Mystery meat has Framingham all abuzz

[Librarian]

WTF????

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FRAMINGHAM - The evidence: a 5-pound shoulder cut, a scrap cut, covered in gristle, a 10-pound roast, and a slice of liver.

The crime scene: the town green.

For five weeks, butcher-quality cuts of red meat - it appears to be beef - have been appearing regularly beneath a tree in the historic Town Centre Common, and the caper has perplexed just about everybody in town. Police and town health officials are investigating. Residents are bewildered, even worried.

"I hear the meat might be poisonous," said Taryn Fusco, who has spied the meat on recent walks through the park with her Shih Tzu-Yorkie-mix. "I feel unsafe bringing my dog to the park."

Authorities have inspected the meat and sent samples to the state public health lab in Boston to determine whether it's been tampered with. They are pursuing every lead they can find, though those have been in short supply.

"It's our mission to get to the bottom of why these pieces of meat are being left," said Lieutenant Paul Shastany of the Framingham Police Department. "Why? Who? And what is it? What kind of meat?"

The mystery began in early October, when dog walkers began finding slabs of raw meat, seemingly carefully arranged at the base of a large evergreen.

"I was just walking in the park with my dog, and I just saw a variety of meats and bones over near the tree," Fusco said. She said she guessed that the meat might have been thrown out after a function at the nearby Village Hall.

"But then it kept appearing week after week," she said. "You know when people make turkeys on Thanksgiving and you take the giblets out? That's what it looked like. And then it was more meaty and steak-looking, with bones, and it kept getting more meaty. It was gross."

Chris Walsh, an architect who works in an office near the green, spotted a 5-pound shoulder cut several weeks ago. The following week, he saw a "less appetizing" cut of gristly scrap meat, he said. Then it was a slice of liver and a "very good-looking" roast.

"It's not just like a hamburger-patty size," he said, underscoring his amazement. "This is like a shoulder of beef."

He called the town Board of Health, which sent officials to investigate.

So far, the evidence they recovered has not yielded much in the way of breakthroughs.

"The meat is large, it's raw, it weighs upward of 5 to 10 pounds," said Ethan Mascoop, town public health director. Unable to determine the origin of the meat, Mascoop called the police and shipped several cuts to the state lab.

"We want to make sure it's nothing nefarious, and we're taking all precautions and all actions, including testing and monitoring," Mascoop said. "But there's no evidence - absolutely, absolutely nothing - to suggest something untoward is going on." Still, rumors and theories are swirling in Framingham.

"I'll bet it's probably venison; there's a lot of guys out there hunting now," said James W. Egan, the town building director, who has spoken to Walsh about the meat and inspected a photo Walsh took of several of the cuts. "It looked like a nice piece of lean meat, so I'd like to smoke it in the smoker. I'll bet it would be good."

Dave Shulman, who was walking in the park yesterday, said the meat "could be seen as a gift" to the animals.

Walsh said he believed the meat might be at the crux of some sort of misunderstanding.

"It doesn't really seem like anybody's doing it to be vindictive," he said. "It's too regular. It's too much in the same spot. It's strange that way."

Julian Suso, the town manager, urged patience.

"We're teaming up to get to the bottom of things," he said. "But it could take a little time."