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12 | 01945 165 Pleasant St., Marblehead, MA FRAUD, continued from page 11 ***** “Wow, what a great addition to the North Shore Dining scene. The owners did a great spin on the old school Chinese-American restaurant that we all grew up with” Susan B Yelp “How many nice things can you say about one place, really? Had dinner at the Mai Tai Lounge last night and from the moment upon arrival, until the end, everything was spot on. Greeted by Kevin Lee, who immediately accommodated a preferred seating location outside. Henry who waiting on us could not be more helpful, friendly and attentative if he had tried. The drink menu? Absolutely fantastic; creative, innovative and full of amazing choices.” Marc T Yelp “We came to Mai Tai Lounge tonight and it was amazing. The food was outstanding, we were like the Phantom Gourment and ordered six different dishes and each one was incredible Eddie V. Facebook “If you haven’t tried this place, do yourself a favor and come try this place out. You will not be disappointed my husband and I considered ourselves as real foodies. We traveled a lot just to try different kinds of food. And I have to say, this place is absolutely phenomenal. I can’t recommend them enough. They deserve a 10-10” Abigail N. Yelp “Absoluely amazing... Every single dish ” Julie C. Facebook the affidavit. “On these applications, [Bushell and Stockton] consistently misrepresented the organizations’ revenues and operational and payroll expenses with the sole purpose of obtaining higher loan amounts. [Bushell and Stockton] also falsified financial statements and other supporting documents in order to secure these loans,” Oakes wrote. Marblehead Bank declined to comment on the loans they made to Bushell’s entities. Each time the federal government increased the maximum amount that could be received through EIDLs, Bushell and Stockton allegedly refiled applications stating higher and higher operating costs in order to receive greater funding. In many cases, this involved restating and increasing the same costs previously reported, according to the affidavit. Upon receiving the funds, Bushell and Stockton allegedly moved money between their various entities and bank accounts and fabricated checks in order to make it appear as though they had payroll expenses that would qualify them for PPP loan forgiveness. In the documents filed for the applications, and in correspondence with PPP lenders, Bushell and Stockton allegedly inflated the number of employees and the amount of payroll expenses that each borrowing organization had. “For instance, with respect to several applications, it is alleged that Bushell and Stockton listed, as employees, at least eight individuals who were never employed by any of Bushell’s organizations,” the statement said. These included a general contractor, subcontractors, a freelance iconographer, and a photographer. The FBI asserts that no employment taxes were ever paid, nor was workman’s compensation insurance ever purchased for these “employees.” According to the affidavit, the total expenses across all organizational bank accounts controlled by Bushell and Stockton in 2019 was approximately $313,000, a small fraction of the total FRAUD, continued on page 14
WINTER 2022 | 13 Adjacent building acquired by Bushell during the alleged conspiracy. Orthodox Christian Shrine of St. Nicholas/Marblehead Salt Co./Marblehead Brewing Co. Egypt House (property purchased by Bushell in June 2022) Annunciation House (Bushell and Stockton's shared residence) Monk sued town in 2019, claiming 'religious land use' violation © 2022 Mapbox © OpenStreetMap By Charlie McKenna Map based on Longitude (generated) and Latitude (generated). The Marblehead resident at the center of an ongoing Federal fraud investigation is no stranger to controversy, having filed suit against the town for an alleged “religious land use” violation in 2019. That suit was filed in Federal Court, and a judge sided with the town and Building Commissioner Richard Baldacci over St. Paul’s Foundation, an organization controlled by Bushell that oversaw all of his religious and economic endeavors. Earlier this year, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s ruling. At issue in the suit was efforts to renovate the interior of 124 Pleasant St., the property purchased by Bushell in 2017 that houses St. Nicholas, Marblehead Brewing