Anthony DiPierro

— Eye on Everett —

THE BLUE SUIT

Conversations between the mayor’s Blue Suit and Josh Resnek.

The Blue Suit and I met as usual Tuesday afternoon in Everett – this time – at an undisclosed location.

The location will remain undisclosed because both the Blue Suit and I felt that we were being watched.

This tends to be no big deal, as we have been watched here by a variety of people over the years.

Yesterday, however, the Blue Suit was complaining that he is tired of everything having to do with politics.

What a surprise – the Blue Suit tired of politics! I thought for sure he was kidding around.

“Who would be following us?” I asked the Blue Suit.

“The Everett police? Detectives? FBI? CIA? DEA? NSA? North Koreans? Iranians? Who would be following us?” I asked the Blue Suit.

“You never know, Josh,” he replied.

“People far less prominent than we are get followed,” he added. I thought about that for a moment.

“What the hell could anyone find out about us following us – where we eat? What we eat? What streets we drive down? I mean, its ridiculous. Anyone following us for whatever reason needs to have their head examined,” I said.

“Roger that, Josh,” the Blue Suit said.

No sooner had the Blue Suit said that, we ran into Joe McGonagle.

“Guys. I’d like to talk but I’m busy right now. Very busy,” Joe told us.

“What are you busy with?” I asked.

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The charmed life of a racist and disgraced former city councilor

By Josh Resnek

Five months ago Anthony DiPierro finally stepped down from his city councilor’s position after a public outcry that ensued following revelations that he had been trading hard core, N-word racist materials and memes with friends and other members of the administration.

As the mayor’s cousin and his chief supporter, DiPierro enjoyed considerable insulation and protection from the outside world.

When the racist, anti-Black memes he had sent around on the Internet came back to bite him, the public outroar here was historic.

Neither the mayor, nor his colleagues on the city council nor school committee members asked for his resignation.

That only came after Black, Brown and Hispanic Everett High School students left their classrooms and marched down to city hall en masse where they held a demonstration outside.

More than 300 high school kids chanting and holding signs demanding DiPierro’s resignation made an impact.

That demonstration and widespread media coverage of it, led to the mayor ordering DiPierro to resign.

A short time later, DiPierro handed in his resignation.

A short time later US Attorney Racheal Rollins announced she was conducting a probe of the Everett city government’s racist acts, and that if enough evidence of wrongdoing came to the fore, she would begin an official investigation into racism, discrimination and retaliation in Everett.

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It took Anthony DiPierro six weeks to realize he must resign.

His resignation Monday was an anti-climax.

We all knew this day was coming.

We didn’t know when.

It was expected he could not possibly stand up to Attorney General Maura Healey who said he was unfit to serve and he should resign, that his position as an elected public official, given what he had done and how he acted toward people of color, was unacceptable.

For weeks, DiPierro refused to accept the harsh reality of his decision not to resign.

He claimed the mayor wanted him to remain until Sergio Cornelio had been run out of office, using DiPierro’s vote to seal the deal with the do nothing city council.

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The Week That Was

By Josh Resnek

Just a few observations about life in Everett as May gets ready to turn into June.

The protest in front of city hall of Everett High School students is unlike anything I have seen in covering the city as a journalist in more than 20 years.

The resignation of Anthony DiPierro was not unexpected but it is shocking never the less as it shows the mayor’s power is in decline.

It has been in decline since Fred Capone almost beat him last November when the mayor spent $400,000 to get re-elected as opposed to Capone spending less than $100,000.

It is notable that in defeat, Capone’s voice has become razor sharp and bold. He is acting very much like a candidate for mayor.

For many thousands of Everett voters in this politically divided city, Capone’s resurgence in defeat is a resurrection of sorts.

Capone represents integrity.

The mayor represents something less than that.

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DiPierro and Deveney Are Gone! Resignations Follow Uproar

By Josh Resnek

The resignations Monday morning of Councilor Anthony DiPierro and the mayor’s communications chief Deanna Deveney ends a 7 week city hall bombardment that has shaken the administration of Mayor Carlo DeMaria.

DiPierro’s racist antics and ant—Black hatred be- hind closed doors, which he shared with Deveney and others, revealed
by the Leader Herald and the Boston Globe, led to Monday’s extraordinary news that they had both finally resigned following weeks of efforts to get them to do so.

While questions remain whether or not they resigned or were fired by the mayor has not been firmly established.

The situation for the mayor seemed to worsen as the day went by when about 300-400 Everett High School kids chanting and carrying signs marched to the front of city hall for a protest after leaving the high school early to do so.

The mayor apparently released a statement indicating DiPierro and Deveney resigned and that more work needed to be done to right his ship of state.

City hall is said to be reeling over the resignations or the firings, however one wishes to look at DiPierro and Deveney’s exit. “The mayor needed to act. He was done if he didn’t act. He may be done after acting,” said councilor Mike Marchese.

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