Attorney General – Everett Leader Herald

Students brave to protest

**Governor Maura Healey, Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, US Attorney Rachael Rollins on top and Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Diana DiZoglio State Auditor below.**

Mostly Black, Brown and Hispanic Everett High School students were brave to protest last week in front of city hall.

Black’s, Browns and Hispanics protesting publicly against the actions of white elected public officials here can be dangerous business, especially for young adults wanting to express themselves without getting themselves in trouble.

They came to protest the School Committee’s refusal to extend Superintendent Priya Tahiliani’s contract.

Mostly, they shouted in protest about the mayor, although six white members of the School Committee (including the mayor) refused to vote for Tahiliani, who is a woman of color.

Two members said they were refusing to vote for Tahiliani because so many people had reached out to them asking them to vote for her.

How’s that for logic?

Several others, including the mayor, said nothing but the word “no” when they were asked to vote.

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EVERETT COMPANY SETTLES ILLEGAL ASBESTOS CLAIMS

Under Settlement, Company Will Pay Up to $225,000

Special to the Leader Herald

An Everett construction company and its president will pay up to $225,000 in civil penalties, properly train its employees on asbestos work and report regularly to the state to settle claims that they conducted illegal work on asbestos water mains in Everett and Braintree and unlawfully stored waste contaminated by asbestos at a facility in Revere, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced today.

The consent judgment, filed and entered in Suffolk Superior Court, resolves a lawsuit the AG’s Office filed in July alleging that GTA Co., Inc. and its president, Gregory T. Antonelli, violated the state’s Clean Air Act and Solid Waste Management Act when they removed and demolished asbestos-containing municipal water pipes without complying with required asbestos abatement work practices as part of the water main replacement projects in Everett and Braintree.

“By conducting unsafe and illegal asbestos work, these companies put the health of the community – including the health of their own workers – at serious risk,” said AG Campbell. “I’m proud of the work our office did to hold this company accountable for their actions – and we will continue to take on any company that harms our environment or violates workplace safety laws.”

The AG’s Office alleges that GTA and Antonelli left the excavated uncontained asbestos-contaminated pipes and debris on the ground and in open dumpsters in Everett and Braintree. The AG’s complaint also alleges that they arranged for the transport of asbestos-contaminated waste that they failed to safely contain from the Everett projects, and the illegal storage of the waste at a site in Revere, further endangering public health in the process.

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City could face a world of hurt; Legal fees could total $millions

By Josh Resnek

For five months, there had been only silence coming from the top echelons of city hall about the Federal Investigation into racism and discrimination in Everett that had been announced last June by US Attorney Rachael Rollins.

US Attorney Rachel Rollins As is typical of such investigations, the US Attorney’s office does not comment on ongoing investigations and had not commented on the Everett investigation.

The institutional belief that this was just another smokescreen for an investigation that would yield nothing became a prominent feature of idle talk among city hall denizens over the months.

Then came the sudden Monday night appearance at the city council meeting of Assistant City Solicitor Keith Slattery and the city’s counsel, Attorney Linda Ricci of Greenberg Traurig seeking the payment of a $500,000 legal bill that had been run up since the day after the Federal investigation had been announced last June.

This came as a total surprise to the unwitting city council.

So too did the likelihood of another $500,000 invoice to be paid coming on the heels of this first invoice for the same amount.

Bottom line, the city is facing well over $1 million in legal fees to defend itself against allegations of racism and discrimination – and the case has not really begun in its fullest iteration.

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Council Requests AG’s Investigation of Mayor’s Longevity Payments

“Look into the mayor’s longevity payments, please.”

By Josh Resnek

The city council wants answers from State Attorney General Maura Healey about the mayor’s questionable $40,000 a year longevity payments.

“This letter is a request that was made at our December 13th Council meeting for your office to look into the longevity bonus the Mayor of Everett is receiving,” wrote City Clerk Sergio Cornelio to the Attorney General.

“The City Council discussed an ordinance to delete longevity for the Office of the Mayor at the December 13th council meeting and the ordinance failed to pass. The members who asked for the deletion of the ordinance believe that the ordinance, which was passed in 2016, is being incorrectly interpreted and that the mayor has been receiving a larger amount and more frequent payments than is allowed by said ordinance,” Cornelio wrote.

The letter was signed by Councilor at Large Mike Marchese on behalf of the city council.

Cornelio counter signed the request. As the city clerk, and the official clerk for the city council, Cornelio was required to do so.

Marchese and several of his colleagues, including Fred Capone, expressed outrage about the mayor receiving a $40,000 a year longevity payment when he and other councilors believe it should be $2,500.

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Council tackles asbestos violations

GTA crew members work on Elm Street. (Photo By Jim Mahoney)

Approves special meeting to question city officials

By JOSH RESNEK

The city council unanimously approved a special measure Monday night to call a host of city officials led by the mayor to a meeting of a council committee headed by Stephanie Martins as soon as possible to discuss what the Attorney General has called “serious issues” about the illegal removal of asbestos and possible issues arising from asbestos contamination allegedly committed by the mayor’s favored city vendor.

The health and well-being of the city’s residents is my primary concern,” – Councilor Fred Capone

The discussion to ensue: how such a thing could be allowed to happen by the city’s largest vendor responsible for pipe replacements under the ground in the city’s streets as well as asbestos removal and storage.

That meeting could likely be called for next week, according to city council officials.

The council is demanding to discuss the issues around a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s office in the Superior Court against the local company GTA two weeks ago after almost three years of investigations and discussions, presumably with city officials.

That lawsuit details repeated violations by the vendor over a long period of time and the failure to answer requests and demands for action by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Safety.

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