pax centurion - march/april 2009

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PAIDPERMIT NO. 2226WORCESTER, MA

Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, Inc.9-11 Shetland StreetBoston, Massachusetts 02119

PAXCENTURIONPAXCENTURIONNation’s First Police Department • Established 1854 Volume 39, Number 2 • March/April 2009

Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, Inc.Boston Emergency Medical Technicians

The advertisers of the Pax Centurion donot necessarily endorse the opinions of thePax Centurion/Boston Police Patrolmen’sAssociation.

The advertisers are in support of the BPPAScholarship Fund and every patrolmenwho risks his or her life to protect and servethe community.

Politicians, publicignore 10,000 lb.

tax-free elephant…Favors, “scholarships” traded

amongst the elite andpolitically connected for

tax-free status… but they wantUS to accept a wage freeze?

(continued on page A7)

By James Carnell,Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association

Editor’s note: this article, in abbreviated format, wassent to the Boston Globe for consideration as an op-edpiece. Naturally, it was not published, as the elitists atthe Globe and their children are themselves among thebeneficiaries of the favors and scholarships (wink-wink,nod-nod) offered by the local colleges and hospitals.

On January 1st, Mayor Thomas Menino floated histrial balloon about potential layoffs on the front

pages of the Globe. At the time, I predicted public em-ployee unions would soon become the targets, and Iwas (unfortunately) correct. Virtually every contractualbenefit we have negotiated, including pensions, healthbenefits, paid details or educational incentive plans isunder daily attack on the front pages of the local news-papers or the talk-shows. Like witches in 1692 Salem,public employees are pilloried for sport by those look-ing for scapegoats to explain the bad economy. Twoyears ago, my union, the Boston Police Patrolmen’s As-sociation, agreed to a negotiated contract that required,among other things, increased contributions to our healthcare plan. We also accepted very small increases in thebeginning, with the expectation that a larger raise wasdue during the final year of the contract. Of course, evenin good economic times, we often received years of“0”% raises (six out of the last 14 years). Strange, but Idon’t recall the pundits demanding fairness during thosetimes….

Mayor Menino has estimated that if all city unionswere to agree to a wage freeze, he might be able to save

Meet our critics!!!

By Jim Carnell, Pax Editor

Q uestion: who is radio talk-show host Michael Graham,

Margery Eagan, Howie Carr and thegeneral public most angry about in thephoto to the right? The photo wastaken on March 26th, 2009 in front ofthe intersection of Ashburton Pl. andSomerset St., ironically the offices ofthe virulently anti-union/anti-policeBeacon Hill Institute and their cur-mudgeonly leader, Suffolk UniversityProfessor of Economics David G.Tuerck. (see joint letter sent to himrequesting his own pay and benefit in-formation by the BPPA and BPSOFelsewhere in this issue). In the photo,the intrepid and dashingly handsomePax Editor directs traffic through thenarrow intersection while a veritablecornucopia of lawyers, engineers, andconsultants accompanied by photog-raphers and legal secretaries inspectvarious locations where Trigen steamenergy Co. and Verizon are engagedin expensive litigation regarding un-derground damage that occurred aboutfour years ago.

According to some knowledgeablepersons present, the lawyers alone costupwards of $400.00 per hour, not in-cluding their retinue of secretaries,photographers, consultants and others.(I counted a total of 12 persons). Andas I stated, this litigation has been go-ing on for four years, and will prob-ably continue for several more. Therewill be meetings and conferences,depositions and hearings, billablehours and consultant’s reports adnauseum. I predict that, in the end,both companies will settle the case and

And who’s costing the ratepayers the most money?

the lawyers and consultants will allwalk away with a smile on their faceand a pocket full of cash.

But who do ratepayers think is re-sponsible for their bills? Who do thedrive-by critics focus in on? Is it the$400. per-hour lawyer or the $200.00per-hour consultant? NO. It’s the cop.The cop who, in Boston, actually costsless than a flagman but gets 100% ofthe public’s grief and anger. And so,after directing traffic in several busyintersections, including locations in

Chinatown and the financial area until12:15, the officer was released with3.75 hours; meaning a four-hour mini-mum. (I’m sure that Michael Grahamwould be mortified about getting 15minutes of “free” pay for the cop.) AsI was leaving, the lawyers were discuss-ing where to have lunch, and I sort ofdoubt it was at the local sub-shop.(Trigen and Verizon ratepayers will ul-timately split the tab for the lawyer’slunch, but no one will know because it


By Jim Carnell, Editor, Pax Centurion

With all of the constant criticism and scrutiny we’re under, with our annual payposted on-line for nosy neighbors and voyeuristic cretins to exploit, it’s com-

forting to turn the tables on our most vocal critics and reveal what they “earn,” for lackof a more descriptive term. If you hear these fakes and frauds pontificating on radio

Meet our critics!!!Rich frauds demand concessions from cops,

but here’s how much they make…


�

$400/hr.Attorney

�

$260/hr.Engineer

�

�

$185/hr.Consultant

$110/hr.Photographer

�$33/hr.

COP

Page A2 • PAX CENTURION • March/April 2009 617-989-BPPA (2772)

Volume 39, No. 2 • Readership 125,000 • March/April 2009

Thomas J. Nee, Executive DirectorRonald MacGillivray, Vice President

John Broderick, Jr., SecretaryThomas Pratt, Treasurer

BOARD OF EDITORSJames Carnell, Managing Editor

Mark Bruno, Pat Rose,Assistant Managing Editors

James Orsino, PresidentRobert Morley, Vice President

EMS OfficersJohn Bilotas, Secretary

Anthony O’Brien, TreasurerLen Shubitowski, Chief Steward

Bulk Mailing Postage Paid at Worcester, Mass., Permit No. 2226

BPPA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

BPPA COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

EDITORIAL POLICY

AREA ABrian Reaney • Tom CorbettJohn Bates • Jimmy Carnell

Michael Leary • Robert AnthonyBob Luongo • James Warmsley

AREA BDavid Fitzgerald • Michael Sullivan

Cynthia Beckford-BrewingtonRichard McCormack

Steve Parham • Vincent Stephens

AREA CTimothy Golden • Bill Hogan

Joe Miskel • Mark BrunoPatrick Rose • Chuck Kelley

AREA DScott Yanovich

Robert Butler • Greg LynchTim Donovan • Samuel Berte

Tom Barrett

AREA EMichael Harrington • Paul Nee

Lawrence CalderoneGerald Rautenberg • Steve KelleyArthur McCarthy • Angel FigueroaChris Morgan • Richard Jordan

AREA FIDENT. UNIT – Michael Griffin

DRUG UNIT – Paul QuinnYVSF – Steve Fabiano

Vance Mills

M.O.P.Mike MylettJohn Ridion

RADIO SHOP / P.D.S.John Kundy

P.D.S. – Karen VanDyke

TURRETJohn Conway • Curtis Carroll

Horace Kincaide

ACADEMY / RANGEEVIDENCE MANAGEMENT

Paul Downey

HARBORJeff Tobin

E.S.U.Hector Cabrera • Francis Deary

HEADQUARTERS

AWARDSBob Butler • J. Broderick • G. Rautenberg

GRIEVANCEBob Butler • Jim Carnell • Brian ReaneyMike Leary • Tom Pratt • Dave Fitzgerald

BUILDINGTom Nee

BARGAININGTom Nee • Ron MacGillivray • Brian Reaney

Tom Pratt • Dave Fitzgerald

LEGISLATIVEJim Barry

MassPULLJim Barry

K-9 / MOUNTEDKevin Ford • Thomas O’Donnell

MASTER AT ARMSRobert Lundbohm • Mike Murphy

John RogersEric Hardin

PUBLIC RELATIONSJim Barry

PAX CENTURIONJim Carnell • Mark Bruno • Patrick Rose

BYLAWSTom Nee

HEALTH and SAFETY / LABOR MANAGEMENTJohn KundyELECTIONS

Dave FitzgeraldEDUCATION

Tom NeeDETAILS / OVERTIME

Brian Reaney • Patrick Rose

1. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association.2. No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited material.3. Letters or articles submitted shall be limited to 350 words and must be accompanied by the writer’s name,

but may be reprinted without name or address at writer’s request.4. Freedom of expression is recognized within the bounds of good taste and the limits of available space.5. The B.P.P.A. reserves the right to edit submission and/or include Editor’s notes to any submitted materials.6. The deadline for printed materials for the next issue is MAY 22, 2009.7. Any article printed in this issue may be reprinted in future issues.

TO ADVERTISE IN THE PAX CENTURIONCall the Pax Centurion Advertising Staff at:

COMMONWEALTH PRODUCTIONS: 781-848-8224 • Fax: 781-848-8041

BOSTON POLICE PATROLMEN’S ASSOCIATIONTel.: 617-989-BPPA (2772) • Fax: 617-989-2779

Office Personnel: Annie Parolin • Annmarie Daly

From the President: Thomas J. Nee

It is what it isPAXCENTURION

Nation’s First Police DepartmentPAXCENTURION

Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, Inc.Boston Emergency Medical Technicians9-11 Shetland Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02119

Phone: 617-989-BPPA (2772)

Fax: 617-989-2779www.bppa.org

Unity & Strength

Union Printworks

In response to a request for an indepen-dent objective analysis, study and report

of the cost savings in the use of civilian flag-man as requested by Senator James E.Timilty and Representative Michael A.Costello who served as co-chairmen on thelegislatures Joint Committee on PublicSafety and Homeland Security.

Both men expressed their concerns andrequested the State Auditor review the levelof cost benefit to the Commonwealth as wellas the potential impact on public safety byreplacing police officers with road flaggerson construction details.

From the outset the analysis found thatthe (EOTPW) Executive Office of Trans-portation and Public works costsavings projections were over-stated and many areas concern-ing public safety were not con-sidered in this hastily consid-ered, ill conceived regulation.For instance the independentaudit found that EOTPW under-estimated the total cost that willbe paid to companies that em-ploy civilian flaggers, whichwould reduce or eliminate sav-ings related to replacing policewith flaggers. EOTPW’s costreport considered only theflaggers prevailing wage rate,which includes a base wage rateplus certain fringe benefits un-der Massachusetts PrevailingWage Laws. EOTPW’s analy-sis does not include employerrelated costs such as taxes andinsurance premiums, which aremandatory expenses a companywill incur when it hires paid employees toperform services. The analysis did not ac-count for overhead expenses, overruns onprofit margins for the contractor. The audi-

tor found that based on industry research,these factors add costs of 7% to 25% overthe prevailing wage rate.

The auditor’s report criticized theadministration’s apparent lack of concernin the area of public safety. It stated“EOTPW did not consider certain safety

factors (the proxim-ity of schools, pedestrians, playgrounds, andhigh volume traffic, for example) as re-quired by 701 CMR 704 (5) when analyz-ing the projects and projecting its cost sav-ing estimates, which may have requiredadditional personnel, including police de-tails. As a result of this omission, EOTPW’sprojected savings could be overstated.” Itwent on to say that there will undoubtedlybe an impact to the public’s safety in thatEOTPW’s cost report analyzed 208 con-struction projects. In most cases, when re-viewed and reconfigured, the result was areduction of public safety personnel (i.e.police officers and troopers on the streets

of the Commonwealth.) Only 10% of theprojects would be manned solely by policeofficers and a combination of police offic-ers and flaggers would be used on 56% of

the projects. The remaining34% would be flaggers and/ortraffic control devices. Based onthis reconfiguration we estimatethat 177 police officers wouldbe eliminated from state fundedprojects per day or 885 policeofficers per week. That’s a farcry and a complete turnaroundfrom the campaign promise ofadding an additional thousandofficers to our ranks. The reportcited the concerns not only ofthe police unions, but also ofmayors, police chiefs and otherpublic safety officials who ex-pressed serious concerns aboutcompromising public safety,particularly for minimal or no

savings. They stressed that police detailsplay a significant role in augmenting regu-lar police patrols, which in many instancesare insufficient and given the current finan-cial crisis in our communities unable tomaintain. According to several public offi-

The report cited the concernsnot only of the police unions,but also of mayors, policechiefs and other public safetyofficials who expressed seriousconcerns about compromisingpublic safety, particularly forminimal or no savings. Theystressed that police details playa significant role in augmentingregular police patrols, which inmany instances are insufficientand given the current financialcrisis in our communitiesunable to maintain.


The auditor’s report concludedby saying that the newregulations will produce costsavings through efficienciesbut according to the reviewnot to the extent estimated bythe administration and largelynot because of the use offlaggers, but rather due to areduction in man-hours and byreplacing personnel with trafficdevices.

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • March/April 2009 • Page A3

Message from the Vice President: Ronald MacGillivray

Favorable FLSA overtime decision

(continued from page A2)

cials and police chiefs, paid police detailshave dramatically increased police presencein their communities by a factor of two tothree times the average daily uniform po-lice staffing.

The auditor’s report concluded by say-ing that the new regulations will producecost savings through efficiencies but accord-ing to the review not to the extent estimatedby the administration and largely not be-cause of the use of flaggers, but rather dueto a reduction in man-hours and by replac-ing personnel with traffic devices. Finally,the reduction of 885 police officers, on av-erage per week on state funded construc-tion projects has the potential to compro-mise the public’s safety. The report endedby saying that the Auditor of the Common-wealth fully appreciated the efforts of Gov-ernor Patrick, especially during these dif-ficult financial times, to maximize the effi-cient use of highway funds while preserv-ing public and workers’ safety, it is equallyimportant that the legislature and the gen-eral public fully consider the ramificationsof these recent changes. The report wassigned by the Auditor of the Common-wealth, A. Joseph DeNucci.

What I have described to this point isnot a free-wheeling editorialization by meor anyone else at the BPPA. They were the

findings based on facts, by his independent,professional staff. You did not find themreproduced in the Boston Globe and the onlystory the Herald could produce is somehowthe police unions bought him off. How ri-diculous. In the days following the reportsrelease I waited for Tuerck or Lehigh tochallenge the Auditor’s findings. Theydidn’t. The only response to the report wasan attempt at assassinating the character andgood name of Auditor DeNucci. In theworld of Massachusetts politics he wasplaced in a no win situation, but he fulfilledhis obligation and responsibility by not fol-lowing the political angles, he simply wentwhere the facts took him. Refusing to toethe party line, I find that refreshing. He trulyis a man who walks the walk, not talk thetalk and he will always have my respect forhaving the courage to speak the truth re-gardless of the consequence. In the pastweek we have witnessed yet again, greatacts of bravery and professionalism whileperforming paid details in that on at leasttwo occasions our members affected thearrest of two bank robbery suspects withinminutes of the event. These efforts have notgone unnoticed and are a great example ofour commitment. Continue your diligenceand heightened state of awareness andabove all else, be safe out there.

It is what it is

The BPPA recently received notice of ourfavorable FLSA overtime decision

from the State Supreme Court. The case in-volved the city’s refusal to sit down andbargain changes in determining overtimepayments which is required by state law.The City went forward and calculated hoursbased on a 28 day cycle without bargainingwith the Union. An Unfair Labor Practicewas filed. The damages go back to July of2002 with interest. The city is contemplat-ing appealing the decision to the UnitedStates Supreme Court. The BPPA and Cityhad similar litigation in 2000 with similarresults. Attorney Bryan Decker is handlingthe case.

District personnelconsidered not worthy

Though the discussion will include twocases involving the bike unit

(SOTBU)…the issue is not about the indi-viduals assigned to the bike unit or theircommanders but more about distributingovertime in a reasoned manner. This is notabout determining the amount of time thata specialized unit remains in a District per-forming non-specialized duties on overtime.This is about 2 parades on the same day…1in the morning and 1 in the afternoon onArea B. The afternoon parade has hundredsof qualified District officers that have beenoffered and ordered on overtime. The morn-ing parade has zero District officers thathave been offered or ordered on overtimefrom 4 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. Clearly, the com-petence required for the morning paradegoes beyond the skills possessed from of-ficers assigned to Area B, the Departmentargues. Now the Department was taskedwith exaggerating the skill-set of the BikeUnit while at the same time belittling theskill-set of the District officers to win thegrievance. This is for a couple of slots inthe morning parade on a day when hundredsof thousands of dollars are spent. TheDepartment’s problem was that if these timeslots were offered to the District officers,the work would have been scooped up im-mediately given the alternative. For reme-dial purposes, a prospective agreement forthis exclusive parade would be in order. Thiswas unacceptable judging from the magni-tude of the resulting testimony.

On February 23rd the BPPA went to ar-bitration with a case involving the BikeUnit performing exclusive overtime from4:00 a.m. till 11:00 a.m. for the J’ouvertParade prior to the Caribbean Festival Pa-rade. The case involved both the “specialneeds” argument from the Department andthe “exclusivity” in not offering any over-time positions with these hours to the hostdistricts of Area B.

The BPPA did not argue that bikes donot serve a purpose in this setting but felt acouple of marked vehicles or walking of-ficers (as used in other parades with the“duck boats”) would be equally efficient in

accommodating the needs of the parade.After-all, the 1 mile trek takes approxi-

mately 3 hours to complete and starts at 7:00a.m. according to testimony. An offering ofa portion of the work was not unreasonableafter examining the actual hours allotted forstretching during the pre-parade warm-up.

The ground cavalry conducted a pre-stretch from 4:00a.m. - 7:00a.m. and a post-stretch from 10a.m. - 11a.m., totaling 4hours…hardly an exclusive expertise. Thesubsequent testimony involving the skillsneeded for the 3 hour parade was vintageSNL making it a future necessity to have astenographer present.

To fully appreciate the current case, onemust look at an earlier arbitration involv-ing the special skills of the Bike Unit. “Op-eration Homesafe” was conducted on Janu-ary 5th, 6th and 7th of 2006…the mission wasto saturate a particular “hot spot” in theFessenden St. and Morton St. area. Most ofthe work involved “quality of life issues”and the execution of warrants in a specifi-cally targeted neighborhood. The Union’sproblem was keeping the focus on theseparticular nights where the Bike Unit’s ac-tivities were indistinguishable from thatof the District. This argument was not aboutthe mode of conveyance or equipment. TheDepartment’s witnesses were unable to givea clear account of actions on these nights atthe location where the overtime was in ques-tion. But the Lieutenant was able to give avivid, hour-by-hour yarn of a typical nighton patrol, including visits to the NeponsetRiver “where the kids would go and prac-tice shooting their guns”…along with fight-ing the Sioux, Apache and other local hos-tiles while traversing through the parks ofDorchester. Testimony included the unitaveraging 1200 arrests per year, 5 a shift,mostly after 10:00 p.m. Very impressivepresentation.

Jay Broderick did a great job of relat-ing the ordinary, non-unique roles neededand performed (typical of those performedon a nightly basis on Area B) during an ear-lier operation but in the absence of contrary,first hand evidence of the Bike Unit’s ac-tual role over that 3 day period, it wasover…Operation Homesafe had turned intoOperation Hip-Deep.

The real issue was the Department treat-ing the Operation as a media event in deter-mining whose presence is more aestheti-cally pleasing as opposed to hiring the ap-propriate personnel for the actual work that

was carried out.Listening to the recent case involving the

Bike Unit at the Caribbean Festival was theequivalent of watching “Tropic Thunder”with Stiller, Black, Downey Jr., and NickNolte as Sgt. “Fourleaf” Tayback, the au-thor of that spoof. In this real life tale, theLieutenant secures a 1 mile patch of BlueHill Ave., also referred to as the paraderoute, between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., despitethe crackle of gunfire from surroundingneighborhoods. The 8 member unit em-ployed the power slide when needed, whichis a maneuver used when approachinghostiles…the team in unison goes into a skidand then pops up, pounding the bike on theground, creating a “shock and awe” effect.In addition, the actual flag from the devel-oping country of Isle Pavot, the same onethat was waived to calm the masses at theJ’oubert Parade was on hand for inspectionand photo-ops. The arbitrator queried, prior

to the deploymentof the bike unit how did the city function.

Both Lieutenants, appropriately gavehighly seasoned accounts of their successesand the quality of their officers which wasnever in doubt. Again, this was not aboutthe Bike Unit performing overtime thiswas about being inclusive and not divi-sive in offering Area B personnel a coupleof spots in the a.m. as opposed to creat-ing animosity between members of thepatrol force.

Dave Fitzgerald summed it up best inthat crowd control instruction is universallytaught and given the hundreds of districtofficers hired for the afternoon parade…how are Area B personnel deemed not com-petent to rate even one offering during themorning parade.

Eisenhower Jacket

There is a grievance filed that is windingits way through the system regarding

the issuance of a Blauer jacket. A re-issu-ance of Rule 306 from the Commissioneron 10-22-08 rescinded and amended theformer Rule regarding the uniform jacketthat is authorized and jackets that are nolonger authorized. It is the position of theBPPA that any police officer out of the acad-emy prior to October of 2008 is entitled tothe required jacket as per the Special Orderthat was issued and our Collective Bargain-ing Agreement.

…the issue is not about the individuals assigned tothe bike unit or their commanders but moreabout distributing overtime in a reasoned manner.This is not about determining the amount of timethat a specialized unit remains in a Districtperforming non-specialized duties on overtime.This is about two parades on the same day…


Treasury Notes: Thomas Pratt, BPPA Treasurer

Spring has sprungAs always I open this communication

with a customary, I hope to find ev-eryone doing well.

The first order of business is the topicthat I wrote about in the last issue of thePAX. I do not mean to beat a dead horse butthe topic is the PILOT programs, or pay-ment in lieu of taxes. Why am I so adamantabout this topic? One major reason is thatthe city is asking the union, meaning youthe membership, to take a wage freeze inJuly which means not take your negotiatedcontractual benefit and delay it for one year,to save jobs because tax revenues are downin the City.

I have an idea! How about taxing thecolleges? Oh, we can’t because of an anti-quated existing law that excludes cities andtowns from collecting property taxes fromthese institutions. The colleges in the Cityof Boston can give an undetermined amountof money to the City. The problem is that itis totally voluntary. They do not have to givethe City any money, here today gone tomor-row. There is no fixed dollar attached to thePILOTS. The money that the city is gettingfrom these institutions is more volatile thanfuture tax revenues. At least with taxes youcan somewhat project what you are goingto receive, with PILOTS you may or maynot get anything, you are at the mercy of aboard of directors. Not to mention just aboutevery piece of land they buy now or in theimmediate future is taking revenue from thecity.

The flip side of the argument is that thesecolleges want you to believe that the stu-dents that they bring into the city spendmoney in restaurants and surrounding storescreating tax revenues. I agree, but is it morerevenue that would be generated by taxingthe colleges owned property. Tourists spendmoney also, they generate tax revenue butthe world economy is in the toilet and thetourist industry is suffering so now that isfuture lost revenues. The moral of the storyis that tax revenue is down in just aboutevery community throughout the Common-wealth.

The Legislature has to think out of thebox instead of new taxes on families andbusinesses who have been paying their fairshare over the years. It is time for them toask the institutions of higher learning to startkicking in. Maybe one of the economicsprofessors, in one of the colleges should beasked if it is good government not to taxthe property they own. I firmly believe thatBeacon Hill has a tough job ahead of them.Their job is not going to be easy, fiscal 2011looks worse than 2010 that means more cutsto basic services and the possibility of highertaxes. Instead of higher taxes, the time isnow to capture and create newer sources ofrevenues from the industries that pay a pal-try sum in the form of PILOTS!

