The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 18

18- THE BOSTON GLOBE MONDAY, JULY 23. 1990 onte's associate denies Starts and Stops Let the Wgliway work begin finally she will tie him to murders By Tom Coakley GLOBE STAFF By Ronald Rosenberg GLOBE STAFF By Paul Dinger turn for immunity from all crimes other than murder. Doherty was subpoenaed before the grand jury in January but refused to testify. She said that investigators had been told by a private detective who knew her that she had indicated in diary-like notes she kept that Ponte had confessed his involvement in the serial killings to her in 1989. At the time of her first subpoena, Doherty told investigators that she had never met Ponte.

Later, she provided Ponte's attorney with an April 12 affidavit indicating that she had "never met or spoken to Attorney Kenneth Ponte." In the intervening months, however, she and Ponte have become friends. Last month, she visited him in Florida, hoping to marry him. But a week after she arrived, Ponte was charged by Port Richey authorities with assaulting Doherty, by choking her nearly unconcious and pointing a gun to her head. In that case, Doherty changed her story, leading authorities to release Ponte after he spent a month in jail. At first, Doherty signed a Florida police statement confirming the charges.

Then she recanted the allegations and finally before leaving Florida she changed her story again saying Ponte assaulted her. Last week, however, in the prison interview, she once again said Ponte was innocent Pina, refused to say who "has been' ordered before the grand jury, meeting today and tomorrow. The panel has met on a number of occasions since the spring of 1989 to investigate the murders of nine women, whose bodies were found along New Bedford area highways between July 1988 and April 1989. All nine women and two others who are missing and presumed dead disappeared between April and September 1988. Ponte, 40, has been identified by authorities as a suspect in the case.

But he has denied any involvement. Martin confirmed that Doherty met with Pina last week and had been interviewed at length last month by investigators of the serial killings. Those interviews took place after Doherty returned from Florida on a fugitive warrant charging her with violating probation in a Lynn-field larceny case. Doherty is serving a six-month sentence for the probation violation. The conferences with Doherty are another indication that the 18-month investigation is focusing on Ponte, a former New Bedford lawyer who moved to Port Richey, in November 1988.

Authorities in New Bedford have sought head hair and saliva samples from Ponte. Last week, Pina rejected an offer from Ponte's attorney to provide the samples to a private forensic chemist. Pina also rejected Ponte's offer to testify before the grand jury in re FRAMINGHAM Diane Do-herty says she has been subpoenaed this week before the special grand jury investigating New Bedford's serial killings, but she has nothing incriminating to offer in that case against Kenneth C. Ponte, a suspect Doherty said she told serial killing investigators that she had no evidence against Ponte, with whom she has had a relationship, when they in-terviewed-her last month. She said she rejected their suggestions that' she had previously indicated Ponte had admitted to her that he was involved in the killings.

"I told them it was a lie," Doherty, 37, of Lynn, said in an interview in the Massachusetts Correctional Institution here. She said she plans to tell grand jurors there is no truth to reports that she can implicate Ponte. Doherty said she met last week with Bristol County District Attorney Ronald Pina who confronted her with statements she allegedly signed during the interviews last month implicating Ponte in the 1988 killings. Doherty said she told Pina that she never signed the statements, which allegedly indicated that in Florida last month Ponte had admitted to her that he was involved in the serial killings and had described the killings. James Martin, a spokesman for Do not With the gasoline tax signed into law last week, the state Department of Public Works is expecting some $200 million in road, bridge and highway improvement pfojects to start next month.

jiThese are the first substantive new contract awards in; nearly two years because lack of construction money dag to the state's fiscal crisis paralyzed major road and bridge work. But in anticipation of the gas tax passing, the DPW for several months has been advertising as many as a dozen contracts a week, and most have come in 10 percent to 30 percent under the department's estimates. Another $100 million worth of projects will be sent out to bid between September and the end of the year. Most of the 1990 construction season has been lost But Gov. Dukakis will officially launch the state's "economic revital-ization effort" at the new Northern Avenue Bridge off Atlantic Avenue at 1 p.m today.

new bridge supports and foundation are under construction now as part of an $8.7 million contract, with the. superstructure to go to bid by year's end. It is part of a j22 million contract. Among the first new roadway construction contracts tq' 6tart next month: Reconstruction of the French King bridge on Route 2 between Erving and Gill. Resurfacing on several major parts of Route 24 through Fall River.

