Ousting Mayor Albano

A Failed Attempt

 

 
I laughed to read this old Springfield Newspapers article I stumbled upon in my vaults recently. It tells about an attempt by local activists to remove controversial Springfield Mayor Michael Albano from office by a recall petition.

Interestingly, the recall did not revolve around the more obvious sins of the Albano Administration - such as its corruption, cronyism and incompetence. Instead, it focused on a proposal for a government run needle exchange program. That may seem to be too small an issue in the context of Springfield's many more serious problems to generate such passion. But the needle issue was actually a kind of symbol for those larger issues, with the Albano Administration's stubborn refusal to consider the public's wishes not to have such a program, as expressed at the polls in a referendum, being seen as symbolic of the Albano Gang's larger indifference to the public interest.

Unfortunately, needle exchange also proved to be an issue that ultimately divided the forces of reform, because many enemies of the Albano regime, who might otherwise have supported a recall, felt alienated from the needle exchange activists. The more liberal reformers supported needle exchange from a civil liberties and public health perspective, and therefore couldn't get behind the recall effort. 

The inability of Albano's many critics to ever find an issue or a candidate around which they could unite was a major reason why Albano served as long as he did. It wasn't until the city's finances collapsed in 2002 that Albano was finally discredited, after which reformers were successful in uniting around Charles V. Ryan's campaign against Albano's chosen heir, Senator Linda Melconian.

Originally Published November 6, 1998
article by Chris Hamel

Calling Mayor Michael J. Albano "arrogant and disrespectful," the grass-roots group Citizens Against Needle Exchange announced yesterday it will try to topple his administration by seeking a recall election.

The group, CANE, was emboldened at the polls Tuesday by the defeat of Question 5, which asked Springfield voters if a state pilot needle exchange program should be established in Springfield. The referendum was nonbinding, so it has no immediate impact on plans to open a needle exchange at the former Wesson Memorial Hospital on High Street.

Citing a health crisis in HIV and AIDS in the city, Albano was a catalyst for the program.

Karen A. and Robert S. Powell II, who are among the three founders of CANE, held a news conference at their Sixteen Acres home. They said no date has been set for the start of the campaign, which could lead to a recall vote.

"We would have preferred it didn't come to this, but our hand has been forced," Robert Powell said in a prepared statement. "We have tried every other avenue available to us, but our representatives have refused to listen."

Needle exchange was approved 5-4 by the City Council in July, after two years of wrangling. Voters shot down the referendum question 15,768, or 60.8 percent, to 10,186, or 39.2 percent.

The Powells said Albano is unwilling to talk to residents about issues and does not respect the people. They were joined at the news conference by Robert W. Brown, president of the Springfield Retired Police and Firefighters Association, who said the 700-member group will support CANE in the recall effort.

The Powells' neighbors, Leroy and Bessie Crenshaw, who are CANE participants, were also present.

Albano , who coincidentally held a fund-raiser attended by 200 last night in the South End, said he was not surprised by Tuesday's vote or CANE's recall intentions.

"This is the third time they've stated their intentions for a recall," he said.

He noted that he had welcomed the recall effort before, telling CANE to come after him, rather than assail the City Council about needle exchange, last summer. Albano said the recall effort is about mayoral politics and uniting various groups that disagree with him.

Albano said he received a death threat on his home telephone answering machine yesterday. He said the caller cited Albano 's position on needle exchange and told him to change it or he would be slain.

Albano said he reported the matter to police, who are investigating and have assigned extra patrols near his home. He said Paula C. Meara, provisional police chief, offered him advice, including a suggestion he wear a bulletproof vest. Albano said he will follow through on some of the recommendations.

Brown, a retired patrolman, and Leroy Crenshaw, a public school teacher, each have had mayoral aspirations, with Crenshaw once running and Brown considering it by taking out papers. Crenshaw's bid failed.

Karen Powell said CANE has no one in mind to replace Albano , and no one in CANE's leadership, which includes co-founder Susan Gallo, has plans to run for office.

The Powells said CANE is angered by the apparent unwillingness of Albano and the five councilors in support of needle exchange to change their positions in light of Tuesday's vote. The five councilors targeted are Brian A. Santaniello, William T. Foley Jr., Barbara L. Garde, Barbara J. Garvey and Bud L. Williams.

