Coakley: Neither Drugs Nor Money Motivated Drug Lab 'Rogue Chemist' Annie Dookhan

It still isn't clear what drove a State Drug Lab chemist allegedly to taint evidence in thousands of cases. But the attorney general says two common reasons don't appear to apply: a drug habit or money trouble.

  What could possibly drive a chemist responsible for analyzing drugs seized in criminal cases to taint the evidence thousands of times? It's one of the big unanswered questions in the sprawling scandal that officials say stems from the actions of one State Drug Lab chemist — Annie Dookhan. Dookhan was arrested Friday at her Franklin home on two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of falsely pretending to hold a college degree. She was scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. Attorney General Martha Coakley, whose office has been investigating the scandal, spoke to the press from her Boston office. She said that, so far, no clear motive has emerged for Dookhan tampering with the evidence in as many as 34,000 cases. But Coakley did …

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AG Seeks $16 Million Fine Against National Grid

The fine is proposed for items including a failure to effectively communicate with customers and officials and to respond during emergency events. National Grid strongly disagrees with the conclusions drawn by the AG.

  Last week, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office announced it is seeking fines against the utility National Grid. The utility, meanwhile, strongly disagrees with the conclusions drawn by the AG and will file a response with the Department of Public Utilities. After an investigation by her office determined that utility giant National Grid failed to adequately prepare, respond, and communicate during Tropical Storm Irene and the October 2011 snowstorm, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office is seeking a $16 million fine against the company – the largest penalty ever recommended against a utility in Massachusetts.    The AG’s Office made the recommendation in a brief filed Wednesday with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU), …

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Mike

9:53 am on Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Chris, often the trees near power lines are either in or adjacent to utility easements, making it the utility's responsibility -- not the town's -- to clear the limbs from the lines. In most cases, the town would need to call the utility anyway to come do the work because it might involve needing to temporarily shut power. But it's also the responsibility of homeowners to inform the utility of …   more ›

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Punishing a Crooked Contractor

Attorney General Martha Coakley speaks out after the punishment of a crooked contractor who worked on two Westford school projects.

“Employers who have the privilege of engaging in publicly funded construction projects are required by law to pay their employees the proper prevailing wages for all hours of work." -- Attorney General Martha Coakley Coakley made the comment in a statement regarding the punishment of a New Hampshire contractors who shortchanged dozens of workers on a host of public school projects in the state. His company worked on two Westford projects, including the Stony Brook Middle School and Crisafulli Elementary School.

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Contractor Who Stiffed Workers on Crisafulli, Stony Brook School Projects Punished

Stephen P. Bissonnette was ordered to repay more than $36,000 to dozens of workers.

A New Hampshire contractor who shortchanged dozens of workers on a host of state school construction projects -- including Crisafulli Elementary School and Stony Brook Middle School -- was ordered last week to pay restitution. Stephen P. Bissonnette, 45, of Salem, N.H., will be forced to repay more than $36,000 to 24 workers, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley's office. Bissonnette was also prohibited from doing any public construction projects in the state for two years. In December 2010, he pleaded guilty to criminal wage and payroll charges after Coakley's office went after him based on a complaint. Bissonnette had operated Londonderry, N.H.-based Premier Caulking. In addition to Crisafulli and Stony Brook, his crews worked on…

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