Cunningham ouster considered
Published on September 11th, 2002
STONEHAM, MA - The intrigue and the questioning behind a proposed removal of a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals came to an abrupt end this week. It was first learned that the ZBA member in question was Gerard Cunningham, and the “wrongdoing” consisted of an alleged assault that took place in February 2001.
The end result was a 3-1 vote by the Board of Selectmen to, in the words of Selectman Bob Sweeney, “put this subject to bed and never bring it up at the Board of Selectmen again.”
“This is going nowhere fast and I’d like to move on to other areas of business,” said Sweeney.
The only divergent vote was cast by Selectman Mary Pecoraro, the Selectman who initially started the entire inquiry process.
“I have a serious problem when a member of one of our appointed Boards has violated a citizen’s Civil Rights,” said Pecoraro. “I believe that Mr. Cunningham assaulted this man because of words he uttered at a public hearing, and I’d like Mr. Cunningham to answer for his actions.”
“I believe everyone in this town should have the right to be involved in a town meeting, get up in the morning, and go to work without being attacked,” added Pecoraro.
According to several sources at the meeting, a February Board of Selectmen public hearing involving developer Joe Cunningham sparked the incident. Bill Frykeburg, a Stoneham resident, spoke up at the public hearing and made undisclosed comments pertaining to Sweeney and conflicts of interest.
Frykeburg and Gerard Cunningham worked together at Harvey Industries in Woburn, and the following morning Cunningham allegedly had words with, and later reportedly assaulted Fryke-burg in the company parking lot.
Frykeburg was not injured as a result of the incident, but did press charges with Woburn Police against Cunningham. Frykeburg later dropped the charges when he was told by supervisors that Cunningham was “ostensibly fired” from the company after the incident.
According to sources, Cunningham was later rehired by the company and Frykeburg quit a short time later.
“I’m here to tell you that tonight that this incident did happen, and my civil rights were violated,” said Fryke-burg, who marked the second person in as many weeks to appear at the Board of Selectmen after hearing his name mentioned on the live broadcast. “I’ve never even got so much as an apology from him. I‘ve heard the word alleged bounced around quite a bit tonight, and I am here to tell you that there’s nothing alleged about it. It happened.”
Frykeburg also explained that he dropped the assault charges after learning of Cunningham’s dismissal from Harvey Industries.
“I didn’t want to add insult to injury,” said Frykeburg. “It was the perfect of being the nice guy, the gentleman, and then being walked all over.”
Cunningham declined to address the Board, and instead requested attorney Lynn Leonard to speak for him.
According to Leonard, there was never any arrest, trial or conviction for the alleged assault. Leonard went on to characterize Cunningham’s charitable involvement for the last twenty years, and voiced a potential threat if action was taken.
“Removal of my client from the ZBA could be viewed as an arbitrary exercise in abusing power,” said Leonard. “If he were removed, we would vigorously exercise our right to take that decision to the judicial level.”
The Board of Selectmen spent two hours going back and forth, and also weathered several speakers who declared the issue a “witchhunt.”
Pecoraro also accused Sweeney of engaging in bias and a conflict of interest because of his close friendship with the Cunningham’s. Sweeney disclosed his relationship with the Cunningham’s during the meeting, and, according to Town Counsel Bill Solomon, this action allowed him to continue in the discussion and vote.
The discussion ultimately ended with the Board approving a moratorium on the topic, and Cunningham continuing his time on the ZBA. Not everyone was equally pleased with the decision as the 30-40 members of the audience filed at the conclusion of the meeting.
“The people get what the people want,” muttered Pecoraro.
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