August 10, 2007
Burno's bail is set at $500K
Defense says client was
lost
PALMER— The lawyer for a
54-year-old man accused of assaulting a jogger in Brimfield last month said
his client may only have been trying to ask the woman for directions.
Robert R. Burno Jr. was
ordered held on $500,000 cash bail after pleading not guilty to the charges
yesterday before Judge Phillip Beattie in Palmer District Court.
State police sought
warrants for Mr. Burno on charges of annoying and accosting a person and
assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after a 20-year-old woman told
them the driver of a black car had stared at her, turned around and followed
her on Little Alum Road in Brimfield and drove so close that she was sure he
was about to grab her..........
While Mr. Burno's former
neighbors recalled him as a man with a violent temper, two of his daughters
said yesterday their father would never harm anyone.
"He has an alcohol problem,
and he will defend himself if he's drinking," Jennifer Burno said. "But he
would never, ever, ever hurt anybody."
Ms. Burno said her father
never hit his children, and speculation about his possible connection to the
disappearance and death of Molly Anne Bish in Warren seven years ago was
ridiculous. She acknowledged that her father looks like a sketch of a man
wanted in connection with the lifeguard's disappearance, but pointed out
that he is not the first about whom that could be said.
August 9, 2007
Tip
call nailed suspect
Man arraigned in abduction try
By Bill Fortier and Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
wfortier@telegram.com
DUDLEY— A 54-year-old man wanted on charges related to an attempted
abduction last month in Brimfield was arrested Tuesday after a woman
recognized his picture and called police to say he was living in her son’s
home.
Dudley police Sgt. Pamela A. Daniels said yesterday Robert R. Burno Jr.,
54, was arrested without incident about 11:50 p.m. Tuesday in a basement
apartment of a ranch house at 107 West Dudley Road.
The house is owned by Billy-Joe Donald. Sgt. Daniels said Mr. Donald’s
mother, who lives in town, recognized Mr. Burno’s photograph from news
reports and alerted officers.
Court documents show that one of Mr. Burno’s brothers also lists the West
Dudley Road home as his address.
Mr. Burno made a brief appearance in Dudley District Court yesterday
before Judge Robert L. Howarth and was ordered held without right to bail.
He was arrested on a warrant from Springfield District Court that was issued
after he failed to show up for a March 9 court date on charges of assault
and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a disabled
person.
Palmer District Court recently issued an arrest warrant on a charge of
assault with a dangerous weapon and annoying and accosting a person of the
opposite sex in connection with the Brimfield incident.
Mr. Burno is expected to appear in those courts before week’s end.
August 8, 2007
Suspect arrested in attempted abduction in Brimfield
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
DUDLEY— A 54-year-old man wanted in connection with an attempted
abduction July 21 of a young woman in Brimfield has been arrested. Robert R.
Burno Jr. appeared in Dudley District Court this morning and is scheduled to
be arraigned in Springfield and Palmer courts later this week, according to
court officials today.
Dudley Police made the arrest late last night after they received a call
about 11:15 about the possible location of Mr. Burno who was sought in
connection with the Brimfield incident.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Mr. Burno. He was being sought by
Massachusetts State Police on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and
accosting/annoying a person of the opposite sex.
Dudley Police responded to 107 West Dudley Road just before midnight. Mr.
Burno was found at that address and was taken to the Dudley Police
Department for booking.
Mr. Burno lived in a West Springfield apartment until December. Police
say he also has connections to Ware.
The victim in the Brimfield incident was not hurt and was able to get
away and give police a good description of the vehicle and suspect.
State police detectives assigned to the Hampden County District
Attorney’s office are investigating the case along with state police
assigned to the Sturbridge barracks.
August 7,
2007
Abduction
suspect sought by police
By Kim Ring
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
BRIMFIELD—
State police have released the
name and a photograph of the man wanted for allegedly trying to abduct a
jogger on Little Alum Road July 21.
Robert R. Burno Jr., 54, is wanted on warrants for annoying and accosting
and assault by means of a dangerous weapon. The warrants were recently
issued by Palmer District Court.
According to a state police
news release, Mr. Burno allegedly drove slowly by the victim several times
in his black 1989 Plymouth Horizon hatchback before trying to pin her
against the guardrail using the car. The incident happened at 12:15 p.m. in
a remote section of town.
Word of the attempted abduction spread via an anonymous e-mail that alleged
the incident was linked to the 2000 case of Molly Anne Bish. Miss Bish was a
lifeguard at Comins Pond in Warren. Police believe she was abducted from her
post and killed June 27, 2000. Her remains were found three years later on a
remote Palmer hillside and the case remains unsolved.
State police said last week they have made no connection between the two
cases.
Detectives from both the Worcester and Hampden County District Attorneys’
offices have been involved in the Brimfield case, spokesmen for the two
offices said last week.
State Police Capt. Peter J. Higgins, chief detective in the office of
Hampden County District Attorney William M. Bennett, praised the victim who
was able to provide police enough information to lead them to a suspect.
