Welcome to the Tufts Daily's interactive police blotter map. Click each point on the map to find information about a police incident that happened there. Incidents listed in the Daily's most recent police briefs are designated with red markers. Incidents from past brief entries are designated with yellow markers.
In an attempt to bring down his boss, an embittered Ray Rodriguez may have been the author of his own demise, Jodie Nealley's lawyer claims. After Nealley and Rodriguez were arraigned today on embezzlement charges, Nealley's attorney, Howard Lewis, told the Daily that Rodriguez was the one who submitted the anonymous tip that implicated his client. Rodriguez, the Office of Student Activities' former budget and fiscal coordinator, and Nealley, the office's former director, are charged with stealing close to $1 million from the university. Both pled not guilty at the arraignment and were released without bail pending a pretrial hearing on Oct. 1. Lewis said that Rodriguez was angry at Nealley because she passed him over for a promotion, and that Rodriguez consequently tried to blame her for crimes he himself had committed. But Rodriguez got more than he bargained for, according to Lewis, when the investigation spurred by his submission led to his own indictment as well as Nealley's. "It's clear that Mr. Rodriguez was angry ... and because of that, he started making up allegations," Lewis, of the firm Lewis and Leeper, LLC, told the Daily. "I would suggest that he has a deep-seated hatred for Ms. Nealley, a jealousy." According to Lewis, this information comes in part from documents provided to him by Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone's office. Jessica Venezia, a spokesperson for Leone, declined to comment on whether her office has uncovered such proof. Nealley is charged with taking $372,576 from the university and was arraigned on three counts of larceny of over $250. Each count carries up to five years of incarceration. Lewis denied that Nealley took that amount, but he would not say that she did not embezzle any funds -- despite her not-guilty plea. "I'm not making any claim right now," he said. He did suggest that Rodriguez, who was charged with two counts of larceny of over $250, was to blame for the vast majority of the missing funds. Rodriguez is already charged with taking $604,873 from Tufts, and Lewis told reporters outside the courtroom that he likely took more. "Mr. Rodriguez, [who had] been stealing great sums of money and living extravagantly, got himself in trouble," he told the Daily. Nealley and Rodriguez were set to be arraigned at the Middlesex County Superior Court at 9 this morning, but the proceedings were delayed by over 90 minutes. Nealley, who is using a cane after falling from a ladder while doing yard work, talked quietly with Lewis in the courtroom. Rodriguez sat alone several feet away as he waited for his attorney to arrive. Facing allegations that he used university money to buy products from designers such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton, Rodriguez showed up to court dressed simply, wearing a black shirt and jeans. He appeared nervous as he bit his nails and leaned over, elbows on his knees. Both defendants, eyes averted, declined to comment to the Daily. Rodriguez' lawyer, Steven Goldwyn of the firm Altman and Altman, LLP, would not speak in depth about his client before the arraignment. "Right now, we're not going to say too much," he said. "As the facts come out, we'll go forward from there." He could not be reached after the proceedings to respond to Lewis' accusations. Following the arraignment, Leone's office released a case statement that discloses previously withheld details. According to the document, during a search of Rodriguez' home, the suspect admitted to using university money to purchase luxury items and go on a number of trips.
The Middlesex District Attorney's office submitted the case summary below at the arraignment of Jodie Nealley and Ray Rodriguez, who are accused of stealing nearly $1 million from the university in two separate schemes. For more background on this story, click here to see the Daily's interactive timeline.
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Summer is upon us once again, meaning it's about time to sleep in, catch some rays, find a job (maybe) and catch up on the latest music. Though the Daily can't help with most of these goals, we've put together this mix tape to serve as a soundtrack for summer 2008. Check it out and you'll find that these songs are just about as bright and cheerful as a J.P. Licks ice cream cone or 60-degree-plus weather. But don't just take our word for it. Download the songs and listen for yourself!
Nicolas Chacon, the local man who threw the Tufts community into two weeks of fright and insecurity in April 2007, will serve at least 15 years in prison after pleading guilty on May 28 to charges of rape, assault and kidnapping.
Joseph Golia is taking over an office eager for a rebirth, and - what with a new moniker for the department, an added position to oversee business transactions and a fresh set of oversight rules - a new beginning seems to be just what the former Office of Student Activities is getting.
Nicolas Chacon, the local man who threw the Tufts community into two weeks of fright and insecurity in April 2007, will serve at least 15 years in prison after pleading guilty on May 28 to charges of rape, assault and kidnapping.
Somerville police have arrested a local man for allegedly forcing a woman behind a house near Tufts and raping her in the dawn hours of July 6. And this was not the only recent attack on a local woman.
The indictments handed down two weeks ago against alleged embezzlers Jodie Nealley and Ray Rodriguez surprised Tufts administrators as much as anyone else, Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman told the Daily.
JULY 1, 2008 -- A Middlesex County grand jury today indicted Jodie Nealley and another former Office of Student Activities (OSA) administrator for allegedly embezzling close to $1 million from the university.
