Marblehead selectmen will hear more on Castner death

MARBLEHEAD – The tragic 2009 traffic death of 15-year-old Allie Castner will be discussed again in January.When Police Chief Robert Picariello presents his plan for police department changes next month, selectmen may also talk about a letter they expect to receive from retired dentist Dan Drayton and several other residents who attended an emotional meeting Wednesday evening.The investigation of the accident, in which no charges have been brought against the driver Salem resident Thomas Larrivee, 19, who struck and killed the girl, is also ongoing.Her father, Chris Castner, said Wednesday night that he was told that police are talking to a new witness who turned up just recently.Castner said a Marblehead police officer told him that the three-week investigation conducted by the department was “a joke.”During the meeting, an angry local resident claimed that police made a false arrest on him in his home and swore several times at board members and Picariello.The man left the microphone, still talking, and confronted the chief.As off-duty police officers moved toward them, Picariello stood, pointed to the door and told the man, “Outside,” and the man left.Selectmen Chairman James Nye told Drayton, “We can?t air all this without information.”Police union President Roy Ballard and the union executive board commented on the consultant?s report the town received from Strategic Policy Partnership in a letter published this week.?I?m disappointed that the police union published this statement before we were told about it,” Selectman Judy Jacobi said, calling the action “disrespectful.”The letter said police were “satisfied” with the review, which concluded that “the investigation was thorough and credible and the investigating patrol officer was competent and capable.”In another open letter, Castner?s uncle, Peter Babine, compared selectmen to “parents cleaning up after frat boys who are more concerned with keeping tinted windows and wearing cool sunglasses than respecting each of you, this town administrator, and citizens of this community.”Babine called the union letter “misrepresentation” and accused Picariello of making promises but “never follow(ing) through.”At least one selectman appears angered by the situation. “I was warned about retribution if I spoke out about this,” Selectman William Woodfin said toward the end of Wednesday?s meeting. “If anybody tries that they better watch out.”