~Massachusetts Government Scandals & Political Corruption~» Political Corruption

Michael E. McLaughlin Chelsea Housing Authority Chief Scams State Auditors & Walks with $360,000 a Year

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:28:13 +0000

Auditors noted, then ignored, McLaughlin pay

AG investigating repeated failure to act on an outrage that was right in plain view

(Kayana Szymczak for The Boston Globe)

Michael E. McLaughlin, former Executive Director of Chelsea Housing Authority, stood in front of the Chelsea Housing Authority’s Scrivano apartment development in October 2011.

Article Courtesy of: Andrea Estes and Sean P. Murphy – Boston.com

State auditors knew by 2005 that former Chelsea Housing Authority chief Michael E. McLaughlin was concealing his true salary from state officials and urged him to seek official approval for more than $40,000 in hidden income, according to interviews and records.

McLaughlin resisted, joking to auditors that “all my neighbors are rich and I have to keep up with them,’’ according to a person who heard the remark. But after McLaughlin said he would think about reporting his full income, records show the team from former auditor A. Joseph DeNucci’s office dropped the issue.

During the next five years, however, auditors discovered in the course of two additional examinations that McLaughlin was still concealing his true salary – and by ever-increasing amounts. Both times they did nothing.

By the time the Globe revealed on Oct. 30 that McLaughlin had become perhaps the highest paid public housing official in the United States, his $360,000 salary was a stunning $200,000 more than the amount he declared on state reports. McLaughlin resigned four days later, but not before one of the 2010 auditors invited him to lunch to cheer him up, according to a housing authority employee.

Now, Attorney General Martha Coakley has convened a grand jury looking into whether McLaughlin and others defrauded the state, calling at least two former state auditors to testify, according to two people with direct knowledge. Meanwhile, state Auditor Suzanne Bump, DeNucci’s successor, last week forced the supervisor of the Chelsea audits to resign because of what her office called his mishandling of the agency reviews.

“Mike’s salary was right there in the payroll records for anyone to see,’’ said one housing authority employee who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation. “The auditors and accountants came and went, year after year . . . but nothing ever came out. Mike had a way of managing things so his salary just didn’t come out.’’

On Friday, Bump’s office declined to comment, but a spokesman confirmed that “after reviewing all audits of the Chelsea Housing Authority since 2005, she provided all audit materials to the attorney general.’’

The state auditors’ repeated failure to blow the whistle on McLaughlin’s admitted efforts to hide his extraordinary pay is part of a comprehensive failure of the financial overseers who were supposed to safeguard the $15 million in subsidies to Chelsea public housing from the state and federal governments.

At least two accountants – one working for the authority, the other filing independent reports to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development – were paid thousands of dollars a year to compile data and ensure that the Chelsea Housing Authority’s financial statements were accurate. They would have had access to payroll records that revealed McLaughlin’s income, but they never noted a problem.

Martin Scafidi, a certified public accountant who has audited the Chelsea Housing Authority for HUD since 2003, said he did not know McLaughlin’s true salary until it came out in the Globe. Scafidi said he did all the analyses he was supposed to, though he did not say whether he saw the payroll records.

McLaughlin “betrayed everyone,’’ said Scafidi, who was paid $10,500 for his 35-page audit and report on Chelsea last year. “He’s just a bad guy.’’

Former state auditor DeNucci said he, too, was unaware of the controversy about McLaughlin’s salary until the Globe story.

“We had good people doing’’ the audits, said DeNucci, who retired in 2011 after 24 years as auditor. DeNucci said the salary issue “never got back to me,’’ and he trusted his subordinates to handle the Chelsea audits.

Housing authority employees say the gregarious, politically savvy McLaughlin actively cultivated relationships with the auditors, so much so that one auditor, part of the 2010 team, asked McLaughlin to lunch after the scandal over McLaughlin’s salary became public.

In addition, McLaughlin was a friend of one of DeNucci’s most trusted aides, Robert Powilatis. The two had served on the board of a housing advocacy group together and Powilatis had donated to a political fund-raiser for Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray organized by McLaughlin in 2009.

When state auditors were at the Chelsea Housing Authority’s office in October 2010, phone records show that McLaughlin and Powilatis called each other four times, though Powilatis said they never discussed the audit.

Powilatis, now retired, said he learned of McLaughlin’s pay from media coverage and played no role in the Chelsea audits. But he said any auditor or accountant reviewing the authority’s books should have recognized the paycheck discrepancy almost immediately and reported it.

“It was an outlier or a red-flag and it would be brought to light,’’ he said of McLaughlin’s outsized salary. “You go in and pick that up in five minutes.’’

But one former auditor’s office employee said some auditors may have felt they had no right to question McLaughlin’s salary, which had been approved by the authority’s board, unless it was so high that it represented a misuse of state funds.

McLaughlin, now facing multiple investigations, declined comment. In the past McLaughlin has defended his decision to dramatically understate his true salary to the state Department of Community and Housing Development, lightheartedly calling it “the rebel in me.’’

McLaughlin, now 66, also set himself up to collect the biggest state pension in Massachusetts history, based on his income, although the Chelsea retirement board has frozen his retirement application pending an investigation into whether he deserves an annual pension of $278,000.

One employee said it served McLaughlin’s interest to conceal his income until he could secure his pension, noting that McLaughlin became visibly upset several years ago when the state auditors asked for a copy of his employment contract. But he later reassured the employee, “I took care of it’’ and nothing more was said.

State audits are supposed to be in-depth, independent reviews of government agency finances, seeking out both mistakes and evidence of misuse of public funds. The Chelsea auditors spent weeks reviewing the books at the housing authority’s Locke Street headquarters where they could easily find McLaughlin’s $183,624 annual pay for 2005 by looking at the agency’s payroll and McLaughlin’s income tax filings.

They could also see that McLaughlin was reporting to the state an income of only $139,050. One DeNucci employee recalled that McLaughlin’s high salary was “the talk of the [auditor’s] office.’’

During the 2005 audit, the team told McLaughlin that the discrepancy was one of their main findings, according to people with direct knowledge of the discussion. McLaughlin tried to make light of the issue, these people say, but also asserted that he was not legally obliged to report his full salary to the state since the state provided only a portion of the authority’s funds.

Nonetheless, the auditors urged McLaughlin to report his full salary as state rules require and McLaughlin said he would consider it, these people say. The auditors made no reference to McLaughlin’s excessive income in their final report.

When the auditors returned in 2008, they found that McLaughlin was hiding even more income – $135,818 by the Globe’s calculation – and they again let the issue slide. By 2010, the gap had grown to $199,966. Again, they did nothing.

Accountants say that it is a major breach of professional standards to allow a financial misstatement to get worse without taking action after the problem has been identified.

Investigators for the attorney general quickly focused on potential lapses by the state auditors as they looked into how McLaughlin got away with his salary deception for so many years. Last week, state Auditor Bump’s office told an audit supervisor that he had to resign or be fired for his oversight of the Chelsea audits, according a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The supervisor resigned.

But the state auditors were not the only analysts who had access to the authority’s records. John D. Marotto, a Woburn certified public accountant who began preparing annual financial reports for the housing authority before McLaughlin arrived in 2000, declined to say whether he knew McLaughlin’s real salary.

During the two days after the Globe revealed that McLaughlin was making $360,000, McLaughlin called Marotto five times, including one conversation that lasted 35 minutes, McLaughlin’s phone records show.

Marotto declined to answer questions, issuing a terse statement that said: “I compile the information that is provided to me by the Housing Authority in the proper format for reporting purposes.’’

