Exclusive

Passed Over Snowplow Contractor Allegedly Assaults Haverhill Highway Superintendent

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A Haverhill snowplow contractor was charged early Tuesday morning for allegedly assaulting the city’s highway superintendent after being passed over for work during recent storms.

Fifty-seven-year-old Daniel J. Murray, 224 Newton Road, was arrested at his home and charged with assault and battery on a person 60-years-of-age or older. According to a police report, Murray was said to have pushed Brian J. Zaniboni to the floor when the highway superintendent told him he wasn’t needed during the snowstorm. Sixty-five-year-old Zaniboni was taken by ambulance to Holy Family Hospital in Methuen where he was treated for back and shoulder pain. Murray was arraigned yesterday in Haverhill District Court, where Judge Stephen Abany ordered him to have no contact with Zaniboni. Murray is scheduled to return to court in January for a pre-trial hearing.

Crime

School Gun Aftermath: Haverhill Officials Discuss Security Issues Behind Closed Doors

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Members of the Haverhill School Committee went behind closed doors this morning to meet with Haverhill Police to discuss issues related to last week’s report of a teenager with a gun at Haverhill High School. A week ago, Monday, a 16-year-old Haverhill High sophomore was arrested by Haverhill Police and charged with carrying a firearm without a license, trespassing, carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds and possession of a class E drug. As WHAV previously reported, the juvenile was one of several hundred at the Monument Street building July 29 when a security guard is said to have glimpsed him with the gun and he ran, allegedly tossing the weapon outside of campus. He was taken into custody about a mile away near the intersection of North Broadway and Broadway. City councilors last night heard some details from Mayor James J. Fiorentini and school Superintendent Margaret Marotta.

Exclusive

26 Months After 3-Alarm Fire Levels Haverhill’s Cedardale, Owners Prep for May Reopening

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Two years after an early morning, three-alarm blaze ripped through Bradford’s beloved Cedardale Health & Fitness, the Boston Road complex owned by the Veasey family is preparing to unveil their upgraded 85,000 square-foot gym space next month. With presales underway since February, Ed and Zoe Veasey tell WHAV approximately 60 percent of former members have inked contracts for the new facility sight unseen. When they’re welcomed back, they’ll be invited into what Ed Veasey calls a state-of-the-art architectural gem. “Conceptually, I bet you couldn’t find another place in the country or in the world that would be equal to what is going to be here,” he said. Once inside, members new and old will see how the Veaseys have adopted a new approach to wellness from the inside out.

Exclusive

Veteran Haverhill Patrolman on Leave Over Alleged Deportation Talk, Handcuff Display

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A more than 30-year veteran Haverhill police officer was placed on paid leave Friday for allegedly displaying handcuffs and putting minority students in fear over their families’ immigration status. Patrolman Stephen Iannalfo, assigned as a school resource officer at Albert B. Consentino School, told students at the school last Wednesday they could be deported if they are inside the United States illegally, according to at least one parent’s complaint. State Department of Education figures say nearly half of the school’s 958 students are classified as Hispanic and more than a quarter of students’ first language is not English. Details of the exchange were not made public, but Haverhill Police confirmed Friday that Iannalfo was notified by letter Friday. “Officer Iannalfo has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation,” said Capt. Robert P. Pistone, police spokesman.

Bryce Finn

Ex-Delaware Treasurer: Bryce Finn Murder Preventable; Levels Charges at Suspect

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A former elected Delaware state treasurer says the murder of a Haverhill teen in 2017 might have been prevented if officials down south acted on his concerns about the Benner family. Instead, former Treasurer Chipman “Chip” L. Flowers Jr. told WHAV Saturday, he was forced into a political battle which forced him not to seek re-election in 2014. Flowers, who now lives in Massachusetts, said the shooting death of 18-year-old Bryce Finn in the doorway of his Rainbow Drive home might have been averted. “I will go to my grave believing that, even though I worked with law enforcement, had the State of Delaware prosecuted them for what they did to me and my family, that young man (Finn) would still be alive today,” Flowers told WHAV. He alleged 21-year-old Joseph Maxwell “Max” Benner, who was charged Friday in connection with Finn’s murder, had a “horrible temper.” Flowers charged Benner threatened him and his future his wife during a 2014 Fourth of July Parade in Dover, Del.

Exclusive

Father Hopes Assault on Daughter Brings Awareness, Results in Justice

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Grainy store video shows a child striking an 11-year-old with a high chair last Monday. The father of an 11-year-old, distraught over an incident a week ago where his daughter was bullied and assaulted by another child, is seeking justice as well as understanding. Jason D. Brillon told WHAV his daughter was slapped by a slightly older girl and struck with a piece of furniture at a Bradford doughnut shop. While Haverhill Police have agreed to seek charges against the child in juvenile court, Brillon has widely distributed a store surveillance video showing the assault in hopes of raising awareness. “In the video, she starts off with slapping my daughter in the face eight times,” he said.

Exclusive

Haverhill Man, 31, Receives Serious Injuries After Acre Shooting

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A 31-year-old Haverhill man is in a Boston hospital with serious injuries after being shot outside on Cedar Street early this morning. He was one of two men who received gunshot wounds, according to Detective Lt. Robert P. Pistone, Haverhill Police spokesman. The other, a 29-year-old Haverhill man was grazed by the bullet, treated at the scene and released. Police were called at 1:25 a.m., Saturday, to 37 Cedar St., near Fourth Avenue. “At this time, Haverhill police do not believe it was a random act,” Pistone told WHAV.

Business Bulletin

New Asian Bistro To Bring 120-Seat Restaurant to Riversedge Plaza

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Floor plan of new Yummy Asian Bistro. A new 120-seat Asian-style restaurant is expected to open this fall at Riversedge Plaza in Haverhill. Yummy Asian Bistro will occupy the site of Olympia Sports, 223 Lincoln Ave. It was recently granted an all alcoholic beverage license from the Haverhill License Commission, pending construction. The restaurant, expected to open in November, will undergo $100,000 worth of renovations and offer 4,000 square feet of dining space.