Boston, MA
2024 Boys Tennis All-Scholastics and League All-Stars
BOYS TENNIS
Lucas Bikkesbakker (Concord-Carlisle)
Kiran Bhatia (Brookline)
Ravin Bhatia (Brookline)
Tucker Catalano (Duxbury)
Peter Chen (Weston)
John DeAngelis (St. John’s Prep)
Dillon Denny-Brown (Bedford)
Deven Devaiah (Brookline)
John Dickens (Milton)
Max Ding (Weston)
Mika Garber (Marblehead)
Boris Kouzimnov (St. John’s Prep)
Connor Liona (Westford Academy)
Jack Prokopis (St. John’s Prep)
Luke Prokopis (St. John’s Prep)
Arvind Rajarajan (Lexington)
Evan Saptari (Lexington)
Lochlan Seth (Newton North)
Bennett Stout (Duxbury)
Timothy Vargas (Duxbury)
HONORABLE MENTION
Oscar Andren (Haverhill)
Winston Chan (Brookline)
Rishi Dasari (Acton-Boxboro)
Ben DiPesa (Scituate)
Luke Free (St. John’s Prep)
Luke Grief (Wakefield)
Neema Khosravani (Mansfield)
Joe Krattenmaker (Hopkinton)
Charlie Lankow (Cohasset)
Saunak Manna (Westford Academy)
Jay Raj (Mystic Valley)
Charles Schepens (Swampscott)
Parker Schultz (Hingham)
Ronak Wakhlu (Lexington)
Ethan Warhaftig (Hingham)
Julian Wong (Belmont)
ALL-SCHOLASTICS
LUCAS BIKKESBAKKER
CONCORD-CARLISLE
The Dual County League Player of the Year went 16-1 playing at first singles during the season, giving him a career record of 41-9. The senior was a mainstay for Concord-Carlisle which went 14-4 and advanced to the Div. 1 state finals. He will play tennis and double major in economics and political science at Holy Cross.
KIRAN BHATIA
BROOKLINE
The junior was 20-1 at first doubles and also won his only singles matches in helping his team advance to the Div. 1 state semifinals. For his career, Bhatia has a doubles record of 52-2. The two-time Bay State Conference All-Star was awarded the 2022 Jason Schreiber Award for Most Influential Freshman Athlete on the boys tennis team.
RAVIN BHATIA
BROOKLINE
A two-time Boston Herald All-Scholastic and Bay State Conference All-Star, Bhatia went 20-1 for a Brookline team that advanced to the Final Four in Div. 1. An excellent student with a 4.0 unweighted GPA, Bhatia’s long term goals are to study political science and journalism.
TUCKER CATALANO
DUXBURY
The senior doubles specialist capped off a perfect career by going 21-0 including a deciding match victory in the Div. 1 state semifinal. Catalano ended his career by posting a 60-0 record. An excellent student, Catalano maintained a GPA of 4.05 or higher in each of his four years of high school. He will attend Connecticut College.
PETER CHEN
WESTON
The all-Dual County League performer earned his second straight All-Scholastic berth after posting a 13-0 record during the regular season, improving his career mark to 31-0. Chen competed in the inaugural USTA Massachusetts High School State Individual tournament, advancing to the second round.
JOHN DEANGELIS
ST. JOHN’S PREP
The No. 1 player for the Div. 1 state champions was 18-3 on the season and reached the quarterfinals of the USTA Massachusetts High School State Individual tournament. The MVP of the Catholic Conference, the sophomore has lost just four matches in his career. He is a member of the Spanish National Honor Society.
DILLON DENNY-BROWN
BEDFORD
The junior led Bedford to a 14-6 season and a berth in the Div. 3 state finals. Highly touted with a 7.2 Universal Tennis Rating, Denny-Brown reached the Round of 16 at the USTA Massachusetts High School State Individuals. His eventual aspirations are to play Div. 3 college tennis or Div. 1 at the club level.