Karen Powell said the public school system and downtown revitalization are other areas in which Albano 's administration is lacking. She said the recall is not based solely on needle exchange, and she warned that city councilors, especially the five councilors who voted for needle exchange, are not immune from recall.

 

Sadly, the recall never happened, but I don't remember exactly why. I think the activist were never able to get enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot. The failure of the recall was not the end of the matter, however. The following year, in 1999, when no contender came forward to challenge Albano for re-election, the Powell's chose to run their dog Simon as a protest candidate. Amazingly, the political pooch received hundreds of write-in votes. 

Three Pics

A picture of Chancelor Robert C. Holub and Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno on a UMass bulletin board. 

Amherst is in dismay as the beloved Raos Coffeeshop is closed for renovations. 

The babbling brook near my house. 

On the Sauce

Albano's Brand

Reprinted from the November 17, 2002 edition of Tommy Devine's Online Journal:

 



I finally got around to trying out the coffee and spaghetti sauce the Mayor of Springfield Michael J. Albano has been peddling for several years. I purposely avoided doing so any earlier because I regarded the whole concept behind selling the products as essentially a political scam. Both the coffee and the sauce are overpriced, but that's supposed to be okay because the profits go to charity. Of course it is Mayor Mike who determines which "charities" receive the funds.

All politicians who intend to be re-elected do a lot of charitable giving. In fact it's considered a routine expense of holding public office and usually comes out of their campaign re-election funds. But by making such contributions out of coffee and sauce profits, Albano is able to make politically advantageous charitable donations while leaving his official campaign treasury intact, where its size can serve to intimidate possible opponents. It also gives him free advertising in an unlikely but valuable place - supermarket shelves. I consider all the income from those products to be little more than a glorified slush fund, and therefore never saw any reason to contribute any money to it by buying the coffee or sauce.

However a friend recently argued that I had a duty to at least try the products one time, and even bought me some samples so that I couldn't refuse on monetary grounds. And you know what? I like them.

The coffee is pretty good, if brewed as dark as the circumstances surrounding a community development project. The aroma is not that great, but won't remind you of Bondi's Island, while the high caffeine content gives you that extra energy you may need to outrun a man with a subpoena. Of course such a powerful brew might lead to high blood pressure when combined with the sight of an FBI agent, but is probably otherwise harmless under normal circumstances. Just remember that caffeine can be as addictive as a contractor's kickback, so don't overdo it.

The sauce is also pretty good. It's supposed to be based on the Mayor's mother's secret recipe, but some cynical critics have suggested it is really the generic BigY brand with a Mayor Mike label slapped on it. I had the "meat flavored" version of the sauce, which had a meaty taste without encountering any evidence of any actual meat. But so what? For years when it comes to Mayor Mike we've been wondering where the beef is, so why should his sauce be any different?

So surprisingly I find myself recommending the Mayor's products. Just be sure to attend confession and mass after every serving, in order to seek forgiveness for where the money you spent on Albano's products may end up.

On July 9, 2002 I printed an insider's account of what went down at one of the FBI interrogations into corruption in Springfield.

 




Sources in Springfield, some of them deeply connected, keep telling me this story, which I must share with you even if libel laws demand that the names be omitted to protect the guilty.

Recently a certain somebody and his wife were being interrogated by the FBI. The agent handed the wife some pages from her husband's expense account and asked her to examine them.

"What I would like to know m'am," the agent asked, "is how do you justify taking all of these luxurious trips with your husband and then charging the cost to the taxpayers?"

The wife stared at the documents in silence for several long moments, then quietly began to sob. Her husband slumped in his chair, burying his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry," the FBI agent said, "but I had to ask that question."

What a way for your wife to find out about your affair!

Dope and Change!

Drug enforcement authorities released this photo of a quantity of Obama blotter acid they confiscated recently. 

Daisy Deadhead offers this review: The Obama acid comes at a high price, lots of intense build-up and flash early on… then only performs in a relatively mediocre fashion, leaving you with a ferocious hangover wondering what was I thinking? Afghanistan-shaped blotter next!

The Obama Administration may wish they were on acid when they see this poll by MoveOn.org of 50,000 of its members on whether they approve of his escalation of the war in Afganistan. If Obama loses his liberal base, what will he have left?

