A Marion official, his wife, and a retired Carver official now face embezzlement allegations in a civil suit filed by the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District on June 22.

Former Executive Director of the CMWRRDD Ray Pickles, his wife Diane Bondi-Pickles, and retired Carver Health Agent Robert C. Tinkham Jr. are accused of embezzling $838,457 of public money over a five-year period in a lawsuit that charges Pickles et al. with nine different counts, including Fraud, Conversion and Civil Theft, and Civil Conspiracy.

According to documents The Wanderer acquired from the Plymouth Superior Court on Friday, June 29, “Pickles, without the [CMWRRDD] Committee’s authorization, withdrew more than $295,548.00 of the District’s funds for his own personal use … including $113,321 in unauthorized checks and more than $150,000 in cash withdrawals from 2016-2018 and $31,227 in mileage reimbursements from 2012-2017.”

Those withdrawals, the complaint states, had no supporting purchase orders, bills, receipts, or other documentation to prove their legitimacy.

Pickles also allegedly reimbursed himself $13,793 in fuel costs for fuel he used for his personal boat.

The complaint states that the civil action stems from the misappropriation of public funds from the CMWRRDD “by its former consultant and his wife, [Tinkham], and fictitious corporations they created to defraud the citizens of Carver, Marion, and Wareham, by embezzling public funds for their own personal use.”

Under Moss Hollow Management Corporation, listed under Bondi-Pickles, Pickles paid himself an additional $281,909 between July 1, 2012 and January 2018, in addition to his salary.

Moss Hollow, also named as a defendant, was involuntarily dissolved by the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division on June 30, 2017 for an unstated reason, but Pickles continued to make payments to himself via the defunct corporation, says the complaint.

Tinkham, who was assigned to perform inspections of the Carver landfill that was under Pickles’ management, is accused of conspiring with Pickles “to personally convert more than $262,000.00 of the District’s funds for his own personal use from 2010-2018.”

His two companies, 33-35 Wareham Street, LLC, and 33-35 Wareham Street, are also listed as defendants.

“Acting together, the defendants conspired to engage in a scheme of fraud intended to obtain undeserved compensation, payments and benefits from the District,” it states in the complaint. “In repeatedly presenting unauthorized claims for payments of public funds, the defendants defrauded the District into paying undeserved compensation.”

The complaint was signed by Marion Town Administrator Paul Dawson and filed by the CMWRRDD’s attorneys.

The same day as the filing, a Justice of the Superior Court approved two motions for ex parte orders against the six defendants.

An ex parte order essentially froze the real and personal property interests of the defendants, with a total amount of $838,457 attached to each defendant before being served the complaint, and another ex parte order for trustee process put a hold on the Eastern Bank and Mutual Bank accounts of the defendants, and holds any pension payments from the Plymouth County Retirement Board.

“There is a clear danger that the defendants, if notified in advance of the District’s request, … will withdraw the funds or credits from the hands or possession of the trustee and remove from the Commonwealth or will conceal them,” wrote the Justice in the order.

Furthermore, the Justice wrote that the Court found “a reasonable likelihood that the [CMWRRDD] will recover judgment.”

A June 28 preliminary injunction hearing was not held as scheduled “at the defendant’s request,” documents state, and will be rescheduled.

Pickles et al. could be ordered to reimburse the district the full amount in damages and even three times the actual damages, in addition to interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Also, as it states in the court documents, the investigation is ongoing and further misappropriations could ultimately be discovered.

The CMWRRDD is poised to begin an extensive forensic audit of the last six years during Pickles’ tenure. The last time Pickles filed an annual audit of the district was in 2012.

On June 29, Dawson confirmed during a phone conversation that an unspecified government agency was at the Town House earlier this week requesting documents for an investigation, suggesting imminent criminal charges.

Pickles was fired by the district on January 29, 2018 after nearly 45 years as the executive director. He was the executive secretary (town administrator) for the Town of Marion from 1972 until his retirement in 2001. Pickles is still the town clerk for the Town of Marion, the town administrator for the Town of Gosnold, Massachusetts, used to serve in Marion on the Board of Assessors until 2018, and was once the building commissioner and zoning enforcement officer.

*The printed version of this article that will appear in the July 8 edition of The Wanderer will include additional in-depth information.

By Jean Perry

Blue Wave Solar has asked the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals to allow it to begin construction of its Phase 2 Tinkham Hill Road solar farm ahead of schedule – during the summer – before the specified time construction is allowed in the conditions of construction.

Neighbors have opposed allowing construction in summer; a time that they say they want to enjoy their yards without noise and dust. But Blue Wave was adamant that they would mitigate those issues, and on June 21, the ZBA approved Blue Wave’s request.

The board also approved Blue Wave’s minor changes to its original plan – shifting the arrays a few feet away from the abutting property line and additional stormwater management measures – while allowing for the start of construction to begin in July – 20 days after the decision to allow for an appeal period.

The hours of operation were limited to 8:30 am – 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, with no weekend work permitted.

Blue Wave representatives said an earlier start was necessary in order to “stabilize” the work site, given that hydro-seeding would have been done too late in the season if the former construction schedule was followed.

The former start date of construction was set for Labor Day.

The Phase 2 solar farm site is 87 acres in size, and has been a matter of contention for abutters since the amendment to the Order of Conditions was requested to allow for an earlier start for construction.