These programs are corrupt because thecities or towns somewhat rely on this moneynow, but as long as they keep taking thismoney and refuse to change the law throughlegislation they can never attain the full po-

tential of their property taxes at the currentrate of value; they dangle the carrot in frontof the municipalities and they take it.

The next order of business I will writeabout is the issue of BANDING! And whythe BPPA does not agree with it. The mainreason the BPPA is against banding is thatthe states human resource division did notfollow its own rules and protocols estab-lished by themselves. They were supposedto notify every member of the Legislatureof the intent to band the scores. They werealso supposed to notify the public in at leasttwo major newspapers of the intent to bandand the most important protocol they failedto follow was to have an open hearing onthe issue.

Human resources failed to followthrough with it’s own directives If theywanted to band the scores in the beginningthey should have just followed their ownestablished guide lines, not a hard thing todo. That is why the Union has taken the is-sue to court. This labor action is just likethe Municipal Police or the FLSA lawsuit,

they meaning the states human resourcedivision can do it but it is a matter of a fewprotocols, they have to follow first. Certainguidelines have to be met to change the pro-cess.

As police officers, we are expected toenforce laws and ordinances established byboth the state and city. So for the HumanResource Division of the Commonwealthto totally violate an existing rule and prac-tice, is not acceptable. This is like when youwere a child and you asked your parentsfor something and they said no, and the ex-cuse was because we said so. Your parentshad the right to be arrogant but a govern-mental entity that is supposed to answer tothe people has NO RIGHT!

You as a police officer, after arrestingsomeone have to follow certain proceduresand rules set by a governmental entity. Tome it is the same principle, follow the rulesto the best of your ability. They knew aheadof time that they were gong to band themarks, there was no exigency. They couldhave met their obligations. Now we get to

the seven pointsspread between thebands, in my own personal opinion that isabsolutely ridiculous. I agree everyone canhave a bad day taking a test, but sevenpoints. As a society, we have begun to sellour self short of our full potential. Gone arethe days of, if you studied hard and got agood mark you would get the job. Onceagain, in my opinion, if you got a betterscore on a test than I did, the person withthe higher score should be offered that po-sition first.

Now in closing, I would just like to re-mind everyone to be diligent while per-forming details. Good arrests has beenmade by officers performing details thatis fantastic and I would just like to say,excellent job.

Remember, keep your guard up andwatch each other’s backs. If you have aproblem or concern give the Union a calland let us know you the members are oureyes and ears and best source of informa-tion. As always I work for you.

The Massachusetts Deferred Compensation Plan (“Plan”) ismaintained pursuant to Section 457(b) of the Internal Rev-

enue Code of 1986 (“Code”), as amended, and Chapter 29, Sec-tion 64 of the Massachusetts General Laws. The Plan is a retire-ment plan that allows a participating employee (“participant”)to make contributions into an account established on his or herbehalf. A participant’s contributions are made on a pre-tax basis,and as such all earnings are tax-deferred. The amounts accumu-lated in a participating employee’s deferred compensation ac-count may be distributed to the participant (or beneficiary) atretirement, or upon the occurrence of some other another quali-fying event, such as separation from service or death.

In accordance with the provisions of Section 457 of the Inter-nal Revenue Code and the guidelines provided by the InternalRevenue Service (IRS), even if a participant is still employed, adistribution may also be made upon the occurrence of someUnforeseeable Emergency. Generally, an Unforeseeable Emer-gency, as defined as a severe financial hardship of the partici-pant or beneficiary resulting from one of the following:

• An illness or accident of the participant or beneficiary, theparticipant or beneficiary’s spouse, or the participant orbeneficiary’s primary beneficiary or dependent, as definedunder the Code;

• Loss of the participant’s or beneficiary’s property due tocasualty that is not reimbursable by insurance;

• The need to pay for the funeral expenses of the participant’saspouse, Beneficiary, or dependent (as defined in the Code)of a participant or beneficiary; or

• Other similar extraordinary and unforeseeable circum-stances arising as a result of events beyond the participant’scontrol. Such extraordinary and unforeseeable circum-stances may include imminent foreclosure or eviction fromprimary residence, the need to pay medical expenses, in-cluding the cost of prescription drug medication.

Deferred Compensation:Unforseeable emergency synopsis

The purchase of a home or automobile, the need to pay childschooling or college tuition and expenses are not considered un-foreseeable emergencies.

Distributions due to an Unforeseeable Emergency are limitedto the amount reasonably necessary to satisfy the emergency need.Moreover, such withdrawals for an Unforeseeable Emergencyare permitted only to the extent that the hardship asserted cannotbe relieved through some other means. Specifically:

• Reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise;• Liquidating assets (to the extent that such action in itself

would not cause severe financial hardship); or• Ceasing to make contributions to the Plan.Finally, whether a participant (or beneficiary) is faced with an

Unforeseeable Emergency is based on the relevant facts and cir-cumstances of each case. Nonetheless, all decisions regardingthe approval or denial of Unforeseeable Emergency withdrawalrequests are based solely on the specific guidelines set forth un-der Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code and the accom-panying Federal Regulations. It is therefore within the authorityof the Plan to request and review all pertinent information toinsure that the Unforeseeable Emergency withdrawal requestsare consistent with the Code. As indicated above, it is not suffi-cient for a participant to just show that the event or loss has oc-curred. The participant must also evidence of the lack of avail-ability of other assets, that the cessation of deferrals could notrelieve the need, and that the amount requested is limited to theamount necessary to satisfy the emergency need.

Should you have any questions regarding whether you maybe applicable to receive an Unforeseeable Emergency distribu-tion, please contract the SMART Plan Service Center at 1-877-457-1900. Further, please note that in the event that you are ap-proved for an Unforeseeable Emergency withdrawal, there shallbe a mandatory cessation of your deferrals to the Plan for a mini-mum of 6 months.


Secretary Spread: Jay Broderick, BPPA Secretary

Once the budget is released, the inevitablecries of poor mouth will commence

By the time you are reading this article,the City will have released its fiscal

year 2010 budget and the inevitable criesof poor mouth will begin to echo throughCity Hall and One Schroeder Plaza. TheGlobe and the Herald (well, maybe theGlobe) will renew their attacks against pub-lic employee unions and point out how ourcontracts handcuff the department’s abilityto reduce costs and create reform.

What they won’t report is that how thepublic employee unions collectively bargainfor their contracts. You know, the give andtake that is often referred to as negotiating!The City, who has a number of highlyskilled and extremely talented people work-ing in their respective labor relations offices,are tasked with securing fair contracts with

their employees. That’s a pretty easy con-cept to comprehend isn’t it? The City triesto get something they need from us and wetry to get something that we need from them.Somewhere along the way a compromiseis usually reached. Very rarely though dowe see happen what it is that the City wantsto happen which is what my kids call a “doover”. The City wants us to take a freeze ofa scheduled raise. A raise that was negoti-ated in good faith. A raise that was gainedthrough collective bargaining. The samecollective bargaining that resulted in theCity substantial savings on the amount thatour members contribute into their healthcare plans. You haven’t read about that inthe papers though have you? The same col-lective bargaining process saw the BPPA

take two (2) years of zeros, though younever hear about the zeros when the QuinnBill issue gets raised. Probably just an over-sight.

The City, because they didn’t anticipatethe economic climate changing, wants tochange the rules. You see, we know that theCity would never entertain the thought ofus asking for a “do over”. What do youthink would be the answer if we were tosay we wanted our healthcare contributionsto stay where they were a few years agobecause we didn’t anticipate health carecosts increasing?

In the meantime, the BPPA, through itsaffiliations, has been able to secure substan-tial amounts of money through the relation-ships that have been formed across this

country. We have tried to do our part butthe City needs to do theirs.

If the Department is too “fat” and needsto adjust personnel, they should start withthose people that they feel are less essen-tial. If they feel that the Cadets fall underthat category, then so be it, though I stronglydisagree. If they feel that the layoffs of tencivilian hostlers will bolster the bank ac-counts at the cost of dismantling the oldestPolice Mounted Unit in the country, thenshame on them.

Hopefully the Department will take amuch closer look at the way they conductbusiness and identify those areas where theycan truly save money. In the meantime, wewill do everything that we can to ensure thatNO Boston Police Officers are laid off.

Dear Globe correspondent Connie Paige,

Iread your article in Sunday’s (2/22/09)Globe City Weekly section entitled “Police

stick with details, despite Patrick’s urging.”The title itself and the very first paragraph inyour “story” clearly exposes your own per-sonal bias: (emphasis added) ”Local policeofficers have pulled in tens of thousands ofdollars a year standing watch at utility androad construction projects, and show no signof backing off, despite a call by GovernorDeval Patrick to curb the practice.” Of course,we have become accustomed to reading sucharticles in the Globe, which are basically edi-torials masquerading as news. In the slim hopethat you might be vaguely interested in theinterjection of a morsel of truth, may I presentthe following facts, inconvenient though theymay be for you and your readers?

1.) You smarmily employ the term“pulled in tens of thousands of dollars stand-ing watch…”. I’m personally aware of manyGlobe employees and correspondents who“pull in tens of thousands of dollars” whilesitting behind safe, comfortable desks writ-ing their critical little articles making fun ofpolice officers, but that’s a whole n’other story.Funny though, I just completed an article formy union’s (Boston Police Patrolmen’s As-sociation) newspaper Pax Centurion about yetanother outstanding arrest performed by adetail officer. The story involved Officer JackRogers, who was “pulling in tens of thou-sands of dollars standing around” theMcDonald’s restaurant at 870 MassachusettsAve on January 3rd, 2009 at 2:25AM perform-ing a detail when he heard gunshots, activatedhimself, and shortly thereafter confronted andarrested two suspects in a nearby shooting,(the victim’s leg was amputated due to theinjuries) both of whom were armed withloaded automatic handguns and attempted tofight with the arresting officers. (Boston po-lice incident # 090003612) Of course, nei-ther you nor any other of the Globe’s elitistscribes were anywhere to be found, as youseldom are when privately-paid detail offic-ers make outstanding arrests, save lives, as-sist the public, or do any other of the crap we

routinely do every day for John Q. Public. No,always quick and easy to take a cheap pot-shot at the cops, right Connie? Must be some-thing they teach nowadays in journalismschool…

2.) I noticed that, for your front-page,bold-red highlight (“$141 million in detailearnings by police officers”), you employedfigures from the year 2003 supplied by thealleged “private think tank” known as the Bea-con Hill Institute via the well-known cop-hater, Professor David Tuerck. ProfessorTuerck’s “private” BHI is actually associatedwith Suffolk University. As you might beaware, Suffolk University, and all other localcolleges, universities and hospitals, exist freeof property taxes, courtesy of Massachusettstaxpayers who pick up the freight. It has beenestimated that the city of Boston could “pullin” (to use your words) between $350-$400million in yearly revenue if schools and hos-pitals paid property taxes like cops andfirefighters and teachers do. Could you askthe demented old coot when he plans on issu-ing a study critical of his own parasitic uni-versities’ tax-free bonanza? Since he’s so in-terested in “saving the taxpayer’s money,” I’msure Professor Tuerck will advocate for endingthis boondoggle. But then again, maybe not…

3.) Connie, you yourself reported that therate for a flagman is “about $35.00 per hour”.(Geez, I remember not too long ago when theGlobe and Herald and Professor Tuerck werereporting that they could hire flagmen for“$10-$12/per hour.” I guess practical realitygot in the way of fantasy, huh?) Uhmm,maybe my math is not so good, but the stan-dard construction detail rate for a Boston po-lice patrolman is currently $33.00 per hour. Ithink that’s like uhmmm…$2.00 less than aflagman, Connie? And unlike a flagman, po-lice officers don’t get extra overtime after 8hours, don’t get a special rate on nights, week-ends or holidays, and other costs such as in-surance, liability, health, etc. are already cov-ered by the city.

4.) Let’s say that some detail rates are afew dollars more than a flagman, as someundoubtedly are. (Each city and town negoti-

ates their own rates). What does a flagman doif he/she for example, need a car ticketed ortowed at a worksite, or encounter enragedmotorists, an emergency, and accident or anincident? That’s right, Connie: they call thepolice. Basically, that’s all they can do. Sodoesn’t it make good common sense to sim-ply have the police there in the first place?And if you think the local utility company orconstruction outfit is somehow going to mag-nanimously reduce their customer’s bills be-cause of a dollar or two difference in cost be-tween a cop and a flagman, then I’ve got abridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

Let’s be honest: this manufactured contro-versy about details has everything to do withjealousy and hatred of police officers makingan extra buck and nothing to do with “saving

Re: “Police stick with details…” articleLetter to the Boston Globe

To the editor,

The facts are the only things that affected the Auditor’s report on the lack of savings asso-ciated with replacing police details with flaggers (DeNucci: Cop donors didn’t affect

report, 3/25/09). These are the same facts that have been apparent from the beginning toanyone who bothered to look at the true costs. They are the same facts that were provided tothe Patrick Administration during last year’s debate. Replacing police details with flaggersdoesn’t save money, period. The only way to save money is to replace safety personnel withinanimate objects made of concrete or orange rubber. Those who knew the facts and high-lighted the truth throughout this debate have been proven right. The only way to save moneyis to skimp on public safety. I know the Herald never lets the facts get in the way of a goodstory, but it is unconscionable to insinuate that the Auditor, who was merely doing the job hewas asked to do by legislators and has done exceptionally for 22 years, would be influencedby anything other than a search for the truth based solely on facts. Auditor Joe DeNucci is anhonorable man who is universally respected and well-regarded for his unimpeachable charac-ter. Massachusetts is lucky to have a man of his abilities and moral fortitude as Auditor. It’sonly disappointing that he wasn’t asked to do this study before the ill-advised move thatcannot save money without removing hundreds of safety personnel from our streets. Noweveryone knows that the facts contradict the political story the Herald and others have toldand shatter the urban myth they’ve created about police details. If this was about savings, it’sclear the policy should be re-examined based on the facts laid out in this report.

Sincerely,Robert J. Haynes

President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO

the taxpayer’s money.” If the Globe is reallyinterested in saving taxpayer monies, let’s takea quick tour of Governor Patrick’s statehouseand find the estimated two-thousand cronieswho’ve been added to the state bureaucracyover the last two years, hidden behind desksand invented titles. And send our love to Pro-fessor Tuerck and those other “critics of thesystem” you mentioned who are so concernedabout “sleep deprivation” amongst police of-ficers. Always comforting to know that JohnQ. Public is so concerned about our health;makes us all feel better out here,dontcha’know?

Thanks again,James W. Carnell

Boston Police Patrolmen’s AssociationArea A-1 representative

Mass. AFL-CIO President Haynesresponds to “Cop donors didn’t

affect report” article

Letter to the Boston Herald


Byrne & Drechsler,L.L.P.

Attorneys at Law

(617) 265-3900Telefax: (617) 265-3627

JAMES E. BYRNETHOMAS DRECHSLER

KENNETH H. ANDERSON

SUSAN E. DEVLIN RICHARD P. MAZZOCCAERIC S. GOLDMAN JONATHAN E. TOBIN

Eastern Harbor Office Park50 Redfield Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02122

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Politicians, public ignore 10,000 lb.tax-free elephant…(continued from page A1)

$55 million out of a projected $131 million budget deficit. But accord-ing to previously-published reports in the Globe, the city could realizean estimated $350-$400 million in property tax revenue if colleges anduniversities paid property taxes like average citizens.

Harvard University, sitting on a multi-billion dollar endowment fund,pays nothing in property taxes. BC, BU, Northeastern, Beth Israel, andother tax-free “non-profits” own an estimated 52% of Boston’s prop-erty and continue to scoop up parcels of land, removing them from thetax rolls. In return, they offer paltry “payments-in-lieu-of-taxes,”(“PILOT”s) amounting to mere pennies on the dollar, while public em-ployees pay their property taxes but bear the brunt of the public’s wrath.(See charts associated with this article.)

So why doesn’t our political leadership vigorously pursue this po-tential property tax bonanza, that would prevent the need for layoffsand fill the city’s coffers? I believe the Latin phrase is “quid-pro-quo.”A glimpse of how the system works was recently reported by the Globeon 3/4/09 in an article entitled “Officials’ ties to BC cloud expansiondebate”, (Page B-1). It seems that some local politicians and bureau-crats, who had formerly been opposed to BC’s expansion plan, havenow, er… “changed their minds”. Quoting verbatim: “A key city coun-cilor in Brighton and two members of a city-appointed task force have per-sonal or financial connections to Boston College, even as they representneighborhood concerns amid BC’s controversial plans for a $1.6 billionexpansion…Councilor Mark S. Ciommo, who represents Brighton, is wait-ing for a decision from BC officials on his application for a scholarship forhis son, who was accepted over the winter.… A member of the BC task force,John Bruno, a former City Council aide, acknowledged …that his son…hasa full four-year scholarship from BC to cover costs of more than $50,000 ayear. Another member, Denis V. Minihane…leases space in his office build-ing to BC for $1,250 a month. …In a closed-door meeting, the task forcerecently dropped its prior opposition to the BC expansion.”

Naturally, all of the above firmly deny that these coincidental offer-ings from BC had anything to do with their sudden change of opinion.(“I’m shocked, shocked to find gambling in Casablanca!”) Far be itfrom me to suggest that full-scholarships to BC (4-yr.-$200K?) for one’sspalpeens, jobs at the college or hospital for one’s constituents, or otherfactors would ever influence the principled positions of the “city-ap-pointed task-force” members. Perhaps it’s just my cynical nature, but itdoes seem strange that our political establishment ignores the $400-million, 10,000 lb., tax-free elephant in the living room while pointingfingers at the comparatively small raises negotiated by unionized cops,teachers, clerks and public workers.

For the naïve amongst us, this is how the system works: multi-mil-lion dollar institutions claiming “non-profit” status pay nothing in prop-erty taxes and then send paltry PILOT payments to the city. If and whenthe issue of their tax-free status arises, the offending politicians and/orpolitically-appointed “community activists” are quickly bought off withjobs, favors or scholarships, and the tax-free bonanza continues. Lookat the charts associated with this article: Northeastern University pays0.08% – a mere $30,571 – in payments to the city in lieu of taxes.That’s less than the cost of one student’s tuition! Wentworth Instituteof Technology pays 0.72% of what they would be paying if they weretaxed like every other resident in the city of Boston. Beth Israel Hospi-tal pays a mere $167,000 in payments to the City, a mere 0.75% ofwhat they should be paying. It’s nothing short of a corrupt disgrace, butwhen the issue is raised, it is quickly extinguished by the conferring ofmagically-appearing scholarships, jobs and favors for those who getappointed to these fake, phony community panels and blue-ribbon com-mittees.

But as the Herald’s political reporter Wayne Woodlief said in hisarticle of Jan. 15th about this issue: “Won’t happen. They’ve [colleges,universities, hospitals] got muscle.” Perhaps he is right. So when I seeGovernor Patrick, Mayor Menino, and our political leadership publiclyand forcefully demanding that BC, Harvard and Mass General pay prop-erty taxes just like Mary the teacher and Bob the cop currently do, thenI’ll consider a wage freeze. Until then, I’ve got bills to pay too, includ-ing college tuitions.

And I humbly volunteer for appointment to a city task-force…. pref-erably one dealing with Harvard or BC’s expansion. After all, my kidsneeds scholarships, too....

Educational Institutions:Tax-Exempt Property FY 2009

Medical Institutions:Tax-Exempt Property FY 2009


A Proud Supporter of theBoston Police Patrolmen’s Association

Scholarship Fund


will be covered under “legal expenses,”right?) People blame the most visible fig-ure right in front of them, the guy who (inaddition to the actual workers from Verizonand Trigen who opened the manholes andset up the work zone) was making the leastmoney.

talk-shows or vomiting their opinions onthe pages of the local rags, use the knowl-edge contained below to educate yourfriends and neighbors about the lofty sala-ries our critics are afforded, even as theyencourage us to accept wage freezes andcutbacks:

Michael Widmer of the Mass. Taxpay-ers Foundation, come on down! Widmerrakes in $375,000 in pay, $19,000 in ben-efits (fully paid life and health insurance)and he was paid $2,837 for “expenses” in2007, according to 2007 IRS filings (Her-ald, 3-9-2009, reporter Dave Wedge).Mikey also gets a car allowance and reim-bursement for fuel. A frequently-quotedcritic of police details and benefits,Widmer’s salary is paid for by businessgroups and is allegedly a “non-profit”group. (Geez, Mike…375G’s+ a car andfully paid insurance…not a bad non-profit…). Next time you hear this fakerquoted as a legitimate source, feel free topuke…

Sam Tyler of the Municipal ResearchBureau, you’re next on the hit-parade! In2007, Sammy, of Holliston, Mass., made,according to official state filings, $188,000in pay and an additional $37,604 in “ben-efits” (fully paid life and health insurance,among other assorted fringies). Say, isn’tthat more than the Mayor or Governor? Samis a go-to source for the media whenever ananti-union quote is needed. His office, co-incidentally, is in the same office building(333 Washington St., the Jewelers building)as the preceding Michael Widmer’s.They’re like neighbors, in many specialways! Tyler’s salary is also paid by localbusinesses, law firms and colleges, whohave a vested interest in keeping “themasses” (that’s us) paid as little as possible,so that we don’t have the money to move totheir exclusive neighborhoods.

Alan MacDonald, executive director ofMassachusetts Business Roundtable, Inc.,earns $317,000 plus $76,000 in “benefitsand expenses”, which includes a companycar. Alan is frequently quoted being againstthe prevailing wage law, which provides adecent and standardized hourly pay forregular working people, much to Al’s cha-grin. In this faker’s world, only elitists likehimself should be paid lot’s of moneyfor….hey, Alan, what is it exactly that youdo…do???

Paul Guzzi, president of the GreaterBoston Chamber of Commerce, “earns”$331,000 salary plus expenses, bringinghis total to $429,600. Not bad, Paul.

Meet our critics!!!(continued from page A1)

And who’s costing the ratepayersthe most money?(continued from page A1)

Liberal judges embolden criminals with insane ruling

SJC Gomes decision:A clear and present danger for police

This particular photo just happened topresent the right opportunity to show thereal moneymakers who are seldom seenoutside on the streets and therefore neverengender the public’s enmity. Pay no atten-tion to those men behind the curtain in thewhite hats. No, it’s always easier to blamethe cop on a detail….

Ahhhm. Any more comments from youabout how the Mayor has tough decisionsto make and how the unions should coop-erate in freezing wages and accepting cut-backs? No? Good. I didn’t think so…

Richard Dimino, former head of theBoston Parking and Transportation Depart-ment (BTD), now makes $335,200 as headof an organization called “A Better City,Inc.” Their job is to supposedly encouragepeople to use alternate forms of transporta-tion. Richie originally raised the issue offlagmen in the transportation committee.Geez, nice gig, Richie. Good job at a goodwage. I’m sure it was earned through yourintellectual brilliance and not via politicalconnections….

