by Ed Naile
Here we go!
Oh boy, is this another chance of a lifetime of deal making for the Beecher Creature.
His track record for sealed bids on public projects and payola goes back a ways to Kansas City Mo. in the 90’s, where Beecher signed a $900,000.00 street light deal behind the backs of the city council. He left rather quickly from that scam.
Next he pops up in New Hampshire in Dover as they’re new municipal messiah. (Dover looks for guys like this.)
Beecher signed some sweetheart retirement and benefit packages with his new power base of public employees in Dover and was subsequently caught in a very expensive, citizen initiated, Right to Know case which let the public see what he was doing behind the scenes and backs of the city council. The Beecher initiated $400,000.00 salary and 36 week paid vacation package for the former police chief finally tipped the scales and Beecher “escaped” to Kingman, Arizona where CNHT tracked him down.
It wasn’t long before contactors and elected officials in that municipality became aware of a rigged open bidding scam and that Beecher spent most of his day on the internet emailing pals and little that seemed constructive.
He was fired from that town.
But now that South Hadley, Ma. has hired Beecher, knowing full well his past, we are on a glide path to local roofing contractors crying foul. In an economy like this contractors will not appreciate bid rigging.
Any Board of Selectmen who went looking for a guy like Beecher are signaling “go ahead” once he is in place.
Can Beecher pass up a chance to mess with the $750,000.00 roof grant in South Hadley?
I guess we will see.