A Statement From Mayor William M. Manzi, III Regarding Police Chief Joseph Solomon
Today, my office issued a notice to Police Chief Joseph Solomon pursuant to the Massachusetts Civil Service Law. Chief Solomon was informed that a hearing will be held in City Hall to determine whether or not there is just cause to take disciplinary action against him for mismanagement and/or misapplication of federal grant funds, as well as other misconduct. As Chief of Police, Joseph Solomon is ultimately responsible for the proper administration and implementation of public safety grants and the lawful, effective administration and performance of the Police Department as a whole. The hearing will be conducted within the next few weeks. More details on this hearing will be available next week.
Bill Manzi.com 
I certainly hope that all proceedings are open to the public and on cable tv and that the hearing is conducted at night so the most number of Methuenites can observe and judge for themselves and not continue to rely on the Tribune.
There truly needs to be full disclosure of all documents..we need to know exactly what all this fuss and hubub has been about these past years since the Chief got embroiled in the whole Larivierre tragedy.
It seems that the government needs to prove more than the usual personality conflicts within any department, or bookeeping errors, or the intervention of old fashioned Methuen politics.
I hope both parties agree to full disclosure of all records and documents.
Disciplining a Chief of Police is serious business and its consideration must follow due process, full disclosure and an adherence to the criteria set forth in Supreme Court and Appeals cases. There must be more than issues of how someone might manage better or style alone.
With all the talk and Mr Larivierre’s latest comment about “corrupt cops” one can only wonder how exactly this all got started.
But relative to the records, the Chief alone cannot take the fall…all must be treated fairly and be treated the same.
Dysfunction must be identified and its cause disclosed.
If the intervention of politics in the functions of the department played any role those politicians must be identified.
Methuen deserves better than what we have suffered these past three (3) years. It seems that all was well within the political aristocracy until the sad events of MrLariviere’s demise.
Pray for Methuen.
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Methuen seems to be visited constantly with retributive announcements of judgements against it. Whether it be floods, or corruption, or the flood of idiots through its political turnstyle, this city, the product of a cuckold’s misuse of his wife’s fortune, seems doomed to a destiny of misfortune, misrepresentation, and misuse of power. If there is anyone in the city who can understand what I just wrote- elect her!
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