BOSTON—Suspended Lawrence Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy, who has been under fire for a year over allegations of misusing funds and a controversy over an aide running unauthorized background checks, was indicted Tuesday for fraud, embezzlement and possession of alcohol on school premises.
An Essex County grand jury returned nine indictments against the 59-year-old educator after months of investigation which involved state police raiding his home and office.
According to the indictments, Laboy had school personnel do work at his home and run errands on his behalf while the employees were on school time. The indictments also said school employees provided graphic work for the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, a national group Laboy once led as president.
"The crimes alleged involve a serious violation of the public trust," Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement announcing the indictments.
Laboy is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Salem Superior Court. His attorney, Scott Gleason, did not immediately return phone calls.
Also indicted Tuesday in connection with the investigation was the superintendent's son, Wilfredo Laboy II, for perjury; former aide Mark Rivera on seven counts of larceny over $250; and former Lawrence city councilor and mayoral candidate Israel Reyes on two counts of larceny over $250.
Authorities alleged that school employees provided transportation for the younger Laboy to and from his Methuen home to his job at Sal's Pizza in Lawrence and North Andover.
The indictment also said Rivera and Reyes directed the district's graphic designers to produce campaign literature for political candidates.
A phone number for the 32-year-old Laboy was disconnected, and it was unclear if he had hired an attorney.
Rivera, 33, of Haverhill, also could not be reached for comment. It was unclear if he had hired an attorney.
Reyes, 37, declined to comment and declined to give the name of his attorney.
Laboy has been on leave from his $200,000-a-year job since June after police raided his offices and home in a probe of possible financial improprieties. The state Office of Campaign and Political Finance said in September that Laboy and others used school department printing presses to help political candidates.
The investigation began last year after school committee member Samuel Reyes -- brother of Israel -- launched a public campaign against Laboy alleging that the superintendent was misusing school funds and his power.
In April, Rivera, Laboy's special assistant, was forced to resign after he admitted using school computers to run background checks on political candidates, police officers, news reporters and others.
Samuel Reyes said Tuesday he wasn't trying to "go after" Laboy by asking questions, but just wanted to do "what was right" as an elected official.
He said an emergency meeting has been called for Thursday and he plans to push for an "immediate termination" for Laboy's contract.
Ask if he felt conflicted since his efforts also landed an indictment against his brother, Reyes said he was "depressed."
Samuel Reyes said he had not spoken to his brother for a while and that he didn't know about any involvement his brother had in the investigation.
Fellow committee member James Vittorioso said he would support the effort to fire Laboy. "He embarrassed himself and he embarrassed the city of Lawrence," Vittorioso said.
The indictment against Laboy is yet another chapter in the decade-long, troubled tenure of the Puerto Rican-born educator. He had entered the job with much fanfare as the district's first Latino superintendent in a district in which the student population is nearly 90 percent Latino.
Laboy, who hails from New York, boasted friendships with the likes writer Jonathan Kozol and major league baseball players, and was a nationally sought speaker on urban education.
While Laboy earned praise for improving test scores, his tenure has been marked by controversy.
Laboy immediately drew attention when he fired two dozen bilingual teachers for not passing an oral English examination but then failed a similar test three times himself.
In 2005, former school committee member Amy McGovern and Laboy filed assault charges against each other following a dispute in Laboy's office. The pair later reached an agreement and the cases were dismissed.
In addition, Laboy continued to clash with the Lawrence Teachers' Union over his leadership style and personnel decisions.
"It's pretty obvious to me that the children never came first" with Laboy, said Lawrence Teachers' Union president Francis McLaughlin. "This entire episode has been a needless distraction for the city and the jobs we have to do."
If Laboy is forced out, he would become the third consecutive Lawrence superintendent to leave under fire. Two of his predecessors were fired after hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on questionable expenditures, including expensive dinners and bagpipes.
Lawrence Public Schools is among the state's poorest districts. About 83 percent of its student body is classified as economically disadvantage.