Repaving Interstate 290 through Marlborough and Northborough. 'Urban reconstruction of Museum Square in Lawrence. New traffic signals and electronic controls on Route 9 through Wellesley, Natick and Framingham. Safety improvements on Route 6 between Dennis and Orleans, where there have been 36 fatalities since 1970, many of them head-on collisions. This $8.8 million contract is entirely from state funds.

Except for the work on Cape Cod, all the contracts will be augmented by federal funds. For summer only, a few bargains To encourage commuter rail ridership on the Frank-IhTline, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority offering free parking through August at the new Dedham Corporate Center commuter rail station. The goal is get drivers out of their cars and into the habit of using the new lot, buying a monthly pass for the first time or taking a trip to a nearby community by rati instead of by car. 'T officials acknowledge the difficulty getting people to their commuting habits and hope the free parking will be an incentive to push people into trying the system. In the fall, this commuter rail parking station, like others throughout the system, will charge a $1 daily parking fee.

'The Dedham Corporate Station, which opened in January, has nearly 500 parking spaces and is off Route 128 at Allied Drive. Motorcycle officer injured officials also noted that on Saturdays and Sundays in July and August, MBTA pass holders can travel anywhere the goes at no extra cost And on Sundays, pass-holders may bring along a guest free as part of the "Summer Sizzler" promotion designed to get riders to use the buses, subways, streetcars and commuter rail system for non-rush hour trips. For Blue Line subway riders, more parking spaces will be added at Orient Heights under a contract to increase the number of spaces to 597 from 400. The station's lot will be upgraded and expanded on two T-owned parcels adjacent to the existing parking area. The project is part of a modernization program for the 12 stations on the line.

Shortstops Some Back Bay streets will be closed for a couple of hours Thursday evening for the estimated 9,000 runners in the Seventh Annual Manufacturers Hanover Corporate Challenge Road Race. From 6 to 8 p.m., Charles Street between Beacon and Boylston Streets will be shut down so spectators can get to the finish line. Also closed will be the race course along Commonwealth Avenue between Kenmore Square and Arlington Street. This Saturday, the MBTA will run a special "Festival Train" from Boston's North Station to Lowell for the Lowell Folk Festival that runs July 27 to July 29. Train fare outbound to Lowell is free; inbound fares cost up to $6.50.

The Rebirth Brass Band will perform for travelers on the station platform before the train leaves at noon, arriving in Lowell at 1 p.m. Several trains will return on the regular Lowell schedule. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority will not shut down the Sumner Tunnel Sunday as planned. The authority said it completed its ceiling repairs ahead of schedule. Photo, Page 17 By Manny Garcia and Yana Dlugy CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS A Boston police officer was in critical condition last night with head injuries after his motorcycle was in collisionwith a car at a Roslindale intersection, police said.

Robert Colon, 30, a five-year police veteran from Hyde Park, was taken by paramedics to Boston City Hospital, where he underwent three hours of emergency surgery after the 10 a.m. collision at Cummins and taxes might reveal questionable activities "a red herring." Gaines scoffed at the notion that Rappaport's returns would reveal any connection to the allegations against Edelstein, saying "What idiot is going to do a tax form that would be a roadmap to illegal activities?" Gaines also said that Edelstein, who died in November, was a beloved figure in the Massachusetts real estate industry and "a mentor and adviser" to Rappaport Daly campaign presses Rappaport for 1986-88 tax pass go, do not collect $200. campaign should "come forward with a clear picture of Rappaport's personal and business background, including his role in the family business, here and in Hawaii." Rappaport released his 1989 tax returns but has declined to produce returns for previous years, citing what his spokesman, Richard Gaines, yesterday called "an element of privacy in years before seeking public office or after seeking office." Gaines called the Daly campaign's suggestion that Rappaport's State seen EDUCATION Continued from Page 17 50 percent, state education officials have encouraged, and sometimes pressured, districts to develop strategies based on the theory that all students are capable of academic success. "The presumption should be, and in too many cases it is not, that children come to school with abilities and talents, not limitations and handicaps," said Harold Raynolds state education commissioner. "It's the responsibility of teachers to identify and support their abilities and talents.

