Rep. Thomas Petrolati today renewed his efforts to quash a subpoena issued by the independent counsel investigating patronage at the Probation Department, saying it raises “delicate separation of powers and political issues.”
Petrolati, the third-ranking member of the House leadership team, said even if the Supreme Judicial Court declines to quash the subpoena, it should require independent counsel Paul F. Ware to produce an interim report so the court can determine whether the subpoena is even necessary.
The SJC appointed Ware to investigate patronage at the Probation Department, which is part of the judicial branch, following a report on the agency by The Boston Globe. The SJC is now being asked to rule on the legality of the subpoena Ware issued to Petrolati, who The Globe described as the “king of patronage” in courthouses west of Worcester. Oral arguments are expected in the case on Tuesday.
Petrolati has argued that the SJC retained Ware to investigate wrongdoing within the judiciary and he has no business issuing subpoenas to officials outside that branch of government. Ware has argued that he needs to follow the evidence wherever it leads and said Petrolati can refuse to answer if he feels his comments would incriminate him.
Ware has also said Petrolati’s suggestion that he is encroaching on another branch of government is incorrect since any efforts the lawmaker made to support people for jobs at probation would not be considered part of his job as a lawmaker. But Petrolati notes that, while the subpoena was sent to him at his private address, it defined him as a state representative from Ludlow and the speaker pro tempore of the House.
“There can be no doubt that the subpoena is to petitioner in his official capacity as a prominent member of the leadership team of the legislative branch of the government, which squarely triggers the consideration of separation of powers issues in this matter,” wrote Petrolati’s attorney John Pucci.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
The Petrolati motion says Ware’s subpoena asks for records involving 95 individuals dating to 1998, the year probation commissioner John O’Brien was appointed. O’Brien was placed on paid leave after
The Globe report and Ware’s appointment.
“However legitimate the court’s concerns may be about the hiring and promotion practices in the Probation Department, those concerns should not be allowed to drive an ill-advised decision of far-reaching import on the statutory and constitutional issues at hand,” the Petrolati motion says.
