Judge Denies North Adams Man’s Request To Be Released

The Berkshire Eagle reports a judge on Tuesday put the kibosh on a plea deal for a defendant in a drug case, noting the man's 26-page criminal record.

Joseph Pini, 41, of North Adams, remains held on $20,000 bail in the case, which stems from a search warrant at his home in August 2017.

His attorney had asked Judge Mark  Mason to consider allowing Pini to be released on personal recognizance, with GPS monitoring for approximately three weeks prior to the imposition of a state prison sentence, which would have been in late June.

But Mason shot down the request, noting the breadth of Pini's record, which included a prior violation of probation and several periods of being behind bars among the reasons for declining the request.