Private Detectives Probe SelectBoard Member

GEORGETOWN – A Newburyport private detective firm demanded Select Board member Rachel Bancroft last week turn over evidence to the state Ethics Commission of her bias in favor of the Conservation Commission if she does not cooperate with its town-funded probe of the ConComm.
The Stirm Group President Larry Smith also wrote that he would send the Ethics Commission a video of Commission Chair Carl Sheder’s “threat” to burn down town hall as a training exercise for the town’s Fire Department.
Shreder apologized last month to the SelectBoard, saying he made the comment out of frustration with Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco and members of the SelectBoard over their treatment of former commission staffers and a lack of funding for the ConComm.
He said he regretted making the comments, which he described as “sarcastic.”
The ConComm, which regulates development of environmentally sensitive land, has lost its two staff members this year, each leaving because of a “toxic” environment at Town Hall that they blamed on the town administrator. Currently there is no commission staff to conduct its business.
The feud between the town administrator, SelectBoard member Doug Dawes and the commission escalated after the ConComm declined to grant permission for projects that it said would damage wetlands.
The most controversial of those projects is the G. Mello Trash Disposal Corp.’s proposal to build a 500-ton, per day transfer station near a protected wetland on Carlton Drive. Mello has appealed the denial.
Mello currently operates a 50-ton transfer station on East Main Street and last week was fined more than $100,000 for processing more trash than its permit allows during November and December of 2022.
The Stirm Group, which employs former state police and military personnel, reportedly was hired last year by the state Republican Party to investigate the private life of Gov. Maura Healey.
It wrote Bancroft that it planned to submit a “package” to the ethics commission if she did not provide the name of the ethics lawyer she spoke with.
“Our decision to send this package to the Ethics Commission is a result of our investigators’ perception of a potential bias in your actions, which seemed to prioritize the interests of the Conservation Commission over your responsibilities as a member of the select board. Additionally, your continued reluctance to engage in our assessment, which the town has contracted us to perform, has raised concerns,” Smith’s emailed letter states.
Through Town Clerk Kerri McManus, Bancroft earlier told the private detective, “What you requested does not exist. It was a confidential conversation with the lawyer for state ethics. Thank you.”
Bancroft, who has served for several years as a member of the ConComm, contacted the ethics commission when she decided to run for the SelectBoard last year. An ethics commission attorney confirmed that she could serve on both the SelectBoard and ConComm.
State law states: “If a member (of a town board) has a question about their conflict status, they can, and should, contact the Town Administrator or request a confidential legal determination from the State Ethics Commission.”
Smith’s letter states: “In light of this, we kindly request that you provide us with the date, time, and the name of the individual you spoke with at the Ethics Commission’s office. Our extensive experience with the Ethics Commission leads us to believe such interactions are meticulously documented, including any recommendations or authorizations provided during confidential conversations with their attorneys.”
“The choice is yours, Ms. Bancroft,” Smith’s emailed letter continued. “You can opt to participate in the assessment as requested and provide the ethics-related information we are seeking, or we will proceed with the actions outlined above. We hope for your cooperation and look forward to your prompt response.”
Smith’s letter closed with the statement: “Ms. Bancroft, if you have come to remember things differently after having time to reflect, I strongly encourage you to correct the record as soon as possible.
The Stirm Group has also demanded copies of all commission members’ emails. According to other members of the commission, the town’s email system is regularly down. It is not clear if the Stirm Group is asking for members’ private emails as well as the town’s system emails.
Last week, the state Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) fined Mello $117,300 for processing more trash during November and December of 2022 than it was allowed under state permit.
The company has operated the facility at 203 East Main Street since 1984, collecting solid waste, as well as construction and demolition debris, and then transferring those materials for off-site recycling and disposal. The most recent permit limits the tonnage of waste to 50 tons-per-day average and a maximum of 60 ton-per-day, with a limit of 18,150 tons total per year.*
Following an inspection, MassDEP determined Mello had exceeded the 60 ton-per-day limit for 34 days during those two months in violation of their permit.*
On July 21, 2021, the company finalized a consent order with MassDEP to resolve previous compliance issues at the existing site and agreed to obtain a valid Authorization to Operate its proposed new facility at 46 Carleton Drive by July 31, 2022. The company failed to meet the required deadline and Mello’s application for facility design remains incomplete.*
In a consent order with MassDEP, the company must operate within the tonnage limits outlined in its permits, ensure all incoming waste is stored within the covered structure and not accumulated outside, and provide monthly tonnage reports and a yearly tonnage report to MassDEP and the Georgetown Board of Health. MassDEP has also set dates for the company to submit permit applications to the agency for the construction and operation of the new facility and the subsequent closure of the existing facility.*
Mello must pay $40,000 of the assessed penalty, with the remainder suspended if consent order is met and there are no further violations.*
In the Healey investigation by the Stirm Group, the private detective billed MassGOP more than $52,000 for more than 232 hours in investigating alleged romantic relationships between the governor and two state employees.
It is unknown how much the town is paying the Stirm Group for its investigation of the ConComm.
*Excerpts from MassDEP Press Release of 9/27/2023.