---

PLAINVILLE - When plans for a major shopping center at the intersection of Routes 1 and 152 emerged four years ago, local real estate man and school committee member Clinton Crocker's name became prominently mentioned among those questioning the project.

Now those ties - which Crocker insists amounted to little more than attending meetings and handing out flyers - are being turned on the school committee chairman and board of selectman candidate because of letters that have resurfaced recently indicating he sought the developer's help to build a new house so that he and his family could relocate.

Personal letters between Crocker and project developer Gerard Lorusso of Taunton Street Realty Trust written in 2003 re-emerged recently when copies began circulating anonymously in town.

In one of the letters in June, prior to the approval of the 285,000-square-foot shopping center - known as Plainville Crossing - Crocker expressed his desire to sell his house on Old Taunton Street near the shopping center.

He also suggested that Lorusso help him build a new house on land Crocker already owned for which he was prepared to pay $200,000. Crocker, whose request was rebuffed in writing by Lorusso, also wrote that he was willing to keep any details of their dealings private. Copies of the letters, on file at town hall, were obtained by The Sun Chronicle.

Meanwhile, Crocker's two opponents in the April 2 election are criticizing him for appearing to work with neighbors on opposition to the development on one hand, while seeking private arrangements with Lorusso on the other. Crocker says he never sought the mantle of leader and that his role was only to provide information. He added that he was only trying to safeguard his family interests, and sought no considerations from Lorusso other than those for which he was prepared to pay.

The Plainville School Committee chairman said the reappearance of the letters now appears political.

"They turned up the week after I announced I would be a candidate," he said. He declined to speculate on the source, however.

Crocker faces opposition on the April 2 town election ballot from incumbent Andrea Soucy and conservation commission member Robin Pollock. Both said they have been aware of the letters for some time but denied spreading them around town. But both are critical of Crocker's conduct at a time when some perceived he was acting on behalf of neighbors.

Pollock said that regardless of the merits of the shopping center, Crocker's handling of the issue is "reprehensible."

"I'm personally very upset for the neighbors," she said, adding that the existence of the letters is known to many people.

Soucy called Crocker's actions "inappropriate behavior."

"It saddens me that this could happen in my town," she said.

Both Crocker and his wife Heather say the implication that Crocker somehow turned his back on neighbors or participated in back-room dealings is simply wrong and unfair. "We never represented anyone else's interests," said Heather Crocker, who said her husband merely provided information to those who might otherwise have been uninformed about the project.

She said she and her husband were frightened about the prospect of having a major retail center 600 feet from their house. The Crockers, who have four children, were expecting twins at the time.

Heather Crocker also said she is angry that the letters are being dredged up four years after the fact.

"That you are taking something that happened four years ago and twisting it to make a story is disgusting," she told a reporter.

Sought or unsought, Crocker emerged in July 2003 as a central figure among those opposing the shopping center or at least trying to limit its impact on the neighborhood.

A Boston Globe story at the time portrayed Crocker as a latter day Paul Revere peddling his bicycle around the neighborhood to alert residents. According to a story in The Sun Chronicle, Crocker delivered a two-page letter to residents raising traffic and other concerns and urging them to attend meetings.

Crocker said he rode the bike for practical, not publicity reasons and Heather Crocker said her husband's intentions were informational, not political.

Crocker said the "personal letters" between himself and Lorusso now being circulated stem from a misunderstanding and now are "ancient history."

"It is unfortunate that some individual or group has chosen to attempt to attack my character in this manner," wrote Crocker in a prepared statement. "There certainly was a misunderstanding in our original letter to Gerry Lorusso. Since that time, Gerry and I have had several conversations on that and other topics. I hold no ill will or grudge against Gerry Lorusso or his businesses. I am grateful that he has and continues to show his generosity with various organizations in the town of Plainville."

