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Lantigua accused of abuse of
power |
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By Dalia
Díaz
daliadiaz@rumbonews.com
A local Barber has accused Mayor William Lantigua of abuse of
power as a result of an incident that occurred in front of his
shop on Saturday, March 20.
According to Alvaro Sanchez, a group of men were playing
domino outside of his NY Unisex Barber Shop on 38 Hampshire
St. when Mayor Lantigua walked by and saluted everyone.
Someone then asked who that man was and upon of learning that
he was the city’s mayor, referred to him as “a piece of s…”
Mayor Lantigua heard the comment and turned back to find out
who said it and one of them took responsibility for it. An
argument ensued and Lantigua called police but before they
could arrive, the offender ran inside the building and
disappeared.
Officers Carmen Purpora, Angel Lopez and Ariel Montas
responded to the call; they spoke to the men outside including
Mr. Sanchez and proceeded to search inside the establishment,
looking for the man who ran inside. They concluded that he may
have exited the building through a back door and could not be
found.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sanchez called his aunt Wendy Luzon, because
she knows the mayor and perhaps could talk to him. Ms. Luzon
said that when she arrived, Lantigua was irate and yelled at
her not to get out of her car.
Then, one of the officers asked the mayor what else he wanted
them to do and according to Ms. Luzon, Lantigua ordered, “Shut
the f… place down!”
The business was not closed because Mayor Lantigua decided
against it after he said it, but everyone who was there
waiting for service left and there was no business for the
rest of the day.
“People went by and saw police officers here. That’s all I
needed to ruin my business; they probably thought I was doing
something illegal,” said Alvaro Sanchez.
Mayor Lantigua recalled the story in the exact way Mr. Sanchez
related it and his only reasoning for turning around to ask
who had offended him was that, “I felt disrespected but I was
more concerned about the lack of respect towards the office I
hold,” he said. “I considered for a moment if I should go back
or keep on walking but I was afraid that it could escalate,”
he added.
Now, Mr. Sanchez is fearful of retaliation for something in
which he was not involved in the first place.
A case of intimidation
His fear has logic because on Tuesday, March 23, his sister,
Elenora Balbuena was visited by a Lawrence Police officer at
her place of work and accused of robbery. Ms. Balbuena works
at the Burger King located on Haverhill St., Methuen, when
Officer Barry Desjardins accused her of stealing $2,000 from a
woman in a Liberty Taxi. He patted her down and searched in
the trash cans around looking for the stash.
Officer Desjardins left and she has not heard from anyone
since and no charges have been filed against her to date.
But when Ms. Balbuena went home, she told the story to her
aunt Wendy Luzon and she recommended going to the Lawrence
Police to find out if they knew anything regarding the robbery
or why she was searched. To their surprise, they knew nothing
of those incidents in Lawrence.
Then, they went to Methuen Police. “We immediately found out
that no police officer has jurisdiction entering another city
or town without first calling or notifying the police
department of the city they are planning to enter,” said Ms.
Luzón.
The Methuen Police Department issued a report stating Ms.
Balbuena’s appearance before them and their own findings upon
calling Lawrence Police to confirm the identity of Officer
Barry Desjardins.
The entire incident and search was caught by the surveillance
camera at Burger King. Armed with a copy of that tape and the
Methuen Police Department’s report, she has contacted an
attorney because her civil rights have been violated, besides
the embarrassment before her employer.
This is not the end
As Mr. Sanchez suspected, he believes that the harassment has
begun. Last week, City Hall inspectors went to check on the
certificate for the plasma television he has on the wall for
the benefit of his customers. Upon confirming that the
certificate was posted under the television set, they left the
barber shop.
The report issued by the Lawrence Police Department stated
that Mayor Lantigua “was in fear for his safety. He stated
that this individual’s actions appeared hostile and
unpredictable,” the report reads.
Detective Carmen Purpora further wrote: “Upon exiting the
business, I observed several barber chairs inside Mr.
Sanchez’s barber shop. Mr. Sanchez stated that he had several
barbers working at this business. As pursuant to Mass General
Laws Ch. 112 s87, I inquired whether or not he had proper
licensing for the several barbers that were working in his
business. Mr. Sanchez displayed only a permit for the business
to operate and was unable to provide any Master or apprentice
licenses. I informed Mr. Sanchez that the police would
follow-up in assuring that he had the proper licenses to
operate the business.”
The matter was closed since they were unable to find the
suspect pending further information. |
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