Abraham Kasparian

Abraham Kasparian Jr. is an American politician who served on the Hampden County Commission from 1996 to 1998. In 2002 he was convicted of attempted murder after he stabbed his wife in a pizza parlor. While in jail he was awarded $311,000 in a civil suit related to his campaign for county commissioner.

Abraham Kasparian
Hampden County, Massachusetts Commissioner
In office
1996–1998
Preceded byThomas J. O'Connor
Succeeded byGovernment abolished

Political career

In 1996, Kasparian ran for a seat on the Hampden County Commission. On September 11, 1996 one of the incumbents, Thomas J. O'Connor, died, which left Kasparian and the other incumbent, Richard S. Thomas, unopposed.[1] In 1997 Kasparian and the commission pitched a proposal to the New England Patriots for a new stadium on a site in Agawam, Massachusetts. This was one of many proposals submitted after plans for a South Boston stadium fell through.[2] On July 1, 1998 the Hampden County Government was dismantled and the commission was eliminated. Kasparian filed suit challenging the Massachusetts General Court's authority to dismantle counties, but the suit was dismissed.[3][4]

In 1998, Kasparian ran as an independent for the 8th District seat on the Massachusetts Governor's Council. He received 8% of the vote.[5] In 1999 he finished fourth in the Agawam mayoral race with 1% of the vote.[6] In 2000 he ran as independent for the Hampden district seat in the Massachusetts Senate. He lost to incumbent Linda Melconian 86% to 14%.[5]

Kasparian later moved to Yarmouth, Massachusetts and served on the town's finance committee.[7]

During the 1996 county commissioner's race, Kasparian's criminal record was leaked to one of his opponents, Richard S. Thomas, who then turned it over to the Union-News. The record showed that since 1972, Kasparian had been charged 19 times, including charges related to an attack with a knife on a business partner that he had been acquitted of. Most of the charges had been dismissed, but he did receive a six-month suspended sentence in 1972 for fraudulently accepting $900 in welfare payments.[8] Kasparian sued Thomas and two court officers for violating Massachusetts' state's Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) laws by leaking his criminal record. The case finally went to trial in 2014 and Kasparian was awarded $311,000.[9]

In 2000, Kasparian was jailed after judge William Abraskin found him in contempt of court. Kasparian had been ordered to make repairs an apartment building in Springfield, Massachusetts he owned as a result of a two-year court case. After Kasparian had failed to begin work despite racking up $2,100 in $100-a-day fines, Abraskin jailed him in order to get him to comply.[10]

On July 22, 2002, Kasparian met with his wife at an Agawam pizza parlor. During the meeting, Kasparian allegedly begged his wife not to divorce him before attacking her with a butcher knife he brought to the restaurant. On August 2 he was charged with attempted murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and domestic assault.[7] He was found guilty and received a 12 to 15 year sentence.[8] He was released from prison on January 6, 2016.[11]

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References
  1. "Thomas O'Connor, 71, Hampden County official". Telegram & Gazette. September 13, 1996.
  2. "Agawam makes pitch for Pats". Telegram & Gazette. April 3, 1997.
  3. Tynan, Trudy (July 1, 1998). "2 county governments dismantled". The Patriot Ledger.
  4. "Court rejects bid by Mass. counties". The Boston Globe. August 18, 1998.
  5. "Abraham Kasparian, Jr. (U)". PD43+ Massachusetts Election Statistics. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  6. Laidler, John (October 6, 1999). "9 cities hold preliminary elections". The Boston Globe.
  7. Jeffrey, Karen (August 2, 2002). "Yarmouth official pleads innocent in wife's stabbing". The Cape Cod Times. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  8. Barry, Stephanie (October 14, 2014). "Abraham Kasparian, imprisoned ex-Hampden County commissioner, in court for 18-year-old civil case". The Republican. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  9. Barry, Stephanie (October 16, 2014). "Jurors award Abraham Kasparian over $300,000 in 18-year-old lawsuit". The Republican. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  10. Butterfield, Bruce and Richard Kindleberger (March 12, 2000). "Lots & Blocks". The Boston Globe.
  11. "Abraham Kasparian, Jr. v. The United States of America, Duffy Health Center, Inc., Duncan MacAllister, Wesley Klein, and Michael Fusco" (PDF). Gov Info. May 8, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
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