O’Brien conviction overturned; DeLeo cleared

Ruling says prosecutors were off-base in bringing federal charges in probation scandal

By Jack Sullivan Ethics and Open Government, Massachusetts Legislature, Patronage, Probation Department hiring scandal, Robert DeLeo 2 Comments Dec 19, 2016

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(...)

Probation case drags on and on

Appeals of O’Brien and two aides languish with delays

By Jack Sullivan State Government 0 Comments Dec 10, 2015

NEARLY SIX YEARS after the Probation Department patronage scandal exploded into public view, almost four years after three top officials were indicted, 18 months after their convictions, and nearly one year to the day after the trio filed their appeals, the case remains unsettled. No one has served time, no one has paid a fine,(...)

SJC seeks probes of DeLeo transcript leak

Asks US Attorney, AG, and Ethic Commission to investigate

By Bruce Mohl Robert DeLeo 0 Comments Nov 9, 2015

THE MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT told House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Monday that it was asking three state and federal law enforcement agencies and its former independent counsel to investigate how a confidential transcript of a 2010 interview with DeLeo about hiring at the Probation Department came to be provided to the Boston Globe. The(...)

DeLeo calls for probe of leaked testimony

Accuses Globe of taking quotes out of context

By Robert DeLeo Media and Journalism, Robert DeLeo 0 Comments Oct 28, 2015

What follows is a statement issued by House Speaker Robert DeLeo in response to a Boston Globe story quoting sealed transcripts of his testimony before independent counsel Paul Ware, who was appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court to investigate hiring practices at the Probation Department. That investigation led to the federal prosecution and conviction of(...)

Spring 2015

What really happened at Probation’s electronic monitoring operation?

Last summer's trial raised questions but provided few answers

By Bruce Mohl Massachusetts Legislature, Probation 1 Comment Apr 14, 2015

IT STARTED WITH Michael Bizanowicz, a dangerous sex offender who broke into a Woburn home in 2004 and raped and killed Joanne Presti and then murdered her 12-year-old daughter, Alyssa. The crime was so shocking that state lawmakers a year later passed a law requiring sex offenders on probation or parole to be outfitted with(...)

Madeloni critical of Sagan appointment

MTA chief wary of Baker’s pro-charter agenda

By Barbara Madeloni Elementary and Secondary Education 0 Comments Mar 9, 2015

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S highly political appointment of Paul Sagan as the chair of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education underscores educators’ concerns about the Baker administration’s public education agenda. Sagan’s key involvement in education stems from his role as chairman of the Massachusetts Business Leaders for Charter Public Schools, which has a record of(...)

Aide: Post Audit barred from investigating Legislature

By Bruce Mohl State Government 0 Comments Dec 8, 2014

The chairman of the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight says the panel does not have jurisdiction to investigate hiring practices at the state Probation Department because such an investigation would necessitate an investigation of the Legislature itself. Republicans Rep. James Lyons Jr. of Andover and Marc Lombardo of Billerica asked Democratic Rep. David(...)

Urges imprisonment at Devens, Danbury

By Jack Sullivan 0 Comments Nov 18, 2014

US District Court Judge William Young, who last week sentenced former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and his top deputy Elizabeth Tavares to surprisingly lenient prison sentences, has endorsed their requests to serve time in federal facilities close to home. Without comment, Young recommended to the federal Bureau of Prisons that O’Brien, who lives in Quincy,(...)

Letter from 2 GOP reps focuses on DeLeo

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Nov 17, 2014

Two Republican state representatives are asking the chairman of the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight to investigate the “rigged hiring system” at the Probation Department and make referrals to the House Ethics Committee if any lawmakers were involved. The letter from Reps. James Lyons Jr. of Andover and Marc Lombardo of Billerica summarizes(...)

Says she wishes she had courage to stop it

By Jack Sullivan 0 Comments Nov 13, 2014

Former deputy Probation commissioner Elizabeth Tavares, in a sobbing plea for leniency on her conviction for racketeering and mail fraud, publicly acknowledged for the first time that a rigged hiring system existed at the agency. “No one is more remorseful than I,” said a weeping Tavares. “I appear before you today to say I wish(...)