He said at that time the suspect, who had not been identified, was known in
the Springfield area.
November 23, 2005
DA: Man Not Connected To Bish Case
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Worcester County District
Attorney John Conte said there is no connection between a man arrested last
month in connection with an attempted abduction in New York and the slaying
of Warren, Mass., teenager Molly Anne Bish five years ago.
A meeting was held Monday in Springfield at which investigators from
Connecticut,
John Regan |
Massachusetts and New York state discussed the
John Regan case.
Regan, a construction salesman, was arrested on Oct. 31 when he allegedly
tried to pull
a 17-year-old high school girl in Saratoga Springs, N.Y, into
his van. Investigators began checking last week with Sturbridge, Mass.,
hotels to see if Regan was in Massachusetts
during Bish's disappearance.
Conte said Regan never was a suspect in the Bish case, and there is
evidence Regan was not in the Warren area when the young girl disappeared
Bish was 16 when she was abducted from her lifeguard post at Warren's
Comins Pond. Her remains were found three years ago in Palmer, Mass
November 22, 2005
Sturbridge bartender
says he served salesman
He believes he saw N.Y. suspect before Molly Bish
disappeared
By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
STAFF
STURBRIDGE— A bartender from a Route 20 pub
said he told state police yesterday that he believes he served the man
recently arrested for an attempted abduction in New York.
The bartender, who asked that his name not be used, said he feels certain
that John Regan was a customer at the bar sometime before Warren lifeguard
Molly A. Bish disappeared from Comins Pond in Warren. Investigators have
said they believe Mr. Regan traveled to Sturbridge in his job as a traveling
salesman.
But Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte said Mr. Regan, 49, has never
been a suspect in the case.
“We have information that he was not in Warren,” Mr. Conte said.
A state trooper from Mr. Conte’s office did attend a meeting of police from
Connecticut, Massachusetts and FBI agents held in Springfield yesterday. The
investigators are trying to establish a timeline to determine if Mr. Regan
can be linked to any unsolved cases in various areas, but since last week,
Mr. Conte has downplayed speculation linking Mr. Regan to Miss Bish’s
disappearance.
Miss Bish’s remains were found on a remote hillside in Palmer three years
after her disappearance. Police believe she was abducted and murdered. A
grand jury, which Mr. Conte said will finish its work in January, has been
investigating the case for about 18 months with no arrests or indictments.
He declined to say whether the jury will return an indictment when it ends
in two months.
Still, the bartender said he thought the infrequent customer bore some
resemblance to a sketch of a man Miss Bish’s mother, Magdalen M. Bish, saw
in the parking lot at Comins Pond the day before the then-16-year-old
lifeguard vanished, although the likeness wasn’t enough to spark a call to
police. He’d planned to pay more attention the next time the man came in,
but he never saw him again.
When the 10-year veteran bartender saw photographs of Mr. Regan on the news
last week, he was certain he’d served him.
“I’m 90 percent sure that was the guy,” he said. “I remember faces . . . I
definitely talked to him.”
John J. Bish said he asked investigators to look at Mr. Regan in connection
with his daughter’s case when he learned that the father of three was
arrested in New York on Halloween on attempted kidnapping charges.
Last night, after meeting with investigators in Worcester, Mr. Bish said
he’s pleased that Mr. Regan was checked out.
“They looked at him and that’s what I wanted them to do,” he said.
Mr. Bish pointed out similarities between the case of his daughter, a blond,
athletic teenager working at a public — albeit remote — swimming hole and
the cross country runner whom Mr. Regan allegedly tried to pull into his
father’s white van in Saratoga as she left practice that evening.
The Saratoga student, also blond, reportedly fought off her attacker and one
of her coaches was able to follow the van while another summoned help.
Mr. Regan is already facing unrelated kidnapping, stalking and unlawful
restraint charges after two alleged attacks in Waterbury, Conn.
November 15, 2005
No evidence points to Bish case, says DA
By Bradford L. Miner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER—
State police detectives will take a close look at John F. Regan, a
Waterbury, Conn., salesman, for any links to the disappearance and death of
Molly A. Bish, the 16-year-old Warren lifeguard last seen alive in the
parking lot of Comins Pond June 27, 2000.
Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte said that while Mr. Regan was
“new” to the 5-year-old Bish investigation, he knew of nothing that would
link the man sought in connection with New York state abduction attempts to
the continuing Warren investigation.
“We are constantly receiving and investigating the tips we receive in the
Bish case. We don’t go public with them because quite honestly they do
little more than produce a roller-coaster effect, and that does not serve
the interests of the Bish family or the public,” Mr. Conte said.
The district attorney said that from the outset, the Bish investigation has
been driven by evidence.
“Right now there is no evidence or other credible information that would
link John Regan to Molly Bish,” Mr. Conte said.
The district attorney said detectives have contacted Waterbury police
officials and said, “We are taking this matter very seriously. We have
examined certain records, but we haven’t come up with anything concrete.”
