Some recent news on the case of Thomas Clasby from Patriot Ledger dated 5/28/2025
BOSTON − The case of Tom Clasby, the former head of Quincy's council on aging charged with embezzling more than $120,000 in cash and material goods from the department he oversaw, appears to be heading toward a plea deal.
Clasby faces charges of embezzlement concerning a program receiving federal funds, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years; mail and wire fraud, which carry a maximum of 20 years; and interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
Clasby appeared in federal court in Boston on Wednesday, May 28, for a brief pretrial hearing before District Judge Patti B. Saris. His defense lawyer, Claudia Lagos, asked for a plea date, also known as a Rule 11 hearing, in September. Saris set the hearing for Sept. 3.
Clasby was arrested in January after being indicted on charges of embezzlement, mail and wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property. At his Jan. 8 arraignment, he pleaded not guilty and was released without bail under certain conditions, including the surrender of his passport and a prohibition against working in financial services.
Where is Tom Clasby working now?
During the hearing, Lagos told the judge that Clasby is currently working as a limousine driver and has complied with all bail conditions since his release in early January.
What officials say Tom Clasby spent embezzled money on
Clasby spent stolen money on a framed self-portrait, 153 pounds of bourbon steak tips, a music studio recording and a Toyota Prius, according to previous Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy.
The indictment says Clasby, who headed the Department of Elder Services from 1997 to 2024, began abusing Quincy's purchasing process beginning in 2019 to pay personal expenses.
Expenses include "$8,950 to a music studio to produce recordings of Clasby singing songs; $2,236 to food service vendors for 153 pounds of bourbon steak tips; $4,800 for a Toyota Prius; and $1,658 for a signature, lacquered, mounted, and framed self-portrait, all of which were personal expenses," the statement from the U.S. Attorney's office reads.
MORE UPDATES FROM PATRIOT LEDGER ON THE STATUES, PATRIOT LEDGER, MAY 28, 2025
QUINCY ‒ The complaint filed in Dedham Superior Court charges Mayor Tom Koch with violating Article III of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights by using public funds to buy two larger-than-life bronze statues of saints.
The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and two other civil liberty groups on Tuesday, May 27, aims to stop the installation of the statues at Quincy's new public safety building, which is just a few months away from opening.
The 15 plaintiffs are Quincy residents representing different faith groups, including Catholicism, Judaism, Unitarianism, as well as humanist, atheist and spiritualist world views, the complaint says.
Lead plaintiff Claire Fitzmaurice organized a petition on Change.org opposing the statues on Feb. 10, two days after The Patriot Ledger first reported Koch's undisclosed plans to erect two, larger-than-life bronze statues depicting St. Michael and St. Florian, patron saints of police and firefighters, on the façade of the massive new public safety headquarters. The petition has garnered nearly 1,700 signatures.
The suit filed in Dedham Superior Court includes new details on the costs the city incurred, and may still incur beyond the previously stated $850,000, in the commissioning, transporting and installation of the artwork.
Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch
What is Quincy's position on the saint statues?
Koch has maintained his view that the symbolic power of the statues transcend religion, that the saints have a long-standing affiliation with police officers and firefighters and that they express the universal concept of good triumphing over evil. Koch, a devout Catholic, has also said that St. Michael is a figure common to Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Plaintiff Gilana Rosenthol, an observant Jew, says Judaism does not recognize saints, according to the complaint. She said the statues make her feel excluded from the "government's preferred group of citizens."
Koch's chief of staff Chris Walker declined to comment on the suit, saying the mayor has not yet had time to review the complaint.
Read the complaint: See the 25-page lawsuit for yourself
What do the plaintiffs hope to accomplish in the saint statue suit against Quincy?
The plaintiffs want a judge to issue a temporary injunction prohibiting Koch and the city from installing the statues until the lawsuit is resolved. Ultimately, they want a judgment that would permanently prohibit public display of the statues.
The injunction request filed jointly by the ACLU of Massachusetts, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and the Freedom From Religion Foundation also asks a judge to prohibit Koch from spending any more public money on the construction, transportation, installation and maintenance of the statues.
The complaint also asks that the city pay the plaintiffs' legal and attorney fees and award "such other relief as this Court deems just and proper." It is unclear if the plaintiffs seek monetary damages.
Saint controversy: Quincy's saint statues 'clear breach' of separation of church and state: What lawsuit says
What is Article III of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights
The suit rests on the Declaration of Rights affixed to the state's constitution and is analogous to the Bill of Rights contained in the U.S. Constitution.
Part of Article III of the Declaration, quoted in the complaint, reads as follows:
“(A)ll religious sects and denominations, demeaning themselves peaceably, and as good citizens of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law; and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.”
The complaint states Koch's statues violate the three prongs of the "Lemon Test," legal criteria often used to judge if government action violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, arguing that statues rise one religion above others, entangles government with religion and has caused significant political division in the community.
A rendering of Quincy’s new public safety building, including two statues of St. Michael and St. Florian affixed to the building façade.
How much will the Quincy saint statues cost in the end?
In February, city officials said the statues cost $850,000, paid for with funds appropriated for the $175 million public safety complex on Sea Street. The building, set to open in October, will house the police, the fire department's administrative offices, as well as emergency management and the IT department.
But the complaint says the city made eight payments to sculptor Sergey Eylanbekov from July 2023 to the present totaling $911,000, but the city was reimbursed $150,000.
"No public records have been produced regarding from whom this money was reimbursed or for what purpose," the complaint states. The ACLU submitted an exhaustive public records request to the city in March.
The statues were sculpted in Italy and will be shipped to Boston by sea, the complaint says. It lists as expenses $700,000 to the Eylanbekov, $70,000 to a subcontractor, $38,000 for statue supports and $223,000 for "cast stone accents." That totals $1,031,000.
These expenses may not include the total cost, the complaint says, noting that they do not account for transportation from Boston to Quincy or temporary storage if the statues cannot be installed immediately.
Who are the plaintiffs suing Koch over St. Michael and St. Florian statues?
Raised in different traditions, the plaintiffs agree that the statues are an affront to a diverse and pluralistic community, according to the complaint. Many of the plaintiffs object to the violent nature of the St. Michael statue, the complaint says. Dressed as a warrior, the saint pins an anthropomorphic demon to the ground with one foot and holds the spear aloft, ready to strike.
We will keep you informed of any updates.
Kathy Thrun, Ziqiang “Susan” Yuan and Virginia Ryan
Happy June!!!!!!