The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

Wellesley College reaches $500 million fundraising goal

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Wellesley College Tower, WellesleyWellesley College has announced the conclusion of its $500 million fundraising campaign, the largest ever undertaken by a women’s college.

The college exceeded its goal by over $14 million, raising $514,485,911 in all to support its stated mission to educate and empower women leaders..

“This campaign will touch the lives of countless Wellesley students, present and future,” said Paula A. Johnson, president of Wellesley College, “and strengthens the College across all dimensions.”

Funds raised through the campaign will advance Wellesley’s academic program including faculty and student research and scholarship; will allow for increased financial aid; sponsor career education initiatives; and improve campus buildings.

From the Cliff (Estates) of Wellesley to a courtroom in Ireland: David Drumm found guilty of fraud

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We first reported about former Anglo Irish Bank head David Drumm when in October 2015 he was arrested at his $2 million Wellesley home at the request of Irish authorities. Drumm had been living in Wellesley for six years, much to the chagrin of Irish financial regulators who accused him of all sorts of shenanigans that allegedly went down with Anglo Irish Bank, eventually leading the Irish government to prop it up during that country’s banking crisis earlier in the 2000s.

After his arrest, he remained in a Massachusetts jail until, weary of that, he asked in February 2016 to be sent home to face the music. At that time he was extradited to Ireland to answer to more than two dozen criminal charges overseas related to that bank’s messy demise.

Now the Irish Times reports that “…the 51-year old former banker from Dublin was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting relating to banking transactions he was involved in at the height of the 2008 financial crisis…the jury convicted him over a series of circular transactions that made Anglo’s deposits look €7.2 billion larger than they were in September 2008.”

He had denied the charges of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting. Drumm is out on bail and will be sentenced on June 20.

Bah humbug in Wellesley — Bitcoin extortionist betting residents have been naughty, not nice

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Look out, Wellesley ne’er do wells. Somebody out there wants you to believe that he sees you when you’re sleeping and knows when you’re awake. Unlike Santa, this “visionary” doesn’t wish you well, and in fact wants to shake you down to the tune of $8,500. Here’s the scam: first a letter arrives via the USPS addressed to who I’ll refer to as a Threatened Person. Next, the letter writer claims he knows exactly what the Threatened Person has been up to and will tell all unless $8,500 in Bitcoin is paid. Detailed instructions about how to make this happen are included. The letter writer takes a weary tone. He seems truly exhausted by the whole sordid business and just wants his due for all the time he put in digging up dirt on the Threatened Person.

I checked in with the Wellesley Police, and Lt. Marie Cleary said, “We have had a couple of residents either drop off letters or call to notify us of receiving them, but to our knowledge no residents have fallen prey to the scam. The envelopes have no return address and are postmarked out of state, but from different states. The people who have notified us suspected it was a scam and just wanted to let us know.”

Now you want to know, too, of course. so The Swellesley Report has obtained a copy of one of the letters. Here it is:

Hello, THREATENED PERSON. I’m going to cut to the chase. I know about the secret you are keeping from your wife and everyone else. More importantly, I have evidence of what you have been hiding. I won’t go into the specifics here in case your wife intercepts this, but you know what I am talking about.

You don’t know me personally and nobody hired me to look into you. Nor did I go out looking to burn you. It is just your bad luck that I stumbled across your misadventures while working a job around Wellesley. I then put in more time than I probably should have looking into your life. Frankly, I am ready to forget all about you and let you get on with your life. And I am going to give you two options that will accomplish that very thing. Those two options are to either ignore this letter, or simply pay me $8,500. Let’s examine those two options in more detail. [Read more…]

Wellesley police investigating bank robbery at Bank of America

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The Wellesley Police Department reported that it received a 911 call just after 1pm on Monday afternoon from a Bank of America employee from the 35 Washington St., branch in Lower Falls. The caller indicated that a male party had just robbed the bank, and described the suspect as having a dark complexion, standing approximately 5’11” with a muscular build, and wearing a dark colored long sleeve shirt, sunglasses, a black baseball cap with a white oval shaped logo on it.   No weapon was shown.

The suspect reportedly fled the bank through the rear door on foot.  Witnesses reported that he entered a dark colored sedan on Ledyard Street, but did not know which way the vehicle went off.

Officers checked the area for the vehicle and suspect.   As a precautionary measure, students at nearby St. John’s Elementary School were asked to stay inside while officers examined the area with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police K-9 unit.   The search was completed prior to the dismissal of school, and students were dismissed in the usual manner.

When photographs of the suspect become available they will be posted on WPD’s website www.wellesleypolice.com and Mass Most Wanted.

Wellesley Square July Jubilation — your handy guide

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SPONSORED POST:

Today is the day. The Wellesley Square Merchants’ Association will host the annual July Jubilation celebration on Saturday, July 15, 9:30am – 4:30pm. The shopping and family fun extravaganza traditionally offers great bargains for shoppers and plenty of activities for kids at an event that has been going strong for 25 years now. Maybe it’s the petting zoo or the chance to meet Suki, the Wellesley Police Department’s very own bloodhound. Maybe it’s the chance to drop a Wellesley firefighter into a dunk tank. Or maybe it’s just a great excuse to stroll around Wellesley Square and see what there is to see. Whatever your reason for going, you  don’t want to miss today’s fun.

 

SHOPPING:  A record number of over sixty merchants will join in with sidewalk sales from one end of the Square to the other. Whether you’re looking for toys, clothing, books, home decor, handbags, and more, merchants will be on the sidewalks and in the streets with deep discounts on good stuff.

FUN: Keep an eye out for the stilt walker, magic and balloon tricks, caricaturist, bubble zone, dance show, martial arts demonstration, bounce house, face painting, open police cruiser, and live music.

FOOD: Maybe your first stop will be Sam’s Hot Dogs at Church Square.

MUSIC: The Wellesley Symphony; sing-a-long; disc jockey; live music by The Collective

PARKING: All this and free parking too, thanks to the Town of Wellesley.

For more information, go to ShopWellesleySquare.