Todd Wallack

Jan 14, 2025 | wbur.org | Willoughby Mariano |Todd Wallack

A Hampton County Superior Court judge sentenced a man to 22 years in prison Tuesday for a string of violent rapes in West Springfield. Ali Ghaffar, 23, of West Springfield pleaded guilty to attacking six women in 2021 and early 2022.

Nov 14, 2024 | wbur.org | Todd Wallack

The Massachusetts high court ruled Thursday that preliminary hearings should be held in public for more than two dozen accused customers of a high-end sex ring, rejecting a request by some of the defendants to keep the initial proceedings secret. The Supreme Judicial Court, however, also rejected a request from WBUR and other news outlets to make underlying documents in the case public before the hearings are held.

Oct 14, 2024 | wbur.org | Todd Wallack

Many cities and groups in Massachusetts held special events over the holiday weekend to commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day. That includes the Concord Museum, which hosted the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers — a group of musicians that include the tribal communities of Mashpee on Cape Cod and Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard — for the fifth straight year. Every year, the free event has sold out in advance, according to museum staff.

Sep 10, 2024 | wbur.org | Amory Sivertson |Todd Wallack |Rob Lane

Amory Sivertson Host and Senior Producer, PodcastsAmory Sivertson is a senior producer for podcasts and the co-host of Endless Thread. Todd Wallack Correspondent, InvestigationsTodd Wallack is a correspondent on the investigative team. Rob Lane ProducerRob Lane is a producer for Radio Boston. Magistrate clerks more often charge women than men in Mass.

Sep 9, 2024 | wbur.org | Todd Wallack

Members of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court grappled Monday with whether to open up hearings and records that would identify more than two dozen people accused of hiring prostitutes from a high-profile sex ring. The accusations have garnered national attention because federal prosecutors said the sex ring's customers included elected officials, military officers, government contractors and business executives who visited brothels in Cambridge, Watertown and Eastern Virginia.