Likewise, accountant Scafidi, who was hired on a no-bid contract to provide an independent review of housing authority books for HUD, failed to identify the salary discrepancy for eight years.

Scafidi’s firm, who was paid by the authority, said his team typically spent two to three weeks a year inside the authority’s offices reviewing the books.

The report Scafidi filed last year certified that authority financial records were accurate even though McLaughlin had understated his salary by nearly $200,000.

“We did the work we were supposed do,’’ said Scafidi without going into details. “We report what we see. It will all come out after the investigation.’’

Officials at HUD repeatedly used Scafidi’s favorable reviews as one factor in awarding the Chelsea Housing Authority its highest performance rating year after year, which McLaughlin was quick to tout.

Looking back, federal officials acknowledge that they did not provide adequate oversight of the Chelsea Housing Authority, which gets $10 million in federal funds annually.

“We are very concerned that no one detected his salary on the local or the HUD level,’’ said HUD spokesman Jereon Brown

State housing head Aaron Gornstein said if his agency had discovered McLaughlin’s true salary, it would have ordered him to reduce it drastically or it would have withheld state funding.

“McLaughlin’s salary was absolutely unacceptable,’’ Gornstein said.

Scott Allen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Andrea Estes can be reached at estes@globe.com, Sean P. Murphy at smurphy@globe.com.

Article Courtesy of: Andrea Estes and Sean P. Murphy – Boston.com

Joe “The Bull” Lally

admin — Fri, 20 May 2011 17:12:59 +0000

Joe Lally fends off lawyers

By Peter Gelzinis | Friday, May 20, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com

Photo by Patrick Whittemore

As 4 p.m. neared, U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf looked at Sal DiMasi’s lawyer, Billy Cintolo, and then looked at the clock.

“Mr. Cintolo, how much longer do you anticipate?” Wolf asked.

“I’m tired, judge,” Billy sighed, “it’s been a long day.”

Billy was the last of three defense lawyers to take on the feds’ unflappable star witness, ex-Cognos software salesman Joe Lally, in a kind of marathon sumo wrestling match.

And none of these skilled lawyers pinned Lally yesterday.

“This guy could sell ice to the Eskimos,” one courtroom observer said. And judging from his two days on the witness stand, it’s clear Joe Lally could hustle the Eskimos on a deal for ice.

Yesterday was spent dredging up the huge flaws of this Willy Loman on steroids — a beefy guy with outsized appetites for gambling, the high life and … multi-million-dollar software deals with state agencies across the country.

Lally made a ton of money doing it. And he lost a ton of money to the Mashantucket Pequot tribe at Foxwoods, along with various bookies who took his sports bets and cashed Joe’s huge checks in offshore banks.

The highlight of yesterday’s theater came when Tom Drechsler, defending Lally’s former pal and uber lobbyist, Richard “Dickie” McDonough, kept lashing out about all those checks to the bookies.

Photo: Josh Reynolds for the BOSTON GLOBE

In the middle of Drechsler’s tirade, Lally pointed out that he was introduced to one of those bookmakers by his client, Dickie McDonough.

The courtroom erupted in laughter and Drechsler, ever the spitfire, replied: “Oh, and I suppose you’re going to tell us that Dick McDonough told you what kind of car to drive.”

“Actually,” Lally said, “he did.”

That was probably the $75,000 Mercedes that Lally said he had to forfeit back to Herb Chambers.

For all of his intensity, Tommy Drechsler did not challenge Lally about the veracity of the incredible scene he described on Wednesday. The Cognos deal had collapsed and a paranoid Dickie McDonough insisted on a mutual frisk for hidden microphones in the basement of Lally’s home.

Drechsler left that alone.

At the end of yesterday’s lunch break, Drechsler looked just like Billy Cintolo. “I’m tired,” he said in the outside corridor.

The lawyers for Sal DiMasi, his accountant, Richard Vitale, and Dickie McDonough all tried to pick apart the terms of the deal Lally made with the feds.

But they couldn’t erase the fact that before this flawed huckster became a “cooperating witness” against them, he had invited Sal and Dickie to his second wedding.

And they came. The feds have the wedding video.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1339282

Lawyer shells theory DiMasi was broke
/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1338743

Judge: Post was (up)load of Bull
/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1337683

DiMasi witness may be lie-ability to feds
/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1336127

Boston Probation Department Scandal – Commissionor Christopher J. Bulger Corruption

admin — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:08:50 +0000

Special counsel’s report puts another Bulger under microscope

Top O’Brien aide suspended, may face disbarment

By Stephanie Ebbert Globe Staff / November 20, 2010

Patronage in the Probation Dept.

Christopher J. Bulger, deputy commissioner and legal counsel of the state Probation Department, was suspended with pay this week after a report detailing systemic corruption in the department accused him of “dishonest or incompetent oversight’’ of hiring.

The report of an independent counsel tapped to root out patronage in the department cited Bulger’s “misplaced loyalty’’ to his boss, Commissioner John J. O’Brien, and said that, after the commissioner was suspended, Bulger was keeping him apprised of the status of the investigation two to three times a week.

“It is clear that Bulger’s foremost loyalty even today lies with Commissioner O’Brien, not the Probation Department,’’ wrote independent counsel Paul F. Ware Jr., who called for Bulger to be suspended and reviewed by the Board of Bar Overseers for possible disbarment.

William J. Cintolo, the lawyer who represented Bulger during the investigation, said he had not yet read the report and was not able to comment on it. Bulger did not agree to an interview.

The son of former Senate president William M. Bulger was among those implicated in the investigation, in his case, in allegedly turning a blind eye to systematic hiring fraud in the Probation Department. In his testimony, Bulger denied knowledge of specific favoritism, saying he assumed the interview process was rigged to favor the politically connected, but that he also assumed patronage happens everywhere.

The second youngest of the former Senate president’s nine children, Christopher Bulger, 41, of Hanson joined the Probation Department as a lawyer in 1998 and became a deputy commissioner and legal counsel in 2008, according to the report. Before that, he worked as an assistant Norfolk district attorney.

He is only the latest member of his famous family to take his turn in the uncomfortable spotlight. His father was forced out of his job as president of the University of Massachusetts in 2003 by Governor Mitt Romney after standing by his fugitive mobster brother, James “Whitey’’ Bulger. Sought in connection with 19 killings and one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted, Whitey Bulger has eluded authorities since he fled shortly before being indicted on racketeering charges in January 1995.

In 2001 testimony before a federal grand jury, William M. Bulger acknowledged that he had shared a prearranged telephone call with his brother in 1995 and said he felt no obligation to help bring him to justice. “I do have an honest loyalty to my brother, and I care about him,’’ William Bulger had said in his testimony, according to a transcript previously obtained by the Globe. “It’s my hope that I’m never helpful to anyone against him.’’

Another brother, John P. Bulger, lost his state pension in 2003 after pleading guilty to perjury and obstruction of justice for lying about contacts with his fugitive brother. John Bulger was a retired clerk magistrate at Boston Juvenile Court and sued unsuccessfully to reclaim his pension. His lawyer argued before the Supreme Judicial Court that he had not violated his oath as a clerk magistrate but lied to grand juries out of “family loyalty.’’

Christopher Bulger, 41, has publicly demonstrated his own fierce family allegiance. In 2002, when his father was subpoenaed to testify before a congressional committee investigating the FBI’s relationship with Whitey Bulger, Christopher Bulger lashed out against US Representative Stephen F. Lynch of South Boston, a member of the committee, for not defending his father.

