Top Stories - August 17, 2006

Former Comverse executives charged

Two of the three former top executives at Comverse Technology in Wakefield charged with manipulating stock options and pocketing millions of dollars were arraigned in a Brooklyn court Aug. 9.

According to the charges, the former executives, CEO Kobi Alexander, 54, CFO David Kreinberg, 41, and senior general counsel William Sorin, 56, conspired to manipulate stock options by falsifying the dates on which they were granted. Kreinberg and Sorin surrendered to authorities and will enter pleas later. The conspiracy charges - to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud - are punishable by up to five years in prison. The company wasn’t charged.

But Alexander, who has dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship, has not surrendered, his whereabouts are unknown and an arrest warrant has been issued for him. He wired "nearly $60 million" to Israel last month, the government said, and authorities have seized $45 million from two U.S. investment accounts in Alexander’s name.

Town counsel critical of schools' new food policy

In the wake of last week’s School Committee vote to institute a strict food allergy policy regarding all food served on school property, the Board of Selectmen this week heard from Town Counsel Thomas Mullen regarding the town’s liability when it comes to food sold by youth sports organizations at concession stands on town playing fields.
Mullen also cast doubt on the need for the stringent new food allergy policy recently adopted by the School Committee.

The School Committee voted unanimously last week to implement a strict food allergy policy in order to decrease liability if a child were to become sick or, worse, die due to an allergic reaction to food served on school property.

The school policy effectively bans all homemade foods including cookies, brownies, cakes, pies and other items from being sold or served on school property. The new policy states that all food served publicly on school property in Wakefield, including at sporting events, must be through Chartwells, a contracted food vendor deemed safe by the School Committee. Chartwells runs the school lunch program.

The Committee was concerned about liability should an allergic student come into even incidental contact with peanut products or other allergy-triggering foods served or sold on school property.

Selectman Stephen P. Maio initiated the discussion at the board’s meeting this week. Maio pointed out that there are a number of concession stands on town-owned athletic fields, including Fernald, Nasella and Moulton fields, where booster clubs sell food items to raise money for their particular youth sports programs.

What are your thoughts on the new allergy policy?

Fire destroys Hyde Park church

A five-alarm fire destroyed a wood-framed church in Hyde Park Thursday night, sending two people to the hospital for treatment and causing an estimated $1 million in a "total loss" of the property, fire officials said.

Paramedics took a man to Brigham and Women’s Hospital who suffered non-life-threatening burns to his head and shoulders, said Kevin MacCurtain, acting commissioner of the Boston Fire Department.

He said the man was in the process of moving into one of several apartments attached to the church on Hyde Park Avenue, which he said was named the Hyde Park Christian Church. A website listing the church and its address said it was an evangelical church linked to the Grace Christian Fellowship.

“It’s everything -- we’ve lost everything,” said Oscar Mendez, 61, who has been a member of the church for seven years. “It’s a sad sight.”

Smile! You’re on Matt Amorello’s candid camera

The Romney administration is investigating six hidden cameras found in Turnpike Authority headquarters that gave ousted chairman Matthew Amorello the ability to monitor workers from a storage room next to his office, officials said yesterday.

The cameras, concealed behind smoke detectors, were discovered during a review of Turnpike Authority operations following Amorello’s resignation. The deposed Big Dig boss left office Tuesday amid allegations of mismanagement and secrecy following the July 10 tunnel collapse that killed Milena Del Valle.

(Sources: Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Observer, Boston Herald, Boston Globe)