US Attorney Carmen Ortiz is vowing to continue bringing corruption charges against public officials, but the overturning of her convictions of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two of his top aides is another sign that federal prosecutors will probably not be able to lock up pols unless they actually catch them with their hands in […]
Ethics and Open Government
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
O’Brien conviction overturned; DeLeo cleared
A US APPEALS COURT overturned the convictions of former state probation commissioner John O’Brien and two top aides, saying prosecutors failed to prove key elements of their case and should not have been allowed to apply federal criminal statutes to violations of Massachusetts laws. “We can conclude that O’Brien, along with the other defendants and […]
Posted inPolitics
Joyce hit with bigger tax bill
MILTON ASSESSORS HAVE hiked the value of Sen. Brian Joyce’s home because of a real estate listing that showed an opulent finished basement, a livable attic, and more bathrooms than officials were aware of, adding more than $6,000 to the departing lawmaker’s residential tax bill. The new assessment increased the value of the home from […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Meditating on liberty
WE DID NOT invent America – we inherited it. What are the core elements of our inheritance, and are they at risk in an era when many of the norms of political behavior we have come to expect have been cast aside? In the aftermath of the November presidential election, in the wake of the […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Goldberg cuts ties with Wells Fargo
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS TREASURER DEB GOLDBERG has instructed her debt management deputies to immediately remove Wells Fargo from their approved list of underwriters for one year. Four Massachusetts congressmen on Monday implored Goldberg to cut Treasury business ties with the bank. Congressman Stephen Lynch and three of his colleagues said in a letter […]
Posted inPolitics
Joyce absolved of wrongdoing
SEN. BRIAN JOYCE obtained all the required permits to renovate his home, according to a report by the Milton Town Administrator that rebuts questions raised in a newspaper article over whether the lawmaker clandestinely renovated his house without town officials’ knowledge. “Based upon my review of these files and my consultation with the Building Commissioner, I conclude that the […]
Posted inState House News Service, The Download
Ortiz sides with Walsh on records
US Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office is suspected of being the source of leaks for Boston Globe stories about her investigation of union strong-arming tactics, is now saying that investigation would be compromised if Boston Mayor Marty Walsh releases to the Globe documents Ortiz has demanded as part of the probe. Citing a memorandum he […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Politics
DA O’Keefe amazed at limited DeLeo leak inquiry
I write in response to the recent article that ran under the headline, “Gants calls off DeLeo leak inquiry.” This article carried the sub-headline, “Law enforcement officials tell SJC they didn’t do it.” Is this what a judicial order from the Supreme Judicial Court is worth? The context here is that House Speaker Robert DeLeo […]
Posted inThe Download
Labor pain for Walsh
Yesterday may have been the worst day of Marty Walsh‘s tenure as mayor of Boston. He can only hope that the same is still being said a year from now. Walsh’s deep labor ties have always been his Achilles’ heel. It was so when he squeezed his way through a crowded field to snag an […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
And when we get behind closed doors …
Something highly unusual is happening up on Beacon Hill. A legislative conference committee, a group of six lawmakers tasked with finding common ground between the House and Senate on a piece of legislation, is meeting in public. The conference committee working out in the open is trying to reconcile House and Senate bills updating the […]