In South Boston Online, Christopher Bulger called Lynch “simply, unabashedly opportunistic.’’ The public spat was viewed in part as an eruption between two family clans: Lynch had beaten Christopher’s brother, William M. Bulger Jr., to win their father’s seat in the state Senate after the elder Bulger stepped down in 1996.

In his testimony before the special counsel, Christopher Bulger seemed to infuriate the independent counsel. The report says Bulger was “consistently evasive and untruthful in responding to questions under oath.’’

“He made repeated attempts to deflect the questioning,’’ the report says. “Many of his answers were blatantly false in the view of independent counsel.’’ The report suggests the probability that Bulger knew of the extent of fraud for years but tried to maintain “plausible deniability.’’

The report shows that as legal counsel, Bulger played a key role in preserving the job of one patronage hire, Ashley Losapio, who had been giving information to criminals. She received a two-week suspension and a transfer to a different court division, but was not fired. While acknowledging that the department’s hands may have been tied because of union issues, Ware wrote, “It is inconceivable that a responsible private sector company would continue the employment of an employee who knowingly used company computers to assist her criminal friends.’’

Bulger also acknowledged regularly updating O’Brien about the status of the investigation. In testimony under oath in October, Bulger told investigators that he briefed him two or three times a week and that he would call O’Brien that very afternoon to brief him “unless I’m told not to,’’ according to a transcript obtained by the Globe.

In one exchange, detailed in testimony obtained by the Globe, the investigators apparently grew frustrated with Bulger as he denied ever seeing a list of names of potential hires, though he had encouraged an employee to provide it to the investigators.

“Mr. Bulger, please. You’re legal counsel to the Probation Department,’’ the questioner said, according to the report. “There is an investigation going on which you have said you treat as a criminal investigation. Your employee comes to you and says: ‘Here’s a list of recommenders for particular candidates. Do I take this to independent counsel? And you said yes without looking at the list?’ ’’

“Yes,’’ Bulger answered. “Yes.’’

Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at ebbert@globe.com.

Mass Booze News Scandal – State Rep. Michael J. Rodrigues NH Tax Free Cocktail Run

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:28:43 +0000

Pol nabbed on New Hampshire booze run

By Michele McPhee, Dave Wedge and Hillary Chabot | Wednesday, September 2, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics

A Westport lawmaker who voted to hike the state sales and alcohol taxes was spotted brazenly piling booze in his car – adorned with his State House license plate – in the parking lot of a tax-free New Hampshire liquor store, the Herald has learned.

Michael J. Rodrigues’ blue Ford Crown Victoria, emblazoned with his “House 29” Massachusetts license plate, was parked outside a Granite State liquor store on Interstate-95 South over the weekend, according to a witness who provided pictures to the Herald.

The witness, who requested anonymity, claimed he approached Rodrigues, noted his State House plate, and asked if he was on personal or official business. Rodrigues, who was loading booze into his car, snapped “mind your own business,” the witness said.

The witness’ account was also posted yesterday on Citizens for Limited Taxation’s Web site.

A member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, Rodrigues did not return several phone calls yesterday. But in an online interview with The Standard-Times in New Bedford, he acknowledged buying the booze during a bathroom stop while he and his wife were on a weekend getaway in New Hampshire.

He also blamed the brouhaha on “Republican demagoguery.”

“Unfortunately, I think that’s why the Republican Party is in such bad shape in Massachusetts,” Rodrigues is quoted as saying. “The electorate here is smart enough to figure out what they’re up to.”

The Westport Democrat, whose family owns a rug business, was among the lawmakers who voted in an unpopular 25 percent sales tax hike for Bay Staters. The increase pushed the sales tax to 6.25 percent and slapped that same levy on booze – the first time alcohol has been subject to retail sales tax.

The hike has been blasted by business owners, especially those on the New Hampshire border, who say the increase has driven business north.

Mike Cimini, owner of Yankee Spirits liquor stores in Sturbridge, Attleboro and Swansea, said he’s lost about 10 percent of his business since the booze tax went into effect Aug. 1.

“It’s absolutely unbelievable that a Massachusetts state representative would be that hypocritical, let alone be that bold to actually drive his car with political plates to a New Hampshire liquor store,” said Cimini, noting Rodrigues represents communities close to his stores. “He’s up in New Hampshire to avoid the very taxes he approved.”

State law prohibits transporting more than 20 gallons of malt beverages or three gallons of any other alcoholic beverage. Police have the authority to detain and charge anyone illegally importing booze into the state. It’s unknown how much Rodrigues purchased at the New Hampshire store.

Authorities have also cracked down at the border, targeting Bay Staters seeking to avoid paying state taxes by crossing into New Hampshire to shop.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1194791

Sal DiMasi Fraud Rap

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:15:42 +0000

Salvatore DiMasi faces fraud rap

By Dave Wedge & Hillary Chabot | Wednesday, June 3, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics

Photo by Angela Rowlings

Ex-Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi is facing up to 20 years in prison for allegedly taking kickbacks in yet another State House corruption scandal that has cast a pall over Beacon Hill and sent the onetime iron-fisted leader’s former colleagues scrambling for cover.

DiMasi was hit with fraud and conspiracy charges yesterday in a scathing indictment that painted him as the “coach” of a team of conspirators who cut lucrative deals in backrooms and on golf courses from Boston to Florida, lining his own pocket to the tune of $60,000, federal agents alleged.

Prosecutors said DiMasi used his legislative might to steer $20 million in taxpayer-funded software contracts to Cognos in 2007. In exchange, the Canadian firm funneled payments to an unnamed lawyer in DiMasi’s law office, who in turn cut the then-speaker checks ranging from $4,000 to $25,000, authorities alleged.

At one point during the alleged scheme, DiMasi boasted to a pal, “It’s about time we got business like this,” according to acting U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks.

Also charged yesterday were DiMasi’s friend and former accountant Richard Vitale, Cognos lobbyist Richard McDonough and former Cognos executive Joseph Lally Jr. All four were released on $10,000 surety and are due back in federal court Monday.

DiMasi, who became the third consecutive speaker to land in the defendant’s chair in federal court, had tears in his eyes as he addressed a crush of media outside Moakley Federal Courthouse.

“Every decision that I have ever made as the speaker or as a state representative was always made in the best interests of my constituents and the people of the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” DiMasi said, clutching the hand of his wife, Debbie. He brushed off media questions and left in a black Jaguar driven by his lawyer.

Meanwhile, Speaker Robert DeLeo, a longtime DiMasi ally, and his leadership team went into bunker mode yesterday. They discussed beefing up ethics rules in a bid to rebuild shattered public trust, including giving in to a proposal by Gov. Deval Patrick to ban gifts to politicians and give prosecutors power to tap crooked lawmakers’ phones, sources said.

One lawmaker said news of DiMasi’s indictment “sucked all the air out of the room” during the DeLeo leadership meeting.

DeLeo, who oversaw the key legislative committee that ushered through the Cognos legislation, said he was “saddened and disappointed” by the charges.

His attorney, Robert Popeo, sought to distance the speaker from the scandal, saying he has fully complied with investigators.

“He is not a subject, target or person of interest in any of the investigation that is taking place,” Popeo said. “People from his office produced records (to the grand jury). He was never in front of the grand jury.”

Patrick last night said the indictment was “deeply disturbing,” while one lawmaker called the charges “a huge distraction and a huge blow to the House.”