We attempted to get salary informationabout our good friend, Professor DavidTuerck of the Beacon Hill Institute. ButDave hides his organization underneathSuffolk University’s umbrella instead of asa non-profit, which would make it subjectto public disclosure. Suffice it to say thatDave has lifetime tenure and a six-figuresalary in the “dreaded private sector”. Hepontificates from his offices located at 8Ashburton Pl. on la-de-da Beacon Hill,where he is much sought-after by fawningacolytes in the media for anti-police/ anti-union sound bites. We did send a letter toBHI requesting such information, but need-less to say, no response was received.Tuerck’s BHI issued an anti-Cape Wind“study” several years ago critical of thatutility’s attempt to build environmentally-safe windmills in Nantucket Sound, despoil-ing the scenery for the rich and famous whoinhabit the mansions around NantucketSound. Come to find out, a $100,000 “do-nation” was received by BHI from the Eganfamily foundation (founder of EMC Corp.)who owns property on…Nantucket Sound.What a coincidence! Tuerck’s “pay-per-study Institute”. Pay us money, we’ll giveyou the results you want! The BPPA hasrepeatedly requested information on howmuch a pro-police detail study might cost,but for some reason, Prof. Tuerck alwayshangs up the phone on me. That’s not po-lite, Dave. Call me at 617-989-2772 andwe’ll tawk…

These are just a few of the fakes, fraudsand phonies who regularly criticize our payand benefits. When you hear them on talkradio or read them being quoted in the pa-pers, think: where is this person comingfrom, why is he in support of this position,and who pays his salary. You will soon haveyour answer….


Arecent decision issued by the screech- ing liberals of the Massachusetts Su-

preme Judicial Court will have dangerousconsequences for police officers across theState.

In the case of Commonwealth vs. PaulGomes (SJC 10255, April 2, 2009), Bostonpolice officers on routine patrol on Dec. 17th,2005 at 4:00AM at Stuart and Tremont Sts.in the theater district (a well-known drug-dealing location and high-crime area) ob-served what they knew from their trainingand experi-ences wereongoing drugsales. Ap-p r o a c h i n gthe suspect,Paul Gomes,know to themas an “impactplayer” (fre-quent flyer/known crimi-nal), the of-ficers sawhim passingsomething toanother late-night cretin, Dennis Bates, andthen attempt to conceal something in hismouth. As is prudent for all officers con-fronting drug dealers at 4AM, Officer GregWalsh conducted a pat-frisk for weapons.As he was doing so, a plastic bag contain-ing five rocks of crack cocaine fell fromGomes’ pants leg. More drugs were foundon Gomes following his arrest during thebooking process.

Simple enough, huh? Good job by theofficers, removing yet another scumbagfrom the streets, at least for a few minutesuntil he got to court and some screwballjudge released him again, right? Ah, no…at least not according to the black-robedeunuchs of the Mass. SJC. You see, accord-ing to these residents of the judicial ivorytower, the officers violated the scumbagGomes’ rights by pat-frisking him for weap-ons. According to five “justices” of the SJC(only one, Judge Cowin, dissented), the of-ficers violated Gomes’ rights by patting himdown because they did not have any actualknowledge of Gomes’ past possessing ofweapons or any other facts which they couldarticulate which make them think Gomesmight be armed. Therefore, the case against

Gomes was thrown out because the drugswere considered “the fruits of a poisoned tree”.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: thisis insane, right. Of course, any experiencedpolice officer would naturally pat-frisk drugdealers they encountered at 4 AM in a high-crime area, right? You’d be stupid if youdidn’t. It is reasonable to assume that drugsand weapons often go together. Drug deal-ers are often armed with at least a knife,and sometimes have guns. But not accord-ing to the SJC: “In the circumstances here,the degree of police intrusion was not pro-

portionateto the articu-lable risk too f f i c e rsafety and,therefore,was consti-tut ionallyimpermis-sible. Be-cause thediscovery ofthe cocainethat slid outof the defen-dant’s pants

leg at the scene was the direct result of anunlawful pat-frisk, the cocaine subsequentlyfound on his person during a search incidentto arrest must also be suppressed under the“fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine.

Truly, these twisted jurists live in anotherworld. This arrest took place in late 2005.Almost 3-1/2 years later, these brilliant idi-ots, pontificating from the safety of theirexquisite, brand new offices, render a deci-sion that the cops, at 4 AM, in a high-crimearea, confronting two drug suspects, had noright to pat-frisk them for their own safety.Case dismissed. Drug dealer and taxpayer-supplied lawyer have a good laugh. Gomeswalks free. Another victory for justice andthe ACLU.

Officers will, of course, continue to pat-frisk these worthless dirtbags, for our ownsafety. We’d be crazy not to. At the end ofthe tour, we’re going home in one piece,the SJC be damned. But officers now knowthat similar cases will probably be lost ifthey make it to court, and the ever-presentthreat of civil lawsuits might be enough toconvince officers that maybe checking sus-picious scumbags at 4 AM might not beworth it. Once again, the SJC is on the side

of the criminals. They win, the cops andthe law-abiding public lose. I wonder whatthese judges, most of whom live in wealthy,privileged suburbs, would do if drug deal-ers and gang-bangers moved into theirneighborhoods? It would give me vicarious

pleasure to hear the crackle of gunfire inBrookline, or to see a troupe of gang-bangers set up shop on the Wellesley towncommon. These demented, twisted elitistfrauds in black robes truly deserve a tasteof their own medicine.


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RECENT CASE SUMMARYFACTS: Officer injured on-duty when police vehicle struck by suspect avoiding arrest.Officer was disabled and collected IOD pay and medical bills were paid under c.41 s.111F.Officer recovered and returned to full duty.

CASE: Officer sought free legal consultation and pursued claims against the vehicle operatorand owner – and under his personal auto policy – for lost detail and overtime pay, andcompensation for pain and suffering.

OUTCOME: Officer received gross recovery of: $8,000 in Personal Injury Protection and$10,000 in additional medical payment benefits, $20,000 insurance policy limits for thedefendant operator and owner, and $80,000 in Underinsured Motorist benefits.

ATTORNEY: Scott Goldberg

If you have been injured you may have a case.Attorney Goldberg provides free consultations.

The law firm only receives a fee if we recover compensation for you.And we give police officers a 10% discount off our general public legal fees.

Contact Attorney Scott Goldberg at 617-227-1888 or [email protected].

THE LAW FIRM OF SCOTT D. GOLDBERG, P.C.Assisting and Representing Police Officers Since 1990

SCOTT D. GOLDBERG, ESQ.FANEUIL HALL

4 SOUTH MARKETPLACEBOSTON, MA 02109

617-227-1888 www.goldberglawfirm.net 800-349-1888

Annual Boston Police Patrolmen’s AssociationRecognition BanquetHonoring BPPA Retirees andBPPA Award RecipientsFriday, June 19th, 2009Cocktail Hour 6:00 – 7:00PM – Plaza Lobby$70.00 per personSeaport Hotel, 200 Seaport Boulevard, BostonPlaza BallroomContact your BPPA Representative or call the BPPA for more information.


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Recently, I was given thirteen Boston Police badges that were wornby retired officers and placed in a clear acrylic. Somehow these

badges were forgotten and never presented to the officers upon theirretirement or to their families when they died. The following is a listof the officers, their dates of service and their badge number. I wouldlike to return these badges to the officers or their immediate familymembers. Under no circumstance will any of these badges be released to non-familymembers if the officer is deceased.

UPDATE – As of March 29th only two badges have been returned to their owners.I have not heard back from the O’Brien family and hope they see this and re-contactme. If you know anyone on the list below please contact PO Michael Kane, District18, Last halfs, Squad 5.

PO Michael S. Flemmi, Date of service - 02/14/68 to 07/31/00, badge #1275(Returned to Son)

Det. William G. Hartford, Date of service- 12/30/70 to 06/30/03, #569(Returned to Det. Hartford with the assistance of Det. Bill Dunn)

PO Steven W. MacFarland, Date of service-06/27/79 to 04/23/82, #2192PO William P. McDermott, Date of service-09/25/46 to 04/30/78, #1168PO John D. MacDonald, Date of service-12/20/44 to 05/19/77, #1658

PO Henry Nelson, Jr., Date of service-10/21/63 to 11/19/84 (Deceased) #1658PO John O’Brien, Date of service-12/18/46 to 06/30/77, #9

(Contact Made With Family Members)PO Joseph A. Patrice, Date of service-10/30/57 to 11/16/78, #2503

PO Joseph W. Rozario, Date of service-09/27/61 to 11/30/81, #2680PO Joseph A. Rydings, Date of service-10/24/56 to 05/01/81, #819

Sgt. Victor Smith, Date of service-12/13/50 to 05/31/85, #417PO Juan R. Torres, Date of service-11/27/89 to 02/17/05, #2326

– PO Michael Kane, District 18

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Legal Notes: Kenneth H. Anderson, Esq.Byrne & Drechsler, L.L.P., Counsel to Members of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association

Ask questions first, and then shoot secondHaving been butting heads with the Bos-

ton Police Department brass for almosteleven years now, I have seen dozens ofcases where an officer does something thatis justified under the Rules and Regulations,although the officer still get disciplined forexercising “bad judgment.” Judgment, asyou know, is often something upon whichreasonable minds can differ. One of the defi-nitions of “judgment” in my Webster’s dic-tionary is “the process of forming an opin-ion or evaluation by discerning and com-paring.” It is easy to play Monday morningquarterback and to criticize decisions madeby others in the heat of battle, yet at the sametime criticizing others when we ourselvesenjoy the reflection of hindsight can alsobe unfair. When someone has the opportu-nity to reflect before making their initialdecision, it is easier to criticize a poorlythoughtout decision. As you have all beentrained, you should assess a situation be-fore taking action. Ask questions before youshoot. Not the other way around. Unfortu-nately, this mantra is often not followed bythe Police Department.

As set forth in a recent letter I sent tothe Police Department Legal staff, the De-partment on this occasion shot from thehip without discerning if it was lawful orcorrect to shoot. My guess, however, isthat unlike the cases where patrol offic-ers get disciplined for “unreasonable

judgment,” no one will be disciplined inthis case.

To set the scene: an officer with a with avery sick relative was complained againstby his Captain for using excessive sick time.There was no investigation and the officerwas never allowed to present his side of thestory. His Captain, however, or someone ina position of authority, took it upon them-selves to unilaterally tell the payroll unit tostart deducting money from this officer’spaycheck. This happened before InternalAffairs began to look into the allegation ofusing excessive sick time. Had whoevermade this decision to dock the officer’s paydecided to check to see if this was lawful,they would have learned that not only wasit illegal, it was also criminal. Most trou-bling was that once the officer’s pay begangetting docked, I could not get a straightanswer out of anyone from the Departmentabout how to stop it for almost a month. Totheir credit, when the Department’s legalstaff was advised of this issue, they promptlyrectified the situation and refunded themoney that had been wrongfully taken fromthe officer’s check. Unfortunately, beforethe act of docking pay had started, no onechecked to see if it was legal. Below is myApril 3, 2009 letter to the Boston PoliceDepartment Legal Advisor’s Office, withthe names redacted to protect the innocent:

“This correspondence is to follow up on

our phone conversations of this date regard-ing the Department’s efforts to dock the payof Officer [name omitted]. As you are nowaware, on February 12, 2009, a letter wassent to Officer [name omitted] that the Pay-roll Unit had been advised to dock Officer[name omitted] for 21 sick days he had used,with a total amount of $6,107.43. This let-ter, signed by Principal Accountant [nameomitted] of the Payroll Unit indicated theDepartment would start deducting $100 perweek from Officer [name omitted] checks.It is my understanding that the first deduc-tion from Officer [name omitted] check wason March 13, 2009. I know this has beenconsistent, and I assume that the money wasagain docked from his check on April 3,2009, making a total of $400 that has beenremoved from his check. (I did not attemptto confirm today’s check with Officer [nameomitted] as today is the date of a family fu-neral.) Pursuant to our discussion, you arehaving payroll stop these deductions fromhis checks starting next week.

As we discussed, it is my view that notonly was the docking of Officer [nameomitted] pay illegal under G.L. c. 199, §148,it was also a criminal act under G.L. c. 149,§27C punishable by a fine of not more than$25,000 or imprisonment for not more thanone year. Moreover, under G.L. c. 149,§115, Officer [name omitted] is entitled totreble damages as well as attorney’s fees.

The most troubling thing about this cava-lier act from my perspective was that I couldnot get a straight answer from anybody atHeadquarters about how to stop the dock-ing of Officer [name omitted] pay. I wantto thank you for your prompt inquiry intothis matter and for reinstating his regularpaycheck as of next week. I now ask thatOfficer [name omitted] be promptly reim-bursed for the $400 which was wronglytaken from him by this seemingly illegalunilateral action.

Thank you again for your prompt coop-eration.”

As I stated above, I want to commendthe Department attorneys for quickly recti-fying the situation, although as noted in myletter, for almost four weeks I could not geta straight answer out of Headquarters abouthow to stop this clearly illegal act. This de-cision by the Department to cross a clearlyuncrossable line was not something donein the heat of battle and was not a split-sec-ond decision: it was done deliberately andwithout checking the law. As the Romanpoet Horace wrote over 2000 years ago“Force, if unassisted by judgment, collapsesthrough its own mass.” My advice to you isto look before you leap and to ascertain thesituation before taking action. Unfortu-nately, your employer sometimes may notdo the same.

Stay safe and keep your left hand high.

Attempting to ReturnRetired Police Badges

to their Rightful Owners


Situated in the heart of downtown

Boston, One Franklin brings together

more than 500,000 square feet of

exceptional office space with stylish

shops, luxury residences, an elegant

hotel and health club—all within one

new address.

Gale International and Vornado Realty

Trust, developers of One Franklin, are

proud to support both the revitalization

of Boston’s downtown and the Boston

Patrolmen’s Association’s Scholarship

fund.

A NE W DO W N T O W N

BO S T O N LA N D M A R K


BPPA Retired Patrolmen’sDivision Offers

Members of the Retirement Divi-sion are entitled to enroll in the

Dental Plan, sponsored by the BPPA.Open enrollment for the Dental Plan isin April. You are also entitled to passesthat the BPPA has to the Children’s Mu-seum, Aquarium, Museum of Scienceand the Franklin Park Zoo (availableupon request). To be placed on the mail-ing list for the Pax Centurion, please con-tact the Union. Also you can receive re-tirement and health updates from ourLegislative Aide James Barry.

Asset Protection Strategy for the Pensioner

BPPA RETIRED PATROLMEN’S DIVISION MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONDate: ___________________________

Name: ______________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________

City, State, Zip Code: _________________________________________

Home Telephone #: _____________ Cell Phone #: ________________

Date of Appointment: _________ Date of Retirement: ___________

Email: ______________________________________________________

Office Use Only

Date changes entered: __________________

Entered by: ___________________________

Please mail this application and $24.00 first year’s dues to the:BPPA Retired Patrolmen’s Division

9-11 Shetland Street, Boston, MA 02119

The Retired Boston Police Patrolmen’s Division of the BPPA isholding a “Retirees South Shore Recruitment Meeting” at our

monthly meeting of May 7th, 2009 beginning at 1 pm. Themeeting and drive will be held for all Retired Patrolmen and

Patrolwomen members and those who wish to join at theBraintree Elks, 205 Elm Street, Braintree, MA.º

Social Security Update

By Attorney Richard L. Rubino

Asset protection strategies are not one-size fits all. Depending on what you

have, your age, health and marital status,there are different strategies available. I’vebeen invited to write about how to protectassets and this article will focus on protect-ing a pension.

At one time, American workers stayedat the same company all their lives. Whenthey retired, many of them received a pen-sion. Those days are gone for most people.These days, pensions are given to selectgroups such as retired teachers, state work-ers, and policeman to name a few.

The pension that you receive is very valu-able. When we put together a retirementstudy, we establish ways for a retiree to getincome. There is an old adage in retirementplanning and it is called The Three-LeggedStool.

The Three-LeggedStool

When planning for income, we takeinto account age, health, spending

rate, longevity, inflation and current inter-est yields. We put all the information to-gether and create a strategy. In the old days,we could rely on the Three-Legged Stoolconcept. Money would come from threedifferent sources: 1) Social Security, 2) Pen-sion and 3) Savings.

These days, for most people one of the legsis missing – the pension. As a retired policeofficer, you are fortunate to still have your pen-

sion. The value of a pension is enormous.In retirement planning, there is some-

thing called a “withdrawal rate.” A with-drawal rate is what percentage you can takeout of money and have that money last therest of your life. An acceptable withdrawalrate is 4% per year.

For example, let’s say you have$1,000,000 and use a withdrawal rate of 4%.That would mean you can take out $40,000per year (increased with inflation) and neverrun out of money. A pension of $40,000 peryear is the equivalent of having $1,000,000to draw on.

As you can see, the value of your pen-sion is enormous, especially when you takeinto account survivor benefits. Many of ourclients who had pension choices decided tohave a surviving spouse continuation pen-sion. This gives even greater value to theworth of that payout because it will comeout over two people’s lives. With people liv-ing longer, the total value can exceed the4% withdrawal rate comparison describedabove.

So, What’s theProblem?

The problem is a pension can be lost ifthe pensioner goes into a nursing home.

Most have read that nursing home costs canbe as high as $100,000 a year. If you aregetting a pension of $50,000 per year, andyou go into a nursing home, your pensiongoes with you, with some exceptions.

For example, John is 72 years old andreceives a pension of approximately$50,000 per year. His wife, Jane, is also 72and she receives a smaller pension and so-cial security of approximately $24,000 peryear. They have a residence worth about$450,000 and a cottage in New Hampshireworth $200,000. They have three childrenand six grandchildren.

They live comfortably on their total in-come. Both pensions have survivor optionsso that if John predeceases Jane, she willget a portion of his pension for the rest ofher life. If Jane predeceases John, he willget only her social security and, of course,he will continue to receive his own pension.They also have about $500,000 in joint bankaccounts and Jane has a small IRA. Theirproblem is not outliving their money. Theirproblem arises if one of them has to go intoa nursing home.

If John went into nursing home, and thecost of care is $100,000 per year, his pen-sion goes with him. He has a nursing homebill of $100,000 and his income (pension)of $50,000. He has to pay his bill. So, hegives his $50,000 to the nursing home andthe other $50,000 comes out of their jointsavings account to pay for his care. Janecan keep all of her income (pension andsocial security) and $109,000 in liquid as-sets. There are monthly maintenance needsallowances that might let Jane keep part ofJohn’s pension, but most of John’s pensiongoes with him to pay for the nursing home.If John passes away after five years, theywould have spent $250,000 of their$500,000 on John’s care and Jane wouldprobably have to spend some of her sav-ings to live on. After John’s death, Jane willthen receive the survivor benefit of the pen-sion.

For Medicaid purposes, if you have a billand you have enough income to pay the bill,then you have to pay the bill. So in this case,the pension is not protected.

The Solution

Because both John and Jane are currentlyhealthy and they live primarily on their

pensions, they could transfer $400,000 oftheir bank money into a specially designedtrust, or bullet proof box, for Jane’s benefit.The trust will protect those funds, for Jane,if John had to go into a nursing home.

(The strategy for protecting the assets inthe trust would be different depending ifJohn went into a nursing home now or aftera five year period, because of the 5 year lookback rules).

The asset protection trust, or bullet proof

box, would allow Jane to turn the funds intoincome for her alone. So, if John went intoa nursing home, they would not be able totake Jane’s income to pay John’s bill.

Sound simple? Well, not yet. You haveto pick a trustee you trust. Your son, daugh-ter, or both, can act as trustees.

There are a lot of moving parts to thisstrategy so make sure you explore it withsomeone who has done this before.

Conclusion

Pensions are great vehicles to provideincome for the rest of your life. But

pensions follow you to a nursing home. Thewhole pension may be required to pay thebill, leaving your spouse without enoughincome to live on. The solution is a spe-cially designed Income Only Trust, or bul-let proof box, for the benefit of the spouse.

In retirement planning and asset protec-tion, one size does not fit all.

And remember those Two Rules! Rule#1 – Just don’t lose the money. Rule #2 –Don’t forget Rule #1.

For our free monthly newsletter, pleasecontact us at 617-630-8787 or on the webat www.justdontlosethemoney.com.

Protecting Your Wealth Radio is heardon Sundays on WRKO from 9 to10 am andWBZ from 5 to 6 pm.

Rubino & Liang’s offices are located at189 Wells Avenue, Newton, MA 02459. Weoffer a free one-hour consultation. Call ustoday!

Social Security has announced the increase for 2009 in the maximum amount of earningssubject to the Social Security tax. The Social Security wage was base will be $106,800, up

from $102,000 in 2008. Beginning January 1, 2009, employers should withhold Social Securitytaxes (6.2 percent) from employees’ wages up to $106,800 and withhold the Medicare tax (1.45percent) on all wages. Employers must match the tax payments withheld from employees’ wages.

In 2009, employees will earn one Social Security credit for each $1,090 in earnings, up to amaximum of four credits for the year. And the full retirement age for people born in 1943 is now66. However, when employees reach full retirement age, they can work and receive unreducedSocial Security retirement benefits. Social Security also announced that benefit amounts willincrease in 2009 by 5.8 percent.

If your employees are less than full retirement age when they begin to receive benefits, theycan earn more in 2009 without their benefits being reduces as follows:

1. Social Security beneficiaries who haven’t reached full retirement age can earn $14,160before their benefits are reduced. For every $2 a person earns over $14,160 before the yearof his or her full retirement age, $1 is withheld from benefits.

2. In the year employees reach full retirement age, $1 in withheld in benefits is deducted foreach $3 they earn above $37,680 until the month the employees reach full retirement age.

3. Benefits are not reduced when employees are full retirement age or older, no matter howmuch they earn. Employees receiving Social Security disability benefits must report allwages, no matter how little they earn.

Learn More Online at www.socialsecurity.gov or www.esplanner.com

Retired Patrolmen’sDivision News

Directors of theRetired

Patrolmen’sDivision of the

BPPA:John MurphyDavid MackinJoe VannelliJoe O’MalleyBilly Flippin


Last fall, Julian Munnich, Director ofAdministration for the Massachusetts

Office of International Trade and Invest-ments, walked to his office at 50 Park Plazaand observed a weathered and vandalizedmemorial plaque of Patrolman Francis B.Johnson who was killed in the line of dutyon March 17, 1969. The plaque was proudlyfastened to a wall at the corner of Stuartand Tremont Street for 40 years.

Mr. Munnich stated, “As I read theplaque, I recalled the event. I was ten yearsold living in western Massachusetts and Iremembered the news reports on the televi-sion about Officer Johnson getting shot andkilled while on duty. I really felt bad for theofficer and his family. Officer Johnson wasdedicated to his job and to the citizens ofBoston and it cost him his life. It’s whatyou officers do.”

Mr. Munnich had respect for PatrolmanJohnson and admired his dedication thatcost him his life. He went to his office andstarted asking questions about the plaquebecause he was concerned about the condi-tion of this memorial. He contacted build-ing management and inquired about who is

Rededication of Patrolman Francis B. Johnson’s memorial plaqueresponsible for the plaque? Mr. Munnichspoke with Mr. Bill Johnson (no relation-ship) of building management and he andhis crew respectfully removed the plaqueand he called the Boston Police Patrolman’sAssociation and spoke with Treasurer Tho-mas Pratt, about the condition of theplaque.

Officer Pratt was very eager to get theplaque back to the union hall and it becamehis personal project to get the plaque refur-bished and replaced. Officer Pratt contactedDavis Monuments in Roslindale, MA, andspoke with John Tigges, President andowner of Davis Monuments. Davis Monu-ments have been in Roslindale for over ahundred years and they have earned the re-spect near and far, and they had the exper-tise in monuments and in repairs.

