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Former sheriff Mark Brave indicted on additional felony and misdemeanor charges – The Boston Globe

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Former sheriff Mark Brave indicted on additional felony and misdemeanor charges – The Boston Globe


A former sheriff of Strafford County, N.H., already facing felony charges for his alleged misuse of public funds and botched cover-up has been slapped with new criminal charges as prosecutors turn up the pressure amid stalled plea negotiations.

Mark A. Brave, 39, resigned late last year and was indicted on eight felony counts of theft, falsifying physical evidence, and perjury. The original indictment accused him of spending $19,000 on personal travel and meet-ups with romantic partners, filing false documents for reimbursement, and lying to a grand jury.

The new indictment, returned by a grand jury in Rockingham County, adds two more felony counts of perjury, two misdemeanor counts of false swearing, and one misdemeanor count of unsworn falsification, the New Hampshire Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

While this five-count indictment is new, its allegations date back to October 2023 when Brave told the court he was residing with his soon-to-be ex-wife in Dover, N.H. Prosecutors said in November he was actually living in Tewksbury, Mass., in violation of his bail conditions and the residency requirement for his job as sheriff. (He now has the court’s permission to live out of state while awaiting trial.)

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The perjury charges are based on allegations that Brave gave the court a false residential address while under oath and made false statements on the form he filled out to request a court-appointed attorney, according to court records.

Brave said last fall that he couldn’t afford to hire his own attorney, so a judge briefly appointed one for him. But prosecutors said they learned Brave had paid more than $53,000 up front for a 12-month lease shortly before asking for a lawyer at taxpayer expense. Brave then had to hire his own defense attorney.

Brave and his attorney, Leif A. Becker, negotiated with prosecutors unsuccessfully over a possible plea deal. It’s unclear what the terms of any potential deal might entail. Details from a private mediation process with a retired judge are sealed. One thing is clear: No deal was reached.

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Becker said in a text message Wednesday the new charges are not a surprise.

”That being said we are still hopeful that this case resolves without the need for a trial at the taxpayers expense,” he said, noting the parties have tentatively picked trial dates for early next year.

Prosecutors gave signs they could pursue this additional indictment. Assistant Attorney General Joe M. Fincham II told the judge in open court last month that more charges were possible.

An arraignment on the new charges is slated for Nov. 27, according to court records.

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Mark A. Brave, a former sheriff of Strafford County, N.H. glances at his defense attorney, Leif A. Becker, in Rockingham County Superior Court on March 26, 2024.Deb Cram

The perjury charges in the original indictment allege Brave lied about several situations in 2022 and 2023, including trips he took to Florida, Maryland, and Boston.

Brave initially said a male deputy had joined him on the trip to Florida, but investigators determined a female employee had traveled with him and shared a hotel room, according to court records.

Brave told the Globe their trip to Fort Lauderdale was for “work-related research” for a new job title he planned to create. By his own account, however, the research was haphazard and cost-ineffective.

For the Maryland trip, Brave is accused of lying about a meeting he supposedly scheduled with Representative Chris Pappas, a Manchester Democrat. Brave said the meeting was canceled at the last minute, but the congressman’s office said it had no record of any meeting ever being on the calendar, according to court records. Prosecutors allege Brave actually met up with a paramour on that trip.

For the Boston trip, Brave claimed he had purchased two dinner cruise tickets for himself and the same male deputy who had supposedly joined him in Florida, but investigators concluded he celebrated the birthday of a romantic interest who then stayed at a hotel with him.

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When the allegations first became public, Brave resisted calls to step aside, but he placed himself on paid administrative leave after fellow officials gave him an ultimatum to do so or be ousted.

The most serious charge in the indictment, theft by deception, is a Class A felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The other felony charges are Class B felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Brave’s dishonesty has gotten him into trouble unrelated to his pending criminal prosecution.

An investigation by The Boston Globe revealed in September 2023 that Brave had exaggerated the length of his law enforcement experience and falsely claimed to hold two college degrees when he had none. He insisted at the time that he hadn’t intended to deceive anyone.

An investigation commissioned by Strafford County officials found reason to question Brave’s candor concerning the circumstances of his wife’s drunken driving arrest in December 2022. Some officials said he led them to believe he was at home when, in fact, he was by her side and too drunk to drive himself home.

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Brave, a Democrat who was elected the first Black sheriff in New Hampshire history in 2020, has maintained his innocence, contending that state and county officials have carried out a racist and politically motivated plot against him.

Fellow Democrats dispute that claim.