DiMasi’s indictment comes just two years after former Speaker Thomas M. Finneran was convicted of obstruction of justice and was put on 18 months’ probation. Finneran’s predecessor, Charles Flaherty, resigned from the Legislature in 1996 after pleading guilty to tax evasion and ethics violations. It also comes months after former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was charged with taking bribes.

McDonough’s attorney, Thomas Drechsler, proclaimed his client’s innocence and called the allegations “an attack on the lobbying profession.”

“What he is accused of is doing what he has done honorably and honestly for over 30 years and that is to lobby on behalf of his client,” Drechsler said. “He advocated for language in legislation. That’s what lobbyists are paid to do.”

Edward Mason contributed to this report.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1176446

Agawam Mayor Susan Dawson

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:20:54 +0000

CLICK HERE – Article Courtesy of MASS LIVE

Love Triangle Assault – Susan Dawson

Agawam mayor Susan Dawson attacked at Max’s Tavern in Springfield

Posted by mbrault April 08, 2009 22:19PM

Susan R. Dawson

By PATRICK JOHNSON
pjohnson@repub.com

SPRINGFIELD – Agawam Mayor Susan R. Dawson was attacked by another woman Wednesday night as she left the ladies’ room at Max’s Tavern by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, police said.

Police were called to the restaurant at about 9 p.m for a report of an injured woman. Dawson told police she was thrown to the ground and struck her head. She also told police that while she was on the ground she was kicked more than once.

Police said there were no visible signs of injury, and Dawson was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center.

A 61-year-old Longmeadow woman was identified as the assailant. Police have not charged the woman, whose identity was not disclosed. Dawson can file an assault and battery complaint in District Court.

Police said Wednesday night it was unclear what prompted the attack. The two women know one another, police said.

The Longmeadow woman fled the scene before police arrived.

Categories: Agawam, Crime, Springfield

From the Howie Carr Show:

When Scorned Women Attack!!!

Pair Tumbles out of lady’s room screaming expletives.
Cougar Cat Fight Puts Agawam Animal Control Over Budget
Susan says : “I will not Confirm or Deny what the public is saying.”

Howie Carr

A fight –apparently over a man, spilled over into a popular Massachusetts Springfield eatery on the Riverfront last night. Springfield Police have not commented, but the mayor of Agawam Susan Dawson became involved with a fight with a 61 year old woman from nearby Longmeadow. Onlookers tell us the fight was over a man. Is this the state of local politics today?

Mayor Dawson before and after extreme makeover…

CLICK HERE – Article Courtesy of MASS LIVE

Agawam Mayor Susan Dawson seeks complaint against Longmeadow woman she says attacked her at Max’s Tavern in Springfield

Posted by dbshepar April 09, 2009 15:31PM

File photo by Bob Stern / The RepublicanAgawam Mayor Susan R. Dawson is seen giving a speech following her swearing-in ceremony last year.

By BUFFY SPENCER
bspencer@repub.com

SPRINGFIELD – Agawam Mayor Susan R. Dawson filed an application for a complaint Thursday afternoon against a 61-year-old Longmeadow woman who allegedly attacked her as she left the ladies’ room at Max’s Tavern in Springfield Wednesday night.

Dawson and West Springfield lawyer Charles Sclafani went to the Springfield District Court Clerk’s office at about 2:30 p.m. and filed a request for a criminal complaint against Celeste Benoit, the two said as they left the building.

The filing of requests for complaints by individuals is not public information, nor is the complaint.

It could not be immediately determined if Benoit, of Blokland Drive, had filed a request for a complaint, too.

Sclafani said Dawson is requesting that Benoit be charged with assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a shoe.

Police were called to the restaurant in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame building at about 9 p.m. Wednesday for a report of an injured woman. Dawson told police she was thrown to the ground and struck her head. She also told police that while she was on the ground she was kicked more than once.

Police said there were no visible signs of injury, and Dawson was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Police said Wednesday night it was unclear what prompted the attack. The two women know one another, police said.

Police said Benoit fled the scene before police arrived.

More details in The Republican tomorrow.

Categories: Agawam, Crime, Longmeadow, Springfield

Comments

QueenMaryJ says…

You GO Girl!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 4:46PM

travelbuddy says…

On 22 news Dawson just said there was “maybe 1 reason” she could think of that would provoke such a confrontation. Wonder if that reason is Dawson has been living with that woman’s husband for the past year?

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:18PM

rukidding75 says…

Of course she’s going to face it head on. She’s a strong woman!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:18PM

travelbuddy says…

On 22 news Dawson just said there was “maybe 1 reason” she could think this woman would target her. Maybe that reason is because Dawson has been living with this womans husband for the past year. Convenient she forgot that details during the interview.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:19PM

dgotbooted says…

This is such a funny story. fortunately no one was injured, but if a 61 yr old lady whooped me, i’d go home with my tail between my legs and keep quiet!!!! lmao

I hope when i am 61 i will still be i a$$ whooping shape, you go granny

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:34PM

waltersd says…

Still cant believe this women won the race for mayor.. Very funny story yes indeed. Women like her always seem to come out smelling like roses.

Susan by the way you really haven’t done anything for special needs kids in this town… So stop saying you have…

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:49PM

joesa92 says…

If the mayor is living with this womans husband,so what!They are probably getting divorced anyway.She should have dropped the soon to be ex,but once again another scorned b***h!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:52PM

liza01 says…

Why would the mayor stoop to accepting someone elses baggage.She is fairly attractive for her age.There are plenty of men her age that dont carry with them a 61 year old ex that can obviously kick some butt.I wouldnt feel too sorry for the granny,she lives in Longmeadow,how bad is that?Im sure shes getting the house car and everything else of his.BOO_HOO_HOO!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:58PM

rukidding75 says…

I love how everyone focuses on the fact that the “61 year old woman won the fight”, however, how much abuse would you be giving Mayor Dawson if she was in a bar brawl as an active participant? Give me a break, people. She has endured more than most and still comes out on top. People always want to trample the strong women, but here she is – facing it and she’s going to get through it as she always has.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 6:00PM

swinger469 says…

I can tell you this if a 61 year old hag attacks you,you “DON’T” fight back !!! You can’t win. This would have looked much worse if she ponded the slot out of grandma !!! Grandma is CRAZY !!!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 6:05PM

northside9 says…

I wish these people from Agawam and Longmeadow would stop bringing their violence to Springfield.

And what’s with the people from other towns burning their cars and themselves in Springfield. Do it in your own town!

There’s not a crime problem in Springfield, there’s a crime problem in the suburbs that keeps coming into Springfield!!!!!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 6:49PM Footer

Comments

brende58 says…

Sounds like 2 white rich women fighting over a worthless man. Heard Jerry Springer show was coming to CT guess they’ll be his 1st guest.

Posted on 04/08/09 at 10:45PM

homesick27 says…

that was my 1st thought. over a man. who cheated on who? They were probably drunk.

Posted on 04/08/09 at 11:11PM

tranquil says…

61 year old woman can kick a$$. Gives women everywhere hope.

No visible injuries? Maybe it didn’t really happen.

Posted on 04/08/09 at 11:14PM

QueenMaryJ says…

Mrs. Six?

Posted on 04/08/09 at 11:17PM

NoPol says…

Why isn’t the residence of the attacker in the headline? Following past practices at Masslive, the headline should read “Agawam mayor Susan Dawson attacked by Longmeadow Woman at Max’s Tavern in Springfield”.

Masslive seems eager to point it out when a Springfield resident commits a crime in another community.

