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The MSOL met in September at the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office under the direction of MSOL President Paul Corcoran. Middlesex DA Gerard Leone spoke to the members about his top priorities while holding the position – Child Protection & Vulnerable Victims (elderly, disabled). The goals of both the MSOL as well as DA Leone are quite similar and the discussion opened a working relation between the two groups.
DA Leone has been pushing bills through the Legislature in order to stand up for the many victims who suffer in the system. His bill titled “Melissa’s Bill” is named for the sister of one of his employees. Melissa lost her life years ago to a convicted felon stopped to assist her while her vehicle was broken down. The felon had numerous convictions on his BOP, yet had never served significant prison time and was out walking the streets. Melissa’s Bill would keep felons convicted 3 times of a 15 year felon behind bars for the maximum amount of time without any concurrent package deals.
The second bill being pushed by DA Leone is the Sexually Dangerous Persons Bill. This bill would give the government the power to decide whether the case is heard by a judge or a jury. At the present time, the defendant has the power to decide and often chooses a judge over a jury. We all know that if the jury were to hear these cases, then there is no doubt that most of the SDP’s would not be walking around on the streets and causing more pain to previous victims as well as any potential new victims.
In other MSOL news, President Paul Corcoran officially announced the retirements of Ofc Larry Rotondi (Stoneham) and Ofc Mike Kirby (Longmeadow). Both have been long-standing member of the MSOL and both have held the President’s position. We wish both of them a happy and well-deserved retirement. We also have both of them registered as Retired Members and hope to see them at the upcoming meetings now that they have the time to socialize!
Banners for the MSOL Members were completed thanks to Ofc Chris Harrington. A table-cloth banner as well as a wall-hanging banner were completed and are available to any MSOL Member who may be interested in using them. If you have an upcoming event and would like to use the banner, please contact Ofc Paul Corcoran to set up the details.
Special thanks to Ofc Bob Barry, MSOL member Betsy Harris and MSP Lt Eric Anderson for a TERRIFIC MSOL Citizen Safety Award presentation in June. The press coverage was unbelievable and can be viewed again and again on the website. The school was just ecstatic over the award and the MSOL was well-represented.
New handouts have been put on the website for your download pleasure, so check them out. If you have anything you would like posted on the site, please contact Ofc Jennifer
Bellissimo.
Due to the cost that can be associated with the meetings, we are asking all members to kindly
RSVP to the meetings. Those hosting have made comments about pre-planning snafu’s as well as the high costs of the lunches with a lot going to waste at times. We generally have 20-25 people attending, but it can be a huge sigh of relief to the hosts, so please take it into consideration when you receive the notices. We understand that things arise at 9:00am on the day of a meeting, but again, it does help us plan accordingly.
We are also looking to discuss the new vendor for the chairs that are given to retirees. Our previous vendor has closed his shop and we are in desperate need of ordering some for the MSOL. If you know of anyone, please get the information to Ofc Jennifer Bellissimo ASAP as this will be on the table for discussion and decision in October.
See you all in Bolton with the foliage and fresh air!
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