Probation Chief's Kin Gets Preferential Treatment in 'Hit-and-Run' Case

Courtroom Cover-Up: Nilan 'Hit-and-Run' Hearing Closed to Public
Pittsfield's GOB Democrats Protecting Their Own
Hearing Date Kept Secret -- Patronage Appointee Speranzo Presiding
Probation Chief Nilan 'Pulling Strings' AGAIN?

by G.M. Heller
Published: Saturday, January 14, 2012

PITTSFIELD -- "The date of that hearing is not being made public," according to blogger Dan Valenti referring to the magistrate's hearing in the case involving Meredith Nilan, 24, a risk assessor at Berkshire Bank and daughter of Superior Court probation chief Clifford J. Nilan, alleged to be the driver of an SUV involved in a hit-and-run accident that severely injured a local jogger, Peter Moore, and tore fur from Moore's dog.

The accident left Moore broken and bleeding on a neighborhood street in Pittsfield the evening of December 8, 2011 (see below for a list of Moore's reported injuries detailed by blogger Valenti).

Writing in this past Thursday's (January 12) edition of PlanetValenti.com, Valenti also reports that the court hearing, which will determine whether a criminal complaint should issue against Ms. Nilan, "apparently, will not be open to the public."

According to Valenti, the Pittsfield Police Department took more than a month to issue a citation against Ms. Nilan for the accident that took place along Winesap Road not far from where the subdivision road meets East Street. The citation is dated January 10, 2012; the alleged hit-and-run occurred December 8, 2011.

> Clifford J. Nilan, chief probation officer, Berkshire Superior Court, alleged owner of SUV involved in hit-and-run that severely injured jogger Peter Moore and his dog early in the evening December 8, 2011. >

According to The Berkshire Eagle, the accident vehicle, a 2001 Subaru Forester, is registered to Ms. Nilan's father, Clifford J. Nilan, whose official title is Chief Probation Officer for Berkshire Superior Court Probation Department in Pittsfield.

In 2010, Mr. Nilan, was one of those investigated by the Massachusetts Probation Department in the 'pay-for-play' scandal alleging improprieties, patronage hiring, and other irregularities in MPD under the administration of longtime commissioner, John J. O’Brien.

According to The Eagle's published report from November 11, 2010 written by reporter Conor Berry, Mr. Nilan was "admonished for mishandling the case of Angelo C. Stracuzzi, the former CEO of Greylock Federal Credit Union."

Berry wrote: "The Supreme Judicial Court appointed Paul F. Ware, a high-profile Boston attorney, to lead an independent probe of the (probation) department after a May (2010) report by the Boston Globe (Spotlight Team) uncovered alleged improprieties in the Probation Department."

In a statement issued at the time by the Mass. Probation Department and reported in The Eagle, MPD's investigators wrote: "The (Stracuzzi) case was misclassified and did not follow probation standards, which require avoidance of any actions that suggest or imply a lack of impartiality and avoidance of any conflict of interest."

Berry reported: "Stracuzzi resigned from the Pittsfield-based (Greylock Federal) credit union in June (2010) after The Eagle exposed his criminal background and personal and professional relationship with (Clifford J.) Nilan, a member of Greylock's board of directors while Stracuzzi was on probation with Nilan's department."

Berry also wrote: "Although Nilan was reprimanded for failing to follow proper protocol, state Probation Department officials in Boston declined to divulge details of his punishment, which they stated remains a confidential personnel matter. Nilan is still employed by the Massachusetts Trial Court."

According to Berry, "Following a review of Stracuzzi's case, which was transferred from Maine to Berkshire Superior Court in 2005, probation officials now acknowledge the case 'was not handled in compliance with the practices, policies and guidelines of the Office of the Commissioner of Probation.'"

< Meredith Nilan, alleged driver in hit-and-run that severely injured jogger Peter Moore and his dog early in the evening December 8, 2011; daughter of Berkshire Superior Court probation chief Clifford J. Nilan .

Fast forward 13 months to January 2012 and Clifford J. Nilan, referred to by blogger Valenti as a Pittsfield "Good Ol' Boy," is back in the news, apparently taking "actions that suggest or imply a lack of impartiality" and failing yet again to avoid appearance "of any conflict of interest," this time in a matter closer to home -- literally -- involving his eldest daughter and a vehicle registered to him alleged to have struck a pedestrian before speeding off.