All children can learn. Some learn differently and at different speeds but they can learn." Raynolds has given free rein to top department officials, including Charles Glenn, director of the office of educational equity, and Daniel French, a dropout prevention specialist who are perceived as sharing Raynold's liberal education views. Glenn, in particular, has been active in efforts to reform the Boston public schools. His criticisms of the system's new student assignment plan has led to improvements in assignments this year over last year. The Massachusetts Education Department received national attention after issuing rcporta rocontly-that assailed tracking, or the group in collision also made.

"I did not hit him," she said. "He hit me." Gillis said reports he had received did not indicate that the traffic light was a problem. "Witnesses said she went through the red light," he said. Police issued Copeland two traffic citations, one for failure to stop at a traffic light and a second for operating a motor vehicle to endanger, Gillis said. Colon, described by fellow police as a decorated, well-regarded officer, is also a member of the department's special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team.

returns nizations had supported a Rappaport charge that none of 96 bills proposed by Kerry had been made into laws. Kerry, the Democrat both Rappaport and Daly hope to unseat, has maintained that many of his legislative proposals have become laws, albeit with routine reworkings and alterations by other members of Congress. Gaines said he plans to release examples today of news organizations that credited Rappaport's claims us to pass kids who aren't making it? Are we not supposed to have any sort of criteria for promoting kids? "So fine, we keep promoting them and then they graduate from high school and they can't read or do math. The state doesn't seem to be too realistic. They like to bash us and tell us what we can do better without fulling knowing the financial constraints we face and the kinds of kids we're trying to educate." Although the state's economic woes have severely reduced the department's resources, state education officials have managed to use their limited funds as a catalyst for reform in various school districts.

Most importantly, according to some education reform advocates, is the funds are not aimed at creating add-on or remedial programs, but at restructuring entire schools. Dropout prevention grants, for example, are awarded to school districts willing to overhaul schools instead of just developing new pro-' grams. "I like the fact that the department is not interested in cute programs that squirrel children into a corner and give them for a few extra hours, which really doesn't work," said Emily Ostrower, assistant to the Quincy Schools superintendent Robert RiccL American Legion highways. He was in the hospital's intensive care unit, hospital spokesman Kevin Casey said. According to police spokesman Scott Gillis, Colon, who was on patrol, was injured when his motorcycle was in collision with a blue 1988 Mercury Marquis driven by Susan Copeland, 35, of Mattapan.

Witnesses and medical officials said Colon was thrown 50 feet by the collision, which tore his helmet off. Copeland told police and reporters that a traffic light at the intersection was not operating properly -a report some area residents have In a prepared statement, Rappaport campaign director Jack Quinlan said, "Mr. Daly is now willing to do anything to gain attention, including slandering the reputation of Sumner Edelstein, a honorable man respect-ad throughout the community. Dan Daly owes an apology to Sumner's wife, Irene, and their three children, and we demand that apology now." Yesterday Sen. John F.

