Residents Welcomed To Honor Fallen Soldier

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Residents are encouraged to line the streets to welcome home Michael DeMarsico, who was killed by a roadside bomb while serving in Afghanistan.

The soldier's family released on Friday the itinerary for the funeral.

On Wednesday, Aug. 29, at approximately 12:30 p.m. a motorcade carrying DeMarsico will arrive via Route 2 and the stop briefly at Veterans Memorial Park on its way to Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals' West Chapels.

All are encouraged to line the streets to welcome him home. Parking at the funeral home will not be available to anybody except family and the motorcade.

On Friday, Aug. 31, there will be calling hours at the West Main Street funeral home from 2 until 7 p.m.


On Saturday, Sept. 1, the funeral service and celebration of his life will be held at the First Baptist Church on Main Street. The procession will go travel east on West Main Street to the church and then from the church north on Eagle Street to Route 2, to Holden Street, to American Legion Drive, to Ashland Street and end at Southview Cemetery.

There will be a reception immediately following the services at the St. Elizabeth's Parish Center on St. Anthony Drive.

The city will be detouring traffic along the procession routes and there may be heavy congestion along the alternative routes.

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Court Briefs: Contractor Guilty of Tax Fraud, Windsor Man Sentenced for Threats

Windsor Man Sentenced in Threat Case
 
A Windsor man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Springfield for making online threats and extortionate demands.
 
Michael Andrew Rodgers, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 15 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In November 2025, Rodgers pleaded guilty to one count of threatening interstate communications and one count of extortionate interstate communications. Rodgers was arrested and charged in September 2024.
 
On April 5, 2023, Rodgers posted a threat on the Google review page of a Springfield medical practice that stated: "They gonna get what's coming soon. […] Will be there in the morning to get them myself one way or another. Locked and loaded." Beneath this text, Rodgers included an image of a hand holding a gun.
 
On April 6, 2024, Rodgers submitted a threat through a fraud reporting website for the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General with the intent to extort Social Security disability benefits. 
 
Specifically, Rodgers stated: "I m gonna start taking what I need. By any means nessacary. […] GIVE ME MY MONEY OR IM GONNA START DROPPING PEOPLE.  YOULL NEVER FIND MY WEAPONS SO STOP LOOKING AND GIVE ME MY CHECK.  […]  NEXT TIME I SLICE SOMETHING OPEN. IT WONT BE ME. ITLL BE ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN ILL MERC A WHOLE SCHOOL AND NOT GIVE A F***. […] SO YOULL BE MY FIRST TARGET IF YOU KEEP REFUSING TO HELP ME."
 
Windsor, State and Springfield Police assisted federal authorities in the investigation. 
 
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