Cat rescued from seawall in Boston
Every day, police officers respond to reports of all sorts of events and nonevents, most of which never make the news. Here is a sampling of lesser-known — but no less noteworthy — incidents from police log books (a.k.a. blotters) in our communities.
CASTAWAY KITTY
When a domestic cat was seen trapped on a seawall near the Little Mystic River on the morning of March 21, the Massachusetts Environmental Police came to the rescue. After being notified about the stranded feline by Boston Animal Control, an Environmental Police officer responded by boat “in somewhat challenging conditions” and “the feline was safely gathered after several attempts and a fall into the water,” police wrote on Facebook. The black-and-white cat, who was named “Charles,” was believed to have been stranded out there for 24 hours.
GREASY PALMS
On March 19, police in Rutland announced that several businesses in the area had been targeted by thieves stealing cooking oil. What would criminals want to do with used cooking oil? Sell it on the black market, where it will be turned into biodiesel. (Loyal readers of Blotter Tales may recall that back in 2020, police in Northborough busted two men for allegedly pilfering oil from a couple of local restaurants). In this most recent incident, Rutland police shared on Facebook a photo of two men and a U-Haul van that were caught on camera allegedly trying to steal cooking oil from a business in town and urged the public to be vigilant. “We’re reminding business owners to secure their property and asking everyone to please report suspicious activity,” police wrote.
MINIBIKE GETAWAY
At 10:11 a.m. March 3, Wilmington police went after a blue minibike after seeing it do a wheelie in the “entire center lane” of a plaza on Main Street. When police tried to pull the minibike over, the operator drove away when the officer got out of the cruiser. The operator was described as wearing black pants, red sneakers, a black hooded jacket with a gray hooded sweatshirt underneath — and as someone who apparently knew well how to get around town. The blue minibike was seen on Wiser Street, then Phillips Avenue, then heading toward Silver Lake, and then ... who knows? Police searched the area to no avail.
WHERE’S THE BUTTON?
At 6 p.m. March 18, Norwood police received a 911 call from a woman who reported she was trapped inside an elevator in a building on Oceana Way. According to the log entry, the responding officer learned that the woman was not actually stuck in the lift, which was working properly; she “just did not know how to exit the freight elevator.”
MYSTERY SOLVED
At 8:56 a.m. Feb. 15, Arlington police received a call from a resident of Madison Avenue who spotted a strange-looking object in front of her neighbor’s house and was concerned that it could be dangerous. Police arrived at the scene to check out the item, and quickly determined it was merely a solarpowered radio. TAX TROUBLE An agent for the Internal Revenue Service who taught ethics (among other things) at a local college was arrested March 20 for allegedly filing false personal tax returns, according to a statement by the US Attorney’s office. The agent, Ndeye Amy Thioub, 67, of Swampscott, had been employed by the IRS for over 17 years and was assigned to the Large Business and International Division of the IRS, where she conducted “independent field examinations and related investigations of complex income tax returns filed by large businesses, corporations and organizations,” the US Attorney’s office said. Prosecutors said she also worked as a visiting instructor at Salem State University, teaching college-level classes on “ethics, professional responsibilities and legal liabilities issues facing auditors,” and other related subjects. Prosecutors allege that she falsely claimed losses from an import and export business that reduced her tax liability. They say she underreported her total income by approximately $42,805 in 2017, $20,324 in 2018, and $27,063 in 2019.