By William Tauro 

Over two years ago The Somerville News Weekly first published and exposed the City of Somerville Department of Public Works with a story regarding a Letter to the Editor revealing the fraudulent activity that occurred and later an article written about an “ALLEGED SOMERVILLE DPW OVERTIME SCANDAL.” 

This story led up to a six part story series on allegations of multiple Somerville stalled developments and corruption within the Curtatone Administration as well as extortion and racketeering charges later being sought and filed with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  

Even amongst all the overwhelming evidence presented over two years ago by The Somerville News Weekly “Alleged Somerville DPW Overtime Scandal” story, no arrests, no terminations, or reprimands have been ordered by the Curtatone Administration. 

No response was ever received back from the current Somerville Board of Alderman after they were all notified by this very newspaper regarding this situation as well.

One Alderman did call into us over two years ago inquiring about it before the past election but then never hearing from him again after that election was over.  

Now here we are again coming up at the next election. Mayor Curtatone is facing two opponents as well as many aldermen are facing opposition in this coming September primary. 
The Somerville News Weekly is urging Mayor Curtatone, his DPW Administrator and two unnamed ward aldermen to step down amidst these allegations. 

Below is a recap of the original Letter to the Editor as well as the articles regarding the:“ALLEGED SOMERVILLE DPW OVERTIME SCANDAL.

Also attached are the actual photos of the vintage convertible vehicle while being restored in the DPW Garage that is personally owned by a Somerville DPW employee. The alleged repairs and total restoration were all completed at the DPW Garage while employees were clocked in on the city’s time clock getting paid overtime all at the taxpayers expense working on it for months. 

There are also copies below of the actual City of Somerville DPW payroll slips that were approved and signed by the DPW Commissioner and other high ranking DPW employees for payment . 

Also below there are photos of city owned vehicles that certain parts were allegedly and fraudulently ordered from an authorized city vendor parts store and charged to the City of Somerville for that particular assigned vehicle. But instead of those parts being installed on that city vehicle, they were allegedly installed on the employees personal vehicle and again fraudulently all at the taxpayers expense. 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: RE ALLEGED SOMERVILLE DPW OVERTIME SCANDAL

JANUARY 31, 2014

Dear Somerville News Weekly Editor,

What’s Going on with the DPW Garage 
investigation? Why did you drop the ball on it? Please don’t tell us they bought you off to?
Where are all the alderman during all of this? Looks like the more quiet they are, the more they look like they might be involved as well and knew about it?
This is real disappointing that our own police department investigators won’t do the right thing here. Some say that’s why Police Chief Tom Pasqurella was asked to leave because he was doing the right thing but got stopped in his tracks?
This reminds us of Somerville in the 70’s, the dark age of Somerville comes back again it looks like to rob our citizens and do them wrong.
Also what’s with that newspaper putting the suspect as their “man of the year” and making him out to be Somerville’s new poet liaison?
Please explain your actions and let us regain our trust in your publication. 
Sincerely,
One of thousands of Somerville’s taxpayers that got robbed at the DPW garage. 

Somerville News Weekly’s Response:
Dear Somerville Taxpayer,

In the past few weeks we’ve received dozens of letters for Somerville residents regarding the dissatisfaction of the DPW Garage investigation progress. 

Our readers feel as if they were abandoned and that somebody has dropped the ball intentionally and key them down. 

Somehow the investigation has moved away from the facts and directing itself into a different direction.

People are appalled, they are even confusing us with the other local news publication who featured the alleged main person of interest in their “Superviser of the Year Award” as well as their poem writer. 

First of all we here at The Somerville News Weekly have nothing to do with the publication that featured that person nor does he write for us at the News, he writes with them. 

Secondly, we did not drop the ball. We actually put it out there for the workd to see pounding it away for week after week since July and unfortunately it fell upon many def ears.

Third, we will not be bought by anyone. We will Continue to pound away at this story until somebody gets off their seats and does the right thing and the wrongdoers are brought to justice! 

A much bigger disappointment is that none of the elected officials came forward except for the mayor who initiated the initial internal investigation regarding this matter when he first heard about it. 

Its a crying shame that big DPW garage alleged overtime scandal of this magnitude including the private classic convertible restoration project conflict controversy that was funded on your taxpayers dime seems that it is ok in the eyes of some of the decision makers here in Somerville because diddly squat has been done about it. 

Where have all the alderman been during all of this investigation going on since July?

Tight lipped and tails between their legs? A couple of them came forward during their reelection complains back in October, blew smoke up our behinds and fizzled out after Election Day? 

