Cover-up: The Berkshire Eagle's CEO "Barred..Reporting" on Stracuzzi Sex Cases!

'Awful Details'

by G.M.Heller
Published: Thursday, April 21, 2011 11:30PM

"The publisher barred us from reporting the awful details in the CEO story" writes Conor M. Berry, former senior crime reporter for The Berkshire Eagle, explaining how The Eagle's publisher and CEO, Andrew Mick, directly interceded to limit not only the scope of Mr. Berry's reportage but also exactly which details were to be given to the public (and, more importantly, which were not) regarding two pedophilia cases involving Angelo Stracuzzi, one of Berkshire County's then most powerful civic, political, and business figures.

Mr. Stracuzzi was also CEO of a bank the advertising dollars from which were (then and now) largely responsible for keeping The Eagle afloat.

Andrew Mick, Publisher and CEO, The Berkshire Eagle

The following is Mr. Berry's revealing discussion (posted to PlanetValenti) about what transpired at The Eagle when he became aware of the original criminal charges filed against Mr. Stracuzzi by police in Biddeford, Maine, which allegations included multiple counts of 'Patronizing Prostitution of a Minor' involving boys whose ages at the time were approximately 15 and 13 years-old:

From: Conor Berry

April 21, 2011 at 12:13 pm

"Mr. Heller,

"You win: So, I’m feeling some pressure, as a reporter, to peel the onion further, especially since the “citizen journalists” of the online world are mentioning the awful, tawdry details of the Greylock CEO case and I haven’t written word one — though I did, in a rather delphic way, allude to some bizarre sets of circumstances.

Conor M. Berry, former senior crime reporter for The Berkshire Eagle, now with The Republican in Springfield, Mass.

"Didn’t the CEO’s mother warn him against picking up hitchhikers?!

"I was originally told, point blank, by two well-placed law enforcement sources that the underlying charges, the ones The Eagle avoided covering initially, stemmed from allegations that the CEO in question solicited sex from a group of boys or pre-teens up in Biddeford, ME.

"At that point, I had no idea the allegations stemmed from two separate incidents spread over two evenings. I actually learned that from you, Mr. Heller. My source said, and I quote: “He offered money to some boys for a [blank].”

"Once I learned of the disposition of the case from Maine law enforcement officials, I was disturbed by the underlying charges — the ones that were dismissed by the state of Maine.

"I was fully prepared to report on these original, more disturbing charges, but my editor told me to hang tight until he ran it by the publisher (understandably, my editor didn’t want another Massimiano story on his hands, and frankly I didn’t want to be maligned in another full-page color ad in my own paper! Incidentally, what kind of thought goes through a publisher’s head when he accepts $20,000+ for an ad mocking his paper, his editor and, arguably, the only reporter at his paper who was asking any intelligent questions?).

Angelo C. Stracuzzi, former president and CEO, Greylock Federal Credit Union

"Hold on, Heller, here it comes: The publisher barred us from reporting the awful details in the CEO story.

"I was told by my editor that, according to the publisher, if the bank CEO had incurred more recent charges, whether they be in Maine, Connecticut or Massachusetts, for that matter, we could proceed. But we were NOT to focus on charges that were, by then, already a half-dozen years old. Particularly charges that weren’t ultimately pursued by the state of Maine, but rather dismissed by the state of Maine.

"I’ve alluded to all of this before, Mr. Heller, but you apparently weren’t satisfied with my allusions.

"Not for nothing, but this sort of back-and-forth discussion is nothing new in the world of newspapers, but rather something that boils down to “news judgment.” I’m sure you’ll have a field day with that phrase, but every paper in America, depending on its trajectory and mission, has its own sense of news judgment. Some papers are more to the left, others more to the right.

"For a small, regional daily such as The Eagle, there is a pronounced sensitivity to the “names in the news,” the “power structure,” or, as you fellows frequently refer to them, the “GOBs.”

"During my 3 1/2-year tenure at The Eagle, I was called into my editor’s office several times so he could give me “heads-up” about the publisher hearing such and such about me … that the publisher had heard that I was asking this guy about this matter, and that gal about that matter, etc., etc.

