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Local radio personality charged with OUI, attacking trooper

WMEX host and one-time crime reporter Michele McPhee was arraigned today on charges of OUI and attacking the trooper trying to arrest her on an I-93 exit ramp early this morning after he allegedly failed to acknowledge knowing who she was or why that should make him let her go.

According to a State Police report, when Trooper Patrick Candeliere declined her repeated requests to call the head of State Police and the president of the state-trooper's union and instead tried to cuff her, she started a struggle that ended with both of them heading to Tufts Medical Center for observation - in her case, overnight.

At her arraignment in South Boston Municipal Court today, McPhee was released on personal recognizance on charges of OUI, assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and failing to observe marked lanes.

She didn't make her normal 3-6 p.m. shift at WMEX, however. Instead, morning host Joe Ligotti filled in, praising her as "my dear friend, who I love, and support, and cherish" before mentioning that while he drinks coffee, one of his producers drinks tea, perhaps because of "the Asian culture thing."

The report, written by Candeliere said the events leading to McPhee's arrest started around 1 a.m. on I-93 northbound near Savin Hill Avenue when he noticed a Mercedes SUV swerving from lane to lane - at one point coming "within mere inches of sideswiping the jersey barrier on right side of the road."

At the Dot Ave. overpass, Candelliere writes, he turned on his cruiser lights and siren. "The Mercedes, in sequence, declerated, accelerated and declerated, bypassing the Exit 16 off-ramp. The Mercedes came to a slow rolling stop in the right lane beyond the Exit 16 off-ramp in South Boston."

He pulled up, smelled alcohol and asked her why she didn't get off as he tried to get her to do, he writes. He writes she told him she wasn't headed that way, because she was heading home to East Boston. She agreed, however, to get off at Exit 18, which he reports she did, more or less - after rolling the SUV over the curb and onto a sidewalk.

McPhee, who he wrote had bloodshot and glassy eyes and slurred speech, said she'd just gotten off work at WMEX in Marina Bay - in fact, her shift ends at 6 p.m. - and that she'd "defended cops for 30 years."

At his order, she got out of the vehicle, after first making sure to "adjust several knobs and levers on her steering column and dashboard" - and then pulling up her jeans, which were falling down. Then she got chatty:

McPhee reported the following, in order: HS Grad/UMASS Boston Graduate (Bachelor degree "Just barely graduated"), employed as reporter for ABC News and radio host for a radio station in Marina Bay (Quincy), which she identified and I was unable to understand. McPhee state that she has "defended the police for years" and requested that I contact Dana Pullman [president of the state troopers' union] so she could go home. McPhee listed several members of police agencies and Massachusetts State Police Colonel Timothy Alben as friends whom I should contact. McPhee continued by reporting the following during field interview, in order: No medication, not seeing a doctor, no injury, no medical problems, no diabetes. I asked McPhee about how much sleep she had on the previous day and she replied "Zero." I asked McPhee what she had done during the day and she stated "Work." McPhee stated that she got out of work at 9 P.M. and went out with her boyfriend. McPhee stated that she consumed dinner, after work, at Port 305 Restaurant in Marina Bay near the radio station. McPhee reported consuming "steak tips and stuff" for dinner.

McPhee again stated that she has advocated for police for several years and that I should know of her. I asked McPhee how much alcohol she had consumed and she stated, "Nothing ... well some wine at dinner." McPhee did not detail the quantity or total volume of alcoholic beverages that she had consumed."

When the trooper asked her to perform a series of field-sobriety tests, McPhee allegedly told him to "call any trooper, Dana Pullman or the Colonel so I can leave." When he demurred, she refused to do any more tests - at least until he said he felt she had been driving drunk and that he was placing her under arrest.

"Fine I'll do the tests, get me a supervisor!"

The trooper tried to cuff her. McPhee "grew billigerent, resistant and enraged."

McPhee physically counteracted my attempts to place her in handcuffs at the front of the Mercedes. I gained control of McPhee's left arm and she elbowed my chest with her right arm. McPhee proceded to kick her feet, striking me in the legs while stating "I'm calling the Colonel ... let me go ... get a supervisor." I radioed for help on my portable radio of struggling with McPhee for about 1 minute.

The struggle continued until another trooper and a Boston police officer arrived.

Officer Coyne ran to my location and gained control of McPhee's left arm. Officer Coyne, McPhee and I stumbled toward the sidewalk and fell to the ground. I traveled, in the air, over McPhee while still holding her right arm. I lost control of her arm and fell on my left hand, right forarm and right knee. McPhee continued to resist and was placed in hancuffs while on the sidewalk with the assistance of Officer Coyne. McPhee was able to free herself from the handcuff and they were re-applied.