George M. Maglaras, who chairs Strafford County’s three-member board of commissioners, said he had previously supported Brave’s candidacy, and the allegations have nothing to do with his race.

“He fooled a lot of people, including myself,” Maglaras said.

Brave’s successor, Joseph T. McGivern, who had served as his chief deputy, stepped in as acting sheriff then was appointed sheriff in March. McGivern will hold that title until his 70th birthday on Oct. 24, when he will become constitutionally ineligible because of his age.

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Voters will pick McGivern’s successor, either Democrat Kathryn Mone or Republican Scott Tingle, in the Nov. 5 election.


Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.





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Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening

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Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening


Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening

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Now Chief meteorologist Mike Haddad with your storm watch 9 forecast. Oh, the temperatures on the chilly side and then some cold enough for *** touch of wet snow in the last, say, 2 or 3 hours even here in downtown Manchester. But right now *** lot of that has lifted away. The clouds linger, more showers building in from the west, bumping in this cold air. Only 35 at this hour. Normal high 52, so we are nowhere near the normal. For this time of year in early April and even farther north, not *** whole lot warmer despite being away from the ocean influence of that wind coming in off of the chilly Atlantic right now, 30 to 40, not gonna fall off all that much as the night wears on. Band of showers number 1 approaching right now, filling into the Meannock region, places like Keene and Hinsdale and all the way up to about say Charlestown and southern parts of Solomon County near the Upper Valley getting in on. Some light rain or some light mixing, but it’s *** narrow band. It’s not gonna last more than, say, *** couple of hours, and it’ll be gone by about 10 o’clock this evening. And in the wake of that, still lingering clouds, sprinkles of rain, or even *** touch of light icing, and then more filling in by early tomorrow morning, especially to the north. Speaking of the north, winter weather advisories, if we needed any more of that right, central and northern locales of the lake. Region, the White Mountains and points north, 8 p.m. tonight to about 9 or 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. So here’s our timeline of all of that. As I mentioned, the showers building in *** quick hitter in the next 3 or 4 hours, gone by about 9 or 10 o’clock with the clouds lingering, and we’re right near freezing, especially western, central and northern New Hampshire. So there, anything untreated could glaze over. So watch out for that if you’re traveling overnight tonight after *** dry. Overnight period by about 4 or 5 a.m. through the morning drive tomorrow, more showers in the form of rain, but again right near freezing, so *** touch of light icing, especially the farther north you go. But then by the afternoon, totally different story. The winds turn around out of the southwest, the clouds break apart, and here comes that early spring warmth just in time for the Red Sox home opener tomorrow afternoon and the Fisher Cats opener. Right here in the Queen City in the early evening. So again, the highs tomorrow, much better than we are out there right now. So again for the Sox home opener tomorrow, we’re drying out by midday and early afternoon later on in the innings, hopefully with the Red Sox ahead. Peaks of sun and the temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. Next round of showers, unfortunately Easter Sunday. Tough to call the exact timeline, but it looks like *** late morning and afternoon event, dry and cool Monday through Wednesday.

Cold, raw, and damp through early Friday. Pockets of an icy mix are possible over higher elevations north and west Thursday night. By Friday afternoon the skies will try to clear as milder air moves in. Some sun on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s, but now it looks wet on Easter Sunday, with morning showers then a steadier rain in the afternoon and evening. Even cooler feel early next week.A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties in New Hampshire from 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening until 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. This is due to the risk of light icy mix, which could slow travel.Once morning showers clear away on Friday, it’s back to milder weather with many areas seeing temperatures rebound into the 50s and 60s with some sun. The weekend could also feature the chance of showers each day, but Saturday looks like the drier of the two weekend days. Temperatures will likely land in the upper 50s to near 60. A steadier batch of rain is then possible on Sunday with some cooler temperatures again early next week.

Cold, raw, and damp through early Friday. Pockets of an icy mix are possible over higher elevations north and west Thursday night. By Friday afternoon the skies will try to clear as milder air moves in. Some sun on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s, but now it looks wet on Easter Sunday, with morning showers then a steadier rain in the afternoon and evening. Even cooler feel early next week.

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A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties in New Hampshire from 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening until 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. This is due to the risk of light icy mix, which could slow travel.

Once morning showers clear away on Friday, it’s back to milder weather with many areas seeing temperatures rebound into the 50s and 60s with some sun. The weekend could also feature the chance of showers each day, but Saturday looks like the drier of the two weekend days. Temperatures will likely land in the upper 50s to near 60. A steadier batch of rain is then possible on Sunday with some cooler temperatures again early next week.

