DEA: Mayor liason linked to arson plot

BOSTON - Authorities say a liaison to Mayor Thomas Menino, already charged with distribution of the painkiller OxyContin and marijuana, has been linked to an alleged arson plot.

James Doyle, a special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration, testified Monday that John Michael Forbes is linked to a plot to possibly burn down the home of a government witness.

Doyle made the allegation in U.S. District Court in Boston at a detention hearing for a co-defendant Lawrence Taylor, who has been indicted for dealing OxyContin.

The 31-year-old Forbes, who has been suspended from his job as East Boston neighborhood services coordinator, is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

Forbes' attorney, Victoria Kelleher, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.