The Boston Globe writes:

While Soto returned fire and Bruzzese protected Bethell, the unarmed Franklin fled the scene, according to testimony and police reports. Franklin's service weapon was inside Soto's truck, unsecured, a felony under state law.

So, he hasn't been charged because...why exactly? And why hasn't he been charged with interfering with a police officer (he ordered the first responder to drive him home), or making false statements to a police officer? (he lied to the officer who gave him a ride home, and the State Police investigators both about how he got home, and not having been at the scene.)

Apparently it's not the first time Franklin has high-tailed it from a crime scene.

So Deval Patrick's posterchild for retaining companies by giving them giant wads of cash, Evergreen Solar, is touting how they're going to triple their employee count. It's a big thank you for that 44 million dollars Patrick gave them. Unfortunately, almost exactly a year ago, Evergreen Solar was bragging about how it'd double its workforce to 650. Well, it's April 2008, and the company has 300 workers; oops. That's a bit of a disappointment. Also curious that a company bragging about "increasing annual sales fourfold to approximately $100 million in 2006" (and just raised $200M in capital) was deemed deserving of such a massive handout. Talk about a great ROI for Evergreen.

Think of all the rural and urban small business loans that could have been given with that $44M (which would have come back to the state in interest) and would have strengthened the economy in a much more sector and geographically diversified manner. On the plus side, $44M pales in comparison to the one billion dollar handout to the poor, starving biotech industry.

Scott Allen Miller notes that former Boston police officer Carlos Pizarro pleaded guilty to cocaine possession charges and that part of his plea involves agreeing to testify against other officers arrested in an alleged bad-stuff ring, including Kiko Pulido:

... Pizarro might want to move his loved ones and valuables into hiding, or at least make sure his homeowner's insurance is paid up.

Sco supports the idea of a subpoena-issuing Ward-Commission like investigative body to look at the Big Dig, but he wonders:

... The question remains, is there anyone left in Massachusetts who is both politically savvy enough to take this on and politically independent enough to make sure no responsible party is spared?

That's the good news in the Boston Police identity-theft, coke-dealing, alien-smuggling corruption investigation, Mats Tolander writes.

Steve Gilliard notes that the guy at the center of the investigation, motorcycle cop Roberto "Kiko" Pulido, seemed pretty busy protecting illegal parties and organizing other nefarious schemes:

... I wonder if this guy ever arrested anyone? ...

Apparently, the former Marine and father of five got shot once, but his bullet-proof vest saved him.

BPD statement.

Globe article.