The chair of the Tisbury Select Board may be facing criminal charges after allegedly breaking and entering into a Steamship Authority vessel last week.
The Massachusetts State Police confirmed on Thursday that the suspect, identified as 35-year-old Christina Colarusso, was issued a criminal summons on charges of breaking and entering, as well as trespassing, after illegally entering one of the ferry line’s vessels overnight on Nov. 25.
“Last week, Tisbury Police requested assistance from State Police regarding an overnight incident at the Steamship Authority, where a suspect allegedly and illicitly accessed one of vessels,” said Leah M. O’Connell, State Police media relations trooper.
O’Connell said they are referring all further information requests to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office.
Danielle Whitney, director of community programs and public relations for the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s office, said Thursday that they are unable to release any information because it is a pending case.
Sean Driscoll, communications director and records access officer for the Steamship Authority, confirmed the incident happened, but said he couldn’t share any further details, as it is an ongoing case.
“There was a trespassing incident on board the vessel that evening. We referred the matter to State Police for investigation,” he said. “They took the matter from there for review of criminal charges.”
Kathleen Cowley, an Island resident and longtime family friend of Colarusso’s, asked the community to show compassion. “This is a difficult time for her, and I’m not able to discuss the situation further in order to respect her privacy,” said Cowley. “I hope the Island community can treat her with compassion in this difficult time.
“I also appreciate that the police dealt with this sensitively,” she added.
There were several incidents logged by the Tisbury Police Department at the Steamship Authority at 47 Water St. on Nov. 25. The daily logs list only the date, time, and nature of an incident. Minutes before 1 am, a property check call came from the Steamship Authority. The logs also list a trespassing, and a “breaking and entering nighttime for felony” at 7:40 am. Additionally, just before 4 pm, an assault and battery was reported at the ferry line’s Vineyard Haven terminal.
As of Thursday afternoon, no case files of the incident have been docketed in the Massachusetts Court’s online system.
The Times requested police reports from the Tisbury Police Department. Lt. Bill Brigham said they were working on the request as of last Thursday morning.
Colarusso has been a seasonal resident on Martha’s Vineyard since 2000. She moved to the Island full-time in 2012, after earning her bachelor’s degree of science in marine engineering from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and spending five years at sea, working on vessels for Military Sealift Command and Transocean Deepwater Inc. as a third assistant engineer. Colarusso was also previously the facilities manager and the water and wastewater operator at Martha’s Vineyard Airport. Colarusso’s LinkedIn says that she’s employed as a facilities manager for Avangrid, an owner of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project.
Colarusso won her Tisbury Select Board seat in 2023, beating out Abbe Burt and Macaleer Schilcher, but due to undisclosed reasons, hasn’t attended a select board meeting since September.
I’m struggling to understand why this article was published now, given how little confirmed information it actually contains.
Nearly every source quoted — State Police, the District Attorney’s office, the Steamship Authority, and even Tisbury Police — says they cannot release any details because the matter is still under review. No police report has been shared, nothing has been docketed in the court system, and there is still no official narrative of what actually happened.
With so much missing, the piece ends up raising more questions than it answers.
Readers are essentially told that something occurred, but not what it was, why it happened, or what evidence supports the charges being discussed.
Even the photo accompanying the article is unclear about who the subject is.
I’m not dismissing the seriousness of any potential incident, and I appreciate the call for compassion. But without verified facts, this feels premature — almost like a placeholder story rather than a complete report.
It might have better served the community to wait until real information was available so readers could understand the situation accurately and fairly.
It’s a developing story, Murray. They presented the facts they have, and that’s what journalism is. How long are they supposed to wait before writing about an equally serious and sensitive incident in the community involving one of the members of the select board? Obviously, it’s a placeholder story because their job is to inform residents of what’s happening in their community.
Also, the caption on the picture clearly says “(middle).”
i tend to agree with the above reader of the MV Times. His assumption that a slow news day may have contributed to the story being premature, appears to be correct. The story read like an incomplete tale of a series of gang related disturbances at or onboard a Steamship Authority vessel. It is a bit of a stretch to think that Ms. Colarusso could incite the chaos described in the story! A loud, large, aggressive guard dog would have frightened the cast of this minor drama away and saved everyone the early winter task of chasing down “who done it”. DRB Richmond VA
Let’s start with the fact that she’s the Select Board Chair and hasn’t attended any meetings this fall. Whether she’s in some kind of mental health crisis or not, and why she was arrested breaking into the SSA, this is NOT who we need to lead our town board when we’re already saddled with terrible management, out of control property taxes, and the looming threat of another huge bill for the new MVRHS which is sure to go WAY over budget (like every other mismanaged project around here). When are we finally going to take our town seriously (and responsibly) and right what will soon be a sinking ship of seasonal billionaires who don’t give anything back or help make things better, and no new generation of leaders because 25-40 year old residents can’t afford to live here. Not blaming rich people for wanting a nice quiet vacation but this town is in real decline!
The photo is clearly labeled if you just read.