Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, AUGUST 29, 2025 ORANGE DINOSAUR | FROM PAGE 1 damages against Crabtree individually. The court complaint also alleged that the town and Crabtree have violated the state Public Records Law and should be fined $5,000. “This case is about a local real estate developer, TB Holdings, LLC, who has been subjected to arbitrary and discriminatory treatment by the Town of Saugus,” lawyers for Barsamian and TB Holdings alleged in a 27page complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court in Boston. “Much of this treatment has been driven by the Town Manager for the Town of Saugus, Scott Crabtree, who exercises unfettered discretion and unchecked power over the Town. Crabtree and the Town’s acLawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lien * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net tions include a $200,000.00 payment required by Crabtree that bore no relation, nexus, or proportionality to the subject development plans. As explained below, Crabtree and the Town are jointly liable for egregious constitutional violations, and this Court should award TB Holdings damages and just relief,” the complaint continued. Farther on in the complaint, TB Holdings, LLC alleged the defendants’ conduct “is consistent and exemplary of unconstitutional municipal customs or practices, such as the coercion and extortion of developers and the use of unlawful procedures, which is employed by decision-making officials in the Town who have knowledge of the customs and practices and do nothing to end the practice, these customs or practices are attributable to the Town of Saugus, and these customs and practices are the cause of and the moving force behind the Defendants’ deprivation of TB Holdings’ constitutional rights.” The Saugus Advocate reached out to Crabtree for comment regarding the lawsuit, which was officially filed on Aug. 21. Crabtree said he was unaware that a lawsuit had been filed against the town and him, adding that nobody at Town Hall had been served with a summons. “I really can’t AN ANGRY DINOSAUR OWNER: Developer Michael Barsamian, seen shaking hands with his friend, said he shares a special bond with the Town of Saugus by keeping this old Route 1 landmark in a special spot at Essex Landing. But he doesn’t like the way the town has treated him lately, prompting him to file a federal lawsuit last week. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate) comment on something I haven’t seen,” he said in a brief telephone interview. A $200,000 “grant” Much of the complaint focuses on a $200,000 “grant,” which TB Holdings learned it would have to pay to the town before the company could get a meeting with Town Manager Crabtree, according to the lawsuit. “Beginning in 2021 and into 2022, TB Holdings planned the development of such Undeveloped Units, which included a proposed sale of Unit 5 (and later Unit 4) to Wingate Living (“Wingate”) to be used as an assisted living facility, while retaining Unit 6 for the construction of an apartment building on that Unit,” the complaint noted. Part of this planning involved TB Holdings negotiating a purchase and sales agreement with Wingate in January of 2022. During the course of negotiations with Wingate, TB Holdings’ legal counsel sought a meeting with town officials, including Town Manager Crabtree, to discuss the proposed assisted living facility (including the independent living units). Several requests for a meeting went unanswered. ORANGE DINOSAUR | SEE PAGE 6
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