For many college students, the question is not what to drink, but where to drink. From intimate dorm parties to Beirut and Milwaukee's Best at the frats, Tufts offers a variety of drinking options. Some upperclassmen, however, say that drinking on campus gets old, and for many underage Tufts students, a fake ID is the key to off-campus revelry.Oftentimes, the likelihood of obtaining a fake ID depends on where students live. Visitors and residents of the New York tri-state area can find a decent fake if they head into New York City. Senior Doug Jardine and sophomore Jane Doe [name changed due to the sensitivity of the subject] found fakes in the Village for about $60. However, if you look hard enough, fake ID's can be found just about everywhere. Senior Rob Lindsley found one for half the price paid by Jardine and Doe, at a flea market in Atlanta. Other students have turned to fellow students who make fake IDs by hand or have even made their own.It's not that hard if you have the right tools, said one Tufts senior, who requested to remain anonymous. "With the right equipment, you can make a good fake for around $100 or so."Ingredients for homemade fake ID include a basic laminator (available at Staples for around $60), laminating plastics ($10), basic color inkjet printer ($40-$150), glitter paint ($3), good quality paper ($1 per sheet). The accuracy of the fake depends on the state ID replicated. "New Jersey is really easy. The hardest part is the hologram. Everything else you can do in Photoshop," he said. Doe, who has a fake Louisiana ID, agrees."New Jersey is the easiest to copy, but the hardest to use," she said.Knowing how to get a fake ID is all well and good, but the real question is, does it work? That depends on where you go. "My ID has worked everywhere I tried in New York," said Doe, who has yet to test it in Boston. "Mine worked at Sligo's, Liquor World, and Downtown Liquor," said Lindsley. Both Doe and Lindsley were reluctant to test their ID in Boston, where bouncers generally ask for two forms of identification. Students generally agree that faking it in downtown Boston is pretty tough."At the beginning of this year there was a real crackdown on underage drinking," says Jardine. "I've heard a lot of stories of police going undercover and busting people. You really have to have a good fake ID"And using a fake ID can be risky. Emily Martin thought losing her ID was the worst thing that could happen if she got caught, until she found herself in the middle of a police sting operation at Mulligan's. Martin had regularly used her fake ID at Mulligan's over the summer with no difficulties. However, a visit to Mulligan's "Tufts' Night" this fall proved more problematic."There were three guys at the door. They asked for my ID, but they couldn't tell if it was fake. So then one of them dangles a badge and handcuffs in my face," said Martin. Martin then admitted the ID was a fake and was whisked aside by two police officers who threatened she would get her license revoked and send her to jail. The police didn't arrest Martin, but they did call her parents at 9 a.m. the next morning.Sometimes just possessing a fake ID can get you in trouble. Doe says one of her friends in New York lost his wallet in a cab that an undercover policeman was driving. When her friend met up with the cabdriver to retrieve his wallet, he was shoved into a police car and arrested. However, these stories are the exceptions to the rule. On average, students agree having a fake ID confiscated, getting embarrassed, and losing about $60 are about the worst things that will happen. At Tufts, it seems having a fake ID is a novelty, not a necessity. Though many students own fakes, many also don't use them. "It was apparent I needed one," said senior Al Arencibia, "but so many people told me they had theirs taken away. It didn't seem like a good investment." Arencibia used his older brother's ID frequently in New York, but it rarely worked in Boston. "The attitude about ID's here is more serious," he said, citing Boston as a particularly sensitive city to nighttime activities. "Places aren't even open past 2 a.m." Arencibia recommended fake ID's as a good way to get off campus and experience places other than Tufts. But if you get one, "you better be really confident that you're 21," he says. "Look bouncers directly in the eyes." "I recommend it if you have the balls to use it," says Lindsley. Doe agrees. "This is one of the strictest places you're going to go. It's worth it if you think you look old enough. Otherwise you're just wasting money."Editor's note: This article has been amended following its publication to reflect the concerns of one of its sources. Her name has been changed to Jane Doe.
After witnessing the Class of 2011's over-enrollment last year, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin says the Class of 2012's size "is right on the money."
Last month's referendum, which would add three amendments to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) constitution, has been put on hold after the Committee on Student Life (CSL) postponed approving the referendum's language until the fall semester.
Tufts took on a major role in helping to heal the war-ravaged nation of Iraq as Iraqi leaders met late last month with officials from South Africa and Northern Ireland at a forum in Helsinki, Finland.
If tentative plans are carried out, Tufts students venturing into Boston on the T in six years will be able to forego the trip to Davis Square.
The Jumbo Janitor Alliance (JJA) presented University President Lawrence Bacow with a petition late last month urging the administration to push for better working conditions for Tufts' custodians, but the student group says it is still waiting to see action from university officials.
Public nudity Web site Coccozella.com has posted hundreds of pictures of students participating in Tufts' 2007 Naked Quad Run (NQR), clearly exposing the faces and nude bodies of undergraduates as they dash through the residential quad.