Mr. Tigges stated the condition of theplaque was faded, the bronze lost its luster,and the police badge that was on it was dis-gracefully removed by vandals. Mr. Tiggeshad to design the mold of the BPPA em-blem that would replace the police badgeand he worked the color scheme into themold. “A lot of work went into the plaque.

It’s easier to make a newplaque than to refurbishone.” The plaque wasshipped to Sheidow Bronzein Pittsburgh, PA. The fadedpaint was removed and thebronze rebuffed to its origi-nal shine. New advancedpaint was applied and theBPPA emblem was fusedinto the plaque. It took overa month for the plaque to berehabbed.

Patrolman Francis B.Johnson’s plaque will beplaced one foot higher in itsoriginal spot on the transpor-tation building wall at thecorner of Stuart andTremont Street yards fromthe Tam where the horrible incident took place.

Thank you, Mr. Munnich, for caringabout Officer Johnson and his plaque.Thank you, Mr. Tigges, of Davis Monu-ments for the wonderful looking refurbishedplaque. Thank you, Treasurer Thomas Pratt,for taking the lead in getting our fallen

brother’s plaque repaired. The rededicationof Patrolman Johnson’s plaque will be an-nounced in the near future. Officer Prattstates if any officer observes a plaque of oneof our fallen officers in need of repair pleasecontact him.

– Ray Melo

By Bill Cloran, M.O.P.

Pain is felt as brother officers arefelled by violence. City of Boston

Police officers joined by officers fromBrookline, Newton and Cambridge pre-pared for their trip to Oakland, Califor-nia. Rather than packing their bathingsuits, beach balls and towels, each of-ficer packed his white gloves, blackmourning bands and crisp uniforms.They stepped onto Jet Blue on March25, 2009, a trip that they wished that theydid not have to take. Each officer paidfor their own expenses, including flights,hotel and food. There were hundreds ofother Boston Officers that wished to beon that flight – but could not.

Some of the Boston Police Officerstrained with Oakland officers in a SWATcompetition. Urban Shield, for the lasttwo years. The Massachusetts contingentmade an impressive presentation. We all

Brothers reach across the countryshould be proud of theirappearance, actionsand dedication to theirfallen brothers. Forthese officers not onlyrepresent them, but rep-resented all law en-forcement officers inMassachusetts. Oak-land PD and the fami-lies of the deceasedwere appreciative ofthe honor and respectextended to their fallenheroes.

The Oakland PoliceDepartment hosted areception at their Fra-ternal Order Hall and their version of thepolice post, the “Warehouse.” Officers fromaround the world were in attendance, indi-cating loyalty to the badge.

The City of Boston contingent trip de-tails were organized and implemented byDeputy Superintendent Kelley McCor-mick. A special thanks to the Deputy forhis dedicated assistance to our group. Sadly,Officers of the Boston Police Department

are preparing for their presence at an-other tragedy in Pittsburgh, PA. The ThinBlue Line is getting thinner. With thefalling of our brothers, others step for-ward to take their place.

That is professionalism at its best.


They Served WithDignity and Honor

We Shall Not Forget Them

We apologize for any errors or omissions.

Police OfficerWilliam Plummer

January 25, 2009

Police SergeantTimothy D. Kelley

February 2, 2009

Police OfficerJohn SantinoFebruary 21, 2009

Police OfficerThomas E. Wythe, Jr.

February 22, 2009

Police OfficerStephen L. Myers

February 16, 2009

Police SergeantFrancis P. Sullivan

March 20, 2009

Police OfficerFrank A. Vellante

April 4, 2009

Police SergeantJames F. O’Connor

March 17, 2009


Best wishes on the

Scholarship Fund

for the families of

Boston Police Patrolmen’s

Families from

Heath PropertiesXV Beacon Hotel

Mooo Restaurant

Mistral Restaurant

Sorellina Restaurant

Teatro Restaurant

Heath Properties74 Clarendon Street, Suite A • Boston, MA 02116


Pembroke Country ClubThursday, May 28th, 2009

Starting @ 7:30 AMIf you are planning to participate at this year’stournament, please respond by May 1st, 2009.Payment in full for your team must accompanythis form and be received by May 1st, 2009 to holdyour team spot. Team applications will not beaccepted and will be returned without payment infull for all team members. Payment will not beaccepted at the course.

Mail entry and checks to: BPPA9-11 Shetland StreetRoxbury, MA 02119Attn: AnnGolf Tournament

Any additional proceeds will benefit the BPPA Scholarship Fund.4 Players per team – $125.00 per player

Team Captain _______________________________________________________

Dept./Area/Unit ____________________Telephone # ____________________

Group Address _____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Players: Shirt/Jacket Size:

(1 – Captain) _____________________________________ ______________

(2) ______________________________________________ ______________

(3) ______________________________________________ ______________

(4) ______________________________________________ ______________

Function to follow at the Beachcomber, Wollaston Beach, Quincy, MA

2009 BPPA ANNUALGOLF TOURNAMENT

The most smartest Administration ever?!?By Patrick Carnell,

Canisius College, Buffalo, NY

We are often told by our superiors in the media thatthe braintrust of the Obama administration will

change the world for the better. They will heal the world!Peace for a thousand years! Hugs and kisses to Americaforever! Of course, in less than three months, it is our alliesand friendly nations who have been mau-maued andshunned, and our enemies who have received grovelingapologies and pleas. Let’s take a brief look at the “mostbrilliant administration ever’s” foreign policy thus far (notincluding his snubs of Canada, Israel, and Georgia):

Mexico: Hillary Clinton visits the shrine of Our Ladyof Guadalupe and proceeds to ask the monsignor of thecathedral who painted the allegedly divinely imprintedimage of the Virgin Mary on the famous tilma.

Ireland: Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen accidentlybegins reading Obama’s speech off of his prizedteleprompter. Obama laughs without an apology.

Brazil: Barack Obama misspells the Brazilian’spresident’s name. What convoluted, highly foreign namewould this be? Silva.

Austria: Obama stated he was unsure of how to speakin “Austrian”; Austrians speak German.

France: Obama sends a message declaring his com-mitment to working with French president Jacques Chiracfor world peace; Chirac has not been president for two years.In addition, when largely pro-American president Nicho-las Sarkozy invited Obama to the American cemetery atOmaha Beach, he declined, with staffers claiming that hedidn’t want to offend the German chancellor on his visit tothat country.

Denmark: In order to get Turkey to approve of DanishPrime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen becoming thenext head of NATO, Obama encouraged the PM to apolo-gize to the entire Islamic world for defending the freedomof speech of the cartoonists whose works prompted theCartoon Riots of 2006.

Poland and the Czech Republic: The administrationis threatening to dismantle the missile defense system inthose countries, leaving them vulnerable to the missiles

Russia moves closer and closer to their borders.Afghanistan: Hillary Clinton extends hand to “nego-

tiate” with the Taliban; Taliban almost immediately mocksthe offer and promises more attacks. Chief of HomelandSecurity Napolitano explains that terrorism will now becalled “man-caused disasters,” and anti-terror operationswill be called “Overseas Contingency Operations.” Thephrases “War on Terror” and “enemy combatant” will nolonger be used, period.

Iran: Obama sends a heartfelt YouTube video to thepeople of Iran; Iranian government mocks him, instigatestraditional “Death to America” rallies, and demands thathe apologize to their nation, stating that they expect “deepand fundamental change” from him. I guess working onthe enemy’s terms is what happens when you state thatyou will negotiate with them “without preconditions.”

Russia: Hillary Clinton presents Russian PresidentMedvedev with a red button that was intended to be la-beled “Reset,” to signify the desire to improve relationsbetween the US and Russia. Apparently no one in theObama staff checked if a single Russian word was cor-rect, as the button was instead labeled “Overcharge.” Inaddition, mere hours after Obama’s election, Russia movedshort-ranged missiles to Poland’s borders, stating that theylook forward to working with the president, hoping that hewill make “conciliatory gestures” (synonym: appeasinggestures) in response.

China: One, two, three, four, I declare a trade war. Inaddition to the Chinese navy harassing our own ships inthe South China Sea, and doing nothing about it, Obamadeclared trade restrictions with those countries that do notintend to spend massive amounts of money to cut CO2emissions.

North Korea: How do you solve a major crisis, andappear strong on national security? Pretend that crises youcan’t easily solve aren’t crises at all! After all, only SouthKorea, Japan, and Alaska have anything to worry about atthis point.

Britain: Returns a bust of Winston Churchill given as agift to the White House. Gives British Prime Minister Gor-don Brown, who is blind in his left eye, a set of 25 “classic

American movie” DVDs that do not work in Britain, andgives his two sons toy helicopters from the White Housegift shop; Brown had given Obama a pen holder carvedfrom wood from an anti-slave ship, while his wife gave theObama girls toys, necklaces, and dresses from the trendi-est London shops, as well as rare British children’s books.Does not set out any British flags during the visit. Laterclaims he was “too tired” to give a proper visit, while astaffer disparages Britain being no different than any othercountry. Gives Queen Elizabeth a songbook and an iPodcontaining videos of her most recent visit to the UnitedStates, which I’m sure she has not access to elsewhere, andseveral of Obama’s own speeches (since apparently hehimself is enough of a gift to the world). Breaks protocol,along with wife Michelle, by not bowing before the Queen,and directly touching her (though the king of Saudi Arabiais apparently deserving of a deep prostrate before HisMajestry of the Gender Apartheid Kingdom.) Calls offmeeting with a former IRA leader on St. Patrick’s Day, asthe “Real IRA” calls for more attacks in Northern Ireland.Inexplicably, the British media has taken a decidedly hos-tile stance toward the Anointed One.

Our President bowing before the King ofSaudi Arabia.


Proudly supports theBoston Police

Patrolmen’s Association

By Patrick Carnell,Canisius College, Buffalo, NY

S ince 9/11, the Islamic concept of“Sharia Law” has been a frequently

discussed topic regarding the supposed in-compatibility of Islam with modern democ-racy. On one side, it is argued that Sharia issimilar to the Constitution, in being the ab-solute law of the land and keeper of order.On the other side, it is decried as inherentlyanti-democratic, reducing women and non-Muslims to second-class citizens and for-bidding what most people regard as naturalfreedoms and rights. The reality of ShariaLaw, however, is far, far more complex thanwhat its supporters and opponents reduce itto:

Sharia in antiquity differs greatly fromits modern incarnation, and actually intro-duced and practiced many modern legal tra-ditions, including lawsuits, drug prohibitionlaws (as well as medicinal marijuana ex-emptions), welfare and pensions, lawsagainst legal discrimination by race, class,or religion (at the time), equality before thelaw and presumption of innocence, and free-dom of speech (not including blasphemy).

Slavery, however, was a commonly ac-cepted aspect of life, and continues to bepracticed, and justified, by Islamic govern-ments in Sudan and Mauritania.

Until the 19th century, women in the Is-lamic world tended to enjoy more rightsthan their Western peers, though anyone

with eyes can see this is not the case today,in stark contrast to the older form of Sharia.In countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, andother religiously-based governments, araped woman must have at least four maleMuslims speak on her behalf, or else shewill be charged with adultery, and punishedwith a minimum of forty lashings, or a maxi-mum of death by stoning. It is also legal fora husband or father to beat a woman if hefeels she is becoming too disobedient orindependent, to restore “harmony” in thefamily or marriage.

In addition, honor killings, though notofficially condoned in Sharia, are generallyregarded as acceptable. If a woman is re-garded as having shamed her family byadultery, being raped, dressing “indecently,”speaking to a non-Muslim male, being tooheadstrong, or any number of other reasons,male family members may kill her to “re-store” family honor. In countries like SaudiArabia, this is rarely, if ever, punished.

Homosexuality is an offense that is alsoseen as deserving of honor killings, and canresult in capital punishment in states likeour gallant ally Saudi Arabia, Iran, Soma-lia (what limited power the government hasthere), Sudan, Afghanistan, and Mauritania;simple as that. Gay Palestinians are fre-quently forced to flee to Israel, the onlycountry that will tolerate them, rather thancontinue to face the constant threat of tor-ture, honor killings, and forced, “honor-re-

storing” suicide bombings.The most controversial and feared facet

of contemporary Sharia tends to be the sta-tus of “dhimmi,” or non-Muslims. In antiq-uity, dhimmis were non-Muslims registeredto live in Islamic lands, paying a “jizya”tax to freely worship. Although they hadless rights than Muslims, registereddhimmis still had more freedoms than othernon-Muslim religious citizens. Moderndhimmi views, however, lean toward theIslamic supremacist ideology. The Ayatol-lah Khomeini, for example, not only be-lieved that non-Muslims should have to paya tax to live in Muslim lands, but shouldalso be forbidden from having any legaljurisdiction over Muslims (one of his ma-jor grievances against the Shah of Iran).Radical preachers in Egypt, Pakistan, andthe Palestinian territories go even further,arguing that non-Muslims should have norights at all in Islamic lands, as their reli-gions are wrong and Allah would never ac-cept them. Therefore, apostasy is punish-able by death, and forced conversions andoutright murders of non-Muslims by Mus-lims are not only excusable, but even en-couraged in the most radical Islamic coun-tries. A traditional Islamic saying, attribut-able to Mohammed himself, is, “Infidels areone nation.” To those Muslims who take thisto heart, the world is divided in two: Darul-Islam, or the House of Peace, and Darul-Harb, the House of War, or Kuffir (a slur

referring to unbelievers), emphasizing theambition to dominate the non-Islamic worldand make them part of Dar ul-Islam.

These points barely scratch the surfaceof what Sharia Law is, past and present, butare generally considered the most contro-versial attributes of it today. Democraticinstitutions such as the European Court forHuman Rights and the secular Turkish Con-stitutional Court have declared that ShariaLaw is fully incompatible with democraticvalues, while the international Organizationof the Islamic Conference claims the oppo-site view, stating that all human rights arederived from Islamic law. It is difficult toprofess a belief in democracy while simul-taneously adhering strictly to Sharia, andyet many, predominantly on the left, areconvinced that this is possible, and there isno cognitive dissonance in holding this po-sition. Although Sharia Law for the mostpart is practiced on an individual level inthe Islamic world, and mostly consists ofadherence to minor things like restrictionson gambling and a strict dress code, in coun-tries where federal and local governmentsencourage extremism themselves, such asSaudi Arabia, Iran, northern Pakistan, andthe state of Aceh in Indonesia, Sharia isenforced in the extreme, resulting in someof the most atrocious human rights viola-tions in the world, and opposing, rather thanignoring or tolerating it, should be our de-fault position.

What is Sharia Law?


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www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • March/April 2009 • Page B1

PAXCENTURION Section BPAXCENTURION Section B

Commissioner’s Cup Hockey TournamentCommissioner’s Cup Hockey Tournament Seepages

B12 - B14

By James Barry, BPPA Legislative Agent

Business confidenceat a low point

Associated Industries of Massachusetts announced that num-bers remain “very weak.” This according to Raymond Torto,

chair of Associated Industries of Mass. Board of Economic Advi-sors. Torto said “some positive things” in the survey included em-ployers who are “a bit more confident” in their own firms‚ situa-tion, which points to declining uncertainty, and they were morehopeful that business conditions will improve over the next sixmonths.

State tax collections continue toslide downward…Patrick’sSecretary of A& F says“We have few options”

As state tax collections continue to slide downward, Patrickadministration officials are eyeing further revenue estimate

revisions. The Secretary of Administration and Finance LeslieKirwan declined to rule out another draw from the state’s rainyday fund. All this despite two rounds of service and personnel cutsplus revenue increases. According to the state, the rainy day fundbegan the year at $2.1 billion and is projected to finish the year at$1.3 billion, unless it is drawn upon further. Tax collections in Marchtumbled by more than 16 percent from a year ago, deepening thestate’s large and ongoing budget problems. Total receipts for themonth were down $309 million. Nine months into this fiscal yearand tax collections are down almost $1 billion from the same pe-riod for fiscal 2008.

Proposed Pension ReformsPrompt A Look At 1973 SJC Opinion

Changing pension rules on current state workers appears to beillegal, is the opinion of Rep. Robert Spellane, co-chair of

the Public Service Committee. This maybe putting him at oddswith the Senate, which passed a bill tightening rules for thousandsof workers currently employed by the state. “Everyone seems toagree from a legal perspective that a contractual obligation beginsthe day an employee makes a contribution into the retirement sys-tem,” “For us to pass legislation that’s inconsistent with that is irre-sponsible.” Spellane declined to specifically address the Senate billbut said the House was poised to introduce legislation only affect-ing future employees.

Overall pension reform has not yet made any significant progress,but is fully expected to move during this session.

HEARD ONTHE HILL

HEARD ONTHE HILL


State Auditor Joseph DeNuccirecently released his indepen-

dent analysis of cost-benefit factorsrelated to the controversy over po-lice details versus flagmen. The ex-tensive, 66-page long report clearlyshows that, particularly in Boston,replacing police officers with flag-men would result in actual costincreases estimated at up to $6.56per hour.

But because the report flew inthe face of the false promises putforth by the anti-police lobby lo-cated in the editorial board roomsat the Globe and the Herald, thereport was either completely ig-nored or twisted into a personal at-tack upon Auditor DeNucci. TheGlobe completely ignored the re-port, failing to make mention of itin even so much as a “News Brief.”Calls and messages to the Globe’sreader complaint hotline and citydesk made by the Pax Editor were,as expected, not returned or greetedwith bored alacrity by a dimwittedjournalism school intern from NewYork or New Jersey. The Herald,on the other hand, turned the reportinto an ad hominem attack on Au-ditor DeNucci himself, connectingpast political donations to the Au-ditor from some police unions as“proof” of nefarious intent. (For

Auditor DeNucci issues policedetail / cost analysis report

…but major media ignores, twists findings.Guess why?...

information sake, the BPPA islimited to a lousy $500. per yearto any individual political cam-paign, an amount highly unlikelyto sway anyone’s opinion whencompared with the thousands ofdollars that private companies can“donate” through each employeeto a campaign. Naturally, dona-tions made by construction firmsand flagman companies to Gov-ernor Patrick and other anti-policepoliticians were conveniently ig-nored by the Herald’s biased re-porter.)

The auditor’s report was ex-tensive and well-researched,comparing and contrasting costsin various construction zonesaround the state. The report ad-dressed an issue which has beenconveniently and intentionallyignored by flagman advocates:that of the additional costs asso-ciated with hiring flaggers whichare not germane to the use of po-lice officers, such as health insur-ance, liability, overtime, double-time and other costs which are

(continued on page B3)

State Auditor Joe DeNucci

One Honest Joe (DeNucci)By James Barry,

BPPA Legislative Agent

Joe DeNucci completed an audit on the pro-posed savings with regard to replacing police

details with civilian flaggers (ZERO) and wasslammed by the Boston Herald. His response tothe Herald is as follows:

“My audit report on police details and civilianflagmen did find that the savings were overesti-mated, but in no way did I dismiss or condemnthe amount of savings as you wrote. I reportedmy findings objectively (“Gov. right on flaggers,”March 26).

As far as public safety, my review analyzedMass. Highway’s own numbers and reconfigu-ration of construction sites to determine that anaverage of 885 police officers per week would betaken off state-funded projects.

I stated that removing police in this number

has the potential to impact public safety.

My audit found that the main source of savingsis not by replacing police details with flaggers, butby reducing the overall man-hours at constructionsites and increasing the use of barriers, signs andother traffic control devices. This was informationthat had not been in the public debate and, again,was reported objectively and without prejudice.

I understand and appreciate Gov. DevalPatrick’s efforts to reduce costs and promote re-forms during these difficult times. This audit wasconducted at the request of the chairmen of theJoint Committee on Public Safety and HomelandSecurity, and I presented my objective findings. I didmy job knowing this was a no-win situation for me. Itis what it is.”

- A. Joseph DeNucciAuditor of the Commonwealth

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(continued from page B1)

Auditor DeNucci issues policedetail / cost analysis report

The thin blue firing lineBy Jay Moccia

Your right to protect yourself, your fam-ily, your community, and your Coun-

try rests on your ability to hit the target whenneeded. Can you do it? Or, if the time comes,will they watch you shoot and say:” You’llserve better as a cook-report to the kitchen”(Life, Liberty, Etc.)

Now, it’s true I know my way around akitchen, but I also know my way around apistol range. It’s a part of my job I enjoy,and one of the few things I’ll do “for free”on my own time. There is something relax-ing about (weather permitting, of course)driving out to Moon Island and doing someshooting. I’m not talking about our Depart-ment mandated Qualification trips, I meanhoning your skills with no time limits orscores. Draw! Sight! Squeeze! Bulls-eye!

You don’t have to be Dirty Harry orBarney Fife to take a little pride in your pro-ficiency with your sidearm. Your life or thelife of another may one day reside in yourhands. You will need to be able to draw thatweapon and put down a bad guy! In mymind it’s a simple choice: him or me. I pickme! I like to keep it light, but the Anti-Gunmovement has gained a foothold in our BlueCommunity There are cops at every stationwho think guns are bad. I’ve been ridiculedfor carrying a pistol almost all the time onand off duty, or shopping for shooting sup-plies on-line. I witnessed a new recruit takea guardroom pummeling (verbal) over thefact his father gave him a shotgun at 12 yearsof age so they could go hunting together.Talk about a Norman Rockwell moment, afather and son hunting, sharing responsi-bility and conservation. These guyswouldn’t bat an eye if it was a set of golfclubs or a fishing pole. My own five sonshave fired pistols at a range and know howto handle a gun safely. There is no danger-ous curiosity in my home. My father taughtme this lesson (He was a registered gunowner for over 35 years) and I have passedit on.

1. Always handle a gun as if it is loaded.2. Always point a gun in a safe direc-

tion3. Never put your finger on the trigger

until you are ready to fire.After a recent visit to the range for In

Service, I realized we operate on almost thesame rules!

As Police Officers, we’ve all seen ourshare of gun violence. 99% of the time thefirearm used is ILLEGAL. It has been sto-len, bought off the street, or the user is unli-censed or unregistered. The public outcryonly seems to affect LEGAL owners. LawEnforcement hierarchy are usually amongthe loudest voices against gun violence, es-pecially Professional Police Bureaucrats.Many cities and towns are refusing to issueor renew Licenses to Carry even after theSupreme Court handed down the recent“Heller” decision. The policy of letting lo-cal Chiefs dictate gun ownership had a solidfoundation. The Chief or Commissionerusually rose from the ranks in that Depart-ment, and as members or protectors of theirareas, they should know who would be a

risk. With the rise of the Professional Po-lice Bureaucrat, this policy takes a shot rightin the “X” Ring. These are competent, in-telligent and capable people, and I’m notknocking them but with few

or no ties to their new community, how arethey credible arbiters of your SecondAmendment Rights? There was at one timeabout 1.4 million legal gun owners in Mas-sachusetts, now there are about 250,000(over 80% decrease). We are being Legis-lated to extinction. Legal gun owners areprobably the most regulated citizens in theU.S. We submit ourselves to fingerprints,photographs, CORI, high fees, and regis-tration. Although intrusive, we comply be-cause we believe in the Constitution andsensible regulation. But, where does sen-sible end and Draconian begin? Here inMassachusetts, we have close to if not thestrictest gun laws in the country, but ourlevel of gun crime doesn’t fluctuate enoughto reflect these stringent laws. They are use-less unless they are enforced! Let’s try this:If you are caught in possession of an IL-LEGAL firearm, you must serve yourMandatory minimum sentence before youare tried on any other offenses You think ayear or so in the cooler may deter some ofthese urban terrorists? A criminal by theirvery nature refuses to follow the rules ofcivilized society That said, what good areany more laws that ONLY apply to law abid-ing citizens If you completely banned allguns tomorrow, I’d be willing to bet myGlock there would still be shootings and gunviolence. The difference is there would beno chance for a private citizen to defendhimself. All these laws are feel good legis-lation, and offer almost no extra protectionto the public. Declaring areas “Gun FreeZones” simply assures you that no LEGALgun owner can carry there.

