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Hanley faces larceny charge
 Attleboro City Councilor James Hanley (Staff photo by MARTIN GAVIN)
Top Headlines The Ward 1 councilor and former school committee chairman is alleged to have failed to pay $13,500 in medical costs incurred by former partner Michael Poulin and his wife, Clara Poulin, after neglecting to pay the company's health insurance bills. Hanley, 64, of 34 Rosewood Ave. in South Attleboro, will be summonsed for arraignment May 30 in Attleboro District Court. The complaint filed by Detective Russell Castro, who investigated the case with Detective Timothy Cook Sr., alleges Hanley used funds collected for the Poulins' health coverage to pay other business debts from October 2004 to July 2005. In an interview Tuesday, Hanley denied any criminal intent, saying he and the Poulins had tried to reach an out-of-court settlement regarding money he owed for their medical coverage. "I did everything in my power to solve this problem before it went to a larceny thing," Hanley said. Hanley's lawyer, Roger Ferris of Attleboro, slammed the criminal complaint. "A former business partner has transformed a legitimate business dispute into unfounded criminal allegations," Ferris said. "Mr. Hanley has cooperated with police throughout the investigation, maintaining that he has committed no wrongdoing." Hanley and Michael Poulin, 45, of Pawtucket, started My Backyard Publishing in March 2000, but the partnership dissolved after they had a falling out in 2004, according to the police complaint filed in court. Poulin, who owned a 40 percent stake in the business, resigned in September 2004, but with an agreement that Hanley would buy out Poulin's share, according to the complaint. As part of that agreement, according to court records, Poulin was to retain health insurance coverage for 18 months through My Backyard's group health plan and pay monthly insurance premiums. But Hanley never forwarded Poulin's monthly payments to the insurer, United HealthCare Insurance, and is alleged to have used the money instead to pay other bills, according to the complaint. When the Poulins received notice from United HealthCare in July 2005 that their insurance might be cancelled, Michael Poulin went to the My Backyard offices with the notice, according to the complaint. The Poulins were concerned about their health care coverage, according to court records, because Michael Poulin was scheduled for surgery in July 2005 and his wife had medical treatments scheduled. The couple went ahead with the medical procedures, only to find out later that they were not covered by insurance, according to the complaint. Hanley did pay the couple cash for prescriptions at the time, according to court records and Hanley. Hanley said he contacted United HealthCare at the time to try to get the couple's insurance reinstated. However, when that proved unsuccessful, Hanley said he attempted to negotiate a settlement with the Poulins. The dispute was never resolved because the Poulins wanted a lump sum payment for their medical bills, but Hanley wanted to make monthly payments to the couple, according to the complaint and Hanley. The Poulins reported the dispute to police in June 2006, according to court records, but the couple and Hanley still tried to come to an agreement. The couple gave Hanley more time to settle the dispute, but allegedly did not receive any money. Clara Poulin contacted police again in December 2006. Police subpoenaed United HealthCare's records during the investigation, and found that Hanley's business had a history of making late payments and sometimes did not make any payments, according to the complaint. In November 2005, according to the complaint, the health care company wrote off a $3,792 balance owned by Hanley as "uncollectible."
Post Your Comments Jake wrote on May 9, 2007 10:21 PM: " Yes Tonya, this could be serious for him if convicted...the pen. " Jake wrote on May 9, 2007 10:17 PM: " Yes Tonya, yhis could be serious for him if convicted...the pen. " Steve S wrote on May 9, 2007 8:55 PM: " What a fool, even if all charges are false, he should never put himself in a situation like this. " RC wrote on May 9, 2007 8:40 PM: " Sounds to me like he's guilty of something our government does to us everyday....steal money from one account and use it for something else....no felony there though.... " Tonya wrote on May 9, 2007 8:18 PM: " Should Hanley be found guilty, could the charges warrant incarceration?
" Out of stater wrote on May 9, 2007 8:01 PM: " This article really scares me. I have had very unpleasant dealings with this man regarding a book he offered to publish for me. He held my book for over a year, giving me one excuse after another (one of which was "I have a cash flow problem"), and never published my book. I eventually took it back from him. Now I wonder if maybe he published it himself. It's copyrighted, so he'll be in more trouble if he did! " Donna wrote on May 9, 2007 7:51 PM: " We'll see what the courts say Paul D. " Janet wrote on May 9, 2007 7:51 PM: " Not once have any of Jim Hanley's defenders on this blog mentioned that he is a City Councilman and is making decisions for our City. I think the voters of this City have the right to information about the people we elect and trust with great responsibility. Hey "Businessman," would you hire someone without an interview, background check and maybe even a credit check??? As voters, we need to know this information too so we can make solid decisions for our City! " Paul D. wrote on May 9, 2007 7:16 PM: " 18 months seems to me to be COBRA. You cannot insure someone that does not work for you. That would be fraud if you listed them as an employee. The only was is to continue is with COBRA and that allows you up to 18 months of coverage " Shasta wrote on May 9, 2007 6:32 PM: " If that ain't fraud, I don't know what is - " Paul wrote on May 9, 2007 4:17 PM: " The complaint alleges Hanley used funds collected for the Poulins' health coverage to pay other business debts, that may friends, if found to be true is FRAUD - of course it's criminal.
" pleaseSteve wrote on May 9, 2007 3:52 PM: " Hanley is not a fav. of the Mayor or the Sun Chronicle. Any chance to discredit him they jump on . " Bamboo wrote on May 9, 2007 3:42 PM: " Did anyone notice how small of of the other headlines were in this morning paper versus how big the lettering was for the Hanley story? Whats thats all about! " Businessman wrote on May 9, 2007 3:04 PM: " Bad business management is not a criminal offense. If it were there would be thousands more people in jail. That is why we have civil courts. Making this a criminal matter does society no good and ends up costing the people of the Commonwealth. " Jake wrote on May 9, 2007 2:56 PM: " The Chronicle shouldn't be ashamed, matter of fact - kudos to them for surfacing this. No one is calling him a criminal. If he's innocent, he has nothing to be worried about. Regarding his service, well that's simply a question for debate. " Donna wrote on May 9, 2007 2:54 PM: " Jim is a public figure and should have been more cautious in his dealings if he didn't want to be on the front page this morning. " JC wrote on May 9, 2007 2:35 PM: " The Sun Chronicle should be ashamed. This is not front page news. This is revenged and slander. Jim has served our community in many ways and deserves better treatment then this. " Skeptic wrote on May 9, 2007 1:43 PM: " Hey Donna, who said they didn't have the right to publish it. The issue is whether or not this is a criminal matter. " Resident wrote on May 9, 2007 1:12 PM: " I think Mr. Hanley should be ashamed of himself! " Jake wrote on May 9, 2007 11:16 AM: " If the charges are correct, Hanley should resign. " Donna wrote on May 9, 2007 11:15 AM: " The Chronicle has every right to report the charges against Hanley - it's newsworthy considering his position in the city. This has NOTHING to do with business and EVERYTHING with The Chronicle's obligation to report the facts. " Doesn't take much wrote on May 9, 2007 8:37 AM: " First the Electric Commission in North Attleborough and now a business dispute. Does the Attleboro District court charge less for criminal proceedings than civil?
Mr. Hanley is a competitor to the Sun Chronicle (for advertising dollars) and a memeber of the city council. No chance of making enemies there that will delight in humiliating you. " or
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