DiMasi Found Guilty
A jury has found former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi guilty of conspiracy, extortion, and fraud. To read more, visit http://www.boston.com
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Panel orders rude Hingham court officer be disciplined:[City Edition] Patricia Nealon, Globe Staff. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext). Boston, Mass.:Sep 30, 1992. p. 28 Abstract (Summary)
Joseph A. Ligotti, the clerk magistrate of Hingham District Court who has been widely criticized for rude behavior in the courtroom, is prohibited from conducting court hearings for six months and must undergo sensitivity training, according to disciplinary action made public yesterday by the committee that monitors the conduct of court clerks.
Ligotti, who was appointed to the $57,000-a-year job in December 1989 by then-Gov. Dukakis, was also ordered to tape-record all show cause hearings -- in which decisions are made on the granting of criminal charges -- as well as all hearings involving motor vehicle violations.
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No action in probe of police, court aide Hingham clerk still working
Carrie Levine The Patriot Ledger. The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass.:Sep 8, 2001. p. 13
Carrie Levine The Patriot Ledger. The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass.:Sep 8, 2001. p. 13
Abstract (Summary)
The suit named four State Police officers as participants in the alleged scheme to give traffic tickets in the wrong court jurisdiction to secure more overtime. The officers are Sgt. Robert Blazuk, Sgt. Michael Valair, Sgt. Matthew Palermo and Trooper Timothy Reardon, all of the Norwell barracks.
According to the lawsuit filed by [Kevin E. Roberts] and [Charles E. Cosgrove], the two state policemen, [Joseph Ligotti] would handle tickets written by favored troopers differently to encourage appeals to a judge and overtime court appearances for the troopers.
Ligotti's attorney, Robert Juvinville of Milton, called the charges "absolutely untrue," and said Ligotti has not even received any notice that he will be ordered to give a deposition in the suit.
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Judge suspends court official in alleged OT scam:[All Editions]
DAVE WEDGE. Boston Herald. Boston, Mass.:May 5, 2001. p. 001 Abstract (Summary)
DAVE WEDGE. Boston Herald. Boston, Mass.:May 5, 2001. p. 001 Abstract (Summary)
According to the suit, [Joseph Ligotti] was wrapped up in an elaborate courthouse racket designed to maximize coveted overtime for four troopers from the Norwell barracks. The troopers - sergeants Robert Blazuk, Matthew Palermo and Michael Valair, and Trooper Timothy Reardon - wrote hundreds of fraudulent citations that should have gone to the Plymouth courthouse but instead were steered to the Hingham court, the suit claims.
[Kevin Roberts] and [Charles Cosgrove] claim Blazuk - the Hingham court's state police prosecutor - and Ligotti are close personal friends and that all four were favored by the clerk. The suit alleges that Ligotti rudely goaded citizens into appealing to a judge so his pals could get extra overtime. State troopers make between $30 and $40 per hour for court overtime and it is widely seen as a perk of the job.
Gerald Nissenbaum, who represents Roberts and Cosgrove, said Ligotti benefited from the scam politically and financially because the troopers would bring him more bail money. Ligotti is also a bail bondsman who gets $25 per bail.
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Judge to rule on assault charge for mother of murder suspect:[Run Of Paper Edition]
Robert Lee. The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass.:Mar 11, 1995. p. 14 Abstract (Summary)
Robert Lee. The Patriot Ledger. Quincy, Mass.:Mar 11, 1995. p. 14 Abstract (Summary)
Hingham District Court Clerk-Magistrate Joseph Ligotti said Friday he could not make a ruling on whether charges should be issued because he is too familiar with the detective, Richard Craig, the possible defendant, Christine Johansen, and the witnesses and attorneys in the case. ......
....Johansen allegedly bumped into Craig outside the police chief's office while she was on her way in to review budgets for the town finance committee. Craig believes the bump was intentional and malicious...............
... ....Johansen is the mother of Eric Johansen, one of six teens charged in the February 1994 beating death of Edward Sullivan. She is also the wife of Rockland Patrolman Paul Johansen.
Ligotti rejected a request to open Friday's scheduled hearing to a reporter.
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Curbing bail abuse:[ALL Edition]Telegram + Gazette. Worcester, Mass.:Aug 14, 1991. p. A10
Abstract (Summary)
Their concern was triggered by an investigative report by The Patriot Ledger of Quincy on the lucrative bail-hearing moonlighting of Hingham Clerk-Magistrate Joseph Ligotti, who made $13,242 from 551 cases in the first six months of this year. He reportedly instructed police in six South Shore towns to call him for the most lucrative or convenient cases during certain hours.
Some clerks made even more during that period than Ligotti, including Brockton Clerk-Magistrate Kevin Creedon ($21,937) and Worcester Clerk-Magistrate Thomas Noonan ($15,875).
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NOTES FROM THE HILL AND THE HALL
Copyright Boston Globe Newspaper Jul 11, 1991
Copyright Boston Globe Newspaper Jul 11, 1991
SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Chief Justice Paul Liacos acknowledged this week that he recommended Joseph Ligotti for the clerk-magistrate position in Hingham District Court. That is significant because Ligotti is the subject of three separate investigations into his alleged mistreatment of the public and steering the proceeds from traffic fines to charity, and the SJC is the only body authorized to discipline clerk magistrates.
Last week, when the Globe was preparing a story on Ligotti's connections in the SJC, where he worked for 17 years................. ...."The chief justice did recommend Mr. Ligotti to Gov. Dukakis and the governor's staff," said Kenney. .............
