CHESHIRE, Mass. — A single-family home on School Street was severely damaged by fire on Thursday afternooon.

Firefighters responded to the call at about 3 p.m. of a fire in the basement.

"When they got here the fire had spread into the walls and up into the ceiling," said Fire Chief Tom Francesconi. "The first crews found heavy smoke, not a lot of fire at first, but when they made entry into the back of the house they found heavy fire near the furnace and in the chimney area."

Francesconi said it took about a 30 to 40 minutes to knock the visible flames down; firefighters were still mopping up at about 4:30.

Lanesborough and Adams fire departments also responded, Dalton covered the Cheshire fire house and North Adams Ambulance brought its rehab unit.

The fire chief said no one was injured but the homeowner's cat was said to be missing. Earlier reports from the scene were that the house was unoccupied at the time, but Francesconi could not confirm that.

According to the documents on file at the Registry of Deeds, the house has been owned by Michael Gallagher since November.

The fire is believed to have started in the basement at the back of the house but the cause has not yet been determined.

"There is heavy smoke damage," said Francesconi, who added he had not yet been inside. But had walked around the perimeter. "The backside of the house has quite a bit of fire damage. ... Definitely a lot of smoke and fire damage on the bottom, as you can see, the bottom skirt area. The fire got into that crawlspace and went right up the walls into the attic."

The fire chief said single-digit temperatures were not a hindrance but were taxing for firefighters. They were taking advantage the rehab unit's heated tent.

"There's heat and everything in the tent, so we've been rotating firefighters in and out of the tent," he said. "It's helped a lot."

BOSTON — An Adams woman and former credit union employee was convicted on Jan. 17 of embezzling nearly $160,000 and making false entries into the books of the credit union.

Patricia Piscioneri, 67, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor to a 30-count indictment charging her with embezzlement of funds by a credit union employee and false entries.

She faces up to 30 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine.

While employed as the manager of the former Adams Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union (AMEFCU) between 2001 and 2005, Piscioneri embezzled credit union funds by creating fraudulent loan accounts in the names of credit union members and depositing the proceeds of these fraudulent loans into her own account(s), her husband's account(s), or other family members' account(s), or used the proceeds to pay off previously obtained fraudulent loans.

In an attempt to avoid detection, Piscioneri created fraudulent loan documentation, such as loan applications and promissory notes, and forged signatures on the fraudulent loan documentation. Additionally, Piscioneri created false entries in the AMEFCU accounting system and advanced the payment due dates of the fraudulent loans.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 25, 2013.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Dineen Jerrett of Ortiz's Health Care Fraud Unit.

STAMFORD, Vt. — An early morning accident sent a man to North Adams Regional Hospital Monday.

Cases heard before Judge Daniel Ford on Tuesday, January 15.

Michael Pieri, 26, of Becket pleaded guilty to 15 counts of breaking and entering in the nighttime, 15 counts of malicious destruction of personal property, eight counts of larceny in a building, six counts of larceny over $250, four counts of receiving stolen property and single counts of illegal ownership of a firearm, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, improper storage of a firearm and common and notorious thief.

He was sentenced to concurrent two to three years at the Massachusetts Correction Institution at Cedar Junction on the breaking and entering, larceny over $250, malicious destruction of personal property, larceny in a building and receiving stolen property charges. He was given a concurrent sentence at the Berkshire County House of Correction on firearm charges and placed on two years probation for the common and notorious thief charge. He was also ordered to pay $13,247 in restitution.

The charges stem from a series of housebreaks in Becket between November 23, 2010 and July 11, 2011.

Andy Rivera, 32, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to a single count of carrying a dangerous weapon.

He was sentenced to serve 18 months and a two and a half year sentence at the Berkshire County House of Correction and given two years probation.

A single count of disturbing the peace was dismissed by the state. The charges stem from an incident in Pittsfield on November 8, 2011.

Cases heard before Judge Daniel Ford on Wednesday, January 16.

Michael Laprise, 37, of North Adams pleaded guilty to single counts of distribution of oxycodone and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

He was given a one-year suspended sentence at the Berkshire County House of Correction and placed on one year of probation. The incidents occurred in North Adams between November 1, 2010 and November 25, 2010.

Cases heard before Judge Daniel Ford on Thursday, January 17.

Andrew Dupont, 19, of South Egremont pleaded guilty to single counts of indecent assault and battery on a person who has attained age 14 and violation of a harassment order.

He was sentenced to serve 15 months at the Berkshire County House of Correction on the violation of a harassment order and placed on 18 months probation on the other charge.

Two counts of rape and abuse of a child, no force, were dismissed by the state. The assault charge stemmed from an incident in Great Barrington on December 27, 2011 and involved a 15-year-old girl. The harassment order charge was in connection with an incident in Great Barrington on May 22, 2012 involving the same girl.