At that point, he noticed blood coming from her face - some of which now coated his left hand and arm. He says she continued her "enraged and condescending statements/behavior" as she was being booked at the South Boston State Police barracks and before she was transported to Tufts - where he went for evaluation himself.

The Herald has her arraignment photo.

Innocent, etc.

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Comments

She has a bright future working for WGBH!

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That is sad, driving drunk on 93. Glad the Trooper stopped her from killing any one else on the road.
Trooper deserves an award!!
.

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I'm thankful the Trooper did his job and did his job but given her attitude it makes one wonder if this isn't the first time she's been pulled over and if other cops did indeed let her off the hook after hearing her name.

Seems hard to believe that's the first time she's driven drunk if that's how she acted upon being pulled over.

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McPhee is apparently engaged to a local firefighter. I'm willing to bet the house an Eastie cop has given her a pass in the past.

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Do you have evidence?

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Of course I have the evidence of every time someone in this town used connections to get out of something! I'm omniscient like that.

Unfortunately for McPhee, she fucked with the Trooper who cared more about a drunk driving a large SUV on a major highway than kowtowing to a brainless fraud who obviously has gotten away with it before.

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"McPhee was able to free herself from the handcuff and they were re-applied."

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It is on the tip of my tongue. I think its a German phrase, but that may be because I am thinking about the USMNT beating Germany yesterday, but what is that word I am looking for? Does anyone know? Anyone?

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Something Freud said about making it in the shade or something?

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This would be Michele's favorite story of the year if it wasn't about Michele.

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Taking pleasure in the misfortune of others?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

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Fahrvergnügen?
Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi hoi hoi?

IMAGE(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd214/HeinousMark/man_show_fox.gif)

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Backpfeifengesicht - a face in need of a fist

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you get the picture...

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But in this case, the Low are laid low.

Love it.

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This must be devastating for her. All those years cheerleading police details didn't pay off.

And she has a voice that's like fingernails on a chalkboard.

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

She has a face for radio and a voice for print.

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I can TOTALLY picture her screeching "Do you know who I am?!" at a state trooper while being cuffed on the side of the road. Based on the photo from the Herald her mugshot must be epic.

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No, but when you show me your drivers license and registration I will.

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In the Herald picture.

Classy broad!

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"Do you know who I am? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"
"Hello, dispatch? Send an ambulance from McLean. We have a woman here who does not know who she is."

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The Michele McPhee Show:

“Starting your day with "the Guy from Boston" Joe Ligotti and driving home with me? Makes a work day worthwhile,” she said.

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What goes around comes around 'eh Michele? Glad no innocent person was injured by her bad judgement.

And as far as the "Don't you know who I am?" routine, well, to read about in the hateful Herald, it's so delicious it's got to be fattening.

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why kick someone when they're down. Leave that to people on talk radio.

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Because local media personalities Jim Braude and Mike Barnicle need to feel redeemed by the failure of others.

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"why kick someone when they're down. Leave that to people on talk radio?"

or

Why kick someone when they're down, they are already on talk radio.

Seriously, if I had to listen to that voice all day and all night, I'd drink too.

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Yeah it's actually kind of disgusting.

Honest question Adam: how would you cover your own arrest if you ever made a mistake? You're usually pretty neutral, but I see a lot of glee coming from this woman's misfortune.

If her biggest folly is that she's "pro-police" then we've really reached rock bottom as a society.

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Changing lanes without looking and causing a collision is a mistake.

Driving drunk is not a mistake. It isn't something you just accidently do without intending to.

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Any more than I'd expect her to write about it. But I suspect some people would take a certain joy in it.

At best, I'd respond to questions from a reporter or two (no sense going hogwild and spending all my time doing interviews when I've got a defense strategy to help my lawyer plan out).

But, then, I don't drive drunk on 93 at 1 a.m. (or any time, for that matter) and don't try to throw my weight around with troopers. I've never been close to being arrested (gotten traffic tickets, yes, but arrested?) so I don't know how I'd react if a cop tried putting me in handcuffs, let alone after a few drinks.

There is a certain irony in a reporter who made her name writing about crime getting arrested, of course. If I did get arrested, I'd like to think it would be for bad Web design or something.

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So happy, in fact, I just sent Gaffin fifty bucks just for making my day!

Thanks!

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not having a UHUB app by now.

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If her biggest folly is that she's "pro-police" then we've really reached rock bottom as a society.

