"Judge rules against man accused in fatal fires" August 23, 2011|Associated Press
NORTHAMPTON - A superior court judge rejected yesterday a plea to suppress evidence in the case of a Northampton man accused of setting 15 fires that left two men dead and damaged property and vehicles more than a year ago.
Prosecutors allege the fires in the predawn hours of Dec. 27, 2009, were set by Anthony Baye. One of the fires destroyed a home and took the lives of 81-year-old Paul Yeskie Sr. and 39-year-old Paul Yeskie Jr.
Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney rejected Baye’s attempts to suppress his alleged confession to police.
His attorneys argued last spring that police conducted illegal motor vehicle stops on his vehicle on the night of the fires and that the troopers who questioned him failed to stop questions after he invoked his right to counsel. The suspect also argued that his statements were involuntary and that he was denied his right to prompt arraignment as a result of their interrogation of him.
But the judge disagreed, citing Baye’s willingness to talk to police even after he demanded an attorney.
She also cited the fact that the man chose to admit his role in less serious fires, but changed his story when he was confronted with evidence that placed him near other fires shortly after the each blaze broke out.
“The defendant knew what he was doing when he made the admission and was quite selective in what he stated,’’ Sweeney said in a 44-page decision. “The defendant felt trapped by the evidence, not by the behavior or questioning techniques of the troopers. This is what caused him to make selective’’ incriminating statements.
The judge also acknowledged the fact that state troopers used coercive techniques as they pressed the suspect to admit that he set the fires.
“While the troopers’ use of these techniques were improper and designed to coerce the defendant into admitting that he set the fires, I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt based on the credible evidence that the use of the improper techniques did not overbear the defendant’s exercise of his free will,’’ the judge said.
Baye has pleaded not guilty to numerous charges, including two counts of murder, three counts of armed burglary, and 14 counts of burning a motor vehicle.
Baye, a former restaurant cook, was arrested about a week later and has been held without bail since.
Burn him at the stake.
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Related:
Hothampton
Massachusetts Hotfoot
"Audit says nonprofit misused $1 million; Easthampton human services office scrutinized" August 26, 2011|By Amanda Cedrone, Globe Correspondent
A nonprofit human services provider in Western Massachusetts that works with mentally ill and emotionally disturbed children misused more than $1 million in taxpayer money, the state auditor’s office said yesterday.
The report said that the Northeast Center for Youth and Families Inc. mishandled funds over a five-year period, the auditor’s office said in a statement.
The organization, based in Easthampton, serves about 600 mentally ill and emotionally disturbed children in Massachusetts; it also operates in Connecticut....
Auditor Suzanne Bump said the center sent inflated cost information to the Department of Youth Services between 2006 and 2008, resulting in an unjustified overpayment of more than $650,000.
The center also inappropriately used $406,360 to cover out-of-state operating losses in Connecticut, the auditor said. And it hired independent consultants who could not be paid by the state, according to the report....
Bump also questioned the center’s doling out nearly $1 million in bonuses over a three-year period.
That issue was referred by auditors to the Department of Youth Services for review.
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Also see: Retards Pad Retirement Pensions
It's special ed for $omeone anyway.
Update:
Special needs agencies faulted
More than two decades of failed oversight have allowed the state’s special education collaboratives to misspend millions of taxpayer dollars, according to the state auditor’s office.