Posted on 04/08/09 at 11:24PM

hellfish says…

Stay classy Agawam

Posted on 04/08/09 at 11:38PM

cozy77 says…

Poor thing,thrown to the ground,hit in the head and just for good measure she was kicked more than once.I’m not a Dr.but I do know that white people who have things like this happen to them their skin is red.Sounds like maybe a little “white” lie.

Posted on 04/08/09 at 11:42PM

letsgossip says…

I’ve seen the Honorable Mayor in action, I’m not impressed perhaps her head is getting to big to fit through the door…. it’s call EGO! Madamme Mayor, stop the MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting skits and start fighting for the people that elected you! Only an observation.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 12:03AM

noncrazy says…

Mayor said she was attacked when she left the ladies room,hum? A 61 yr old Longmeadow woman is the suspect.No marks on the Mayor well seems to me that is an elbow problem.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 12:32AM

SPFLDDAD says…

Agree with NoPol. Guaranteed if a Spfld resident attacked the Agawam Mayor the headlines would read
“Springfield resident attacks mayor” or if a Spfld resident did this in a surrounding community the Spfld part would be pointed out. We have enough troubles here without the republican adding more fuel to the fire.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 12:39AM

parkperson says…

It was over a man she fell to the ground pleading for her to stop it was not even a good cat fight.. she think’s she can crap on everyone now thats she’s Mayor..woo hoo.. stop trying to pick up other womens rich men there Miss Dawson.. and have another bottle of wine..

Posted on 04/09/09 at 1:59AM

snookered1 says…

Hmm… I wonder if alcohol was involved?

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:07AM

Nichobi says…

Yes, I think they were trying to impersonate MMArtists! But, seeing how there were no visible signs of any altercation I would lean towards “to drunk to stay verticle” CRASH!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 6:03AM

derek1824 says…

Taking bets on whether or not the mayor privately sues the woman for this altercation.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 6:36AM

iknowall19 says…

Seeing this ladies husband.. also going with a married man from chicopee.. She is a real class act.. No lie..

Posted on 04/09/09 at 7:39AM

nicholz12 says…

….if a Spfld resident attacked the Agawam Mayor the headlines would read
“Springfield resident attacks mayor”

if the shoe fits wear it….

Posted on 04/09/09 at 7:41AM

IrishGirl79 says…

Does anybody know who the Longmeadow woman was? I grew up there. It could be somebody’s mom that I went to school with. That would be hilarious!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 7:56AM

skyjack2 says…

mussure there not from chicopee

Posted on 04/09/09 at 7:58AM

asprin says…

all re the headline issue rite on, before i got to the story i assumed that it was a parking lot assault and would include a name or description of a hispanic perp, happy to see neither. now, if the 61 yo perp squeeze from longmortgage turns out to be hispanic, well, i’ll just have to start over…

Posted on 04/09/09 at 8:19AM

tjmnrccske says…

I am caucasion and do not live in springfield but i can certainly see the injustice in reporting practices. if the attacker was an hispanic or african-american i believe they would have released and printed her name. she enjoys anonimity because of her social status and ethnicity. shame on the republican. just my opinion!!!!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 8:23AM

cmb1957 says…

You can bet that if the attacker was a woman from Springfield her name and address would have prominently displayed in the article. What a joke this paper is with their double standards

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:01AM

russ888 says…

Eh, she probably just took cuts in the “ladies” room or didn’t hand tissue to the stall with an empty roll. MEOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:10AM

TeaParty says…

cmb1957, Maybe Dawson did not give the name of her attacker to the police. Since the Longmeadow woman was not arrested, it would not be wise for the Republican or the police to release the womans name. I will agree the Republican is pretty cautious how they report stories about crime in other towns. No town want’s a bad reputation so the police will not release much information about the crime. No information, no story.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:22AM

vupt says…

The Republican needs to come clean on the Longmeadow woman’s identity. Inquiring minds want to know!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:27AM

rukidding75 says…

I’m sorry, but hasn’t she been a huge improvement over the last Mayor? Has she made promises and kept them? You guys sit here and criticize and make assumptions and judgments about her personal life, but how many of you love Bill Clinton and what he did with his administration?

I love the double standards between women and men. Sure, Bill was publicly criticized, but most would agree he did a lot for his country. Similarly, Mayor Dawson is doing a lot for Agawam.

I also want to agree that if the attacker was African American or Hispanic, that fact would have definitely been mentioned. Are we supposed to assume that the attacker is white because of the lack of mention – apparently so. So, in that case, “white” is understood. Wrong – so wrong! We need to call out white people who break the law, and if we are going to report items of interest such as this, all races, since we are clearly still defining people according to race and ethnicity should be mentioned…or not at all.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:32AM

BUCKYKATT says…

This mayor goes out drinking EVERY night and sometimes during the day. She is an elected official and should be working like everyone else.
I have witnessed her pompous behavior while having dinner and was appalled that she appeared to have no problem who saw her downing that extra bottle of wine. Nice job picking that gem of a lady Agawam!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:37AM

QueenMaryJ says…

Admit it, you just want to see her standing in front of “the wall”.

I know I do.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:37AM

roxy1954 says…

Maybe she should stay away from someone else husband and get a Man of her owen

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:40AM

rukidding75 says…

Does it take forever for a comment to post – or is masslive only posting comments that are negative about the Mayor? I’m new to this…

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:41AM

ahsmom says…

Everyone who lives in Agawam knmows who this women who attacked Ms. Dawson is. She is the wife of Ms. Dawson’s live in boyfriend. Dawson will NOT press charges its too messy as it is.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:48AM

Lgriffin says…

Mrs. Longmeadow,

“That’s so ghetto.”

Posted on 04/09/09 at 9:50AM

agresser says…

Everyone in this thread, including the two brawling chicks are idiots.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:06AM

CitySlicker2 says…

I agree the double standards used in reporting on Masslive, Republican and all local news stations are injust. Sensationalism is what they subscribe to and in the interim they tip the scales against Springfield. Very irresponsible! Oh, and it had happened accross the river it would have been “in the Greater Springfield area”.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:16AM

sfieldres says…

I think it’s pretty sad that the majority of the posters on here are so small and are extremely quick to judge. No one knows what all of the circumstances are- of the incident or of the relationships these people have with one another, or all of the facts. It’s no one’s business but their own.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:18AM

mustluvkats says…

What’s wrong aggresser you’re not getting the attention at home that you craved? Mommy smoking meth again? So now you want feedback from us? well, not from me your not worth my time FOOL!!!!!!! You probably one of those idiots that keep checking the thread for a response to your idiotic comment. GO GET YOUR ATTENTION FIX SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:33AM

WhyGoHome says…

That’ll depend on an arrest being made. That’s journalism 101.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:39AM

fazoot says…

Does Max’s Tavern have an entertainment license for the Cat Fights?

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:45AM

tjmnrccske says…

if they wanted privacy perhaps they should not have been brawling in a public place. if they kept their argument between the two of them and fought in a private venue, this story would never have been printed. since it was printed the reader deserves to know the names of the parties involved. the article states that a 61 year old longmeadow woman was identified, so obviously the reporter knows her identity.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:50AM

shelsby says…

Well perhaps if she didnt FREQUENT the bar and embarress herself on a regular basis, she wouldnt incite patrons whether they know her or not!!!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:56AM

spfldsux says…

Despite this issue being about an “Agawam Mayor” and a resident of “Longmeadow”; a meteor still should hit Springfield and wipe it out.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 10:56AM

rukidding75 says…

Nice, spfldsux. Hate much?

