Villamaino arrested
Date: 10/16/2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comEAST LONGMEADOW — Former East Longmeadow Selectman Jack Villamaino was arrested by Massachusetts State Police at his Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority office in Boston on Oct. 16,
Reminder Publications confirmed.
East Longmeadow Police Chief Douglas Mellis confirmed that Villamaino was arrested and was transported back to East Longmeadow where he is currently being held without bail. Mellis added that Villamaino is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Hampden County Superior Court.
Mellis also confirmed that Courtney Llewellyn turned herself in to authorities, but declined to comment any further, referring all other questions to Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni.
Attempts to reach Mastroianni that evening were unsuccessful.
Villamaino, who was running against fellow Longmeadow Selectman Marie Angelides in the Republican primary for state representative for the Second Hampden District, and Llewellyn, an East Longmeadow town employee, were implicated through multiple media reports in a voter registration fraud scheme discovered through an investigation by Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin's office into the unauthorized request for absentee ballots and changing of registered Democrats' party status to unenrolled.
Upon finding evidence of criminal activity, Galvin forwarded his findings to Mostroianni, whose office conducted an investigation with the Massachusetts State Police and local law enforcement. Several search warrants were executed on Aug. 16 including one at the Town Clerk's office for which
Reminder Publications was present.
However, the search warrant affidavits and returns were impounded, according to Mastroianni. Palmer District Court Clerk Magistrate also said that the motions of impoundment were also impounded.
Reminder Publications filed a motion in Judge Patricia Poehler's court in Palmer to vacate the impoundment, however, Poehler had not delivered a decision prior to Villamaino's arrest.
After the reports surfaced, Villamaino disappeared from public view, resigning from the Board of Selectmen on Aug. 22 via an email sent to Town Clerk Thomas Florence and Town Administrator Nick Breault. He later took down his campaign website and subsequently lost the election.
Since going into hiding, the cover photo on Villamaino's Facebook page has periodically changed from one movie poster depicting a heist or other crime to another — from "Catch Me If You Can" to "Ocean's Twelve" to "Charade" to "The Italian Job."
While a media report stated that the two had wed, a marriage license has not yet been produced to corroborate that. However, Llewellyn recently updated her marriage status on Facebook to married and a photo of the two cutting what appears to be a wedding cake.
This is a developing story. Please check back on www.thereminder.com and or visit us on Facebook for continued coverage.
