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January 13, 2008 Actions by Worcester DA Early reflective of former DA John Conte. After a year of hopefulness that newly elected Worcester District Attorney, Joseph D. Early Jr., would actually be a change from the entrenched former District Attorney, John Conte, has not materialized. When interviewed for a Telegram article, DA Early claimed he informed Assistant District Attorney Joseph J. Reilly III to pick up the pace in the John Szantyr criminal trial, now over four years old. DA Early informed the media and those who have worked tirelessly, to support the two alleged victims in this case, that it would go to trial in August 2007. Currently, February 28th is now the next recorded court date for a motion hearing with still no trial date scheduled. In fact, what many have viewed as alleged gross negligence by ADA Joseph Reilly, who failed to see that a package which contained a report sent by Dr Malcolm Rogers required for the August 20th date, was actually in the courthouse for that hearing. When the media questioned the DA’s Office, they of course blamed the doctor, however, it was later stated in court that the report was located in the courthouse the next day. Those individuals who came forward after the failure to "locate" the doctors report incident which caused additional delay provided statements regarding Szantyr's competency to Early’s C-Pac Troopers. They agreed to do so all based on DA Early’s word of September 21, 2007 that he “had something in mind” to assist in the prosecution of John Szantyr. Last week it was discovered, based on a ruling issued by Worcester District Court Judge David Ricciardone on January 8th that their statements were misrepresented to the court and contained factually inaccurate portions all slanted towards the continued protection of the defendant. Public Record Request (s) were sent to DA Early‘s office to avoid just this type of issue. The request was however, denied by ADA Joseph Reilly, which is highly unusual as ADA Reilly functions as a prosecutor not the Keeper of the Records. ADA Reilly also never contacted each perspective witness to go over their statements taken by Auburn C-Pac State Trooper, David Cravedi, to make sure of their accuracy before they were presented to the court. DA Early was informed the statement (s) had been altered and written statement (s) had been made by those misrepresented in the court ruling. However, instead of dealing with the issue professionally, DA Early instead chose to attack the fact that this information was being brought to his attention. DA Early became so verbally aggressive that communication with him had to be disconnected as he had lost all composure. ontinuedAugust 5, 2007 Interesting activities in political campaign expenses for Worcester DA’s candidates; past and present. Former District Attorney John Conte has been freely spending his political campaign war chest; at the height of his surprised announcement not to seek re-election totaled $278,318.73. Many large donations in his 2007 campaign filings are connected to the Diocese of Worcester, while other minor donations are to youth services and other political candidates. Several payments listed to Sonitrol, of Dallas, Texas for security amounting to $263.28 have been sent to the Office of Political Finance for review to see if they are within the guidelines of chapter M.G.L. 55 section 18 for residual funds of political candidates. Newly elected District Attorney Joseph Early Jr., has been spending a rather large amount on a political consultant, Michael Shea. Campaign expense records for June 2007 illustrate a total payment of $5,000 for Mr. Shea. With the 2010 election three years away to spend such a hefty amount on a media consultant appears debatable. DA Early’s, June 2007 contributions generally can be attributed to lawyer’s doing business in Worcester County tallying $20,500.00. Campaign expenses for the same time period amounted to $15,934.71. Mr. Early campaigned on promises to make juvenile justice a top priority and to improve the lives of all families in Worcester County. Early for District Attorney Editorial / Opinion, Sentinel and Enterprise Worcester County District Attorney John Conte announced earlier this year that he would not run for re-election, ending his long tenure as the country's top prosecutor. Voters dutifully returned him to office every time he ran for re-election in the past, but the truth is Conte should have retired years ago. During his last several terms in office, Conte hid behind closed doors at the District Attorney's office in Worcester, rarely, if ever, talking to the press and public about important cases and issues. Conte's office often waited several years to try major cases throughout the county - making victims' families wait and wait until a case finally got to trial. There's no doubt the lack of a crime lab in Central Massachusetts contributed to the long wait for cases to go to trial, But Conte often seemed reluctant to take important cases to trial, hoping to plea bargain them out instead. When voters head to the polls in Worcester County this morning, they will have an opportunity at