Northeast
Feds charge over 40 Boston gang members with drug trafficking, COVID fraud, and other crimes in sweeping case
- Federal authorities announced charges against dozens of Heath Street Gang members on Wednesday.
- Charges include drug trafficking, targeted attacks on rivals, recruitment and organized retail theft.
- Members are also accused of unemployment and COVID-19 fraud worth a combined value of over $900,000.
Dozens of gang members operating mostly out of a public housing development in a Boston neighborhood have been accused of dealing drugs, targeting their rivals in shootings and recruiting young people with the enticement of appearing in their songs and videos, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said the charges against the more than 40 members and associates of the Heath Street Gang included unemployment and COVID-19 fraud totaling more than $900,000. They are also accused of organized retail theft, in which they allegedly stole thousands of dollars in merchandise from stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, including Nordstrom and Victoria’s Secret.
“One of the core missions of the Department of Justice is to keep communities safe, and the case we are announcing today goes right to that bedrock priority,” Levy told reporters, adding that nearly two dozen members of the gang were arrested Wednesday morning. Over 60 firearms were also seized as part of the two-year investigation.
FBI FEARS VENEZUELA MIGRANT GANG MEMBERS COULD POTENTIALLY TEAM UP WITH MS-13 KILLERS
“The defendants charged in the racketeering conspiracy have been alleged to be involved in three separate murders and multiple shootings,” he said. “Some of those shootings left innocent victims in crossfire, including a 9-year-old girl who was severely injured attending a family gathering.”
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said the case shows the department’s willingness to listen to the concerns of the community in and around the Mildred C. Hailey Apartments in Jamaica Plain. He was hoping the charges and arrests would help build trust with residents.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy speaks at the federal courthouse in Boston on Feb. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Casey)
“These bad actors that we targeted today took advantage of young people,” Cox said.
“They used fear and intimidation and violence to gain personally. They took advantage of the youngest amongst us,” he said. “They took advantage of the sons and daughters in these neighborhoods and turned them to a life of crime. This is an impactful investigation. This is going to be impactful for our city for some time to come.”
The gang members, many of whom are expected to appear in court later Wednesday, are accused of attempting to murder rival gang members, dealing drugs, including cocaine and fentanyl, and recruiting juveniles to serve as lookouts, to hold guns and drugs and to “engage in shootings.”
“That is a problem we’re hearing about from urban police chiefs across Massachusetts and frankly across the country,” Levy said. “The honest law-abiding people who live in the Hailey apartments want the same thing we all want. They want to be able to send their children off to school, out to play without fear they are going to be hurt or recruited into a gang.”
The gang is also accused of widespread pandemic-aid fraud, including one defendant who applied for unemployment assistance in 10 states and Guam. The gang also is accused of submitting nearly two dozen fraudulent employment letters for a company called Married 2 The Mop and bragging of using the pandemic funds to buy over 100 guns.
“We’re seeing gang activity taking advantage of the situation we were all in during the pandemic and the rush to get money out to people who needed it. There was a lot of fraud,” Levy said. “We are seeing this happen in this violent-crime sector that people were taking advantage of the loopholes and the fog of war, if you will, to pump through a lot of fraudulent applications.”
Read the full article from Here
Three Rocky Hill firefighters were honored Monday night for their part in a rescue on the Connecticut River in March.
Emergency crews responded to Ferry Park in Rocky Hill on March 23 in response to a report of a vehicle in the river.
When they arrived, they found a woman in a Jeep about 35 feet out from the riverbank.
Crews broke a window and pulled the woman to safety after about 10 minutes, according to fire officials.
The woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Monday evening, Captain William Kelly, Captain Roberto Leone, and Lt. Travis Gerace-Hicks were awarded the fire department’s valor award for their rescue efforts.
PORTLAND (WGME) – The wife of Democrat Graham Platner, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maine, is responding to stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times about sexually explicit text messages Platner allegedly sent to other women during their marriage.
CBS13 reached out to the Platner campaign for comment Monday but did not hear back.
According to multiple reports, Platner calls the stories “gossip.”
Amy Gertner, his wife of nearly three years, called the former staffer’s claims a “betrayal” and an “invasion of our privacy.”
Platner says the Wall Street Journal and New York Times ran stories without any evidence, based solely on gossip from a former staffer.
The wife of Democrat Graham Platner, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maine, is responding to stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times about sexually explicit text messages Platner allegedly sent to other women during their marriage. (WGME)
He says claims made by that staffer, former State Representative Genevieve McDonald, are untrue.
Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, says she trusted McDonald with the most private chapter of their lives.
“I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend. In the months since, I have had to watch as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call,” Gertner said.
“The situation he’s in right now that’s most uncomfortable, I think, is that he and his wife seem to be telling different versions of the story,” USM Political Science Professor Ron Schmidt said.
Gertner defended her husband in a video she posted.
“I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets, and people who are willing to spread gossip, instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on like healthcare and education and childcare,” Gertner said.
