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                                                                   NEWS RELEASE


Contact:  Paul S.Feeley                                For Release:  Immediately
          Senior Vice President, Treasurer &
          Chief Financial Officer
          (617) 628-4000


                         CENTRAL BANCORP, INC. DECLARES
                       ITS REGULAR QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND

      SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, July 18, 2008 - Central Bancorp, Inc.
(NASDAQ Global MarketSM:CEBK) announced that its Board of Directors declared
its regular quarterly cash dividend of eighteen ($0.18) cents per share,
payable on August 15, 2008, to stockholders of record as of August 1, 2008.

      Central Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Central Bank, whose
legal name is Central Co-operative Bank, a Massachusetts-chartered
co-operative bank operating nine full-service banking offices, a limited
service high school branch in suburban Boston and a standalone 24-hour
automated teller machine in Somerville.