Russell Keirstead was before the Plympton Board of Selectmen attempting to sell property that the town has a right-of-first-refusal to. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMPTON — Selectman Chairman John Traynor said he thinks that the town is operating too many vehicles and Town Administrator Elizabeth Dennehy disagreed. The at times tense discussion came up at the Monday, Jan. 7, Plympton Board of Selectmen’s meeting.

Two vehicles too many?

Two vehicles operated by the town, a 2011 Ford Taurus and a 2012 SUV, shared between the Town Administrator, Assessors and even at times the Police and Fire Departments are getting older and have significant number of miles on them, said Dennehy.

“I don’t see the need for the Taurus … two cars to repair, register, insure, it doesn’t make sense to me,” said Traynor.

At the times when there are competing needs for a vehicle, Traynor suggested employees put in for mileage on personal vehicles, a solution that Dennehy didn’t find tenable.

“I’m not going to nickel-and-dime the town [for miles],” she said, noting that putting in for mileage is an involved process involving filling out vendor forms, and expensive to the town.”

Traynor insisted that he sees the vehicles remain parked in front of the Town House, while Dennehy argued that they are in heavy use.

Dennehy explained that she did not believe that selling a vehicle, possibly the older Ford Taurus, would create much savings for the town, either through insurance because of the way rates are set for the town, or because the procurement process would take up so much time and the older vehicles would have such little value.

“So if we deleted that from our insurance policy the insurance policy wouldn’t go down one iota?” asked Traynor. The answer from Dennehy was no.

“So that’s where you and I have a difference of opinion,” said Dennehy. She added that all things considered, the town might get a few hundred dollars for working vehicles that are being used by the town.

“I don’t think that two vehicles are too many for a town the size of Plympton,” said Dennehy.

Russel Keirstead Right of First Refusal

The board, despite their best efforts to move the process along for Russell Keirstead, of Crescent Street, could not accommodate a Friday closing date on a parcel of his Chapter 61A property that he is attempting to sell as a 1.5-acre buildable lot. The town has the right of first refusal on the property because in order to be sold it must come out of the tax-saving state program.

Keirstead said he thought this would be a “three-minute” process before the board, but because of a strict protocol set up by the board for “chapter property,” a public hearing has to be advertised and scheduled so that the public has an opportunity to comment on the land sale. The hearing was set for the next Selectmen’s meeting, Jan. 28.

Keirstead was visibly disappointed that his deadlines would not be met, although he said he was eager to take whatever steps were necessary to properly sell the lot.

Budget Discussions

The board began to discuss their requests for the upcoming FY’20 budget, and Dennehy noted that the Finance Committee was asking boards and departments to estimate their budgetary needs very accurately, and not allow excess for unexpected items.  She said that the FinCom would rather deal with unexpected extras that come up on a case by case basis via the transfer request process.

Selectmen are asking for a legal budget of over $10,000 more than last year, citing ongoing litigation the town is engaged in, including at least one case in federal court where a Marshfield cellphone infrastructure company is suing the Zoning Board of Appeals for refusing them variances to build a cellphone tower on a parcel that is not zoned for the purpose.

In Other News

• Scott Varley was appointed Wiring Inspector to replace the late Robert Karling.

• The board will next meet Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, at 6 p.m. in the Large Meeting Room of Town House.

Supreme Judicial Court Justice Kimberly Budd (Courtesy photo)

Halifax attorney Thomas J. Yelverton was suspended from the practice of law for three months Nov. 5, 2018, by the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County after a lengthy investigation by the Office of Bar Counsel (OBC), according to a summary of the order of the court available from the Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) of the Supreme Judicial Court and the order of the court itself.

The suspension stems from when Yelverton was retained in November 2016 to handle the estate of a client’s mother. The client provided Yelverton with a copy of a will and other information needed to handle the estate. In November or December 2016, the client wrote a check to Yelverton for $1,000 as a retainer. On Feb. 27, 2017, the client met with Yelverton, signed forms at his request, and gave the attorney an original will and a replacement check for $1,000, the report stated.

Yelverton never provided his client with a written contract for representing the client and for the fees and expenses the client would be responsible for, according to the BBO.

In early March 2017, Yelverton stopped communicating with the client despite receiving repeated requests for information, according to court documents. On April 18, 2017, the client requested an update and the return of all files if the attorney was unable to move forward with handling the estate.

Yelverton never responded and did not complete the work for which he was hired in any substantive way. When he was notified that the OBC was investigating in November 2017, Yelverton returned the original will to the client, stated the report.

