One Vineyard shark sighting declared a hoax
By Jonnelle Marte, Globe Correspondent
A 60-year-old Boston man is facing a charge of disturbing the peace for allegedly concocting a story about a shark sighting off a Martha's Vineyard beach Thursday morning.
Michael Lopenzo allegedly told people at Edgartown's State Beach at about 10:40 a.m. that he had seen two sharks about 22 feet long and weighing about 3,000 pounds each, while fishing in the area, said Edgartown Police Chief Paul Condlin.
The island's South Beach had closed earlier in the morning, after lifeguards reported possibly spotting a great white.
Lopenzo gave his address as 17 Court St., which is the address of the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans. Lopenzo is not a current resident there, said Stephen Cunniff, director of community affairs for the shelter.
Lopenzo also allegedly told a detective that he worked on a fishing boat named the Alicia Li, which was owned by a "John Kennedy." But police said they later determined there was no such boat and no such owner.
The state sent a plane to scan the waters off Edgartown Thursday, but the pilot could not confirm the presence of a great white. All the beaches are open today, said Wendy Fox, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
On the Beat

Reporter John R. Ellement is covering the arraignment today of a man charged as an accessory after the fact in a fatal stabbing in Brighton.
|
|

Recent stories from the MetroDesk


Features

Editor's Choice

A day in the life of a pandemic

Losing ground
- Iraq latest crucible for Harvard mediation
- Transportation payroll soared under Patrick
- Stimulus money for bridge near Gillette
- Budget cuts hit homeless shelters hard

From Today's Globe
- Civil War reenactors losing access to Mass. sites suitable for battle dramas
- Coakley’s rivals push her for more televised debates
- Detention diversion project at risk
- Fantasy football giving these residents a kick Sundays
- Cambridge storyteller Brother Blue remembered for compassion, inspiration

MORE BLOGS

LOCAL RESOURCES
LOCAL BLOGS
Universal Hub
The Chinatown Blog
CommonWealth Magazine
Red Mass Group
Blue Mass Group
Boston 1775
The Berkeley Beacon
The Daily Collegian
The Daily Free Press
The Harvard Crimson
The Heights
The Huntington News
The Suffolk Voice
The Tech
The Tufts Daily






