Investigation of the August 14th, 1962 Mail Truck Robbery (Massachusetts State Police)

Jarrod M. Barbetta filed this request with the Massachusetts State Police of Massachusetts.
Multi Request Investigation of the August 14th, 1962 Mail Truck Robbery
Submitted Feb. 8, 2021
Est. Completion None
Status
No Responsive Documents

Communications

From: Jarrod M. Barbetta

Subject: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Investigation of the August 14th, 1962 Mail Truck Robbery (Massachusetts State Police)

Portal


To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

Interviews, statements, memos, desk reports relating to the mail truck robbery occurring August 14th, 1962. shortly following the robbery the FBI, Postal Inspectors, MDC, State Police and Boston Police formed a "mail robbery Taskforce" with it's central hub at the Boston Police Detectives Bureau, headed by Commissioner Edmund L. MacNamara and State Police Captain Michael J. Cullinane, seeking documents, reports, etc in relation to this Taskforce.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jarrod M. Barbetta

From: Massachusetts State Police

Subject: MSP Public Records Request

Email

Dear Jarrod Barbetta,

The Massachusetts Department of State Police ("Department") has received your request for "Interviews, statements, memos, desk reports relating to the mail truck robbery occurring August 14th, 1962. shortly following the robbery the FBI, Postal Inspectors, MDC, State Police and Boston Police formed a "mail robbery Taskforce" with it's central hub at the Boston Police Detectives Bureau, headed by Commissioner Edmund L. MacNamara and State Police Captain Michael J. Cullinane, seeking documents, reports, etc in relation to this Taskforce."

The Department considers your request as a submission pursuant to G.L. c. 66, §10, the Massachusetts Public Records Law.

Please be advised that 950 CMR 32.06(1)(b) requires that "requests for public records shall include a reasonable description of the requested record to the records access officer so that he or she can identify and locate it promptly." Based upon the information you have provided, it is the Department's position that your request does not contain a reasonable description of the requested records. Despite this, the Department researched the information online, and according to a news article there was a robbery that occurred on 8-14-1962 known as the Plymouth Mail Robbery where the following three individuals were federally indicted: John J. Kelley (53 at time) from Boston/Roslindale, Patricia J. Diaferio (32 at time) from Boston/Roslindale, and Thomas R. Richards (41 at time) from Weymouth. Please see https://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20020815/NEWS01/308159982

Based upon the information you provided and the information learned online (names of the three individuals charged), the Department conducted a search of its records within its Criminal Records unit, and was unable to locate any responsive records. To the extent that you have further information that would assist the Department in researching your request, I ask that you provide that information.

You may want to reach out to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Boston Police Department to determine if they have any responsive records.

If you wish to challenge any aspect of this response, you may appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records following the procedure set forth in 950 C.M.R. 32.08, a copy of which is available at http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-legal-res/law-lib/laws-by-source/cmr/. You may also file a civil action in accordance with M.G.L. c. 66, § 10A.

Sincerely,

Keith A. Paquette
Legal Counsel
Massachusetts State Police
470 Worcester Road
Framingham, MA 01702
Tel:(508)-820-2348

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