DEVEN DEVAIAH
BROOKLINE
The No. 1 singles player for the perennial state tennis power helped Brookline reach the Div. 1 state semifinals. A former Boston Herald All-Scholastic, Devaiah has an unweighted 4.0 GPA in all honors and advanced classes. One of the top ranked players in the state, Devaiah is involved in USTA tennis.
JOHN DICKENS
MILTON
The junior was nearly perfect during the regular season, going 15-0 and losing just one set in the process. The two-time Bay State Conference All-Star was MVP of the league’s Herget Division and team MVP for the second time. He has a career record of 48-3. An honor roll student, Dickens was the recipient of the Williams College Book Award in May.
MAX DING
WESTON
The senior was Dual County League Player of the Year after posting an 18-4 record at first singles for the Div. 3 state champions. A four-time Boston Herald All-Scholastic, Ding is a member of the National Honor Society and earned the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy for proficiency in Latin. Ding will major in applied mathematics and finance at Washington University in St. Louis.
MIKA GARBER
MARBLEHEAD
Garber battled through a hamstring injury to post a 15-2 record and helped the Magicians advance to the second round of the Div. 2 state tournament. The three-time Northeastern Conference MVP ended his career with a 60-9 mark, all coming at first singles. A high honors student with a 4.2 GPA, Garber will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he will study computer science and play club tennis.
BORIS KOUZMINOV
ST. JOHN’S PREP
The sophomore stepped up at first doubles, losing just one match as St. John’s Prep rolled to the Div. 1 state title. A high honors student, Kouzminov wants to become a professional in the field of dentistry. In the offseason, Kouzminov trains at Montoya Tennis.
CONNOR LIONA
WESTFORD ACADEMY
The winner of the first USTA Massachusetts High School State Individual tournament, Liona went 14-3 and earned MVP honors in the Dual County League. The three-time team captain ended his career with a 43-15 mark, all coming at first singles. A member of the National Honor Society, Liona will play college tennis at Sacred Heart University.
JACK PROKOPIS
ST. JOHN’S PREP
The Catholic Conference All-Star posted a 20-2 mark in helping his Eagles win the Div. 1 title. A three-time league all-star, Prokopis has a career record of 56-9. He is a member of both the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society and received an Academic Excellence Award in Religious Studies.
LUKE PROKOPIS
ST. JOHN’S PREP
Prokopis was outstanding at first doubles, posting a 20-1 record for an undefeated St. John’s Prep squad. The three-time Catholic Conference All-Star has an overall record of 54-6. A member of the National Honor Society and World Language Honor Society, Prokopis carries a 4.43 GPA.
EVAN SAPTARI
LEXINGTON
A Middlesex League All-Star, the sophomore went 16-3 at first doubles as Lexington advanced to the Div. 1 state semifinals. The two-time honor roll student lists guitar, fishing, running, and skiing as his hobbies. Saptari trains in the offseason at the Thoreau Club.
LOCHLAN SETH
NEWTON NORTH
The senior standout was one of the top players in the state, losing just one match during the season. The MVP of the Bay State Conference was a finalist at the USTA Massachusetts High School State Individuals. Ranked among the top three in New England and top-100 nationally, Seth will continue his tennis career at Colgate University.
BENJAMIN STOUT
DUXBURY
One of the premier doubles specialists in the state, Stout was undefeated at first doubles in helping Duxbury go 20-2 and advance to the Div. 2 state team finals. The junior trains in the offseason at the Weymouth Club.
TIMOTHY VARGAS
DUXBURY
The MVP of the Patriot League as well as a league Scholar Award recipient, the junior played first singles for the eventual Div. 2 state finalists. An honor roll student, Vargas was a semifinalist at the USTA Massachusetts High School State Individuals and also won an L4 USTA clay court tournament.
