New England in brief
WASHINGTON, D.C.
States that allow gay marriage cannot force the federal government to provide benefits to those couples, the Obama administration argued yesterday in court papers in a lawsuit by the State of Massachusetts. The Justice Department is at odds with Massachusetts - the first state to allow gay marriage - over a 1996 federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Massachusetts sued in July, saying that law is discriminatory and deprives gay couples in the state of some federal spousal benefits. The Obama administration agrees the Defense of Marriage Act is discriminatory and wants it repealed, but says it has an obligation to defend laws enacted by Congress while they are on the books and can be reasonably defended. (AP)BOSTON
Probation officers agree to take furloughs
State probation officers have voted to take unpaid furlough days to prevent the layoff of 75 workers scheduled for next week. Members of the National Association of Government Employees voted 424 to 348 to accept eight furlough days rather than see co-workers lose their jobs. The Legislature last week added $4.5 million to the probation department budget in an effort to avert the layoffs, but Governor Deval Patrick vetoed the appropriation. “People stuck together at great cost to themselves in this tough economic environment,’’ said David J. Holway, president of the National Association of Government Employees. “It’s a very selfless act to put the interests of your fellow workers above your own.’’Chelsea man sentenced for raping girl
A Chelsea man was convicted Thursday of repeatedly raping his neighbor’s daughter and was sentenced yesterday to two concurrent five-year terms in state prison and possible deportation upon his release, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement. Marco Montano, 29, originally of El Salvador, was found guilty of statutory rape and indecent assault and battery on a child for assaults on his neighbor’s daughter that began when she was 9 in 2005. He raped her once a week for almost two years, a statement from Conley’s office said. Montano was a friend of the girl’s family and would arrange meetings with her in the stairwell when her mother was out of the home or busy attending to her other children, the statement said.LAWRENCE
Laid-off firefighters still getting paychecks
When Lawrence laid off eight firefighters nearly three months ago, it was supposed to save the city money. Instead, those firefighters have been collecting a full paycheck. Mayor Michael Sullivan told The Eagle-CONCORD, N.H.
Mass. man pleads guilty in store robbery
A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to robbing a Woman gets 15 months in identity theft
A former New Hampshire woman has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for stealing her nanny’s identity to obtain credit cards. Forty-year-old Ramie Marston of Hampton and Kittery Point, Maine, was sentenced Thursday. After her term, she will be on supervised release for three years, barred from having access to anyone’s financial information. A probation officer will monitor her Internet use. US Attorney John Kacavas said she has also been ordered to pay back more than $53,000 to the nanny and two other victims. (AP)
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