East Boston

Marco Tulio Flores, now 19, today pleaded guilty to strangling Jaime Galdamez with a dog chain and then setting his body on fire after years of sexual abuse, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Flores accepted the voluntary-manslaughter sentence rather than face a murder charge for the 2011 death of Jaime Galdemez, the DA's office says.

"This was a just resolution to an utterly tragic case," DA Dan Conley said. "It provides accountability for a life that was taken cruelly, but it also recognizes the strong mitigating factors and the potential outcomes at trial."

According to the DA's office:

Five Logan Airport "cab starters" arrested in February were indicted yesterday by a Suffolk County grand jury for allegedly taking bribes from cabbies to move them up in the queue at the airport.

At Suffolk Business School's "Build Boston" forum about casinos last Thursday morning, Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, shared a brief, private chat with No Eastie Casino co-chair Celeste Ribeiro Myers. Crosby conveyed the commission's goal to facilitate a process wherein communities see as many benefits and as few consequences as possible from expanded gambling. Myers politely shared with Crosby her concerns that "communities are being worked by the process instead of the other way around." She also shared her frustration at community members' inability to get any real data or answers from Suffolk Downs or the City.

Richard C. Lynds forwarded this photo of a deer, taken by Barbie Gambale Puopolo tonight in the Ohabei Shalom Cemetery, between Wordsworth and Byron in East Boston.

A man wound up on the tracks at Airport station around 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. The train operator managed to stop the train before hitting him. An MBTA spokesman declined to say how the man ended up on the tracks but said he was not seriously hurt (click to see a photo from the scene, forwarded by Heath - it's not gory, but could be disturbing).

Around 1 p.m. today, Jenn Martinelli reports:

A guy just fell on the tracks at Maverick Station right before the train arrived. 3 people jumped right down to help. The train was almost at the station and they just jumped right down and got him.

A disgusted citizen holds her nose as she reports on the disgusting conditions on Meridian Street:

LiveEastie.com interviews one of the owners of Shuckin' Truck, which now serves up seafood in East Boston.

We do try to source our seafood from the family of fishing vessels in RI. However, due to the fact that we now operate 7 days a week, it's hard for them to keep up with the demand. Our secondary source is directly from the Boston Pier every morning.

At 6:22, Miza reported:

Beware of blue line, 2 trains full dumped off at Suffolk Downs due to wire issues. No shuttles.

The T eventually did start shuttle service, using Silver Line buses, which, of course, led to delays on the Silver Line.

John Antonellis is our guest writer on today's post. John has been a resident of Eagle Hill in East Boston for close to 15 years and a homeowner there for 12. He is the Lead Instructor at the Harvard Bridge Program, a worker education program for employees at Harvard University.

Something stinks in East Boston, and it isn't the litter and garbage that we're fond of bemoaning. It isn't the piles of horse manure from the stalls at Suffolk Downs, but you're getting close. On Wednesday night the stench was emanating from a meeting to present and garner community input on Suffolk Downs' plan to improve the roadways around the proposed casino - put on by the mayor's Host Community Advisory Committee's (HCAC). Or was the meeting run by Suffolk Downs? From an observer's point of view, it was hard to tell the difference, since audience members were forced to stare at the Suffolk Downs/Caesars (SDC) logo for a half-hour as we waited for the meeting to start.

Owen Williams was among the hundreds of people in a world-class line for non-existent cabs at one Logan terminal around 1 a.m. today.

"Nice welcome for marathoners," adds Catboston, also in the line.

Blue Line service was shut around 10:15 a.m. to let Boston firefighters remove a woman from under a train. A T spokesman said the woman was alive when extricated, adds, "She did not fall. She was not pushed."

The Boston Fire Department reports a fire called in at 5:36 p.m. at 96 Chelsea St. did an estimated $200,000.

Two firefighters were taken to Mass. General, the department says, adding five of the building's six apartments were unoccupied to allow for renovations.

The cause remains under investigation.

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m. The T reports regular service has resumed.

The T is warning Blue Line passengers to expect "significant delays" this afternoon following a train slipping off the rails at Orient Heights.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo reports the train was moving from the Orient Heights train yard onto the main tracks around 2:40 p.m., so it wasn't carrying any passengers. The T has swapped in buses for trains between Suffolk Downs and Airport.

The East Boston Times-Free Press reports on the return of the lit hillside cross.

