"Cognos deals face federal scrutiny; Grand jury convened over two state contracts; Threat to DiMasi, whose associates profited" by Andrea Estes and Matt Viser, Globe Staff | December 17, 2008
Federal authorities have convened a grand jury to investigate the state's awarding of a pair of multimillion dollar contracts to a Burlington software company that, in turn, provided large and often secretive paydays to close associates of House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi as it was winning state work.
The US attorney in Boston has issued subpoenas over the past few weeks that include a request for documents from the state's Information Technology Division, which awarded a $13 million "performance management software" contract to
The launch of the federal grand jury probe, confirmed by several lawyers in Boston, follows a series of stories in the Globe about the Cognos contracts. It significantly raises the stakes for DiMasi, who in recent weeks has sought to downplay the threat that the Cognos controversy poses. He has recently rededicated himself to public issues, particularly pushing for a gas tax over toll hikes, as he aggressively courts House members to reelect him to another two-year term as speaker next month....
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