Both Soucy and Pollock disclosed previous clashes with Crocker - in Soucy's case over her support for Crocker's opponent in a school committee election, in Pollock's a land transaction involving Crocker and her brother. However, both said it was not they who leaked the letters.

It is unclear how the letters betwen Crocker and Lorusso came into the town's possession. Both Crocker's letter to Lorusso and Lorusso's reply are dated in June 2003 and both were stamped as received by the Plainville Town Clerk on July 22, 2003.

Thomas Watkins, who was chairman of the planning board in 2003, said he knows nothing about the letters. Others suggested they may have been given to the town by Lorusso.

Lorusso did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment.

The 285,000-square-foot shopping center was planned by Taunton Street Realty Trust, in which Lorusso is an investor, and National Development. The retail complex is now virtually complete.

In his letter to Lorusso, dated June 12, 2003, Crocker refers to conversations between the two men "many months ago" concerning the shopping center's effect on his home. Based on their talks and what Crocker referred to as Lorusso's assurances and willingness to work with him, Crocker said he decided not to attend a neighborhood meeting on the development. He also wrote of the two men having discussed the need for Crocker and his family to get recently appraised value for their home as well as the possibility of Crocker and his wife looking at homes in the Walnut Hill subdivision being built by Lorusso.

However, Crocker complained that Lorusso had stopped taking his calls and that letters and faxes were not returned.

"My intention is to sell my house and to do so before you start construction on the Mall," Crocker wrote in the letter. "However, I cannot do so until I have a place to go. This is where you come in. My wife and I recently purchased a piece of land on Walnut Street and would like to build a home utilizing Renny's expertise. A home which is similar to our current home in terms of amenities."

Crocker said that "Renny" refers to a Lorusso employee.

Crocker wrote that he thought $200,000 would be a "fair" price for him to pay including the construction of a four-bedroom Colonial along with land clearing, running of a sewer line, permitting and other costs. Crocker even attached a drawing that appears to represent the floorplan of a home including a two-car garage, loft and sunken family room.

"I would like to get this project started as soon as possible," Crocker wrote. "Any delay would mean selling my home after the mall is in place, which you know would be difficult. I would like to see this project get started on July 1, 2003 and ready for occupation on Nov. 1, 2003."

Crocker also added a parting line:

"My wife and I are willing to keep any and all details of arrangements made between us private."

Lorusso, in a reply dated June 20, wrote that he "takes exception" to several of the points made in Crocker's letter, in particular any suggestion that he induced Crocker not to attend a meeting about the project.

"The likelihood that I would have suggested you not attend a meeting to which you had clearly been invited seems absurd," Lorusso wrote. He said the possibility of Lorusso and his firm building a home on Crocker's land was "never discussed."

"The suggestion that we should do so in an effort to placate you borders on the unconscionable," Lorusso wrote. Crocker said that he has since bought a house in one of Lorusso's developments and that the two are on good terms.

Heather Crocker said she was distressed when she read Lorusso's letter, saying she realized there had been a serious misunderstanding. She said her first impulse was to apologize, but was restricted to bed rest at the time. She added that the offer of confidentiality in her husband's letter signifies only that "it's nobody else's business."

On July 19, little more than a month after his original letter and after receiving the rebuff from Lorusso, Crocker wrote a letter to the planning board with a copy to selectmen asking that town officials or the developer take several measures to minimize the effects of traffic and noise from the shopping center. Crocker said there was no connection between his original letter to Lorusso and his decision to write to the planning board.

"These two letters had nothing to do with one another," he said. The letter was written by Crocker on his own family's behalf but neighbors were also asked whether they were interested in measures such as fencing, Heather Crocker said.

Crocker said he eventually withdrew his opposition to the project, but only after meeting with Mark Parris, senior vice president of National Development, who addressed concerns about the center's impact on neighboring property.

"There were no deals made," said Crocker who added he maintains a "very good working relationship" with Lorusso.

Crocker and his family continue to live in their house near the shopping center and plan to stay.

"We have no plans to move," he said.