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Three-Year Extension Of Springfield Pawn Shop Moratorium Appears Likely
By PAUL TUTHILL
The city council in Springfield, Massachusetts has voted to extend a moratorium on new pawn shops for an additional three years.
City Councilor Tom Ashe, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, asked the council to extend the moratorium on licensing new pawn shops and secondhand stores to June 30, 2019. Ashe held several hearings across the city during the past six months and said he found not one person who was against extending the moratorium.
" I have not heard,on any occasion, any group saying we could use more pawn shops," said Ashe.
The council gave first-step approval Monday night to the ordinance extending the pawn shop moratorium for another three years. Final approval is expected at the June 27th council meeting.
Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri said the 42 pawn shops and junk dealers currently licensed in the city is a manageable number for police to keep tabs on.
" If you have an item stolen, you want the police department to have a fair shot to make the rounds to all the secondhand junk dealers and pawn shops to make every effort to try to recover your property," said Barbieri.
He urged the council to extend the moratorium on new pawn shops for three years. He said the MGM casino, which is scheduled to open in September 2018, could be a magnet for pawn shop operators.
" If you look at other casino cities, generally there are business people who like to open used car lots and pawn shops because it is a quick way for people to get cash, if they have a gambling addiction. The city has to be concerned about people who are addicted and we have to very careful about the people we grant licenses to," said the police commissioner.
In addition to putting a temporary ban on new stores in 2014, the city council put tougher regulations on pawn shops and secondhand stores. Used goods must be held for 30 days before being put up for sale. The stores were required to replace handwritten log books of their inventory with a computerized record including photographs of jewelry.
After the new rules took effect, police conducted stings at several shops. As a result of the investigations, licenses for three pawn shops were revoked and fines were levied against five more stores.
" It seems as though the pawn shops are very cooperative ( now). We have not seen the shenanigans we saw in the past," said Barbieri. " We are happy with the ( pawn shops) we currently have."
In a report to the city council’s Public Safety Committee, Springfield police detailed more than a dozen cases where jewelry, electronics, and other property stolen from residences throughout western Massachusetts were recovered from pawn shops.
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Former Worcester property manager gets probation, ordered to pay $60K she stole from employer
Posted Jun. 21, 2016
WORCESTER - A woman charged with stealing from her former employer to fuel a gambling addiction was placed on probation and ordered to pay $60,000 in restitution Tuesday in Central District Court.
Jenilee Derosiers, 31, whose address is listed in court records as 4 Wyman St., admitted to sufficient facts for a guilty finding on a charge of larceny of more than $250 by a single scheme involving the theft of at least $60,000 from Hampton Properties, a Worcester-based real estate development and apartment-rental company where she worked for several years before being charged last October.
Judge Michael G. Allard-Madaus continued the larceny charge without a finding for three years, during which time Ms. Derosiers will be on probation. As conditions of probation, Ms. Derosiers was ordered to to pay a total of $60,000 in restitution, $10,000 of it by Friday, and to continue undergoing counseling for her gambling problem. The balance of the restitution is to be paid at a rate of at least $500 a month, and the judge said he would consider reducing the period of probation if the money is paid in full sooner.
Ms. Derosiers' lawyer, Peter L. Ettenberg, had asked Judge Allard-Madaus to continue the larceny charge without a finding for two years with an order of restitution. Assistant District Attorney Nathan Morse did not object to probation and a restitution order, but asked the judge to find Ms. Derosiers guilty.
According to a statement of facts filed in court by Worcester Detective Michael Tarckini, the thefts occurred on various dates from early 2013 until about Aug. 28, 2015. Ms. Derosiers, who worked as a property manager for Hampton Properties, received rental payments and security deposits from tenants in the form of cash, and kept some or all of the monies for her personal use, investigators alleged. It was also alleged that Ms. Derosiers altered the company's financial records to cover up her thefts.
While agreeing to accept $60,000 in restitution, Russell Haims, president of Hampton Properties, said he believed the amount stolen by Ms. Derosiers was closer to $95,000, and possibly as high as $135,000.
In support of his request that Ms. Derosiers be found guilty, Mr. Morse noted that the charge against her involved a significant amount of money. The prosecutor told the court that Mr. Haims had caught Ms. Derosiers stealing from him once before, but had given her a second chance after she paid back the money.
Mr. Haims said in an impact statement that Ms. Derosiers breached the trust he had placed in her. He said his former employee was paid a salary and commissions, and was provided with three new vehicles and a cellphone during the course of her employment.
"Little did I know that she was stealing from me for so long," he told the judge. Calling the thefts "calculating" and "cold-hearted," Mr. Haims said he had to pay forensic auditors $60,000 to methodically go through the transactions involving Ms. Derosiers, and was forced to sell two properties to meet his company's financial obligations.
Mr. Ettenberg said his client, who grew up in Southbridge, had no prior criminal record. He told Judge Allard-Madaus Ms. Derosiers had taken steps to address her gambling addiction, which Mr. Morse said had been evidenced by the discovery of scratch tickets in her desk.
After the thefts were first reported to authorities, Ms. Derosiers met with police and prosecutors and was "totally forthcoming," according to her lawyer.
Knowing she would have to pay restitution, Ms. Derosiers began working two jobs, and she and her fiance cut back on their expenses, so she could make the anticipated monthly restitution payments, Mr. Ettenberg said. He added that Ms. Derosiers was hoping to obtain a loan or receive financial contributions from her family to help her pay restitution.
While there had been no publicity concerning her criminal case prior to Tuesdays's court hearing, Mr. Ettenberg pointed out that a reporter was present in court, and said he feared the media coverage might jeopardize her employment status.
"The press is here. There's going to be an article. She could lose both her jobs," Mr. Ettenberg told Judge Allard-Madaus.
"The damage that you did is significant," the judge told Ms. Derosiers. He said the continuance without a finding, which would enable Ms. Derosiers to avoid having a felony conviction, was "a tremendous opportunity for you to rehabilitate yourself."
The judge continued Ms. Derosiers' case to Sept. 20 for what he called a "90-day review" and said she would have to inform the court of any change in her employment.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20160621/NEWS/160629884
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