This isn't the first time Bobby Jones, president of the Springfield Towing Alliance, has turned up in the middle of a controversy. Over the years, his name has been linked to a number of controversies in the city.
In 1989, Jones sold three adjacent parcels of land he owned on Mason and Pease streets to the Springfield Redevelopment Authority for $800,000. In addition, the SRA paid Jones $300,000 to relocate an auto shop he had on the land named Action Auto Service.
The deal raised eyebrows for several reasons. First, two earlier appraisals placed the land value at $520,000-600,000—markedly less than what Jones received. (A third appraisal, done at Jones' request, came in at a whopping $1.75 million.) And while Jones took $300,000 to relocate his auto shop, he never, in fact, re-opened that business. In addition, at the time of the sale, Jones owed the city more than $100,000 in back taxes; that debt was paid off the day of the sale, via a check from the SRA.
While the SRA said it was taking the land as part of a Central Street urban renewal project, within a year of the sale, it was named the site of the new Rebecca Johnson School. Then-City Councilor Tony Ravosa Jr. complained that the money had been improperly diverted from the Central Street funds, which came from a bond approved by the City Council. The deal was defended by Dominic R. Sarno, head of the SRA at the time and a cousin of sitting Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.
In 1992, the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney both subpoenaed records of the deal; the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development also began a criminal investigation into possible wrongdoing in the sale. No charges resulted.
Charges did result, however, from an early '90s investigation of Charlie Kingston, a former city tax collector and political consultant. At his trial for alleged tax evasion, Jones' Action Auto was named as one of Kingston's clients. In court, Jones testified that he'd paid Kingston $400 a month over a period of about five years for consulting services, including for efforts to land a towing contract on the Mass Pike and help obtaining appraisals jobs with insurance companies.
Prosecutors in Kingston's 1994 trial contended he had hid receipts from his consulting work to cover up conflicts of interest between his work to secure city contracts for clients and his job as a city tax collector. In the end, Kingston was convicted of filing false tax returns. He was granted a new trial in 1999 and the following year pleaded guilty to misdemeanor tax charges. He's continued to be a key political fundraiser and consultant, and ran Mike Albano's 2001 mayoral campaign against state Rep. Paul Caron.
Kingston is also close to Sarno, who told the Advocate last summer that Kingston was a long-time "family friend" and "supporter." Sarno declined to say what role Kingston played in his mayoral campaign, although the consultant was prominent at Sarno's campaign kick-off event.
Jones and Kingston were also both close with then-state Rep. Ray Jordan, long regarded as one of the most powerful players in the Mason Square community. Jordan, too, weighed in on the SRA controversy in defense of Jones. According to the Springfield Republican (then called the Union-News), "Jordan said Jones never wanted to sell his property and feels he was not paid a fair price for it."
Jordan went on to land a job as head of HUD's New England regional office. His daughter, Denise Jordan, chaired Domenic J. Sarno's mayoral campaign and is now his chief of staff.
Instead of reopening his auto shop, Jones opened Surety Insurance Agency Inc. in Mason Square. In 1993, the AG looked into allegations that Surety had been guilty of illegal rate quoting in its bid to insure Springfield school buses. The complaint had been filed by the previous insurer, who alleged Jones had submitted 1992 rates for coverage that was to begin in 1993, when rates would be higher, thereby undercutting other bidders. No charges resulted.
Ravosa and fellow Councilor Kateri Walsh brought the issue to the Council, where Walsh suggested the contract be taken away from Surety. They were criticized by then-School Committee member Bob McCollum, who complained it was the Committee's job to oversee school contracts, not the Council's. McCollum now works for Jones as STA's operations manager.
Neither Sarno, nor Jones or his attorney, responded to requests for interviews.
mturner@valleyadvocate.com