“We’ve actually had people come forward and confess to this crime, but we
check it out and the evidence just doesn’t substantiate their claims.
They’re doing it for a variety of reasons. In the course of the
investigation, we received a tip that had us looking for a body in the
mountains in the snow. We have checked out hundreds and hundreds of tips in
this case, many exhaustively,” Mr. Conte said.
He said the media attention focused on Mr. Regan brings the Bish
investigation back into the public eye, and this individual will be checked
out as thoroughly as other individuals.
“I don’t want to judge the media attention to this particular individual,
but nothing that we’ve seen so far connects him in any way to Molly,” Mr.
Conte said.
A special grand jury has been looking into the disappearance and death of
the Warren teen for more than a year. There have been no arrests or
indictments.
February 26, 2001
Missing girl's family seeks services of artist
HOLLY
ANGELO, STAFF; Union-News (Springfield, Mass.)
WARREN -
Her sketches have helped capture terrorists, rapists,
kidnappers and murderers, and now, artist Jeanne M. Boylan
wants to help Magdalen M. Bish try to find her missing
daughter.
"It's a last hope for her," Boylan said last week during a
phone interview from Arizona. "I will work with the family,
whether the police are involved or not."
Boylan is best known for her sketch of "Unabomber" Theodore
J. Kaczynski and Richard Allen Davis, the man ultimately
convicted and sentenced to death for kidnapping and
murdering 12-year-old Polly Klaas, of Petaluma, Calif.,
eight years ago.
On June 27, Magdalen Bish dropped her 16-year-old daughter,
Molly Ann, off at Comins Pond for a day of lifeguard duty.
Less than a half-hour later, Molly Ann was gone. Police
believe she was abducted and are looking for a man in a
white car who Magdalen Bish saw at the pond parking lot the
day before Molly Ann's disappearance.
A computer-generated composite sketch of the man was
distributed throughout the area and in different parts of
the country. Magdalen Bish has never been happy with the
sketch. She believes Boylan can help her remember more
details and create a more accurate picture of the mustached
man who was smoking a cigarette when she saw him.
"I'll never forget him," Bish said Friday. "Maybe she can
pull out some more memories from me. His eyes frightened me.
When they finished (the composite sketch), it looked like
him, but not 100 percent."
The eyes, the mustache and the width of his face were
different from the sketch, she said.
Asked if it would be difficult to sketch someone from an
eight-month memory, Boylan said, "To me, that's almost a
piece of cake. It's not a long time, but there has to be an
emotional investment. There has to be a reason for the image
to transform from short-term to long-term memory. The
longest I've gone back is 51 years."
"She's (Magdalen Bish) a mother. If she knows in her mind
that's not a good interpretation, that helps."
The two women last talked on Feb. 17. Boylan will travel to
Rochester, N.Y., this week to help on a case there.
Lt. Frank Moore, in charge of
the detectives investigating the Bish case for Worcester
County District Attorney John J. Conte, said his office will
be interested to see Boylan's sketch.
"It's something the Bishes want to do," Moore said. "I
expect it to happen. I just don't know when. We're not part
of the planning. If they go forward with this, and if it has
evidentiary value, we'll certainly look at it."
Bish said Boylan will not discuss a fee for the sketch. The
fee will be taken from a fund that has been set up to
support the Bish family's efforts to find Molly. The family,
including Molly's father, John J. Bish, has been active at
fingerprinting and other child safety events since Molly
disappeared.
"It's (the meeting with Boylan) going to be a quiet time,"
Magdalen Bish said. "It can take two to four days."
"There's apprehension, but I have hope it will help us," she
said. "We have to do whatever we can to bring Molly home. We
have to try. It's worth it for me to try. We want this
picture out there."
September 14, 2000
BISH PROBE STILL HAS SUSPECTS
Chris Echegaray, Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
WARREN -- Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte said that state police
detectives continue to focus on suspects in connection with the
disappearance of Molly A. Bish, 17, who was last seen June 27.
Yesterday, Mr. Conte, who declined to state the number of suspects, said
that detectives follow every lead in their database.
``We still have suspects,'' he said. ``I don't want to get into numbers, but
there are several people who have been ruled out and others that we haven't
ruled out.''
Mr. Conte, who has dismissed reports that Molly was seen at a fair last
month in Topsham, Maine, said that detectives investigated the tip only to
find out that the girl who resembled Molly was a relative of the owner of
the fair.
``The young lady did have a strong resemblance,'' Mr. Conte said. ``In cases
like these you get so many calls about sightings. We have to check them out.
Reporting these sightings to the public doesn't serve a purpose.''
Authorities had received two anonymous tips from people who believed they
spotted Molly at the Topsham Fair Aug. 7. They told state police detectives
that they saw a girl they thought was Molly selling ice cream at the fair. A
couple who visited the fair thought they recognized Molly from ``missing
person'' posters at home. A second person reported a similar suspicion after
visiting the fair, police said.
