Fed prosecutor Lelling and Framingham's host agreements
I suspect the Mayor and her team of obstructionists will have a hard time explaining the deals made with the 6 operators. It's extortion all day long.
The U.S. Attorney in Boston has sent subpoenas to a number of Massachusetts communities in a wide-ranging corruption probe.
By Neal McNamara , Patch Staff
Nov 7, 2019 8:10 pm ET | Updated Nov 7, 2019 8:14 pm ET
Framingham COO Thatcher Kezer told the City Council on Thursday that Framingham has been asked to hand over documents to a grand jury. (Shutterstock)
FRAMNGHAM, MA — Framingham is among a handful of Massachusetts communities being asked to hand over records related to cannabis store licensing, the mayor's office told the City Council on Thursday. The U.S. Attorney in Boston is probing potential corruption in license negotiations.
The subpoenas — which also hit Boston, Brookline, and Newton this week — come after U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling charged Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia in September with extorting marijuana vendors for more than $600,000 to secure a host agreement.
Framingham has negotiated agreements with six marijuana retailers. None have opened yet, but one, Cultivate, has advertised that its Worcester Road location will open soon.
"Framingham, like many of the Massachusetts communities negotiating and awarding host community agreements, has received an FBI subpoena for records and is working to comply," Framingham Chief Operating Officer Thatcher Kezer told the Council on Thursday night, adding that the city has no other details to release.
As part of the licensing procedure at the local level, the recreational cannabis retailer must work together on and then sign a Host Community Agreement. The agreements have been controversial, as they typically require the retailer to make payments to the host community.
State law is murky on what is and is not acceptable. The state says municipalities can only collect up to 3 percent of revenue for five years, and that the money be used to offset impact related to hosting the stores. But communities have argued the law does not prevent them from collecting separate fees or requiring the retailers to make donations.
Communities including Great Barrington, Eastham, Leicester, Northampton, and Uxbridge have also received subpoenas.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 10:38 AM
8 Comments
8 Comments:
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I think Framingham along with several other communities just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, a cookie jar filled with pot laced cookies.
gotta ask. Does this mean we might lose the money the mayor negotiated for? All the money, or just part of it. I don't get the way this all works, sorry.
I have been railing for a long time about how unfair this practice is just as you have Jim. We don't charge any other retail establishment a fee for us to host their store so why do that to pot shops and no one listened to me. I even had a city councilor who is leaving that position tell me that it was the least these stores could do in order to "contaminate" our city. Seems like it is a good thing that counselor is leaving as she clearly did not know what she was talking about. This is illegal folks and about time someone stopped them from doing this.
besides losing the money from the host agreement this could cost us big time in legal fees right
As I see it... the Feds will have the right to do a forensic audit on the CHA (community host agreement. If they find something then there could be trouble. And yes lots of legal. I don't personally think it's as bad as that Corria fella down in Fall River. He was just to blatant about accepting bribes.
I seem to remember reading about some up front payments 50 K maybe from one of the playas. And keep in mind.. the Mayor and her hounchos will have to show every detail of the agreements. I'm hoping they don't find anything illegal.
And please don't forget... all this this could have been prevented, if the legislature and Governor didn't repeal and replace the ballot question. None of this would have happened imo.
This is going to either make the mayor look really good, or really bad. Will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Thanks for keeping us informed on this Jim
Today I learned that the Mayor of Boston returned 3k in campaign donations from companies looking to set up shop. I haven't had the time to see who has contributed to any locals, but I'm guessing there are a few that have received money form companies that want to set-up here as well.
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