Co, and Marblehead Salt Co. Baldacci issued a building permit in 2018 permitting Bushell to go ahead with renovations to the property to create a space to brew beer, a chapel for religious services and activities, and a fellowship hall to hold religious programming. Baldacci informed Bushell that the property would have to be reclassified in order to serve food or drink and to hold religious services. In the fall of 2018, Baldacci issued three letters to St. Paul’s warning of noncompliance with state building codes, including “uncompleted and unauthorized work as required by the code, and for occupying the space and serving beer to the public prior to an inspection and without a proper certificate of occupancy.” In November 2018, Baldacci issued a building code violation for the conduct cited in his letters. St. Paul’s appealed the violation to the state Building Code Appeals Board (BCAB), which affirmed Baldacci’s actions in February 2019. “In its decision, the BCAB noted that Baldacci was justified in enforcing the building code to ensure the public’s safety and that a finding in favor of St. Paul’s would “compromise life safety in ways that would conflict with [Massachusetts law],” the judgment in the suit reads. Around the same time, St. Paul’s relationship with Siemasko & Verbridge, the architectural firm hired to complete the renovation, began to deteriorate after a disagreement on the work needed to be completed to achieve certain occupancy levels. S & V informed the town in December 2018 that it was no longer working with Bushell and St. Paul’s. As a result, on Jan. 16, 2019, Baldacci suspended the building permit issued by the town because the renovation no longer had a registered architect. Architect Ryan McShera took over the project in February of that year and submitted a code review to Baldacci in May that indicated that previous use designations made by S&V were “incorrect.” McShera and Baldacci were unable to agree on the designations of the property, and Baldacci informed McShera that the town would not reinstate the permit unless McShera amended the proposed designations for the property. St. Paul’s again appealed the decision, and the BCAB again sided with Baldacci. As a result, St. Paul’s agreed to follow the original renovation plans and the BCAB ordered the permit be reinstated. The town did so in September 2019, and in December of that year issued a temporary use and occupancy permit to St. Paul’s, but required that it refrain from serving beer to the public until renovations were completed and a plan submitted to the health department was approved. The court was “not persuaded that the town’s revocation of the permit amounts to implementation of land use regulations” and found that “St. Paul’s has not alleged sufficient facts to suggest that the town functionally utilized its building permit process, or the interim code review imposed by Baldacci, to make its zoning decisions or that the process was disingenuously used to limit or prohibit St. Paul’s from using the property as intended.” “St. Paul’s has not established that the town’s conditional refusal to reinstate the permit was arbitrary and capricious. Without that showing, and since RLUIPA “does not mean that any land use restriction on a religious organization imposes a substantial burden,” St. Paul’s has failed to show on the undisputed record that the town’s actions violate RLUIPA,” Judge Denise J. Casper wrote.
Page 1: Bringing life to death Margo Steine
Page 4 and 5: Fun & games for 30-year coach By Jo
Page 6 and 7: 4 | 01945 FROM THE PUBLISHER TED GR
Page 8 and 9: 06 | 01945 06 | 01945 WHAT'S UP Get
Page 10 and 11: Work With an Agent Who Will Do More
Page 12 and 13: 10 | 01945 Tracey M.A. Stockton, le
Page 16 and 17: 14 | 01945 FRAUD, continued from pa
Page 18 and 19: 16 | 01945 Bushell's bold plan for
Page 20 and 21: Part of the Arrangers of Marblehead
Page 22 and 23: The rabbi turns a page Rabbi David
Page 24 and 25: 22 | 01945 TEMPLE, continued from p
Page 26 and 27: 11/1/22, 9:23 AM MAGAZINE AD.jpg A
Page 28 and 29: 26 | 01945 Bringing life to death M
Page 30 and 31: A master at work Commercial Vessel
Page 32 and 33: Seaglass serves seniors From left,
Page 34 and 35: 32 | 01945 HOUSE MONEY PHOTOS COURT
Page 36 and 37: Design. Build. Maintain. Landscape
Page 38 and 39: Your skin is your most valuable ass

01945 Winter 2022

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