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:11AM

spfldsux says…

I hate the gangs, violence, crime. I hate what Springfield has become. A cesspool.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:15AM

thecynic77 says…

Something is wrong here!!! If a regualr everyday citizen assulted someone, the police will arrest the person, regardsless if the victim presses charges or not. Looks like Sprinfield PD have a double standard. Rich and politcal/famous people get a second chance, while regular citizens get arrested in the same situation. Its good to know that police corruption is still alive and well in MA, it would be a shame for the police to actually follow the rules/laws for everybody equally.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:16AM

spfldsux says…

Exactly. Springfield = corruption; therefore, gangs, crime, violence. nuf said.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:18AM

sfieldres says…

Mayor Dawson was the one that was attacked- not the other way around- the other woman is the one who should have been arrested! You would know if you had been there!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:24AM

rukidding75 says…

Not all the people who live in Springfield participate in criminal activity. There are many of us law-abiding citizens who live here and want to make a difference. Do you want to wipe us out too – or do you have a suggestion on how we can improve the economy and therefore the financial means to move out of the city before it is wiped out?

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:27AM

hellfish says…

Mayor McDrunk needs to step down

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:33AM

thecynic77 says…

I realize the Mayor is the Victim, regardless of who the victim is, nobody was arrested. The 61 year old longmeadow woman is and the mayor know eachother, thats why her name isn’t in the paper and thats why whe hasn’t been arrested. Thats favoritism, and its wrong. A law has been broken, regardless of who broke it proper action should have been taken.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:49AM

foodjunky101 says…

I used to see Dawson at Maxs every thursday – each and everytime getting polluted out of her mind. The week before she was elected mayor she was in Maxs making out with a guy in the middle of the bar. Maybe thats how she was elected?? Well anyways she was caught on wednesday night having an affair with the 61 year old ladies husband! They dont tell you that in the paper but she was sleeping with another womans man. Thats why the altercation occurred.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:49AM

ComedyGold says…

The story goes: the 61 year old attacker is the husband of the man that the mayor is in a “relationship” with. She’s the jilted wife.

Apparently this relationship has been going on for months. Everyone knows the mayor goes to Max’s all the time. The wife probably followed them there and confronted the mayor. My guess is the guy probably just asked her for a divorce and she snapped.

This information is hearsay that I’ve heard from many different sources.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 11:53AM

moxie2 says…

If she looks like a pig; smells like a pig; and acts like a pig; she’s probably a pig.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 12:10PM

NoPol says…

Telling only half the story makes the city and Max’s look bad. If I was the owner of Max’s, I would be on the phone with Masslive and the Republican for their sensational headlines. The headlines make it sound like this was a random attack, that Max’s is a dangerous place.

That apparently is very far from the truth.

I don’t know why the attacker hasn’t been arrested.

A lot of the Springfield assaults written about in the Republican are committed under similar circumstances to what other posters are alleging here. I guess that when a Springfield woman assaults another woman over a man, that’s an immediate arrest, no questions asked, but if it is a Longmeadow woman doing the assault, the police give the option?

Seems not right to me.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 12:16PM

nissan195 says…

Let if be known, Dawson will be referred to MAYOR McDrunk until she steps down.

The lettering on her door will need to change. Guess some people think they can just do whatever they want.

Agawam started off right with Johnson, then Cohen now this POS. How can she face the residents and officials and expect them to respect her?

STEP DOWN MAYOR McDrunk!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 12:42PM

whoknows1 says…

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone – Time to grow up people!If you are so brave – use your full name!!————- Thought so

Posted on 04/09/09 at 12:58PM

jeccaxoxo says…

she was attacked by the wife of the man that she was having an affair with for the past few years.

funny how that part was left out.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 1:47PM

40thieves says…

Cozy77 – Wow you really sound like an idiot. Why would you have to bring race into this? Obviously you are not a doctor….”When this happens to white people their skin turns red..” Well, Dr. Cozy77 idiot…How come we can’t tell when you black people get black eyes? You are an idiot. You must have a PHD in being a really stupid idiot

Posted on 04/09/09 at 1:52PM

hedoes says…

Maybe you should get your facts straight. The guy left his wife a year ago. The woman from Longmeadow is a bitter lady and yes she was that way when they were married…that’s why he left her. I have seen this woman first hand in action at a comedy night where she heckled the comedian to the point where he asked her to leave. None ever deserves to be beat on!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 2:02PM

ahsgrad21 says…

she was probably never attacked…she mostlikely was drunk and fell when she was walking out of the bathroom

Posted on 04/09/09 at 2:08PM

wantstruth says…

thecynic77 – This is a simple assault & Battery, no bodily injury. It was not comitted in the presence of a police officer, there is NO power of arrest for this crime.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 2:14PM

wmasscalper says…

The Mayor is perpetuating the stereotype of all Agawam whores… drinking in Springfield and doing every guy that crosses their paths I know cause I’ve had em all I think Eve and Jezebel were probably from Agawam Beware of Agawam chicks! Run away!

Posted on 04/09/09 at 4:49PM

cozy77 says…

40 thieves,I didn’t bring race into it .I made the comment that white people skin turns red when it’s hit by anything,follow me so far….therefore if there was NO TRAMUA to skin if the wasn’t ANY phsyical tramua as reported NO VISIBLE SIGNS OF INJURY.This has nothing to do with race just common sense.When writting comments about stories I wish people take the time to understand what’s being written.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 5:26PM

waltersd says…

This women has done nothing for agawam and never will, Way to go agawam you really picked a class act.

All because you didn’t want to pay for a parking permit so people can park on your lawn to head to the Big E and Six Flags. You can make money but the town cant.

Posted on 04/09/09 at 6:01PM

Woman accused of attacking Agawam mayor issues statement

By Associated Press | Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

AGAWAM — A woman accused of assaulting Agawam Mayor Susan Dawson in April says she witnessed her husband passionately kissing Dawson a year earlier.

Celeste Benoit released a statement through her attorney on Tuesday. A hearing is scheduled on Thursday to determine whether Benoit should face criminal charges for allegedly throwing Dawson to the ground and kicking her outside the ladies room of a Springfield restaurant.

The first-term mayor has claimed that she began dating real estate developer Mark Benoit only after he and his wife split up. But Celeste Benoit disputes that in her statement, saying the couple separated only after she confronted her husband about the romantic encounter with Dawson.

Dawson’s lawyer would not confirm or deny the March 2008 incident, but told The Republican newspaper that his client was still the victim of an “unprovoked attack.”

___

Information from: The Springfield Republican, http://www.masslive.com/news/

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1175073

State Senator Marian Walsh

admin — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:50:24 +0000

Walsh pulls out amid uproar

Senator will not pursue $120,000-a-year state post

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | April 1, 2009

State Senator Marian Walsh abandoned her appointment yesterday to a $120,000-a-year position at a state authority, a decision that follows two tumultuous weeks for Governor Deval Patrick and was made amid what Walsh described as a “tsunami” of public outrage.

“I feel I have become the issue,” said Walsh, appearing at Patrick’s side after meeting privately with the governor in his office.

Walsh said she reached the decision to decline the job as assistant executive director at the Massachusetts Health and Educational Facilities Authority on her own, with no push from the governor or his aides. She said she called Patrick’s chief of staff, Doug Rubin, on Monday night and informed him of the choice.

“This is my decision,” said Walsh, a six-term West Roxbury Democrat and one of Patrick’s earliest political supporters.

