Actor Mark Wahlberg has long said he regrets what he did to Thanh Lam in 1988, beating the Vietnamese man with a 5-foot stick while yelling slurs at him. Now, Wahlberg would like to erase the incident altogether. 
 
 The onetime ruffian from Dorchester has applied to the Massachusetts Board of Pardons to have the violent assault conviction removed from his record. The request was first reported Thursday by NECN. 
 
 At issue is a well-publicized incident that took place on the night of April 8, 1988, when Wahlberg, now one of Hollywood’s most successful actors and producers, was 16 and looking for trouble. According to police, the youngest of Alma Wahlberg’s nine children tried to steal two cases of beer from Lam outside a convenience store on Dorchester Avenue. 
 
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 Wahlberg hit Lam over the head with a wooden stick and, according to police, called his victim a string of racial slurs. He was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a controlled substance, and served 45 days of a 90-day sentence at the Deer Island House of Correction. 
 
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 “Since that time, I have dedicated myself to becoming a better person and citizen so that I can be a role model to my children and others,” Wahlberg states in the application filed with the Board of Pardons. 
 
 Wahlberg also mentions the work of his charity, the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, and his support of the Dorchester Boys and Girls Club and his habit of attending church almost every day. 
 
 “I have not engaged in philanthropic efforts in order to make people forget about my past,” he states. “To the contrary, I want people to remember my past so that I can serve as an example of how lives can be turned around and how people can be redeemed.” 
 
 He acknowledges that a pardon would be helpful as he (and his brothers) continue to grow their restaurant business. The family recently announced plans to open 27 more locations of their Wahlburgers chain. 
 
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 “Receiving a pardon would be a formal recognition that I am not the same person that I was on the night of April 8, 1988,” Wahlberg says in the application. “It would be formal recognition that someone like me can receive official public redemption if he devotes himself to personal improvement and a life of good works.” 
 
 More coverage: 
 
 • Document: Mark Wahlberg’s pardon petition 
 
 • Wahlburgers cooks up ambitious expansion plan ||||| Actor Mark Wahlberg is asking the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pardon him for crimes he committed more than 25 years ago. (Published Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014) 
 
 Mark Wahlberg is asking Massachusetts to wipe out his decades-out assault conviction, saying that ever since he served time for a 1988 attack that left another man blind in one eye, he has tried to become a "better person and citizen." 
 
 The movie superstar, now 43, has filed an application with the Massachusetts Board of Pardons, hoping to get his criminal record erased. 
 
 "I am deeply sorry for the actions that I took on the night of April 8, 1988, as well as for any lasting damage that I may have caused the victims," Wahlberg wrote in his pardon application. "Since that time, I have dedicated myself to becoming a better person and citizen so that I can be a role model to my children and others." 
 
 Wahlberg says in the application, filed Nov. 26, that on April 8, 1988, he tried to steal two cases of alcohol from a man outside a convenience store on Dorchester Avenue, hitting him over the head with a stick and then punching another man in the face as he fled from police. 
 
 Though only 16, he was tried as an adult in Dorchester District Court, in the neighborhood where he grew up the youngest of nine children. He was convicted of assault after being charged with attempted murder and other charges, and he served 45 days in prison. 
 
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 In his pardon application, Wahlberg, best known for his roles in movies like "The Fighter" and "The Departed," goes on to say that he has spoken "openly and publicly" about his actions on that night over the past 20-plus years. 
 
 In his petition, he outlines the incidents that led to his arrest, saying that he attempted to steal two cases of alcohol from a man who was standing outside of a convenience store near his home around 9 p.m. He said he hit the man on the head with a wooden stick, and then ran down the block to evade police. While attempting to avoid police, he said he punched another man in the face. 
 
 "I was detained by police a few minutes after that," Wahlberg wrote. "While I was detained, the police discovered that I had a small amount of marijuana in my back pocket. During the incident, I was under the influence of alcohol and narcotics." 
 
