The Saugus Review

Saugus Police Department is asking the citizens of Saugus to be on the lookout for an individual or individuals who are stealing catch basin grates throughout the Town. This malicious act not only costs the Town money but puts the public at risk.

If any person notices any suspicious activity of this nature we would like them to contact the Saugus Police Department immediately at 781-233-1212. If the registration number of the vehicle(s) involved can be safely obtained it would help in the Police Department’s investigation. However, the Town is not looking for the public to have any involvement with the individual(s) but to only report their activity to the Police Department.

In addition please report any missing catch basin grates to the Department of Public Works at 781-231-4145 so that they can be replaced immediately. The citizens’ cooperation in regards to this matter is greatly appreciated.

Reports of shots fired yesterday on 14 Greatwoods Road at 10:30 pm led to discovery of an assault that happened there late last night.

Two victims who sustained serious injuries as a result of the assault were rushed to the Melrose-Wakefeild Hospital as the police investigated the matter. Saugus Police Det. Lt. Ronald Giorgetti says that the three suspects were all male and that they went inside the residence with firearms. The suspects then demanded money from people inside and assaulted them before taking off  in a blue or gray small sports coupe on Walnut Street with the cash.

For parties who have more information on the case, please call Saugus Police at 781-941-1100 immediately.

Thanks to the efforts of The Board of Health, the Solid Waste/Recycling Department and the Department of Public Works, curtailing of illegal dumping activity within town have been decreasing throughout the last couple of years.

The drop off program was introduced April 2009 and is held during Saturdays from 8am and noon at 515 Main St., exclusively to Saugus residents. Residents were allowed to drop-off up to three large items like televisions and computers along with other smaller recyclables free of charge. Aside from the weekly television and computer drop-off program, the town also holds a hazardous waste drop twice a year during May and October and a weekly compost program.

Grass clippings, leaves, and small brush drop offs are done during Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m throughout the duration of the program.

Previously, residents had to pay a fee so they could drop off their TVs and computers for recycling, but the program making recycling free encouraged a lot of residents to avoid illegal dumping.

Over the last year however, televisions and computers were no longer the problem but construction materials illegal dumping and green trashbags containing yard waste even if people can already avail of recycling for free which is making Solid Waste/Recycling Coordinator Lorna Cerbone frustrated.

Saugus Dunkin Donuts was robbed last Friday by a man who was armed with a handgun. The robbery was reported at 9:17 pm by an employee calling the police about what just took place at the Dunkin Donuts at 35 Lincoln Ave.

The employee said that the suspect had a white shirt wrapped around his head and wore sunglasses to hide his face.

Witness reports say that the suspect is a white man, about 6’1 ft and weighs about 175 pounds. The suspect demanded money from the register and then took off right after. The criminal was last spotted fleeing on foot on Chestnut Street toward Winter street, dressed in a black shirt, plaid shorts and white sneakers and is still currently at large.

If anyone knows the whereabouts of the suspect, please call Saugus Police at 781-941-1100.

Posted from the Boston Globe:

By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent

A Saugus middle-schooler could face charges after he created an animated movie that depicted violence against a teacher, police said.

A Belmonte Middle School official notified police Wednesday that the student had posted the animated short on YouTube, Saugus Police Lieutenant Leonard Campanello said. Police immediately informed YouTube, and the video, which divulged the teacher’s name, was taken down the same day, he said.

“Any allegation or threat against a school official is something we have to take very seriously, whether or not the intention is real,” Campanello said.

Richard Stewart, 42, of Saugus, and Joseph Falzone, 43, two former Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) employees have been ordered to pay over half a million dollars in restitution for the theft of more than 2,000 feet of cast-iron “coping” that that they took from the Longfellow Bridge and stored in a DCR facility in Stoneham, Middlesex District.

Police investigations led to the conclusion that Joseph and Stewart Falzone were the ones behind the missing cast iron coping from interviews with DCR employees, analysis of video surveillance, analysis by the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene Services, and other investigative measures.

The leads pointed out to a DCR Bobcat vehicle immediately adjacent to the area from which the coping was removed which Falzone and Stewart have access to.

It was also found out that several weekend dates in July and August, were used by Joseph and Stewart Falzone to access the DCR Stoneham facility as well as the DCR truck and bobcat to remove the decorative coping which they brought and then sold to a scrap metal yard in Everett for $12,000 a small percentage compared to the cost of 1 million dollars it takes to replace the coping.

The two men of Nashua, NH, were arrested on September 8 and arraigned in Malden District Court.

On Oct. 21, they were indicted by a Middlesex Superior Court Grand Jury and on Nov. 19, they were arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court, where they were ordered held on $7,500 cash bail.

After the trial, Jospeh and Stewart Falzone pled guilty in Middlesex Superior Court on Aug. 12, 2009 to charges of receiving stolen goods (12 counts) and conspiracy (12 counts) and were ordered by Middlesex Superior Court Judge to forfeit their state pension money to pay $563,280 in restitution to the Commonwealth and pay the remaining balance of $458,216 over the next five years.