"It wore on me, frankly, and I did feel that it inhibited me from doing my job as a reporter, which is to dig and ask questions, regardless of how unsavory the issue at hand is, or regardless of how powerful (or delusional?) the subject of the questions may be.

"Very disheartening, indeed.

"And I can honestly report that this was the first time, in my relatively long journalism career, that I ever felt the long arm of the publisher’s office sticking itself into places it had no right to be stuck. Pardon whatever unsavory imagery that phrase may conjure …

"I won’t detail other cases of publisher intrusion, but I often found myself in a defensive posture, defending myself against crimes, rumors and innuendo that simply weren’t true. In a word, I was disgusted, and my frustration was well known in the newsroom.

"That aside, I can’t say enough good things about my managing editor, a native son of the county, who never shied away from hard news or news that may have rocked the boat. He was my rabbi, and I’ll always respect him for that.

"On a final note, when an editor picked up a proof of the full-page ad (the one in which Massimiano, that powerful little man, maligns me as a reporter and threatens to sue me) and brought it into the executive editor’s office so we could digest its contents, the publisher very angrily stormed into the executive editor’s office and chastised we goofy news guys for examining the ad, which was promptly taken away from us. Again, welcome to bizarro world.

"Respectfully,
CONOR

"PS — I apologize, Mr. Valenti, for using your forum to respond to Mr. Heller, but his own blog spots don’t get any traffic, and, for better or worse, he seems to have found a new home on PlanetValenti. You should charge him rent, Dan!"

--------------------------------------------
Conor M. Berry is no longer writing for The Berkshire Eagle; he now reports for The Republican in neighboring Springfield, Massachusetts.

From Mr. Berry's Web page at The Republican:

About Me: As a longtime newspaper reporter, I've covered everything from crime and politics to offshore whale entanglements and dairy farming. Now it's time to embrace real-time reporting, so please drop me a dime -- anytime -- at cberry@repub.com or (413) 788-1276.

--------------------------------------------
Write to G.M. Heller at editor@berkshirerecord.com

Other articles of interest in this series:
>When Will The Publisher Stop Covering For The Banker? -- Just what does Greylock's disgraced ex-CEO have on The Berkshire Eagle's Andrew Mick? -- What else is The Berkshire Eagle failing to report?, Saturday, June 19, 2010
>State of Maine v. Angelo Stracuzzi -- What The Berkshire Eagle Fails to Report, Thursday June 03, 2010

State of Maine v. Angelo Stracuzzi

What The Berkshire Eagle Fails to Report
by G.M. Heller

The Berkshire Eagle has had the following information since Tuesday, June 1 regarding Angelo C. Stracuzzi's recently exposed (by The Eagle itself in an article published May 30) run-in with police in the coastal town of Biddeford, Maine in July 2004.

Mr. Stracuzzi is president and C.E.O. of Greylock Federal Credit Union and served for many years on the Pittsfield City Council both as a councilman and as that governing body's president.

Angelo C. Stracuzzi, president and C.E.O.,
Greylock Federal Credit Union

According to York County Superior Court records, Biddeford Police charged Mr. Stracuzzi with 'Patronizing Prostitution of a Minor' - Class D, 'Assault & Battery' - Class D, and 'Criminal Mischief' - Class D.

In two separate cases filed with the York County Superior Court, Mr. Stracuzzi was charged with the same three identical counts in each case.

The criminal complaints stemmed from separate incidents occurring a day apart, each incident involving a different underage male.

The first incident took place July 26th, 2004 (Criminal Docket No. 05-194) and was reported to Biddeford Police that same evening at 9:36 P.M..

The second incident occurred July 27th (Criminal Docket No. 04-2288) and appeared on the police blotter at 10:00 P.M. same night.

The boys' ages at the time were approximately 15 and 13 years-old, respectively.

Responsive to a Biddeford Police detective's investigation of the two separately filed incident reports, a summons was issued to Mr. Stracuzzi to appear in Biddeford District Court the following month and answer to the above-stated criminal charges.

