Week in Review: Alleged Pot Smuggling, Housing Authority Controversy, Carroll's Opens

The new Carroll's restaurant at 21 Main Street opened at 4 p.m. Thursday. The bar and grill will be open afternoons and evenings for its first few weeks, then open up for lunch once things settle in, co-owner Tom Carroll said Thursday. Carroll and his brother, Maury have been working to get the restaurant open since October, when they took over the former location of Il Faro and the storefront next to it and began remodeling work. It features a 140-seat dining room and 40-seat bar with views of the Mystic River. "There's a lot of people we are going to want to thank," Tom Carroll said, "but we just want to get up and going and through a weekend first."

Tufts, Pats' Linebacker, Hold Draft Day for 8-Year-Old Fighting Tumor: New England Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovitch visited campus Wednesday to help stage a special event for an 8-year-old boy whose life has been turned upside down by a brain tumor. Riley Roman, from South Hadley, was recently diognosed with a rare primitive neuroectodermal tumor, known as a PNET, which can spread quickly. The boy has undergone surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy at Children's Hospital Boston, and due to the severity of his treatment he's living at the Ronald McDonald House. Ninkovitch became friends with Riley during a visit to the hospital, and the two have remained in touch. Ninkovitch attended Riley's eighth birthday party, according Samantha and Amy McCarthy, Riley's aunts, and the football player calls, texts and sometimes plays video games with the boy.

McGlynn Calls for Housing Director's Resignation: Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn has asked the Executive Director of the Medford Housing Authority to resign. McGlynn's request follows the footsteps of Gov. Deval Patrick, who asked for Robert Covelle's resignation last week. Covelle has been under scrutiny since a federal audit report released in April raised issues with the authority's financial practices. Shortly after the audit, reports surfaced that Covelle allegedly hired close friends and family for jobs and contracts.

How Smugglers Allegedly Brought 600 Pounds of Marijuana from Canada to Medford: A federal affidavit reveals the sophistication and experience of an alleged drug smuggling ring that authorities say delivered drugs over the border from Canada to New York, then to a man in Medford. Between 2009 and 2010, the conspiracy was responsible for smuggling about 1600 kilograms of cocaine, 600 pounds of marijuana and $5 million in cash into the U.S., the affidavit said. Medford's Huy Hoang Nguyen -- known to his accomplices as "Boston" -- was arrested in connection to the ring in January after allegedly arranging to receive two 300-pound shipments of marijuana, according to the affidavit. And it wasn't the first time he had been implicated with a large-scale drug deal over the Canadian border.

Local Bank Bought, But Branch Will Stay Open: Somerville-based Central Bank has been purchased by Rockland Trust, according to a press release issued Tuesday morning. The Central Bank location on Mystic Avenue -- and all eight other locations -- will remain open as a Rockland Trust branch, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. The sale will cost Rockland Trust's parent company Independent Bank Corp about $55 million and is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.