This past Thursday, January 12, PlanetValenti.com reports:
"(Meredith) Nilan was cited with two misdemeanors. A clerk magistrate will conduct a hearing to determine if there’s enough evidence to charge Ms. Nilan. Clerk Mag (sic) of the Central Berkshire District Court -- Superior Court -- is none other than Chris 'No Show' Speranzo. As you recall, this was one of the scenarios outlined as a concern when No Show quit as state rep to walked into a stacked vote to receive his lifetime $110,000 job: That he would be a GOB friend on the inside for just such situations, that is, if the GOBs needed a favor from inside the courts. THE PLANET is not suggesting that Speranzo is incapable of making an honest and fair judgment. He should understand, though, that all eyes will be upon him to render justice, not inside favors, for the daughter of a GOB’s GOB. The magistrate will determine if there is enough evidence to send it to trial. If not, it just goes away, no harm, no foul."

> Christopher N. Speranzo, newly-appointed Clerk Magistrate, Central Berkshire District Court in Pittsfield; a Democrat patronage appointee of Gov. Deval Patrick. >

Valenti goes on to report:
"(Meredith) Nilan’s father is Central Berkshire probation chief Clifford 'Cliffy' Nilan. THE PLANET considers instructive this piece of recent local history: When (Clifford) Nilan learned that his buddy, then president of Greylock Federal Credit Union, Angelo Stracuzzi, had been arrested in July 2005 on consecutive days, charged by Biddeford, Maine, police with four counts involving the molestation of teenage boys, (Clifford) Nilan said and did nothing, either as an officer of the court or as a member of the Greylock board. (Clifford) Nilan said nothing. We know this from the testimony of Greylock VP John Bissell. Bissell said when the story broke and — as far as we know, continues to say — that for five years, the Greylock Board had no idea their chief had become embroiled in scandal."

Valenti then poses this question, "Did Nilan use his influence to obtain favorable ..... treatment for a friend?"

Valenti lists what he alleges are "facts" in the case alleging Meredith Nilan's hit-and-run:
-- "Police issued a criminal citation for two misdemeanors: leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and negligent operation of a motor vehicle."
-- "Moore lost a large amount of blood, a broken leg, broken vertebrae, bruises, trauma to the left side of his body, a concussions (sic), and cuts all over his body. In short, he suffered catastrophic injuries. This was no brush-by, oops, sorry, see ya’ later. A man was almost killed."
-- "Though Ms. Nilan was the driver, her father owns the car. A Pittsfield detective source tells THE PLANET that 'charges could be coming against [Cliff Nilan]. Ms. Nilan’s lawyer, Tim Shugrue (former candidate for District Attorney), admits that his client and her father went back to the scene of the accident, looking for evidence." Valenti poses what he calls a "fair question": "Did they remove, alter, hide, or in any other way tamper with evidence?"

Valenti asks more questions: "As reported by the Berkshire Eagle, photos of the vehicle showed a head-sized hole in the windshield and dents in the hood. (Clifford J.) Nilan called police at 9:30 on the night of Dec. 8, 90 minutes after the accident. He told them his daughter hit 'either a dog or deer.' Why did he make that phone call? Ms. Nilan is of age. She holds a responsible job. She’s an adult. Why didn’t she get on the blower to speak to the police? Was she too discombobulated? Was she too upset? Was she too inebriated? Was she too used to daddy cleaning up her messes? Was it something else?" asks Valenti.

Valenti asks: "Was there alcohol involved? It has been reported that Ms. Nilan’s speeding, northbound car 'swerved' into the southbound lane. Is 'swerve' code for DUI? That same evening, Dec. 8, Berkshire Young Professionals, a sub-group of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, had a 'Networking Social' at Allium Restaurant in Great Barrington. Was she drinking? The social has listed hours of 5 to 7 p.m. The accident occurred that night at about 8:15 p.m. Have police interviewed people who were there?"

