LAWRENCE — The Massachusetts man authorities say gave cocaine to a 13-year-old girl and then dropped her dead body off at a hospital has been held without bail.
Forty-seven-year-old Carlos Rivera, of Lawrence, was held pending a hearing next Tuesday to determine whether he is a danger to society.
Not guilty pleas to charges including distribution of drugs to a minor and indecent assault and battery on a child were entered on his behalf. He has not been charged in the girl’s death. She has been identified by her family as Chloe Ricard, of Amesbury.
Police say Chloe was dropped off without a pulse at Lawrence General Hospital on May 20.
The medical examiner hasn’t yet ruled on the cause and manner of death.
Rivera’s public defender didn’t object to him being held.
BOSTON — A federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit brought by three students who attended a Massachusetts college that abruptly closed.
The lawsuit was filed in November against Mount Ida College and former administrators and trustees. The students alleged that college officials deliberately misled them about the severity of the school’s financial problems before it closed in May 2018.
The Newton campus was bought by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns noted in his order issued last week that Mount Ida’s publicly available financial disclosures showed that the school had been operating at a deficit since 2015.
He also rejected the students’ claim that Mount Ida’s closure amounted to a breach of contract between the school and the students.
WORCESTER — A former teacher who owned a home health agency has been sentenced to serve 18 months in jail for stealing about $2.5 million from the Massachusetts Medicaid program.
The state attorney general’s office says 48-year-old Hellen Kiago was sentenced last week after being convicted earlier this month of false claims and larceny charges.
The Sturbridge woman fraudulently billed MassHealth through her home health agency, Lifestream Healthcare Alliance. They say she billed for unauthorized services and had employees assist patients for longer than necessary then falsify documents to hide wrongdoing.
Kiago was sentenced to 2 ½ years behind bars, with 18 months to serve and the remainder suspended for a year. She and her company were also ordered to pay $130,000 in fines, and restitution in an amount to be determined.
STOUGHTON — Police in Massachusetts are looking for a man they say used a meat cleaver to rob a gas station over the weekend.
Stoughton police on Facebook said a thin white man dressed all in black, including a mask and gloves, rode a bike to the Shell gas station’s convenience store at about 1 a.m. Sunday.
The man brandished a meat cleaver, chased the clerk behind the counter and forced the worker to empty the cash register.
The suspect left with the cash and rode away on the bicycle.
Police used a dog to look for the suspect but were unable to locate him. He’s described as a white male with a thin build, about 5-feet, 10-inches to 6-feet tall.
BOSTON — Motorists in Massachusetts are getting some relief at the pump.
AAA Northeast reported Tuesday that the average cost of a gallon of self-serve, regular gasoline dropped 2 cents in the past week to $2.78.
The Massachusetts price is 4 cents per gallon lower than the national average and 14 cents lower than the in-state price a year ago.
An organization spokeswoman says lower prices are a trend drivers can expect to continue into early June thanks in part to stable crude oil prices.
AAA found self-serve, regular selling for as low as $2.61 per gallon and as high as $3.05.
From Associated Press