Turtleboy Investigates

Methuen’s Controversial Police Chief Joseph Solomon Apparently Has Ties To Public Safety Threat “Massachusetts Constable’s Office,” “Chief” Darryl Hines Is One Shady SOB, Plenty Of Questions Remain Unanswered

Lately we’ve been following the whacker wannabes playing cops over at “The Massachusetts Constable’s Office”, a deceptively official-sounding business offering Constable services out of Lynn, who recently have been delving into quasi-police work serving criminal warrants by exploiting laws on the books that haven’t been updated since colonial times. Channel 5 Investigates has uncovered this motley crew of bumbling idiots pulling some pretty foolish and dangerous stunts in the name of pretending to be the police, and these fools really should be stopped immediately before someone gets hurt.

 

But let’s take a closer look at Darryl Hines, the self-proclaimed “chief” of the Constable’s Office, shall we?

Upon further inspection, he’s pretty shady. Hines is completely untrained, unqualified, and has a background in tax preparation, not law enforcement. He has lived in both Massachusetts and Florida, and has a bit of a criminal record in the latter. In 2010, he was convicted of a misdemeanor relating to operating without a permit, and was consequently arrested,

Placed on probation and ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution.

Hines also has been the defendant in a small claims case,

And was evicted from an apartment in Florida as well.

So, he doesn’t pay his bills, clearly.

Which is kind of weird, considering his job is to serve this kind of paperwork to people. Pot meets kettle, and handcuffs it at gunpoint?

Maybe his difficulty paying bills stems from the shady number of corporations he has registered, and then subsequently shut down within a year, before filing any reports?

 

Sketchy AF, Mr. Hines.

 

Quick question, maybe someone can answer? Who serves the Constable when he’s being served with eviction papers? The sheriff, or does another constable serve them, or does he serve himself? Darryl Hines should know, because apparently he’s not just the president of The Massachusett’s Constables Office, he’s…..a client as well?

Interesting.

Hines currently has multiple corporations registered in his name in Massachusetts as well, all with deceptively official-sounding names that would mislead one to believe he is involved in legitimate law enforcement.

Which is maybe why he felt emboldened to start “deputizing” his own “Deputy Constables”……

Although Constables don’t have the authority to do that. Only cities and towns can appoint constables. So that seems like gross misconduct to me. As do the blue lights installed on the constables’ cars,

And especially the blue police plates affixed to it. Is that even legal? Can they do that? They aren’t the police. Sure, at one point Massachusetts Constables Officer purported to employ some active duty police officers, but is it legal/ethical for them to use blue police plates on a vehicle not used for official police business? I would think not. Definitely not ethical, as the cars are reportedly registered and insured to Hines’ private business.

The more you look at this “Office” and it’s “esteemed leader”, the more questions arise. For instance, I’m really wondering:

  1. Who is legally directing the criminal warrants to these guys for them to go serve?
  2. How are they able to put their employees through Massachusetts Reserve Intermittent Police Academy, as advertised on their website, considering they are not employed by a police agency? Is there a police chief sponsoring these idiots?
  3. How did Hines get off on the gun charges he found himself with after trying to purchase police-issued glocks in not one, not two, but three different states, having them shipped from Vermont, and handing one to a 19-year old “deputy” without properly registering the guns?

 

And they’re not giving out many answers.

 

Not willingly, anyway. Although, it is notable that tucked among the many corporations connected to Darryl Hines is a company called “NEP Services, INC.” NEP Services was once listed as a painting and paper hanging company, then converted in 2018 to its current incarnation, the not-at-all related field of security services.

The founder, Julio Carrasquillo, is identified as the “chief” of the Massachusetts Constables Officer, according to the NEP website anyway, and also appears to own a private investigation company called “C.I.S”, complete with a Massachusetts Private Investigators license.

How that is applicable to the duties of a constable would be debatable, as stated in Hartley v. Granville supra, “It is not a part of the official duty of a constable in a country town of this Commonwealth to spend a substantial portion of his time, taken from his ordinary occupation, in performing the work commonly done by detectives by seeking evidence which may lead to the conviction of criminals.” But it’s cool, I guess, the idea that a group of untrained idiots who run around with handguns and tasers might have access to protected, private information. Especially when the leadership is sort of unclear. Very reassuring.

A FOIA request can take up to 2 weeks to get a response, and hopefully will help clear some of this up. I sent one out to Methuen police, because this rinkydink bootleg operation has some questionable ties to it’s chief, Joe Solomon. He is reportedly a “huge supporter” of this group of civil process servers who use outdated laws granting them undue authority as an excuse to run around with guns, terrorizing and tasing people in the middle of the night.

 

You may recognize Chief Joe Solomon from his other greatest hits, like “getting fired in 2008 amidst a ton of disciplinary action and accusations of corruption”:

Boston Globe:  

“The mayor of Methuen fired the city’s police chief yesterday, more than seven months after the chief was placed on administrative leave amid an ongoing probe into how the city used federal grants.

It was the third round of disciplinary action against Joseph Solomon in more than a year.

