Prominent South Shore Developer Charged With Child Rape, Trafficking Cocaine
QUINCY (CBS) -- One of the South Shore's most prominent businessmen is out on bail after being charged with drug trafficking and rape of a child under the age of 16.
Seventy-one-year-old Bill O'Connell was released Monday after putting up $150,000 cash.
O'Connell is the developer of the hugely successful Marina Bay, a complex of upscale condos and shops on the water. He was also instrumental in transforming the old Quincy quarries into the exclusive Granite Links Golf Club.
WBZ-TV's Bill Shields reports.
But prosecutors say O'Connell traded cocaine for sex with a minor on several occasions, going back almost two years.
District Attorney Michael Morrissey appointed a Special Prosecutor to the case likely because Morrissey has known O'Connell for years, first when Morrissey was a State Representative, then Senator from Quincy.
"I can't speak for the District Attorney", said Special Prosecutor Andrew Berman, "but it's likely he didn't want a conflict of interest."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports.
