All Parole Board Members in Release of Man Who Allegedly Killed Mass. Officer Resign

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BOSTON MA--All five state Parole Board members who were on the board at the time of the release of a convict who police said shot and killed a police officer in Woburn on Dec. 26 have resigned, Gov. Deval Patrick said Thursday.

Officer John Maguire, 60, was killed during a botched jewelry counter robbery in Woburn on Dec. 26. Police say Dominic Cinelli, a paroled ex-con who had been serving three life sentences, shot and killed Maguire.
A review of the state Parole Board was ordered after Dominic Cinelli, 58, who was released on parole after being jailed for three life sentences, shot and killed Woburn police Officer John Maguire, 60, during a botched jewelry counter robbery on Dec. 26. Maguire, a 34-year veteran of the force, was just months from retirement when he was gunned down. Cinelli was also killed.

"Ultimately, it is Cinelli and Cinelli alone who is responsible for the murder of officer Maguire," Patrick said. "But after this review, I cannot say the parole board or parole office did all they could to assure public safety. I also see clear gaps in our current laws. As a result, the public has lost confidence in the parole system."

Patrick said he'd file legislation immediately that requires a violent felon with two prior serious convictions receive the maximum sentence for third conviction.

Patrick named Cesar Archilla, a Parole Board member since 2009, as acting chairman, effective immediately. Patrick said the board's executive director has also resigned, and he nominated Josh Wall, now the first assistant district attorney in Suffolk County, to run the board on an interim basis. Patrick also said several members of the department would also be replaced.

"Parole works overwhelmingly well most of the time, in this case it did not," Patrick said.

Last week, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin and the city's Police Department and 75 police chiefs from across Massachusetts called on Patrick to demand the resignation of all of the members of the Parole Board.


"It is a very gratifying decision the governor made. He took strong, decisive action and we are very grateful for that. It will go a long way towards starting the healing. There is a lot more to do, but the governor deserves a lot of credit for the action he took," Galvin said.

"We knew that something had to happen. I think everyone in the commonwealth knew that that something was wrong here. And for the governor to be this strong, I was very happy. Ecstatic," Maguire's brother, Chuck, said after Patrick's announcement.

John Grossman, Patrick's undersecretary for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, led the review and said there were layers of failures that resulted in Cinelli's release.

Grossman said the Transitional Services unit failed to "adequately highlight the violence and seriousness of Cinelli's crimes" before his 2008 parole request. The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office and local police departments, which opposed his request for release in 2005, did not receive proper notification and, in turn, did not fight his release in 2008, Grossman said.

Grossman said documentation sent out to local law enforcement even included the wrong crime, an error that the department blamed on a software glitch.

Additionally, Grossman said Field Services failed to properly monitor Cinelli after his release. Parole officers are required to meet face to face with each parolee at least once a month to make sure they are fulfilling their parole requirements. In the final 16 months of Cinelli's release, Grossman said 14 collateral meetings took place, but they were sporadic and sometimes there were multiple meetings in a month.

Grossman said there were no face-to-face meetings between Cinelli and his parole officer in five of the six months leading up to the shooting.

Patrick said the Secretary of Public Safety immediately suspended and began the termination process for the chief of Field Services, the Field Office supervisor and Cinelli's parole officer. The chief of Transitional Services will also be suspended and receive a written reprimand, Patrick said.

By law, parole hearings must continue, the governor said. But he said he's instructed the board not to release anyone convicted of violent crimes, or of using a gun or other weapon in a crime, unless the parole staff is convinced the person can be properly supervised.

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You know what? Things in this country got to a point there for awhile where you just didn't hear about these types of things happening anymore really. Where convicts where afraid to shoot at an officer. Now day's they have nothing to live for it seems with no jobs, no revenue, no way to provide for their families anyhow. Thus, they sure seem to be killing alot more officers nationwide. It very well is, and may be a very good idea for all of us when being pulled over to be very careful where we have our hands located. This very well may just go in our favor in any traffic stop the way that things have been going lately.


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