THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT has rejected an appeal by former House speaker Thomas Finneran to reinstate his pension, saying the one-time legislative leader’s lies during testimony in a federal lawsuit were related to his position and taking his retirement money away did not constitute an “excessive fine.” The Supreme Judicial Court overturned a 2015 ruling […]
Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Transportation
T union president indicted for fraud, kickbacks
THE PRESIDENT OF an MBTA union is facing charges that he used his position as a buyer for the agency to submit fraudulent invoices that netted him more than $100,000 in cash and kickbacks, according to Attorney General Maura Healey’s office. Timothy Dockery of Plymouth, an MBTA employee for more than 18 years and the current […]
Posted inPolitics
Senators leave money on the table
PUBLIC PRESSURE APPEARS to have won out as no Massachusetts state senator opted to receive three stipends for leadership positions as they could have under the rules and three Democratic lawmakers eschewed any increase in their pay. The increases are part of a broad package of pay raises for lawmakers, constitutional officers, and judges that was […]
Posted inPolitics
Senators to see average pay rise 39%
THE AVERAGE PAY OF A STATE SENATOR will likely rise about 39 percent this year to $110,942 under a new compensation scheme that rewards lawmakers with stipends for the leadership positions they hold. At least 25 of the 34 Democratic lawmakers in the Senate will earn more than $102,000 a year, including an expense stipend, […]
Posted inTransportation
Patriots set another record
SANDWICHED BY BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK winter storms, commuter rail officials had one more challenge to deal with last week: The highest one-day ridership in the history of the service with fans coming into Boston for the New England Patriots Super Bowl parade. MBTA Acting General Manager Brian Shorstsleeve told an informal meeting of the oversight board on […]
Posted inEconomy, Gambling
Buzz building about Suffolk Downs sale
RESIDENTS OF EAST BOSTON and Revere say they are hearing a sale of Suffolk Downs is imminent, but officials at the track say they have nothing to report. “We’ve fielded a lot of interest in the property and if and when we have news we’ll be sure to tell people,” said Chip Tuttle, the chief […]
Posted inTransportation
T finds demand for late-night
THE MBTA MOVED one step closer to restoring late-night bus service after members of the oversight board gave cautious support for subsidies because of surveys showing there would be an appetite for the service among overnight workers, airport passengers, and late-night revelers. T officials conducted surveys of nearly 7,300 people in November and December last […]
Posted inTransportation
T reaches agreement to fix Silver Line buses
THE MBTA’S Fiscal and Management Control Board approved a $1 million addition to a contract with a Maine state government-backed equipment refurbishing company after the pact was suspended by Gov. Paul LePage because the deal was significantly underbid and in danger of costing Pine State residents millions of dollars. Board members okayed the million-dollar addition […]
Posted inTransportation
T to jettison parking vendor
THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD voted to approve a potential 15-year contract with one of the country’s biggest parking management companies, ending a troubled relationship with its longtime lot operator that resulted in missing revenues that went into the millions. Top T officials recommended that the Fiscal and Management Control Board approve a performance-based contract with Republic Parking […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Stipends on steroids
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO and Senate President Stan Rosenberg got much more than a $1,000-a-week pay hike when the Legislature passed the bill to increase their salaries: They also were handed enormous clout to reward – or punish – lawmakers to ensure their fealty by controlling as much as a third of their income. Not […]