LEAGUE ALL-STARS
BAY STATE CONFERENCE
John Dickens, Ethan Tran (Milton); Jack Rixner, Jack Wexler (Needham); Deven Devaiah, Winson Chan, Dhevin Nahata, Kiran Bhatia, Ravin Bhatia (Brookline); Lochlan Seth, Johnny Wastcoat, Warren Feldman (Newton North); Arthas Goutham, Griffin Jordan (Wellesley); Michael Boland, Stephen Jung (Walpole); Nadav Fuxman (Natick); Jordan Cohen (Framingham)
MVP: John Dickens, Lochlan Seth
CAPE AND ISLANDS
ATLANTIC DIVISION: Zak Potter, Caleb Dubin, Otis Forrester, Kyle Levy, Tommy Flynn, Kert Kleeman (Martha’s Vineyard); Eric Arabadzhiev, Brennan Riley, Michael Higginbotham. Connor O’Reilly (Barnstable); Soren Jones Carlson, Salvi Cacciola (Nauset); Ryan Casey, Roman Pavluzhenko (Monomoy)
MVP: Zak Potter
LIGHTHOUSE DIVISION: Ben Catalano, Connor Hall, Garret Wilson, Ayden Naydenov (Cape Cod Academy); Henry Kathawala, Sam Iller, Fuller Holland (Nantucket); Colby Hall, Robert Muhov, Frandisco Garcia Raya, Thomas Nutbrown (Sturgis); Jack Flynn (Rising Tide); Ben Kowal (St. John Paul II)
MVP: Ben Catalano
CAPE ANN LEAGUE
Max Clarke, Henry Stinson (Hamilton-Wenham); Roman Ton (North Reading); Dan Levin, Shea McCarthy, Russell Kasdon, Shlok Kudrimoti, Slate Lopilato, Kurt Rothermund, Matt Reinold (Lynnfield)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Dan Levin, Max Clarke, Henry Stinson
CATHOLIC CENTRAL LEAGUE
Max Comey, Kaya Yuceler, James Mallon, Nakul Bhatia, Casey Fennell (Bishop Feehan); Brian Ward, Thomas Clavell, Nicholas Hutchens, Noah Yetman (Bishop Stang); Sean Caldwell, Luke Nanopoulos, Gabriel Aljalian (Arlington Catholic); Steve Nason, Thomas Shea (St. Mary’s); Cole Schroeder (Bishop Fenwick)
MVP: Sean Caldwell
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE
John DeAngelis, Jack Prokopis, Luke Free, Luke Porkopis, Boris Kouzminov, Mark McDuffee, Alex Melville (St. John’s Prep); Chris Curran, Andrew Garofoli, Ethan Holson, Ryan Berns (BC High); Agam Kukreja, Andrew D’Angelo, Aarav Jain, Lukas Pannenborg (St. John’s Shrewsbury); Cam Peterson, Tripp Carven (Xaverian); Andrew Spagnuolo (Catholic Memorial); Nam Dinh, Matteo Peledge (Malden Catholic)
MVP: John DeAngelis
COMMONWEALTH ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
CO-ED: Jess Campo, Isobel Callahan, Chloe Callahan, JC Luna, Brody Adkins, Aiden Gibson, Ethan King, Marc Taboucherani (Fellowship Academy); Annabel Senechiame, Julio Kuchuminski, Avery Dube, Sydney Geoffroy, Norah Rondeau, Abigail Honan, Luiggi Ferreira, Giovanni De Oliveira, Samuel Lucena (Greater Lowell); Katherine Xu (Mystic Valley); Riley Olsen, Khianna Ducharme (Nashoba Tech); Matt Cipriano, Victor Phan (Saugus/Northeast); Jasmine Johansen, Sarah Johansen, Ethan Hines, Faith Martin, Trevor Engel (Shawsheen)
DUAL COUNTY LEAGUE
ALL-CONFERENCE: Max Ding, Peter Chen (Weston), Lucas Bikkesbakker (Concord-Carlisle); Connor Liona, Saunak Manna (Westford Academy); Marti Sarquella, Rishi Dasari (Acton Boxboro); Dillon Denny-Brown (Bedford); Toby Kylberger (Wayland)