Valenti: "The police account of the accident and Ms. Nilan’s differ in many respects. She says it occurred at 9 p.m. Police say 8:15. She says it took place on East Street and McIntosh Road. (Berkshire Blog editor's note: The Eagle reports "Meredith Nilan told police she was on her way to meet her boyfriend for dinner about 9 p.m., when she hit either a dog or deer near the intersection of Winesap Road and McIntosh Drive.") Police found no evidence there. Moore, the victim, said it happened at the corner of East and Winesap. There, police found lots of blood and some dog fur. Who is telling the truth?" asks Valenti.

One thing Valenti forgets to mention is that The Nilan residence is just down the street from where Mr. Moore and his dog had their alleged run-in with the Nilan's SUV; it's a neighborhood where Meredith Nilan has been raised for the past 22 of her 24 years.

According to Yahoo! Maps, the distance from The Nilan's driveway to the spot where Mr. Moore and his dog were allegedly struck by the Nilan SUV going north (traveling at what Mr. Moore said was "a high rate of speed" and swerving) measures approximately o.2 miles -- 1,056 feet -- a spanse that takes just 20.6 seconds to cover at 35 miles-per-hour.
SEE: Yahoo! Map showing site of alleged hit-and-run involving Nilan SUV relative to location of the Nilan residence.

To the list of facts and questions posed by Mr. Valenti, add the following observation: The Nilans have lived at their Winesap Road address for more than 22 years, moving in when daughter Meredith was about two years old. Ms. Nilan has therefore grown up in this small neighborhood, a subdivision known as 'The Orchards'.

As such, the lady likely knows the neighborhood as well as anyone else who's lived in The Orchards for over two decades.

Ms. Nilan’s statement to police that she believed she "hit either a dog or deer," when in fact it was a dog and a man, could be construed as de facto admission by Ms. Nilan that she was, for as yet unexplained reasons, impaired and highly disoriented that night.

What factors caused Meredith Nilan to be in such condition at quarter after 8 on a Thursday eve? <<<<<

SEE:
"MORE QUESTIONS RAISED IN MEREDITH NILAN HIT-’N-RUN CASE"
by Dan Valenti, PlanetValenti.com, January 12, 2012.
ALSO SEE:
"Alleged: Pittsfield Probation Chief's SUV in Hit-and-Run; Daughter a Suspect"
by G.M. Heller, Berkshire Blog, January 08, 2012.

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Reprinted from The Berkshire Eagle:

Police connect SUV to hit-and-run accident

By Andrew Amelinckx, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Wednesday, January 11, 2012

PITTSFIELD -- Police say they have connected an SUV owned by the county's chief probation officer and driven by his daughter to a hit-and-run accident last month that seriously injured a man jogging with his dog on a city road.

Police believe Meredith Nilan was heading north in her father Clifford Nilan's 2001 Subaru Forester on Winesap Road the evening of Dec. 8 when she swerved into the southbound lane and struck Peter Moore, who was headed north, according to a Pittsfield Police accident report.

"We have a driver, we have a victim and we have a vehicle," said Pittsfield Police Capt. John Mullin.

A criminal citation for two misdemeanors -- leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and negligent operation of a motor vehicle -- were lodged against Meredith Nilan in District Court.

The case will go before a clerk magistrate for a show-cause hearing to determine if there's enough evidence to charge Meredith Nilan. If no probable cause is found, the charges would be dismissed. If probable cause is found, a court arraignment would take place. The hearing date, as well as the hearing itself, is not public information.

Nilan's and Moore's accounts of where and when the accident took place on Winesap Road differed, but police determined Moore's description of the accident site was correct. Police used a search warrant to inspect the car during their investigation.

About 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 8, Peter Moore was hit by a car while jogging with his dog on Winesap Road near East Street. He suffered a fractured calf bone and a broken vertebrae, a bruised colon, trauma to the left side of his body, a concussion, and abrasions "from head to toe."

Meredith Nilan told police she was on her way to meet her boyfriend for dinner about 9 p.m., when she hit either a dog or deer near the intersection of Winesap Road and McIntosh Drive.

Her attorney, Timothy J. Shugrue, said on Friday that she isn't sure what she hit and that she went back to the site with her father, but they couldn't find any evidence of what she may have hit. Clifford Nilan later called police to report the accident.

