January 3, 2007

New DA faces test on LaGuer

Early may be hoping that appeal is rejected

Joseph D. Early Jr. will be sworn in today as district attorney, and there is one reason why his tenure will lack a honeymoon — Benjamin LaGuer.

Mr. LaGuer, convicted of the brutal rape of a Leominster woman in 1983, is petitioning the state Supreme Judicial Court for a new trial.

If the court rules in his favor — the hearing takes place tomorrow, on Mr. Early’s first full day in office — Mr. Early would be confronted with the decision to go forward with a new trial or to dismiss the case.

Mr. Early said he has not seen the case files, nor has he read any of the briefs being presented in tomorrow’s case. He acknowledges, however, that the LaGuer case will be one of the first he will “get up to speed on as soon as I am sworn in.”

Privately, I have to believe Mr. Early is hoping that the SJC turns down the appeal.

January 4, 2007

Mr. Early has built his new administration with many prosecutors who worked for Mr. Conte, but they’ll be serving in new positions that he hopes will accentuate their job specialties. He announced yesterday that Donald G. Xenos, an assistant district attorney working in Uxbridge District Court, will head the remodeled juvenile justice division. He already has announced that Thomas E. Landry, one of Mr. Conte’s top prosecutors, will head the Worcester Superior Court division, and Edward N. Karcasinas Jr., a Worcester Central District Court prosecutor and community liaison, will serve as his first assistant district attorney, essentially being chief of staff.

Timothy J. Connolly, a former Telegram & Gazette reporter, will serve in a community outreach role and also will handle media relations, a position Mr. Conte never chose to use.

Also yesterday, Mr. Early announced that Jane Sullivan, former chief of appeals for the Suffolk County district attorney’s office, will be his chief of appeals. Brian D’Andrea, a former assistant district attorney who most recently served as a partner in the law firm Eden & Rafferty, will serve as director of community and government relations. Assistant District Attorney Timothy M. Bibaud will head the Central District Court division and also will co-lead the gang unit. State police Lt. Richard McKeon was named commander of the state police detective unit assigned to the district attorney’s office.

January 13, 2007 

New DA starts office turnover

Early lays off 8 in first week

WORCESTER— District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.’s first full week in office arrived with a pile of pink slips.

Mr. Early, who was sworn in Jan. 3, laid off eight people during his first week in office as he puts in place a new administration to replace that of former District Attorney John J. Conte, who decided not to run for re-election after 30 years in office.

Mr. Early has already hired top administrators in different units, including juvenile court and the victim/witness advocate unit, and some of the people who lost their jobs came from those units. Others are assistant district attorneys who served for years under Mr. Conte.

“There are some new personnel coming in over the next several weeks, and as some of those people come in, there will be some people leaving,” said Timothy J. Connolly, Mr. Early’s spokesman. “He is putting his imprint on the office.”