Mr. Conte said that detectives have followed up other ``Molly sightings'' in
Boston, New York and Florida.
Molly, who worked as a lifeguard, was dropped off by her mother, Magdalen
Bish, at Comins Pond, the town beach. Shortly after, Molly was reported
missing. Detectives have been working out of Town Hall since Molly's
disappearance.
August 26, 2000
DA: New suspects emerge
BRAD SMITH,
STAFF Union-News (Springfield, Mass.)
The district attorney also said detectives cannot rule out the possibility
that Molly Bish ran away.
WARREN - With new suspects surfacing even as a
top investigator revived a theory that Molly Bish ran away, the 17-year-old
lifeguard's father is sure his daughter was a victim of foul play.
"There's been a mound of information and evidence to suggest she left the
pond against her will, I think," probation officer John Bish said yesterday.
The case is now attracting the attention of psychics who specialize in
finding missing people. The Bishes said they have referred psychics to the
police.
On the 59th day of Molly Bish's disappearance from her summer lifeguard job
at Comins Pond on the morning of June 27, the teen's parents, John and
teacher Magdalen Bish, insist it makes no sense to believe she ran off on
her own.
"I think, at this time, all the people involved desire that this be that
type of outcome because they're good and kind people, and we certainly would
love that to be the case," John Bish said. "But we know that's not going to
be the case."
Bish was reacting to comments by Worcester County District Attorney John J.
Conte, who told WHDH-TV, Channel 7, of Boston on Thursday that detectives
cannot rule out a scenario in which she is a runaway in the baffling case.
"I'm not really going to speculate on that except to say that there is
some evidence that indicates she very well may have left (on her own),"
Conte said.
Yesterday, Conte said more suspects have been developed in recent weeks, but
it is still unclear if a breakthrough is near.
"We have additional suspects now," Conte said. "Some have been
interviewed."
He would not identify them or even say exactly how many there are. But,
speaking in a phone interview, he said they are people beyond the three he
had alluded to earlier in the investigation. Police have given polygraph
tests to 13 people, some of whom failed.
Gov. A. Paul Cellucci next week expects to sign a bill that contains
$350,000 for overtime for state troopers and prosecutors on the Bish case,
said John Birtwell, the governor's spokesman.
"As long as they know help is coming, there won't be any down time on the
investigation," Birtwell said.
John Bish said: "We're very encouraged by that, because the person we
believe carried this out against Molly we fear he will strike again."
August 17, 2000
Polygraph aids Bish probe
HOLLY ANGELO, STAFF Union-News (Springfield, Mass.)
Investigators are using the results to back up interviews with people who
may have a connection with her disappearance.
A total of 13 polygraph
tests have been administered in connection with the Molly Bish case,
including two on Tuesday.
As the investigation into the disappearance of Bish entered its 50th day
yesterday, Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte said the two
polygraph tests taken on Tuesday helped the case. Bish, 17, disappeared from
her lifeguard post at Comins Pond on the morning of June 27.
"The polygraph results were very helpful," said Conte, who wouldn't
elaborate on who took the tests or whether those two people passed the
tests. "When we interview anyone or give them a polygraph we do so to
corroborate an interview."
Conte said the polygraph tests are used as an investigative tool only. The
results are not admissible in court.
Conte said close to 6,000 leads have been called in so far, and more are
still coming in.
"The level and intensity is still very high among the state police
officers," Conte said.
To keep up that intensity, Conte has asked Gov. A. Paul Cellucci to file
a request with the Legislature asking for $350,000 in supplemental funding
for his overtime account. Conte expects that account to run dry in two
weeks.
"I was told by the governor's office they'll file that (request) early this
coming week," Conte said.
In an unrelated matter, the stepbrother of Bish's boyfriend was arrested
by state police from the Brookfield barracks on Sunday night. Marc T. Holly,
17, of 111 Bemis Road, was charged with assault and battery on a police
officer, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a door), resisting
arrest and being a disorderly person.
Trooper Robert Benoit was hit with a door that Holly slammed in the
trooper's face when he was trying to serve Holly's juvenile girlfriend with
a "child in need of services" warrant that was requested by the girlfriend's
mother, according to Trooper Kevin O'Grady. The incident occurred at Holly's
house.
After Benoit arrested Holly, the two struggled on a flight of stairs and
fell. Holly received a cut to his eye area. Benoit has bruised ribs. State
police investigating the Bish case were called in to assist, but Conte said
the arrest has "absolutely no connection with the Bish case."
Holly is the stepbrother of Steven Lukas, Bish's boyfriend at the time of
her disappearance. Lukas used to live at 111 Bemis Road, but has since moved
to Connecticut to live with his father. Lukas is not a suspect in Bish's
disappearance and volunteered to take a polygraph test two weeks ago, which
he passed.