The intersection where Meredith Nilan told police she struck something is south of where police say they found a large amount of blood and dog fur and where Moore said he was struck by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. Moore was unable to give a description of the vehicle that hit him.

Moore walked home and went to bed without reporting what happened. Early the next morning, he went to Berkshire Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries and released nearly a week later.<<<<<

SEE:
'Police connect SUV to hit-and-run accident'
by Andrew Amelinckx, The Berkshire Eagle, Wednesday, January 11, 2012
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Write to G.M. Heller at editor@berkshirerecord.com

When Will The Publisher Stop Covering For The Banker?

Andrew Mick

Angelo C. Stracuzzi

Just what does Greylock's disgraced ex-CEO have on The Berkshire Eagle's Andrew Mick?

What else is The Berkshire Eagle failing to report?

by G.M. Heller

Published: Saturday, June 19, 2010, 12.34 P.M. EST.

Pittsfield, MA --- Why has Andrew Mick, Publisher and CEO at The Berkshire Eagle, been covering-up for Angelo C. Stracuzzi, former President and CEO at Greylock Federal Credit Union?

On Friday, June 4, 2010, Mr. Stracuzzi, 61, the former Pittsfield City Council president, resigned (some say he was fired) from the board of trustees at nationally-recognized Greylock Federal Credit Union, where Mr. Stracuzzi has served for years as the organization's high-profile, highly paid president, CEO, and advertising spokesperson.

Mr. Stracuzzi's face along with the familiar tagline, "Tell 'em Angelo sent you!," has been a staple of Greylock's advertising campaigns for years, while on-air his cheerful upbeat delivery touting the credit union's financial products is well-known to radio listeners throughout the region.

This surprising turn of events allegedly stemmed from trustees' concerns over what Greylock board chair Sheila LaBarbera called, in a statement issued late that Friday afternoon after boardmembers met with outside counsel, 'potential conflicts-of-interest' in the handling of Mr. Stracuzzi's probation in a misdemeanor case for which he had been convicted five years earlier in another state.

Mr. Stracuzzi pled guilty to one count each of assault & battery and criminal mischief in May, 2005 in York County Superior Court in Alfred, Maine.

This startling revelation that Mr. Stracuzzi had had a run-in with Maine cops only came about because The Eagle had reported it in its Sunday May 30 edition as part of a different story that The Eagle apparently believed was more newsworthy.

The Eagle was running a story on a local angle in response to having been upstaged by The Boston Globe just days earlier when The Globe's Spotlight Team broke news that the Massachusetts Probation Department, under state Commissioner John J. O'Brien since 1998, has been rife with patronage hires, nepotism, influence peddling, favoritism, and questionable quid pro quo campaign contributions. (Who would have thought this could happen in Massachusetts?)

The Globe series made specific mention of a patronage (read: nepotism) hire in the North Adams probation office who'd also been alleged to be a 'no-show,' and who, after complaints had been received by department headquarters in Boston, had subsequently been transferred to the South County office at near double his North Adams salary.

It was a story The Eagle should have known about and should have been the first to report long ago, but never did.

So in the wake of The Globe's scathing statewide scoop, The Eagle, in an article dated May 30, 2010 and headlined "Probation Cloud Hits County", reported on what appeared to be a local conflict-of-interest from five years earlier when Berkshire Superior Court's probation office in Pittsfield was given authority to oversee a local man who'd been convicted in Maine and whose probation was transferred to Massachusetts under the so-called Interstate Compact.

That man was Angelo Stracuzzi.

The conflict-of-interest to which Greylock chair LaBarbera referred in her June 4 press release stemmed from Mr. Stracuzzi's probation having apparently been overseen by his friend and fellow Greylock board member (and the credit union's former chair) Clifford Nilan, whose day job was, and is, chief of probation at Berkshire Superior Court.

(Except that the state Probation Department is now backtracking, according to The Eagle, and is now claiming that Mr. Nilan did not "play a direct role in supervising Stracuzzi," yet department headquarters in Boston is at odds to say just who did oversee Mr. Stracuzzi.)

Despite being subordinated within an article about a different scandal, that first mention in The Eagle of a heretofore unreported criminal matter involving one of Berkshire County's leading political and business figures was surprise enough.