In order to mitigate residents’ concerns, the Blue Wave representative specified that only an average of 3.4 additional trucks would visit the site each day during the 12-week construction period, and Blue Wave would order police details during those times to bolster safety and alleviate concerns.

In addition, Blue Wave would have the site watered-down if dry conditions persisted to keep dust from interfering with any neighboring properties.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for July 19 at 6:00 pm at the Mattapoisett Town Hall.

Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals

By Jean Perry

Acting Superintendent of the Marion Department of Public Works Jon Henry said he would withdraw his resignation on Wednesday, June 27, at the request of the Board of Selectmen, but under one condition: no more micromanaging.

According to Henry during a follow-up after the meeting, things had been going great for him as interim superintendent, even despite the March storms that set the department back both financially and in its capacity to maintain its regular duties after an extensive storm cleanup. But where things went sour was when newly elected Selectman Randy Parker approached Henry during a time that coincided with talk on social media about the state of publicly maintained properties such as cemeteries and parks, alluded Henry.

Therefore, when Board of Selectmen Chairman Norm Hills asked if Henry would be willing to rescind his resignation and continue as interim superintendent, Henry replied, “I would do that with one requirement that I think is essential to meet – micromanaging has to be avoided.

“And I consider Mr. Parkers’ approach to be micromanaging to the point that I was required to resign,” said Henry.

On Friday, June 22, Henry submitted a letter immediately resigning from the temporary superintendent position he has held since February, which was meant to carry the Town into August when results of an efficiency study of the DPW would guide the Town on how to evolve the superintendent position based on any future restructuring of the DPW.

Henry, a former selectman, replaced former DPW superintendent Rob Zora after he retired in December 2017 without notice after 33 years.

With the results of the study not expected until mid-August, plus the subsequent time needed to hire a permanent superintendent, whatever that position may look like, the board quickly determined that it could facing three to four months with no one leading the DPW.

“We need to have something in the meantime,” said Hills after a brief discussion on the progress of the efficiency study.

Town Administrator Paul Dawson could again manage the signing of the payroll and paying of bills like he did just before Henry’s appointment, but, as Dawson pointed out, the day-to-day DPW operations wasn’t something he could fully take on with his current role.

Before the conversation came back around to asking Henry to continue as interim superintendent, Parker pushed for other alternatives, wondering if another longtime in-house employee could manage the department for four months.

“Just because they’ve been there a long time doesn’t mean they have the capability of running the entire department,” said Hills. Dawson concurred. Each DPW office has its own foreman capable of running their division, Dawson said, “But I don’t think that there are any of those people who currently are experienced in the budgeting or the administrative – what I call the bigger picture, the administrative piece of it.”

“The other option,” said Hills, “is if Mr. Henry was willing to reconsider his decision,” which is entirely up to Henry, Dawson pointed out as Henry sat nearby. “That’s the quickest decision,” Hills added.

Parker, still considering other options, said, “The quickest isn’t always the best.” Either way, he continued, “We’re on a short shoestring. If you post [the temporary position] you’re looking at six weeks.”

Parker pointed to the six weeks that spanned Zora’s retirement in December to Henry’s appointment in February when the DPW was able to function without a superintendent, and pushed for taking that time to post for another temporary position.

Selectman John Waterman stated, “I thought Mr. Henry was doing a good job. … The optimal decision would be – honestly, I don’t think we can find a better person [than Henry].”

Hills preferred to avoid the “nitty-gritties” behind Henry’s reason for resigning, but said to Henry, “Basically, as a department head, you are responsible to the board as a whole, and, in fact, we can only act as a board as a whole in open meeting …and individually outside that meeting.” Hills said he would like to think, should Henry experience problems, he would bring to the board as a whole and vice versa, “And as a board, the board handles it.”

“You know what your expectations are,” said Waterman to Henry, “and I don’t think it’s our job to get in the way of the day-to-day dealings.”

The Board of Selectmen’s administrative assistant had not yet filed Henry’s letter of resignation with the Town Clerk’s Office, even three business days after the receipt of the letter, so Hills refrained from calling for a vote to accept Henry’s resignation or his withdrawal.

Henry said he would resume his interim position, adding the caveat, “With the warranty that that won’t happen again, I would gladly pick it up and run with it.”

Henry explained that, after the late winter storms, the DPW was “$200,000 in the hole.” Town Meeting appropriated another $150,000, Henry explained, “But it’s still $50,000 in the hole.”

“That’s the reality of the situation,” said Henry, “but that will right itself this Monday,” the fist day of the new fiscal year.

“I don’t mean to be critical,” continued Henry. “It was a tough assignment because of the long [tenure] of my predecessor.” It took time to gain the confidence of the DPW employees, explained Henry. “And I’m not a babysitter, I’m there to do a job – I’ve developed my own plan, I have my own list, and I’m following them, at least I was until then.”

Waterman was satisfied with the decision to continue with Henry, and Parker said he had no comment on the matter.

After the meeting, Henry told The Wanderer that post-storm budget restraints have prevented him from hiring the extra summer help that is customary every year; instead of the usual five seasonal workers, he only has two. And with the trash truck breaking down and not enough workers to cover the town, Henry said, “If you don’t have the manpower you can’t get it done.”

By Jean Perry