“Pursuant to an official investigation being conducted by a federal grand jury in the District of Massachusetts of suspected violations of federal criminal law, your company is directed to furnish to the grand jury the documents described,’’ reads the subpoena, which was sent to officials of the collaborative.
More than half a dozen oversight agencies are now focusing on Barranco and his management of the collaborative and the Education Center in the last decade. During that time, Barranco’s salary climbed to over $500,000 while he paid his former girlfriend more than $300,000 and awarded high-paying jobs to close associates, allowing some to enhance their public pensions through alleged fraud, according to state Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan.
Last month, Sullivan accused Barranco of siphoning $11.5 million from the collaborative to the center, using the money to cover generous salaries and more than $50,000 in personal expenses, including high-end clothing, tickets to the Kentucky Derby, and improvements to his luxury vacation homes in Florida and New Hampshire.
The other agencies scrutinizing Barranco’s dealings include the state attorney general, state auditor, state treasurer, State Ethics Commission, the Executive Office of Education. and the state’s little known but powerful Operational Services Division, which oversees state contracts for goods and services.
Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for the US attorney’s office in Boston, said she would not comment on the subpoena.
An attorney representing Barranco did not return a call from the Globe. Mary A. Clisbee, Barranco’s former girlfriend and now an associate dean at Nova Southeastern University, in Florida, did not respond to messages.
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