Biddeford is about the same size as Pittsfield, Massachusetts and located on Maine's southern coast less than two hours north of Boston.

Maine's legal system specifies five classes of crimes ranging in descending order of severity from Class A to Class E.

Mr. Stracuzzi was being charged with Class D criminal misdemeanors.

To defend him, Mr. Stracuzzi hired criminal defense attorney Sarah Churchill, of the law firm Strike, Goodwin & O'Brien of Portland, Maine. "This firm", according to its Web site, "is engaged exclusively in the practice of criminal law including murder, all felony charges, OUIs, domestic violence, and all related misdemeanor matters."

Attorney Churchill "has handled several high profile criminal matters," according to her Web page, "including murder and gross sexual assault. Her area of practice focuses on criminal trial litigation."

SG&O's Web site also proclaims, "Our goal is to offer each and every one of our clients unparalleled service and dedication to ensure we reach a satisfactory resolution to your case. Should the State be unwilling to resolve your case to your satisfaction, we stand prepared to take the matter to trial."

At his arraignment in Biddeford District Court in August, 2004, Mr. Stracuzzi entered a plea of Not Guilty and requested trial by jury.

The matter was marked up for trial and ultimately transferred to York County Superior Court in Alfred, Maine, the county seat, 13 miles west of Biddeford.

In May 2005, state prosecutor Jeff Moskowitz (now a Maine state court judge) agreed to drop one of the cases against Mr. Stracuzzi along with one of the charges in the remaining case in exchange for Mr. Stracuzzi's guilty plea.

Presiding Judge G. Arthur Brennan accepted Mr. Stracuzzi's guilty plea and, according to The Berkshire Eagle, "On May 25, 2005, Stracuzzi was sentenced in York Superior Court to a 364-day suspended jail sentence and one year of probation after admitting to the misdemeanor charges."

What The Eagle conveniently and inexplicably omits in its report was that Judge Brennan also ordered Mr. Stracuzzi to get "Psychological evaluation, and counseling as needed".

This was a specific condition of Mr. Stracuzzi's probation.

Another probation condition not reported by The Eagle was that Mr. Stracuzzi was to have no contact with either of the two boys, both of whose names are listed on Judge Brennan's no contact order.

It is not publicly known yet whether the Massachusetts Probation Department saw to it that Mr. Stracuzzi obtained the psychological evaluation and counseling ordered by Judge Brennan.

It also is not publicly known yet exactly what Mr. Stracuzzi told his employers, the board of directors at Greylock Federal Credit Union (if indeed he told them anything at all at the time), but it appears that when Mr. Stracuzzi did finally acknowledge to the board his run-in with Biddeford Police, he was less than candid with boardmembers regarding the nature of the original charges against him as well as the subsequent probation conditions set by the Court.

Coincidentally, one of the few officials in Berkshire County having direct and authorized access to Mr. Stracuzzi's entire probation file (after it was transferred to Massachusetts from Maine's Department of Corrections under the Interstate Compact), and whose official responsibility as part of his day job was to be aware of the probation files of offenders under his legal juridiction, was none other than longtime GFCU boardmember Clifford Nilan, the bank's former chairman, who also, according to GFCU's 2009 annual report, "is Chief Probation Officer of Berkshire Superior Court".

[Editor's 24-hour late-breaking update: The board of directors of Greylock Federal Credit Union met with outside counsel on Friday, June 4, 2010 (from a law firm outside Berkshire County not affiliated with any local Berkshire law firms). Mid-afternoon, the board issued the following statement: "The directors of Greylock Federal Credit Union have accepted Angelo Stracuzzi's resignation from the Board of Directors and we have placed him on an administrative leave of absence from his position as CEO, while the board completes a full investigation of potential conflicts of interest. The Board has also accepted the resignation of Director Cliff Nilan. The board took its actions with full appreciation for the years of dedicated service and achievement under their leadership. We have full confidence in the ability of our senior management team to maintain Greylock's standards of excellence. Credit Union members will continue to receive the same level of outstanding service."<<<]

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