Yelverton failed to respond to bar counsel’s requests for information in the matter.

On Jan. 29, 2018, Yelverton was served with a subpoena issued by the BBO requiring him to appear, testify and produce records at the OBC concerning the matter. He never appeared, according to the board.

Yelverton was administratively suspended from the practice of law Feb. 26, 2018, for his failure to cooperate with the investigation. He also failed to comply with the provisions of the administrative suspension.

The BBO asserted that Yelverton broke the rules of professional conduct for attorneys through his actions.

On May 29, 2018, an attorney for the OBC began disciplinary proceedings by filing a petition for discipline with BBO. Yelverton did not participate in the disciplinary proceedings and was defaulted.

Then, on Oct. 11, 2018, the BBO voted to recommend that Yelverton be suspended from the practice of law for three months, the report stated.

Finally, Judge Kimberly Budd, Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, agreed, ordering the three-month suspension.

According to her order, he is required to file notice of his suspension with each court he has a matter before, inform all clients he has been suspended, refund any unearned fees and resign appointments with which he has a fiduciary role (such as a guardian or executor).

The OBC, an independent administrative body, investigates reports of attorney misconduct. When the OBC concludes that an attorney has engaged in unethical conduct under the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, the office will bring charges before the BBO, another independent administrative body, for adjudication. When misconduct is found, the board either imposes discipline or, as in this case, recommends to the Supreme Judicial Court that it impose discipline.

Yelverton had no prior misconduct, stated the report. His suspension ends in February, and his return to the practice of law is conditional, according to the court order.

Matthew Will stands before the court in Wareham at a previous hearing. (Photo by Abram Neal)

PLYMOUTH — A pretrial conference for roofer Matthew Will, 37, of Halifax, owner of Five Star Discount Roofing, scheduled Friday, Dec. 21 for two of five known open larceny-related cases in Plymouth County, has been delayed.

Will last appeared in Wareham District Court Dec. 7 on three other cases. A new alleged victim has come forward first to the Express and later to local authorities with a similar story to those of other alleged victims.

Will’s Plymouth-based attorney, Jack Atwood, delayed the two hearings because he was busy with another case in Quincy, according to court records. The proceedings were canceled at the last minute, on Thursday, Dec. 20, although Will’s cases still appeared on the court’s daily logs as late as Friday morning.

Will is currently facing a total of one count of larceny over $1,200 by false pretense, two counts of larceny over $1,200, 19 counts of larceny over $250 by false pretense, one count of larceny under $250 by false pretense and one count of forgery of a document.

There were 23 area households in three communities claiming they have been victimized to date, who have lost a combined $153,197.34 in monies allegedly given for work not done, with individual losses ranging from $695 to $15,569. Most of these victims are over age 55, and many are elderly, according to police reports. The alleged victim who lost the most money is 78 years old.

These totals do not include the newest alleged victim, who is from Wareham.

Will had done work for him in 2017, before moving to Wareham, he said, with no issue. He appeared to have a good reputation at the time, the semi-retired man stated in an email and a later phone interview with the Express.

Previous work

Based on his previous positive experience with Will, when his daughter and son-in-law had major roof and chimney issues at their East Bridgewater home, he said he chose to help them out financially and reached out to the roofer, calling it a big mistake not to recheck his licenses.

Checking Will’s licenses, though, may not have shown anything as his CSSL-Roofing and HIC licenses are currently active, although he does have several pending arbitrations before the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, according to state records.

The Wareham alleged victim said he paid $14,000 for a roof that never vented properly, and waste shingles and trash are still on-site, weeks after work began on the home. He also said he paid $6,047 for chimney work that was never started, and siding was stripped on one section of the house, which is still bare. He estimates that there is $7,000 of outstanding work to be done.

The Wareham man reached out to local authorities, he said in a Wednesday, Dec. 19, email, who alerted Will to another complaint against him.

This prompted a phone conversation between the man and Will, who promised to come Dec. 27 to finish everything except the chimney.

“I don’t hold much hope but if by chance I can get any work completed I would like to try first before I move ahead [to press charges],” he wrote.

Will’s next court appearance, should no new charges be filed, will be on Monday, February 11, 2019, at 9 a.m. in Plymouth District Court for pre-trial hearings. The three Wareham District Court cases have been continued to March 4, 2019, at 9 a.m. also for pre-trial hearings.

Will could not be reached by email or phone for comment as of press time.