Even that old saying that some aldermen ask us once in a while “whats going on with the DPW Garage matter” and “oh, this is the first that I heard of it” are getting old real fast. 

How can you and more importantly why on earth would you turn and focus an entire “internal police investigation” of alleged possible wrong doing and corruption on some hand writing found on a back side of evidence produced
and go out and hire a high priced forensic handwriting analyst to check out the handwriting found on the reverse side of some time sheets?
What are we trying to do here catch and penalize the good samaritan who may of had the brass marbles to come forward and report this?
Maybe he or she had enough of this alleged scam going on at the DPW garage for over the past ten years or so witnessing the self dealing going on right under everyone’s noses in plain sight?

And so what this person had the courage to come forward and speak up and report it and what do we do, we turn it around and go after them?

We don’t get it? Lot of water threading going on over this subject.
Are we missing something here? Is this a message to warn off and/or discourage any potential whistle blowers to mind their own business and back off? 

Look at all the photos and coinciding time-sheets evidence that was put before the proper decision makers in the city and presented to them on a silver plater and now they look at it and treat it as if its invisible?

And let’s not forget the burden of proof that this clown submitted for overtime hours for all CDL training in the DPW at the tune of time and a half to double time the hours that allegedly reached well over 150 hrs per week and they weren’t even CDL qualified! 

And how about that he allegedly used a city owned vehicle and trailer full of taxpayer’s fuel to transport his own personal golfcart to his campground in NH, yes “New Hampshire, out of state” right under everyone’s noses at the DPW garage in broad daylight, in clear site and even some received complaints about it?

Oh ya, how about all the information that was also given to investigators about the auto parts that were charged to the city’s account by this same guy for his own personal gain to repair all his buddy’s vehicles in the DPW Garage on your taxpayer dime while on your overtime timeclock? 

Hmmm? Something’s definitely wrong here for sure. Did the field of involvement just increase itself? 

Look even the situation of this guy’s souped up Oldsmobile classic convertible that was being stored and refurbished while on the clock at the DPW garage for over ten months that “nobody saw anything” on our taxpayers dime should be more than enough reason and just cause for proving wrong doing and good reason to terminate someone and prosecute them under the full penalties of the law for their wrong doing and deception and not protect them?

For God’s sakes do we remember when we all made a big thing about the two brothers in blue who got terminated via over a couple of alleged police overtime court hours submitted to the department and a $2.00 bag of donated Halloween candy that the other clown hijacked from the police station and was caught on video putting it in his own personal vehicle to indulge at home and everyone was out for blood? 

But instead, the alleged main person of interest of this DPW Garage investigation is put up on a pedestal and even awarded by a little local publication and all of a sudden he is in the papers writing poems for them?
Please, great diversion tactic but are you serious here? What’s next is he going to be the Grand Marshall of the next May Party Parade?

Is all this deeper than it looks? Please don’t tell me that more players are involved and a major cover up is being instituted here? Sure looks like it! 

Where are all the new and old superhero aldermen during all of this out to lunch since July? They haven’t done a darn thing to look after nor assist the interest of the taxpayers during all of this? They haven’t even lifted a finger to see where your hard earned tax dollars went and how that money was pissed away but instead they let this clown write poems? 

But a major meeting is planned to detour development from Patsy’s Pastry’s own building? Are we serious? A property owner developing his own building that he sweat blood over the past 40 years baking cannolis and cakes to rightfully better himself and we make him front page headline news and hold meetings over?
But solid concrete proof of hundreds of thousands of dollars of fraudulent overtime documents submitted and lifted from taxpayers pockets and hundreds of photos of evidence of personal vehicles being repaired and reconstructed on city time and money is not important enough to deserve a meeting at least? 

Listen we all honked and hollered when we got our tax bills and all the alderman put on their superhero capes to save the world and wasted no time and jumped on the band wagon’s soapbox to seize the moment for some free publicity and free media exposer? With hundreds of documents providing proof of wrong doing and all this alleged overtime and classic car restoration scandal evidence that ripped off dollars at the DPW Garage and the big bucks that already got lifted from your pockets , the taxpayers to feed these few greedy self dealing scammers and its on your dime and thats ok nor worth discussing?

We still don’t get it? Do you? Maybe it’s time for that outside agency to finally come forward and look into it if the homeboys don’t have the marbles nor backbone on board to do so? 

And whats going on with the AG’s office who we heard allegedly initiated the preliminary investigation in the first place? Will Martha do the right thing, stand up and move forward and investigate it or was it all just a scare tactic to make sure that a potential candidate dropped out of the race for governor. Let us know what you think?
Sincerely,

The Somerville News Weekly

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