September

Macmillan Coffee morning today, hoping to raise lots of money for such as great cause!

David Leonard had served two jail sentences before being hired as the city’s parks manager last year, but in accordance with its usual practice regarding the hiring of contractors, the city hadn’t checked his background. Leonard is now the subject of a police probe in which he is charged with stealing $43,000 from the city’s Belleville Improvement Society, a nonprofit that oversees the city’s Atkinson Common park.

After committing those alleged thefts, Leonard bid on — and won — a job to maintain Newburyport’s parks. He was fired earlier this year, when the city discovered he was being investigated for the Belleville thefts. According to Mayor Donna Holaday, his criminal record was not checked because Leonard was a contractor and not a city employee, he was not subjected to a Criminal Offender Record Information check. Holaday said there was never an issue with Leonard’s work until February, when the city learned he inappropriately failed to pay a subcontractor.

The 13 Watchdog team is uncovering troublesome ties between the Berrien County Courthouse shooter and a nearby elementary school. It has been confirmed that Larry Gordon was a classroom volunteer at South Elementary in Watervliet for over a year, despite a long criminal record. "We do background checks, unfortunately the background check I saw I didn't see any violent crimes," said Kevin Schooley, superintendent of the Watervliet Public Schools.

The Watchdog team learned Gordon had a criminal history dating back to the 90's, including two federal convictions for possession of a pipe bomb and a felony larceny conviction in 2013. The school never checked Gordon's record for federal crimes. The principal says that's because employees get fingerprinted, but not volunteers. Schooley says he's focused on making improvements to school safety.