In the Fortress of Solitude

An interesting painting of Superman by Jay Buck. 

Around Amherst


Planting bulbs to bloom in the spring in Kendrick Park.

 



This giant mural shows UMass as it was when it opened - all of three buildings! Dig the first class with their showboaters and high hats. 

In the early days of the University, the Old Chapel was a religious institution where students were required to attend prayer services every morning. Too many absences from Morning Chapel was considered grounds for dismissal. Today the Chapel is hardly used at all, preserved primarily for its historic value.

Bailout Perspective

 

What do all these taxpayer bailouts really add up to? Read it and weep, as reported in Politico:

As the holiday season commences, it’s worth taking stock of the last gift that President George W. Bush and the 110th Congress have left for U.S. taxpayers.

It’s a package of about $8.7 trillion dollars’ worth of potential taxpayer commitments for loans, guarantees and other bailout goodies for businesses and distressed homeowners.

Amid the tissue paper:

• More than $1.5 trillion in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. loan guarantees, including a $139 billion assist to the lending arm of General Electric Corp.

• $1.8 trillion in cash, tax breaks and loan guarantees doled out from the Treasury Department to taxpayers, financial institutions and credit companies.

• $300 billion for homeowners from the Federal Housing Authority.

• $25 billion in assistance for auto companies from a program overseen by the Energy Department, which is separate from the bailout proposal that tanked last week in the Senate.

• And $5 trillion worth of new money, loan guarantees and loosened lending requirements from the Federal Reserve Bank.

According to Bianco Research President James Bianco, who crunched these numbers, that amounts to more government aid and assistance than nine other historic bailouts and big government outlays combined.

The New Deal, for instance, cost an estimated $32 billion in its day, which would be about $500 billion in today’s dollars. The Marshall Plan cost about $12.7 billion, which is the equivalent of a paltry $115.3 billion. The Louisiana Purchase? The French got $15 million, which would be worth about $217 billion today.

If you take those three items, add in the adjusted costs of the Race to the Moon, the savings and loan crisis, the Korean War, the Iraq war, the Vietnam War and assistance for NASA, you still get to just $3.92 trillion — not even half of the taxpayers’ exposure today, according to Bianco. 

 

Maybe Washington is taking its cues from Springfield in the Albano era. Here is the front of the program from Albano's 1998 inaugural.

This is the full program. 

A Rogue's Gallery listed on the back:

1998-1999 represented the peak of the Albano mayoralty. By 2000 it was all starting to unravel and would soon come tumbling down in a wave of scandal and mixed metaphors. 

Here's some updates from the Stephen Geoffreys cult. Someone sent me a picture from the Fright Night reunion tour posing with Stephen Geoffreys.

Stephen is also appearing in a movie called "New Terminal Hotel" with fellow 80's has-been Corey Haim. This is Stephen in a still from the new film.

Here is Corey Haim in his adorable youth. Critics said he looked like a poodle.

 



Earlier this year Haim had to take out an ad in Variety begging Hollywood for a job.

I guess it worked.

Election of 2001

Another Springfield flashback

 

Me at the Big E in 2001

Here's another oldie from the back pages of The Baystate Objectivist - in this case an analysis of the Springfield Municipal Election of 2001. In that year Paul Caron challenged incumbent Michael Albano. Two days after Albano's victory, the FBI raided City Hall for the first time.

I had been living in Texas for most of the campaign season that year, and wrote the following election analysis some weeks after the election and the raid by the Feds that would start the Albano legacy unraveling in disgrace.

Well it's been several weeks since the elections in Springfield, and I've just returned from my annual southern sojourn to the noble state of Texas where I've been hanging out for a few months. They only have three seasons in southern Texas (warm, hot and hellish) so when my Uncle John came up for a visit to Springfield from Houston last year he wanted to get pictures of the Fall foliage, there being nothing comparable to it in the Lone Star State. One day I was accompanying my uncle to Saint Michael's cemetery in the Pine Point section of Springfield, where we were looking up the grave of a long lost aunt. My uncle noted how beautiful the leaves were in the cemetery, but as he didn't have a camera with him, and I did, he asked me to take a picture for him.

