Leja guilty of fraud; faces jail, fines

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN — The town’s former insurance broker was convicted last week in federal court in Springfield on multiple counts of mail fraud and false statements regarding health-care benefits. Davd M. Leja, 50, of 141 Luce Road, who obtained a health insurance plan for the town in 1997, which was abandoned in 1999 after significant financial loss, is scheduled for sentencing March 16. He faces up to five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine on each count of mail fraud and making false statements, and up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine on the single count of obstruction of justice. Leja was convicted last Wednesday, Dec. 15, in U.S. District Court following a bench trail by U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor. Ponsor found Leja guilty 42 counts of mail fraud, seven counts of false statements in relation to health-care benefits and one count of obstruction of justice, according to a Department of Justice press release. “Last week's conviction of David Leja on 42 counts of mail fraud and other charges brings to a close a difficult period in Williamstown” Town Manager Peter Fohlin said Tuesday. Leja served on the Williamstown Finance Committee from 1991 to 1997. Prior to 1996, the town had purchased its employee health insurance from a variety of carriers, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Harvard Community Health Plan. In 1997, Leja, saying he was acting as a broker for Kimbell Financial Inc. of North Adams, made a proposal to then Town Manager Steven Ledoux for a self-insured health plan at very attractive rates. Under such a plan the town was responsible for basic health0care costs and an insurance company was supposed to pick up excess costs. Six other clients, North Adams Regional Hospital, Commonwealth Sprague Capacitors Inc., Specialty Minerals Inc., Deerfield Academy, Berkshire Family and Individual Counseling, and Berkshire Electric Cable Co., had similar experiences with Leja. According to town officials, including former Town Manager Stephen Patch, who had to deal with the flap over financial losses when they came to light in 1999, the town lost an estimated $750,000 because of discrepancies in so called “stop-loss” insurance — coverage designed to protect against losses from unusually high claims in any given year. The court found that Leja was able to offer “irresistible” rates to the town and other clients by underestimating to the insurance carrier how much those excess costs were likely to be. The federal government's case against Leja did not claim that either the insurance companies or the clients, including the town, had lost any money as a result of his actions. Rather it was asserted that Leja was able personally to collect excessive commissions from the insurance carriers to whom he had misrepresented the client's claims experience. The town and the insurance carrier reached a settlement of claims against each other in 2000. An independent auditor was hired to review the town's past health insurance claims with the understanding that if the outcome of that audit were favorable to the town, it would receive a refund, but that an unfavorable outcome would not result in any additional cost to the town. The independent auditor concluded that no payments were owed. The town no longer self-insures. Since 1999, it has purchased its health insurance from Blue Cross/Blue Shield through the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association, a statewide association of more than 110 cities and towns in Massachusetts with over 27,000 subscribers.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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