long last to elect a new district attorney who will communicate with the press and the public and aggressively prosecute crimes and criminals. We think the best person for the job is Democrat Joe Early Jr. Early has committed to running a modern district attorney's office, which includes communicating with the public and press, and cracking down on violent crime. He said he will make prosecuting gang crime and violence a priority, something which is sorely needed in Fitchburg and throughout the county. But we also think Early needs to be the vocal and consistent presence in the community that Worcester County deserves. If elected, Early will also need to repair the damage Conte has done to the relationship between the district attorney's office and police departments throughout the region. As it stands now, if there's a major crime in Worcester County, Conte will order the police not to talk about what happened -- using the tired old excuse that it could hurt his prosecutors when the case goes to trial -- and issue a brief press release instead. Conte has also balked at prosecuting some tough cases, knowing he might not win a conviction, which has also angered some police departments. We also urge Early if elected to fill his office with the best prosecutors he can find from around New England and eliminate any staffers who were hired by Conte for political reasons. Early does not have to prosecute cases himself -- some of the best district attorneys never see the courtroom -- but he should hire the top prosecutors, victim-witness advocates and investigators he can find, and then let them do their jobs. Early has a great opportunity to make fundamental and much-needed changes in the Worcester County District Attorney's Office. We urge him to seize the opportunity and do so. September 15, 2006
Campaign notebook The
following endorsements of candidates have been announced: August 6, 2006
Early plans for
run come to fruition By Milton J. Valencia TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— The way Joe Early Jr. puts it, it all began in December 2004, during
a fundraiser at the Viva Bene restaurant in downtown Worcester. April 6, 2006
IRS states tax lien on
Early premature and not needed WORCESTER— The Internal Revenue Service in 2004 notified would-be district attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. of its intent to file liens on his property to satisfy back tax bills from 2000, 2001 and 2002, reportedly totaling about $54,000......... Mr.
Early is unopposed for the $108,000-a-year district attorney job, a post that
involves managing a $7 million-plus budget and more than 60 employees. April 1, 2006
Early wants
his stickers bumped from taxicabs March 16, 2006 By Scott Zoback, Worcester Magazine • EARLY AND OFTEN: “Everybody thinks Joe Early Jr. is DA already,” joked Mayor Tim Murray at Sunday’s St. Paddy’s Day breakfast. Indeed, Early’s “race” for DA keeps getting easier and easier as potential candidates fall by the wayside, almost as soon as they are rumored to run. Once it became clear that state Rep. Jim Leary was no longer considering challenging Early (after an initial flirtation when DA John Conte popped the whopper that he was not running again), no Democratic candidate has emerged since he bowed out. Republican lieutenant governor candidate Reed Hillman was long-rumored to be considering a race for DA until he jumped on with Kerry Healey in the governor’s race last week. Another possible Republican challenger, local lawyer Rick Peters, has apparently changed direction after pulling DA papers. Instead, he’s organizing a committee for a state Senate race. In other Early news, his role as a defense lawyer — and specifically his defense of a Worcester student accused of assaulting the son of a former City Councilor in a local high school — has raised some eyebrows over the past few weeks. Early recently said that he took on the student defense as a favor to a colleague before realizing who the victim was. While he doesn’t plan on dropping the case, it is expected that his defense work will decline as the campaign develops. January 26, 2006 Early gets jump in race for DA - Leary, Naughton, Hillman in mix
WORCESTER - A new race has begun following District Attorney John J. Conte's
surprising decision to retire after 30 years, leaving prospective challengers
with only eight months to raise money and gain support for the countywide seat
before the September primary election. "It's really his to lose," said Sheriff Guy W. Glodis, who has experience in mounting a countywide race, having trounced longtime Sheriff John M. Flynn more than a year ago. April 22, 2005
Early challenge for
Conte's post - Race for DA job under way raising money for a campaign to unseat District Attorney John J. Conte, a fellow Worcester Democrat who has held Central Massachusetts' top legal post since 1976. November 20, 2004 Sheriff-elect in talks with ex-Dismas chief Word on
the street is that Worcester lawyer Joseph D. Early Jr. already has a
fund-raising letter out two years ahead of the next election cycle.
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14-Jan-2008 08:12 PM
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