When the picture was developed the leaves sure looked pretty, but the beauty was tempered by the morbidity of having all those gravestones in the background. I found a practical use for the picture when I used it on the index page of my website in October, figuring it covered two themes at once, the fall foliage and Halloween ghoulishness. To my great surprise I got a lot of e-mails praising that picture, with many noting the odd blend of beauty and morbidity. I got so carried away with all the complements over that picture that I actually sent it in to Channel 22 for their photography contest.

To make a long story short, last night it was reported on television that my picture has won! I don't know what the token prize is (a WWLP-TV22 umbrella?) but I'll let you know what it is after I get it. At the very least, from now on I can accurately describe myself on my resume as "a prize-winning photographer." Actually my resume is already quite impressive, and if you read it you might even think me quite respectable, provided you didn't know me personally. Here's the winning picture:

As for the municipal election, it may seem like old news, but then maybe this is really the best time to comment on it, now that all the hoopla has died down and the passions have calmed. Frankly, the returns were so bad that I actually considered not coming back at all. Albano re-elected by a twelve-point margin? Enough already.

Then on Masslive.com (which I found to be a surprisingly effective means of keeping track of local events from Texas) I read how the FBI raided City Hall just two days after Albano's victory and so was delighted to realize that the forces of light were not down for the count after all. Of course, historically City Hall keeps such poor records that even if the Feds are genuinely on to something, there may be too insufficient a paper trail for anything to come of it. Yet hope, as the poet says, springs eternal.

Some thoughts on the outcome of the races:

Mayor

Not only did Mike Albano not deserve to win, he absolutely did not deserve to win by such a large amount. His margin of victory sends a terrible message, that the residents of Springfield just don't care about the possibility of corruption in City Hall, or worse, that they are simply too uninformed to understand what it's all about. A closer outcome would at least have spooked the mayor into behaving himself better, but perhaps the FBI raid following the election has done so.

Paul Caron deserves the highest praise for having the courage to make the run for mayor. His candidacy thrust him into an improbable role, that of a reformer after two decades of being as hardwired into the political establishment as any member of the Western Mass legislative delegation. He has also paid a terrible price, with his legislative district in tatters due to redistricting and facing the fallout from the lingering bitterness of those who feel he should never have entered the race in the first place without seeking the permission of the powers-that-be.

If he decides to stay in the legislature, he must run against freshman State Representative Chris Asselin, a tough fight but one that Caron would be favored to win. He may also try to move up by running against State Senator Brian Lees, but that would be much more difficult because of Lees' popularity. Or finally he may run again for mayor. Then Caron's campaign slogan could be "I Told You So."

City Council

There was a pathetic shortage of credible challengers in this year's crop of City Council candidates, thereby guaranteeing that there would be little change on the legislative body that critics call, "The City Clowncil." Back for two more tiresome years are Bill Foley (a would-be mayor if he can ever decide what he stands for) Brian "The Dean" Santaniello (never has anyone served so long and accomplished so little) and Bud L. Williams (a flip-flopping slumlord). Also returning is Dominic Sarno, as well as Timothy Rooke.

Thankfully Angelo Puppolo, the victim of a vicious smear campaign in the election's final days, successfully escaped defeat. So did Tim Ryan, who was targeted once again as the political establishment's most hated councilor. Predictions that Councilor Dan Kelly was in trouble after he was linked to Anthony Ardolino and gave a disastrous interview to the Valley Advocate turned out to be true, with Kelly barely surviving in ninth place.

The only change on the council was an unfortunate one, the defeat of one term Councilor Carol Lewis-Caulton. Her election in 1999 had been something of a fluke; she slipped into an unexpected vacancy when former Councilor Barbara Garde quit after it was too late for the big names waiting in the wings to enter the race.

Lewis-Caulton quickly alienated the political establishment with her independent thinking and was targeted early on for defeat. She is replaced by Rosemarie Moriarty, a nice enough person but viewed with suspicion by many because she is a cousin of Michael Albano. But let's not be unfair (How would you like to be judged by your cousins?) and give her the benefit of the doubt until we see her in action. In any case, it's too bad she had to come on the council by knocking off Lewis-Caulton instead of Dan Kelly.

