State Puts Nonprofit and Charitable Groups' Reports Online

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Attorney General Martha Coakley
BOSTON — Wondering how well your favorite charity is doing? You can now check its annual filings online through the state attorney general's office.

"Increasing public access to information about the thousands of public charities that operate in our state has been and continues to be a priority of this office," said Attorney General Martha Coakley, in a statement. "Residents seeking information about charitable organizations that serve them, or which seek their support, will now be able to rapidly and efficiently access reports filed with us from wherever they have Internet access."

The "Public Charities Annual Filing Document Search" is part of a comprehensive effort by the attorney general's office to provide more online capabilities for both non-profit professionals and the donors who support them.

The new online search function launched today contains annual financial reports filed with the Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division by the more than 22,000 charitable organizations operating in Massachusetts.


Those annual reports provide a valuable source of information regarding a charitable organization's programs, activities and finances, according to Coakley's office. Annual filings typically include a Form Public Charity (Form PC), a copy of the organization's federal tax filing and financial statements. 

"This new online capability is only a first step in an ongoing process of developing a more robust information system," said Coakley.

Coakley's office, through its Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division, is responsible for overseeing the public's interest in the state's charitable organizations. Massachusetts general laws require public charities to register and file annual reports with the division and copies of these reports are available to the public.
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Dalton Man Accused of Kidnapping, Shooting Pittsfield Man

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Dalton man was arrested on Thursday evening after allegedly kidnapping and shooting another man.

Nicholas Lighten, 35, was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court on Friday on multiple charges including kidnapping with a firearm and armed assault with intent to murder. He was booked in Dalton around 11:45 p.m. the previous night.

There was heavy police presence Thursday night in the area of Lighten's East Housatonic Street home before his arrest.

Shortly before 7 p.m., Dalton dispatch received a call from the Pittsfield Police Department requesting that an officer respond to Berkshire Medical Center. Adrian Mclaughlin of Pittsfield claimed that he was shot in the leg by Lighten after an altercation at the defendants home. Mclaughlin drove himself to the hospital and was treated and released with non-life-threatening injuries. 

"We were told that Lighten told Adrian to go down to his basement, where he told Adrian to get down on his knees and pulled out a chain," the police report reads.

"We were told that throughout the struggle with Lighten, Adrian recalls three gunshots."

Dalton PD was advised that Pittsfield had swabbed Mclaughlin for DNA because he reported biting Lighten. A bite mark was later found on Lighten's shoulder. 

Later that night, the victim reportedly was "certain, very certain" that Lighten was his assailant when shown a photo array at the hospital.

According to Dalton Police, an officer was stationed near Lighten's house in an unmarked vehicle and instructed to call over the radio if he left the residence. The Berkshire County Special Response Team was also contacted.

Lighten was under surveillance at his home from about 7:50 p.m. to about 8:40 p.m. when he left the property in a vehicle with Massachusetts plates. Another officer initiated a high-risk motor vehicle stop with the sergeant and response team just past Mill Street on West Housatonic Street, police said, and traffic was stopped on both sides of the road.

Lighten and a passenger were removed from the vehicle and detained. Police reported finding items including a brass knuckle knife, three shell casings wrapped in a rubber glove, and a pair of rubber gloves on him.

The response team entered Lighten's home at 43 East Housatonic before 9:30 p.m. for a protective sweep and cleared the residence before 9:50 p.m., police said. The residence was secured for crime scene investigators.

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