Mugshots of Philip Bruccola (or Buccola) between April 24, 1925 and Ap
Submitted | June 26, 2012 |
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Communications
From: George Hassett
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the state Freedom of Information Act, G.L.M. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:
Any and all mug shots taken of Philip Bruccola (or Buccola) taken between the days of April 24, 1925 and April 24, 1960.
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.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, 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,
George Hassett
From: "Procopio, David (POL)" <david.procopio@state.ma.us>
Sirs,
Please be advised that I am receipt of this and several other requests from MuckRock News over the last two days. I believe also that you filed a similar request several months ago, which did not involve the Media Relations office. We will review the legality of releasing these photos, with the determining factor being the subject's rights to CORI protections. In other words, we will have to determine if the photos in question are either well-established in the public domain or if the subject has died and thus no longer enjoys CORI protections.
I will do my best to expedite this, but please bear in mind that we have numerous other duties in the Media Relations office. I will get back to you as soon as possible.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 26, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thank you for your help.
From: Procopio, David (POL)
Dear Sir/Madam:
I apologize for the delay in replying. There was confusion on my end because some of your organization’s previous requests had been directly sent to the MSP legal counsel, while others have come to Media Relations. From this point forward, please send all such requests directly to Media Relations and this office will facilitate a prompt reply.
In response to the below request, please note that by regulation, a state agency is granted deference in interpreting regulations regarding dissemination of booking photos. Please see 803 C.M.R. 2.04(5)(a). Agencies may disseminate such photos if disclosure is in the public interest, for instance, a currently wanted suspect who may pose a danger to the public. Likewise, an agency has discretion to withhold photos as CORI-protected records. Please see Rock v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, 384 Mass. 198, 207 (1981). Please be advised that the Department of State views booking photos as CORI, and thus exempt from dissemination as a public record. Therefore, the request for the “Mugshots of Philip Bruccola (or Buccola)” is denied.
You have the right to appeal this decision with the Supervisor of Records at the office of the Commonwealth’s Secretary of State.
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