Of the other candidates, it was a shame to see new-comer Charles Rucks lose. Rucks was one of the most interesting and dynamic new voices to appear on the local political scene in a long time, but suffered from inexperience and lack of funds. Yet he garnered nearly nine-thousand votes and is now in a good position to run a formidable campaign in 2003. Let's hope he decides to do so.

Thankfully Jose Tosado lost, not because he's so bad, but because his election would have created a vacancy on the School Committee that would have brought controversial former School Committee member Bob McCollum back into office. Alas, Tosado came in tenth, which means that if a vacancy occurs on the Council in the next two years, he will take the seat and McCollum will still be restored. All that we can do is pray that all of the councilors have excellent health and that nobody gets a promotion.

But there may indeed be a promotion. If in fact Albano (ahem) moves on, then a special election will be held with leading candidates likely to come from the Council (Foley, Ryan, maybe even Puppolo). In the meantime, the temporary mayor would be (gasp) new Council President Bud Williams. Once upon a time such a scenario would have alarmed me, but I've learned to laugh.


School Committee

None of the incumbents deserved re-election, but unfortunately there was no one running worth replacing them with. Nick Fyntrilakis, by default the best of the bunch, came in a strong first. The pleasant but clueless Ken Shea came in second, while the third winning seat was captured by do-nothing Marjorie Hurst. The sole satisfaction in the entire School Committee race was seeing Albano flunky Michael Rodgers soundly defeated.

Finally, Masslive's Springfield Forum is better known for its bile than its wit, but there are exceptions. Recently a writer using the pseudonym MAP71 asked why Mayor Michael Albano was nowhere to be seen at this year's balloon parade. The Mayor has been missing a number of events recently that he might otherwise be expected to attend, fueling speculation that Albano does not intend to run again in 2003. Perhaps he will step down in order to escape the looming fiscal crisis which is rumored to be the worst since Richie Neal escaped to Congress and left the cupboard bare and a pile of IOU's for Mary Hurley. In any case, MAP71 wanted to know why the Mayor was absent from the balloon parade, to which someone using the pseudonym Jayvee replied that Hizzoner was in fact present, "Mayor Albano was there!" he insisted. "He was full of hot air, as one of the balloons! You just didn't recognize him with all the "STRINGS ATTACHED".

Ba da boom!

Perspective from 2008 - The prize in the photo contest turned out to be a certificate from the now defunct Russell's 60 Minute Photo for some free film. Michael Albano completed his term despite the collapse of the city's finances and immediately sold his home in Springfield and moved to the suburbs. Although nearly many of the major figures of his administration were charged with crimes, Albano himself was never charged. Once again demonstrating the voter's short memory, Rodgers is now on the School Committee. The scenario I feared involving a vacancy came true as you can read here, and subsequent attempts by Lewis-Carlton and Rucks to give the voters a chance to correct their error have failed.

Albano is Back!

He is resurfacing. What does it mean?

 



When I heard last week that former Mayor Michael Albano had given an interview on WHYN radio to Morning Show co-host Bo Sullivan, I was only mildly sorry that I missed it. For one thing I knew that Albano and Sullivan are friends, so I figured it was probably a softball session. Besides, I couldn't imagine Albano being forthcoming on any subject of real interest. Therefore I assumed it was an interview that would be more annoying than enlightening to listen to.

But when I actually got the chance to listen to it online, the interview had much more substance to it than I expected. For one thing, despite their friendship Sullivan asked Albano all of the major questions one would have expected him to in the time allowed. True, the questions were not asked in the sarcastic, accusing manner that some listeners would have liked, but the fact remains that the harsh criticism of Sullivan that I've heard for being too soft on Albano was mostly unfair. The only glaring omission was any mention of the person many critics consider to have been Albano's co-mayor: Francis Keough.

Despite the fact that it was Albano's first general interview in nearly four years, the former mayor didn't have a chance to talk for very long. Technically he was on for an hour, but with all the advertisements, weather and sports breaks, plus introductory and closing banter, there probably wasn't even a half hour of real conversation. Yet, there were genuine tidbits of news and insight that surfaced in the interview that I had been unaware of. For example:

Albano claimed that when he was elected in 1996 there was pressure put on him by the state to accept a Control Board, but Albano flatly refused. If so, that demand and his refusal were not made public at the time.