In this latest case, Solomon faced nine allegations, including accusations that he ordered police to travel to his sister’s house roughly 280 times for reasons not related to law enforcement and authorized an executive assistant to “triple dip” by receiving two sets of federal overtime funds on top of her salary.

Mayor William M. Manzi said the action would end uncertainty for the Police Department and the city of more than 44,000 along the New Hampshire line. “We can move on as a community,” he told the Globe.

Solomon’s lawyer, Andrew Gambaccini, greeted the news with some relief. He said Solomon had been expecting such an outcome for months and is now eager to appeal the decision to the state Civil Service Commission, in which Gambaccini says the former chief will receive a fairer hearing.

Solomon has argued that he has been retaliated against for being a whistle-blower in a federal corruption probe targeting the mayor. Manzi has denied the allegations. The FBI has been unwilling to confirm whether Manzi is being investigated.

The roots of the controversy stretch back more than two years to when questions were raised into how the Methuen Police Department handled federal funds.

Federal officials have twice told the city that it misused grant money for overtime payments, and it now says the city needs to pay back about $170,000 of a US Justice Department community policing grant. Neither Manzi nor Solomon – or anyone in the Police Department – has been criminally charged.

But the controversy has led to headaches for the community.

The deputy chief, Joseph Alaimo, unexpectedly retired early; a union leader, Joseph Allaiello, is suing the city; and Methuen has had to pay legal fees and wages to a chief who is sitting at home.

Solomon was suspended for three days without pay in a disciplinary hearing in March 2007, and then was suspended in September with pay. In February, the city began hearings on the allegations, hearings that continued over seven days into April.”

 

Or, “Suing the city and getting his termination reduced to a 12-month suspension, then getting his job back in 2010” –

JOSEPH SOLOMON v. CITY OF METHUEN

 

Which apparently was just a “political hit”. For what that’s worth.

Or, most recently – the 2018 “Sure, my salary increase is absurd and unsustainable, but whatchagonnadoboutit? Scandal”,

Eagle Tribune:

Police Chief Joseph Solomon stands to make upward of $370,000 in pay and benefits in the upcoming fiscal year based on contractual salary increases for police officers, more than his peers in the Merrimack Valley and even the Boston police commissioner.

“He’s got to be the highest paid guy around,” James Machado, executive director of the Massachusetts Police Association, said.

Solomon said Methuen officials are “well aware of the reason for the numbers” as they pertain to his salary. He said he did not want to discuss the “whole story behind the negotiations” at this time.

“This isn’t about justification. I negotiated a fair contract with the mayor, it was signed by the mayor, approved by the City Council,” Solomon said. “I stand by what was negotiated and approved.”

In addition to the police chief’s increasingly high salary under the new calculation method, the average total salary for the police department’s five captains would be $434,841 in the fiscal year beginning July 1. The department’s seven lieutenants would earn $268,935 on average, and the 13 sergeants would earn $189,252 on average, according to City Auditor Thomas Kelly.

…….

Kelly’s worst-case scenario read of the Methuen police officers’ contracts aligns with that reasoning. By that math, Jajuga said the increases would cost the city at least an additional $1.2 million it can’t afford. He sent letters to the two police unions in April threatening layoffs if they did not come to an agreement with the city, and proposed significantly lower raises for officers in the fiscal year 2019 budget.”

 

Or his little-known, “Running a private investigation service with retired deputy police chief Joseph D. Alaimo”, Eagle Investigations:

The same deputy police chief who retired a week before Solomon faced a disciplinary hearing regarding alleged grant mismanagement, and later testified in Solomon’s appeal.

And oh, did I mention Eagle Investigation Services advertises training, too?

Training that happens to be pretty similar to the training Massachusetts Constable’s Office boasts about offering its employees, according to the website.

So that’s weird. Particularly because Hines and his “Deputies” tend to get a lot of their criminal warrants from Methuen’s most wanted list, and also appear to take a lot of their kidnapping vic- I mean, defendants, back to the Methuen PD for booking and lockup.

 

I personally find this all pretty suspicious. What gives?

Then again, it may all be a moot point, as Channel 5 Reports: 

 

“Beacon Hill is reacting to revelations that a group of constables is expanding operations into criminal law enforcement, power they have under state law but not exercised in recent memory until now.

Concerns that police and political leaders have were only reinforced by the constable group’s own body camera video, which showed them making derogatory comments about residents of Dorchester and using chasing and using a Taser on a suspect in what many described as an alarming use of force.

A spokesperson for Gov. Charlie Baker said the administration “supports legislation that would update laws so that constables focus on civil matters and no longer have the authority to arrest people.”

The author of a legislation that would do just that said it was “terrifying” watching the body camera videos.

State Rep. Daniel Cahill, D-Lynn, who is also a criminal defense attorney, said it was “Terrifying from the aspect of someone who represents thousands of people and tries to represent government in a good way and tries to protect them.”

For several years Cahill has filed bills to eliminate constables’ criminal authority. They’ve gone nowhere, but he’s hopeful the revelations will push the bill to passage.

