The Joe Curtatone Empire…
Accused of Extortion, Racketeering & Arson…
Elizabeth Warren Endorsed Him…
Maura Healey Hosted a Fundraiser for Him…
The People’s Voice Silenced…

By William Tauro

This is a story captured in a timeline of events of just how this administration tries to silence people when things aren’t going their way. This is a timeline of how the author, myself of “Stealing Somerville Death of an Urban City” was silenced once the book was featured on a television talk show exposing corruption within the city of Somerville.

This timeline will also reveal of how Caroline Collarusso, a television talk show host who is also a Stoneham Selectwoman was silenced for having the courage being outspoken regarding corruption. She gets silenced due to revealing the same message that the book she was featuring on her show demonstrates and what lengths the Curtatone administration reached out to get the job done.

On January 25, 2019, I was interviewed on the Stoneham Selectwoman’s public television program, Colarusso’s Corner. I told the story behind the publishing of my new book Stealing Somerville Death of an Urban City, an expose of the ongoing corruption in Mayor Joe Curtatone’s Somerville administration.
On January 31st, I posted on my personal Facebook page that I was going to be interviewed on 68am WRKO Radio, The Mike Siegel Show on the following day. WRKO Radio is part of the iHeartMedia Inc. Radio conglomerate, the #1 commercial podcast publisher in the world.

I also posted on my Facebook site as well I was advertising my new book, Stealing Somerville, around the Kuehner Report 680am WRKO Morning Drive radio program as well as evening drive around the Howie Carr Show during the month of March.

On January 26, 2019, I emailed the Director of Institutional Advancement at Somerville Community Access Television, a publicly funded venture of the City of Somerville. I asked that my show with Caroline Collarusso/Colarusso Corner be shown on SCAT and attached the link for the program. The director replied, “I will pass it on to the TV station Programming Coordinator and Production Assistant, should be no problem.”

On January 29, 2019, I ran into Joe Lynch, the Creator, Producer, Host at “Greater Somerville with Joe Lynch” from the same Somerville TV station. Lynch is also Chairman and Curtatone appointee to the City of Somerville’s Licensing Commission. I mentioned to Lynch “Hey, keep an eye out for the link I sent to your TV station for the show I did with Caroline Collarusso.” “Oh….that’s good.” Joe replied. Then the show mysteriously didn’t air.

I then realized that the mayor probably saw my TV show announcement on my Facebook page and put pressure on Mr. Lynch to not letting the TV show air at his station.
On February 14, 2019, I published an article written by Former Somerville Police Lieutenant Joe McCain, Somerville’s Opioid Hypocrisy, which was critical of Mayor Joe Curtatone and his first cousin, disgraced Somerville Police High School Resource Officer, Alex Capobianco. Shortly after Lieutenant McCain’s article was published, I called McCain and asked if he would be willing to discuss the article on Stoneham Selectwoman Caroline Collarusso’s television show, Collarusso’s Corner, later in the month.

On February 18, 2019 I posted another article in the Somerville News Weekly, “HOW SOMERVILLE MAYOR CURTATONE CONTROLS THE MEDIA TO HIS ADVANTAGE.” This article was about how stories that affect our everyday lives here in Somerville are possibly and/or intentionally overlooked nor reported for the people of Somerville to see. I was also referring to Curtatone possibly pressuring Lynch not to air my TV show.

These stories include many serious accusations, public concerns as well as facts and truth of how seven term Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone tries to control the media and in most cases with great success.

Let’s face it, news agencies depend on sponsors to keep their publications going most of the time and in some cases the curtatone administration would reach out to our customers and demand them not to advertise with us. This is called intimidation as well as an another form of conspiracy to extortion using the advertiser as his scapegoat.

Then soon after that article was published we received an email approving the show to finally run on 2/25/2019 by the TV station Programming Coordinator at Somerville Media Center stating that the show I requested with my interview by Caroline Collarusso will finally run on a new schedule. Hopefully my article proved its point.

Lieutenant McCain and I appeared on Caroline’s show for my second TV appearance about my book at the studio of Stoneham Public Television on March 1, 2019. For almost an hour, Lieutenant Joe McCain told the story of how in 2005, a drug dealing cop was helped back on the police job by his cousin and newly elected Mayor of Somerville Joe Curtatone.
After the show, as soon as I sat in my car, my phone rang, it was Jeffrey Short, my advertising account representative from iHeart Radio.”
Short said, “Bill, I’m sorry, but I can’t air your Stealing Somerville commercials, you’ve been banned from advertising on IHeartRadio, I will send you an email tomorrow.”
I told Short “that they were already in possession of my advertising funds which they received and deposited into iHeart Radio’s account a month earlier to begin advertising my new book. The advertising schedule for Stealing Somerville was to be broadcasted around the Jeff Kuehner, the Kuehner Report 680am WRKO Morning Drive radio program as well as around the Howie Carr evening drive radio show on the same station.