Michael Bannister, 26, of Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to violate drug laws.

He was ordered to pay a $500 fine. The incident occurred in Adams between November 1, 2010 and November 25, 2010. Two counts of distribution of oxycodone and two counts of drug violation in a school zone were dismissed by the state.

Cases heard before Judge Daniel Ford on Friday, January 18.

Mandi Slick, 29, of North Adams pleaded guilty to a single count of receiving stolen property over $250.

He case was continued without a finding. Slick was allegedly in possession of stolen property in Adams between April 1, 2011 and September 1, 2011.

Robert Smith, 35, of Dalton was found guilty on five counts of rape and abuse of a child, no force, three counts of rape and abuse of a child aggravated by an age difference, two counts of dissemination of obscene matter to a minor and a single count of inducting a minor to engage in sexual intercourse.

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without bail until sentencing on Jan. 24.

The incidents involved a girl who is now 17-years-old and a boy who is now 14-years-old in Richmond between January 1, 2004 and June 10, 2010.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The director of a private water testing laboratory in Lee has been indicted in connection with backdating drinking water sample analyses to cover-up misconduct and feign compliance with environmental laws, Attorney General Martha Coakley's Office announced today.

William Enser, Jr., 63, of Lee, was indicted by a Berkshire County Grand Jury on 15 counts of Knowingly Falsifying Reports Submitted to the Department of Environmental Protection and 15 counts of Willfully Making False Reports to the Department of Environmental Protection.

"This defendant allegedly backdated reports sent to officials to make it appear that water samples were tested within the required timeframe when in fact, they were not," Attorney General Martha Coakley said. "As the director of the lab, he was entrusted with ensuring the integrity of the testing and the safety of the water supply. We allege that he neglected those responsibilities by cutting corners and then attempting to cover it up."

In September 2012, the AG's Office began an investigation after the matter was initially investigated and referred by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Enser was the director of Berkshire Enviro-Labs, Inc. in Lee that had previously acted as a certified drinking water lab to provide drinking water testing for private and public water suppliers in western Massachusetts.

"Labs that test drinking water samples must be held to very strict standards to ensure that the health and safety of the public is never compromised," said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. "This indictment suggests that the lab director purposely skewed the data and undermined the system. MassDEP staff conducting audit, inspection and investigative functions uncovered this fraud and helped to bring this operator to justice."

Authorities allege that at times between 2008 and 2012, Enser falsified the dates of drinking water sample analyses on reports submitted to the MassDEP in an attempt to make it appear that the analyses had been completed within the required holding time for those substances, when in fact, they had not. The analyses were being run for the presence of nitrates and nitrites, substances that can contaminate drinking water. The maximum sample holding time, or the time from sample collection to sample analysis, for these kinds of samples is 48 hours. After 48 hours, the lab analysis is not considered reliable.

Investigation revealed that the dates submitted to the MassDEP differed from those found on the chromatogram, a chart printed from the instrument used to analyze the samples, in an alleged attempt to feign compliance with state environmental laws.

MassDEP conducted additional analysis to determine if the falsification of the data put the public at risk. Based on the prompt closing of the lab, MassDEP’s own additional sampling and close review of the data concerning nitrates and nitrites, the agency does not believe that the water that was the subject of the back-dated samples put the public at risk.

The charges stem from an investigation by the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force, an interagency unit which is overseen by Coakley, Kimmell and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan, Jr. The Strike Force comprises prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office, Environmental Police Officers assigned to the Attorney General's Office, and investigators and engineers from the MassDEP who investigate and prosecute crimes that harm or threaten the state's water, air, or land and that pose a significant threat to human health.

A Berkshire County Grand Jury returned indictments against Enser on Wednesday. He will be arraigned in Berkshire Superior Court on Jan. 23. In September 2012, MassDEP's Wall Experiment Station Lab Certification Office, which certifies and audits these kinds of labs, revoked the certification of Enviro-Labs that allowed them to analyze water samples as a result of falsification of data and engaging in deceptive practices. The laboratory has not been conducting analysis on water samples since that time.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Andrew Rainer, Chief of the Environmental Crimes Strike Force, and Assistant Attorney General Sara Farnum, of AG Coakley's Environmental Crimes Division, with assistance from the Massachusetts Environmental Police, and the MassDEP Strike Force Director Pamela Talbot and investigators Tim Dame and Joel Rees. MassDEP staff also worked to corroborate the technical findings and to ensure the continued delivery of certified lab services to affected water suppliers. That staff is Marielle Stone, Western Regional Office Director Michael Gorski and Brian Harrington, Jim Gibbs, Deirdre Cabral and Doug Paine. MassDEP lab staff, Anne Marie Allen, John Bardzik and Lisa Touet provided valuable assistance with the lab audit and inspections.