The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • B2

B2 Metro The Boston Globe THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012 New England in brief KAYANA SZYMCZAK FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE Boston University student Jonathan Katz (right), 22, one of nine defendants in the BU hazing case, in court Wednesday. Most charges out in BU hazing case BOSTON Council OK's mayor's '13 budget: Mayor Thomas M. Menino's $2.5 billion municipal budget for fiscal 2013 was unanimously approved Wednesday by Boston's City Council. The budget includes an annual cost-of-living adjustment for most pensioners, as well as $239 million for health insurance premiums for retirees and city employees. The budget is a 3 percent increase from 2012, according to the mayor's office.

The council also passed a five-year, $1.8 billion Capital Plan that authorizes $215 million for new projects such as infrastructure upgrades and community center investments. GIBill.com settles suit over its practices Massachusetts will receive $225,000 after a company settled claims that its website allegedly misled current and former military members who wanted to use their veterans' benefits to enroll in college, Attorney General Martha Coakley's office said Wednesday. QuinStreet owner and operator of GIBill.com, has also agreed to turn over the site to the US Department of Veteran Affairs. QuinStreet agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle national consumer protection claims by 20 attorneys general, Coakley's office said. MASSACHUSETTS 2 cruisers hit in crashes; 1 trooper hurt Two Massachusetts residents face drunken driving allegations after separate overnight highway crashes involving State Police cruisers.

State Police said Mary McLaughlin, 25, of Weymouth was driving in the wrong direction on Route 24 in Randolph early Wednesday when her car struck four other vehicles, including a cruiser. The trooper was not hurt, but two other people were treated for minor injuries. McLaughlin was arraigned Wednesday. A short time later in Newton, a state trooper working a construction detail on the Massachusetts Turnpike was treated for minor injuries after a car hit his cruiser. Peter Okar-ma, 30, of Reading, was hospitalized after the crash.

Police plan to cite him for operating under the influence. NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. Termination hearings begin for officer Termination proceedings have begun for a Lincoln police officer convicted of kicking a handcuffed woman in the head. An administrative hearing began Wednesday for Officer Edward Krawetz. Future hearings were scheduled for August.

Krawetz has been suspended without pay. A state judge convicted him in January of felony battery for kicking Donna Levesque, of Ux-bridge, outside the Twin River Casino. In March, Krawetz was given a 10-year suspended sentence. (AP) PORTSMOUTH, N.H. Blue Angels jets arrive for air show The first of the Navy's Blue Angel fighter jets has arrived in New Hampshire ahead of this weekend's Boston-Portsmouth Air Show.

The FA-18 Hornet arrived Tuesday at Portsmouth International Airport, where the air show is being held Saturday and Sunday. Others in the lineup are US Army Golden Knights parachute team, a wing walker, the Black Diamond jet team, and a P-51 Mustang World War II fighter aircraft. Six other Blue Angels flying in the show were expected to arrive Wednesday, according to the Portsmouth Herald. (AP) AUGUSTA, MAINE Community college tuitions are frozen The Board of Trustees of the Maine Community College System has voted to keep tuition and fees at current levels for the coming academic year. The vote Wednesday means Maine's seven community colleges will continue to have the lowest tuition and fees in New England.

For a full-time student, the average cost to attend will remain at roughly $3,300 a year. (AP) Kay was in Brighton District Court on Wednesday, along with five other defendants. He pleaded not guilty and was ordered to return to court on Aug. 20 for a pretrial hearing. Davidson was arraigned June 20 and also ordered back the same date.

The two face up XolVi years in jail, if convicted. Boston police originally issued five charges on each of the counts the dendants faced, to reflect the number of victims, but have since reduced the counts. Kay and Davidson had faced 15 counts each but now face only three single charges. The 30-member chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi drew most of its members from BU, although school officials said the fraternity had no official ties to BU. The five defendants who appeared in person in Brighton District Court on Wednesday left without commenting, and all either declined to comment when reached by phone or did not return messages.

Police investigating a noise complaint on April 9 found the pledges in the basement of 24 Ashford taped together, splashed with condiments, and shivering. They were wearing only under-wear. Some had portions of their heads shaved. One of the former pledges, Tim Barranen, 19, a freshman, told the Globe in an earlier in terview that he did not feel victimized and that all the pledges knew they could simply walk away if they chose. The cases of two defendants, Jonathan Katz, 22, and Robert Rappa, 22, have virtually ended, as charges against them were modified to civil infractions.

Both men paid fines Wednesday $200 for Katz and $400 for Rappa. Rappa must also complete 40 hours of community service. Prosecutors said Rappa did not participate in the hazing but directed pledges to the house "to become one with their brothers." He grinned as he left the courthouse with his lawyer, Melinda Thompson. "We're thankful the DA's office did the right thing, taking a fresh look at the case and seeing that Rappa didn't have any involvement in the hazing," Thompson said afterward. She said BU withheld his diploma but allowed him to participate in commencement May 20.

The university will release his diploma in the fall, Thompson said. Katz was able to produce a time-stamped receipt from a convenience store to prove he was not at the house at the time of the alleged hazing. Colin Riley, a BU spokesman, said he is prohibited about talking about the students' standings. MOBILE: LATEST NEWS For the latest news on your mobile phone, text to BOSTON (267866). opponents intensify Two defendants face serious ones By Brian R.