“This was not going any place that was healthy. I feel this is the best outcome,” she said. “I don’t want to be a distraction. I want to be a leader.”

Patrick’s push to get Walsh hired at the authority would have faced another potential hurdle, and fur ther media scrutiny and public anger, when the agency’s board meets April 17 to confirm the details of her employment.

Patrick said he had “mixed feelings” about the lawmaker’s decision and said, “I wish we had handled it differently.”

The governor has endured intense criticism from the public and political foes alike, and the administration’s repeated attempts at damage control have only added to the negative fallout.

Walsh said last week that she would accept $120,000 a year for the job, instead of the originally planned $175,000, a concession that spurred more anger and criticism. The administration absorbed more criticism over the last three days after a Globe story, quoting internal e-mails, showed Walsh’s appointment had been carefully orchestrated by Patrick’s top aides – despite the administration’s denials.

“I am relieved because we’ve been hammered,” Patrick said yesterday, speaking to reporters. “I also feel disappointed about the harm that has come to the senator, who is a wonderful and capable person and, I am absolutely convinced, was the right person for this assignment.”

He then put his arm around Walsh to demonstrate his support for her. “It’s been painful for me, the senator, for a whole lot of people.”

After the announcement, Patrick escorted Walsh back to the Senate, where a debate was taking place on pension reform.

The assistant executive director job at the authority had been vacant for 12 years, and Patrick and Walsh were never able to put forth an argument that convinced critics that it needed to be filled now, at a time when the state and Massachusetts residents are reeling from the recession.

Walsh insisted yesterday that she had wanted the position in order to work on the governor’s plans for reorganizing the authority and other quasi-public authorities by, among other things, “changing the culture so we can be more open.”

“There’s a whole theme here, which is why the reorganization was so central to having more economic development that is more fruitful in the near future and not waiting,” Walsh said.

But the way the appointment was handled belied her call for open government. The position had not been advertised and no search firm had been hired to compile a list of candidates. It was also not listed on an agenda for the March 12 meeting where it was unanimously approved.

Walsh’s appointment was immediately slammed by opponents as a behind-the-scenes patronage move by Patrick to force the board of an independent authority to hire a political ally with very little notice.

The state’s Republican Party said yesterday that the episode undercut Patrick’s claim to be a reformer.

“Senator Walsh has done the right thing by refusing the appointment,” said Jennifer Nassour, GOP chairwoman. “This absurd process has taught us, once again, that we cannot rely on the Patrick administration to seek real, meaningful reform on Beacon Hill.”

Patrick continued yesterday to press the issue of reform, however. He insisted that Walsh was the right person to make his case that the authority’s operations should merge some of its operations with the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, contending that their duplicate efforts cost taxpayers “millions of dollars.”

He warned the authority that he would intervene again if it did not implement the changes he is seeking.

“If they don’t, we will be right back at it, inserting a change agent in there,” Patrick said.

The authority, however, released a statement rebutting the governor’s portrayal that it is inefficient. The agency issues government bonds to raise money for hospital and education construction projects in Massachusetts.

“A true model of efficiency, last year HEFA’s dedicated team worked to provide more than $4.4 billion in low-cost financing for important projects by nonprofit organizations across Massachusetts – becoming the largest issuer of tax-exempt bonds in the state and sixth largest in the nation,” the statement said.

BUSTED- $23k stuffed in her bra- SENATOR DIANE WILKERSON

admin — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:19:50 +0000

">BUSTED- $23k stuffed in her bra- SENATOR DIANE WILKERSON

">“Vote For Dianne Wilkerson”

State Senator Dianne Wilkerson was arrested for Corruption Charges. Deval Patrick supported her campaign even though she has had prior problems with the law.

">State Senator Diane Wilkerson Arrested

U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, Michael Sullivan, announces charges against State Senator Diane Wilkerson.

">Dianne Wilkerson Asked to Leave

Massachusetts State Senators asked fellow senator, Dianne Wilkerson, to resign after she’s charged with violating federal law.

Tom Finneran

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:03:57 +0000

Not a fan, felonious Tom Finneran? Well pardon me!

By Howie Carr | Saturday, January 10, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com

Photo by Nancy Lane

Are you talkin’ to me, Felon Finneran?

I quote now from the letter that four bust-out ex-governors of Massachusetts have written to President Bush, begging them to pardon former House speaker Tommy Taxes Finneran, a man so crooked he needs a corkscrew to get into his pants in the morning.

“He has suffered daily taunts and ridicule of those who believe that every elected official is the equivalent of a common thief.”

That’s me they’re talking about. When it comes to Felon Finneran, I’m in charge of daily taunts and ridicule. But despite what the Four Stooges wrote, I don’t believe every elected official is a thief. Finneran, on the other hand, was the House speaker – a job title that lately has a higher recidivism rate than godfather of the Gambino Crime Family.

As for Tommy Taxes being a “common thief” – I would never say that. Common thieves who do the crime do the time. Finneran committed multiple counts of perjury in the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals, but was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice, and didn’t do an hour, let alone a day, in durance vile.

And he still refuses to take responsibility for his sordid life of crime. So far, he’s Alibi Ike.

First excuse: he lied under oath because he was in a hurry to drive his wife to Mass General.

Second excuse: he’d been “gulping” Advil. No joke – Tommy Taxes claimed he was “Advil-addled.”

New excuse: I’ve ruined everything for him. Yeah, and tonight I’m going to make it snow.

The Four Stooges said Felon Finneran has been “severely punished.” Really? He’s still making big money for his wretched radio show, which we call “Sweet Sixteen,” because that’s generally about where it finishes in the ratings. The Felon usually runs neck and neck with “The River,” and sometimes he even edges the Manchester N.H. soft-rock station. Sometimes. His show is so compelling it now goes off the air at 9 instead of 10, and they’re trying to prop him up with a co-host.

Finneran should be breakin’ rocks in the hot sun. He fought the law and the law won. Although I still remember the day he was “sentenced,” and how Judge Rick Stearns was almost apologizing for having to ask him the questions every convicted felon has to answer.

Are you on drugs this morning, wiseguy? You do know you can’t own a firearm anymore, maggot. But no, it was all “Mistah Speakah” this and “I know this is a silly question but . . .” I was there in the courtroom hoping to make a victim-impact statement. See, I was at the courthouse the day Felon Finneran told his string of incredible whoppers about his racist gerrymandering scheme in the city of Boston.

I was shocked, shocked, I tell you. I tried not to let it destroy my faith in the integrity of the Massachusetts Legislature. But I can’t get over it. Then last year, the Felon speculated to Gov. Patrick that I should be taken for a one-way ride in the trunk of the governor’s Coupe Deval.

You can take the felon out of the State House, but you can’t take the State House out of the felon. President Bush, don’t enough people hate you already? You don’t need your own Marc Rich.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1144332

Tom Finneran Felon Finneran

Former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran, arriving at his Mattapan home Monday. (Globe Staff Photo / Justine Hunt)
The Boston Globe

Finneran’s gathering storm

Ex-speaker’s strongest traits may have hastened his fall

By Don Aucoin, Globe Staff | June 9, 2005

It was a spring night in 2001, and the hottest question on Beacon Hill was whether the state budget proposal about to be released by the House Ways and Means Committee would contain adequate funds for the Clean Elections Law.

The law to provide public financing of campaigns had been overwhelmingly approved by voters several years earlier, but House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran had made no secret of his hostility to it, and that had spelled doom for many a measure in the State House over the years.

