The diocese told Frank Fitzpatrick to leave it in the hands of the Lord. He was a private investigator. He found Father Porter in Minnesota and recorded him admitting it.
The Worcester Diocese would pay Phil Saviano only if he stayed silent. He took $5,700 instead and helped the Spotlight team break the story. The AG's report explains how silence was bought, and what it costs survivors now.
Every other Catholic diocese in Massachusetts publishes its list. Worcester gives names to the district attorney and nobody else. Its statement on the report did not mention the list.
"Many of these priests went on to work with vulnerable populations: as public schoolteachers, scout leaders, or in social service fields." The report describes it in its section on what went wrong after the 2002 reforms.
Fall River: 92 accused, 469 survivors. Springfield: 93 and 259. Worcester: 90 and 216. The report says plainly why no one will be charged, and what the Legislature would have to change for survivors to recover more than $20,000.
On free public land, Massachusetts law protects the owner, even a town, unless its conduct was wilful, wanton or reckless. Missing a bad tree is not enough.
Two years of fighting over Turtleboy's phones, and the prosecutor told the judge he would try the case without them. His lawyers called it "burying the lead." Trial is December 7 with a Norfolk jury.
The state's theory was not bad service. It was that the company billed Lawrence for four months of hauling it knew it could not provide. That is a false claim, and the penalty is triple damages.
She spent $100,000 on a shelter after the city issued permits. Then the health department ruled a miniature horse is still a horse. She has 60 days to take it to court.
The case started in a Boston courtroom. Now the Supreme Court will decide it, and until it does, third-country deportations can resume. Two of the three questions are about whether the Boston judge had the power to rule at all.
