News Notes: Housing Trust celebrates key milestone

The town of Canton’s newly established Affordable Housing Trust recently marked an important early milestone as officials gave the green light for the purchase of an affordable unit at 47 Turtle Brook Road.

Emerging from executive session last Tuesday night, the Canton Select Board voted to authorize the use of a loan (approximately $240,000) from the town’s general fund to purchase the unit from the banks involved with the real estate transaction. The unit became available when the prior owner had financial difficulties, and the trust, in keeping with its stated mission, saw it as an opportunity to preserve an affordable home in Canton.

A public lottery will soon be advertised, and the selected applicant will be able to purchase the unit with the proceeds going back to the town. Select Board Chair Mike Loughran, who also serves on the housing trust committee, said it would be ideal if the winner of the lottery is someone who lives or works in Canton, but acknowledged that it cannot be made a condition of eligibility.

Loughran said the approval is a major milestone for the trust and the board has hired a contractor to search for other available units. “This is what the trust is for,” he said.

Lt. Gallagher honored for role in ‘Operation Las Vegas’

Canton Police Lt. Det. Paul Gallagher was recently awarded national recognition for his role in a regional task force that uncovered a major firearms trafficking operation, resulting in a slew of criminal charges for weapons and drug offenses.

James Ferguson, special agent in charge for the Boston region of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), presented the awards to the participants of “Operation Las Vegas,” a multi-jurisdictional investigation into national and transnational criminal street gangs. During the course of the 14-month investigation, which started in Chelsea and later expanded to include law enforcement partners in Boston, Canton, Revere and Brockton, a total of 67 firearms were purchased by undercover agents and three additional firearms were seized via information obtained from intercepts. The guns were being funneled into the greater Boston area from New Hampshire, where those cases will be prosecuted.

Also purchased during the investigation were large quantities of heroin, crack-cocaine and powder cocaine, and an additional five firearms and a half kilogram of cocaine were seized through the execution of search warrants. Several gang members have been charged with RICO/VICAR crimes related to murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, firearms trafficking and drug trafficking, and 22 individuals have been arrested for deportation …

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Posted by Mike Berger on Feb 11 2022. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.