Pittsfield Dealership Surrenders License After Forgery Accusation

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A local car dealership has surrendered its license after being accused of forgery for the second time in two years.

Licensing Board Chairman Thomas Campoli reported Monday that D&K Affordable Motors had opted to surrender its dealership license rather than re-appear before the board with documentation supporting a claim of identity fraud.

A show cause hearing for the dealership in March on accusations it had tried to register another dealership under the same license had been continued to this date. The board requested banking documents and records from the two involved parties: manager Kaitlyn Rathbun and her employee and partner Devon Fitts.

They had tried to say someone may have stolen their information to set up the dealership.

Earlier this month, the attorney who represented Rathbun and Fitts at the hearing notified the board that he will no longer be representing them and just a few days later, the license was surrendered.

"At that hearing we heard a fraudulent alteration with D&K's license that was illegally used to obtain [federal Paycheck Protection Program] funding for a non-existent automobile dealership managed by Devon Fitts, that's what the documents said, that same altered license that was fraudulently altered was submitted to AuctionACCESS,” Campoli said.

"At that hearing, [Pittsfield Police Sgt. Marc Maddalena] testified before the Pittsfield Licensing Board, and the licensee of D&K was represented by counsel, attorney William Martin, who raised the specter that Mr. Fitts may have been the victim of identity fraud.

"There was no substantive evidence that was put before the board to verify that. However, we gave the licensee the opportunity to come back to see us today."

Campoli said Martin emailed the board on April 11 that he no longer represented D&K and on April 14, Rathbun surrendered the license. 

D&K Affordable Motors had a Class 2 license with the number 297 for its premises at 48 Dalton Ave. issued in 2020. As it appears, Fitts submitted the same license to AuctionACCESS — an online credentialing system for dealers — for Young's Auto Sales at 111 W Housatonic St., which is a vacant lot.

Fitts also applied for and received $19,700 in PPP loans for being the sole proprietor of a dealership at 111 W Housatonic St., the same address of the business that attempted to register with D&K's valid license.

Both situations were attributed to identity fraud after Fitts reportedly had his wallet and other documents stolen.

The situation was investigated by the Pittsfield Police before the hearing and they did not believe it was a matter of identity theft. 

Maddalena was under the impression that obtaining a new license under a new dealership would allow D&K to have a clean history so they are able to visit auction sites to purchase vehicles after having financial difficulties.

He added that in 24 years on the job he has not seen identity theft used to open a car dealership, as it is usually for cashing checks and opening accounts.

The case has been sent to the attorney general for further investigation.

In other news, a new gaming center called Boosted Lounge was granted a seasonal wine and malt on-premise liquor license for its facility in the Allendale Shopping Center.

Pittsfield Man Creates Device to Clear Lakes of Algae Blooms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
08:07AM / Sunday, October 11, 2026

Marc Bellora holds a jar of lake water, left, to compare to water cleaned by his Aqua Clarifier Water System.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Marc Bellora has high hopes for a device he's created to treat lakes from harmful algae blooms.

His patented water clarifier can physically remove captured material rather than letting the nutrient-rich material settle back into the lake, which occurs when herbicides are used.

"It's a long-term lake management tool that can be used to reduce legacy nutrients in lakes and ponds over time," he explained. "We built the prototype, this is a prototype. It does approximately 65 to 70 gallons per minute. It's very environmentally friendly. Can be used with air only, or we can use a low-dose potable polyaluminum chloride (PACL) or chemical on board that can help improve results."

The water clarifier barge is based on well-proven technology for water treatment, he said. "It's a self-contained, portable, mobile unit that removes algae blooms, nitrogen, phosphorus, and the associated nitrogen and phosphorus within lakes."

Bellora founded Clear Waterways Group with business partner Mark Simon. They built a prototype mobile unit and are still working out the kinks. It's taken Bellora about five years to bring the project to fruition as he is also a full-time Realtor.

He says the repurposed barge they use has a device that uses air to filter the water to separate harmful bacteria or uses a chemical at low doses. They are testing both to see how well each does at cleaning the water.

"They would do the same thing here, except they would spray it, and it blocks all that stuff together," Bellora said of the use of herbicides. "But then it drops to the bottom. So now all the nutrients that are attached in that plot go to the bottom and contribute to the legacy nutrients only to fuel next year's bloom. Ours removes it."

He said just using air alone has removed 70 to 90 percent of harmful algae where he has been operating on the south end of Pontoosuc Lake.

"Essentially, we take in the bad stuff, we take in the lake water. We separate the good stuff from the bad stuff. Clean water goes back into the lake, and the bad stuff can either be composted, or it can be taken to the wastewater treatment plant, which is what we're doing here," he said. 

Bellora explained that tiny air bubbles attach to particles in the water, making them buoyant so they rise and can be removed. The unit can operate with air alone, or with a low dose of potable polyaluminum chloride.

PACL helps through flocculation: it gathers small particles into larger clumps that are easier for air bubbles to capture. He said this can help remove dissolved nutrients that air alone may not capture as effectively. 

Bellora said he was inspired to build something like this after noticing the lakes he enjoys being shut down because of algae blooms. 

The city issued a health advisory for Pontoosuc in August, warning residents not to swim or come in contact with the lake water because of an algae bloom. The cyanobacteria can cause skin irritations, vomiting and diarrhea and nerve or liver problems. 

Bellora previously worked for a company that used traditional dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems to treat water. In that role, he traveled around the country to work at paper mills and food-processing plants.

That experience gave him a practical understanding of DAF, and while flying between jobs, he would see green ponds and wonder whether the technology could be adapted to treat lakes.