Boston cigarette lawsuit heads to jury

Boston cigarette lawsuit heads to jury

By Associated Press  |   Sunday, December 5, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

A lawsuit by a Massachusetts man who accuses Lorillard Tobacco Co. of trying to entice black children to smoke is expected to go to the jury this week.

The son of a Boston woman who died of lung cancer sued the maker of Newport cigarettes, claiming the company lured his mother to begin smoking at age 13 by giving away free samples at the Boston housing project where she lived.

Lawyers for North Carolina-based Lorillard say there is no evidence the company gave away cigarettes to children at the housing project.

The company’s lawyer argued at the trial that it was Marie Evans’ choice to start smoking and to continue smoking for 40 years despite warnings from her doctors.

The trial began last month. Closing arguments are scheduled Monday in Suffolk Superior Court.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1301001

READ MORE - Boston cigarette lawsuit heads to jury

Cops seek thug in MBTA attack on teen women

Cops seek thug in MBTA attack on teen women

ON TAPE: Cameras 
captured images of the suspect in an MBTA attack.
By Richard Weir  |   Saturday, December 4, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

Transit police are on the prowl for a brawny thug who assaulted two teenage women aboard an Orange Line train, spewing “homophobic and racial slurs” at them before delivering several violent kicks and spitting in their faces, according to cops.

The “bizarre” attack took place Nov. 19 at 10:55 p.m. as the women rode an Orange Line train between Malden and Sullivan Square, said Sgt. Detective Michael Adamson.

“They were sitting there minding their own business. We don’t know what his motivation was,” Adamson said.

For an unknown reason, the stocky, 6-foot-tall assailant approached the 18- and 19-year-old women, calling them lesbians and using a racial slur aimed at the younger woman, who is black, according to a police report.

He then “kicked one of them in the face, cutting her lip, and delivered a blow to the other’s chest,” Adamson said.

The suspect exited the train at Sullivan Square and fled, but was caught on surveillance camera. The women got off at Ruggles Station, where they notified cops but declined medical aid.

Adamson said it was unclear why the man targeted the women, saying “there was nothing whatsoever to lead the suspect to know” their sexualities.

Police asked for the public’s help in identifying the attacker, described as a white man in his 20s, wearing a black and gray Kangol hat, black leather jacket, jeans, white sneakers and a green T-shirt with white lettering.

Adamson added that investigators are working with prosecutors to determine whether the alleged attack rises to the level of a hate crime.

Anyone with information is asked to call the transit police at 617-222-1212.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1300717

READ MORE - Cops seek thug in MBTA attack on teen women

City truck smashes into apartments

City truck smashes into apartments
By O’Ryan Johnson  |   Tuesday, November 30, 2010  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

AT THE FRONT DOOR: Twelve residents of this Roxbury apartment building were evacuated after a Boston Transportation Department tow truck rammed into it.

Photo by Christopher Evans

Crystal Mograss’ kids were watching SpongeBob and waiting for their cheeseburgers when there was a fearsome crash and their Roxbury apartment building trembled.

“It sounded like someone dropped a fridge or a stove off the top floor,” Mograss said.

It was the Boston Transportation Department making an unscheduled stop. A BTD tow truck’s 6:15 p.m. crash into the six-unit St. James Street building startled residents who feared the building was collapsing.

Boston EMS, police and firefighters were on scene moments later to help evacuate 12 residents. They were placed on an MBTA bus to keep warm, while arrangements were made to put them up in a hotel. The tow truck driver was treated at the scene and taken to the hospital as a precaution. Transportation Commissioner Thomas Timlin said the driver was towing cars last night.

He declined to discuss the driver’s length of service with the city or his driving record. The truck will remain stuck in the building for structural security until the city can bring in a contractor today, Timlin said.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1299739

READ MORE - City truck smashes into apartments