 In making his case, Wahlberg cites his involvement with charities and good deeds he has done to rebuild his life, including the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, the Dorchester Boys and Girls Club, the renovation of the Boston-area Parish Gym and the fact that he attends church nearly every day. 
 
 "I have not engaged in philanthropic efforts in order to make people forget about my past," added Wahlberg. "To the contrary, I want people to remember my past so that I can serve as an example of how lives can be turned around and how people can be redeemed." 
 
 Explaining his reasons for wanting a pardon, Wahlberg says he'd like to be able to get a concessionaire's license to help him with his restaurant businesses, and he'd like to be able to help law enforcement, working with at-risk kids. 
 
 "The more complex answer is that receiving a pardon would be a formal recognition that I am not the same person that I was on the night of April 8, 1988," Wahlberg concluded. "It would be formal recognition that someone like me can receive official public redemption if he devotes himself to personal improvement and a life of good works." 
 
 "He has set an example he has this foundation which he's had for a long time," said Senior Vice President Wendy Pierce of Solomon McCown, a strategic consulting firm. "Maybe he is trying to expand his foundation, maybe he wants to build a youth center, maybe he just really wants to show his kids that you can clear your name." 
 
 It could take some time for Wahlberg to get a response from the state. The Board of Pardons needs to investigate the petition and decide if it warrants a public hearing before it is recommended to the governor who, by that time, will be not Deval Patrick, but Charlie Baker. 
 
 If the governor approves, it still needs to get the approval of the governor's council. ||||| Mark Wahlberg wants to shed a part of his dark past before he can pursue a new gig in law enforcement. 
 
 The 43-year-old actor is asking for a pardon on a felony assault conviction he picked up in 1988 after he attacking two Vietnamese men in his native Massachusetts, which left one man partially blind, TMZ reports. 
 
 Wahlberg's request to have his record cleared is due to his desire to become a reserve officer for the LAPD, which is a position civilian volunteers' hold in order to perform the duties of full-time police officers. 
 
 The "Ted" star stated in a petition to the Massachusetts Parole Board that the pardon would be "a formal recognition that I am not that same person that I was on the night" when the incident occurred. 
 
 Wahlberg as rapper Mark Marky around the time of the conviction. (Time Life Pictures/Getty Images) 
 
 However, if his request is denied, it may infringe on him becoming a cop as his felony record could prevent him from "obtaining positions in law enforcement." 
 
 Wahlberg's interest in the field reportedly stems from his roles in films such as "The Other Guys," "Max Payne" and "The Departed." 
 
 A rep for the actor has yet to respond to the Daily News' request for comment. 
 
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– Back in 1988, Mark Wahlberg was just a 16-year-old troublemaker, and after trying to steal two cases of beer from Thanh Lam outside a Massachusetts convenience store, he beat the man with a 5-foot stick and screamed racial slurs at him. The attack left Lam blind in one eye, NECN reports. Wahlberg was convicted of assault and served 45 days, and now, more than 26 years later, he'd like the conviction erased from his record, the Boston Globe reports. "Since that time, I have dedicated myself to becoming a better person and citizen so that I can be a role model to my children and others," Wahlberg wrote in his application to the state's Board of Pardons. "I have not engaged in philanthropic efforts in order to make people forget about my past," he continued, mentioning his own charity, as well as his support of the Dorchester Boys and Girls Clubs. "To the contrary, I want people to remember my past so that I can serve as an example of how lives can be turned around and how people can be redeemed. ... Receiving a pardon would be a formal recognition that I am not the same person that I was on the night of April 8, 1988. It would be formal recognition that someone like me can receive official public redemption if he devotes himself to personal improvement and a life of good works." He does note that a pardon would also allow him to get a concessionaire's license, which would help in terms of his Wahlburgers restaurant chain. (Wahlberg's latest good deed: He'll go bald for a cancer charity.)