Letter: Together, Cool heads will prevail

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To the Editor:

Rather tragically at Thursday night's Select Board meeting, we lost one of our own. The lesson made apparent by this tragedy is that our current system is broken. We need better and more timely communication; we need openness; we need the needs of the town of be first; we need more professionalism; and we need an environment free of fear.

So what remains for us to do is understand this problem did not develop overnight and that it will take some time and hard work to make the needed changes. We must make our concerns heard through our votes on Town Election Day on May 5 and at the annual town meeting on May 12 to create the first big step toward making needed repairs and healing our town.


As we move toward the future, it will be important to focus not only on naming the issues but even more importantly on how the issues might best be solved. It won’t be easy. There will be a fair amount of misinformation we will have to pick through to get to the information we need to make good decisions that pass the test of time. This will be a bit of a long road and it will be hard work. But if we do this together calmly and carefully, I know we will be successful.

So today, let’s resolve ourselves to harnessing our passion and use it to work together to create a much brighter future for Dalton!
 

ROBERT COLLINS
Collins is a member of the Dalton Select Board.

 

 

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Pittsfield Man Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Trafficking

Staff reports

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. —  A Pittsfield man pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court for conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine in Western Massachusetts. 

Theodore Warren, also known as "Monty," 42, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and four counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. 

This carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $2 million. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Oct. 20. 

In December 2024, Warren was charged with alleged co-conspirator Lavante Wiggins, a former dean at Pittsfield High School. Three administrators and two teachers, past and present, were investigated by Bulkley Richardson and Gelinas LLP for a range of allegations that surfaced or resurfaced at the end of 2024 after the arrest. 

This drew national media attention. 

According to the charging documents, Wiggins allegedly operated a drug-trafficking organization that distributed large amounts of cocaine in and around the Pittsfield area. Warren is said to have been a "runner."

"Warren was a trusted member of the DTO [drug-trafficking operation] who served as a runner for Wiggins. According to the charging documents, in August 2024, Wiggins expressed concern that he was under investigation and that he would send Warren to complete drug sales and deliver cocaine on his behalf," the U.S. Attorney's Office wrote in a press release on Tuesday. 

"It is alleged that one of Wiggins' customers amassed a debt of more than $34,000 for cocaine that Wiggins provided on credit. Warren and, allegedly, Wiggins went about collecting on that debt while continuing to supply large amounts of cocaine to the customer." 

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