00:01:00] A Braintree man faced a serious charge in court yesterday accused of fleeing a crash, pushing a child out of his car and striking a Quincy police officer with his vehicle while he was fleeing. Quincy police say the incident started at the Wendy's on Southern artery just after 7 o' clock Monday night when a black sedan fled a crash with another vehicle. Police located the vehicle and tried to make a traffic stop. A short time later near the intersection of Southern Artery and Washington Street, 37 year old William Lassen struck the officer in the leg and then fled into Braintree with a 12 year old boy in his car. Police say Lassen would not let the child out of his car, but the boy eventually did get out. Lassen was arrested after crashing into a pole on Shaw street in Braintree. The boy was not injured. The boy said Lassen was his mother's boyfriend and the man had quote, three to four Smirnoffs prior to them going to Wendy's. According to the police report, Lassen was held on $25,000 cash bail on charges including his second drunk driving offense, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, leaving the scene of a crash and other charges.
[00:02:18] Lassen's defense attorney disputes claims that he shoved the boy out of the car and the boy's mother also denies the child was pushed.
[00:02:28] Braintree police are seeking the public's help and identifying suspects involved in a shooting that occurred on September 19th. Incident took place about 2:30am near Shaw street and Nelson street after authorities received a 911 call reporting gunfire. No injuries were reported. When officers arrived at the scene they initially found no evidence. However, a subsequent search uncovered three 9 millimeter shell casings. Detectives reviewed surveillance video from the surrounding businesses and found a scooter with two occupants traveling and at high speed around the time of the incident. The driver wore dark clothing while a passenger was dressed in a light colored long sleeve shirt. Braintree police say the scooter traveled through Quincy across the Four River Bridge and into Weymouth surveillance video from a business on Commercial street in Weymouth Landing, which showed two scooters driving through shortly before the shooting. According to police, one of the scooters and match the description of the scooter involved in the Shaw street shooting. Investigators say that operator appeared to have dark skin and was wearing a dark colored T shirt, dark pants and a backpack. Anybody with information is asked to contact Braintree police.
[00:03:53] Quincy police say a man was arrested last night after ripping some bushes out of the ground right in front of the Quincy district courthouse. The 38 year old Quincy man was charged with tearing bushes out at about 10 o' clock last night in front of the courthouse on Dennis Ryan Parkway now faces charges including defacing property and trespassing. He'll face those charges in that same courthouse today. Police say he denies the charges.
[00:04:25] Prosecutors in the Brian Walsh case are asking that a courthouse regulation used for Karen Reed be implemented again for the Cohasset man as his high profile murder trial approaches. Walsh's defense team wants a buffer zone established around Dedham's Norfolk Superior Court to prevent potential demonstrations, according to the Boston Globe. That request was made last Friday. Prosecutors reportedly cited concerns that some high profile witnesses, particularly law enforcement officials who testified in Reid's trial and retrial, could draw public attention and crowds. It comes after an inmate at the Norfolk County House of Correction recently attacked and stabbed Walsh with a makeshift blunt instrument. Walsh is accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Anna Walsh, with a hacksaw and disposing of her remains after using his son's iPad to Google the best ways to get rid of a body. In March of 2023, a Norfolk county grand jury indicted Walsh on a charge of murder, misleading a police investigation, obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body in connection with his wife's death. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
[00:05:45] The defense attorney for Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of killing her three children in 2023, shared some of what he plans to ask the judge in the case in the run up to the trial in February. Kevin Reddington, who's previously said he plans to assert Clancy's lack of criminal responsibility at trial due to her mental condition, told the judge in Plymouth Superior Court that he may file motions on a change of venue on security, on whether the case can be split into two phases about what happened and then criminal responsibility and more. He and a prosecutor discussed why prosecutors experts haven't had a chance to interview Clancy at the hospital where she's been recovering. The judge urged them to get it scheduled before the next hearing on November 18th. Clancy has pleaded not guilty to murder charges brought by Norfolk District Attorney's office over the January 24, 2023 deaths of their children, five year old Cora Clancy, three year old Dawson Clancy and eight month old Callan Clancy. After killing her children, authorities said Lindsey Clancy cut herself and jumped out of a window in an attempt to kill herself.
[00:07:07] Clancy's trial was Originally scheduled for December 1, but was rescheduled first to January and then to February of next year at the request of both sides so the case wouldn't have to be suspended during the holidays. Trial remains set at February 9th. As of yesterday, the Trump administration has taken back nearly $7 million in public safety funding from Massachusetts.
[00:07:35] Governor Healey yesterday decried the move as political while the state's attorney general sues to get it back. State officials said the Department of Homeland Security informed them Saturday it was reducing Massachusetts Homeland Security Grant program funding from 22.2 million to 15.3 million days before the end of the fiscal year. Funding would go to the Boston Regional Intelligence center and other public safety programs. Other states lost homeland security funding as well, and Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined with 11 other Democratic attorneys general in suing to get it back, according to the lawsuit filed in Rhode Island's federal court on Monday. The attorneys general argue the funds from the Homeland Security Grant Program and Emergency Management Performance Grant were reduced due to their state's sanctuary jurisdictions.
[00:08:32] In total, the U.S. department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency reduced more than $233 million from Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The funding decision and the new lawsuit come just days after a federal judge ruled in a separate legal challenge that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to require states to cooperate on integration enforcement actions to get their FEMA disaster funding.
[00:09:09] Former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts Rachel Rollins has officially accepted a reprimand from state bar regulators following an investigation into ethics violations. According to Reuters, Rollins admitted to improperly sharing information with a Boston Herald reporter regarding a potential investigation into the acting Suffolk County District attorney. Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers recommended the reprimand back in June.
[00:09:36] Rollins resigned more than two years ago after two separate reports alleged that she had committed multiple ethics breaches during her time in office. Before becoming U.S. attorney, Rollins served as Suffolk County District attorney from January of 2019 through January of 2022.
[00:09:54] Federal investigators found that she attempted to derail the re election of her successor, Kevin Hayden, by using her influence and resources as U.S. attorney Rollins license to practice law in the Bay State was suspended in 2024 for non payment of registration fees.
[00:10:14] Passengers aboard the Norwegian Aqua cruise ship took a detour on their way to Bermuda yesterday, docking in Boston for the day because of severe weather near the island. Hurricane Umberto and Tropical Storm Imelda continue to threaten the area on their path through the Atlantic Ocean, passenger said. So far they've been offered 10% off their next voyage, but they hope by the end of the trip the Norwegian cruise line will be offering something more Jack of Business news this morning. Stocks are higher. The Dow rose 81, the Nasdaq's up 68 and the S&P added 27. US futures sank and world shares were mixed after the US government shutdown began at midnight. The dollar fell. The euro rose oil at $62 a barrel.
[00:11:10] And sports Big win for the Red Sox over the Yankees in New York last night, three to one in the wild card race. Game two tonight at 6:08pm Forecast from the National Weather Service for today, sunny and breezy with a high of 64. Tonight clear cool low of 52. Tomorrow mostly sunny high of 63.
[00:11:34] Friday, partly cloudy, high 70.
[00:11:37] Saturday, sunny high 80.
[00:11:40] For the boater, there is a small craft advisory in effect with winds northeast 15 to 20 gusting to 25 knots and waves 2 to 3ft. High tide at 7:01am and 7:12pm Sunrise 641 sets at 6:24.
[00:11:59] I'm Joe Catalano with an AM Quincy news update for Wednesday, October 1st.