But what caused even more public consternation and speculation (especially online within The Eagle's Topix threads) was that, after acknowledging in the May 30 article that it had actually been aware of Mr. Stracuzzi's conviction for at least five months (since January, according to The Eagle, when it sent emails to Probation Department headquarters), The Eagle after all that time was still only able to give the most vague description and sparse accounting as to what actually led to a criminal complaint being issued against Mr. Stracuzzi in the first place.

What kind of incident six years earlier could possibly have caused a successful bank executive and former Pittsfield City Council president to be criminally charged in a coastal resort town like Biddeford, Maine?

The Eagle's May 30 eye-opener contained little else about Maine's July 2004 criminal case against Mr. Stracuzzi, nor any explanation how or why he happened to be in Biddeford.

Prominently reported in that article, though, was Mr. Stracuzzi's own explanation for what happened.

According to that May 30 report, "Stracuzzi, 61, told The Eagle last week that he was charged with assault after he pushed a young male hitchhiker out of his car in Biddeford one afternoon. Stracuzzi said he believes the criminal mischief charge was leveled against him because he broke the hitchhiker's necklace."

Bad enough that were there an actual crime, The Eagle was relying upon the alleged perpetrator as its witness to relay what happened (like the fox being interviewed about goings-on at night around the chicken coop), but The Eagle then failed to present any evidence, source, or details to confirm Mr. Stracuzzi's version of events.

For example, The Eagle omitted any reference to, or interview with, Sarah Churchill, an attorney and specialist in criminal trial litigation with the high-priced law firm Strike, Goodwin & O'Brien in Portland, Maine, whom court records indicate represented Mr. Stracuzzi before York County Superior Court Judge G. Arthur Brennan.

In addition, The Eagle, other than including Mr. Stracuzzi's initial reference to a "young male hitchhiker," failed to state whether anyone from the newspaper tried to contact that individual to obtain his side of the story, especially since that individual's name was indeed available from court records (despite being a juvenile at the time).

Not only that, but The Eagle omitted any reference whatsoever to the Biddeford Police investigation that followed, or to the detectives' report that formed the basis for issuing Mr. Stracuzzi a summons.

Also omitted were quotes from those Biddeford Police detectives, even statements made 'not for attribution'.

Further omitted was public information on file at York County Superior Court in the clerk's office, data which could easily have been obtained via telephone just by speaking with court personnel. (Alfred, Maine is a quiet, friendly town of 2500, and the superior court clerk's office is open from 12-4 weekdays.)

Just about the only thing that was being acknowledged by the newspaper was that: "The Eagle has formally requested more information about the case, but the Biddeford Police Department and York County District Attorney Mark Lawrence have yet to respond."

The fact that Biddeford is 222 miles away -- by car less than four hours from Pittsfield -- apparently made it impossible for The Eagle during the Berkshires' incredibly busy mud season -- January through May -- to dispatch anybody to Biddeford to interview anyone in the police station which investigated the case, in the D.A.'s office which prosecuted the case, in Biddeford District Court where the case was initially heard, or in York County Superior Court where sentence was ultimately pronounced and records are maintained.

Historically, The Eagle has shown great ingenuity and unabashed energy in reporting local crime stories and criminal proceedings, doing so on matters horrific and benign.

The newspaper's daily regimen invariably includes even the smallest details carefully lifted and sifted from police and court records, guaranteed to embarrass any Berkshire defendant, his extended family, and friends.

The Eagle is known to publicize and even to amplify in excruciating detail and without reserve the who, what, where, how, when, and often the why of any incident.

The criminal prosecution, minutia from every subsequent court proceeding, and the court climax with a detailed listing of everything the judge's sentence imposes is all standard fare in The Eagle.

There's little that goes on in Berkshire County's courts about which The Eagle's readers are not made fully aware.

In nearly every case, except apparently, this one.

(And also, of course, those matters involving patronage, nepotism, favoritism, and no-show hiring in Berkshire County's Probation Department offices.)

Inexplicably, The Eagle, even to this day, still has failed to report what actually happened in Biddeford in July 2004 that led police in that municipality to issue a criminal summons to one of Berkshire County's leading citizens.