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As hoops betting spikes, it’s New Hampshire and other states vs. prediction markets

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As hoops betting spikes, it’s New Hampshire and other states vs. prediction markets


The state of New Hampshire receives revenue from sports wagers made with DraftKings, but officials are worried that people will switch to new prediction market platforms.

Zoey Knox/NHPR


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Zoey Knox/NHPR

Two things have New Hampshire state Sen. Tim Lang feeling blue.

“I do have a bracket. It broke pretty hard,” says Lang, a Republican, on the sorry state of his NCAA men’s basketball tournament predictions.

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He says he’s also concerned about the outlook for state revenues. New Hampshire legalized sports wagering in 2019, the year after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize and regulate sports gambling. Since then, the state has raked in more than $170 million through a partnership with the wagering company DraftKings. Big money in a small state.

The rise of Kalshi and Polymarket — major players in the fast-growing world of prediction markets — could put a dent in those revenues, Lang fears. He says he plans to introduce legislation as early as this week that would clear the way for New Hampshire to join states around the U.S. in suing the prediction market companies.

“We have a revenue model for our sports betting that allows us to pay for education and other state services that Kalshi is completely going around by avoiding our gaming laws,” he says. “They should not be able to skirt our state laws.”

States are suing to regulate prediction markets 

Prediction companies let customers buy “yes” or “no” futures contracts on the outcomes of world events, elections and, crucially for states, sports. Because the companies contend they’re operating as a financial market and not a sportsbook, the states don’t get a cut of the proceeds.

States including Connecticut, Michigan and Washington are in court battles with the prediction market companies. Arizona went so far as to charge Kalshi in criminal court for offering illegal sports wagers.

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Kalsi and Polymarket didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story. In legal filings, Kalshi has argued that it’s already regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission and that having to operate in 50 different ways to appease 50 different states isn’t possible. The Trump administration, so far, backs that view.

Courts so far have handed down mixed rulings, leaving a messy situation on the ground, especially about what’s considered sports gambling.

The law is unsettled so far

“Is sports betting and prediction market synonymous, or are they sufficiently distinct that there should be different treatment under the law? I mean, that’s an open-ended question,” says Michael McCann, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Sports and Entertainment Law Institute.

Even with the prospect of lost state revenues, not everyone in New Hampshire is eager to clamp down on prediction markets. John Stephen, an elected Republican member of the council that oversees state contracts, likes the competition that prediction markets bring.

“Companies that are trying to make money, and this entrepreneurial spirit that we have in this country, I value that,” he says.

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Todd Bookman is a general assignment reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio.



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‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor Eugene Mirman rescued from fiery crash by New Hampshire governor’s detail

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‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor Eugene Mirman rescued from fiery crash by New Hampshire governor’s detail


BEDFORD, N.H. (AP) — “Bob’s Burgers” voice actor and comedian Eugene Mirman suffered serious injuries after crashing his car into a toll plaza and being pulled from the fiery wreckage by a state trooper assigned to protect the governor of New Hampshire.

The crash happened just before noon Tuesday when a northbound electric vehicle struck the Bedford Toll Plaza and caught fire, New Hampshire State Police said. Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte and her security detail came upon the crash soon after, and a trooper and two others pulled Mirman from the burning car through a window, said State Police Col. Mark Hall. The governor, who left her vehicle and retrieved a fire extinguisher, was not in any danger, he said.

“Eugene was in a very scary car accident,” Mirman’s agent Jay Glassner confirmed in a statement Wednesday. “He wants to thank the bystanders, state police, first responders and hospital staff who saved him. He is grateful to be on the mend. At this time, we kindly ask for privacy for Eugene and his family as he focuses on recovering from his injuries.”

Hall called the actions of the rescuers “heroic.”

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“Without hesitation, they put themselves in danger to render aid to someone who was in need of it,” Hall said.

State police identified the driver as Yevgeny Mirman, 51, of Massachusetts. Mirman, who was born in Moscow and grew up in Massachusetts, is known for voicing musical middle child Gene Belcher in more than 300 episodes of the animated comedy “Bob’s Burgers” and its movie, in addition to roles on “Flight of the Conchords,” “Delocated” and “Archer.”

Ayotte said she and her husband were praying for the driver’s recovery.

“I want to thank the Trooper on my security detail and the bystanders who stepped up to help at the scene of the crash for their brave lifesaving efforts,” she said in a statement.

The crash remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.

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