Worcester, Hampshire County Accountant Accused Of Stealing $700K From Towns
A former town accountant for Hadley, Hatfield, and Uxbridge has been charged with stealing more than $700,000 from Massachusetts municipalities.
Justin Cole, 38, allegedly stole from Uxbridge, Millville, and Monterey (in Berkshire County), according to the Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
Cole was the Hadley and Hatfield town accountant as recently as 2019 when Cole announced he was closing his business, Bay State Municipal Accounting Group, to focus on his family and health.
Cole has been indicted on the charges of five counts of larceny over $250, two counts of larceny over $…
Covid-19: Where Are The Hot Spots? Town Infection Rates, Trends - Hampshire County, August
Positive COVID-19 test rates in Amherst, Easthampton, Granby, Northampton, South Hadley, and Williamsburg are at the highest they’ve been over the last four weeks, according to new state data.
Meanwhile, Belchertown’s 14-day COVID-19 positive test rate is going down. The rate went from 3.6 percent to 2.7 percent in one week.
In Massachusetts, the goal is that by December the state will have less than 5 percent of COVID-19 tests come back positive. On Friday, Aug. 7, Gov. Charlie Baker reported the state’s 7-day positive test rate was at 1.8 percent, down from 2.2 percent just a week ago. (…