SPECIAL REPORT: School Boss Fraud

INDICTED

WILFREDO LABOY:
Eight counts
fraud and embezzlement

WILFREDO LABOY II:
Laboy's son,
single count of perjury

MARK RIVERA: Former special assistant to Laboy, seven counts of larceny of property over $250

ISRAEL REYES:
Failed mayoral candidate,
Two counts
larceny of property over $250

Laboy pleads not guilty to fraud charges

SALEM, Mass. — Embattled schools Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy pleaded not guilty today to eight charges of fraud and embezzlement and one count of illegal possession of booze on school premises.

Laboy arrived at Salem Superior Court Thursday morning with his face shielded by an umbrella carried by an unidentified woman. The woman yelled to the media "Don't touch him! Don't touch him!" The courtroom was packed with observers, including former School Committee member James Stokes.

Following his arraignment, Laboy was allowed to leave on personal recognizance but had to surrender his passport. He was ordered to report to the Lawrence Police Department to be fingerprinted and photographed.

The superintendent faces eight counts of fraud and embezzlement for allegedly using school workers to do errands at his home, including electrical work, taking out the trash and chauffeuring his son and grandkids around. He also allegedly used school workers to design menus and magnets for his Methuen pizza shop which were printed for free on the schools' $489,000 printing press.

Laboy also faces one count of count of illegal possession of alcohol on school property for the 16 bottles of liquor found in his office during a raid on his offices last June. Several computers and files were taken from school offices. Police also raided his Methuen home on Howe Street.

Laboy's son Wilfredo Laboy II pleaded not guilty to a single count of perjury. He was released on personal recognizance. He left court without comment.

Also arraigned this morning were Israel Reyes, a failed mayoral hopeful and Laboy's political ally, as well as Mark Rivera, Laboy's former right-hand man in the school department. He resigned in April as special assistant to the superintendent after it was revealed he snooped on the backgrounds of hundreds of people using school department software.

According to the indictments, Rivera and Reyes are charged with illegal use of the School Department's graphic design department and printing press. Rivera allegedly instructed School Department graphic designers to produce literature and fliers for then-state Rep. William Lantigua, who is now the mayor of Lawrence; state Rep. Barry Finegold, who ran for Congress in 2007; Reyes, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last fall; and local School Committee candidates Peter Larocque, Greg Morris, Priscilla Baez, who is Rivera's sister, and Omaira Mejia. Investigators said many of the candidates were unaware the printing jobs were being done with school resources on their behalf.

Similarly, Rivera told the School Department graphic designers to produce and print copies of seminar materials, fliers, brochures, invitations and other documents for the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, a national group Laboy was named president of in 2005, prosecutors said.

Reyes stands accused of directing the School Department graphic designers to print campaign literature for himself and Finegold, prosecutors said.

D.A.: Laboy used school employees
to run his errands

By Jill Harmacinski

LAWRENCE — Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy had a long list of errands for his on-the-clock school employees to do: electrical work at his Methuen home, taking out the household trash, chauffeuring his adult son to and from work, and picking up the grandchildren at school.

He also had employees design menus and magnets for his Methuen pizza shop on the taxpayers' dime and had them printed for free on the school's $489,000 printing press.

SPECIAL MEETING

The Lawrence School Committee will meet Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at 255 Essex St. to consider suspending Laboy without pay and to begin termination proceedings.

And all the while, Laboy was making $200,000 a year leading one of the poorest school districts in the country.

Those are the allegations made in the nine indictments handed down against Laboy by an Essex County grand jury yesterday. Nine months after police raids at his office and home, Laboy was charged with eight counts of fraud and embezzlement and a single count of illegal possession of alcohol on school property for the 16 bottles of liquor found in his office during the search.

Also indicted yesterday were Laboy's former right-hand man Mark Rivera, the failed mayoral candidate Israel Reyes, and his son with whom he shares his name and a pizza shop, Wilfredo Laboy II.

Rivera stands charged with seven counts of larceny of property over $250, while Reyes faces two counts of the same charge. Wilfredo Laboy II is charged with a single count of perjury. All four are expected to be arraigned tomorrow in Salem Superior Court.

While Laboy is accused of using school employees at his and his family's behest over the past six years, Rivera and Reyes are charged with illegal use of the School Department's graphic design department and printing press.

Rivera instructed School Department graphic designers to produce literature and fliers for then-state Rep. William Lantigua, who is now the mayor of Lawrence; state Rep. Barry Finegold, who ran for Congress in 2007; Reyes, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor last fall; and local School Committee candidates Peter Larocque, Greg Morris, Priscilla Baez, who is Rivera's sister, and Omaira Mejia, according to the indictments.

