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

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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. 
 
Cheshire Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud
 
The owner of a construction company doing business in Berkshire County pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Springfield to a multi-year income tax fraud scheme.
 
Dennis Condron, 76, of Cheshire, pleaded guilty to four counts of tax fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for May 19, 2026.
 
According to the charging document, over a three-year period, in addition to depositing customer payments to his company, D Condron Construction, Condron hid over half a million dollars in customer checks by cashing them and diverting them to his personal accounts.
 
When Condron had his taxes prepared, he did not tell his preparer about the checks he was cashing and diverting customer checks — resulting in his tax returns underreporting the gross receipts of the business by hundreds of thousands of dollars. As a result, Condron kept hundreds of thousands of dollars that he should have paid in federal and state income taxes.
 
Information provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts. 

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North Adams Clothing Store Moving to Larger Space

Staff Reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Label Shopper is moving across the parking lot to the former Peebles location in April.
 
The discount clothing store has been located in the downtown's L-shaped mall downtown since 2009. It replaced Fashion Bug, which had been in that spot for 24 years before closing in 2007; the company liquidated in 2013. 
 
Label Shopper is part of Peter Harris Clothes, established in 1970 by Peter Elitzer. Starting as a single store in Latham, N.Y., offering brand-name apparel at discount prices, the company operates more than 70 stores throughout the Northeast and Midwest.
 
The store is set to close on April 6 for the move and reopen on April 9 in the former Gordmans, according to signage. 
 
Gordmans briefly replaced Peebles in the former Kmart until the parent company of the two brands declared bankruptcy and closed its stores in 2020. 
 
At 17,250 square feet, the Gordman's space is at least double the size of Label Shopper's current location.
 
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