I-Team: Former head of Massachusetts Veterans' Services off state payroll, but has another job
BOSTON -- Weeks after an I-Team investigation revealed former Veterans Affairs Secretary Francisco Urena was back on the state payroll, we are now learning he is off the job.
Urena's profile is no longer on the MassDevelopment website.
He was hired in April as the Deputy Director of Military Initiatives at Mass Development, a quasi-state agency, and was earning $100,000 a year. The I-Team first reported Urena's new job last month.
In May of 2021, Urena resigned from his post as the Head of Veterans Affairs. At the time, he was responsible for both state-run soldiers' homes. He stepped down just one day before the release of an investigation into the devastating outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home that left more than 77 residents dead. That investigation and others placed the blame on the Baker administration and the lack of leadership.
Families of the soldiers who died in Holyoke sued the state and Urena for his role in failing to keep the veterans safe. The case was settled for $56 million in May.
Urena now has a new job: just last week, the mayor of Lawrence appointed Urena to be the provisional manager at the Lawrence Municipal Airport.