Reyes stands accused of directing the School Department graphic designers to print campaign literature for himself and Finegold, prosecutors said.

Investigators said many of the candidates were unaware the printing jobs were being done with school resources on their behalf. Last night, Lantigua categorically denied any knowledge of literature being printed in the School Department on his behalf.

He said several months ago he was asked "general questions" by the Essex district attorney's office. If they had evidence against him, he said, "I would be in the same boat as they are now."

Finegold has said repeatedly he had no knowledge that his political literature was printed in the Lawrence School Department and that he would reimburse the district if necessary. Larocque previously publicly apologized and reimbursed the district for campaign fliers printed for him.

Years of speculation

Laboy did not answer the door at his Howe Street home in Methuen yesterday. His attorney, Scott Gleason, did not return calls seeking comment. Neither Reyes nor his attorney could be reached. Wilfredo Laboy II was working at his father's Sal's Pizza franchise on Howe Street in Methuen yesterday but also had no comment.

"I don't have anything to say. Get out of my place of business," he told an Eagle-Tribune reporter and photographer.

Rivera's attorney, Murat Erkan of Andover, urged the public "to keep an open mind. There are two sides to every story. We expect he'll be vindicated."

The indictments were handed down yesterday, nine months after Lawrence police and the Essex district attorney's office launched a raid on School Department offices as well as Laboy's Methuen home at 106 Howe St. Detectives, investigating "financial improprieties," seized several computers and files, as well as found 16 bottles of alcohol kept in an "unlocked armoire" in Laboy's office.

The indictments follow years of speculation about financial improprieties and misuse of School Department resources by the Laboy administration.

"The crimes alleged involved a serious violation of the public trust," said District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Blodgett said the investigation continues and further indictments against these four people and others is possible. He and police Chief John Romero declined further comment until after Thursday's arraignments.

Calls to remove Laboy

Teachers Union President Frank McLaughlin last night made a repeated call for the School Committee to immediately "remove Laboy from office."

"This entire sad affair has needlessly distracted the city from our most important job of educating our kids," said McLaughlin. "There's nothing more important."

A School Committee meeting is scheduled for tomorrow night to discuss suspending and firing Laboy.

Laboy has been on leave since June, but he still collects about $4,000 a week in vacation and sick time.

First hired in 2000 to run Lawrence schools, Laboy previously announced he planned to retire in October 2010. If convicted of criminal charges, Laboy's publicly-funded pension could be in jeopardy.

Rivera served as Laboy's right-hand man until he resigned as the superintendent's special assistant in April. A year ago, Rivera admitted to using School Department software to run improper background checks on everyone from celebrities to professional athletes to local politicians and newspaper reporters.

In September, a state watchdog agency concluded that Laboy, Rivera and Reyes either used or authorized the misuse of the School Department's printing press and other resources during the 2006 city election. In a letter to Reyes, the state agency said it had evidence that Reyes was involved in a "concerted effort" to print fliers and other campaign materials for four School Committee candidates and Finegold — charges Reyes denied.

The state's Office of Campaign and Political Finance sent the matter to the attorney general's office for further investigation.

Reyes was one of 10 vying for the mayor's job in September. When he lost in the September primary, he threw his support to Lantigua.

Laboy opened the Sal's Pizza franchise in Methuen in November 2008. He listed his son as the manager.

Staff reporter Mark Vogler contributed to this story.

WHERE THE INVESTIGATION WENT

2004 to 2009: Laboy was named as president of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) in 2005 - the same year the school department bought a $489,000 printing press which the District Attorney alleges Laboy used for pamphlets and other printed information for the national group. Shown here is Laboy addressing members of ALAS while at a convention in Costa Rica.

NOVEMBER 2008: Here Laboy and his son Wilfredo Laboy II are shown at the ribbon-cutting for their Sal's Pizza franchise they opened on Howe Street in Methuen. The indictments against Laboy allege he used on-the-clock school employees to create and produce promotional materials and menus for the restaurant.

JUNE 2009: State and local police are shown here conducting a raid on Laboy's Howe Street home in Methuen. He is alleged to have used school employees to do electrical work on his home as well as take out the trash. The indictments further allege he used school employees to provide rides to his grandchildren and his son Wilfredo Laboy II to his previous jobs at Sal's Pizza in Lawrence and North Andover.

JUNE 2009: Local and state police raid the school department's central offices. They seized numerous computers and files as well as 16 bottles of alcohol. Laboy is charged with keeping booze on school premises. Laboy, his former right-hand man Mark Rivera and failed mayoral candidate Israel Reyes are charged with using the school's printing press for campaign literature for numerous candidates.

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