Groton: School for scandal

Loosely Speaking by Nancy Gaines

LOOSELY SPEAKING

The Groton School in leafy Middlesex County now debunks allegations of "homosexual rapes and molestations" that were made public two weeks ago in a letter from the headmaster to thousands of Groton alums and their families. But school officials acknowledge that the resulting investigation has turned up problems with what may be "inappropriate horseplay."

The furor at the century-old school, where novelist Louis Auchincloss's Rector of Justin fictively presided, began last month when, according to headmaster William Polk's letter, reports reached him of alleged incidents involving "violation of personal boundaries." It escalated April 6 when a student stood up at an assembly to charge that "a series of homosexual rapes and molestations had occurred at the school over the past four years." Polk almost immediately sent the mass mailing to thousands of Groton patrons, saying that an investigation was under way. A week later, the allegations surfaced in the New York Post and on the Internet. Meanwhile, school spokesperson Karen Schwartzman tried to stifle press coverage of the incident, saying it was "a non-story." She said the Massachusetts Department of Social Services "was informed and found nothing to get involved with." The state agency later said it did not conduct an investigation because it lacked jurisdiction. Schwartzman said the allegations were not reported to police because "there was no evidence of a crime."

Eventually, school officials said an investigation determined that all the allegations had come from one student, whose reports could not be corroborated. "There was some discussion of wrestling in the dorms by upperclass boys that may in some eyes have gone beyond appropriate play," said Schwartzman.

The billion-dollar boyos Skeptics are chortling over the spontaneous eruption of the Boston Irish-mafia dons in their 11th-hour fight to keep the New England Patriots in Massachusetts -- one wag suggested they'd have to rename the team the New England Papists. But the fact is they just might succeed, even if they have to build the stadium themselves. Which they could well afford. And which they might well want to do for reasons other than Celtic pride. The boyos have deep pockets and intersecting interests for wanting the Pats here. As for resources, Hill Holliday Connors Cosmopulos chairman Jack Connors made a personal killing of more than $100 million when he sold his agency last year. And Bill Connell, described vaguely in press reports as an "industrialist," is no slouch either. His privately held Connell Limited Partnership is a billion-dollar metals-manufacturing company. A die-hard sports fan whose business experience is grounded in racetracks and concessions, Connell, 60, grew up in Lynn and went to BC. Like Connors, he is a former chairman of the school's board of trustees. They also both have a connection to the business success of the Patriots -- namely, BankBoston. The bank is a lead investor in the Patriots and, as might be expected, a heavy commercial sponsor of the team. In 1987, it financed Connell's business expansion. It's also a client of Connors's agency, which creates the bank's ads broadcast during Pats games. That relationship is more profitable in a larger media market. For all the corporate and civic sense their efforts make, Connors and Connell have yet another rooting interest in the Pats -- one that might go even deeper. One thing Boston College trustees take very seriously is promoting the school's athletics, especially football. The greater the showcase for BC players, the greater the trickle-down benefit to the school. Earlier this week, the Patriots took as their first choice in the NFL draft a center named Damien Woody. From BC.

Dancing for dollars

The oft-maligned big-spending Euro crowd that populates Club Nicole on Thursday nights will get to show another side when the club hosts a fundraiser tonight (April 22) for UNICEF. Co-chaired by Emerson College student Sarah Asem (a niece of Jordan's Queen Noor), the event will cost $20 per person, half of which will be donated to increase awareness of the land-mine crisis in Mozambique. UNICEF will also hold a $2500-per-plate dinner at the Ritz June 3 honoring the queen, the former Lisa Halaby of Princeton.

Meninospeak: Keeps coming and going

Mayor Tom Menino should get due credit for changing his mind, as in his flip-flop over whether Boston has room for a football stadium. But he'd better be wary of attempting to prove that consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Out of one side of his mouth, Menino castigates the proposed Logan Airport expansion, saying it would increase traffic by bringing more people to the city. On the other side, he champions a new convention center, saying it would increase revenue -- by bringing more people to the city.

Harvey's better life

Look for the St. Botolph-turned- Harvey's restaurant in the South End to undergo one more transformation when it reopens May 1 as The Good Life, an uptown knockoff of restaurateur Brian O'Neill's popular Financial District tavern. O'Neill said he originally planned to change the name back to the St. Botolph but became convinced that another Good Life was the way to go. With some deer heads, mounted marlin, and remodeling evoking the rural funkiness of his Kingston Street pub, the reincarnation is complete.

Native intelligence

The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office, which gained national prominence for aid to battered women under former DA (now congressman) Bill Delahunt, is getting more recognition under new DA Bill Keating: his recently named director of victim services, Rai Cunningham, had to postpone taking the job for a week while she traveled to Dublin to be keynote speaker at an international conference on domestic violence. . . . Younger fans reading a recent New York Times article on Johnny Cash might have been surprised to learn that the musician credited his rise to fame to legendary Sun Records owner Sam Phillips "and Don Law." The local concert impresario would have had to be a child prodigy to nurture Cash's career in the early '50s -- and, in fact, he didn't. The Times seemed to assume aficionados would know that Law's father was also a legendary R&B producer. . . . Ecocentrix's star colorist, Helen Pesce, is celebrating her divorce (granted on St. Patrick's Day) with a trip to Ireland and a return to her maiden name: Helen McKenna.