2 Dedham School Committee members facing criminal charges in separate cases

In Dedham, one School Committee member is facing charges for allegedly threatening a vice principal earlier this month. Meanwhile, another School Committee member is scheduled to stand trial this spring in a case about his alleged involvement in a tax evasion scheme. 

During a March 12 incident at Dedham Middle School, William “Billy” Walsh allegedly threatened Vice Principal George Benzie. Walsh allegedly said he would “[expletive] up Benzie and wage war on the middle school,” according to a police report obtained by The Boston Globe.

Walsh displayed similar behavior last fall, Benzie reportedly told police. Superintendent Nan Murphy told officials that she was “in fear for the safety of her staff at Dedham Middle School,” per the Globe. Murphy issued a no-trespass order against Walsh, who is the parent of a student at the middle school. 

Walsh is running for reelection in the April 12 election and is refusing to resign. In a Facebook post Sunday, he said that he was “appalled” and “saddened” by some of the “vile comments” made toward him and his family. He promised to tell his “side of the story” at a future time. 

“Billy is not going anywhere,” Walsh wrote. “I will respect the process and leave it up to the voters of Dedham. I have the utmost confidence that the people of Dedham will see what is actually taking place here and they will send a clear message that an elected official’s wife and children should always be off limits regarding any efforts to defeat their political opponents.”

The other School Committee member embroiled in legal woes is Christopher Polito, who was first charged in 2021. He allegedly submitted numerous false documents to the state’s Department of Revenue while working as an accountant for Rochester Bituminous Products Inc., an asphalt company that was based in West Wareham. This was allegedly done in order to “obstruct an audit” of the company and to “reduce the total taxable sales the company made” during a period from 2011 to 2013. 

Polito was later indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury alongside the company’s founder. Prosecutors said the pair continued to submit false documents to the state from 2014 to 2017. 

A trial is scheduled to begin May 6.

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