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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
 Posted - 01/25/2009 : 8:12:47 PM
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DiMasi To Step Down Tuesday
Embattled House Speaker Announces Resignation To Colleagues
BOSTON -- Embattled Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi said Sunday he would resign one of the most powerful positions in state government this week amid allegations a close friend used their relationship to push ticket-scalping legislation and paid off his in-laws' legal bills.
Speaker DiMasi's Letter To House Members
The news of DiMasi's expected resignation was first reported by NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu Friday.
DiMasi sent a letter to colleagues Sunday night, saying his resignation as a state representative and as speaker would be effective Tuesday. A spokesman for the Boston Democrat did not immediately respond to calls and an e-mail from The Associated Press seeking comment.
"My head is held high and I am proud of my record. That is how I am leaving," DiMasi told The Boston Globe in an interview posted on its Web site Sunday evening.
He blamed much of the ethical controversies on "powerful special interests," particularly the gambling industry. Last year he blocked an effort led by Gov. Deval Patrick to legalize Las Vegas-style casinos in Massachusetts.
"They are going to be pretty happy by the fact I won't be here," he said of the casino industry and its lobbyists, according to the Globe interview.
DiMasi managed to win re-election as House Speaker earlier this month, despite a gathering cloud of questions into his involvement with close friend Richard Vitale, who has been charged with concealing his work as a lobbyist and having contact with the speaker while pushing a bill on behalf of ticket brokers.
And earlier this week, court documents revealed Vitale paid $7,500 in legal debts accumulated by DiMasi's in-laws in September 2007.
DiMasi told the Globe he would call for a Democratic caucus Wednesday to choose his successor. His widely anticipated resignation had candidates already lining up.
House Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo said he would seek the speaker position. In a statement Sunday night, he thanked DiMasi for his service, particularly on the universal health care law and support for the life science initiative.
"I will work to restore faith in the House through meaningful ethics reform, to guide the state budget through perilous fiscal times, to fix our statewide system of transportation and to serve the commonwealth and its people with the knowledge that our actions and decisions will have lasting effects for all people of Massachusetts," he said.
DiMasi had earlier repaid an unusual $250,000 third mortgage he received from Vitale on his North End condominium after the loan was disclosed by the Globe. That loan could have been illegal if Vitale were a lobbyist, since the state's conflict-of-interest law prohibits members from accepting anything of value from lobbyists.
No direct allegations have been made against DiMasi, who has said he never spoke to Vitale about the bill.
DiMasi had been speaker since 2004, when Thomas Finneran resigned under his own ethics cloud.
Vitale has denied acting as a lobbyist. His attorney said the work he did for the Massachusetts Association of Ticket Brokers was exempt from the state's lobbying registration requirements.
Attorney General Martha Coakley said Vitale was paid $60,000 in lobbying fees by ticket brokers interested in changing the state's scalping laws. She said Vitale communicated directly with DiMasi before the bill passed the House last year. The legislation, which would have lifted restrictions on price markups by ticket brokers, died in the Senate.
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Edited by - Tails on 01/25/2009 8:14:47 PM |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2011 : 12:04:12 PM
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11:25 am EDT September 9, 2011
DiMasi Gets 8 Years In Jail
Former Speaker Faces Federal Judge In Boston
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Former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi speaks briefly to reporters as he leaves federal court after being indicted on federal corruption charges in Boston, Tuesday, June 2, 2009. DiMasi and three associates were indicted Tuesday on federal charges alleging they conspired to help a software company win $20 million in state contracts and conceal money they got from the company.
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BOSTON -- Former Massachusetts Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi was sentenced to eight years in prison in U.S. District Court in Boston on Friday following his bribery and corruption conviction.
Federal Judge Mark Wolf sentenced DiMasi and his associate Richard McDonough after hearing sentencing arguments from their lawyers and federal prosecutors.
McDonough was sentenced to seven years.
DiMasi and Richard McDonough, a Statehouse lobbyist, were convicted in June of scheming to use DiMasi's influence in the Legislative to steer two state contracts worth $17.5 million to the Cognos software firm in exchange for kickbacks.
DiMasi pocketed about $65,000 in the deal, the government said, but DiMasi denied it after his conviction. The defense argued the payments were legal referral fees.
"I never made any decision unless I thought it was in the best interest of the citizens of Massachusetts and my constituents," DiMasi said. "I still believe they have never had enough evidence … that there could be a guilty finding. I believe they did not prove their case."
DiMasi said he would not have second thoughts about running for office again.
"I was a legislator who did the best I could and I made a lot of good decisions and I helped a lot of people," he said. "I don't think that there was a full story told about my record and what I accomplished as a speaker or legislator. I think that was all lost in this case."
Accountant Richard Vitale, another DiMasi associate, was acquitted after testify against DiMasi.
The prosecution's star witness was former Cognos vice president and salesman Joseph Lally, who was initially charged in the case. Lally cut a plea deal for a lighter sentence in exchange for his testimony.
Lally said DiMasi was at the center of a plan to help the company secure state contracts in exchange for kickbacks.
DiMasi was the third Massachusetts speaker in a row to resign during an ethics investigation. In 2004, Thomas Finneran resigned and later pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for lying during a redistricting lawsuit. Charles Flaherty resigned the post in 1996 and later pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
Prosecutors had recommended a 12 1/2-year prison term for DiMasi and about 10 years for McDonough.
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 11/30/2011 : 2:49:33 PM
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Sal DiMasi reports to prison in Kentucky
By Associated Press
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
BOSTON - Former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has reported to a federal prison in Kentucky to begin an eight-year sentence on corruption charges.
A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons says DiMasi arrived late Wednesday morning at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington.
In a written statement released by his Boston attorney, DiMasi once again professed his innocence and said he was "outraged" that his reputation and integrity had been sullied and said he would continue to do everything in his power to restore his name.
DiMasi, a Democrat, was convicted by a federal jury in June of conspiracy, extortion and honest services fraud. He is appealing.
Prosecutors said he used his power as speaker to steer two lucrative contracts to a software firm in exchange for kickbacks.
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DiMasi gets 8 years