Unreported in the May 30 article, for example, is just why Maine prosecutors would accept nothing less than a guilty plea on something so seemingly silly as what Mr. Stracuzzi claims was a dust-up with a hitchhiker?

The Eagle's follow-up report published June 3, headlined "Probation to Review Case," added little to the sum of public knowledge concerning Mr. Stracuzzi's contretemps in Biddeford.

Likewise the newsflash posted to The Eagle's Web site late the afternoon of June 4, that broke the story headlined "Stracuzzi Resigns Greylock Board, Placed on Leave as CEO," did not do any better in adding to the sum of the public's knowledge as to what actually transpired in Biddeford, or to explain how whatever it was could have created such a dramatic ripple effect six years later.

This was like reporting on the devastation from a Level 5 hurricane without actually reporting that it had ever rained, let alone been windy.

It took another week, until June 11, for The Eagle finally to acknowledge in a reference buried deep within a related article, this one simply headlined "Stracuzzi Resigns as CEO," that: "Stracuzzi's latest legal headache stems from separate 2004 incidents in Maine, according to York County Superior Court officials. Stracuzzi was charged with six crimes in connection with two back-to-back incidents in July 2004, including two counts of soliciting sex from a minor, according to a spokeswoman in the court clerk's office."

"Separate 2004 incidents in Maine"?
"Charged with six crimes"?
"Two back-to-back incidents in July 2004"?
"Two counts of soliciting sex from a minor"?

Please excuse our ignorance, but from where had all this suddenly come?

What else had yet to be disclosed by The Eagle?

What else was The Eagle omitting from this image shattering news story?

Worse, what had actually happened during those incidents in Biddeford -- now apparently two of them back-to-back -- that was still not being reported by The Eagle?

What the public had initially been led to believe was just some momentary nonsense with a hitchhiker and broken jewelry, was now turning into something with strange and sinister implications.

Yet, even with The Eagle's 'come lately' admission on June 11 that there had been allegations of multiple incidents and crimes, even with that tacit acknowledgement, The Eagle was still omitting relevant facts and details about which The Eagle's editors were now well aware at that point, and which related directly to the "two back-to-back incidents" The Eagle was now finally acknowledging.

Such as: that the alleged "minor" (note The Eagle's use of the singular) involved in these matters was, in fact, two different boys, aged 15 and 13, respectively.

Hence, the two separate incidents.

Such as: that the incident alleged by Mr. Stracuzzi to have taken place during the day, as was initially reported by The Eagle May 30, appears actually to have taken place in the evening.

In fact, each incident had been called into Biddeford Police in late evening, specifically 9:36 P.M. in the first instance, Monday, July 26, 2004; and then one the following night at 10:00 P.M., according to the blotter at the Biddeford Police station.

Such as: that Judge Brennan ordered psychological evaluation and counseling as a condition for Mr. Stracuzzi's probation.

That is something which could have real-life implications for juvenile males near and far should Mr. Stracuzzi or the Berkshire County Probation Office fail to follow through on Judge Brennan's order.

Imagine if what happened in Biddeford were to happen elsewhere in some future time because either psychological evaluation and counseling had not occurred as ordered, or because Mr. Stracuzzi's treatment was not continued as needed.

As it stands right now, The Berkshire Eagle's readers still do not officially know just what happened in Biddeford, Maine when Angelo Stracuzzi wheeled into town that balmy evening in July 2004.

Nor do The Eagle's readers know why Greylock's board formally accepted the resignations of both Mr. Stracuzzi and his fellow board member Clifford Nilan; nor even why Mr. Stracuzzi formally resigned his position as president and CEO.

The Berkshire Eagle continues to stonewall, to cover-up, to dissemble, to omit, and to obfuscate, apparently on behalf, and for the benefit, of Mr. Stracuzzi.

Why is The Eagle's Publisher and CEO, Andrew Mick, allowing any of this to take place on his watch?

[Editor's Note: Andrew Mick reports ultimately to William Dean Singleton of Denver, Colorado, founder and CEO of MediaNews Group. Mr. Singleton is also chairman of the board of directors of the Associated Press (AP), and, according to Wikipedia, "serves as publisher of a number of MediaNews' dailies, including the Denver Post, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Detroit News."]