Councilor Mike Ross reports the council passed a home-rule petition yesterday:

... When a foreclosure occurs on a rental property, this bill gives the renter the right to stay in their home, so long as they continue to pay the rent they were paying prior to foreclosure, and assuming they remain a tenant in good standing. This situation remains until one of two things happen:

1. The lender sells the foreclosed property to a new landlord or owner, who has the right to select their own tenants if they so choose; or

2. The lender still owns the property upon arrival of the law's sunset clause, which is two years from passage (with the possibility of a third year extension if approved by the council and mayor).

The lender is required to notify the tenants of the foreclosure, so the tenant doesn't continue to pay rent to the old owner - something which we have seen happen quite frequently. ...

The proposal needs approval of the state Legislature and the governor to become law. Ross says some 2,000 apartments in Boston have been affected by foreclosure over the past year and that he expects that number to rise, with Roxbury, Mattapan, Dorchester and Hyde Park being hit hardest.

Promo for a documentary by the Hyde Square Task Force's Health Career Ambassadors on youth violence in Boston:

Info on the documentary's premiere, May 29 at the John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute, Northeastern University.

Man in his 20s, around 7:10 a.m., 19 Oakcrest Rd. Pronounced dead at the scene.

A mall developer wants to turn the old Bay State Paper mill on River Street into a mall with room for at least three "big box" retailers, the Hyde Park Bulletin reports. But first they have to come up with a name, since 892 River St. isn't all that exciting.

Left Ahead posts an hour-long interview with Chang-Diaz, making her second run for the 2nd Suffolk Senate seat now held by Dianne Wilkerson.

Boston Police report on three separate armed attacks yesterday:

Sometime yesterday, a man in Mattapan was jumped by five guys at 1216 Blue Hill Ave., one of whom smashed him in the head with a brick. He managed to get himself to the hospital, then called police after spotting two of his attackers on the way home.

Two alleged thugs, both 19 and both from Dorchester, were arrested. One of them, Andre Malabre, was arrested last year on drug-possession charges in what police said was a crackdown on the Lucerne Street Dogz gang. The other, Omar Jackson, was profiled in a 2006 Globe article about the difficulties high-school dropouts face in finding jobs (he dropped out as a freshman to watch after his new son):

Young people without diplomas and jobs, Jackson said, end up "hustling for money," including selling drugs.

Around 1:49 a.m. yesterday, a man walking in the Southwest Corridor park at Garrison Street, was attacked by two guys, one of whom had a knife. After he complied with their demand for his money, one of them punched him in the face. Police say they found and arrested one of the two attackers.

Around 11:15 p.m. yesterday, a man reported his partner showed up at his door at 17 Creston St. and punched him in the face:

... While fleeing the scene, the suspect struck a parked car on Creston Street. The suspect then veered towards a responding police cruiser. A description of the suspect's motor vehicle was promptly broadcast over the police radio. Officers soon located the motor vehicle and were able to stop the car in the area of Sydney Street. Once stopped, the suspect took off on foot in an effort to make good his escape. After a brief foot pursuit, officers arrested Edwin Robles, 38, of Dorchester and charged him with Assault & Battery (209A), Assault & Battery By Means of a Dangerous Weapon (car) and Destruction of Personal Property. All in all, the suspect struck several vehicles in his effort to escape police. Two officers were transported to the Boston Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. ...

Boston Police report a pizza-delivery guy was held up around 11 last night by three guys with a baseball bat on Kendall Street in Roxbury. Police say they quickly found three guys with a baseball bat - and the delivery guy's cell phone. Aged 19, 16 and 14.

That was about 2 1/2 hours after police arrested a 14-year-old from West Roxbury (yep) in Mattapan on illegal-gun and pot possession charges after they responded to a report of shots being fired.

And that arrest in turn came about three hours after police arrested five guys - three still in their teens - at 11 Lorne St. in Dorchester on illegal-weapons charges (and trespassing).

Innocent, etc.

Reynoso

Rosado

Booking photos from
the Suffolk County
DA's office.

Jesus Reynoso, 44, of Roslindale, and his alleged bagman and enforcer, Victor Rosado, 39, of Mattapan, were arrested today by State Police, who used hidden GPS devices to track them down after an investigation that started in January, 2007. Some 30 other people were also arrested in "Operation Barbershop."

The Suffolk County District Attorney's office charges Reynoso put together a network of bookie joints at stores across Boston and in Lawrence, Leominster, and Worcester that alllegedly brought in more than $1 million a year.

Boston locations raided:

• Eclipse Boutique, 450 Hyde Park Ave., Roslindale
• Vimar Designs, 3205 Washington St., Jamaica Plain
• D&D Communications, 3142 Washington St., Jamaica Plain
• Super Mario, 3115 Washington St., Roxbury
• D'Palace, 3094 Washington St., Roxbury
• Tony's Travel, 3108 Washington St., Roxbury
• Thalia Beauty Salon, 338 Blue Hill Ave., Dorchester
• Gentileza's Market, 140 Bowdoin St., Dorchester
• La Fama Barbershop, 180 Maverick Sq., East Boston

Officials say that, like any good franchiser, Reynoso set the shops up with the tools of the trade:

Evidence developed in the course of more than a year indicates that Reynoso and Rosado set up illegal betting franchises in area barbershops and other businesses. The ringleaders provided each of their operatives with a laptop and other equipment allowing them to take and record wagers. Surveillance has demonstrated that these betting parlors were frequented by convicted drug dealers and may have been used to launder drug money. The figures who ran these individual franchises are believed to have handed 60% of their profits over to Reynoso and kept the remainder for themselves.

Ironically, Boston Police and Suffolk prosecutors began their investigation after one of the stores - the La Fama barbershop in East Boston - was held up in January, 2007, DA Dan Conley said:

The unknown perpetrators handcuffed the owner to a radiator and pistol-whipped him to find money. Subsequently, we uncovered evidence of an organized, illegal gambling enterprise that stretched far beyond this one venue. With the assistance of our law enforcement partners, the evidence we followed ultimately led to the network leaders and all of the various locations that are being searched today.

He added:

Make no mistake: this was not a harmless neighborhood lottery or sports book. It was a gambling enterprise where the game was rigged in favor of the ring and it was fraught with violence and corruption. Every dollar that went into this ring was a dollar stolen from the Commonwealth and its residents. Not only did its principals deprive the state of tax revenue on more than a million dollars a year, they regularly deprived players of their winnings when it suited their purposes.

If you know your babymomma's gone to police to complain about how you were threatening to "start popping people off," and you decide to go to the police station yourself to complain about how she's violated a restraining order by talking to you, you'll want to leave your gun at home, especially if you've loaded it with nine bullets.

If you're going to try passing a forged check, you should start with an amount somewhat lower than $85,950 - even if it is a downtown bank more used to such large amounts.

And if you've just tried to disassemble a Jeep that isn't yours and then try hiding in a liquor store, you don't want to exclaim "How the $@/! did you get here so fast?" when the cops enter the store.

The preceding tips courtesy of the Boston Police Department.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx4gM_B17RE

MA State Representative Martin Walsh speaking at the State House on 3/18/2008.
Starting out Rep. Walsh says that he would support making alcohol illegal.

He moves on to the disproven propaganda about marijuana being a gateway drug. He also seems to completely ignore the fact that people in his own district are having trouble finding work after being arrested for one joint, 10 years ago.

And somewhere in the rant, Walsh blows off the majority of voters in his district (57%), who have voted for marijuana decrim.

Is this guy for real?