"Friends, family support Galluccio at fund-raiser; Say ex-senator stuck by them" by Meghan E. Irons, Globe Staff | February 25, 2010
CAMBRIDGE - Former state senator Anthony D. Galluccio may be sitting in a jail cell, but there was no shortage of support for him last night as friends and relatives gathered for a fund-raiser at a hotel in Cambridge.
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My New Year's Eve Party
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Maybe he will be doing a little chug-a-lugging there, huh?
Nearly 100 guests were at the Sheraton Commander Hotel to raise money to help Galluccio pay legal expenses after he was found to have violated his probation, which he was put on after pleading guilty to fleeing the scene of an October 2009 accident, and to fund a future appeal.
Galluccio is serving a one-year jail sentence for violating the terms of the probation by testing positive for alcohol while under house arrest. A repeat drunk driver, he pleaded guilty Dec. 18 to fleeing from the 2009 accident that injured a 13-year-old boy and his father, and he was sentenced to six months of home confinement.
Those who mixed and mingled among the guests last night said they are standing by a friend in need, guilty or not.
“You don’t walk away from your friend, no matter what,’’ said Tony Hernandez, a longtime Galluccio friend from Chelsea. “He made a mistake. He did something wrong.’’
Guests said they believed Galluccio’s assertion that he did not ingest alcohol, which constituted the probation violation. They said that he was unfairly targeted and that the punishment does not fit the crime.
Yeah, ENABLE HIM why don't you!? Just what an alcoholic needs.
And I KNOW of WHAT I SPEAK! Maybe that's why I'm so tough on "Gooch."
“There are people on the street who are robbing and killing people; here’s a senator who has been helping people his whole life. . . . Why is he in jail?’’ said Gloria Castro, a supporter from Randolph. “It’s not fair.’’
Yeah, they are usually politicians sitting in government offices giving the war orders or tossing about tax loot.
Galluccio’s mother, Nancy, and sister, Lissa, have been blitzing the city urging support and e-mailed invitations to yesterday’s fund-raiser in the Mount Vernon Ballroom at the Sheraton. The invitation urged individuals and corporations to donate $50, $100, $250, or “any amount’’ to the Anthony Galluccio Defense Fund.
I'd say send it to Haiti instead.
Harvard Law professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. is handling the former senator’s appeal, but the Galluccio family said they needed money to pay bills from the probation violation hearing as well as other costs.... Galluccio violated his probation after he was barred by a judge from drinking alcohol and agreed to undergo random tests by an alcohol breath-screening machine installed on his home phone line.
Immediately after the device was installed, he tested positive for alcohol. Galluccio, a former mayor of Cambridge, blamed the positive test reading on ingredients in his toothpaste. But a judge sentenced him to a year in jail. He resigned from the Senate the next day.
Among the guests at the Sheraton last night were union representatives, members of the immigrant community, and a host of longtime friends. Some came alone, others brought their children. They wrote out checks or put cash in a tin box. It was unclear how much money was raised.
The mingling guests gathered in small groups, laughing and making small talk.
Yeah, it was a fun time for all.
One by one, they sounded a singular theme: Galluccio stuck with them when they were down; now they are sticking with him in his time of need.
Asked if he thought Galluccio was innocent of the charges, his friend Jim Henry was careful in his response.
“He’s innocent of his probation violation,’’ he replied.
As for the other charges, Henry said: “He made a poor choice. He paid for that.’’
Actually, no, no he didn't.
Also see: Goochy-Coochy-Coo
Related: Boston Globe Bubble Will Not Burst
Oh, now I understand the empathic attempt and attention lavished on the Great Gooch by the Boston Glob.