Contrary to rampant rumors that Albano has in some way co-operated with the FBI investigations into his administration, he vehemently denied that he had offered any information to the feds, claiming never to have been interviewed by a single FBI agent at any time.

Albano claimed that over twenty million dollars was spent to convict his chief of staff Anthony Ardolino, which is the first time I've heard that number.

Albano stated that in his entire eight years in office he had held only one conversation with Raymond "Papa Ray" Asselin, implying he hardly knew him. Albano also appeared to agree that the Asselins had been involved in criminal activities before his administration, which is the first time I've heard a public figure concede that the Asselins were guilty of crimes for which they were never charged.

Albano disputed that criticism by Councilors Danny Kelly and Kateri Walsh were responsible for the loss of a twenty million dollar grant from the state to help in the fiscal crisis, insisting the offer was never a serious one. He sited the Boston Globe as quoting then House Speaker Tommy Finneran as saying that under no circumstances would Springfield receive any free money from the state. In making this charge, Albano was implying that the matter was incompletely reported by the local media for political reasons.

He's been keeping such a low profile these past years that I'd forgotten just how charming Albano can be. Hardly penitent or sounding like a disgraced politician, Albano instead seemed full of his old confidence and good humor. As politically maddening as he can be, it has always been difficult to dislike Albano on a personal level. He sounds like a fun guy to have a drink with, and by all accounts he is.

The charm fades however when you consider what he's saying. Albano downplayed the conviction of Ardolino, dismissing it as "a tax case" while insisting Ardolino was "a stand-up guy." But of course stand-up guys don't avoid taxes in transactions that represent a grotesque misuse of political influence and huge conflicts of interest. Convicted Police Commissioner Gerry Phillips he described as his "best friend" and someone from "a wonderful family." Then again, perhaps the Puerto Rican welfare mother who was chased around a hotel room by a wiffle bat wielding Phillips might have characterized him differently. And does Albano's glowing praise of these individuals have anything to do with the fact that both Ardolino and Phillips refused to offer any testify against others?

To his credit, Sullivan asked Albano flat out the question the whole Valley has been asking for years, "How could you sit there in the corner office and not know anything that was going on?" Amazingly, Albano not only claimed ignorance, but declared himself a victim! It's a complicated story, but in essence Albano claims that his administration was unfairly attacked by the FBI because he worked as a parole officer on behalf of defendants who were unjustly accused of murder by the FBI. 

Albano didn't offer a shred of proof to support this, but even if it were true, so what? The subsequent wrong doing that the FBI uncovered does not suddenly become irrelevant or okay because of it. That is not a valid excuse for his administration's corruption, but it is a distraction he hopes will confuse the public into forgiving him.

Indeed something strange is afoot. Is it possible that the political rehabilitation of Albano is underway? This interview is not the only recent surfacing of the former mayor. In a recent article in the daily paper Albano is quoted about what he was doing when he heard that Elvis Presley had died. What? After telling them "no comment" for years the paper finally gets him on the line and all that they ask him is where he was when freakin' Elvis died? This casual inclusion of his name, as if he were a beloved statesman whose every thought is of interest to the public, is something new.

It may be that it has dawned on people in some quarters that it is inconvenient for Albano to be a political pariah. The Control Board has one foot out the door, and there are those who want to rush back into the game once the money spending power is handed back to the local politicians and their friends. Many of these ambitious people are closely identified with Albano, and they don't want former close ties to Albano to be considered a political disadvantage. Albano has to appear at least semi-respectable for his old cronies to prosper, especially if Dom Sarno is elected mayor and allows the old Albano crowd to return to City Hall.

At the end of the interview Albano claimed to be writing a book about his political career, but I don't believe it. That would require a level of introspection that I don't think he's capable of. But an attempt certainly appears to be underway to rewrite history, and in that quest Albano may find that he has many self-serving co-authors.

When I spotted Northampton Mayor M. Clare Higgins in the Haymarket Cafe I used my telephoto lens to snap her picture.

However, the flash was accidentally on and in the always darkish cafe it alerted her to the fact that someone was taking her photo, but she merely waved and smiled at me.

Finally, here is an informative and fun video about history.

Drafts of Political E-mails

Stored emails provide an enlightening blast from the past.

