BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 8 -- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued the following news on March 7, 2024: The Mayor's Office of Black Male Advancement (BMA) hosted the inaugural Empowerment Summit 2024 last Friday at Northeastern University's John D. O'Bryant African American Institute. The summit provided space for discussions aimed at fostering empowerment and solutions within the community. "It's an honor to be in this space, with this group, with this community, and thank you to Frank Farrow   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: BURLINGTON, Vt. - The United States Attorney's Office stated that, on March 4, 2024, Rafael Ortiz, 47, of Hartford, Connecticut, was sentenced by United States District Judge William K. Sessions III to 110 months in prison and three years of supervised release following his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin,  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: EAST HARTFORD, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that OMARI LEWIS, 25, of East Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 15 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing fentanyl pills. Accordin  more

WASHINGTON, March 8 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued the following news release on March 7, 2024: BOSTON -- Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested an unlawfully present, 30-year-old convicted sex offender Feb. 12 in Barnstable. Deportation officers apprehended the Jamaican noncitizen, who was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and battery of a person over the age of 14 in November 2023, during a nationwide law en  more

HANSCOM AFB, Massachusetts, March 8 -- The U.S. Air Force's Hanscom Air Force Base issued the following news: By Mark Wyatt, 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs The Military and Family Readiness Center here supports separating or retiring personnel as they leave military service through the Transition Assistance Program or Senior-level Transition Assistance Program. The workshop is mandatory for members of all branches who have at least 180 continuous days or more on active duty, including Nat  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 8 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release on March 7, 2024: Today the Healey-Driscoll administration is launching a new partnership with eight resettlement agencies to expand efforts to connect families living in Emergency Assistance shelters with stable housing and jobs. The funding for this new initiative was included in the supplemental budget passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Maura Healey in December 2023. Resettl  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: A Hyannis woman has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for her involvement in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl throughout Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  Rebecca Bartholomew, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to three years in prison and three years of sup  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division issued the following news release: When the owner of three Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt shops in Massachusetts and New Hampshire terminated an employee who asserted their rights to the tips they had earned, the company violated anti-retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and found themselves facing costly consequences after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation. The department's Wage and Hou  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: A Lawrence man pleaded guilty on March 1, 2024 in federal court in Boston to his role in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. Fredis Manuel Guerrero Guzman, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue; one count   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 8 -- Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell issued the following news release: Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has led a multistate coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the Colorado Supreme Court in support of a transgender woman who was denied service by a Colorado cakeshop after she informed the business that a pink and blue cake that she ordered was expressive of her gender identity. In the amicus brief, filed in the ca  more

HOPKINTON, Massachusetts, March 8 -- Gov. Maura Healey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release on March 7, 2024: Today, Governor Maura T. Healey launched her Mass Leads Road Show, during which she will travel to communities across the state to highlight the ways in which her Mass Leads Act will grow the Massachusetts economy, support businesses and attract talent to the state. She visited life sciences companies in Worcester and Hopkinton to focus on her proposed $1 billion, 10-yea  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release: A Boston man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to illegally transport firearms from Alabama into Massachusetts. Kobe Smith, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to illegally transport firearms. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for June 12, 2024. Smith was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2022 along with   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release: The former chief of staff to former Massachusetts State Senator Dean Tran was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Springfield, Mass. for filing false and fraudulent tax returns between 2016 and 2020. Christianne Mylott-Coleman, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 30 days in prison and one year of supervised release, with th  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release: A former Stoughton Water Department employee was arrested today on charges that he tampered with the drinking water supply and made false statements to federal investigators. Robert J. Bullock, Sr., 58, of Brockton, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on two counts of making false statements and one count of tampering with a water system. Bullock was  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 8 -- The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued the following news release: The Massachusetts Clean Water Trust's (the Trust) Board of Trustees approved $78,249,638 in new low-interest loans and grants at its meeting on March 6, 2024. Below is information on the grants and loans approved at the meeting. The Trust, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), helps communities build or replace water i  more

BALTIMORE, Maryland, March 8 -- Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued the following news release on March 7, 2024: Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a bipartisan coalition of 41 Attorneys General in sending a letter to Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) addressing the recent increase in Facebook and Instagram platform account takeovers by scammers. Account takeovers are when bad actors break into a user's account and change passwords, effectively hijacking the account and b  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: A Methuen man has pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges involving distribution of fentanyl, fentanyl analog and cocaine.  Daniel Lopez-Gonzalez, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, involving 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of fent  more

LANSING, Michigan, March 8 -- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued the following news release: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a bipartisan coalition of 41 attorneys general in sending a letter to Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) addressing the recent rise of Facebook and Instagram account takeovers by scammers and frauds. When bad actors break into a user's account and change passwords, effectively hijacking the account and blocking out the rightful owner, it is an account   more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 7 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: Dallas, TX - An Albuquerque mother who concealed a deadly dose of fentanyl inside her children's luggage pleaded guilty yesterday to a federal drug crime. Magdalena Silva Banuelos, 47, was indicted in November 2022. She pleaded guilty Wednesday to distribution of fentanyl before U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn. In plea papers, she a  more

NEW YORK, March 7 -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued the following transcript of an interview on March 6, 2024, with Rosanna Scotto of Fox5's Good Day New York: * * * Rosanna Scotto: Mayor Adams says he's planning on resuming random bag searches at certain subway stations as well as adding more cops on trains and platforms. The move comes after several violent attacks and despite new data revealing that there's a drop in subway crime. So, what's really going on? Joining us from City Hall  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 6 -- The U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's New England Division issued the following news release: SPOKANE, Wash. - Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that in 2023, the office she leads prosecuted 85 illegal firearm offenders, resulting in the seizure and forfeiture of 163 illegally owned, possessed, used, or obtained firearms. Firearms that are forfeited are removed from the posses  more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 8 -- Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes issued the following news: Attorney General Reyes joined a bipartisan coalition of 40 attorneys general in sending a letter to Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) addressing the recent rise of Facebook and Instagram platform account takeovers by scammers and fraudsters. Account takeovers are when bad actors break into a user's account and change passwords, effectively hijacking the account and blocking out the rightful owner. Attorney  more