Former executive director of the Carver, Marion, Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District (CMWRRDD), Ray Pickles, will appear in Superior Court in Brockton on August 7 for a pre-trial conference.
Pickles, 85, is charged with six counts of Larceny over $250, a felony offense, and accused of stealing over $610,000 in public funds over a period of six years. He was arraigned on April 12, 2019, during which he pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all charges.
Pickles was fired from his position in January of 2018 when the board discovered a number of suspicious financial transactions that could not be explained or supported by any documentation.
The CMWRRDD’s board filed a civil case against Pickles, his now defunct consulting corporation known as Moss Hollow Management, Pickles’ wife Diane Bondi-Pickles, and former Carver health agent Robert Tinkham, Jr.
Tinkham, 57, also faces two criminal counts of Larceny over $250 and one count for Presentation of False Claims, accused of receiving unauthorized payments totaling $35,000.
On June 14, Attorney Christopher Markey appeared at the Plymouth County Superior Court on behalf of Pickles and assented to a motion to stay, which on July 12 was granted by Judge Mark A. Hallal, and assented to by all the parties, including the CMWRRDD board.
The civil case will remain open, however, as the criminal charges filed by the District Attorney on behalf of the state unfold.
The criminal case against Pickles is slated for ‘Track C’, which could mean up to three years before a trial commences.
Pickles was the executive secretary for Marion for nearly 30 years until he retired in 2001. He also served as the Town’s zoning enforcement officer some years back, and was also an elected member of the Board of Assessors until 2018 when he lost his re-election attempt amidst the controversy.
The Marion Board of Selectmen on April 2, 2019, sent Pickles a letter asking him to resign as town clerk, to which Pickles gave no reply and did not offer his resignation. His term expires in 2020.It was passed at Town Meeting in May to defund the fiscal year 2020 salary line item for the town clerk, essentially ending reimbursement for that role effective July 1, 2019.
By Jean Perry