On the surface, Gary Zerola's story looks no different from a blotter entry about a scumbag who attempts to rape women. Zerola allegedly raped two women in Massachusetts. Then, while out on bail, he allegedly drugged and raped another woman in Miami. But Zerola is different because he became the person he used to defend in court. He went from dashing, respected lawyer--a former assistant DA for Suffolk County--to alleged rapist. Zerola was a lawyer......

--The Boston Police Department and the DA's Office are investigating the death of an inmate at the Suffolk County House of Correction. 41-year-old Darryl Lee Leslie died on New Year's Eve while being moved to maximum security because he was, according to a jail spokesman, "planning a violent attack." An autopsy is being performed. [Boston Globe] --A 15-year-old who was shot in the stomach at a New Year's Eve party in New Bedford has since......

--The BPD arrested two people in the South End for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. The gun wouldn't have been discovered if it hadn't accidentally gone off in the bathroom. The Herald reported that the woman who was arrested was the mother of Dontel Jeffers, the child who died at the hands of his foster mother, who was recently sentenced for the crime. Laurel Sweet writes, "Crystal Claiborn [Jeffers' mother] claimed that while aiming the......

--It seemed as if the World Series put a cork in local gun incidents or the media (Bostonist included) was too busy with the Sox to notice. Now the cork is out of the bottle. The 45-year-old owner of Stalex Pizza in Dorchester was shot in the head this morning when he tried to go after an 18-year-old who robbed his shop. The man is in critical condition. The BPD announced that officers moved fast......

You know that somewhere in your freezer lurks a pot pie covered in frost. Well, now you've got a reason to clean out the freezer because five people in Massachusetts suffered from salmonella that's been linked to Banquet Pot Pies. Do not eat any Banquet Pot Pies with the code or plant number 5009 or P9. WBZ quotes ConAgra, maker of the pies, as saying "the pies are safe if they're cooked properly." But do......

MIT has gotten a bad rap in the press lately after sodium that may have come from the school burned volunteers cleaning up the Charles. It only got worse when MIT student Star Simpson spaced out, forgot to take off a sweatshirt with a circuit board on it, and freaked out Logan Airport staff. Right after Simpson was arrested and hauled to court, the MIT brass put out a statement calling Simpson's actions "reckless." That......

Carlo Basile, the man who was officially Democrat but fell somewhere between elephant and donkey, will be the new State Representative for East Boston. He won handily with 46% of the vote. The Hubster noted that turnout was 4,495. In the Boston City Council elections, Chuck Turner breezed to victory in District 7 (Roxbury) with 75.73% of the vote. Carlos Henriquez was second place with only 16.26% of the vote, so they will face off......

--So Commish Ed Davis reorganized the police department over the weekend, shuffling people around and, according to the Globe eliminating some of the tensions distracting the department from solving crimes. Davis said he wanted "people who would work together" in charge. But a new feud may have sprung up instead. Suffolk County DA Dan Conley said publicly that he isn't happy at all with the changes within the BPD. Conley isn't happy because Ed Davis......

--The last thing the Boston brass wants to hear is someone comparing Dorchester to Iraq. But that's exactly what a guy told the Globe after a man got shot several times in the head yesterday afternoon. The victim must be made of steel. He was able to run to a friend's house after getting hit, and he is in "critical but stable condition." As for the Iraq comparison, a neighbor said, "There's something always going......

This is a bit out of our geographical reach, blotter-wise, but a pastor was stabbed to death by her own husband in Great Barrington. Esther Dozier, a pastor for the Clinton AME Zion church, was found stabbed to death yesterday morning. Her husband, Henry, told police he took poison and went to the hospital. He pled not guilty to the crime. News reports mentioned Dozier's contributions to society: "Esther Dozier helped create an African-American Heritage......

--The Suffolk County DA's office announced that LaDawn Hicks, the sister of murder defendant Jason Meeks, has been charged with witness intimidation. Boston NOW reports that Hicks and Meeks made a three-way phone call from jail "urging" a witness not to testify, and it blew right back at her. Meeks allegedly shot Alvaro Sanders in Roxbury in 2001. To keep her brother out of jail, Hicks also went to the witness' house (we're not naming......

--You heard that right. A man who was convicted for killing a police officer may be in hiding – as a woman. In 1991, Thomas Shay was involved in planting a bomb that killed one police officer and maimed another in Roslindale. Now, he's violated his probation, and he assaulted another police officer. The Herald explains the cross-dressing thusly: "[Officials think] that Shay is donning a wig and a dress to avoid detection. Shay, who......

Joseph President, a 23 year- old from Rozzie resident, pled not guilty on charges of possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute. He showed up to the Suffolk County courthouse on what the Globe reports was "court business." This really could be anything from paying a fine, contesting a traffic ticket, or filing a complaint of some sort. When he passed through the security check at the entrance to the courthouse a court officer......

Back in December the Boston Herald ran a front page story that two had been arrested in the Dorchester quadruple murder case. The Boston Police Department was quick to rebut the claims by the Herald, but after the announcements this weekend we're wondering if their tipster was credible after all. Calvin Carnes Jr. and Robert Turner, both 19, have been arrested and arraigned on charges relating to the murders on December 13, 2005. Each of......

Walking to work today, Bostonist saw two people a day early in their full-out St. Patrick's Day Irish gear (green paper hat, "all about drinking and Irishness in a hard-drinking, heavily Irish town. But part of us clings to the belief that if people only knew more about Evacuation Day - commemorating an actual Revolutionary War victory in Boston (unlike Bunker Hill Day) - they would embrace it as we do. To that end, some......

Dear Ask Bostonist, I have two out-of-town friends (NYC and DC) who are visiting me next weekend. They are all excited about being in Boston for St. Patrick's Day, but every time I venture out of the 17th in Boston, I don't seem to have a good time...very long lines, cheesy bars (Purple Shamrock, anyone?), or just a skeleton crew is left. Any suggestions where I can take them on St. Patty's Day after work?......

Not too long ago, Bostonist briefly and wrongly pointed a finger in accusation at Dennis “Stomper” Connolly in the death of a homeless man in mid-August. Today another beating, which resulted in death, has led to the arrest of a 17-year-old. Thomas Grealish, the teen, allegedly severely beat Mario Acosta, 40 and homeless, nearly to death. The injuries ultimately caused Acosta's death, and Grealish was arrested and charged with the assault. Suffolk County District Attourney......

With the oppressive pseudo-summer turning back to comfortable spring for a few days before summer actually begins, Bostonist's thoughts are turning to the weekend and to upcoming holidays and events. (Ordinarily, we would say that the beginning of summer is a good reason to celebrate, but we have the impression that everyone's pretty much fed up with summer for now.) If you work in Suffolk County, you probably have Friday off in honor of......