 

President Clinton and Mayor Albano
Let's hold off on skewering the Democrat presidential candidates for a bit while I show you these lost e-mail documents I came across today. I found them because Microsoft has upgraded and redesigned its popular Hotmail email service. It's easier to locate what you're looking for, and the new format revealed to me that I had old drafts of emails I had written as long as eight years ago. Some were political, and serve as quite excellent reminders of political shenanigans from days gone by. In an area as prone to political amnesia as our Valley is, these reminders can be especially valuable, particularly in a municipal election year like 2007.

The 1999 email below, rescued today from the catacombs of my forgotten draft storage area, is an excellent example of the rumor and paranoia that dominated the Albano era. It begins with the discussion of a letter I had sent to the newspaper praising it for uncovering hidden facts in the lawsuits, and our mutual amazement that it had been printed.

Mo!

Next Thursday is fine. How about 11:30 or quarter of twelve? If you don't get there before noon a huge crowd pours in and it's impossible to get a table until one o'clock (or at least that's how it used to be).

This has been a strange day for me. Since I've been bashing the Springfield Newspapers for years for not doing their duty in digging up hidden information, I felt I had the duty to send them a congratulatory e-mail last Saturday for their recent crusade to uncover the hidden costs of the Schoolfield and Daniele lawsuits.

As you know, the Daniele lawsuit has been a sore spot with me in the past, and I published an article about it in September under the title "SHAME" which has also been on the website since October as part of what has turned out to be a trilogy of short pieces on Bill Clinton. I never had any hope of justice in the Daniele case, so imagine my surprise to find the Union-News suddenly championing it out of a clear blue sky. They say that they filed a legal protest back in August, but they did so very quietly, because it never crossed my radar screen.

Some are saying that this crusade may be McDermott's way of proving himself as independent from the now semi-retired David Starr. Still, I wish they had chosen the Daniele case instead of the Schoolfield one as the centerpiece of their clean government crusade, since the Schoolfield case has distracting racial overtones that I expect will be exploited to the fullest before this is over.

Anyway, who'd a thunk that they would print my e-mail as the lead letter on the editorial page? I don't know which is more surreal - that I am appearing in the Union-News, or that I am actually praising the Union-News in it's own pages. As a friend of mine told me, he sprayed just sipped coffee all over his paper when he saw it. Another friend told me that when they saw my name they ran to the window to see if pigs were flying by!

Some have suggested to me that this is exactly the effect the paper was hoping for, that by printing a message from one of their most notorious critics, they meant to send a signal that they are prepared to go to the mat on this issue, even if it means giving publicity to the likes of Tom Devine. I guess I am no longer one of their "non-persons" whose existence can not be publicly acknowledged.

I do find interesting some of the rumors that have come my way about the controversy itself. I can't vouch for their truthfulness, but it will be interesting to see how they pan out. For example, I'm told that one reason the Albano Administration is in a panic is not so much the Schoolfield case (where the rumor is the city paid more than even the court originally ordered just to get rid of the case) or even the Daniele case but rather that there are cases out there that never got the media attention they deserved, but will have devastating effects in high places if they become known.

Remember the sexual harassment accusations made against mayoral aide Tim Reilly? There's a persistent rumor that a pile of money put that embarrassment to rest. There are also rumors involving a whole bunch of other stuff that I will tell you about at lunch. To put it simply, the buzz is that the Albano Administration has been using the lawsuit account as a slush fund to resolve controversies that would have had political repercussions.

Supposedly, that is why City Hall is in such a panic, because if the full range of these controversies ever becomes part of the public record, it could blow the entire Albano Administration and half the city's political insiders from here to kingdom come in a massive scandal. Only this time the Springfield Newspapers appear unwilling to protect the guilty. Amusing isn't it?

See you Thursday,

Tom

What would have been more amusing would have been to be able to get to the bottom of those rumors but sadly, in the end they had to be filed under that overflowing category in Springfield politics entitled, "NEVER TO BE KNOWN."

The second fascinating email is one dated exactly seven years ago, August 15, 2000, from Pete Sygnatore, now best known as chairman of the city Liquor Commission, but at that time he was a community activist with ties to CANE, the good government group headed by Bob and Karen Powell. Sygnatore wrote a series of reports for my website of what went on at the public meetings held to discuss the Albano Administration's highly controversial scheme to erect a baseball stadium in downtown Springfield.