Short confirmed the transaction saying that the advertisement would be run as “Pervasive Corruption in the Mayor’s Office.”
I asked Jeffery Short “Why he couldn’t air my commercials,” Short replied, “I’ll have to send you an email; I’ll call you back later.” Obviously he couldn’t talk freely because somebody was in the office with him.
I waited for a return phone call. When Short called back he said, “I feel terrible about this.”
I reply to Short, “You should, you lost your commission.”
Short began to explain that “Someone called from the Somerville Mayor’s office,” Short stated. I replied “I know where you’re going with this, I want to talk with your boss.”
Short replied “Here’s the number for my supervisor, iHeart Radio Director Sean Dressler.”
I immediately called Dressler who is stationed in Florida. “Hi Sean, my name is Bill Tauro; I want to know why my book’s advertising Stealing Somerville got bumped.”
“Well, we got a phone call from someone at the mayor’s Office and you’re writing about the Mayor [Curtatone] and the Somerville Police Department, and they’re right in the back yard of our Boston office,” Sean Dressler said.

In devastation, I replied “We have a contract and I paid you in full.” Dressler replying “there is nothing that I can do and It’s gonna take 7-10 days to get you a refund,” I informed him “ That’s totally unacceptable” and to “Send me my refund immediately , so I can at least go elsewhere and advertise my book before other time slots are taken with different sources.” Dressier replied I’ll try to expedite it,” and he immediately hung up on me.

Minutes after that I received a phone call from John Murray the advertising director of the Howie Carr Show, where I had also begun scheduling advertising for my book as well, who stated to me “Bill I have orders not to talk to you any longer regarding any advertising on the Howie Carr Show.”

After a heated exchange began between the two of us on the phone when he informed me that they couldn’t talk to me at all regarding advertising your book Stealing Somerville on the show” then immediately hung up on me.
Shortly after that Howie Carr‘s wife called me and stated the same thing that “We were barred from advertising on her husband’s show where they as well have a business relationship with iHeartRadio.” In devastation, we began to argue while asking her the reason my book Stealing Somerville was barred from the show and I could not get a direct answer from her, so I informed her about a $26 million dollar lawsuit that I was intending to file against iheart radio which I may now include them as well. Carr’s wife stated “Sorry, but we can’t give you advertising on our show” then hung up on me.

About a half hour after that I received a text message as well as phone a voicemail from Howie Carr’s station manager John Murray again now surprisingly notifying me that “We’re all set, everything is straightened out, and Mrs Carr gave me permission to advertise you now.”

He began to call me for two days straight leaving voicemails and texts as well as I was receiving similar texts from Howie Carr‘s wife which stating to me that “We’re all set to advertise” which I in anger ignored as well.
After a day or, so I answered her call, and she says “Bill I explained your situation to my show and we have decided to do your advertisements regardless of your differences with iHeartRadio with no hard feelings.” I replied to her with appreciation and that “I will consider it but I have to consult with my attorneys who are handling the iheart lawsuit case as we speak.”

I also stated to Mrs. Carr that “I have the upmost respect for her husband, where I’ve learned mostly everything I know about broadcasting through him by listening to him over the years and that I have no intentions to include him in any lawsuit because he did no wrong to me and is clearly not involved with Curtatone’.”

In short this all lead back to Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone’s doing via his political reach in retaliation to me being allowed on the Caroline Collarusso’s show exposing multiple scandalous activity.
With all that said, I believe everything that has happened to Selectwoman/TV Host Caroline Collorusso and myself was brought on by Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone’s intimidating political reach.

The same political reach that caused my book advertising being banned nationwide on iHeartRadio was all traced back to the Curtatone Administration. I believe that the mayor and his administration were in panic mode, in fear that we were revealing to a large scale radio audience of his administration’s allegations of the undermining of its citizens and his alleged criminal activities.
Preparations for a lawsuit against media giant iHeartRadio for breach of contract, discrimination as well as conspiracy are moving forward.

We won’t be silenced, we won’t let them win!

To view both Collarusso’s television shows, Collarusso’s Corner featuring my book Stealing Somerville Death of an Urban City a true story exposing the Curtatone administration click on the links below:

Stoneham Caroline Calaruso show link #1
http://vp.telvue.com/player?height=300&id=T01824&noplaylistskin=1&video=343511&width=400

Click on link below to see Retired Somerville police Lieutenant Joe Mccain interview:http://cvp.telvue.com/player?id=T01824&video=344441

To order STEALING SOMERVILLE Death of an Urban City by William Tauro go to: www.Stealingsomerville.com

Stealing Somerville is also available on www.Amazon.com and www.Barnesandnoble.com