That made Finneran’s response all the more surprising when a reporter asked how much money would be in the Ways and Means budget for Clean Elections. ”I literally have no idea,” Finneran said. He went on to explain that he had been so busy with other legislative matters that he had left it in the hands of Ways and Means chairman John Rogers.

The notion of a hands-off approach on something Finneran cared about so deeply ran counter to everything that was known about the controlling, detail-oriented man who ran the House. But for the eight years Finneran presided as a speaker of unchallenged power, he seldom felt the need to agonize over his words or his image. Indeed, he was every inch the happy warrior, a sharp-tongued figure who freely expressed his opinions.

Yet in the aftermath of his indictment Monday on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, some wonder whether the very traits that propelled Finneran’s rise to power — a self-confidence bordering on the cocksure, a reflexive refusal to yield on points large or small, an eager appetite for political combat — may have worked together to hasten his fall.

”Hubris,” said Pamela Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause of Massachusetts, speculating on why Finneran denied any involvement in the redistricting process. ”There would have been no consequences to him had he told the truth: ‘Yes, I met with lawmakers and talked about this; yes, I met with the chairman of the committee.’ There would have been no repercussions. People would have said, ‘Look, there’s Finneran controlling the process again, but that would been, ‘Yawn, yawn, what’s new?’ ”

Finneran has vigorously maintained his innocence. Moreover, he has done so with the unambiguous force that characterized his eight years as House speaker, issuing a statement saying, ”My response to the charges brought against me today is NOT GUILTY,” and telling reporters: ”I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”

If that is true, that would mean Finneran is less bothered by the indictment than are some of his admirers. Former House speaker David Bartley contended that the indictment is ”just outrageous,” and that Finneran is called arrogant simply for exerting strong leadership and for being unyielding in his beliefs.

Such support is a testament to the charisma and brainpower Finneran brought to the post of House speaker, along with an iron-fisted approach that made dissidents an endangered species. Critics say Finneran’s belief that he was smarter than most — an opinion honed and to an extent affirmed in the State House — contributed to his current legal predicament. In this view, the commanding — critics called it arrogant — demeanor that defined his leadership in the House simply boomeranged on the witness stand.

”He was just daring the attorneys to challenge him, to doubt him,” remarked Representative James J. Marzilli, a Democrat from Arlington who was often at loggerheads with Finneran during the decade-plus they served together in the House. ”You carry that outside this chamber, this institution, and people are a lot less willing to live by the rules he’s trying to force upon them.”

His will was so fierce, his talents so outsized, that Finneran grew used to getting his way on Beacon Hill. Often, his word literally was law. Now a jury will decide whether he broke the law with a few words of emphatic denial when he was asked, under oath, whether he knew the contents of a legislative redistricting plan before it was made public.

Lou DiNatale, director of the Center for Economic and Civic Opinion at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, said it was clear from the former speaker’s testimony that he found it ”outrageous he had to testify before a federal jury over something that speakers have done over time immemorial in every state in the country . . . to protect his party members, Democrats, and his leadership. He made a mistake. He assumed this wasn’t going to be as explosive a public issue as it became.”

Whatever the outcome, the indictment has refocused the spotlight on a figure as compelling as he is contradictory. Finneran is a student of history who loves Edward Gibbon’s ”The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” and Winston Churchill’s ”The Gathering Storm,” but he didn’t seem to see the storm gathering around him or to apprehend that his own pride and power might lead to a fall. In interviews with admirers and detractors of the former speaker, it was striking how often the twin themes of ambition and tragedy were sounded.

”Tom Finneran thought he was going to be either mayor of Boston or a United States senator,” said John McDonough, a former legislator and now executive director of Health Care for All, a consumer advocacy group. ”He clearly saw the speakership not as a terminal position but as a launching pad for something bigger. Given his ambitions, there’s a note of tragedy in it, that someone so gifted and talented was not able to capitalize on his position to achieve that bigger goal.”

Barbara Anderson, head of Citizens for Limited Taxation, considered Finneran to have ”a very thin skin stretched over a very big ego” from the day in 1991 when he ignored her outstretched hand and stalked away from her after the two did battle over Proposition 2 1/2, the tax-limiting measure that was her brainchild. Nonetheless, Anderson said, she now views Finneran as ”a tragic figure who had tremendous potential for leadership but instead he got lost in his own hubris.”

Over time, Finneran became known for what he said as much as for what he did. In the middle of the 1998 debate over how much public financing should be given to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to build a new stadium, Finneran at a dinner in Peabody dismissed the idea of a tax break for the project with a vulgarity.

In 1998, at a post-primary unity breakfast after Scott Harshbarger had won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, the facade of unity crumbled in a hurry when Finneran floated the notion that Harshbarger might drift toward ”the loony left,” a blow to a nominee who hoped and needed to appeal to moderate voters.

But for all of his swagger, the depictions of Finneran as a cartoon tyrant miss the mark, insist many who served with him, including some who lined up against him on issues or on leadership style. Most describe a man who was unfailingly cordial, who invariably recalled the names of members’ spouses and children, and who would blink back tears while discussing the challenges facing the mentally retarded.

Representative Michael Festa, a Melrose Democrat who emerged as one of Finneran’s leading critics, said, ”It’s a rare member of the House that would say they didn’t like Tom Finneran.”

Even though Festa often spoke out against Finneran’s tight control of the House, the two enjoyed a friendly relationship based on a shared love of gardening, and Festa had Finneran and his wife as a guest at his house several times. ”The man is sufficiently complex for everyone to understand he’s not that one-dimensional as a person,” Festa said.

Yet the image that came through to the outside world sometimes lacked those other dimensions. Having entered the Legislature in his late 20s, Finneran perhaps inevitably leaned on the instincts and style of a State House insider. But that very style may have worked against him on the witness stand, in the view of DiNatale, who believes that the indictment is unfair.

”Finneran got popped for the wink and the nod,” DiNatale contended. ”Because the culture of the [State House] building is ‘I know and you don’t know what’s really going on,’ the wink and the nod is the dominant form of being in the know. . . . You can play these winking games with the press, you can even play them with the Legislature. You can’t play them under oath.”

Rick Klein and Jonathan Saltzman of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Sal DiMasi Elected House Speaker

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:43:38 +0000

Sal DiMasi easily re-elected House speaker

By Hillary Chabot | Wednesday, January 7, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics

Photo by Angela Rowlings

Rep. Salvatore DiMasi was overwhelmingly re-elected Speaker of the House this morning with 135 out of 159 votes, an impressive showing of support for the embattled politician.

“I want to thank my fellow members for your overwhelming vote of confidence today,” DiMasi said.

Fourteen representatives, including seven GOP legislators, voted “present.”

Earlier in the day, a Democratic caucus took an informal voice vote supporting DiMasi’s reelection, which was a largely ceremonial pledge preceding the official House vote.

The North End Democrat – who has been dogged by an ethics scandal and whose former accountant is under criminal investigation – became emotional after a unanimous Democratic caucus gave him the nod, ensuring he’d win the formal vote.

“I found out I have a lot of friends, and that is important in this job because you need a lot of friends,” he said, his voice wavering.

Legislators including Rep. Marie St. Fleur (D-Boston) and Rep. Jay R. Kaufman (D-Lexington) delivered the nominating speeches, rather than House leadership members, who typically play that ceremonial role.

DiMasi dismissed speculation that he changed nominating speakers because of waning support, saying he wanted to show the diversity of support he has.

Jessica Fargen contributed to this report.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1143707

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/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1143544Sal DiMasi wins battle in ethics flap
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/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1143355

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