Holly was arraigned in East Brookfield District Court on Tuesday. His
case was continued to Sept. 13. He was released on his own recognizance
August 17, 2000
TWO MORE PEOPLE TAKE POLYGRAPH IN BISH CASE
Regina Montague, Globe Correspondent
Two more people took lie detector tests this week in the disappearance of
Warren teenager Molly Ann Bish, bringing the total to 13 individuals who
have been questioned during polygraph exams in the case, Worcester District
Attorney John J. Conte said yesterday.
Conte said he would not identify the individuals questioned or release
the exam results unless there are "exceptional" circumstances.
"A lie detector test is merely a tool in the investigation, not evidence,"
he said, in reference to the fact that polygraph results are almost never
admissible in court.
Authorities have received nearly 6,000 tips regarding Bish, who vanished
June 27 from her lifeguard post at Comins Pond.
Conte, whose $315,000 overtime budget is running out, said no major searches
- which need three to four days of preparation - will be conducted until
more funds are received. Governor Paul Cellucci's office will file a
supplemental budget early next week, Conte said.
Conte said, however, that he plans to conduct "quick searches."
"We may put a couple of dogs out there," based on information from
interviews and evidence, he said.
Conte said the arrest by State Police this week of Marc T. Holly Jr., the
stepbrother of Bish's boyfriend, had nothing to do with the Bish case. Holly
was arrested after a scuffle with State Trooper Robert Benoit, who was
serving a warrant on a female juvenile at the Holly residence on Bemis Road,
Conte said.
August 16, 2000
STATE TROOPER INJURED IN SCUFFLE WITH TEEN
Chris Echegaray,
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
WARREN -- A state trooper is on injured leave stemming from an altercation
with a 17-year-old at 111 Bemis Road.
State Trooper Robert Benoit was serving a CHINS warrant Sunday when he
got into a struggle that resulted in bruised ribs after he fell down a
flight of stairs, according to a police report.
Trooper Benoit and a local police officer were arresting a juvenile female
when her boyfriend interfered.
Marc T. Holly Jr., 17, of 111 Bemis Road was arraigned yesterday in
Western Worcester District Court, East Brookfield, for assaulting Trooper
Benoit, resisting arrest, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (door)
and being a disorderly person. He was released on personal recognizance.
Mr. Holly sustained a cut to his right eye, which required stitches, when he
fell down the stairs with Trooper Benoit. Mr. Holly was treated and released
from Mary Lane Hospital in Ware. His case was continued to Sept. 13.
According to the police report, about six people were in the house
screaming obscenities at authorities. Mr. Holly allegedly was inciting his
friends, asking them to help him. ``The occupants started to threaten the
officers,'' the police report said.
Mr. Holly and his girlfriend went into a room and locked the door, denying
access to police, according to the report. Trooper Benoit tried to enter the
room but was knocked back when he was hit with the door when Mr. Holly
allegedly slammed it shut.
Shortly after, state police detectives, who are working in town in
connection with the disappearance of Molly A. Bish, were called. The
juvenile's mother was also asked to go to the house to help defuse the
situation.
State police are familiar with 111 Bemis Road, where they have conducted
searches in connection with Molly. Steve Lukas, Mr. Holly's stepbrother, is
Molly's boyfriend.
Mr. Lukas, who has been interviewed by authorities and has taken a lie
detector test, said that he was unaware of what had taken place at his
house. He moved from 111 Bemis Road, where his mother lives, to Connecticut
to stay with his father.
Molly, working as a lifeguard, disappeared June 27 from Comins Pond, the
town beach, shortly after her mother dropped her off. Authorities have not
been able to locate a man who was seen in a white car at the beach by Mrs.
Bish a day before Molly's disappearance.
August 12, 2000
SEARCH FOR MOLLY INTENSE \ COMPUTERS TRACK `MASSIVE
AMOUNT OF INFORMATION'
Bradford L. Miner,
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
WARREN -- By dusk Thursday, a search that started two weeks ago of 1,000
acres of wooded terrain south of Comins Pond had been completed without a
trace of Molly A. Bish or any clues to her June 27
disappearance from the town beach..
``The searchers found a lot of things yesterday (Thursday), but we don't
believe that anything we recovered is germane to this investigation,''
District Attorney John J. Conte said yesterday.
Still looking for a key piece of evidence to link one of several key
suspects to the 17-year-old lifeguard now missing for 46 days, Mr. Conte
said detectives will focus on pinpointing a white car and a middle-aged man
with a mustache seen in the parking lot at Comins Pond the day before Miss Bish disappeared.
Mr. Conte said detectives are also interviewing and reinterviewing
individuals whom police believe have knowledge about the case.
``Several of those who we will be interviewing next week have said they will
voluntarily take a polygraph test,'' Mr. Conte said.
The district attorney said interviews of those who have not been
questioned before help detectives modify and update an electronic database.
``I can't imagine what we'd be facing if we were still conducting this
investigation from file folders,'' he said.
Mr. Conte said the investigation has employed electronic technology
wherever possible and has become a model for future investigations.
He said his goal is to secure laptops for all of his detectives. Already,
the local computer network established at the command post in Town Hall is
connected to the detective bureau in Auburn and state police headquarters in
Framingham. He said his office at the courthouse will eventually be linked
as well.
