Lynn sex offender’s assault conviction worries city officials

LYNN – A Level 3 sex offender who city officials are trying to force out of his home because they say he’s violating the city’s sex offender ordinance has a history of violence, according to Suffolk County Superior Court records.Richard Galzerano, 57, of 32 Daytona Road, was convicted in 1998 of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault and battery, according to court records.A judge ordered him to serve two years in jail on the convictions, according to court records.Galzerano lives within 1,000 feet of the Shoemaker Elementary School and Gowdy Park, according to city officials, which is a violation of the city’s sex offender ordinance.Assistant City Solicitor James Lamanna said Thursday he would send a letter to Galzerano by the end of the week informing him that as a Level 3 sex offender – which is defined by the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board as someone having a “high risk to re-offend” – he is barred from living within 1,000 feet of a school, park or other private or public recreational facilities.City officials can fine Galzerano $300 a day if he refuses to move out of the house within 30 days of receiving the notice, according to Lamanna,City Council President Tim Phelan said Friday that the news of Galzerano’s convictions for violent crimes “makes a serious matter even more serious.””Anybody who has that type of history I think is a great threat to children in the neighborhood,” Phelan said.The city council president, who is holding a neighborhood meeting on Wednesday at Shoemaker Elementary at 7 p.m. with Ward 1 City Councilor Wayne Lozzi, said Galzerano’s decision to move to the quiet family street has hurt people in the entire neighborhood, including people who use the nearby Gowdy Park.”Parents are up in arms and afraid to let their kids out,” Phelan said. “The law was put in place for a reason. When the state deems that you’re a Level 3 sex offender, regardless of what he may allege about his rights, I believe the rights of the children supersede his rights.”Galzerano told The Daily Item Thursday that he intends to challenge the legality of the city’s sex offender ordinance and insists he’s not a threat to anyone.”I have every legal right to live here,” Galzerano said during an interview on the front steps of his home.Phelan acknowledged Friday he is concerned that the city’s ordinance could be overturned.”That’s always a concern,” he said. “Attorneys are crafty and clever. But I think we have an obligation to attempt to enforce the ordinance.”Chris Ott, the spokesperson for the Massachusetts branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, said so far his organization is not involved in the case.School Committee member Richard Starbard, who attended a PTO meeting earlier this week at the school about the issue, said the parents who went to the meeting were upset to learn a Level 3 sex offender was living so close to the school, a nearby kindergarten and the park.”Certainly, they don’t want him in the area and they want to know how he wound up there,” Starbard said.Galzerano was convicted in 2008 of trying to entice a 14-year-old boy into his car in Revere. He was sentenced to two years probation, according to court records.Starbard said Galzerano’s decision to move where he did – considering his status as a Level 3 sex offender – doesn’t show a serious attempt to rehabilitate himself.”If I’m a recovering alcoholic, I certainly wouldn’t decide to live between two liquor stores and a barroom,” Starbard said.Jeff McMenemy can be reached at [email protected].