LA cops to talk to Rockefeller in homicide case
BOSTON (AP) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed yesterday it was sending two homicide detectives to Boston to interview a mysterious father accused of kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter during a visit in Boston.
The man known as Clark Rockefeller — and by several other aliases — was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court yesterday on charges related to the July 27 disappearance of his daughter, Reigh Boss.
Authorities say they have been stymied in their efforts to figure out exactly who Rockefeller is. Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley said they have no record of him before 1993, and Rockefeller has claimed he doesn't remember details ranging from where he is from, where his parents are and even whether he is from the United States.
"At this point he provided essentially no biographical data about himself before 1993," assistant district attorney David Deakin said in court. Deakin said that after thousands of hours of collaboration — by the FBI, local and state officials and even Homeland Security — authorities are still unsure of the details of Rockefeller's real identity.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said yesterday two homicide detectives were en route to Boston to interview Rockefeller "in connection with a missing person report back in the early 1990s."
Rockefeller's attorney, Stephen Hrones, denied his client had any link to the California case, and said Clark Rockefeller was his legal name.
Mass. Turnpike chief denies ethics charges
BOSTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew Amorello is defending himself against conflict of interest allegations, telling the State Ethics Commission he did nothing to change rules on buying back unused sick time.
Amorello said he learned of the change on the day he stepped down in the aftermath of a fatal tunnel collapse on July 10, 2006.
The change gave Amorello — and other MassPike employees — 100 percent cash value for the unused sick time, about $75,000 for Amorello who had 600 hours.
The hearing recessed without a ruling. Amorello faces fines of up to $2,000 for each of three violations and the loss of the $75,000.
Patrick touts new laws at end of first session
BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick looked back yesterday at the two-year legislative session that ended in a frantic last push last week, and gave himself — and lawmakers — high marks. He also conceded a few defeats.
Patrick pointed to a string of successes, including a $1 billion, 10-year life sciences initiative, a $3 billion bridge repair bill and a slew of new environmental and clean energy laws.
He also cited the elimination of a 1913 law used to ban gay marriages between out-of-state couples.
"They put their back into it this legislative session, and there is the record to show for it," Patrick said of lawmakers. "It's not just the number of measures, it's the weight and substance of them, the transformative quality of them."
Patrick acknowledged he didn't get everything he wanted, most notably a plan to license three resort-style casinos in Massachusetts. House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi led the charge to kill the bill, which died in the House.
Patrick wouldn't say whether he would refile the bill next year.
"I'm not that interested in gambling, per se, it's the jobs and the revenues I cared about," Patrick said.
He also conceded that he'd had little luck delivering property tax relief, a key theme during his 2006 campaign for governor.
Patrick said he pushed a series of initiatives he hoped would ease pressure on property taxes by generating additional revenues for cities and towns, including a proposal to allow communities to add a penny to local hotel and meals taxes.
None of the proposals were adopted. Patrick noted that the state has little direct control over property tax rates, which are set at the local level.
Body of Boston man discovered in N.H.
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Authorities in New Hampshire have recovered the body of a Boston man who drowned after falling into the Swift River.
Fish and Game officials say 29-year-old David Hildebrandt slipped off a rock Sunday afternoon and was swept away by the current. His body was found yesterday in Albany, N.H.
Officials at Elms College in Chicopee, Mass., say Hildebrandt was hired in May to serve as coach of the men's and women's volleyball teams. He spent the last seven years as volleyball coach at Newbury College in Brookline, Mass.
Elms College interim president Walter Breau called Hildebrandt a talented young man and said his passing was a great loss to the school.