``Frankly, the massive amount of information we have developed from phone
tips, interviews, all facets of the investigation, have driven us to compile
this database of information,'' he said.
``I think the greatest asset of the technology is our ability to
continuously update the database without poring over dozens and dozens of
folders,'' the district attorney said.
Commenting on the search effort in general, Mr. Conte said, ``This is a
tough, tough time of the year to conduct searches,'' noting the dense
foliage and undergrowth of the areas which have been searched.
``Late fall, when all the foliage is off the trees, is an optimum time for
searching, but obviously we can't pick our times. We have to work with what
we have,'' he said.
To keep not only this investigation, but others throughout the Middle
District on track, Mr. Conte said yesterday he was working on developing
figures for a supplementary budget request which will go to Gov. Paul
Cellucci with the backing of state Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, and
state Rep. David H. Tuttle, R-Barre.
``I knew at the outset what this investigation would entail and had
assurances to do what needed to be done,'' he said.
He said the overtime budget has been level-funded for several years, and
has not taken into account the promotions of those who work for him.
``After the first week, I knew this case would be a costly one to solve,''
he said.
August 12, 2000
LIE DETECTOR TESTS PLANNED IN BISH CASE
Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte said this week that several
people who have been questioned regarding the June 27 disappearance of Molly
Ann Bish will take lie detector tests. After hundreds of volunteers scoured
areas of Warren on Thursday for the missing 17-year-old, Conte said, the
searches have been suspended pending new leads and more state money for
overtime. No new evidence was found Thursday after about 225 State Police
cadets scoured a 600-acre area near Bemis Road.
August 11, 2000
DA hopes new lie detector tests will shed light on disappearance
DOUG HANCHETT,
Boston Herald
WARREN -- The search for missing lifeguard Molly Ann Bish staggered into its
45th day yesterday as hundreds of state police recruits combed 600 more
acres of rugged woodlands for any sign of the popular 17-year-old.
Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte revealed for the first time
yesterday that at least one of three primary suspects police are looking at
drives a white car.
He also told two Boston television stations new lie dectector tests will be
given.
"We're . . . going to put some people on the lie detector who have agreed
to take the lie detector test," Conte told WBZ-TV (Ch. 4) and WCVB-TV (Ch.
5). He also said investigators have "developed a couple of new leads that
we're going to look into this weekend."
The stations reported last night "three new people" will take lie detector
tests, but gave no details.
Despite a massive mobilization of manpower since the probe began June 27
and talk of promising leads, however, investigators are no closer to finding
Bish.
"In this particular case, we're very close and very far (away)," Conte said
yesterday. "I know that sounds like a contradiction, but, truly, that's
where we are. We need some evidence to put some of the pieces together."
Adding to the pressure on the DA is the knowledge that the investigation
_ costing more than $35,000 a week in overtime _ will have to be cut back in
less than two weeks unless he gets help from the Legislature. But Conte
vowed the probe will continue, even though his office already has spent more
than $225,000 in overtime. Local lawmakers are seeking that amount in an
emergency appropriation.
August 6, 2000
Dad relieved son not a Bish suspect
DOUG HANCHETT,
Boston Herald
Still angry about widespread media reports that branded his son a suspect in
the disappearance of Warren lifeguard Molly Ann Bish, Steve Lukaszewksi is
just glad the cloud of suspicion didn't lead to another tragedy.
"What if
my kid thought, `There's no better way out, maybe I should kill myself,"'
said Lukaszewski, the father of Steve Lukas, Bish's boyfriend. "How about
that for a thought? Luckily this kid is a little stronger than that."
On Friday, Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte announced Lukas
had voluntarily taken - and passed - a polygraph examination, ending rampant
speculation that the 17-year-old is somehow connected to the likely
abduction of Bish from Comins Pond in Warren June 27.
Last week police sources told the Herald and other media outlets that
Lukas was one of three primary suspects in their probe and had failed a
polygraph. Conte countered by shooting down those reports Thursday just
hours before Lukas took a lie detector test - at his own request - for the
first time.
Although Lukas had been questioned by investigators on a number of
occasions, Conte said he had never been considered a suspect.
Yesterday, Lukaszewski told the Herald his son felt "badgered" by police
and the media prior to clearing his own name.
"It was kind of a witch hunt up there, and my son didn't feel very good
about himself," Lukaszewski said from his Connecticut home.
Lukaszewski said he was initially against the idea of Lukas taking the
polygraph.
"I said no, but...my son wanted to do it and I wasn't going to be able to
stop him," Lukaszewski said. "He came through it like we knew he would."
Lukaszewski said he understands that police always look at those closest
to the victim when investigating a crime.
What bothered him, he said, was when news reports began using the word
"suspect" and saying Lukas had failed a lie detector test. Lukaszewski said
one media outlet even reported that there was an "arrest looming."
