"Lowell clerk-magistrate suspended after domestic violence arrest" by John R. Ellement, Globe Staff February 12, 2015
The clerk-magistrate of Lowell District Court has been suspended with pay following his arrest on domestic violence charges of slapping his wife on the arm and threatening her with a lamp in their Burlington home on Feb. 8, officials said.
William A. Lisano, 74, was arraigned Wednesday in Woburn District Court on one count of domestic assault and battery involving an intimate partner and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, a lamp. Bail was set at $500 cash, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s office.
According to a Burlington police report filed in court, Lisano’s wife, Nancy, dialed 911 around 6:15 p.m. on Sunday and told police that William Lisano “is abusing her and is going to throw lamps at her.’’ She later alleged that her husband, while they were arguing, pushed her and slapped her across her arm, police wrote.
When police arrived, William Lisano was standing in his garage on Mill Street waiting for them. He allowed himself to be frisked there for weapons, since Nancy Lisano had reported her husband owned firearms, according to the report.
Lisano is a former State Police trooper.
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During her conversation with police, Nancy Lisano said she had been subjected to abuse for 20 years and that on Sunday, William Lisano kept telling her to move out. Tensions escalated when William Lisano went through the house shutting off lights, and was followed by his wife who would turn the lights back on.
“William became verbally assaultive by swearing at Nancy,’’ the wife told police, according to the report. “William then pushed Nancy and slapped her across the arm. It should be noted William is about three times the size of Nancy.”
She told police that William Lisano raised a lamp over his head. She said she feared he was going to throw the lamp at her, prompting her to dial 911 for emergency help, police wrote.
“William became even more enraged yelling about how any police involvement would cost him his job,’’ police wrote. “The entire time Nancy was explaining what happened, she was trembling with fear.’’
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Lisano’s ran into trouble in 1993, in part because Nancy Lisano had filed for divorce in 1973, 1976, and 1991 alleging that her husband had abused her, the Globe reported at the time. Nancy Lisano later said the allegations were false, according to press accounts....
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