Tom,

I have had only two interactions with the baseball search committee at this time. The first was their presentation to the East ForestPark residents at Holy Cross Church.

There were 10 residents in attendance and only one showed overwhelming approval for the stadium. The remaining 9 of us had reservations of varying degree. The majority just plain didn't want it. When Bill Foley asked for closing thoughts, I got up and said that if one of Springfield's benefactors such as Curtis Blake or Peter Picknelly wanted to BUY some land somewhere in the city, construct a stadium with his own funds, buy his own team franchise, and sell tickets to games, more power to him. It would be a good thing to have.

But, if you're considering taking AT LEAST $2,000,000 of my tax money to construct a stadium when rain water is pouring on the computers at the High School of Science and Technology and the federal government is threatening to sue us because we・ve had 20 years to separate our rain water from our sewage and we haven't done it, the answer is a resounding NO! Several in attendance agreed with my position. Bill Foley dutifully took notes and picked up on that $2,000,000 figure. He asked me if I was suggesting that the $2,000,000 bond authorization be rescinded and I said that it would be a very good idea.

He wrote that down but I knew he wouldn't do anything about it so I called Karen and asked her if she thought rescinding the bond might be a mission for CANE. She jumped on that one and called Angelo Puppolo. Angelo is now championing that idea. Karen received a mailing from the committee shortly after our neighborhood meeting which showed the results of all of the neighborhood meetings. It stated that there were 39 people in attendance at her meeting and 22 of them were from CANE.

That was completely false. First, it was a regular meeting of the Outer Belt Civic Association NOT a Baseball Committee meeting which would account for the 39 people in attendance. There were only about 5 people there from CANE. The report said that there were two people at my meeting when there were only 10. It also said that overall people were positive and receptive to the stadium idea. One out of 10 people would not, in my opinion, be called "overall positive."

I was disgusted when Karen told me about the mailing. If they were publishing propaganda like that right from the beginning, this can only be leading to a big fiasco. I attended the Baseball Committee meeting last Tuesday(August 8th). Attending were 16 committee members, a Springfield News reporter, and me. Nobody asked who I was or why I was there.

Moderator Steve Clay recognized me from the previous meeting but forgot my name. They discussed the results of their surveys so far. They are, for the most part, positive in that people seem to WANT a stadium but they are ignoring the underlying theme that seems to stand out when looking at the surveys: People don't want to PAY for a stadium.

There were many comments like "As long as you don't use tax money to pay for it." All they seem to be seeing is that "People want a stadium" and are, therefore, moving ahead with site assessment. They had a list of 20 sites and pared that down to 16 which they said should be investigated further. They formed 5 groups of about 4 or 5 people to investigate 3 sites each.

Then the conversation turned to Angelo's proposal to rescind the bond. Several of them are VERY angry that Angelo would even consider such a thing. From what they said, they were told at their very first meeting, they had $2,000,000 of "seed money" to purchase and clear a site for the stadium. They are looking at this as THEIR money! In other words, the $2,000,000 is their operating budget! How DARE Angelo propose their money be taken away!

A few of them agreed that if the bond is rescinded, they had might as well call it quits right then and there. They asked Bill Foley if he could persuade Angelo to change his mind or at least delay the proposal by sending it to committee until they decide whether there was a feasible site in Springfield. To his credit, Bill DID say that there are many people who think that the bond was for a specific purpose, the original Chicopee River site, and since that purpose has expired, the bond authorization should be rescinded. After a few minutes of working on Bill, he caved and said that he would "talk to Angelo."

Tom, I've read your latest report on the bond at your web-site and it is very accurate.

Pete

That email was just the first Sygnatore wrote and which I published under a series called The Stadium Diaries. Sadly, the rest of the diary is lost to history, since I know of no surviving copies. The stadium scam was eventually exposed as a fraud by Judge Constance Sweeney, who in open court accused the Albano Administration of attempting to deceive the government to secure the stadium funds. Trying to acquire taxpayer funds under false pretenses is a felony, but despite the demands by myself and others that District Attorney Bill Bennett convene a Grand Jury to investigate Judge Sweeney's accusations, no legal action was ever taken against Albano.

It's really too bad I didn't save more of my old email drafts!