How does this relate to us (Law Enforce-ment), you may ask? As sworn Officers, weare bound to uphold the Constitution andenforce the laws as they are interpreted bythe Courts. If that is the case, then why is itso hard to get a gun license in Massachu-setts? There are laws and regulations we en-

force everyday that we may,or may not agreewith, but we do itnonetheless. Thisis a no-brainer. It is

spelled out in the Constitu-tion, and just last year ruled on by theSupreme Court. The Bill of Rights isjust that, Rights, not privileges, to beenjoyed by a few, but available to alllaw abiding Americans! In my other ar-ticle this month I mentioned how peoplewho screech for gun control usuallytravel with a bodyguard. Many of thesehypocritical Hollywood types want totell you “do as I say not as I do”. Take

Sean Penn (Please!) he put his money wherehis mouth was and traveled to New Orleansafter Hurricane Katrina to help out as besthe could. Funny thing; the bag of relief hecarried across his lap in photos looked morelike a 12 gauge shotgun! I could go on, butprinting costs would double for this editionof the PAX.

In summary, a gun is nothing more thana tool, like a hammer or saw. It’s only dan-gerous when it’s mishandled. A gun in abox, or on a table cannot harm a soul, It’san inanimate object. Unless it is picked up,it is nothing more than a useless hunk ofmetal. YES! A gun can be a dangerousthing, but would you rather see it in thehands of a crazed criminal bent on may-hem, or a responsible, registered, and trainedgun owner simply defending himself be-cause WE can’t be everywhere. We are fastapproaching that day, when we wake up andsay; ”What has happened to the America Igrew up in?” Upholding the Constitutionand the Bill of Rights (all of them, not justthe ones you like) can keep that day a longway off.

already far above the established rates forpolice officers. Such costs are already in-cluded in a Boston police officer’s detail rateand do not increase regardless of day, night,weekend or holiday considerations.

On the very first page of his report, Au-ditor DeNucci emphatically states that“…our analysis found that the ExecutiveOffice of Transportation and Public Works(EOPTW) estimated annual cost savingsprojections of $5.7 million to $7.2 millionare overstated…In fact, the majority of anysavings…will come from [eliminatingBOTH flaggers and policemen] and replac-ing them with traffic control devices suchas barriers and traffic signals.” Theauditor’s report goes on to accentuate thefact, particularly in a congested city likeBoston, that the use of such devices in arapidly-changing construction situationmay be neither practical nor cost effective.The EOPTW’s alleged “cost savings”,which were highly-publicized earlier thisyear and misused by Governor Patrick andhis fawning, anti-police acolytes in the lo-cal media to argue for replacing cops withflaggers, also ignored factors such as schoolzones, hospitals, senior-citizen housing de-velopments, and a host of other local con-siderations which affect the decision ofwhere, how and when to alter or obstructthe normal flow of traffic due to utility orconstruction activity.

“The fact of the matter is that police areable to perform additional functions beyondthose of a flagger, and are on police dutywhile at the worksite” (page 28). We are sorelieved to finally see those simple but im-portant words in written form, words thor-oughly ignored by the biased editors of ourlocal journals who are driven purely by their

intense dislike for police officers. TheHerald’s editorial page editor RachelleCohen in particular has long perpetrated thelie that flaggers would be working in Mas-sachusetts for “$10-$12 dollars an hour.”Only recently, as practical reality and some-thing called the prevailing wage law hasintruded upon Ms. Cohen’s delusion, havethe editorialists been forced to admit thatflaggers will actually be paid “around$35.00 an hour.” (NOTE: Ms. Cohen: thestandard detail rate for a Boston police of-ficer is currently $33.00 per hour. Do themath, Honey. That’s $2.00 less than yourflaggers. Don’t let your hatred of cops getin the way of the FACTS, Rachelle.)

But the larger issue being attacked byMs. Cohen, Margery Eagan, Howie Carr,Professor David Tuerck of the Beacon HillInstitute, and other like-minded elitists isthe prevailing law itself, for all workers. Yousee, Ms. Cohen and her ilk have an innate,deep-seated hatred for unions and blue-col-lar workers. They like to see “the workingclasses” busy fighting crime, or fires, orteaching, or picking up the trash, or clean-ing their toilets, or repairing their road inConcord (Hi, Rachelle! How’s beautifulWalden Pond?), Newton, Wellesley orBrookline; they just don’t think we shouldbe paid a fair wage to do it! Unions acrossthe state would do well to understand thatan attack upon police details is actually thefirst step in an attack upon the prevailingwage law itself by rich elitists who hate allof us.

Copies of Auditor DeNucci’s report areavailable on-line. Just don’t expect to seeany of the findings or facts reported on thepages of the Globe or the Herald. And theywonder why they’re going out of business?....


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Don’t buyinto the hype

By Kevin Doogan

The fiscal crisis that is sweeping this cityand the nation has been long in the com-

ing but not unpredicted. The realization thatSocial Security is nothing more than a gi-ant Ponzi scheme waiting to implode shouldcome as no shock to anyone with half abrain. Also as companies lobby away fromtraditional retirement systems towards401Ks and the like I warn all that they arejust trying to sell us the Emperor’s NewClothes.

Management negotiators dupe workersby purporting that “you can control the di-rection of your retirement investment”. Thecompany promises that nothing will changeregarding contributions, only that you willtake over the management of your own port-folio. As far as I’m concerned, this is a boldface lie and a set up for failure.

The first thing that will happen is man-agement will slowly chip away at companycontribution towards your retirement. Atpresent when you retire you use up whatyou have contributed into the system and ifyou are lucky enough to live this long andexhaust your contributions then the Statecontinues to pay you your pension.

These new proposals of 401Ks and thelike all but cut you loose at retirement.401Ks were meant as a retirement supple-

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Our program is strictly confidentialand is available to all

police officers and their families.

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Sometimes even we need a little help from our friends!Sometimes even we need a little help from our friends!

ment not to take the place of a retirementsystem.

The way things are going with theeconomy and Wall Street we’ll all be look-ing for employment at 65. I predict thatmost won’t be able to retire or they willretire into poverty.

Hold fast to the benefits we have, don’tbuy the Governor’s line of lies and don’tforget that these politicians receive full re-tirement benefits after just a couple of termsin office unlike us who have to work 32years to reach full retirement. Just like com-pany CEOs, politicians come in on a whim,take as much as they can from the tax pay-ers and the workers and then get the goldenparachute.

Even those politicians that get caughtred-handed find soft touch, high-payinggigs in their post political careers.

The answer isn’t cutting worker’s pen-sion plans and benefits, the answer lays incutting the political pork, corruption andfreebees that makes a political career so lu-crative. Why do you think politicians arespending millions of dollars running for anoffice that pays less than $150,000 a yearfor four years?

My math may be a little off but comeon, common sense tells you something’sfishy.


Labor Notes:Alan H. Shapiro, BPPA Labor CounselSandulli Grace, P.C., Counsel to Members of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association

BPPA challenges banding of civilservice scores in promotional exams

On February 13, 2009, the Massachu-setts Human Resources Division

(HRD), the state agency that oversees thecivil service hiring and promotional process,suddenly informed police officers aroundthe state that HRD will start “banding”scores from civil service promotional ex-ams.

Because this radical shift in the promo-tional process will make it much easier forcities and towns, including Boston, to usefavoritism as a basis for promotions, theBPPA took action to restore “basic merit

principles,” the purpose of the civil servicesystem.

Attorneys Alan Shapiro and BryanDecker of Sandulli Grace, PC challengedthe proposed banding by filing an appealand request for speedy hearing with theCivil Service Commission. Joining in theappeal was the Massachusetts Coalition ofPolice, which represents over 3,000 munici-pal police officers in over 100 cities andtowns. When Civil Service refused to in-tervene, indeed refused to even hold a fullhearing, we sought an injunction in Suffolk

Superior Court, where the case is currentlyawaiting decision.

What is “banding?” At one time, decadesago, HRD used to put scores on lists bro-ken down to hundredths of a point. For thepast several decades, officers have beenranked on promotional lists based on their“whole number” scores. Raw scores givenout to the hundredth of a point were roundedto the nearest whole number. An 86.50 andan 87.49 were both rounded to 87. This prac-tice of putting scores on lists in whole num-bers was adopted as a rule by HRD, which

succinctly states: “The examination marksshall be presented on eligible lists in wholenumbers.”

Instead of placing scores on the promo-tional list in whole numbers, HRD wouldlike to use the following bands for Sergeant:

Band 6=92.92-100Band 5=85.84-92.91Band 4=78.76-85.83Band 3=71.68-78.75Band 2=66.00-71.67Band 1 = Failed Written and failed over-

all examTherefore, all scores between, for ex-

ample 85.84 and 92.91, would be sent tothe Commissioner as tied at Band 5.

The practical effects of banding are tocreate a vastly larger pool oftied candidates from whichthe Commissioner could se-lect for promotion withoutany appeal. Under civil ser-vice law, only officers withhigher scores who arepassed over for promotionby those with a lower scorecan file an appeal. Under thesystem pre-banding, thatmeant that an officer with an

87 who did not get promoted could appealif one with an 86 was promoted. If two of-ficers both score 86 and only one is pro-moted, the other one has no right of appeal.With banding, the numbers of officers tiedwithin the same band would be huge, al-lowing the Commissioner to pick andchoose from among them for promotionwith no appeal rights.

The BPPA (along with MCOP and oth-ers) has challenged banding not because itwants to decide who is and who is not pro-moted. The Unions’ goal is to create a levelplaying field where every officer has anequal chance for promotion based on howhe or she scores on the exam, and not basedon who she knows, who he grew up with,or who is owed a favor.

To stay informed on this and other po-lice and labor matters, you can go towww.sandulligraceonline.com, where youcan see articles about it and sign up to benotified as new developments happen.

Illustration by Dirk Diggler

BPD Issuesnew meritbadges forbrown-nosers

BPD Issuesnew meritbadges forbrown-nosers


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By Jay Moccia

Igot ordered to do the St. Pat’s Parade inSouthie. An interesting observation – only

one other parade features more men inskirts, and that’s in June.

Barney Frank is angry AIG used bail-out cash for executive bonuses. It seems hethinks you should not be rewarded for ruin-ing the place you work at. How noble, nowwhen is HE going to stop cashing HISchecks, along with the rest of those hypo-crites in D.C.!

When you go to Sullivan’s at Castle Is-land, the first hot dog of the season makesyou feel like you’re twelve again……..samewith playing catch.

Chuck Norris thinks Texas should secedefrom the U.S. and become its own country.He is also willing to serve as its first Presi-dent. How cool is that! With the trail theillegal aliens leave on the way out, we’llhave no problem getting in. First Rule: En-glish Only ! Second Rule: Mandatory GunCarry Law!

I think you get the picture. Go WestYoung Man and leave the moonbats and lib-erals behind.

When your greed gets the better of yourcommon sense it will always lead to trouble.

A cop provides an escort for a couple ofexotic entertainers and it’s a Front Pagescandal. A few days later, cops provide anescort for the Red Sox equipment truck, andit’s a Front Page highlight! I guess it justboils down to who the balls and bats areattached to.

Blind date with destinyWhen cops, teachers, firemen, and EMS

get laid off in July, I hope they’re still angryenough in November to lay off some ofthose phonies hiding in the Cement Bun-ker and under the Golden Dome!

If the President played goalie in hockey,would the Secret Service Detail jump infront of him to block a shot?

In my many years as a Police Officer,very few people have talked themselves outof being arrested. A great many more havemanaged to talk themselves into it.

Marriage is an Institution, and so is theplace they send crazy people!

If the opposite of PRO, is CON. Thenwhat is the opposite of PROGRESS?

Obama’s been taking the heat overclaiming his bowling skills are like the “Spe-cial Olympics”. After seeing the Dow, WallStreet thinks his bailout plan is too!

So the Feds are threatening to withholdfunds from GM unless they start buildingcars that get high mileage, and put the Fed’speople on the Board of Directors Looks likewe’ll all soon be driving Yugos and Ladas.

People better realize more governmentmeans less freedom!

In a case of stunning irony, a team ofBritish Scientists, in the Artic studying Glo-bal Warming, is trapped and in grave peril.With food and fuel running out, their onlyhope for survival is re-supply or rescue byair. The only problem…IT’S TOO COLDTO FLY!!!!

I propose we now refer to “cell phones”as “tell phones” because that’s all some

people use them for.Why is it the people who preach gun

control and gun restrictions go everywherewith a bodyguard?

Suddenly being a “plus” size isn’t sobad. With actors like Jack Black, SethRogen, Kevin James and Danny McBridegetting lead roles, big guys have someoneto look up to. And it’s about time, I was re-ally sick of Colonel Sanders and theMichelin Man!

In chaos there is profit…in crisis thereis power.

I went to HQ recently to drop off somepaperwork. While I was there, I ran into afew old friends I hadn’t seen lately. My visittook me inside the “BRIC” and I can sayas soon as I entered the room, I felt smarter.

Once again both our First and SecondAmendment Rights are being threatened.

Obama has an anti-gun cabinet and the Leg-islature is pushing for the “Fairness Doc-trine”. People better wake up and remindour elected Officials that the Bill Of Rightsis a full 10 course meal, not a buffet theycan pick and choose from!

A study by Auditor Joe DeNucci showsthe Governor’s claim of savings created byusing flagmen is inflated. The real savingsare not even close to the numbers that Devalis using, but the Governor insists he won’twaiver. A study of the Film Tax Credit showsit cost the state big bucks for a low return,but the Governor calls it a “good invest-ment”.

There’s a lot of buzz surroundingObama’s plan to establish a “National Vol-unteer Group” to do Government and Com-munity Service HMMM, will they be wear-ing brown shirts????

Annual Boston PolicePatrolmen’s AssociationRecognition BanquetHonoring BPPA Retirees andBPPA Award RecipientsFriday, June 19th, 2009Cocktail Hour 6:00 – 7:00PM – Plaza Lobby

$70.00 per person

Seaport Hotel, 200 Seaport Boulevard, BostonPlaza Ballroom

Contact your BPPA Representative or call the BPPA for more information.


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Commissioner’s Cup Hockey Tournament 2009Commissioner’s Cup Hockey Tournament 2009

2009 Commissioner’s Cup Champions – Area A:Standing (l to r) : Frank Nogueira, Bobby Dirienzo,Chris Goodman, Eddie Nolan, Gary Marino, Charlie Cellucci,Mike Doherty, Charlie Daniels, Eddie MacPherson,Paul Boddy, Dave Malcolm, John Shaughnessy,Peter Fontanez, Sean Pero, Tommy Noto, Brian Evans,Tommy Lema. Kneeling (l to r): Billy O’Sullivan,Anthony Perella, Bobby Clark.

Jim Stoddardshows off his

customized mask

Commissioner Ed Davis andTournament Organizer Billy Hubbardgets the Commissioner’s Cup started

Area C

Headquarters

Area B


Commissioner Ed Davis drops the puck to beginthe game between Area A and Area C

Area D

Area E / Special Ops

Area A Defeats Defending Champs of Area D in3rd Annual Commissioner’s Cup Tournament

Over 100 Boston Police Officers converged upon the Jim Roche Community Ice Arenain West Roxbury to take part in the 3rd Annual Boston Police Commissioner’s Cup

Hockey Tournament. The tournament, organized by Billy Hubbard of District 4,began on Tuesday, March 31st, and concluded on Sunday, April 5th with the Championshiptrophy going to the team from Area A.

The competition heated up right from the start with a close match-up between Area Dand Headquarters. The teams were tied at 3 at the end of regulation, and goalies JimmyStoddard and Tab Brown battled it out in a 12 player shootout, ending with the winninggoal scored by Chris Schoulla of Area D.

Wednesday night’s action began with Commissioner Ed Davis dropping the puck forteam captains Eddie MacPherson of Area A and Jerry Cahill of Area C. Area A arosevictorious 10-5 thanks to contributions from CharlieDaniels who had 3 goals, and Sean Pero with 4 goals.Other Wednesday action included an Area D vistory overArea E/Special Operations, as well as a dramatic 6-5 come-from-behind victory as Terry Long from Area B scoredwith 1 second left to send the game into overtime. JoeKeaveney scored the game winning goal with 6 minutes58 seconds remaining in overtime to defeat Headquar-ters.

With the top 4 teams qualifying for the semi-finals Sun-day, Area A squared off against Area C, and Area B facedArea D. Areas A and D both had wins leading to the cham-pionship match-up. In the championship game, Area A’sdefensive core, as well as the solid performance ofgoaltender Anthony Perella provided all that Area Dcould handle, as Area A went on to defeat the defendingchamps in a 3-0 shut out.

Special thanks to the Boston Police Emerald Societyand the Boston Police Patrolman’s Association for theirgenerous contributions for the social gathering onWednesday night to help make the tournament a suc-cess.

Winning captain Eddie MacPherson of Area Atakes a swig from the Commissioner’s Cup

after his team’s impressive victory


More Action from the 2009Commissioner’s Cup Hockey Tournament

Big head, small helmet…nothing inside.

Nit-wit Nolan.


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Left to right: Kylie Nagle’s father John and her mother Kate, Helena Findlen,Kylie, Robert Faherty, her brother Sean, her uncle Joe Nagle, BPD, andCaptain Robert Flaherty of District 6, South Boston.

“Cops for Kids with Cancer” Donates $5,000to South Boston ChildOn Thursday, April 2, 2009, I went to District 6, South Boston,Boston Police Department, and gave Kylie Nagle a15 year old South Boston girl a who has cancer a$5,000.00 donation. – Robert Faherty

Kylie Nagle


Veterans’ Corner: Patrick M. Rose, C-11

Draftees DO Contribute!Recently there has been a lot of talk

about “National Service,” or “Na-tional Volunteerism,” that would be

mandatory for all Americans after highschool or college graduation, (I don’t knowabout you, but I have a hard time under-standing how Volunteering for somethingcould be mandatory?!). If we are going tomake some type of National Service man-datory, then the simple question most begto be asked is, why not bring back the draft?The common answer: No way, drafteesaren’t good for anything, draftees don’t con-tribute, draftees always shy away from re-sponsibility, etc. Please allow me to sharethe following.

A few years back when former secre-tary of defense Donald Rumsfeld said Viet-nam draftees held “no value, no advantage,really, to the United States armed services”he set off a firestorm. Not content to seeonly Vietnam vets defamed, another formersecretary of defense, the late CasparWeinberger, commented on his experienceduring WWII. “There was no doubt inanyone’s mind that volunteers were far moreeffective than draftees and eager to train andto fight,” he said. I find that statement inter-esting if not outright ridiculous, consider-ing that draftees made up 93% of the WWIIArmy.

The open season on draftees never seemsclosed. This past August, Mark Thompsonof Time Magazine wrote of a Vietnam-eraArmy “grappling with draftees deserting,abusing drugs and even murdering unpopu-lar commanders.” Well, give me a break,enough is enough. These spurious and oth-erwise foolish attacks have gone on far toolong without being refuted. So as a tributeto the approximately 36% of VFW mem-bers who were drafted and the 17,758,877overall who served their country patrioti-cally through five wars, the following willhighlight the battlefield heroism of draft-ees. Even this small random sampling ofMedal of Honor recipients should once andfor all put a stake in the denigration heapedupon draftees.

But first, let’s dispel some myths. Con-trary to popular notions, compulsory mili-tary service is a long-standing tradition inAmerica. Virginia passed a mandatory mili-tary service law in 1629, the first in the na-tion. Some 200 colonial laws regardinguniversal military obligation were on thebooks. After all, as historian Daniel Boorstinsaid, “all were soldiers because all lived onthe battlefield.” In 1776, during the Revo-lutionary War, Massachusetts instituted adraft. The 12 other colonies soon followedsuit. Much of this conscription was indirectin the form of paid substitutes.

After independence was gained, therewas, in fact, no need for a draft until WWI.The sole exception, of course, was the CivilWar. The Union Army, which relied 92%on voluntary enlistments, was the excep-tion rather than the rule among raising massarmies at the time. The Confederate Army

obtained 21% of its manpower through thedraft.

It is beyond historical dispute that noneof America’s major 20th century wars couldhave been waged without the draft. A quickstatistical review proves this point.

World War IBetween Sept. 5, 1917, and Nov. 11,

1918, 2,810,296 American men were in-ducted into the U.S. Army. They constituted72% of that entire service. Draftees suppliedmore than 50% of the soldiers of the Ameri-can Expeditionary Force in France. Eigh-teen distinct National Army, or draftee, di-visions were created. They alone sustained14,460 KIA on the front.

World War IIDuring the WWII-era draft (November

1940-October 1946), 10,110,104 men werecalled to the colors. That number amountedto 63% of all the Americans who wore auniform in WWII. Of those who served inthe Army, 93% were draftees. Among Navyranks, including the Marine Corps andCoast Guard, were 1,730,194 draftees. In1945 alone, for example, nearly 16,000Marines were drafted.

Beginning in 1943, voluntary enlist-ments, except for men under the age of 18and over 38, were ended so the manpowerneeds of the Army ground forces and otherservice branches could be fulfilled. The sea-faring services received draftees from 1943through 1945. All told, 36% of naval per-sonnel were draftees.

Korean WarThe draft (August 1950 through July

1953) for the Korean War netted 1,569,141men. For the entire era, which extended 18months beyond the cease-fire, draftees madeup 30% of all those who served then. Some83,858 Marines were drafted between Au-gust 1951 and October 1952. At the peak inJanuary 1952, 12,220 Leathernecks enteredthe Corps via the Selective Service System.

In the peak year of this war’s draft, 1952,561,770 men were inducted. By December1952, 63% of soldiers actually serving inKorea had been drafted. In 1953, 59% ofall Army enlisted men were draftees.

Cold WarIn the “cold” years (1954-64) of the in-

ternational struggle against communismbeyond the “hot” wars, 1,443,223 GIs weredrafted. In 1954, that meant 41% of Armyenlisted men. Even in a peaceful year like1957, draftees constituted nearly one-thirdof the Army’s enlisted ranks. Of course,during the Korean and Vietnam wars, hun-dreds of thousands of draftees also servedaround the globe from Germany to post-war South Korea.

Vietnam WarBy the start of the U.S. ground war in

Vietnam, the draft was a well-entrenchedinstitution. A Harris poll in 1965 revealedthat 90% of the American public favoreddrafting the Army.

From 1965 through June 1973 when thedraft ended, 1,728,344 men entered the ser-vice through conscription. A peak of382,010 draftees was reached in 1966. By1970, 39% of the soldiers in Vietnam weredrafted at a time when 22% of the Army asa whole was draftee. Many were channeledinto the combat arms: in 1969 some 88%of Army riflemen in Vietnam were draft-ees.

The Marine Corps also drafted, takingin 42,633 men this way during the war.More than 15,500 draftees went to the Corpsin 1966, a peak. In 1969, more than 13,000did likewise. Nearly 5% of Marine deathsin Vietnam were among draftees. Thoughnot commonly known, 50% to 60% ofMarines served two-year enlistments, thesame amount of time as a draftee.

