Altin Berxhiku v. Middlesex District Attorney's Office (SPR 20251361)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 22, 2025 SPR25/1361 Meagan Horn, Esq. Assistant District Attorney Appeals and Training Bureau Middlesex District Attorney’s Office 15 Commonwealth Avenue Woburn, MA 01801 Dear Attorney Horn: On May 14, 2025, this office received the petition from Attorney Tom Ralph on behalf of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office (Office) seeking relief from the obligation to produce responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, I understand that the Office furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Altin Berxhiku. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). From April 30, 2025, through May 13, 2025, Mr. Berxhiku submitted the following requests, as summarized by the Office below: 1. Request received April 30, 2025, relating to communications between the Office and Mr. Berxhiku’s former attorney; 2. Request received May 5, 2025, relating to correspondence between Assistant District Attorney Christopher Tarrant and Billerica Police Chief Roy Frost; 3. Request received May 5, 2025, seeking specific email between ADA Tarrant and Chief Frost from April of 2024; 4. Request received May 6, 2025, relating to a meeting between Mr. Berxhiku and the Massachusetts State Police in February of 2024; and 5. Request received May 13, 2025, relating to former Assistant District Attorney Daniel DeBlander’s employment; In numerous emails to this office on May 15 and May 17, 2025, Mr. Berxhiku objects to the Office’s petition. Petitions for an Extension of Time and for Relief from the Obligation to Provide Records Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832 • Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Meagan Horn, Esq. SPR25/1361 Page 2 May 22, 2025 (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. -- The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(b). Current Petition for Relief In its May 14, 2025 petition, the Office seeks relief “of the obligation to respond to future public records requests submitted by Altin Berxhiku relating to this matter, including the current outstanding requests,” and provides the following information in support of its request: Mr. Berxhiku’s requests are frivolous, repetitive, and, based on their quantity, pace, and content, are designed to intimidate or harass. His requests are plainly not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity. Rather, Mr. Berxhiku’s requests seek information for his own, personal purposes, stemming from his dissatisfaction with the Billerica police and this Office. Between April and July of 2024, and from March of 2025 to the date of this petition, Mr. Berxhiku has submitted thirty-one public records requests to this Office and appealed twenty-one of our responses to the Supervisor. Twenty of these requests and twenty of these appeals to the Supervisor were submitted in the

Meagan Horn, Esq. SPR25/1361 Page 3 May 22, 2025 preceding two months. As of the date of this petition, fourteen of these requests and appeals are open. The Assistant District Attorney assigned to handle Mr. Berxhiku’s public records requests estimates spending roughly twelve hours each week responding to those requests and handling his appeals to your office. Every one of his requests, some examples of which are attached here as Exhibit A, flows from his sealed criminal case and multiple incidents where the Billerica police responded to his residence. In addition to these requests, on an almost daily basis beginning in 2023, Mr. Berxhiku has emailed Assistant District Attorney Christopher Tarrant, the Chief of the Lowell region of the District Attorney’s Office. Since 2023, Mr. Berxhiku has emailed A.D.A. Tarrant approximately 100 times. Both the public records requests and emails to A.D.A. Tarrant regularly include harassing and abusive language, some examples of which are set out below. His requests regularly seek multiple vague and broad categories of information. ... These categories frequently contemplate records that do not exist or call upon this Office to seek and review hundreds of records, such as emails of dozens of individuals over a multi-year timeframe, for exempt material. His requests also encompass material that this Office previously provided to him, or they seek information as to which this Office indicated, in response to a previous request, that there are no responsive records. See, for example, Exhibit A at 12-18, regarding PRR 25-052, the appeal of this denial at SPR25/0837, and PRR 25-075. Finally, Mr. Berxhiku’s requests often include derogatory and abusive language, as well as baseless allegations, directed at public records team members and other staff. Based on the information provided in the Office’s petition, I find that the Office has not demonstrated that the requests are frivolous and not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, as required by G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Please note, the Supervisor of Records lacks the authority to relieve records custodians from the obligation of responding to prospective requests. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c) (“If the -- supervisor of records determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the supervisor of records may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought.”(emphasis added)). Conclusion Accordingly, I am unable to grant Office’s request for relief from the obligation to

Meagan Horn, Esq. SPR25/1361 Page 4 May 22, 2025 produce responsive records. Please be aware, this office may deny an appeal if, in the opinion of the Supervisor of Records, the request is designed or intended to harass, intimidate, or assist in the commission of a crime. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b)(2). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Altin Berxhiku Thomas Ralph, Esq.