"That's not a slight mistake. That's a big mistake," he said. "Obviously
those sources didn't know what they were talking about."
Now Lukas' family wants to put the past few weeks behind it.
"That's number one," said Lukaszewksi. "The second thing now is we have
to find that girl."
August 5, 2000
Lifeguard's boyfriend takes lie test to squash suspicions
DOUG HANCHETT,
Boston Herald
Ending rampant speculation that he's a suspect in the disappearance of
Warren lifeguard Molly Ann Bish, boyfriend Steve Lukas volunteered for - and
passed - a lie detector test Thursday afternoon.
"He asked to take the
polygraph," Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte said yesterday.
"(The media) made him a suspect and he wanted to clear his name.
"Unless there's some new information, at this point he's not a suspect."
The polygraph was administered at the Connecticut home of Lukas' father -
where the 17-year-old has been living for the last couple of weeks - just
hours after Conte shot down widespread reports that investigators were
focusing more and more on Lukas.
"I knew absolutely 100 percent that he was not involved," Lukas' father,
Steve Lukaszewski, told WHDH-TV (Channel 7). "It's not part of Stephen's
makeup. He couldn't hurt anybody."
Bish vanished June 27 after being dropped off at Comins Pond in Warren.
Police are looking at three prime suspects and also searching for a heavyset
man in a white car who may have been stalking the teenager.
But sources told the Herald and many Boston TV stations that detectives
remained intrigued by Lukas, who was sporting a fat lip the day after Bish
disappeared. He had been interviewed a number of times by police and sources
said he had told conflicting stories.
And even in the wake of Conte's announcement Thursday that Lukas wasn't a
suspect, sources close to the probe maintained he was.
Now Conte said that can officially be laid to rest.
"Just because (we) go back to someone and talk to them ... doesn't mean
we consider them a suspect," he said. "All we were trying to do was elicit
information or clarify something. Especially when you're dealing with young
people, they don't get (things) straight and you have to talk to them a few
times."
Meanwhile, authorities used sophisticated sonar equipment from a Virginia
firm yesterday to scan Comins Pond for Bish's body.
"More than likely we won't drain the pond because they indicated there's
nothing there," said Conte.
Next week investigators will resume their search of a 400-acre stretch of
woods between Bemis Road and Southbridge Road in Warren, which 180 state
police recruits began combing last week.
If the searches again come up empty, Conte said there are a few other
areas that might be looked at.
August 4, 2000
Cops
question Bish boyfriend as DA denies he's a suspect
DOUG HANCHETT and TOM FARMER, Boston
Herald
While Worcester County District Attorney John J. Conte yesterday shot down
reports that Molly Ann Bish's boyfriend is a suspect in her
disappearance, sources said he continues to be a focus of the investigation.
"He's (suspect) number one,
two, three, whatever you want to say," said one investigative source. "He's
still high on the list. They found a lot of holes in his story. He says he was
home at the time (Bish disappeared), but other people say they saw him
out and about."
Steven Lukas - a 17-year-old
classmate of Bish who recently moved from Warren to Woodbury, Conn., to
live with his father - has been questioned by police on a number of occasions.
But Conte said Lukas has never
been part of the core group of suspects being investigated in the likely
abduction of the then 16-year-old, despite the fact they searched Lukas' Bemis
Road home and nearby woods last week.
"Have we been looking at Steve
Lukas? Yes . . . but at no point in the investigation have we elevated him to a
suspect," Conte told WBZ-TV Channel 4.
Bish
disappeared June 27 after being dropped off by her mother at Comins Pond in
Warren, where she worked as a lifeguard.
Initially, police were focusing
on known sex offenders living in the area. But sources have repeatedly said
investigators remain intrigued by Lukas, who was sporting a fat lip the day
after Bish vanished.
Sources yesterday confirmed
Conte's denial that Lukas flunked a lie-detector test. Lukas was asked to take a
polygraph, one source said, "but for some reason" never did.
And two Massachusetts state
troopers questioned Lukas for the fourth time as recently as yesterday at his
father's Connecticut home, according to WHDH-TV Channel 7. The report also said
Lukas has given investigators a DNA sample.
While the Bish family
won't comment on the probe, friends of the missing girl's mother, Magdalen
Bish, said she was stunned that neither Lukas nor his family called or came
over to lend their support in the wake of her daughter's disappearance.
August
4, 2000
Friend isn't suspect
JENNIFER HOBOTH ,
STAFF Union-News (Springfield, Mass.)
Plans to drain and search Comins Pond, where Molly Ann Bish was
last seen, remain on indefinite hold, investigators said.
WARREN - After numerous
broadcasts and published reports yesterday that the boyfriend of Molly
Ann Bish is a major suspect in the teen's disappearance, investigators
said it is simply not true.
Worcester County District
Attorney John J. Conte issued a statement yesterday afternoon that Steven Lukas,
Bish's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, "is not a suspect" in
the Bish case.
On the morning of June 27,
Bish vanished from the area of Comins Pond, where she was set to begin
lifeguard duties. Lukas, 17, began dating Bish three months before she
vanished.