ALL-STARS: Jeremy Gu, Spencer Goss, Logan Cox (Bedford); Jeffrey Zhang, Josh Proctor, Henrique Abecasis (Wayland); Magnus Sterritt (Weston); Ethan Tran, Luis Bullock Gonzalez (Boston Latin); Nikolas Joannidis (Waltham); Benjamin Ostrovsky, T.J. Fahey, Pedro Nachbin (Concord-Carlisle); Siddhant Ganeshawaran (Acton-Boxboro)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Max Ding, Lucas Bikkesbakker
GREATER BOSTON LEAGUE
Damian Mangino, Ethan Cross, Emmett Easton (Somerville); Mogos Ghile, Archer Ou, Illyes Ouldsaada, Steven Luong (Malden); Axil Ortiz, Victor Bun, Andy Ly (Lynn Classical); Edward Salazar, Eric Salazar (Lynn English); Leo Mantenuto (Medford); Bryant Jiminez (Everett); Nicolas Aguiar (Revere)
MVP: Damian Mangino
HOCKOMOCK LEAGUE
Neema Khosravani, Nikhil Nain (Mansfield); Kyle Neuendorf, Tyler Rocchio, Luke Hinton, Brady Rosen (Attleboro); Bharat Ramanathan (Canton); Luca Meyer, Raj Jetty (Foxboro); Jay Gorgas (Franklin); Arjun Kollu, Luke Bailer (King Philip); Quinn DiFiore (North Attleboro); Nick Westerbeke (Oliver Ames); Alex Budovalcev, Sava Kassev, Matthew Lally, Isaac Chen, Jacob Slavsky (Sharon)
MVP: Neema Khosravani
MAYFLOWER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Connor Kennedy, Michael Larivee (Diman); Brett Brophy, Ajani Bunting (Wareham); Sam Van Saun, Jack Keane, Luke Coelho (Westport)
MVP: Sam Van Saun
MERRIMACK VALLEY CONFERENCE
Oscar Andren (Haverhill); Nik Narina, Akarsh Janarthanan, Conor Rea, Sam Gomer, Peter Doan, Kian Keyhan, Hridai Dharan (Andover)
MVP: Oscar Andren
MIDDLESEX LEAGUE
LIBERTY: Ronak Wakhlu, Neil Keltcher, Ronnie Prasad, Sritan Devineni, Evan Saptari, Arvind Rajarajan, Darius Jin (Lexington); Sam Song, Jeff Chen, Thomas Andrews, Raffi Parseghian, Max Griffin, Carl Stredicke (Winchester); Omkar Adhiya, Elia Kikuchi, Yuta Kikuchi, Henry Ruderman, Leo Fritsch (Arlington); Charlie Osborn, Julian Wong, Ben Miller, Henry Moriarty (Belmont); Luke Zannino, Pip Balas (Reading); Anik Patel (Woburn)
FREEDOM: Sohan Shah, Aditya Pathak, Andrew Perl, Abhay Jhunett, Krish Soni (Burlington); Luke Greif, Trevor Vellieux, Kevin DeGray (Wakefield); Anvi Ganghu, Said Karani, Ryan Weinstein (Wilmington); Daniel Teittinen, Nathan Chow (Melrose); Nash Goldstein (Watertown); Anubhau Thapaliya (Stoneham)
MVP: Ronak Wakhlu, Julian Wong, Luke Greif
NORTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
ALL-CONFERENCE: Julian Flacke, Lucas Bereaud, Charles Schepens (Swampscott); Jayden Janock, Leo Winocour, Mika Garber, Etan Farfel (Marblehead); Andre Payano Sosa, Shane Widtfeldt (Gloucester)
DUNN: TJ Kelly, Anthony Vizy, Ty Cooper (Marblehead); Nick Custer, Trevor Talebian, Sam Schepens (Swampscott); Anders Littman (Gloucester); Kai Hird, Jack Eaton (Masconomet); Luca Pasquarello (Beverly)
LYNCH: Jack Osburn, Nick Cirelli, Nathaniel Derosier (Winthrop); Finn Hangar, Rylan Workman, Eden McClain (Salem)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Charles Schepens
PATRIOT LEAGUE
KEENAN: Tim Vargas, Peter Burnham, Taylor Bettencourt, Bennett Stout, Tucker Catalano (Duxbury); Parker Schultz, Ethan Warhaftig, Travis Rugg (Hingham); Will Bergendahl, Danny Stephenson (Plymouth North); Tristan Baker (Whitman-Hanson); Dylan Cicone (Silver Lake)
