“Carlo has water on his mind. He doesn’t drink much water but he must be using a lot of it.”
– The Blue Suit speaking with Josh Resnek
By JOSH RESNEK with THE BLUE SUIT
I picked up the Blue Suit Tuesday afternoon in front of Brian’s Barbershop on Elm Street. Brian gave him a good cut. Inside the barbershop, three men waiting for haircuts crowded around the Blue Suit as he prepared to leave. He told me everyone wanted to meet him…and to tell him things…about guess who? The mayor.
“They all wanted my autograph!” the Blue Suit told me.
“You like that, don’t you,” I said. “To be truthful, Josh, I do,” he answered.
We got settled in my red Honda Fit. We passed through Glendale Square. I turned left onto Broadway. We flew down Broadway.
The Blue Suit seemed to be thinking about something. ‘What’s up?” I asked.
“I heard a few things about Carlo on Monday,” he told me. “OK. Spit it out,” I said to him.
“Well,” the Blue Suit hesitated, “He’s got some kind of problem going on in Revere.”
“Oh yeah? What’s the problem?” I asked him. We were driving down Broadway, heading towards the casino for lunch at Mike’s Roast Beef.
“You know the mayor owned a donut shop that failed on Squire Road. I’m not sure it failed so much as it closed for a lack of business,” the Blue Suit told me.
“Yes. I am aware of that. When he closed down the donut shop on Squire Road it proved one thing.”
“What’s that?” the Blue Suit answered.
“That making donuts is a lot harder than it looks,” I answered. “You trying to be a comedian, Josh? It doesn’t really fit on you. I’ve told you before, you’re not funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. Have you ever tried running a donut shop?” I asked the Blue Suit.
“I was side by side with Carlo in that dump of a coffee shop in Revere for several years. It was horrible. Carlo hated it. Of course he hated it because you have to work a shop like that. Carlo doesn’t have a work ethic. I knew the donut shop was going into the ground long before he closed the doors.”
We stopped at the red light in Everett Square. We watched the people coming and going, slipping and sliding through the snow and ice and all the frigid wetness that has been hanging on for days.
“Look at that couple!” the Blue Suit exclaimed.
I watched with amazement as a younger couple walked past us and headed up Chelsea Street. They were both wearing flip flops in the snow!
“Don’t they know its winter?” the Blue Suit asked me.
“Now you sound like Carlo,” I said to him. “He talks like that about people.”
“Carlo’s probably wearing flip flops right now,” the Blue Suit added.
“Yeah. You’ve got that right. But Carlo is on the beach in Florida somewhere. He’s not sloshing through snow and ice in Everett Square.”
“You’ve got a point there, Josh.”
We both shared a good laugh and headed to Mike’s.
“So tell me. When Carlo closed down, did he leave the place neat and clean in Revere?” I asked.
“Not exactly,” the Blue Suit replied.
“In fact,” he said, “the place is coming back to haunt him.” “How so?” I asked.
“A friend of mine from Revere told me Carlo had a hassle recently with an official at Revere city hall.”
“Really,” I said.
“What kind of hassle?” I asked.
“It seems as though – according to my Revere friend – that Carlo left a small water bill unpaid.”
“You’re kidding me. Would Carlo do something like that?” I asked.
“Yes, indeed,” the Blue Suit affirmatively replied with a knowing shake of his head.
“How much does he owe?” I asked.
“$10,000,” the Blue Suit answered.
“Yeah. Carlo was trying to get out of it. After all the donut shop has been closed for almost two years.”
“What do you mean he was trying to get out of it?” I asked.
“Doesn’t he get free water from the city of Revere because he’s the mayor of Everett?” I asked.
“No, Josh. Revere wants the money or they’ll take him to court to get it.”
“Truth be known, a friend checked out his water bills in Everett. I’ve got them right here. Check them out.” I handed them to the Blue Suit.
“How does he get away without paying his water bills,” the Blue Suit asked me.
“Well, he’s the mayor. Besides, I understand Al Lattanzi the new councilor told Carlo not to pay the bill because the city owes him money because he’s been doing such a great job.”
The Blue Suit stared at the mayor’s water bill for his mansion on Abbott Ave.
“$2100!!! Is that what he owes?”
“I told you. Carlo doesn’t have to pay like everyone else because he’s the mayor. The City’s CFO Eric Demas said the city charter allows for this, in fact, it demands special treatment for the mayor. Colleen Mejia, the city solicitor said not only does Carlo not have to pay the bill but that he shouldn’t pay the bill under any circumstances. It would be against the law!”
“Do you think anyone complains to the mayor about the bill he owes for water or that anyone working for the city would shut off his water for not paying the bill?” I asked. “The better question is this, do you think anyone else in the city has had their water shut off for a bill that size?”
“What do you think, Josh?” the Blue Suit answered.
“Do you think the mayor owes other water bills for his property in Everett?” I asked.
“That’s a loaded question,” the Blue Suit replied. Everyone who owns property has to pay their water bills. Shouldn’t the mayor be paying his?