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Troubling Tribunal Cullen, Kevin. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.:Jul 1, 1991. p. 1
Abstract (Summary)
The unorthodox practices of Joseph Ligotti, Hingham MA's clerk magistrate, have come under fire. Ligotti recently told Tim Griffin, 19, who had been charged with a traffic citation, that he could make out a $150 check to a local school instead of paying a fine to the state.
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VOTES MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH FOR VICTOR IN SJC CLERK PRIMARY:[THIRD Edition]
Peter B. Sleeper, Globe Staff. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext). Boston, Mass.:Sep 11, 1988. p. 39
Abstract (Summary)
Peter B. Sleeper, Globe Staff. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext). Boston, Mass.:Sep 11, 1988. p. 39
Abstract (Summary)
The Massachusetts Civil Liberties Union is challenging the constitutionality of a 133-year-old statute under which only Suffolk County voters cast ballots for the court clerk. The group asserts that Suffolk County has no special right to vote for the clerk, who handles cases from around the state.
Two state representatives from Boston are the best-known candidates in the race. Charles Doyle, 62, of West Roxbury, who is leaving the Legislature after 30 years, did not return phone calls. But his aide, Joe O'Keefe, said Doyle is the only lawyer in the field and "the high court deserves an attorney as clerk." O'Keefe declined comment on the suit.
The fourth candidate is Joseph Ligotti of Winthrop, the SJC's second assistant clerk for Suffolk County, who was appointed by Powers 16 years ago. Even if he loses the election, Ligotti, 46, will not be leaving office. During court reorganization a decade ago, [John E. Powers], with the Legislature's approval, granted him and the third assistant clerk life tenure.
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Abstract (Summary)
It also happens that most of the people complaining are women. Hormones, you know. That's probably what my pal [Joe Ligotti] thinks, anyway. Seems that some women, including those at the Supreme Judicial Court and the Suffolk County Courthouse, didn't cotton to Joe's off-color jokes about women. Humorless broads, no doubt.
I wanted to ask him about his comments to women seeking restraining orders against their mates. Joe reportedly wondered aloud: "What kind of woman would want to see her husband behind bars?" (Hint: a battered woman, Joe).
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Abstract (Summary)
Through his secretary, Ligotti released a series of letters that he contends vindicate him in the [Don Boermeester] case. In one letter, Ligotti responded to [Samuel E. Zoll], who received the Boermeesters' complaint, denying that he ever told Sharon Boermeester to "keep quiet" or suggested that they could not appeal the case to a judge.
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He has pals in high places
Abstract (Summary)
It also happens that most of the people complaining are women. Hormones, you know. That's probably what my pal [Joe Ligotti] thinks, anyway. Seems that some women, including those at the Supreme Judicial Court and the Suffolk County Courthouse, didn't cotton to Joe's off-color jokes about women. Humorless broads, no doubt.
Now, I called my pal Joe the other day. I wanted to get his side of the story about a lawsuit in which it was alleged that Joe made a racist remark about a female worker's child.
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Troubling tribunal Magistrate's handling of Hingham court faulted
Kevin Cullen, Globe Staff. Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext). Boston, Mass.: Jul 1, 1991.
[Sharon Boermeester] took a day off from work, and her son and a friend who was a witness missed a day of school to attend the hearing. But when they got to court, she said [Joseph A. Ligotti] would hear none of it. When Sharon tried to address Ligotti, she says Ligotti curtly told her, "Just get in the back of the room and keep quiet."
Ligotti's questionable actions apparently are not confined to the courtroom. Earlier this year, Ligotti was stopped by two state troopers after he allegedly ran a stop sign at Logan Airport. When the troopers explained that they would have to give him a warning, State Police say Ligotti became enraged, saying it was senseless given that they knew who he was. State Police say Ligotti told the troopers to give him a citation instead because "it's easier to fix."
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LAW FIRM SETTLES DEBT-COLLECTION CHARGES; [THIRD Edition]
Copyright New York Times Company Nov 10, 2004
BUSINESS IN BRIEF / THE REGION
BUSINESS IN BRIEF / THE REGION
Schreiber and Associates of Danvers agreed Monday to pay $100,000 and revamp its business practices to resolve charges that it violated state and federal laws covering debt-collection practices. Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly alleged that debt collectors working for the law firm used obscene language, harassed and threatened consumers, failed to prove the validity of debts, and exceeded the number of permissible calls under state and federal laws. As part of the settlement, Schreiber + Associates agreed to pay $20,000 in restitution to customers, $70,000 in penalties, and $10,000 to cover legal costs.
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BLOGGER'S NOTE: Notice only $20,000 went to Schreiber's victims. In this type of case, it's not unusual that many customers or victims never receive any of the awarded restitution. Abusers remain in their powerful positions to continue doing as they please. Jeffrey A. Schreiber, of Harris + Dial LLC and of Schreiber and Associates, works well with Joseph Ligotti.
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*Read more about those who abuse power. Click here.
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BLOGGER'S NOTE: Notice only $20,000 went to Schreiber's victims. In this type of case, it's not unusual that many customers or victims never receive any of the awarded restitution. Abusers remain in their powerful positions to continue doing as they please. Jeffrey A. Schreiber, of Harris + Dial LLC and of Schreiber and Associates, works well with Joseph Ligotti.
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*Read more about those who abuse power. Click here.
