Region Roundup: Alleged Bank Robber Caught, Town Meeting Held, and Local Politics Get Heated

Stoughton Police Thwart Robbery at Webster Bank

Stoughton Police, working with the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force, foiled an alleged robbery at Webster Bank in Stoughton Friday morning, Stoughton Police Executive Officer Robert Devine said.

Lucas Gravina, 29, of Hull, entered the Webster Bank at 700 Washington St. (on the corner of Washington and Monk Streets) at 10:22 a.m. on Nov. 2 and robbed the bank of an undisclosed amount of money, Devine said.

Gravina, a suspect in a series of bank robberies in the local area, was being surveilled by Stoughton Police Detectives and the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force as he was heading into the bank, and when he walked out, Stoughton Police greeted him and placed Gravina under arrest in the bank parking lot, Devine said.

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Norton Holds Annual Town Meeting

With over 200 Norton residents present at the annual Town Meeting, voters approved funds for the J. C. Solmonese Elementary School roof, Town Hall repairs, tax increment financing for Waste Management and voted down the purchase of Pheeny’s Island.

Article 22 asked the town to spend $149,900 in free cash to purchase the 9.17-acre property known as Pheeny’s Island. The island is one of two that are not currently owned by the town. Businessman Kenneth Leavitt recently expressed interest in purchasing the island, and to build a ropes course there. Friends of Pheeny’s Island, a group dedicated to the conservation of the land, hoped to obtain the land and stop the business from being built there. The vote to acquire Pheeny’s Island by eminent domain failed to gain a two-thirds vote.

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State Rep Candidate Says Opponent Flipped Off Debate Audience

Democratic challenger Paul Heroux has accused Republican state Rep. George Ross of giving the audience the infamous one-finger salute at the debate between the two men Thursday at Attleboro High School. Ross said this did not happen.

Heroux issued a statement to the media during the weekend saying Ross, who represents the 2nd Bristol District (including most of Attleboro), should issue an apology to every resident. This is not the first demand for an apology by a candidate in this race. Ross demanded Heroux apologize to veterans during the debate for his statement in a Patch article that he had not voted from 2004 to 2008 because no race piqued his interest. This comment led to some boos from the Heroux friendly audience, and then the gesture that Heroux has accused Ross of making.

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11th Plymouth District State Rep Candidates Debate the Issues

The 11th Plymouth District State Rep candidates Claire Cronin (D-Easton) and Dan Murphy (R-Easton) debated on Brockton Community Access earlier this month.

Topics included jobs, the economy, retiree health insurance, and schools.

The debate was moderated by Brockton Community Access general manager Mark Linde and a panel consisted of Brockton Democratic City Committee Chair Steven Foote and Brockton Republican City Committee member David Heidke.

Murphy, an accountant and selectman, and Cronin, a mediator, are looking to replace Geraldine Creedon (D-Brockton) in the state legislature. The district is made up of Precincts 1-5 in Easton and all of Ward 1, Ward 3-D, Ward 7-C and 7-D in Brockton.

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