In the war’s final tally, 648,500 draftees(25% of the total) were among the 2.6 mil-lion Americans who were actually stationedon Vietnam’s soil. Draftee hostile deathsnumbered 15,458, or 32.6% of all Ameri-can combat fatalities.

Retired Army major general Walter L.Stewart, Jr., writing in Military Review in2006, summed up the contributions of draft-ees best: “The power of America’s draftedand draft-induced armies defeated fascismand [Japanese] imperialism and maintainedthe 38th parallel in Korea. It would defeatthe North Vietnamese Army and Viet Congin every fight of significance in Vietnam.”

Note: No I was not a draftee, however,after years of listening to haranguing ofsome very good soldiers simply based ontheir past status, I thought it necessary toshare this and set the record straight. Also,let us not forget that back in day, the draftand other forms of military enlistment,straightened out a lot of young peoples lives,getting them off the street and out of a cer-tain type of life that had them headed in thewrong direction. Let me share the names ofa few Draftees that just happened to earn arecognition known as the CongressionalMedal of Honor:

World War IPfc. John L. BarkleySingle-handedly killed and wounded a

large number of enemy troops on Oct. 7,1918, near Cunel, France, allowing U.S.forces to gain and hold Hill 25.

Sgt. Waldo M. HatlerOn Nov. 8, 1918, near Pouilly, France,

Hatler swam across the Meuse River toobtain information on the Germans’ posi-tion and swam back to deliver the informa-tion to his superiors.

Cpl. Alvin C. YorkAfter his platoon suffered heavy casual-

ties, including three officers, York assumedcommand on Oct. 8, 1918, near Chatel-Chehery, France. He led seven men to cap-ture a machine-gun nest, 132 German troopsand several guns. York personally killed 25German soldiers. By doing so, he saved thelives of many in his platoon. TheTennesseean became an American icon –the epitome of the citizen-soldier who con-scientiously fulfilled his obligation of citi-zenship.

World War IISSG. Jesse R. DrowleyOn Jan. 30, 1944, at Bougainville on the

Solomon Islands, Drowley saved the livesof many men by demolishing an enemy pill-box, despite a bullet wound to the chest andthe loss of one eye.

Pvt. Barney F. HajiroNear Bruyeres and Biffontaine in east-

ern France on Oct. 19 and 22, 1944, Hajirotook out enemy snipers and later ambushedan 18-man enemy patrol, taking 15 of themas prisoners. On Oct. 29, he destroyed twomachine-gun nests and killed two moresnipers.

Pfc. Silvestre S. HerreraOn March 15, 1945, near Mertzwiller,

France, Herrera single-handedly capturedeight enemy soldiers. Despite having bothof his feet severed by a landmine, he con-tinued to fight and provided rifle fire so thatU.S. troops could capture a German ma-chine gun.

Pfc. Alton W. KnappenbergerOn Feb. 1, 1944, near Cisterna di Littoria,

Italy, Knappenberger exposed himself toenemy fire and knocked out multiple Ger-man weapons with his automatic rifle. Hisactions disrupted the enemy attack for morethan two hours.

Pvt. Joe P. MartinezOn Attu in the Aleutians, on May 26,

1943, Martinez eliminated enemy resistancewith automatic rifle fire and hand grenadesbefore continuing up the snow-coveredmountains. He was killed at the pass, buthis actions cleared the way for the pass tobe taken.

Cpt. Ben L. SalomonOn July 7, 1944, on Saipan in the

Mariana Islands, enemy forces attacked Dr.Salomon’s aid station, and he killed manyJapanese. He held off the enemy so that thewounded could escape. When his body wasfound, 98 dead Japanese soldiers werefound nearby.

Lt. Robert S. ScottOn a hill near Munda Air Strip on the

Soloman Islands on July 29, 1943, Scottbriefly stopped an enemy advance and af-ter being wounded, continued to throw gre-nades until the Japanese withdrew. His men,who had withdrawn earlier, joined him tocapture the hill.

Ltc. Keith L. WareOn Dec. 26, 1944, near Sigolsheim,

France, Ware went on a solo mission to draw(continued on page B21)


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out the enemy. His actions allowed U.S.forces to take an enemy-held hill. Thoughwounded, he refused medical attention un-til the Germans were cleared and the hillsecure.

Korean War1 Lt. Lloyd L. BurkeOn Oct. 28, 1951, near Chong-dong,

Burke took out three bunkers that were im-peding the U.S. advance. He exposed him-self to the Chinese, but managed to kill 75of them, despite his own wounds. The Chi-nese retreated.

Sgt. Gilbert G. CollierNear Tutayon, on July 19-20, 1953,

Collier stayed with his wounded command-ing officer while the rest of the patrol re-turned to safety. Though wounded, hefought off the enemy in hand-to-hand com-bat, including his bayonet. He died tryingto save his officer’s life.

Pfc. Mack A. JordanWhen his platoon was ordered to with-

draw on Nov. 15, 1951, near Kumsong, Jor-dan remained behind to provide cover fire.He took out an enemy machine gun andforced the enemy back. Both of his legswere severed and he was killed while try-ing to silence another gun.

Cpl. William F. LyellOn Aug. 31, 1951, near Chupa-ri, Lyell

single-handedly destroyed an enemy bun-ker, allowing his platoon to briefly advance.Under attack again, he charged the enemy,killing six, then took out a third Commu-nist position. His platoon advanced, but hewas killed.

Cpl. Benito MartinezManning a listening post on Sept. 6,

1952, near Sataeri, Martinez staved off theenemy alone and insisted no rescue effortsbe made. With only an automatic rifle anda pistol, he held off the Communists for sixhours before he was killed.

Pfc. Herbert K. PililaauThe enemy attacked Heartbreak Ridge

on Sept. 17, 1951, but Pililaau remainedbehind to cover the withdrawal.Ammu¬nition gone, he fought with histrench knife and fists until mortallywounded. More than 40 Communist deadwere counted near him.

Pfc. Ralph E. PomeroyHe inflicted a heavy casualty toll with

his machine gun, slowing an enemy assaulton Oct. 15, 1952, near Kumhwa. Later, hewas twice wounded, but continued to fight,reaching within 10 feet of his foes and club-bing them with his gun, until he was killed.

Pfc. Ernest E. WestAfter an ambush near Sataeri on Oct. 12,

1952, West used his body as a shield to pro-tect the wounded before carrying them tosafety. He was wounded and lost an eye,but continued to fight.

Pfc. Bryant E. WomackThe only medic on a night patrol near

Sokso-ri on March 12, 1952, Womack waswounded but continued to administer aidto others. He was hit again and lost his arm,but refused aid so that he could help treat

(continued from page B16)

Draftees DO Contribute!!

the others. He was the last to withdraw, butdied minutes later.

Vietnam WarSpec. 4 John P. BacaOn Feb. 10, 1970, in Phuoc Long prov-

ince, a grenade was thrown into Baca’s pa-trol. He smothered it with his steel helmetand absorbed the concussion with his body,saving the lives of eight men.

Cpl. Thomas W. BennettThe medic repeatedly ran through en-

emy fire to treat and help evacuate woundedtroops on Feb. 9-11, 1969, in Pleiku prov-ince. Though warned not to, he was tryingto make his way to a soldier when he waskilled.

Cpl. Michael J. CrescenzHe single-handedly took out three en-

emy bunkers in the Hiep Duc Valley on Nov.20, 1968, clearing the route for his unit. Anattack came from an unseen fourth bunker,which Crescenz assaulted, but he was killedin the process.

Spec. 4 Nicholas J. CutinhaDuring a firefight near Gia Dinh on

March 2, 1968, Cutinha moved to the frontand fired his machine gun at the chargingenemy. Though wounded, he continued fir-ing and was solely responsible for killing15 Communist troops and saving the livesof nine members of his unit, before dying.

Spec. 4 Donald W. Evans, Jr.At Tri Tam on Jan. 27, 1967, Evans pro-

vided lifesaving treatment to multiple GIs,while exposing himself to enemy fire.Though wounded in the process, he contin-ued treating his fellow soldiers before be-ing killed.

SSG. Robert W. HartsockOn Feb. 23, 1969, at Hau Nghia, he threw

himself on a satchel charge and waswounded, but saved the lives of those nearhim. Then he crawled into a ditch and pro-

vided cover fire so that his commandercould seek shelter. He died from his wounds.

Spec. 4 Donald R. JohnstonHe threw himself onto three explosive

charges, which landed in his bunker onMarch 21, 1969, in Tay Ninh province. Hisactions shielded his fellow soldiers from theblast and saved the lives of six, though hewas killed from the blast.

Spec. 4 Joseph G. Lapointe, Jr.During a firefight on June 2, 1969, in

Quang Tin province, he shielded a woundedman, while treating another in spite of hisown wounds. Wounded a second time, hecontinued treating the wounded until anenemy grenade killed him.

Pfc. Carlos J. LozadaAt Dak To on Nov. 20, 1967, Lozada’s

accurate firing killed 20 North Vietnamesesoldiers and disrupted their attack. Moreenemy charged and Lozada called for hisfellow soldiers to move back while he pro-vided cover fire before becoming mortallywounded.

Spec. 4 Thomas J. McMahonA medic, McMahon ran through intense

fire twice to treat and carry to safety twomen on March 19, 1969, in Quang Tin prov-ince. As he returned for the third, he wasmortally wounded.

Pfc. James H. MonroeAt Bong Son on Feb. 16, 1967, Monroe

saw a live grenade fall in front of his posi-tion while helping the wounded. He waskilled after pushing the two men aside andlunging forward to smother the grenadewith his body.

Spec. 4 Danny J. PetersenPetersen carried wounded soldiers 45

meters across a hostile field in Tay Ninhprovince on Jan. 9, 1970. He returned tohis disabled armored personnel carrier toprovide cover for a withdrawal. He wasmortally wounded while firing on the en-emy.

Spec. 5 Clarence E. SasserSasser ran through a hail of fire to treat

the wounded on Jan. 10, 1968, in DingTuong province. His legs were immobilizedby wounds, but he dragged himself throughthe mud to treat another soldier before en-couraging others to crawl to safety wherehe later treated them.

Pfc. Louis E. WillettDuring a firefight at Kontum province

on Feb. 15, 1967, Willett received multiplewounds while covering his squad’s with-drawal. He engaged the enemy at closerange allowing his squad to retreat beforehe was killed.

� � � � �Amazingly enough, these young men,

from all walks of life, were only consid-ered Draftees. Some looked down their re-spective noses at them, even the all know-ing, all seeing political hacks that were inpower, what these ‘clowns’ didn’t see werethe men behind the ‘tag’, the ‘moniker’placed on them, simply because they didn’trun out and volunteer. Please keep this inmind with our Nations young people of to-day. Sometimes when you force people intosituations, even if they don’t want to go, ‘thecream still rises to the top!’

Post ElectionsElections for all positions will be held

this month. Don’t complain if you haven’tgotten involved!

TriviaFor those worried that Iraq and or Af-

ghanistan might cost as much as Vietnam,So far the Iraq War has cost the U.S. $687Billion Dollars, and the Afghanistan War$184 Billion dollars, that according to astudy by the Center of Strategic and Bud-getary Assessments. Just so you know, ifyou adjust for inflation, the two wars com-bined now exceed the Vietnam War by over50%, ‘OH YEAH!’

ReminderThe VFW Post meetings are held on the

third Monday of each month in the upperhall at 1930 hours. The E-Board meets at1800 hours downstairs. The VFW meetingsare open to all members, and we encourageactive participation. The E-Board conductsits’ annual open meeting on the 2nd Tues-day in July, (per post by-laws). Once againlet me offer an invitation to visit the com-pletely remodeled Post, inside and out. En-joy a cheap cold one with some old friends,or make some new ones. Enjoy the gametables, electronic game machines, lottery oreven join Marty (‘the King’) Columbo onthe new horse shoe team out back. The Postis open 7 days a week, from 1500 hours til0200 hours. If you are behind on your dues,come on down, we can work it out. If youare still not a member, what are you wait-ing for? Membership is only $30.00 per yearand NO you don’t have to be a Veteran tojoin. Hope to see ya at the post. As always,please be safe out there!


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www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • March/April 2009 • Page C1

PAXCENTURION Section CPAXCENTURION Section C

Study or Slander?By Gregory Bond

Paramedic 216

Arecent article published in the journalObesity entitled “The Obesity Epidemic

and Future Emergency Responders” purportedto identify an alleged trend of increasinglyoverweight recruits hired for EMT andfirefighter positions in the Boston Area.

No one can dispute that obesity is indeedan epidemic in this country and affects virtu-ally all aspects of ourpopulation as a whole.

So I don’t quite un-derstand the reasoning,or motivation behindthe study.

Furthermore I havesome very serious reservations about the man-ner in which it was conducted, as well as theconduct of the researchers themselves.

I was able to read the original article, andin case you have not had the chance, let mewalk you through it.

To preface, the main author is a second yearmedical student at BU, which basically meansthat the extent of his patient care amounts toporing through medical records and studyingcadavers.

The first sentence reads “Emergency re-sponders (firefighters, ambulance personnel,and police) are expected to be physically fitto perform strenuous duties without compro-mising the safety of themselves, their col-leagues, of their community.”

A true enough statement on paper, but inthe real world one’s ability to perform theirduty entails more than a good height-to-weightratio.

The next two sentences read “Tradition-ally, these professions recruited persons ofabove average fitness from a pool of healthyyoung adults. At present, however, new re-sponders are drawn from an increasinglyheavy youth,”

You see traditionally, recruitment wasn’tso complicated.

These days there are numerous factors in-volved in hiring requirements, BMI not with-standing, as well as other political consider-ations.

I wonder what City Hall would tell youwhat to do with your study if you asked themto lift the residency requirement for new em-ployees based solely on your recommenda-tions.

I’m sure it would be something short andto the point though.

Listed under “Methods and Procedures,”the authors state how they “reviewed consecu-tive preplacement medical examinations…from two Massachusetts clinics (October2004-June 2007).” The two clinics mentionedbelong to the Cambridge Health Alliance andthe BU School of Medicine.

So if you were hired between those datesthen they are talking about you: your personaland confidential medical records, your body.

Nobody was ever asked or informed to par-ticipate in a study, and nobody was ever con-sented.

Among its recommendations, they “proposemaking BMI a vital sign during emergency re-sponders’ medical examinations.”

That sounds suspiciously like a future study,only then they’ll have the entire membership attheir disposal to disparage.

In addition, the authors recommend “man-datory exercise time dur-ing work time.”

Beautiful. Clearly lifeis truly perfect staringout of the library win-dow.

Tell you what plebe,you make sure no one has a medical emergencyduring specific work hours and I will gladlyfollow your recommendations, you donkey.

In their conclusion, the authors state that par-ticipants Body Mass Index (BMI) ratio is “simi-lar to other public services, such as police andmilitary.”

Groundbreaking! Really? Did you know thatmost of the recruiting for public service comesfrom the military?

You spent all this time, money and energyto tell me that people who work here are thesame as everybody else.

I can tell that you’re going to have a fruitfulmedical career.

Now, I’m no doctor, but it would seem tome that even in this “publish or perish” atmo-sphere, that starting before one even finishesmedical school is a little premature, and a lotpresumptuous.

So what does one do with a shiny new study?Well, you get it published of course, then sit

back and wait for the phone to ring, and ring itdid.

None other than the Herald picked up onthis piece of fodder and proceeded to print notone, but two nothing articles written as a not-so-veiled slight towards our members.

The main author quoted in the paper report-edly would not identify exactly “which depart-ments “ were involved, how noble.

Because then he might have been potentiallyviolating the HIPPA laws if people knew aboutwhom he was studying, right?

Funny thing though, it took Jessica Fargenall of three seconds to figure out EXACTLYwho the study was targeting.

Unlike you, we are out in the public eye ev-ery day.

It’s not hard for people to see our membersand surmise whom your study refers to.

I don’t care what you say – you violated yourpatient’s trust, our trust.

You used your positions and our privatemedical information for your own personalgain.

That’s wrong you know, or haven’t theytaught you that yet in school?

Police are notplundering payrolls

By Mark A. Bruno

It’s amazing when you read the local rags and listen to the morons on talkradio. According to these liberal lunatics we are the roots of all evil. It is

police pay that has sent the economy into a tail spin. We are nothing but abunch of greedy union hoodlums who refuse to give concessions for a wagefreeze. We should be tarred and feathered for our avaricious behavior giventhe state of the economy in general. Would people please kindly shut yourtraps and give me a break? Last time I looked whatever minuscule raise we gotwent toward an increase in healthcare, local taxes and the purchase of prod-ucts.

If any officer out there is ahead of the curve on this current economic crisiscould you kindly fill me in on your secret? I don’t know too many officerswho aren’t treading water like everyone else in any other profession. Is it niceto be employed in a secure job? Yes, but please stop blaming cops for rapingthe payroll system. Police officers put in long hours to support their familiesand are chastised by the media for it. I consider myself to be a hard-workingAmerican citizen who pays his taxes in support of this great nation of ours. Iresent those individuals who are quick to pass judgement on how much moneyI make. The usual “no one told you to be a cop” is usually the battle cry ofthese frustrated losers.

Every now and then you have some stranger come up and thank you for ajob well done. Some people will roll up in a car and ask if you would like adrink on a hot day, or a coffee on a cold day. They are few and far between, butthey make the job worth doing. These are the thankful individuals who sum-moned you through 911 at one time or another. You may have happened uponthem on your routine patrol, or helped them while working a detail. The im-pression you left on these people has rendered their unyielding support towardyou and the job you do. If it were up to them there would not be enoughmoney in theworld to payyou for the dan-gerous job youperform day-in-and-out. Alasthese individu-als are in theminority ofwell-wishers,and unfortu-nately we mustdeal with themajority.

There are somany goodthings that offic-ers do throughcharities such as PAL and Cops for Kids with Cancer. How come the medianever talks up these good deeds? Why does it always have to be a policetragedy that brings the focus to our profession? I’m so sick of reading howmuch the top twenty police officers earned and the average pay we make overall. My neighbors look at me like I’m some sort of Jesse James. I work eightyto ninety hours a week to provide for my family, and for that I’m considered aglutton. Where are these people when I’m donating my time and money to-ward events such as fund-raisers for cancer, autism and other worthwhile chari-ties? The BPPA alone has given more money toward these charities than any-one realizes. Officers individually have given more support toward local chari-ties through COBEC.

We are the front-line of defense when chaos on our streets runs rampant.We are expected to restore order and arrest those individuals who have wreakedhavoc upon our communities. We are expected to place ourselves in harmsway while disarming some of these individuals. Many deceased officers madethe ultimate sacrifice protecting those very individuals who now stand therewith stones in hand ready to attack the police for plundering their municipalpayrolls. Please forgive me for asking to be paid a decent wage for putting mylife on the line, and the wear and tear on my body it has caused. Really, ac-cording to you I’m just not worthy.

If any officer out there is aheadof the curve on this currenteconomic crisis could you kindlyfill me in on your secret? I don’tknow too many officers thataren’t treading water likeeveryone else in any otherprofession. Is it nice to beemployed in a secure job? Yes,but please stop blaming cops forraping the payroll system.

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Can Private Security Guards Act as Police Officers?That’s What They Might Be Doing on Chicago’s Far South Side

They’re private security guards, alreadyon patrol, but they may soon have the

powers of Chicago Police officers.As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay

Levine reports, the private security officersnow on patrol on the city’s Far South Sideare expected to have their powers expandedas part of a citywide ordinance now beingprepared.

But officials are questioning whether thismeans public safety is being outsourced.

Mayor Richard M. Daley has alreadyprivatized many city functions. The ChicagoSkyway has been leased to a Spanish con-glomerate. Midway Airport is run by a Ca-nadian company. The parking meters weresold to a firm run by Morgan Stanley, andas a result, the cost of parking in the cityhas skyrocketed.

But the question is whether another for-eign firm providing cops on patrol may beprivatization gone too far.

A single squad car, marked “special pa-

trol,” cruises up and down a small commer-cial strip on far south Michigan Avenue to-night. Its patrol area is between 100th and116th streets, and area merchants have theirdoubts.

“As good as they may be, I don’t thinkthey probably have all the training that apoliceman would have,” said businessowner Howard Bolling.

But the security guards are not sup-posed to replace Chicago Police officers,according to the alderman writing the or-dinance. He said the enforcement pow-ers of the private security group wouldremain highly limited.

“No traffic violations such as movingviolations – such as moving violations.Small things – illegally parked, blocking theparking,” said Alderman Anthony Beale(9th).

That wasn’t exactly what Mayor Daleythought when he was asked about it on Sat-urday. He said the security force would have

the power to enforce “moving violations andcitations including loitering, littering andgraffiti.”

This means they’re still working on it.But Beale was asked what would happenwhen they security officers tried to detainsomeone who didn’t want to be detainedand didn’t respect their authority as theywould a police officer’s.

“Next thing you know, guns are drawn,and you have a real problem,” Levine pos-ited.

Replied Beale: “I’m not going to saywhat the future may hold. We can all pre-dict unforeseen situations.”

Mayor Daley said the city would benefitfrom the extra patrols.

“It’s not a bad idea. You maybe have torefine it, but it’s not a bad idea,” the mayorsaid.

With Chicago Police stretched so thin,just having a few extra cars and extra uni-forms is comforting to some people. The J.Carolina Hosiery store, for example, wasrobbed 14 times in the last year.

“The stores are being robbed, and thenthey’re getting extorted, and you have thelittle gangbangers running in and out of

stores trying to rob people,” said store su-pervisor Larry McCullough.

Since the private security patrols arrived,the robberies have continued, “but it’s slow-ing down, because it seems like more of thestores have to have their own guns and theirown security.”

In addition to the Fraternal Order of Po-lice being against it, experts tell CBS 2 thatasking private security guards to conductpolice functions is dangerous, and poten-tially fatal, with most security guards paidmuch less and receive less training.Chicago’s Police Supt. Jody Weis calls itall a work in progress.

“Let’s be creative,” Weis said. “If we canhave police officers focusing on higher pri-ority cases, it’s worth talking about.”

CBS 2 wanted to ask the Toronto-basedfirm which was the lowest bidder for con-tracts in the 9th and 10th wards about thebackground and training of its officers. Alsoin question was is how much experience theCanadian company has with the inner cityproblems which make the Roseland com-munity a challenge for even the moststreetwise Chicago Police professionals.The firm has not yet returned calls.

By Kevin Doogan

Today we mourn the passing of a belovedold friend by the name of Common

Sense who has been with us for many years.No one knows for sure how old he was,since his birth records were long ago lost inbureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having culti-vated such valuable lessons as knowingwhen to come in out of the rain, why theearly bird gets the worm, and that life isn’talways fair.

Common Sense lived by simple, soundfinancial policies (don’t spend more thanyou earn) and reliable parenting strategies(adults, not kids, are in charge).

His health began to rapidly deterioratewhen well-intentioned, but overbearingregulations were set in place. Reports of asix-year-old boy charged with sexual ha-rassment for kissing a classmate, teens sus-pended from school for using mouthwashafter lunch, and a teacher fired for repri-manding an unruly student, only worsened

his condition.It declined even further when schools

were required to get parental consent to ad-minister aspirin to a student, but could notinform the parents when a student becamepregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will tolive as the Ten Commandments becamecontraband; churches became businesses;and criminals received better treatment thantheir victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghostafter a woman failed to realize that a steam-ing cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit onher lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in deathby his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife,Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility;and his son, Reason.