MVP: Tim Vargas
FISHER: Ben DiPesa, Shea Tinkham, Cooper McDonald, Jack Dalicandro (Scituate); Tom Duan, Philip Wang, Ian Ronan (North Quincy); Daniel Lyons, Charlie Ruggiero (Plymouth South); Alex Fredette (Hanover); Henry Wilde (Quincy); Jason DeBella (Pembroke)
MVP: Ben DiPesa
SOUTH COAST CONFERENCE
Will Horton, Nathan Belmore, Ethan Clark, Ryan Abreau (Apponequet); Zach Costa, Jacksson Souza, Max Petit (Somerset Berkley); Abhi Patel (Seekonk); Jacob Hadley, Peter LeGassic (Old Rochester); David Anghinetti (Dighton-Rehoboth); Coby Yin, Kole Pinto (Fairhaven); Owen Borges (Case)
MVP: Will Horton
SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE
Banks Beckwith (Bridgewater-Raynham); Luke Bloom-Glover, Shreyas Rathod, Owen Nielson, Charles Camisa, Isaiah Beckwith, Stephen Wei (Dartmouth); Will Rumsey (Durfee)
MVP: Luke Bloom-Glover
SOUTH SHORE LEAGUE
SULLIVAN: Connor McNaughton (Middleboro); Evan Petit, Aidan Gilmartin, Luca Moretti-Fuli, Matt Alabiso, Ben Garland (Norwell); Kaden Gestel, Nick Mesheau, Mo Asad, Lucas Cavicchi (Rockland); Andrew Emmel, Andrew Chanya, Kallen Kestenbaum (Sandwich)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Andrew Emmel
TOBIN: Nathan Ludlam, Will Wildfire (Abington); Eamon Maxwell, Charlie Lankow, Blaise Bastille, Tyler Henry (Cohasset); Colin Burdge, James Benners, Andrew Kelley (Mashpee)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Charlie Lankow
TRI-VALLEY LEAGUE
Joe Krattenmaker, Rishit Shekhar, Ilian Grace, Sooraj Sambasivam, Kais Guessab (Hopkinton); Dominik Dwyer, Kevin Bojkov (Dedham); Max Glick, Dalai Xu, Yair Elman, Harrison DePaola (Dover-Sherborn); Warren Churchill, Alec Bormann, Nathan DePaola, Fisher Roberts (Medfield); Gunther Guleserian, Andrew Easton (Westwood); Sam Tavassoli Hojati, Matthew Weise (Norton); Partha Jammalamadaka (Norwood); Alex Menard, Tommy Stotz (Medway)
MVP: Joe Krattenmaker, Dominik Dwyer
Boston, MA
Proposed “perfect” Red Sox trade sees Boston deal Jarren Duran, prospects for $15.5 million two-time All-Star ace
The Boston Red Sox found their ace in Garrett Crochet this year, after trading for him around this time last year. Now, they’ve made some moves to finally get him some support in the rotation, but none of those moves are truly a No. 2 to back him up.
Fansided’s Cody Williams believes he has the perfect trade for a name that’s been floated around as an option: Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Freddy Peralta.
“While Boston has long looked like an obvious suitor for Peralta, the trade assets haven’t necessarily lined up perfectly for both them and Milwaukee…Now, the Brewers still aren’t in need of outfield help, so to speak, but there is certainly room to upgrade over the likes of Jake Bauers, Garrett Mitchell or Blake Perkins, which Duran or Abreu would allow them to do. Furthermore, in typical fashion for Milwaukee, they could flip an asset they’re unlikely to be able to pay in Peralta for immediate major-league upgrades with plenty of club control at low cost and prospects that could help keep the ball rolling under Pat Murphy,” Williams wrote.