Stewand Falzone were also informed that they would be subject to restitution and community service as part of their probation, and in addition, sentenced to two years in the House of Corrections with 6 months to serve and five years of probation.

A woman named Jane R. Penney, a former employee of Kohl’s, was taken into custody on May 21 when Kohl’s reported her to the Police at 2:30 pm for shoplifting items more than a hundred items at once.

Police Lt. Leonard Campanello said that the suspect used a black towel to conceal the merchandise she was stealing. Once she reached the register Penney only paid for a placemat and facecloth but left the Kohl’s without paying for 110 other items that were hidden in the cart.

When they realized what she had done Kohl’s loss prevention apprehended Penney and then immediately phoned Saugus Police. When they searched the cart an assortment of jewelry, video games, clothing and other merchandise totaling $3,267 were found.

The  investigation into the matter ended with officers charging Penney of larceny over $250.

From The Salem News:

By Matthew K. RoyStaff writer

PEABODY — A man robbed a bank in Saugus yesterday morning and then traveled down Route 1 and robbed a Peabody bank, police believe.

At 9:18 a.m., Peabody police responded to Sovereign Bank at 535 Lowell St. in West Peabody. A white, male suspect had walked into the bank and handed a teller a note demanding cash, Peabody police Capt. Dennis Bonaiuto said. The man then left the bank with an undetermined amount of money and fled the area on foot.

Details of the robbery were similar to an incident that occurred in Saugus shortly after 9 a.m. A white man walked into East Boston Savings Bank at 317 Main St., passed a note to a teller and left with an undetermined amount of money, Saugus police Lt. Ron Giorgetti said.

“We believe the two incidents are related,” Giorgetti said.

Both banks are near access points to Route 1. Sovereign Bank is in the CVS/Bonkers shopping plaza.

The suspect is described as a white man in his mid-20s or 30s, according to Bonaiuto. In Peabody, he was seen wearing a black or navy sweatshirt with a white shirt underneath it. He also donned a black baseball hat, possibly a Red Sox hat, and dark sunglasses. The man was wearing black shorts and black and white sneakers.

Giorgetti declined to give a description of the suspect’s attire in Saugus.

The suspect is between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs between 180 to 200 pounds, according to Giorgetti. Saugus police believe he was driving a white Audi four-door coupe with a sunroof.

Peabody and Saugus police are cooperating in the investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bank Robbery Task Force.

Those with information that might aid the investigation can call Peabody police at 978-538-6364 or 978-531-1212. Saugus police can be reached at 781-233-1740. The anonymous tip line is 781-231-4037.

Saugus residents are advised to watch out for phone scams that have been taking place recently.

In nearby communities, two incidents have already been reported that have both been linked to people operating in Canada.

Just last week, a caller phoned a Wakefield woman, telling her that he was her son and that he needed  $2,200 to be wired to him immediately after being hurt in an accident in Canada. Luckily the woman suspected that it wasn’t her son and hung up the phone.

A similar incident took place in Melrose though this time it was a female calling. The person In called an elderly couple, claiming to be their granddaughter and convinced  them to wire $1,000 by saying that she needed the money for legal fees because she had been detained by the Canadian police following a traffic accident.

And on April 27, a resident from Davis Street also reported someone in Canada pretended to be his grandson and scammed him out of $2,900. It was the same modus operandi, the caller pretended to be the elderly man’s grandson and that he had been arrested and needed money for legal fees. The elderly man believed that his grandson was in trouble so he quickly went over to Shaw’s and wired the money.

Only after speaking to other family members did the victim realized that he had been scammed and then reported the incident to the police.

The victim also headed back to Shaw’s to try to stop the wire transfer but the transaction had already been completed.

Although Saugus Police are investigating the crime and will work with the Canadian police on this matter, Campanello remarked that scam victims frequently fail to receive restitution for the money they lose.

Residents who have experienced the same phone call scams or are suspicious of anyone calling them who might have similar interests, call the  Saugus Police immediately at 781-941-1199.

A suspect described as a Hispanic male in his early 20s, 5-foot-8-inches tall, 160 pounds is at large as of April 21 2010 for. This man seemed to speak English well and was last seen wearing a dark green or brown puffy jacket, red shirt, jeans and Timberland boots.

The suspect was first reported on April 12 regarding a breaking and entering in process outside China Buffet on Main Street, Saugus. When the owner of the Honda Civic was alerted of this, the owner confronted the suspect in the parking lot.

After the momentary scuffle  a white Acura Integra drove by and tried to take off with the suspect according to Police Lt. Leonard Campanello. But he didn’t make it far as the Civic owner attempted to keep the driver’s side door open to catch him. The suspect fell out of the car but managed to run after it after and then drove off.

The Acura however was later found abandoned beside a dumpster near Steven’s Pond Complex.

The suspect is also said to have suffered multiple cuts as a result of the confrontation and received medical treatment for his injuries.

If you have knowledge regarding the suspect’s whereabouts call Saugus Police at 781-941-1199.