Its not that she was pro-police. Its the fact that she would reflexively take the side of the PD regardless of the story and regardless of the evidence. Its called bias. I tuned her out years ago because of that.

To see her turned on by the very people she idolized, in a way that made her seek special dispensation, when she is beyond offering sympathy to others in a similar situation, is quite enjoying to be honest.

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McPhee maintains a zero tolerance policy when it comes to any and all offenders. This arrest and her exposure as both a drunk and a hypocrite is indeed delicious and I take great glee from it.

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...would be kinda cool.

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If her biggest folly is that she's "pro-police" then we've really reached rock bottom as a society

It's a lot more than that. Anybody who pulls the "Do you know who I am?" stunt deserves all the negative press they get.

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Wealthy person thinks she should get away with driving her Merceds drunk through the streets of Boston because she's a right-wing bloviator... classic. You can't make this $hit up!

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Whether you like her or not did she deserve the black eye. What did she do to get charged with assault attack his fist with her face.

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Are you suggesting a woman is incapable of attacking a man?

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You think it's easy being McPhee? You think it's easy being that stupid on the radio and that arrogant in real life?The two often go very much hand in hand and this incident does not surprise me one bit. Love that picture in the Herald from her court appearance. She looks like one of the girls from Charlestown whose boyfriend left her in jail for the weekend after brawling drunkenly with tourists.

That unconditional support for those cops and fy-ah-fightahs goes right out the window when you're the one in cuffs, eh Michele (One L on Facebook)?

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Maybe she thought the cuffs were just a come-on for something rough?

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you joke that she may have wanted something rough? is that you swirly?

glad to see everyone piling on because I know everyone out here is perfect.

is that a rape joke swirlygrrl?

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Just wondering. Is she a big union supporter or something? I've never been a fan of McPhee, but am always repulsed somewhat by female suspects with black eyes or other injuries sustained during arrest or while in custody. Was she on PCP?

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I got a copy of the state trooper's report, so expanded a tad on my original one paragraph.

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and I can say with some confidence that this Trooper is no dummy and knew precisely what he was doing and the implications thereof for Ms. McPhee.

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If the initial offense occurred near Savin Hill Avenue, Dorchester, the trooper (or someone higher) did her a favor by selecting South Boston District Court on the complaint. Dorchester District Court judges are almost all former prosecutors and very strict on OUI. No good OUI lawyer would ask for a bench trial there so McPhee would have had to take her chances with a jury. Not good odds based on the report. Meanwhile, South Boston judges are known to be more OUI defense friendly. If she gets a sympathetic judge, she may walk.

She wasn't always police friendly. My only dealing with her came several years back. She was on the radio, outraged that the Peabody police accepted the city's offer of taking September 11 as a paid holiday, in lieu of a regular step raise. Even though this saved the city money, she was angry that because she had been at Ground Zero (after the fact) and Peabody is hundreds of miles away, it was offensive. In a rare call-in, I asked her, "Were you in Selma with Dr. King?" Then how dare you take MLK Day as a holiday. Were you in Bethlehem in the manger? How dare you take Christmas! She then accused me of not being a cop and cut me off.

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South Boston judges are known to be more OUI defense friendly

Color me shocked.

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Thank you all for your comments. I laughed so hard. This just made my day.

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"I'm calling the Colonel ... let me go ... get a supervisor."

IMAGE(http://franchisopedia.com/public/files/richeditor/publications/colonel_sanders_KFC.jpg)

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And tomorrow after the punishing hangover the remorse will set in ... Perhaps she will be thankful that she was arrested and therefore saved from waking up as a killer because that can happen when you drive under the influence.

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When have you ever seen a right winger admit fault to anything? McPhee probably spent this morning trying to get Joe Sciacca to spike the story,but when the Globe ran with it....uh-oh!

Then she probably started calling every cop or firefighter she ever slept with (even the married ones) trying to get this squashed. Failing that she will probably spend this evening planning to go the full Michael Graham on this cop who had the temerity to keep her from killing someone. Meaning she will try to make this a little guy versus the system, the way the other slime Graham did when he got pinched for a license violation and used it as fodder for his show for ages.

In any case, McPhee's mainstream career may thankfully be over and she will relegated to low wattage AM stations...like the one she may or may not be at now.

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No, please keep her off WJIB. Thank you.

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She's a frequent guest on Howie Carr and Dennis & Callahan. Listened to Howie fora short time today and heard nothing.

Wonder if D&C address tomorrow morning? If she was a Globe personality, they'd devote all four hours to the story.