The wife of Democrat Graham Platner, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maine, is responding to stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times about sexually explicit text messages Platner allegedly sent to other women during their marriage. (WGME)
She says being newly married while going through infertility and a Senate campaign is hard, but she says they are working on their marriage and mental health.
“I knew the man that I married had been through an immense amount of violent, active combat,” Gertner said. “No marriage is perfect, and I don’t want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage.”
“If this is a case of mistakes made early on in the marriage, and they’ve had marriage counseling, then the best thing to do is to say ‘I made a mistake. It was a while ago. It was related to something else, and it doesn’t have a bearing on where I am right now,’” Schmidt said.
A Platner supporter, who attended Sunday’s town hall meeting with the candidate, says the focus needs to be on policy, not personal matters.
“I think people should really continue to engage with Platner and the campaign around affordable housing, universal healthcare and issues that really matter to us,” Auburn Community Organizer Safiya Khalid said.
The wife of Democrat Graham Platner, who is running for U.S. Senate in Maine, is responding to stories in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times about sexually explicit text messages Platner allegedly sent to other women during their marriage. (WGME)
“Graham and I have a great marriage,” Gertner said. “And we love each other deeply. We deserve better. I think Mainers deserve better.”
Platner has apologized for other controversies like now-deleted Reddit posts calling himself a communist and blaming victims of rape, and a nazi-symbol skull tattoo his military unit got that he’s since covered up.
Through it all, he’s still leading in the polls.
Schmidt says Democratic voters like what Platner stands for, but he says the controversies are certainly a concern, especially with Senator Susan Collins, in his view, doing a good job distancing herself from President Donald Trump.
Massachusetts
Winners’ circle: Tracking every 2026 spring high school championship – The Boston Globe
Championship season is upon us, and we’re tracking every title winner in Massachusetts this spring.
From the golf sectionals in late May to championship weekend June 11-14, a four-day stretch in which 31 titlists will be crowned across boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, boys and girls’ tennis, boys’ and girls’ rugby, boys’ volleyball, softball, and baseball, we’ll have you covered.
Find all the dates, brackets, seedings, matchups, and links to our postseason previews here.
Follow us on X @GlobeSchools, Instagram @BGlobeSchools, and Facebook to stay up to date.
Over at Globe.com/Schools you’ll find our daily scoreboard, nightly Takeaways, game coverage, videos, live streams, and our weekly Varsity News newsletter (sign up for free) to keep you in the know.
Division 1: Lexington girls, St. John’s Prep boys
Lexington girls graduate to two-time Division 1 track champions, St. John’s Prep sprints to boys’ title
Division 2: Billerica girls, North Andover boys
Billerica girls unphazed by move up to Division 2, going back-to-back as North Andover boys dominate
Division 3: Canton girls, Walpole boys
Canton girls cap greatest season with first Division 3 track title, Walpole boys win by thinnest margin
Division 4: Duxbury girls, Newburyport boys
Historic win for Duxbury girls, Mohoric paces Newburyport boys to Division 4 outdoor track championship
Division 5: North Reading girls, Weston boys
It’s four in a row for North Reading girls, two straight for Weston boys at Division 5 track championships
Division 6: Ayer Shirley girls, Abington boys
Ayer Shirley girls pick up where they left off, Abington boys twinning at Division 6 track championships
Day 1, Divisions 1, 2, and 5: Lexington boys and girls setting the pace at Division 1 track & field championships
Day 1, Divisions 3, 4, and 6: Canton girls make a strong run to first at Division 3 track championships
South: Walpole | With Tori Adams as its driving force, Walpole scores third straight MIAA South girls’ golf championship
North/Central/West: Hopkinton | Concord-Carlisle’s Sophie Redmond, Hopkinton rule MIAA girls’ golf championship for North/Central/West
With titles for Natick and Peabody and smiles for all, MIAA unified track championship ‘beyond inspiring’
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
-
Alabama2 minutes agoNew Poll Shows Varied Dynamics Across Alabama Republican Runoff Races
-
Alaska7 minutes agoReport: Alaska LNG project could cost Municipality of Anchorage millions
-
Arizona14 minutes agoDeadly hantavirus case in Arizona; plans for new homes at golf course site withdrawn | Nightly Roundup
-
Arkansas17 minutes agoFaces of Arkansas honors 4th-generation pitmaster Harold Jones of Jones Bar-B-Q Diner
-
California22 minutes agoSteve Hilton says he is ‘well prepared’ to make changes in California
-
Colorado29 minutes agoMajor Northern Colorado cities warn lack of power generation could temporarily stunt region’s projected growth
-
Connecticut32 minutes agoRocky Hill firefighters honored for Connecticut river rescue
-
Delaware37 minutes agoLavender & Lambs Festival Returns to Brittingham Farms June 27 – Milford LIVE! – Local Delaware News, Kent and Sussex Counties