Television and print media
reported yesterday that Lukas had taken a lie detector test and failed it.
Conte's statement said that, in fact, Lukas has not taken a polygraph
examination.
Conte also addressed reports
that Lukas' residence has been searched repeatedly by state police
investigators. Conte said Lukas' residence was searched with consent "on only
one occasion."
And while a published report
cited anonymous sources naming Lukas as one of "two or three" major suspects,
Conte said Lukas "has never been elevated to the status of a suspect in the
investigation." Lukas was never included in either the original list of six
suspects, or on the narrowed list of three suspects, Conte said.
"Although Mr. Lukas and a
number of people have been questioned in our efforts to solve this particular
tragedy, at this time Mr. Lukas is not a suspect," Conte said.
In an interview early last
month with the Union-News, Lukas said that he had been questioned repeatedly by
investigators. Police said early on that he was not a factor in the
investigation. During an ongoing investigation, repeated questioning of anyone
who knows a possible victim of foul play is not uncommon, police said.
Earlier this week, Conte said
he is organizing a massive search for Bish that will take place on Aug.
10. More than 200 state police cadets and officers will scour acres off Bemis
and Southbridge roads that were not searched earlier this month, Conte said.
Conte also said investigators
are going back and interviewing some people again that they had questioned
earlier in the case. Plans to drain and search Comins Pond remain on indefinite
hold, as investigators look elsewhere for information, Conte said.
More than 20 state police
detectives continue to sift through 2,500 leads. Anyone with information about
Bish's disappearance is asked to call 800-808-9677.
August
3, 2000
BOYFRIEND QUESTIONED ABOUT MISSING GIRL\ FAMILY DENIES HE TOOK POLYGRAPH
Regina Montague, Globe Correspondent, and Mac Daniel, Globe Staff
WARREN - As state and local officials reportedly focused attention on the
boyfriend of lifeguard Molly Ann Bish, the family of Steven Lukas
yesterday insisted he had nothing to do with her disappearance 35 days ago.
Lukas, 17, now living in
Woodbury, Conn., with his father, told reporters that he has been questioned by
investigators about the 16-year-old's June 27 disappearance.
In the wake of a broadcast
report last night that Lukas failed a polygraph test, however, Lukas's mother,
Ruth Holly, said her son never took a lie-detector test.
WCVB-TV cited unnamed sources
in reporting that Lukas flunked a polygraph test and had offered contradictory
versions of events leading to Bish's disappearance.
Holly dismissed the report as
speculation and said, "He has not taken a lie-detector test. The child's gone
through enough."
WCVB also reported that Lukas
was out with Bish until 11:30 the night before she disappeared and
telephoned her the next morning before she left for Comins Pond, where she
worked for the town of Warren as a lifeguard.
Police found Bish's
sandals, towels, water bottle, and walkie-talkie by her chair after she was
reported missing. She has not been seen or heard from since.
District Attorney John Conte's
office did not return telephone calls yesterday. Warren police and State Police
detectives declined to discuss the investigation.
Lukas's stepfather, Marc Holly,
said yesterday that his stepson is no more a suspect now than he was at the
beginning of the investigation.
"Of course he's going to be at
the beginning," Marc Holly said, but "we definitely know Steve didn't have
anything to do with it."
The Hollys acknowledged that
State Police were at their house last week, but said it was at Marc Holly's
invitation. Troopers were searching wooded areas nearby for Bish, Ruth
Holly said.
The Hollys said they invited
investigators into their home at 111 Bemis Road last Thursday to "end that
suspicion." Investigators, including detectives assigned to the Worcester
district attorney's office, also focused on Lukas's basement bedroom, Ruth Holly
said.
In a previous televised
interview, Lukas told a reporter that investigators were questioning him about
his bruised and swollen lip, which appeared the day after Bish
disappeared. Lukas told the reporter that he hurt his lip walking into a door, a
story his family confirmed yesterday.
Police investigators assigned
to the district attorney's office have searched Lukas's Bemis Road home at least
twice, most recently last Thursday, neighbors said.
Bish
was Lukas's first girlfriend, his mother said.
Describing her son as quiet and
reserved, she said Lukas began liking Bish in the third grade.
"He's always had a crush on
her, and they started dating this year," Holly said. "He hasn't gone out with
anybody else."
"He's devastated and terrified
for [Molly]," she added. "It's heartbreaking, all the kids are hurting.
[Steven] is keeping hope alive."
Shortly after Bish
disappeared, Lukas had been wearing her high school class ring on a hemp
necklace.
Lukas's stepbrother, Marc Jr.,
and his stepfather have also been questioned by state investigators.
The news came as about 300
people gathered yesterday to celebrate Bish's 17th birthday.
The gathering at St. Stanislaus
Society Pavilion in West Warren was a somber celebration.
John Bish said the party
was important because "it helped us keep our faith alive that we can recover
Molly and resolve the issue of where she is