He is survived by two stepbrothers, MyRights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral becauseso few realized he was gone. But shed not atear, join the majority and do nothing.

Obituary for Common Sense

AttentionTo all members of the Boston Police Relief AssociationActive Duty or Retired

If you need to change your beneficiary or you are notsure of who your beneficiary is you can contact the re-lief office at 617-364-9565. If you leave a message yourcall will be returned and if necessary the paperwork willbe sent out to you.

Thank you,William F. Carroll, Clerk,

Boston Police Relief Association

Remembering

Ann Marie (Larkin) Ford

Friday May 29, 2009 7:00 PM to Midnight

Family Hour from 7 to 9

Florian Hall Hallet Street

Dorchester, MA

DJ -Irish Step Dancers - Raffles - Silent Auction - Live Auction - Ad Book

Wonderful prizes

Signed Sports Jerseys, Vacations, HD TV, and so much more!

All proceeds benefit the

Ford Children’s Education Fund

Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door for $25.00


Sports Trivia: Bill Carroll?

How much do you knowabout your country’s leaders?

United States Presidential Trivia: Bill Carroll?

(see answers on page C9)

(see answers on page C9)

Off the top of my head

1. Who was the only President of theUnited States to be born in Illinois?

2. Who was the first President of theUnited States to hold an InauguralBall?

3. Who was the first President of theUnited States to travel outside of theU.S.?

4. Who was the first President of theUnited States to graduate from West Point?

5. Who was the first President of the United States to travel in an airplane?

How many can you get correct?

1. Who holds the major league record for consecutive saves?2. Who holds the major league record for most 200 hit seasons in a career?3. How many members of the 500 career home run club played for only one team?4. Who received the highest percentage of votes without being elected to the National

Baseball Hall of Fame?5. Entering the 2009 season which member(s) played for the most teams?6. Since divisional play began in 1969 what manager became the most recent to win a

division title with three different teams?7. Who were the only three major league players to be elected to the National Baseball

Hall of Fame in their last year of eligibility?8. Who was the last major league leadoff hitter to hit 30 home runs in a season?9. Who was the National League MVP for the 2008 season?10. What team led the American League in stolen bases during the 2008 season?

By Kevin Doogan

If the mayor is asking us to delay our up-coming raise to stave off layoffs, as any

union-oriented individual, I am willing tolisten and roll up my sleeves and help. Be-cause when you take a person’s job away,or their ability to support their family, youare in reality stripping that person of theirdignity. That being said, you may well askhow do we save money and avoid layoffswithout sacrificing police, teachers orfirefighters. Well lucky for the mayor I’vebeen thinking about it for a while and havea couple of thoughts.

How about first taking a look at the 70million dollars a year the city throws awayon forced busing. Clearly throwing anymore money at that failed social experiment

is like flushing tax dollars down the sewer.If desegregation meant people seeking pri-vate schooling and/or flight from the citythen it was a booming success! Here weare 32 years later, with generations lost andthe quality of education in our schools inthe toilet, yet we are still committed to thecatastrophic mistake. Not to mention howthis would affect the epidemic of childhoodobesity and the benefits of walking to aneighborhood school will have. How aboutthe effect of taking hundreds of smoke chok-ing school buses off the streets would havefor the city’s air quality and fuel consump-tion?

Hard times call for hard measures, nexton the chopping block should be the socalled non-essential work force. Before one

police officer, firefighter or teacher gets laidoff let’s first take a look at the political porkin city government with these civilian no-show positions. Allegedly there are over800 civilian employees just in the BPD.Where are they and who’s hiding them?Maybe the citizens of Boston might havebetter need of a police officer at this stageof the game than a social worker or beancounter. Have you ever noticed that thebean counters never seem to take a hit dur-ing cut backs?

Maybe streamlining upper managementmight be a thought? How about cuttingthese patty cake programs of coddling ex-cons and attempting to employ them.Maybe I’m thick, but I don’t understandwhy when the government handed thesebanking institutions and auto giants the re-cent tax-funded bailouts, that the CEO’s andexecutives that got them into this troublestill got their golden parachutes? Why arethe government and this mayor in particu-lar looking to punish the workers for his/their incompetence? Why does a CEO’scontract have more weight than the one wesigned? We’re not unreasonable; if we’regoing to have to make do with less to savejobs then shouldn’t everyone share in thissacrifice?

The next thing the government shouldtake a long hard look at is transitional as-sistance. Oh the hell with it, enough with

political correctness, lets look at welfare!That’s right I said it, welfare. Welfare wasestablished as a HELPING HAND to as-sist workers and families getting back ontheir feet. It has become a career choice forgenerations of deadbeat dads and promis-cuous women for whom having children hasbecome a financial boom. The more ille-gitimate children, the higher pay they re-ceive from the government. Enough withthese welfare queens and kings spewing outhelpless children doomed to life on thestreets and continuing this circle of welfareand crime. If we continue to allow theseblood suckers to drain our tax dollars un-fettered, generation after generation, we willsee this system implode. Why do any of uswork, when it’s more profitable to not work?The government will readily supply youwith food, shelter, money, clothing, educa-tion, transportation and when you need araise all you have to do is have another kid.They have term limits on almost everything,they should have term limits on welfare and/or at least family limits. I can’t tell you, justin my short career, how many welfarequeens and kings that I have dealt with thathave passed the torch off to their off springand the whole outfit is on the dole. Genera-tion after generation after generation,enough is enough, we need to save moneylet’s start here.

By Mark A. Bruno

It is amazing how fast our children grow up. We try to enjoy them as much as wecan while they are still young, because when they get older they go off on their

own with friends, so finding quality time to spend with them while they are youngis important. Some of my fondest memories of my Dad were the one-on-one con-versations we would have. He was a WWII veteran in the U.S. Navy who foughtout in the Pacific. He was awarded several medals for his bravery during thosecampaigns. In my eyes and those of his children he was always a hero. He did notneed to talk about his actions during the war to us, and we knew that he did not wishto speak about it. All we needed to know was that he served his country with honor.My brothers and sisters loved and respected him for the kind and gentle person hewas.

He worked hard every day to support ten children and his wife. He would tellme how hard it was growing up in a large family like his during the 1930’s. Heworked hard to help support his family during these trying times. What matteredmost to him was that all his children loved and respected each other. This comraderywas never more obvious than at dinner time. We did not have flat-screen televisionsor any other distractions. My Mother would fill Dad in on what was going on withschool matters and any other thing that warranted his attention. He would commenton our school work and report cards. He would always tell us to protect each otherif we were in trouble. Heaven forbid if you did not step in to help your sibling in afight. It was always about family and keeping each other safe.

Today the distractions are many when it comes to kids paying attention to theirparents. You have all kinds of video games and cable television with up to nine-hundred channels to choose from. You have the internet and cell-phones. Growingup we had about ten channels to choose from on television, and you had to get upand change the channel manually. Sometimes you would have to let a youngersibling hold the rabbit-ears so you could get better reception. The radio stations welistened to were on the AM dial. Vinyl was still in, but eight tracks and cassetteswere fast taking over. My oldest son asked me to hook up one of my turntables sohe could listen to some of my old albums. He is some big Beatle’s fan which Ithought was nice. My Father thought it was nice that I liked the Rat Pack music andhe would bring used albums home to me of which I still have. It is nice that we canfind common ground with our kids in this day and age.

I like taking the kids to sporting events, concerts or the theater whenever I get achance. When I was a kid, we would all go to the Paramount Theater on Washing-ton Street to see a movie. Going to a sporting event like the Red Sox today can bevery costly for a family of four or better. My Dad had a close friend who was amajor league umpire and he used to give him tickets to take us kids to the ball game.This friend knew how hard my Dad worked trying to support his kids, so he felt itwould be nice to give him and his children a day out. This is what friends do forfriends.

I can only hope to be half the man my Father was. I hope I have instilled thesame family values onto my children that my parents gave to me. I hope that I haveas many good friends as my Dad had. He was a hard-working man who was lovedand respected by all. He was not wealthy and he did not own a home or a car, but ifyou asked anyone they would tell you he was the richest person on Earth becausehe had ten children who loved and respected him. His nickname was “The Father,”and I thought it would be nice to remember him on Father’s Day.

The Father


PROUD SUPPORTERS OF THEBOSTON POLICE

PATROLMEN’S ASSOCIATIONSCHOLARSHIP FUND


by Kevin John SowyrdaMySouthEnd.com ContributorThursday, February 26, 2009

First in a new series regarding policeculture in the Commonwealth.

So where’s the outrage? In a state whichprides itself as the “Athens of America,”

not just for cultural reasons but because weclaim to cherish civil liberties, barely aneyelid is raised when the cops toss a promi-nent talk show host in jail because a com-puter screen in a police cruiser says the sub-ject didn’t pay a lousy car insurance bill ina southern state from which he moved yearsago. How can this lackadaisical attitude to-ward police excess be so prevalent in theMassachusetts birthed by Sam Adams andgoverned by a Democratic majority whichtells us that the eight years of George W.Bush and the Patriot Act are dead and bur-ied and constitutional rights are back in fash-ion?

But I guess I missed the fashion show.Police powers in Massachusetts are com-pletely out of control and each of us hasour own, particular horror story to tell aboutan outrageous cop who seems poised to gopostal or whose grasp of the truth is lose atbest. And this dilemma is particularly acutegiven my observation that our elected offi-cials fear the unions representing the con-stabulary forces more than they respect thevoters. Thus, even if conservative gabberMichael Graham is not your cup of tea,you should not find it appetizing that a po-lice officer can throw him or you in jail be-cause the Intel Chips running the registryof motor vehicles in another jurisdictionrevoke your driver’s license for a reason ofminutia.

To be blunt, I’m not exactly a MichaelGraham fan myself. It’s in this very col-umn that I once took the local talk masterto the wood shed for his lame attempt at aninterview with Congressman Barney Frank.But that’s not the point. Deciding what kindof a state we want to live in, both asprogressives and conservatives, is the issuein need of a healthy and open debate; andGraham, or for that matter any citizen ofthis Commonwealth, being handcuffed andthrown into jail for a simplistic, bureaucraticissue is a situation worthy of debate and dueconsideration.

Graham was more whimsical than con-trite when he recently told his audience thathe managed to make his 9:00 a.m. gab shifton WTKK-FM only after having sufferedundue humiliation in Framingham, wherepolice detained him for what they allege wasa minor moving violation. After the perfunc-tory plate and registration check at the scene,officials told Graham his license had beensuspended and that they would have tohandcuff and jail him.

An ad hominem of hieroglyphics fromthe Massachusetts Registry of Motor Ve-hicles, issued to the press in the aftermathof this ludicrous police action, can best bedeciphered to mean that the Confederacyrises again. Virginia apparently declares that

An anti-police rant in theSouth End News

Graham didn’t pay his car insurance there,and, thanks to interstate cooperation agree-ments, Massachusetts was all too happy tosuspend Mr. Graham’s license here.

(Memo to Registrar Rachel Kaprielian- if a member of your family were driving,unbeknownst to him or her, with a licensesuspended for the same trite reason, wouldyou want him or her thrown in the clink?)

In any event, Graham has already ap-peared in court and will seek a jury trial onthe charges that he was driving with a sus-pended license. He says he’ll call the regis-trar as a witness. I hope he does.

The entire affair is almost surreal, andwe all know that incidents like these arerepeated every day of the week in Massa-chusetts. I mean, forget Bernie Madoff sip-ping Chablis in his swank, Manhattan pent-house after bilking enough cash from un-suspecting souls to fill a U-Haul truck. Ap-parently the real menaces to society aresouls like Michael Graham, whose licensewas suspended because another state isgravely concerned about a pocket full ofcash he may owe the auto insurance syndi-cate.

“We see this all the time,” said Chris Ott,communications manager for the ACLU[American Civil Liberties Union] of Mas-sachusetts. “We see people getting arrestedand hauled off to jail for non-criminal of-fenses. People are getting arrested all thetime for all that drama for something that islegally in the same category as a parkingticket. So yes, if all he [Graham] did wasnot pay his insurance in Virginia that doesn’tsound like he’s a danger to anyone, and sothis does sound unusual.”

But the roadblocks to change will be hardto navigate. After all, any politician whotakes on police powers will not only incurthe wrath of the potent and well-fundedpublic safety unions but a fair share of vot-ers as well. Conservatives are pro-police bynature and liberals are increasingly afraidto be labeled as weak on crime, which leadsto a blind eye or two being turned in thedirection of a few civil liberties being tossedhere and maybe a few others being tossedover there.

Let’s be blunt; the pervasive attitude inthis state is that police officers are free todo basically what they please, and this atti-tude can be proven by visual observationon any day of the week.

But be careful before you whip out yourcell phone and videotape what you see go-ing wrong. On Sept. 27, 2008, Mark Hynesof Charlestown was not enjoying his ownexperience with the Boston Police and wasthen arrested for videotaping the local copswithout their permission. There is appar-ently a law prohibiting videotaping with-out the permission of both parties; a lawthat should be canned so that taxpayers canabsolutely videotape police actions, thusinsuring proper conduct. I’d even give taxincentives for the action.

And though the scales of justice weighheavily in favor of the blue wall, there’s one

member of the state legislature fighting forthe change we need.

The governor’s deputy press secretaryKimberly Haberlin declined any commenton this subject. But the Chairman of theHouse Committee on Public Safety,Michael A. Costello (D-Newburyport), hasbeen speaking out and providing a neededleadership role. Costello said arresting citi-zens for an offense like Graham’s is not ju-risprudent and should be corrected in theso-called CORI [Criminal Offender RecordInformation] reform legislation filed by thegovernor on January 11.

“Unless there’s a suspension for an egre-gious behavior such as operating under theinfluence it [driving with a suspended li-cense] should not be an arrestable offense,”said Costello, a former assistant district at-torney in Essex County and now a practic-

Dear Editor,As editor of the Boston Police

Patrolmen’s Association’s Pax Centurionnewspaper, I recently received a copy of Mr.Kevin Sowyrda’s virulently anti-police dia-tribe from the Feb. 26th South End News“Boston and Beyond” column entitled“Time to reign in the police and supportChairman Costello’s reform efforts.” Thearticle is so rife with ignorant, misinformedstupidity that I hardly know where to be-gin, but please allow me, on behalf of myfellow officers, this feeble attempt:

Mr. Sowyrda’s hatred of police is appar-ently so extreme that he allows himself toemploy WTKK’s radical, ultra-right wingtalk-show boob Michael Graham as hiscause celebre´ in order to highlight his anti-police opinions (proving once again thatpolitics makes strange bedfellows and po-litical extremes have more similarities thandifferences). As some may know, Mr. Gra-ham was recently arrested by a suburbanpolice department after a routine traffic vio-lation resulted in the discovery that hisdriver’s license was listed as suspended/re-voked by the RMV. From this arrest, Mr.Sowyrda opines that this was yet anotheregregious example of “police excess.” Firstand foremost, when a police officer checksa driver’s license following a “routine”motor vehicle stop (NOTE: for those of uswho know, there is no such thing as a “rou-tine” car stop), the specific nuances rela-tive to the reasons “why” a particulardriver’s license has been suspended and/orrevoked are completely unknown, nor arethey of any relevance at that point in time.At the time of the stop, all the average of-ficer knows is that the RMV, for whateverreason(s), has flagged that person’s licenseand that that driver’s right to operate in theCommonwealth of Massachusetts has beendenied. The officer has no ability – nor anyright- to use his/her individual discretion todetermine whether or not the suspension or

ing defense attorney. “It’s mind-bogglingto think that an otherwise law-abiding citi-zen can be pulled out of their car, be ar-rested and jailed; to find out it’s a techni-cality or an out-of-state insurance issue. Butthat’s what happens. At a minimum weshould look at whether or not that shouldbe an arrestable offense.”

Governor Patrick should jump on boardand support Chairman Costello’s efforts toutilize the CORI bill as a vehicle for policereforms which will enhance the rights ofcitizens and put the brakes on police beingable to arrest citizens for offenses whichsimply do not rise to the level of an incar-ceration event.

Kevin John Sowrdya is a political col-umnist who writes for South End News andBay Windows, as well as other publications.He can be reached at [email protected].

And now a responseto this nit-wit…

revocation is worthy or unworthy of arrest.(And I suspect that neither Mr. Sowyrda,nor his friends from the ACLU – wouldwant us to have that unbridled discretion.)The fact is that the individual’s right to op-erate has been suspended or revoked, andbarring exigent circumstances, an arrestis the only proper, correct action. Many aserious felon has been apprehended as aresult of what Mr. Sowyrda refers to as“minor motor vehicle violations,” but thenagain, hiding behind the safety of hiscomputer, Kevin wouldn’t know that, wouldhe?

Mr. Sowyrda’s column goes on to quote“communications manager” Chris Ott ofthe ACLU stating that “We see people get-ting arrested and hauled off to jail for non-criminal offenses. People are getting ar-rested all the time for all that drama forsomething that is legally in the same cat-egory as a parking ticket…”. Communica-tions manager Chris Ott should check withan attorney before he opens his stupid, un-educated mouth, because, in fact, operat-ing after suspension or revocation inMassacusetts IS a criminal offense underMGL chapter 90.

Mr. Sowyrda then continues his elitistattack on police officers by stating that“Let’s be blunt; the pervasive attitude in thisstate is that police officers are free to dobasically what they please, and this attitudecan be proven by visual observation on anyday of the week.” Yes, Mr. Sowyrda, let’sbe blunt: ignorance is bliss, and you areproof-positive. In 28 years of policing, Ihave never once felt any sense of power,authority or privilege; only an onerous, bur-densome sense of responsibility. The aver-age cop is under the microscope both onand off duty, and is subjected to intense sec-ond-guessing and relentless scrutiny bypeople like Mr. Sowyrda, who have theluxury of time and safety to critique what

(continued on page C9)


Making aDifference


Sports(see questions on page C5)

United States Presidential History(see questions on page C5)

Trivia Answers ?

Why is it???

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By PO Michael Kane,District 18

• So many people are concerned about po-lice officers “working too much” butsnow plow drivers are looked upon as he-roes when they stay behind the wheel ofa 25 ton truck for 36 hours straight dur-ing a snow storm? This isn’t an accidentwaiting to happen?

• A lawsuit is sure to follow the “crazychimp” police shooting? “He was such agood pet”, “Why couldn’t the police haveshot him in his leg? And on and on. Mean-while the victim has suffered serious in-juries from this primate and may die.What if it had been a child that had beenattacked? The owner was a fool for keep-ing this animal as a pet.

• I can’t get a bailout after going toFoxwood? I went there to win and sur-prise… I lost. Can I now be given themoney I spent?

• Public employees seem to be blamed forthe current fiscal crisis in Boston?

• Gov. Deval Patrick hasn’t left for D.C.yet? This is a guy who thinks hiring hisfriends and giving them huge salaries is“Trivial”. He’s out of touch.

• That this winter seemed so long? Thecold, snow, ice, slush, just stayed so long.

• We hear nothing about welfare reform inthese tight economic times? I guess thesepeople have a lot of clout at the statehouse.

• Barney Frank makes me sick every timeI see him on the TV or hear him on theradio? This clown has never taken anyresponsibility for his role in the financialmess this country is in. And he keeps get-ting re-elected.

• AIG thought it was a good idea to handout millions in bonus pay to the same mo-rons that destroyed the company? Andwhat’s worse is no one in the governmentknew this bonus pay would be given out.Or so they claim they never knew.

• Obama can’t control himself? He madefun of the Special Olympics while on theJay Leno show. Seriously, we have beentaught since we were five years old thatit’s cruel to make fun of people with dis-abilities and this guy does it on nationalTV. Can you imagine the fallout ifGeorge Bush said something like this?

• The Government is now giving out cou-pons for updated digital TV service?Since when is that the taxpayers respon-sibility?

• Cop murderer, (BPD Bomb TechnicianJerry Hurley, 1991) and bomb maker

Trenkler thought he could get out ofprison? You aren’t going anywherescumbag. You will die in prison no mat-ter how many of your supporters (?????)think they can change the facts of the case.

• Deval’s Caddy is still costing us money?(Herald 03-27-09, P. 4). He wants every-one to cut back spending but he refusesto the same.

• Four good police officers die at the handsof a career criminal in Oakland Califor-nia? May they rest in peace. (Nice to seethat many BPD officers were able to at-tend the services in California along withTransit, Cambridge, Boston Housing PD,Newton and Brookline officers).

Stay Safe.

On Your Next Day OffYou Have To:• Visit the Norman Rockwell Museum in

Stockbridge, Mass. This is a great day tripthat is affordable too. Tickets to the mu-seum are just $15 and you can get a selfguided audio tour for an additional $5. Iwould recommend the audio tour becauseyou learn more about Rockwell and hisart. It takes about two hours to get to

Stockbridge, (120 miles) and there areplenty of places to stop for lunch or din-ner.

• Walk or bike around Jamaica Pond. Verypeaceful, nice view and friendly people.

• Watch the movie “Patton”. Great movie.• Go to a BU Hockey game. Affordable,

fun, and exciting.

First Meeting Held ToEstablish DistrictShooting Teams

On March 27th at 7:00 pm a small, butvery enthusiastic group of Boston Po-

lice Officers met in the community room atDistrict 18 to begin the process of startingdistrict shooting teams. Many ideas werebrought up and discussed. It was decidedto have a second meeting and to spread theword throughout the department so that thenext meeting will be well attended. It ishoped that each district/unit will have theirown team and that competitions can takeplace on a regular basis. If you are inter-ested in becoming involved please makenote of the following date:

Tuesday, April 28th - 7:00 pmat the Community Room of District 18

1.Right-hander Eric Gagne holds the major league record for consecutive saves with84 in a row while pitching for the Dodgers between August 28, 2002 to July 4, 2004.

2.The record for the most 200 hit seasons in a career is held by Pete Rose with 10.3.There are 5 members of the 500 career home run club that played with the same

team, Mike Schmidt, Phillies 548; Mickey Mantle, Yankees 536; Ted Williams, RedSox 521; Ernie Banks, Cubs 512; and Mel Ott, Giants 511.

4.The candidate to receive the highest percentage of votes and not be elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame was Jim Rice with 72.2% in 2007.

5.Entering the 2009 season,two members of the 500 career home run club played for5 teams during their career, Frank Robinson, 586 homers with the Reds, Orioles,Dodgers, Angels, and Indians, and Eddie Murray, 504 homers with the Orioles, Dodg-ers, Mets, Indians, and Angels.

6.In 2008 Dodgers manager Joe Torre became the most recent manager to win a divi-sional title with his third team, having already won titles with the Braves in 1982 andthe Yankees 1996, 1998-2006.

7.The three players who were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in theirfinal year of eligibility are Red Ruffing 1967, Ralph Kiner 1975,and Jim Rice 2008.

8.The last American League leadoff hitter to hit at least 30 home runs in a season wasIndians center fielder Grady Sizemore who hit 33 in 2008.

9.The National League MVP for the 2008 season was Cardinals first baseman AlbertPujols.

10.The Tampa Bay Rays led the American League in stolen bases during the 2008 sea-son with 142.

1.The only President of the United States to be born in Illinois is Ronald Reagan, whowas born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois.

