Area businesses’ help teens realize their prom wish
Boston’s Hynes Convention Center on April 6 was again transformed into a prom-dress shopping paradise, providing over 1,500 teens from more than 200 Massachusetts and New
Hampshire high schools the opportunity to realize their rite- of-passage dreams at the annual Belle of the Ball event.
Since 2005, this annual initiative ensures that students in need can attend their highschool proms excited about the way they look on that memorable occasion.
The success of this event falls on the shoulders of contributing partners Jordan’s Furniture, Tewksbury-based Anton’s Cleaners and Lowell-based Enterprise Bank.
Jordan’s Furniture and Enterprise Bank branches serve as sites where donors can drop off dresses, while Anton’s Cleaners ensures they’re all in mint condition for the special day.
“We get thousands and thousands of dresses; people come in, they’re so nice,” said Eliot Tatelman, president of Jordan’s Furniture.
“I make sure they’re all clean … put up on the right hangers. Move them from one store to another, so that we get them all here looking great,” said Anton’s Cleaners COO Arthur Anton Jr.
The event offers a wide variety of dresses, a combination of slightly used and brand new, which can overwhelm some participants.
“Tons of options. When we walked in I was like whoa,” said Kennedy Thompson from Boston’s Madison Park High School.
Volunteers at the event help the teens pick out their dream look, from that perfect dress to jewelry and shoe accessories.
“When they find the perfect dress the smile on their face is unbelievable. Unbelievable,” said Sandra Dibacco, who volunteered at the event.
Once the outfit is complete, it’s time for the teens to show it off on the runway.
This unique event has a twofold purpose: providing needy students apparel and encouraging a cycle of giving.
That’s accomplished by asking everyone fortunate enough to leave with a prom dress to return the favor and donate it back to the cause, so another person can experience that magical moment.
It’s amazing what caring companies can do when they put their corporate heads together to create and sustain such an uplifting cause.
And the more than 6,000 students they’ve served and the nearly 80,000 dresses they’ve collected over the years stands as a testament to their generosity.
Significant win in law enforcement’s neverending war on drugs
The war on drugs can often appear an unfair fight, with traffickers seemingly coming up with myriad ways to circumvent law enforcement’s attempts to stem this toxic tide.
That’s why we like to highlight those success stories when authorities do gain the upper hand in this struggle.
Such an occasion occurred recently, when a multistate investigation into a drug trafficking organization selling what police described as large quantities of “high-potency, uncut fentanyl” among other narcotics, led to the arrest of three men, including one from Nashua.
The Massachusetts State Police said through multiple undercover drug buys and the execution of several search warrants, investigators seized a total of 7,065 grams of fentanyl, 916 grams of cocaine, 43 grams of methamphetamine, four firearms, several large- capacity magazines, and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.
Police alleged their investigation’s primary target, Wilmer Tejeda- Cruz, 31, of Pawtucket, R.I., oversaw the drug-trafficking organization.
Investigators used court-authorized communications intercepts, physical and electronic surveillance, and ten controlled purchases of fentanyl from Tejeda- Cruz or one of his two “runners,” Jose Bello, 39, of Dedham, and Jose Martinez, 31, of Boston, according to police. The transactions, conducted by an undercover trooper, ranged from 11 grams up to 2,000 grams of the potent synthetic opioid.
Authorities said they also learned that Richard Johnson, 50, of Nashua, was a “high-level customer” of Tejada- Cruz’s organization. According to police, Johnson used Tejeda- Cruz as a supplier of fentanyl that he would then sell in Nashua.
On March 21, after an undercover trooper purchased 2 kilograms of fentanyl from Tejeda- Cruz for $27,000 at a location in Foxboro, the suspect fled but was eventually apprehended. Johnson and Bello were also arrested. Meanwhile, authorities remain on the lookout for Martinez, who they believe fled the country.
Police said the searches of Tejeda- Cruz’s home in Rhode Island and a stash house he’s alleged to have in Taunton resulted in the seizure of thousands of grams of fentanyl, hundreds of grams of cocaine, 37 oxycodone pills, and pill presses, along with firearms, ammunition and $26,000.
A search warrant executed at Johnson’s home turned up quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, several firearms and approximately $6,000.
According to Nashua Police, Johnson’s been charged with five counts of selling a controlled drug (crack cocaine, fentanyl), and six counts of possessing a controlled drug with the intent to distribute.
Tejeda- Cruz was arraigned in late March on a charge of trafficking fentanyl over
200 grams. He still faces arraignment on a host of other drug-related charges.
Tejeda- Cruz and Bello, who was arraigned on fentanyl trafficking charges and conspiracy to violate narcotics laws, both face a 12-year mandatory minimum prison sentence with a maximum penalty of 30 years.