Former murder suspect in court

A Springfield man who is charged with an aggravated assault on a dying man who threatened him with a splitting maul is now facing charges of prescription fraud.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20090903/NEWS02/909030376

Published September 3, 2009 in the Rutland Herald

Former murder suspect in court

By SUSAN SMALLHEER STAFF WRITER

BRATTLEBORO – A Springfield man who is charged with an aggravated assault on a dying man who threatened him with a splitting maul is now facing charges of prescription fraud.

Kyle Bolaski, 25, was arraigned Tuesday on charges that he altered a prescription for Percocet, a painkiller, adding a "1" to the prescription so he would get 100 extra pills, court records revealed, for a total of 142.

Bolaski last August was charged with second-degree murder for the death of Vincent Tamburello, 32, of Springfield, after a shooting in a parking lot at MacKenzie Field in Chester.

According to court records, there was bad blood between Tamburello and friends of Bolaski's, and the two sides agreed to meet at the ballfield. Tamburello had recently moved to the area from the Boston area.

Murder charges were dropped against Bolaski after a grand jury decided he acted in self defense. The grand jury convened in Windsor Superior Court by Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand failed to return an indictment or "true bill" against Bolaski for murder, essentially finding that Bolaski acted in self defense when he shot Tamburello.

However, the grand jury found enough evidence to warrant a charge of aggravated assault for when Bolaski used the butt of his rifle to hit the prone man in the head.

The latest charges came after Bolaski presented a prescription at Greater Falls Pharmacy in Bellows Falls from Dr. Jeffrey Bell of Charlestown, N.H., and the pharmacist Marc Cote determined that someone had added a "1" to the number of pills.

A check with the doctor's office revealed that the prescription was for 42 pills, not 142 pills.

Cote told police that the number 1 was in a different slated handwriting and raised his suspicions.

According to court records, Bolaski now lives in Springfield with his parents and is unemployed. At the time of the August 2008 shooting, he was living in Chester.

According to the conditions of release that were set for Bolaski on the aggravated assault charge, he was not to be charged with another offense pending the resolution of the case. He is currently free on $100,000 bail.

Sand would only say Wednesday that his office was reviewing its options.