2.The first President of the United States to hold an Inauguaral Ball was our 4th Presi-dent James Madison, who held the ball on March 4, 1809.

3.The first President of the United States to travel outside the country was our 26thPresident Theodore Roosevelt, who journeyed to Panama.

4.The first President of the United States to graduate from West Point was our 18thPresident Ulysses S. Grant.

5.The first President of the United States to travel in an airplane was Franklin D.Roosevelt.

an officer often has only split-seconds todecide.

In fact, most officers will tell you thatit’s not the bad guys with guns and kniveswho make our job difficult. No, instead, it’spretentious phonies like Mr. Sowyrda andhis army of demanding, obnoxious, self-centered yuppie-types who most often causehigh-blood pressure and a strong desire forearly retirement amongst my bretheren. Mr.Sowyrda’s article begins with the warningthat this is “First in a new series regardingpolice culture in the Commonwealth.” (Lordknows I could have a field day with Mr.Sowyrda’s “culture,” whatever that is, butthat’s for another day…). On behalf of the1,600 hard-working members of the Bos-

ton Police Patrolmen’s Association whohave to put up with the ignorant likes ofMr. Sowryda and somehow refrain fromcommitting hari-kari, I respectfully requestequal time to respond in-kind to his unedu-cated diatribes in future editions of the SouthEnd News. Thank you for consideration ofthis request.

Sincerely,James W. Carnell

Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association

(This response was printed in the SouthEnd News on March 25, 2009.)

And now a responseto this nit-wit…(continued from page C7)


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An Interview with Channel 7’sChief Meteorologist Pete Bouchard

By James F. Lydon, Jr.,Boston Police Academy

Credit for the origin of this interviewshould go directly to Pete Bouchard

himself. While watching one of this season’sweather updates on WHDH-TV Channel 7,I heard Pete Bouchard make a disclaimerabout an impending storm. He used the oldphrase, “Don’t shoot the messenger,” whichmade me think, “I wonder …”

I wonder if Pete Bouchard, or any ofour other local meteorologists, for that mat-ter, have ever gotten grief because of thebad New England weather? It seems sillyto me, to pin the blame on a meteorologistbecause of a snow storm. Although, to playthe Devil’s advocate, I know that I do hatesnow. Not because it is snow, but because Ihate to shovel. But would any reasonableperson actually be mean to our friends whostand before the green screen? So, I decidedto find out. And find out, I did. On Tuesdaynight, February 10th, 2009, I interviewedWHDH-TV Channel 7’s chief meteorolo-gist, Pete Bouchard, and here’s what Ifound out …

Jimmy Lydon: How long have you beena meteorologist?

Pete Bouchard: Since 1992. I graduatedfrom Lyndon State University in northernVermont that year and immediately wentto work for a Portland, Maine television sta-tion. For my first eight months there, I got$25 a show.

JL: What season is the more relativelyeasy to work?

PB: The summer.

JL: And the hardest?PB: The winter.

JL: What is the season that viewers likeyou the most?

PB: The autumn. September is the bestmonth we have. It is not too hot, and anyweather events are relatively short lived. Ifyou are going to plan a wedding in NewEngland, plan it for September.

JL: And the season viewers like you theleast?

PB: The winter. People dislike me themost in the winter, and that is followedclosely by the spring. People are not pleasedwith me when I forecast a late cold snap, orworse, a late snow storm. They are readyfor the weather to get better, and some feelthat it is my fault for that not happening asquickly as they would like. The summer isnext – people hate the heat waves, and, fi-nally, the autumn. Autumn is the best. NewEnglanders are happiest in the autumn.

JL: Do you find that people blame youfor the bad winter weather?

PB:Absolutely. Actually, they blame mefor all bad weather.

JL: Does it bother you?

Pete BouchardChannel 7’s Chief Meteorologist

PB: It did at first. When I first startedmy career, I was a bit sensitive about it. Iwould not be happy when I would get thebad letters in the mail. Now, I am a littlemore desensitized to the situation, and theinternet has made the whole process a littlemore anonymous and less personal. I lovemy job, and when I get a particularly nastye-mail, I just retreat into my job, into theweather. The weather is unbiased and fa-miliar. And I have no favorite season; thereare wonderful, amazing things about eachone. I find that no one enjoys the weatheranymore, however. No one takes the timeto look up at the sky and enjoy the weather.There was a study done once which showedthat an appreciation and enjoyment of theweather lessens stress.

JL: So, you get hate mail?PB: I do. The letters, at first, and now, e-

mail.

JL: What are some of the things peoplehave written to you?

PB: One little girl wrote me once andsaid, “Don’t make it rain; you’ll be unpopu-lar if you do.” I once got an e-mail from“Steve, the Dog.” The e-mail read that theauthor was an actual dog. It went on to ex-plain that “Steve, the Dog” studied thun-der, and wondered why a home experimentto create thunder indoors did not work. Thee-mail was very detailed and extensive. Ianswered it in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.

JL: Have you ever gotten any “odd”gifts?

PB: Not so much. Women have sent mephotos of themselves in bathing suits, in anapparent attempt to woo me, I image. I didget a request to plug a flower show in an-

other city. The request came along withsome flowers, but the flowers were dead.

JL: Have you ever gotten any deaththreats?

PB:Yes. Two.

JL: Really?PB: Yes. They both came early on in my

time in Boston, and both were voice mails.The first one came in the spring after a longwinter. I forecasted that it would rain at 4pm, but it rained at 9 am instead. The voicemail author said that he was going to getsome friends and come down and beat me.He said that they would beat me until I didnot move anymore, then they would beatme some more, until I never moved again.The second threat came in voice mail some-time after the first. The voice sounded likeit belonged to another man, not the first, buthe used the same phrase about beating meuntil I did not move anymore. That time, hesaid he would get me in the garage.

JL: Were you concerned?

PB: I was, but I was more concernedwith my new job here in Boston. I wantedto do well, so the threats took somewhat ofa backseat.

JL: Of all the news professionals, whogets the most hate mail?

PB: Meteorologists. And the most hatemail comes right after, or the day after, astorm. Some people even e-mail as thestorm is winding down. Meteorologists arefollowed by sportscasters. Everyone seemsto have an opinion concerning sports, andsome fans seem to take it personally if thesportscasters disagree with them.

JL: Who gets the least hate mail?PB: The anchors. They may be report-

ing the news, and it may even be horriblenews, but it does not directly affect mostviewers like the weather does. The weatheraffects everyone.

JL: Jealous?PB: No. Hate mail and conflict build

character. I like to know what people thinkof me. I feel that I can make myself a bettermeteorologist that way, and I can connectwith the community better, also.

JL: If you could get one message to sinkin to the viewing public, what would thatbe?

PB: Enjoy the weather. We live in aunique spot, not just in the region or thecountry, but in the world. The weather inNew England is amazing. Even when theforecast is right on, there are neat surprisesto be found. The uniqueness of New En-gland weather is really something to stopand take note of. Weather here may bring alot of frustration, but it also brings a lot ofhope.


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Misguided Bleeding Heart Senator Jim Webb of VirginiaBy Kevin Doogan

Virginia Senator Jim Webb, anotherBoston Globe/Parade Magazine left

wing bleeding heart liberal has launched theNational Criminal Justice Commission Actof 2009 (S.714), to create a blue-ribboncommission charged with conducting an 18-month, top-to-bottom review of the nation’sentire criminal justice system and offeringconcrete recommendations for reform. Hecompares the criminal justice system of Ja-pan to that of United States and is befuddledby the drastically lower crime and incarcera-tion rate in Japan opposed to that of theUnited States. After reading this absurd ar-ticle in Parade Magazine, surely Webb andhis bleeding heart liberals will lobby forlighter sentencing for drug offenders andalleged non-violent criminal offenders.Webb’s asinine comparison of the Ameri-can way of life and that of Japan just reaf-firms how out of touch with reality thesepoliticians are. In Japan, there is a strongsense of community, faith and the wordshame carries with it severe consequences.The overwhelmingly law-abiding Japanesecommunity has a strict fear of faith, an un-wavering sense of national pride and a re-spect for authority. In the United States poli-ticians like Webb and his friends at theGlobe have worked tirelessly to dismantlethe common threads of law-abiding familylife here in the United States. Lawmakersbowing to the political whims of the me-dia, lobbyists and special interest groupshave brought this country and its criminaljustice system to its knees. Before he re-leases one criminal or further dilutes anylaws please think about the following facts.

1. Congress just passed the largestspending bill in history yet most ofthose who voted for it never read it.

2. Congress is mandated by law to se-cure our national borders yet they donothing to stem the flow of illegalaliens.

3. Congress refuses to enforce our im-migration laws and continues tohandout billions of tax dollars everyyear to illegal aliens on welfare.

4. Congress, in direct opposition to thewill of the people are preparing moreamnesty programs for illegal aliensto further enable this illegal on-slaught on our resources.

5. Congress continues to bailout failed,corrupt and greedy businesses allow-ing tax dollars to be spent on bonusesto incompetent CEOs.

6. Congress refuses to act to ensureAmerican jobs go to American work-ers and stem the outsourcing of workto foreign countries.

When did Elected Public Servants be-come the Master? Aren’t they in theirelected position to serve the public not theirown interest? If Senator Webb and his col-leagues want to straighten out this Countrylets first start with straightening out ourgovernment beginning with Congress.

1. Let’s change the current system andmake it so all the laws that apply toall American citizens to also applyto Congress! Why are they elite and

Senator Jim Webb of Virginia

above the law?2. Let’s repeal Congress’ right to vote

for their own raises and give that backto the people to vote on! We don’tvote ourselves a raise why shouldthey?

3. Force the government to balance theFederal budget! If we have to livewithin our means shouldn’t they?

4. Congress is a free spender regardingour Social Security money let’s makethem also pay into it, maybe thenthey won’t be so generous with ourmoney.

5. Citizens pay into that system theirwhole working life only to have theirhard earned money squandered onillegal aliens that never contributeda dime to it.

6. We limit the President to two terms,because we have learned that longterm power has the tendency to cor-rupt. Let’s limit Congress to twoterms!

7. There is a big push for pension re-form, with term limits on Congresslet them get their own 401K. If it’spension reform they want let’s startwith Congress, change the system so

they don’t receive their full pay forlife after one term in office!

8. As matter of fact we, the taxpayersalso pay full medical insurance forour Congressional Leaders eventhough they are part time employ-ees. Let’s trim that little perk for themand maybe they won’t be so hesitantto put restriction on the Health CareProviders and their prescription lob-byists.

With these little changes we could besaving millions, even billions of dollars and

leveling the playing field between the elit-ist Congress and the people they are swornto serve! As far as Senator Webb’s originalthought of lessening the swelling prisonpopulation alas until this Country stops lis-tening to the main stream liberal media andstarts to re-embrace the wholesome valuesthat our forefathers founded this Countryon, we are doomed to the fate of other greatcivilizations. We need to refocus our col-lective attention on values like religion, fearof faith, respect for authority, law and or-der, protecting the family unit, looking outfor our neighbors and above all accept theresponsibility of our own actions and inac-tions! We need to stop making excuses forcriminal behavior. Webb’s so-called non-violent drug offenders are the B&E artists,armed robbers and home invaders thatplague every neighborhood. Where does thesenator think these drug offenders get theirmoney once they have sold everything theyown and have stolen from their own fam-ily? Or are the criminals the senator wantsto release people like Bernie Madoff?

Back in the old West the punishmentfor stealing a horse was hanging, tell methis white collar criminal doesn’t deserveto die.

A great copIwanted to share with you a good story

about one of our men in blue.About a month ago I was driving and

noticed my sons car being ripped apart by acop in a desolate area in Southie. Then Isaw my kid sitting on the curb with all ofhis buddies and a case of beer to the side ofthem. Now I know my son wasn’t drivingbecause the car is broken. But neverthelessthey were listening to the radio while drink-ing (and they are not old enough to do thateither!)

Anyway, I was so distraught, I cried. IKNOW the law, and the rules, and regard-less that the car wasn’t running he had thekeys in it and beers were being drank. I wasso upset. Knowing that I have a “good kid”; he attends CM, he plays every sport underthe sun, and gets great grades, but obviouslynot a good decision maker!

The officer asked me if it was my childand I said yes. He put his hand on my shoul-der and assured me that it would be okay.He said, “I am going to teach him a lessonthough… is that okay with you?”

ABSOLUTELY!!!!!After explaining to my son and his

friends of all the laws they broke, and couldbe charged with, he gave them a speechabout drinking. He then proceeded to tellmy son that he must do some form of com-munity service; help out a neighbor, shovel,rake leaves anything… but help out!

The officer came over to me and told meI should be proud. He said that he was oneof the nicest, most polite kid he’s talked to.Needless to say I took my kid home and I’llleave the rest out!

Anyway, the past month, my child hasincreased his grades immensely! He is tak-ing criminal justice classes and is adamantabout being an officer. All because of one

Subject: StutteringA teacher is explaining biology to her 4th grade students. ‘Human beings are the

only animals that stutter,’ she says.A little girl raises her hand. ‘I had a kitty-cat who stuttered.’The teacher, knowing how precious some of these stories could become, asked the

girl to describe the incident.‘Well’, she began, ‘I was in the back yard with my kitty and the Rottweiler that lives

next door got a running start and before we knew it, he jumped over the fence into ouryard!’

‘That must’ve been scary,’ said the teacher.‘It sure was,’ said the little girl. ‘My kitty raised her back, went Sssss, Sssss, Sssss’

and before she could say ‘Shit!’, the Rottweiler ate her!’The teacher had to leave the room.

The Italian Secret of a Long Marriage

At Saint Mary’s Catholic Church inSouth Philly they have a weekly

husband’s only marriage seminar.At the session last week, the Priest asked

Luigi, who was approaching his 50th wed-ding anniversary, to take a few minu tes andshare some insight into how he had man-aged to stay married to the same woman allthese years.

Luigi replied to the assembled husbands,

“Wella, I’ve a-tried to treat-a her nizza,spenda money on her, but besta of all isthat I tooka her to Italy for the 20th anni-versary!”

The Priest responded “Luigi, you are anamazing inspiration to all the husbandshere! Please tell us what you are planningfor your wife for your 50th Anniversary.”

Luigi proudly replied, “I’m agonna goget her.”

cop that “gave him a break.” A few daysago, my son and I were talking, and he said...‘ya know mom, if there were more cops likehim out there, I bet the kids would actuallylisten to them instead of running from themall the time. “

My son is working towards taking theexam to become an officer. I don’t knowthis officers name, all I know is he made adifference in my life, and my kids.

Believe me I feel that some kids need tobe taken in arrested, and have the bookthrown at them... but instead of stereo typ-ing it would be nice to take the time to talk

to these kids. They are not all punks... Manyof us made the same bad decisions but justdidn’t get caught. This is exactly what thatofficer said to me!

I just thought that it would be nice to letyou know that there are some really genu-ine officers out there. I hear horrible storiesof police brutality, but the truth is, they arewho we call when we are in trouble.... thistime I didn’t even have to pick up the phone!I wish I knew his name, I would call thepolice commish, and commend him!

Thanks for listening!Jeannie Bulens Fitz


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Simmons students are determined to make a difference in their families,communities, and the world. We help them succeed. At Simmons, we honoran educational contract that places students first—enabling them to achievesuccessful careers, meaningful lives, and tangible returns on theireducational investment.

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Simmons College proudly supports the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association’sScholarship Fund for Police Officers’ Families and Boston Police Programs.


By Robert A. Hall

I’ll be 63 soon. Except for one semesterin college when jobs were scarce, and a

six-month period when I was between jobs,but job-hunting every day, I’ve worked,hard, since I was 18. Despite some healthchallenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, andhaven’t called in sick in seven or eight years.I make a good salary, but I didn’t inheritmy job or my income, and I worked to getwhere I am. Given the economy, there’s noretirement in sight, and I’m tired.

Very tired.I’m tired of being told that I have to

“spread the wealth around” to people whodon’t have my work ethic. I’m tired of be-ing told the government will take the moneyI earned, by force if necessary, and give itto people too lazy or stupid to earn it.

I’m tired of being told that I have to paymore taxes to “keep people in their homes.Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I’mwilling to help. But if they boughtMcMansions at three times the price of ourpaid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third ofmy salary, then let the leftwingCongresscritters who passed Fannie andFreddie and the Community ReinvestmentAct that created the bubble help them-withtheir own money.

I’m tired of being told how bad Americais by leftwing millionaires like MichaelMoore, George Soros and Hollywood en-tertainers who live in luxury because of theopportunities America offers. In thirty years,if they get their way, the United States willhave the religious freedom and women’srights of Saudi Arabia, the economy of Zim-babwe, the freedom of the press of China,the crime and violence of Mexico, the tol-erance for Gay people of Iran, and the free-dom of speech of Venezuela.

Won’t multiculturalism be beautiful?I’m tired of being told that Islam is a

“Religion of Peace,” when every day I canread dozens of stories of Muslim men kill-ing their sisters, wives and daughters fortheir family “honor;” of Muslims riotingover some slight offense; of Muslims mur-dering Christian and Jews because theyaren’t “believers;” of Muslims burningschools for girls; of Muslims stoning teen-age rape victims to death for “adultery;” ofMuslims mutilating the genitals of littlegirls; all in the name of Allah, because theQur’an and Shari’a law tells them to.

I believe “a man should be judged bythe content of his character, not by the colorof his skin.” I’m tired of being told that“race doesn’t matter” in the post-racialworld of President Obama, when it’s all thatmatters in affirmative action jobs, lowercollege admission and graduation standardsfor minorities (harming them the most),government contract set-asides, tolerancefor the ghetto culture of violence and fa-therless children that hurts minorities morethan anyone, and in the appointment of USSenators from Illinois. I think it’s very coolthat we have a black president and that ablack child is doing her homework at thedesk where Lincoln wrote the emancipa-

tion proclamation. I just wish the blackpresident was Condi Rice, or someone whobelieves more in freedom and the individualand less in an all-knowing government.

I’m tired of a news media that thinksBush’s fundraising and inaugural expenseswere obscene, but that think Obama’s, attriple the cost, were wonderful. That thinksBush exercising daily was a waste of presi-dential time, but Obama exercising is a greatexample for the public to control weight andstress, that picked over every line of Bush’smilitary records, but never demanded thatKerry release his, that slammed Palin withtwo years as governor for being too inex-perienced for VP, but touted Obama withthree years as senator as potentially the bestpresident ever.

Wonder why people are dropping theirsubscriptions or switching to Fox News?Get a clue. I didn’t vote for Bush in 2000,but the media and Kerry drove me to hiscamp in 2004.

I’m tired of being told that out of “toler-ance for other cultures” we must let SaudiArabia use our oil money to fund mosquesand madrassa Islamic schools to preach hatein America, while no American group isallowed to fund a church, synagogue or re-ligious school in Saudi Arabia to teach loveand tolerance.

I’m tired of being told I must lower myliving standard to fight global warming,which no one is allowed to debate. My wifeand I live in a two-bedroom apartment andcarpool together five miles to our jobs. Wealso own a three-bedroom condo where ourdaughter and granddaughter live. Our car-bon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore’s, andif you’re greener than Gore, you’re greenenough.

I’m tired of being told that drug addictshave a disease, and I must help support andtreat them, and pay for the damage they do.Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley,grab them, and stuff white powder up theirnoses while they tried to fight it off? I don’tthink Gay people choose to be Gay, but Idamn sure think druggies chose to takedrugs. And I’m tired of harassment fromcool people treating me like a freak when Itell them I never tried marijuana.

I’m tired of illegal aliens being called“undocumented workers,” especially theones who aren’t working, but are living onwelfare or crime. What’s next? Calling drugdealers, “Undocumented Pharmacists”?And, no, I’m not against Hispanics. Mostof them are Catholic and it’s been a fewhundred years since Catholics wanted to killme for my religion. I’m willing to fast trackfor citizenship any Hispanic person who canspeak English, doesn’t have a criminalrecord and who is self-supporting withoutfamily on welfare, or who serves honorablyfor three years in our military. Those arethe citizens we need.

I’m tired of latte liberals and journalists,who would never wear the uniform of theRepublic themselves, or let their entitle-ment-handicapped kids near a recruitingstation, trashing our military. They and their

kids can sit at home, never having to makesplit-second decisions under life and deathcircumstances, and bad mouth better peoplethen themselves.

Do bad things happen in war? You bet.Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure.Does this compare with the atrocities thatwere the policy of our enemies for the lastfifty years-and still are? Not even close. Sohere’s the deal. I’ll let myself be subjectedto all the humiliation and abuse that washeaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo,and the critics can let themselves be sub-ject to captivity by the Muslims who tor-tured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Paki-stan, or the Muslims who tortured and mur-dered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins inLebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troopsfound in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut offthe heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, be-cause the girls were Christian. Then we’llcompare notes. British and American sol-diers are the only troops in history that ci-vilians came to for help and handouts, in-stead of hiding from in fear.

I’m tired of people telling me that theirparty has a corner on virtue and the otherparty has a corner on corruption. Read thepapers—bums are bi-partisan. And I’m tiredof people telling me we need bi-partisan-ship. I live in Illinois, where the “Illinois

Combine” of Democrats and Republicanshas worked together harmoniously to lootthe public for years. And I notice that thetax cheats in Obama’s cabinet are bi-parti-san as well.

I’m tired of hearing wealthy athletes,entertainers and politicians of both partiestalking about innocent mistakes, stupid mis-takes or youthful mistakes, when we allknow they think their only mistake was get-ting caught. I’m tired of people with a senseof entitlement, rich or poor.

Speaking of poor, I’m tired of hearingpeople with air-conditioned homes, colorTVs and two cars called poor. The majorityof Americans didn’t have that in 1970, butwe didn’t know we were “poor.” The pov-erty pimps have to keep changing the defi-nition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I’m real tired of people who don’t takeresponsibility for their lives and actions. I’mtired of hearing them blame the government,or discrimination, or big-whatever for theirproblems.

Yes, I’m damn tired. But I’m also gladto be 63. Because, mostly, I’m not going toget to see the world these people are mak-ing. I’m just sorry for my granddaughter.

Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam vet-eran who served five terms in the Massachu-setts state senate. He blogs at www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com

I’m tired

When Grandma goes to courtLawyers should never ask a Missisippi grandma aquestion if they arent prepared for the answer

In a trial, a Southern small-town pros-ecuting attorney called his first witness, agrandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand.He approahed her and asked, “Mrs. Jones,do you know me?” She responded, “Whyyes, I do know you, Mr. Williams, I’veknown you since you were a boy, andfrankly, you’ve been a big disappointmentto me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, andyou manipulate people and talk about thembehind their backs. You think you’re a bigshot when you haven’t the brains to realizeyou’ll never amount to anything more thana two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.”

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowingwhat else to do, he pointed across the roomand asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know thedefense attorney?”

She again replied, “Why yes I do. I’veknown Mrs. Bradley since he was a young-ster, too. He’s lazy, bigoted, and he has adrinking problem. He can’t build a normalrelationship with anyone, and his law prac-tice is one of the worst in the entire state.Not to mention, he cheated on his wife withthree different women. One of them was

your wife. Yes, I know him.”The defense attorney nearly died.The judge asked both counselors to ap-

proach the bench and, in a very quiet voice,said,

“If either of you idiots asks her if sheknows me, I’ll send you both to the electricchair.”


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