Standard playbook has her checking into rehab this weekend and making herself part victim.

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You don't actually think for one second that Carr would ever eviscerate a fellow rightie and local talker? Maybe if she wasn't white and Irish,ya know?

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Wiki says:
>>McPhee grew up in Wakefield, MA and is of Italian American descent

She did serve as Howie's designated fill in for awhile and occasionally called in to his show on certain stories; while that ended with her hiring by WMEX, as she now competes against him,
he did give it a good leaving alone today. No "bad ice cube"; "drinkin' doubles don't make a party".

Howie himself was involved in a rollover on the Mass. Pike a wk or so before his debut (on WMEX at the time) with his show under his own control. He was wearing his seat belt and had he not been doing so, could have been killed--perhaps in reference to this, his intro has Dana Hersey saying "Better strap yourself in!"

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She was also Howie's lead-in a few years ago...did the early-afternoon shift at RKO. Ironically, she replaced Jen Brien, who had her own issues working overnights at WBZ.

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he says "strap yourselves in" so that Howie's geriatric base will buckle their seat belt while driving. It could also refer to the 4 hours of racism,xenophobia, support for white domestic terrorists, mispronouncing any word with more than three syllables and overall stupidity that one might need to be strapped in to listen to.

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Boston Metro Journalism has been failing to cover Boston City Hall in depth, failed to cover the Audits at Shattuck Hospital
http://www.mass.gov/auditor/

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Are you OCD or something?

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Are you OCD or something?

So what if he is?

It's not a sin, or a crime, or mean-spirited, you know.

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From her Facebook page on Monday:

McPhee: Would you throw away $800,000?

H/t Mark

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Something tells me that the Eastie Badge Bunny isn't pulling down 800 large.

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Proud defender of the First Amendment and always the first to try people in the media, Michele (one L on Facebook!) McPhee, everyone!

After the story broke yesterday, Herald commenters were merciless in their vitriol towards McPhee's hypocrisy. So much so that a comment posted by me on her Facebook page was summarily scrubbed and now McPhee has cut off non-friends from posting anything on her FB "fan" page.

So this vile woman who has made a career out of zero tolerance towards law breakers and likes to make the poor guys up at Gerry's Italian Kitchen look like supporters of terrorists while real supporter of terrorists and McPhee pal Howie Carr gets a pass. Now when her own methods are used against her, she clams up like 9 year old runner.

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What's the backstory to this?

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for Gerry's. So in McPhee's bloodshot and glassy eyes they were as guilty as she now apparently is.

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Listening in so you don't have to, Michele (one L on Facebook!) McPhee returned to the airwaves today, after a statement was issued by her radio station saying that yes, they still exist and PLEASE listen to us and they stand behind McPhee 100% or until her ratings tank or she's convicted, whichever comes first.

So, in a classic move reminiscent of Rush Limbaugh's non admission to being a pillhead, McPhee started her show by pulling the old "when the real facts come out, I'll be exonerated" routine. She then thanked the WMEX "family" for their support of her, forgetting to mention that it was this "family" that let her drive home drunk from Quincy where MEX is located. Leaving out the fact that this is nothing more than a disgusting attempt to capitalize on the old "no such thing as bad publicity" meme.

She then proceeded her not so clever attempt at obfuscation by falling into the old ISIS is coming routine. Even having the balls to call the dead suspect from the CVS shooting and his cousin "lowlifes" before the facts on their lives and guilt are fully known. So while she started her show claiming that she was innocent and that we should all wait until the facts come out, she then tried to try two people on her show by calling them terrorists and lowlifes.

A Facebook page has been started by people who will be at her trial on August 4. I will be there if anyone else wants to come and see a real terrorist on trial...

https://www.facebook.com/events/1014071395270050/1014446031899253/

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Without fucking her up? Not too impressed, really. And that photo killed my schadenfreude buzz...pity kicked in at that point. She doesn't look good at all. Might be AA time.

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"...before mentioning that while he drinks coffee, one of his producers drinks tea, perhaps because of "the Asian culture thing."

Is that supposed to be a politically incorrect statement or something? Americans drink a lot of coffee. Asians drink a lot of tea. So do the British. That's an obvious fact.
Depending on your heritage you may be more inclined to drink one or another.
I'm getting really tired of this PC stuff from "reporters" and the mainstream media.
It's made people afraid to say anything. We have to say the "n" word instead of the full word even when just referring to it in conversation.
It's become absurd. Americans have become really, really stupid.

Also, why is that even part of this article? It has nothing at all to do with it. Who writes this bunk?

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