Councilor says purging 'stench' from City Hall has begun

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September 12, 2012

Councilor says purging 'stench' from City Hall has begun

By Keith Eddings The Eagle-Tribune The Eagle Tribune Wed Sep 12, 2012, 02:30 AM EDT

LAWRENCE — District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said the investigation that led to the indictment of two of Mayor William Lantigua’s former top confidants was continuing, but did not say where it might lead or whether there may be more indictments.

Nevertheless, by noting that Lantigua’s former chief of staff, Leonard Degnan, acted “on behalf of Mayor William Lantigua” when he allegedly pressured a contractor to donate a truck to a city in the Dominican Republic, Blodgett yesterday fueled speculation the trail might end at Lantigua.

Lantigua declined to be interviewed about the indictments against Degnan and Deputy Police Chief Melix Bonilla — who managed the mayor’s 2009 campaign — as he stood on the Common Street sidewalk outside City Hall just after news of the indictments broke at 4 p.m.

Looking grim, the mayor talked on his cell phone for several minutes, then drove off in his Chevrolet Avalanche with the “MAYOR” license plates.

“Yes, everybody has them,” State Rep. Marcos Devers, D-Lawrence, said about whether he fears Lantigua might also be indicted. “Obviously, everybody should be concerned that this happened”

Devers took over Lantigua’s old House seat after Lantigua reluctantly gave it up after becoming mayor in 2010.

Devers noted that the city recently endured the jailing of its former school superintendent, Wilfredo LaBoy, who served 60 days at the Correctional Alternative Center on Marston Street this spring following his conviction on fraud and larceny charges.

Devers rejected a suggestion that more indictments might cause the state to double-down on the control it has exercised over city finances as part of a deal that rescued Lawrence from bankruptcy three years ago. He noted that the city has balanced two budgets under Lantigua, due in part to state and federal aid.

Robert Nunes, a deputy commissioner of the state Department of Revenue whom Gov. Deval Patrick appointed to oversee city finances as part of the financial rescue, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

“At this point, we need to let the legal process run and see what happens,” said City Council President Frank Moran. “If (Lantigua) gets indicted, we’ll have to let the legal process take its course. At the end of the day, whatever the verdict is, we’ll deal with that situation.”

City Councilor Marc Laplante, who has sparred with Lantigua since the first days of his administration, offered a much sharper response to the indictments and suggested that the path might lead to what he called Lawrence’s “wayward mayor.”

“The fact that the investigation is ongoing and that there is a conspiracy charge, alarms me that the unlawful activities may lead directly to Mayor Lantigua,” Laplante said. “It’s also a day of promise as the purging of the political stench from City Hall has begun.”

Several others — including Gov. Patrick and state Sen. Barry Finegold, who have stood by Lantigua through earlier hard times — did not return phone calls for comment. Alex Zaroulis, an aide to Gov. Patrick, took a message and said she would respond to a request for comment from the governor, but did not.

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Councilor says purging 'stench' from City Hall has begun

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