MORE: Cubs predicted to trade for $3.75 million 150 SO ace to create 1-2 punch with Shota Imanaga
The trade would look like this:
Red Sox get: RHP Freddy Peralta
Brewers get: OF Jarren Duran, SS Franklin Arias (No. 1 Prospect), RHP Juan Valera (No. 12 Prospect)
MORE: Mariners predicted to trade for $5.75 million All-Star, Gold Glove as amazing replacement for Jorge Polanco
Peralta posted a 17-6 record, a 2.70 ERA, 204 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.075 over 176 innings pitched last season. Combine him with Crochet, and the Sox have a World Series-contending-level rotation.
The only problem with this is it’s basically a one-year rental. Peralta’s contract is up after this year, and he’s projected to get a five-year, $152 million deal.
The Sox have shown they don’t believe in giving long-term contracts out to players over 30, and Peralta will be 30 in the upcoming season. Hopefully, the Sox make an exception, get uncomfortable like they said they would, and pursue this trade.
MORE MLB NEWS
Braves predicted to be top trade candidate for $325 million two-time World Series MVP, five-time All-Star as massive upgrade over Mauricio Dubon
Red Sox predicted to be top landing spot for $116.5 million three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, would be massive upgrade from David Hamilton
Phillies predicted to be top trade candidate for $7.7 million All-Star MVP, would replace Nick Castellanos
Boston, MA
BU spoils Northeastern final game at Matthews Arena
BOSTON – Before the lights went out at Matthews Arena for the last time, they shined brightly on Boston University center Brandon Svoboda.
The sophomore from Pittsburgh scored two goals including the game-winner at 18:21 of the third to lift the Terriers to a 4-3 victory over Northeastern, on Saturday night. Svoboda’s fourth of the season was the final goal scored at Northeastern’s historic Matthews Arena.
The Terriers’ victory over the Huskies was the last sporting event played inside Matthews Arena, which officially opened its doors as Boston Arena in April of 1910.
“I got a lucky bounce and I capitalized on it and put it in the back of the net,” said Svoboda. “Playing the last game ever in this building is pretty special and what was it, 1910 this place was built so it was pretty special being the last team playing in this building.
“We are a young group and we are figuring it out so it was obviously a big deal to get a W in the last game in this arena.”
BU improved to 9-8-1 and 6-3-0 in Hockey East going into the semester break while the No. 11 Huskies fell to 10-6-0 and 5-4-0 in the conference.
“It was just a big win for us going into the semester break,” said BU coach Jay Pandolfo. “The first half has not been ideal for us so to finish it that way, to come back in the third period to win a hockey game in this environment, where this is their last home game here and they wanted to win and we found a way to pull it off.”
Northeastern purchased the structure in 1979 and renamed it Matthews Arena three years later. The demolition of the old barn nestled between Mass. Ave and Gainsborough Street will begin in January and the new arena is scheduled to go online in September of 2028.
“Having a new facility is definitely a big selling point,” said NU coach Jerry Keefe. “It is going to have all the amenities you need to develop players and I think this generation of recruits like the shiny and the new.”
The first Beanpot Tournament was played at Boston Arena in 1952, so it seemed appropriate that Northeastern would play its final game against a neighboring Beanpot opponent. BU played its home games at Boston Arena from 1918 to 1971 before moving into its new facility on Babcock Street.
Pandolfo enjoyed many Matthews moments both on the ice and behind the bench. Pandolfo also played in the final Beanpot game at the old Boston Garden.
“I always enjoyed playing here that’s for sure,” Pandolfo said. “It was a fun place to play and I always enjoyed it and I enjoyed coaching there. It is a great environment and a special old building.
“That’s the biggest attachment for me and that I just enjoyed it. My grandfather played at Northeastern, my mom’s dad and that makes it special as well. It was also Boston University’s home rink as well for a long time and that is a big reason we are here closing it out with Northeastern.”
