Girard at Large has obtained a letter from Harold Schaitberger, General President of International Association of Fire Fighters, to Manchester Fire Chief James Burkush and Alderman at-Large Dan O’Neil alleging that American Ambulance, one of three finalists for the city’s emergency ambulance services contract, has acted deceptively. Shaitberger writes that American Ambulance’s bid package included a letter addressed to the presidents of I A F F’s New Hampshire and Massachusetts affiliates implying support for the company where none exists. Shaitberger writes the letter’s inclusion in American Ambulance’s bid package appears to have been intended to mislead decision makers on the bid selection committee. Shaitberger writes that the union has no relationship with either American Ambulance or its parent company and states that the individuals listed as references in the letter have insisted their names not be used as references. Shaitberger’s letter is linked to this news write up at Girard at Large dot com.
On Friday, Girard at Large obtained an email sent by Alderman at Large Joe Kelly Levasseur to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen alleging that officers of the Manchester Police Department were questioning people pulled over for minor traffic violations about pawn shop transactions. Levasseur told Girard at Large that a pawn shop owner called him because a handful of his customers complained they were quizzed about pawn shop transactions during routine traffic stops. The source of the information for these transactions would be the new system the police have implemented to track pawn shop transactions and obtain the identities of those who conduct them as a way of curbing burglaries in the city. Girard at Large spoke with Manchester Police Chief David Mara who said he was unaware that any such thing had taken place and denied it was a policy or practice of the department to ask those kinds of questions on an unrelated traffic stop. He said the department would investigate the charges raised in Levasseur’s email, which is available at Girard at Large dot com.
News From our own backyard continues after this.
New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Richard Head is about to be on a national stage and not in a favorable light. Head has a chapter written about him in a Breakthrough, a book that written by James O’Keefe, that will be released tomorrow. You might recall that O’Keefe, leader of Project Veritas, conducted a voter fraud sting in New Hampshire. He posed as a dead voter and was offered ballots in multiple polling places around the state. While he never cast a ballot, or even accepted any of those offered, he became the target of a criminal investigation by the New Hampshire Department of Justice, which had the full blessings of then Governor John Lynch. On Friday, O’Keefe was in state to confront Head about potentially illegal activity associated with the investigation, including the alleged investigation of conservative bloggers Mike Rogers and Skip Murphy of Granite Grok dot com. He also asked Head why he hadn’t responded to a Right to Know Request he filed demanding he cough up communications with US Attorney General Eric Holder regarding that investigation. Thanks to our partnership with Bill Wynne of Goffstown Today dot com, we had cameras there for the dramatic and breathtaking confrontation. You can be among the first to view it at Girard at Large dot com. O’Keefe will be our guest on tomorrow’s show at Eight Forty. You won’t want to miss that.
Two news notes as a follow up to stories we’ve been following. Girard at Large has learned that Manchester School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Brennan had good reason to alert Manchester’s schools to a possible threat last week. It turns out that the Florida fugitive in question Craig Shertzer not only had family ties in Nashua, but also had them in Manchester and there was good reason to be concerned about the safety of those ties in Manchester schools. There was additional police presence in at least two schools in light of the concern.
Finally, Amanda Beauchamp, the Manchester mom battling a rare, incurable form of cancer passed away Thursday night. You may recall her aunt, Brenda Garcia, reached out to our audience to help raise funds to support Amanda’s two young children. At last report, sixteen thousand dollars had been raised for the family. You can still send your contribution to The Ross Family Fund care of St. Mary’s Bank or The Growing Years Early Child Hood Center, the kids’ daycare center. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family.
That’s News from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is just 30 seconds away.