“The issue has come to a head,” he said. 

Senate President Karen Spilka is also calling for action, telling 5 Investigates in a statement: 
“The words and conduct of the constables captured on body camera are reprehensible…. I’m hoping that the Legislature provides an expedited review of proposed legislation to ensure that those enforcing the law are receiving proper oversight, training, enforcement authority and accountability to prevent instances like these from ever happening again.”

A legislative hearing is expected to be held in the fall.”

 

Wow, Darryl. Good work on that one! Thank you for your service!

17 Comment(s)
  • 2wEntEe
    August 14, 2019 at 11:26 am

    Correction, Zanni. My bad.

    Solomon is a stand up guy tho.

  • randiguy2006
    Captain Obvious
    August 13, 2019 at 1:47 pm

    How dare you.

    All cops are heroes.

  • Daniel Sullivan
    Sprinkle Pig
    August 13, 2019 at 9:02 am

    This piece of shit scum bag is making regular constables look awful. There are def a couple benefits to being a constable besides making extra cash which is why I do it part time. Help put money away for my daughters college tuition. However theres a couple others benefits as well. However this scum bag is taking those benefits and twisting them. I spent 10 years in the US Army and did multiple tours in Iraq so if this pussy wanted to run around kicking in doors and act like a tough guy then he should’ve signed up and raised his right hand. Maybe he should have joined the PD and went swat. Yet instead he finds a loophole and screws over the rest of us who do this just to make extra money.

  • Methuen Citizens
    August 13, 2019 at 8:46 am

    Turtle Boy could get a years worth of articles based solely on how corrupt chief Solomon and the politicians of Methuen are. Zanni was a doofus puppet with early onset dementia who did what everyone else told him to do. Methuen is Copland.

  • murdochpatsymcreynolds
    Liawatha
    August 13, 2019 at 8:14 am

    One would think a police chief, of a city with a population of 47, 000, would be paid more than $370,000. Can that be accurate?

  • Those crazy cops
    August 13, 2019 at 7:47 am

    Wondering who insures these “constable” vehicles?

    And Methuen PD is worthy of several TB articles on its own.

    A previous comment stated the Chief was unaware of the contract…Bullshit. His pay is based on the superior officers contract, he knew.

    And two of the councilors who approved the contract were subsequently awarded jobs with the Methuen Police department. It’s such blatant corruption, yet no one receives any repercussions.

    SMH

  • Joe Friday
    August 13, 2019 at 7:35 am

    “Is expanding operations into criminal law enforcement, power they have under state law but not exercised in recent memory until now”.
    So channel your outrage into getting the law changed, they’re doing nothing wrong.

  • Wwy
    August 13, 2019 at 7:33 am

    What curse is this guy under to wear a face like that in public?
    He was good in the space balls movie though.

  • Mayor Jajuga
    August 13, 2019 at 7:15 am

    My son is worth every penny of the $475,000. Just ask him!

  • Indepenent Thinker
    August 13, 2019 at 5:28 am

    You shouldn’t have blue lights and blue plates to be a process server. Secondly, that means when I see an unmarked car with blue lights, I do not know if it is a real police officer or if it is someone working for this private firm. Something is really wrong here, but I am sure that they are huge political donors. How else would they get such favors?

    I want blue lights on my car. That way, if I ever have to take someone to the hospital, I can get their much faster.

  • Ronald Reagan
    August 13, 2019 at 4:11 am

    Send all monkeys back to Africa.

  • Jeff J
    Hayzus Christo
    August 13, 2019 at 1:52 am

    WHAT. THE. FUCK!!

    TL ; DR —- ON and ON and ON and ON!!

  • RapeRideShare
    August 12, 2019 at 8:27 pm

    It’s all cool the law aint the law anymore the criminals aint guilty. Fake news, fake police, rapists ride share app.

  • Hartford Rachet
    August 12, 2019 at 8:16 pm

    Another great one Bristol!

  • Judge dread
    August 12, 2019 at 7:26 pm

    Nice fucking couch there chief. What’s that circa 1988? Looks a lot like what I saw when I was fucking under 10 years of age you fucking scumbag. Still living at ma dukes house huh? How’s that career as a cop working out for you?

    May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your genital region.

  • 2wEntEe
    August 12, 2019 at 6:13 pm

    I have lived Methuen my whole life.
    1) I don’t like the police but Solomon is a standup guy and a good chief.
    2) Methuen politics are incredibly corrupt.
    3) City council approved the police salary increase admittingly without even reading it. Solomon was unaware of the details of the bill until it was too late but by then it was in the hands of the police union.
    4. Mayor Manzis son is a Captain. Manzi suspended Solomon and created the salary increase bill.

    Manzi put Methuen in the red. He’s the reason for all the property tax increases. He created all the fiscal problems.

    I don’t like cops but Solomon is a good and honest man.

    • BogDickBill
      August 12, 2019 at 9:25 pm

      Manzi had nothing to do with it. It was Zanni. Jajugas kid is a Capitan on the police force. Manzis brother used to rob gas station s with a hammer.

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