Controversial N.H. Chief Wins Re-Election

WEARE -- Incumbent Police Chief Gregory Begin narrowly won election Tuesday with 740 votes against his opponent, New Hampshire State Police Trooper Larry Bolduc, who garnered 611 votes.

A third candidate who dropped out of the race, retired Trooper Paul Massaro, got 150 votes.

"I guess if I'd received the 150 votes I would have won," Bolduc said last night. "It's obvious there's a change that's wanted in the community."

Begin has come under fire as recently as last Friday when Palmer's Tavern owner George Hodgdon filed a complaint that on-duty officers asked him to place Begin campaign signs outside his establishment.

Begin is also a defendant in a lawsuit filed by former Sgt. Lou Chatel, who accuses Begin and Lt. James Carney of maliciously launching a bogus child pornography investigation against him. Chatel has been exonerated by the Attorney General's Office.

"We are doing our job and I'm not going to stop doing our job because of negative publicity," Begin said last night. "I'm not going to comment about articles in the paper."

Begin is Weare's first elected chief since the town began electing chiefs in 2005. Residents voted to do that after allegations of wrongdoing were launched against the former police chief, Myles Rigney, who was placed on administrative leave for several months before leaving the police department.

Bolduc thanked his supporters and congratulated Begin last night.

"I want to try to get involved in the process in whatever way I can to help the department," said Bolduc, who works out of State Police Troop B in Bedford. "I don't know exactly what avenues I have at this point, but I'm certainly open to working with the chief in whatever way I can."

"I'm grateful that it's over. I thank the public for their support," Begin said. "My doors are open if people want to talk to me about issues they may have."

When asked about future goals for the police department, Begin said he plans to sit with his officers today to discuss that. He added that he plans to continue with the department's well-known K-9 program.

In addition to the lawsuit, Chatel filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office that many officers were lying about hours in private detail work in time sheets submitted to utility companies. The investigation is ongoing.

Hodgdon also said he's been harassed by officers after he refused to hire them to work details.

In another incident, Weare police recently charged one of Hodgdon's patrons, William Alleman, 51, of felony wiretapping for allegedly using a cell phone that was connected to voicemail during a traffic stop. The incident occurred in July but Alleman was only charged two weeks ago.

Weare police also arrested a woman on the same charge in March 2010 for videotaping a police traffic stop.

In the campaign, Bolduc said that if someone used a cell phone during a traffic stop he conducted, he'd have "no problem with it."

"The articles in the paper are one-sided because I'm being professional and not trying these issues in the media," Begin said. "I'm letting them be addressed where they should be, in court."