NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Three city men are charged with pilfering booze and equipment from two neighboring establishments.
Timothy Domina, 27, Stavri Yanka, 25, and Zachary Mazza, 24, are all charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime and larceny over $250 in connection with a burglary at the Mohawk Tavern and the out-of-business restaurant Rub in the early hours of March 19.
The three allegedly stole nearly all of the Mohawk's hard liquor, many bottles of beer, an entire keg, shot glasses and a guitar and a cash register, television and stereo equipment from Rub.
According to court documents, Domina was the ringleader of the break-ins. He entered an admission of sufficient facts in Northern Berkshire District Court on April 13 and was sentenced to two years at the Berkshire County House of Corrections. Yanka and Mazza were charged via subpoena but had not yet appeared in court.
Police reported that the three men were living together upstairs from the Marshall Street bars and that Domina had broken a window at Rub after midnight on March 19 and began grabbing items. He then allegedly had his roommates help him carry the items upstairs.
After receiving arrest warrants, police found Domina and chased him to Bracewell Avenue, where he was arrested. During the arrest, police said they found a knife and prescription drugs on his person. Domina was later charged with possession of a class E substance and possession of a dangerous weapon but those counts were dismissed by the state, as well as single counts of destruction of property and receiving stolen property.
School Union Ex-Workers Charged With Embezzlement
By Andy McKeever On: 06:28PM / Wednesday May 09, 2012
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Two former Northern Berkshire School Union employees were charged on Monday with making nearly $30,000 in unauthorized purchases with the union's credit cards.
Carol Fryc, 71, of North Adams and Donna Burdick, 57, of Florida, were both arraigned in Northern Berkshire District Court after a state police investigation revealed $29,631 worth of unauthorized purchases. They are being charged with single counts of larceny over $250.
The two worked in the small school union office in North Adams; the school union includes Clarksburg, Florida and Savoy schools.
According to court documents, Fryc, the school union's business manager, used the credit cards for an array of purchases — from veterinarian bills to digital cameras to candy for the office — at both Staples and WalMart. Some of the purchases were work-related but "unauthorized" while others were for personal use. Burdick allegedly used the credit cards for purchases from Staples.
The charges date back to 2004 — and some $8,000 is still questioned — but wasn't discovered until last fall when then Clarksburg Selectwoman Debra LeFave suspected that invoices were being forged. The School Union Superintendent Jonathan Lev filed a police response and both women were fired.
The largest unauthorized expenditures came from gift cards. More than $12,000 of the purchases were for Staples gift cards, which were later used for various purchases.
Firefighters inspect the crushed front end of the car. At left, the damage to the SUV.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A two-car collision at the corner of Eagle and River streets sent two people to the hospital on Tuesday.
A red sedan headed north on Eagle Street apparently collided with the back end of a black sport utility vehicle headed across the intersection from River to Canal Street at about 3:30 p.m. The front-end of the red car was totaled; the SUV was dented and scratched on the rear passenger door.
Both the driver and occupant in the red car were transported to North Adams Regional Hospital. The road was closed while the occupants and cars were removed from the scene.
No further information was immediately available.
North Adams Responds To Two 2-Car Accidents
Staff Reports On: 04:21PM / Tuesday April 17, 2012
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Police and fire were busy Tuesday afternoon when two motor vehicle accidents occurred within minutes of each other.
The first occurred at 3:41 p.m. on Cherry Street when a gray 2008 Volkswagen Jetta driven by Jessenya J. Rodriguez of Meadow Street apparently rear-ended a green 1999 Toyota driven by Tuyet Nhi Nguyen, 20, of Parker Street. At least one person sustained injuries and the Jetta was towed by Dean's Towing.
The second fender-bender occurred at 3:50 p.m. on Union Street at the intersections of Gallup and Beaver streets. Traffic was detoured until the vehicles could be removed.
The collision occurred between a blue 2007 Hyundai Sonata owned by Brenda L. Crow of Francis Street and a 2001 green Honda Civic operated by Vanessa M. Hansen, 54, of Marlborough, Conn. Both vehicles were towed from the scene.
No further information was immediately available.
A two-car crash on Route 2, top and right, delayed traffic for a short time on Tuesday afternoon. Below, a fender-bender on Cherry Street
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has posted the position for public safety commissioner.
The posting, on BerkshireJobs.com, is asking for a someone with a "strong background in public safety" including a at least a master's degree in a related discipline such as police, fire or management, and be a ranking member of a public safety department with relevant experience.
According to the posting, the commissioner will be oversee the police, fire, wire and alarm, public buidings, weights and measures, and health inspection. He or she will also be responsible for coordinating intermunicipal mutual aid, write grants and do strategic planning and budgeting.
The application deadline is April 16.
There had been some discussion of doing away with the commissioner post, one of the few in the state, but with current commissioner's time coming to an end, the adminstration asked to continue the post. The Public Safety Committee concurred.