Kerry called on Rappaport to substantiate a statement he made on a television show claiming that some news orga school districts, but education reform advocates laud the department for trying to reverse practices that have come under heavy criticism. "Those two reports were really cutting edge," said Anne Wheelock, senior policy analyst for the Massachusetts Advocacy Center, a child advocacy group based in Boston. "I don't know of many other state education departments who have made such harsh assessments of tracking and grade retention." Added Steve Bing, executive director of the Advocacy Center, "Even though it remains to be seen what the reports will lead to, it's very beneficial because it gives people something to point to in terms of what the state education department thinks should be done. For instance, my wife teaches in Fitchburg and Ayer and when the retention report came out the people who oppose retention posted it and said, 'See, this is what we've been saying all along." Some educators are critical of the department's positions on tracking and grade retention, suggesting they will erode academic standards and produce increased student failure. "They have this" idealistic view of education without accounting for the realities of life in these qrban schools," said one Boston School Committee member who asked to remain anonymous.

"Do they expect as leader in urban school reform that Rappaport was a partner in a 1988 Hawaii real estate project with the late Sumner Edelstein, who was listed in an indictment charging Anthony Pepicelli with taking illegal payments from local real estate developers. Pepicelli later pleaded guilty to taking payments from local developers. Edelstein, who was alleged to have paid Pepicelli $500 in 1984, was never charged. Phil Pepe Daly's campaign manager, said that after "these dismaying disclosures," the Rappaport Sunday number 4634 SUNDAY PAYOFFS (based on $1 bet) EXACT ORDER All 4 digits $4,818 First or last 3 $675 Any 2 digits $58 Any 1 digit $6 ANY ORDER All 4 digits $401 First 3 digits $112 Last 3 digits $112 MEGABUCKS 6 9 14 27 33 36 Jackpot $1,451,940.00 There were two jackpot winners. MASS MILLIONS 1 10 21 25 36 41 (Bonus ball 9) There was no jackpot winner.

PREVIOUS MASS. DRAWINGS Saturday 7131 Friday 7849 Thursday 8449 Wednesday 6261 Tuesday 7317 SUNDAY NUMBERS AROUND NEW ENGLAND Rhode Island 0388 Connecticut 306 Conn. Play Four 2115 Sat. Maine, N.H., Vermont 3-digit 754 4-digit 1554 By Peter S. Canellos GLOBE STAFF The manager of Republican Dan Daly's campaign for the US Senate yesterday put renewed pressure on rival Jim Rappaport to release his 1986-1988 tax returns, saying Rap-papbrt's association with a real estate official mentioned in a 1986 indictment against a Boston building inspector "makes even more urgent" the need for disclosure.

The Globe reported Saturday Two choose well to win Megabucks UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL i BRAINTREE There were two winners in Saturday's Massachusetts Megabucks drawing, lottery officials said. The jackpot was worth $1,451,940 and the winning tickets were purchased in Gloucester and Agawam. The winning numbers drawn Saturday were: 6-9-14-27-33-36. The projected jackpot for Wednesday's drawing is $2 million. 2 Tri-state players find wait pays off "CONCORD, N.H.

After five consecutive Tri-state Megabucks lot-, tery drawings without a top prize winner, two bettors have won the right to split Saturday's $3.86 million jackpot, a lottery spokesman said. The winning tickets were purchased at Ruggles Thriftway in Littleton, N.H., and the Convenient One store in St Johnsbury, Vt Lottery spokesman Dave Long said each winner will receive 20 annual pretax payments of $96,500. The numbers drawn during the weekend were: 10-19-20-31-34-39. ing of children by ability, and the holding back of low-achieving students in the same grade for an extra year. The reports, written by French, described the practices as bankrupt and charged they have exacerbated rather than reversed academic failure.

Tracking and grade retention, the reports noted, also contribute to the dropout problem because most students who are placed in low-academic groups or are held back will never catch up to their achieving peers. Having been labeled as chronic failures, many of these youngsters suffer from poor self-esteem and eventually drop out, the reports concluded, Instead, the state recommended that school districts adopt practices that have proven successful in educating urban youngsters, including curriculums that allow students to learn by working on projects together and placing students of diff erring abilities in the same class. "In my opinion tracking and grade retention are devices that give schools excuses for not doing their fundamental job of educating every child," said Raynolds, who has pledged to link eligibility for state funds to doing away with tracking and grade retention. It is too earljrto tell what effect the state reports will have on local.