The Huskies had some extra zip in their blades that created several scoring opportunities, all of which deftly handled by BU netminder Mikhail Yegorov.
NU went up 1-0 on a power play goal by freshman center Jacob Mathieu at 11:28 of the first. Mathieu found an opening outside the BU crease and redirected Giacomo Martino’s wrister from the left circle for his fifth of the season.
NU went up 2-0 at 14:36 when junior center Tyler Fukakusa finished a two-on-one break with his second goal of the season. BU got on the board when Svoboda netted a power play goal at 17:40, his third of the season.
“We were playing fine but we just made some mistakes so to get out of that first period 2-1 was important no question about that,” said Pandolfo.
BU tied the game 2-2 on sophomore center Sacha Boisvert’s second of the season at 13:38 of the second. NU went up 3-2 when sophomore left wing Joe Connor beat the buzzer at 19:59 with his sixth of the season. NU tied the game 3-3 on Kamil Bednarik tally at 18:02 of the third. Svoboda would score 19 seconds later to complete the comeback.
“You give up a late goal at the end of the second period after a power play, that can really hurt you,” said Pandolfo. “But our guys were determined to come back.”
Boston, MA
Boston city councilor pushes for state audit of federal grant funds after misuse by city program
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn requested that the state auditor’s office conduct a formal audit of the nearly $560 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds the city received from the federal government, in light of misspending by a city program.
Flynn sent a letter to State Auditor Diana DiZoglio on Friday requesting an audit of the federal grant funds the city received through the ARPA legislation of 2021 that was issued as a COVID-19 pandemic-relief measure.
The councilor said Boston received nearly $560 million in federal funds for pandemic recovery. The money was committed by the end of 2024, and must be spent by the end of next year, he said.
“In May of this year, it was reported that the City of Boston’s Three Squares Main Streets program allegedly misspent ARPA funds in the amount of $32,000,” Flynn wrote in the letter. “Irresponsible funding and spending leads to inflated costs and missed opportunities to improve our communities.
“It is critical that the City of Boston spends taxpayer dollars responsibly to regain our credibility and show respect to the residents,” he added.
Flynn wrote that he chose to pursue a state audit due to the City Council’s failure to hold oversight hearings, and ensure that “Boston is in compliance with spending regulations.”
Auditor DiZoglio’s office said Friday that it had received Flynn’s letter and that the councilor’s request requires a majority vote from the City Council and approval from the mayor to permit the auditor’s office to conduct a municipal audit.
“Our General Counsel will be sending Councilor Flynn the legal process required, under the law, to engage the Office of State Auditor with respect to a municipal audit,” DiZoglio spokesperson Andrew Carden said in a statement.
“Unlike the Office of Inspector General, which has the full legal authority to audit and investigate municipal government entities without a request or permission from a city or town, the Office of State Auditor, while mandated to audit state government entities, is actually legally required to obtain permission from a municipality, via both a majority vote from the City Council and approval by the Mayor, to be permitted to conduct a municipal audit,” Carden added.
Flynn told the Herald he wouldn’t hold his breath for approval from his colleagues on the City Council, which is largely allied with Mayor Michelle Wu.
“Since the City Council failed to hold the necessary oversight hearings to determine how we spend federal funds, an outside audit is essential to ensure appropriate spending, demonstrate transparency and accountability,” Flynn said. “The Boston City Council will not support an independent audit of our financial records to ensure we are complying with federal spending laws.”
Mayor Wu’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment on whether the Wu administration would support Flynn’s request for a state audit.
Wu’s office launched an internal audit last May after the city main streets’ program’s alleged misuse of federal ARPA funds was flagged by the Boston Finance Commission, a City Hall watchdog.
“We’re grateful for city staff who have been working to ensure oversight of every dollar of federal funds spent on pandemic recovery, including grants to nonprofit organizations,” Wu spokesperson Emma Pettit said in a statement at the time. “Through their diligence, these financial irregularities were identified and reported to the appropriate agencies to take action.
“The city will continue to support any further investigation, and is undertaking a further audit to ensure full accountability.”
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