Boston Police report Pericola's, 11 Bennington St., was held up by two men with guns and plastic handcuffs around 2:30 p.m. yesterday:

The Globe reports Vornado Realty Trust, which left a giant gaping sore in the heart of downtown, is pulling out of the Suffolk Downs casino proposal because state officials dared to ask it for detailed financial information on its executives, to make sure they aren't actually organized crime figures or illegal ivory importers or something.

If a casino comes to Boston, it will arrive with the full-throated support of Boston's mayor and East Boston's city counselor, representative, and senator. Our local leaders – including those who grew up here and know Eastie the best – risked everything they'd helped East Boston become and threw their support behind the statewide casino bill and the idea of expanded gambling at Suffolk Downs.

They didn't always support a casino here, though:

Boston Police report a would-be robber who fled a Meridian Street Mobil station empty handed when the clerk started yelling at him is wanted for at least eight other holdups in Chelsea, Everett and Lynn since the beginning of February.

The man - black, middle aged, wearing a gray hoodie, a dark jacket and dark sunglasses - always either displays a gun or motions as if he has one in the convenience stores and gas stations he holds up.

If you know him, give A-7 detectives a call at 617-343-4234 or contact the anonymous tip line by calling 800-494-TIPS or texting TIP to CRIME (27463).

Robber acts like he has a gun. Surveillance photo via BPD. Boson Police report a clerk at the ExxonMobil station at 470 Meridian St. was scared, but determined, when a would-be robber began motioning as if he had a gun in his waistband shortly after 7 last night:

The victim observed the suspect's hands reaching for his waistband area and at the same time stated "Come on, come on.. Just give me the money." The victim refused to give the suspect the money and he repeated his statement again. The victim refused again and yelled at the suspect "Just get out of here." The victim stated that the suspect then walked out of the store and headed in the direction of the Shore Plaza Development.

If you know the guy, give A-7 detectives a call at 617-343-4234 or contact the anonymous tip line by calling 800-494-TIPS or texting TIP to CRIME (27463).

The Boston Fire Department's arson squad is investigating a first-floor fire at 170 Maverick St., reported around 9 p.m. that sent a woman to the hospital with serious burns. The Red Cross estimates 45 people were briefly displaced by the fire before being allowed back into their homes.

mit·i·ga·tion /?mit?'gaSH?n/ (noun) - The action of reducing the severity, seriousness or painfulness of something

As you read this, a committee hand-picked by Mayor Menino is behind closed doors figuring out how much Caesars and Suffolk Downs will have to pay the city back for building a casino that sucks income from local businesses while increasing its crime, traffic, pollution and gambling addiction rates. It's called "mitigation," and it's essentially how casino companies get cities to even consider welcoming them.

The Boston Licensing Board last week gave Cafe Gigu, 102 Meridian St., permission to stay open until 1 a.m.

The cafe had previously had to shut at 9:30 p.m. Owner Gina Guerrero told the board she'd been getting increasing number of requests from customers for a place where they could unwind later or even hold business meetings.

The mayor's office supported the general idea, but asked that closing time be midnight.

Join Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders at our annual Summer Party held outside in the heart of Provincetown, MA on Saturday, July 27 from 4:00-7:00PM. Enjoy the view of the harbor, mingle with other GLAD supporters and learn more about our ground-breaking cases.

Tickets are $75 online | $85 on site | $30 student
Purchase at www.glad.org/events.

Don't miss our amazing auction and celebrity auctioneer Kate Clinton. You don't have to be present to win. Travel packages, restaurants, massages, and much more - something for everyone!

Children are welcome to attend (at no charge) and will enjoy a range of fun activities.

Delicious summer fare and refreshing cocktails provided.

More information, tickets and sponsorships are available at www.glad.org/events.

Boston Police report five street holdups in the Maverick area between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. since last Thursday.

In all of the cases, victims were approached by two or more men, who then relieved them of their cash and, if they have them, cell phones. In two cases, the robbers wore black and white bandanas; also in two cases, the robbers displayed handguns.

The most recent holdup was at 10:49 p.m. on Monday at Orleans Street. Two white, bandana-clad males, demanded the victim hand over her phone. The day before, at 1:20 a.m. at Gove and Paris streets, a man was ordered to hand over his phone by three black males.

A pair of alleged thieves in East Boston proved no match for the mettle of Boston and Chelsea coppers, who arrested them on charges they stole galvanized steel from an East Boston marina.