Ballou GLOBE STAFF Prosecutors said Wednesday they are dropping most of the charges against the Boston University students who allegedly left five stripped-down fraternity pledges covered with condiments in a hazing incident in April. Two of the nine defendants, Jesse Kay, 20, and Spencer Davidson, 21, still face the most serious charge of assault and battery for what prosecutors have described as inhumane treatment of the pledges, found by police shivering in the basement of an Allston home that was being used as the Alpha Ep-silon Pi house. Both men, who appeared to be the ringleaders in the hazing ritual, also face single counts of hazing and failure to report hazing. Kay and Davidson are accused of ordering the victims to duct-tape themselves to one another and to disrobe, according to prosecutors. They then allegedly poured hot chili sauce on them, causing welts to appear on their skin.

They also allegedly ordered the victims to drink fish oil, said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk district attorney's office. Bear finds western wilds OK so far By Colin A. Young GLOBE CORRESPONDENT The black bear that traversed Cape Cod and made an appearance in Brookline is believed to be doing well in its new Western Massachusetts environs after being captured and released Tuesday, state wildlife officials said Wednesday. "Our bear biologist did make an assessment in the field and the bear didn't show any signs of any stress or trauma. He seemed to be doing what bears normally do when they come to full consciousness," said Tom O'Shea, of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

After being captured in Wellfleet and relocated on June 11, the bear trekked 100 miles eastward before ending up in the backyard of a $4.9 million home in Brookline, officials said. Officials tranquilized it and carted it away. Even through the bear was relocated farther west than the last time he was captured, O'Shea said another appearance is possible. "I wouldn't put it out of the question," he said. "This bear seemed to travel in one direction, and it's possible that he may travel in that direction again." Colin A.

Young can be reached at colin.youngglobe.com. Follow him on Twitter Defendant Kyle Shevrin, 21, failed to appear for his arraignment but sent a letter to the court asking for a postponement because he is in California. Judge Patricia Bernstein found him in default but stayed the arrest warrant until Aug. 20. Shevrin, according to a police report, had attempted to flee during the incident but was stopped by police.

Katz and Alexander Nisen-zon, 21, were found in a second-floor bedroom where they and three other defendants, were "lying in a bed together, faking that they were sleeping," according to the report. Nisenzon faces a charge of failure to report hazing and his arraignment was deferred until Aug. 27. Jonathon Toobi, 22, is out of the country, and his arraignment was deferred to Dec. 12.

He faces one count of failure to report hazing. The arraignment for Lawrence Rosenblum, 19, was also deferred to Sept. 20. He faces charges of failure to report hazing and keeping a noisy and disorderly house. Michael Sanieoff, 22, faces a charge of keeping a disorderly house.

He was arraigned in May and is due back in court on July 5. Brian R. Ballou can be reached at bballouglobe.com. burn police officer John Magu-ire during a robbery of a department store. He was killed in a shoot-out with Dominic Cinelli, a career criminal who had been sentenced to multiple life sentences, but was out on parole.

The killing triggered sweeping changes to the state Parole Board, as well as an appetite for a comprehensive crime reform package, with proponents arguing that Cinelli, who was also killed in the shoot-out, should never have been released from prison. State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz of Boston said in an interview Wednesday that she will wait to see whether the conference committee settles on a final package for the Senate to decide on, but that she wants to see a package different from what has been proposed. The recommendations have not gone far enough to scale back mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, which disproportionately affect blacks and Latinos, she said. She also said the Three Strikes law goes too far in punishing defendants convicted of certain crimes. She acknowledged the passion for a reform package after the death of Maguire, but said the state should wait for a comprehensive study, rather than a crime bill based on "emotionally charged" instances.

Milton J. Valencia can be reached at Follow him on Twitter miltonvalencia. Advertising DlSPlflV I I i I i I i I i i -i i i i i News CONTACTS, TIPS. C0fl MENT3 "i 1 7 '-T-H in in 5PUTUGNT TEAM Tl LIME i'i I 7: Customer service cieihT iNb digital I ll II lil' Ti I I Lottery Crime bill Mass. asked not to rush decision By Milton J.

Valencia GLOBE STAFF A team of civil rights and prisoner rights groups are in-tensifying a campaign to thwart a statewide crime reform bill, saying the state should not rush into a decision on legislation that could send hundreds of defendants to prison without the possibility of parole. The groups, in letters to legislative leaders, have particularly taken issue with the Three Strikes component of the package, which would mandate life in prison without parole for people convicted three times of certain crimes. It would also require a habitual offender to serve a maximum prison sentence with reduced eligibility for parole on other offenses. A legislative conference committee is slated to discuss the crime and sentencing bill, which would also include changes to drug sentences and the way other sentences are handed out, as soon as Thursday. The House and Senate passed competing versions of the bill last year.

The team of civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Black Ministerial Alliance, and Prisoners' Legal Services, is sending a letter to the conference committee, Governor De-val Patrick, and Supreme Judi cial Court Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland. The letters call for officials to table the proposal and have an outside national research group study crime trends in Massachusetts and recommend a proper reform package. The letter states that the Pew Center on the States had conducted a Public Safety Performance Project in other states, and that the reports helped lead to agreeable, data-driven crime reforms that reduced recidivism and saved tax dollars. Meanwhile, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School is set to release a study Thursday that found the crime package, as proposed by both the House and Senate, could make hundreds of low-level offenders eligible for lengthy prison sentences, which would cost the state tens of millions of dollars a year.

The study said the package would also overwhelm prisons that are already beyond capacity and would only strengthen laws that disproportionately affect minorities. Supporters of the bill have said the legislation is necessary for public safety, to keep the state's most dangerous criminals behind bars. "It captures those who, quite frankly, have no place in society," said state Representative David P. Linsky. The movement behind the law was based on the December 2010 fatal shooting of Wo- CLASSIFIED i I 7: I "in- l.i nil: in i.

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