"Transportation chief sees potential conflict; Aloisi says recusals may be necessary" by Noah Bierman, Globe Staff | January 22, 2009
Governor Deval Patrick's new transportation secretary has acknowledged he may have to recuse himself from some policy decisions because of the extensive financial ties between his former law firm and the agencies he is now being asked to overhaul.
Please see: Big Pit Getting Deeper
That firm, Goulston & Storrs, where James A. Aloisi Jr. was a partner, collected $2.8 million from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and $1.6 million from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority over the past five years, Aloisi's spokesman disclosed in response to written questions from the Globe last week. Aloisi, now chairman of both agencies, declined to be interviewed yesterday....
The potential for conflicts of interest underscores Aloisi's deep roots in the state transportation culture, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of his appointment to the top job in that realm.... Aloisi has gone from public to private and now back to the public sector and has promoted his public service background while in private practice.
His official biography, formerly posted on the Goulston & Storrs website, highlighted his experience with the Big Dig. His role in the $15 billion project and his subsequent work in the private sphere made his recent appointment a contentious one.
"People are going to say this is kind of funky," said Pamela H. Wilmot of Common Cause. "But I think there's been a public discussion of those concerns, and you're going to have that any time people are crossing these lines between government contractor to government work."
And you thought liberal Democrats were better than "neanderthal Repuglicns," huh?
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Before his appointment as secretary, Aloisi faced questions about a potential conflict of interest, as a member of a public board discussing one of Patrick's key transportation initiatives. Last year, Patrick appointed Aloisi to the Massachusetts Port Authority board, which oversees Logan Airport, the seaport, and the Tobin Bridge. Patrick wants Massport to assume responsibility for major portions of the turnpike, as well, as the central part of a restructuring plan he announced in November.
Before he was appointed secretary, Aloisi participated in five Massport meetings during which the restructuring plan was discussed, before Massport's attorney, David Mackey, suggested that Aloisi should review whether he has a conflict of interest. Because Goulston & Storrs represented the Turnpike Authority, Aloisi could have been seen as having a financial interest in protecting its interests. The board has not voted on restructuring....
Because Aloisi has divested from his firm, he does not anticipate any ethical issues in discussing the merger going forward.
Oh, yeah, then everything should be fine! Pffft!
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Richard Vitale, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi's friend and former accountant, paid off $7,500 in legal debts accumulated by DiMasi's in-laws at a time when Vitale was working for clients seeking to win contracts and influence legislation on Beacon Hill....
The payments were made around the same time that prosecutors say Vitale secretly and illegally lobbied DiMasi on behalf of a group of Massachusetts ticket brokers, who paid him $60,000. Also in 2006 and 2007, Vitale worked on behalf of Burlington software company
So that makes it all right?
Vitale's lawyer, Martin Weinberg, would not discuss the details of the payments by Vitale's consulting firm, WN Advisors, on behalf of the Kinlins but insisted his client did nothing wrong. State ethics laws prohibit payments or gifts to public officials or their immediate family members by people with interests before the state, but in-laws are not included in the definition of immediate family.
"Unconditionally, Richard Vitale never made an illegal, improper or unethical gift or payment to his longtime friend and financial client Salvatore DiMasi of any kind," Weinberg said. David Guarino, DiMasi's spokesman, said DiMasi, his wife, and Mollie Kinlin had no comment.
It was unclear from the court documents what the legal bills were for. But land records show that the law firm, Berluti & McLaughlin, handled the sale of a Needham house from the Kinlins to Debbie DiMasi. Other bills are described by the attorney general as business-related. Kinlin, who died last year, owned a package store in Newton, Mr. K's Discount Wines & Spirits. Deborah DiMasi is secretary and director of the company, according to records of the secretary of state. Her mother is listed as treasurer and director.
John McLaughlin, a partner at Berluti & McLaughlin, could not be reached. At Vitale's arraignment earlier this month on alleged lobbying and campaign law violations, prosecutors sought to file a lengthy statement of the case, but the judge would not accept it. They did, however, file a list of the materials they collected during their investigation, including bank and phone records, e-mails, electronic calendars, checks, invoices, and other written and electronic documents. Number 83 on the list is, "Copies of WN Advisors LLC checks payable to Berluti & McLaughlin for $7,500 re: Kinlin, MBK."
Emily LaGrassa, Coakley's spokeswoman, would not comment on Vitale's payment of the legal bills or anything else included in the list because, she said, it is a pending criminal case. But she added, "We have said repeatedly that this is an ongoing investigation."
The list of documents filed by prosecutors offers clues to other events uncovered by investigators. The list shows that Vitale met with Daniel Toscano, a DiMasi aide, and James Holzman, owner of Ace Tickets and the head of the Massachusetts Association of Ticket Brokers, at Vitale's office in Charlestown on June 22, 2006 - the same day that DiMasi and his wife were at the office signing their third mortgage.
Weinberg would not say why Vitale appeared to invite an alleged lobbying client, Holzman, and DiMasi's aide to his office when he knew DiMasi would be there on the same day. There is no indication in the documents whether DiMasi met Holzman there, of if they were there at the same hour of the day.
And yet these guys DENY, DENY, DENY -- proving what LIARS they are!!!
In an interview with the Globe in April, DiMasi repeatedly denied ever discussing the ticket brokers bill with Vitale, or even knowing that Vitale was working for the ticket brokers. He denied that Toscano was involved in any discussions. Those assertions have been disputed by Coakley and her investigators in the case against Vitale.
When Vitale was indicted, Coakley accused him of trading on his friendship with DiMasi to help the ticket brokers, holding secret meetings with lawmakers at his office to conceal his role. She said Vitale, who was paid $60,000 by the ticket brokers to help push legislation that would remove price caps, had repeated contacts with DiMasi and Speaker Pro-Tempore Thomas M. Petrolati. Weinberg called the charges minor regulatory offenses and insisted that Vitale did not work enough hours to be required to register as a lobbyist.
Oh, so we go from NOTHING WRONG to "MINOR OFFENSES, huh? Pffffttt!!!
Vitale is also under scrutiny by a federal grand jury that is looking at why Vitale and other friends of DiMasi received large payments from Cognos, the software firm that won $17.5 million in state contracts in 2006 and 2007.
Oh, the fraud is up to $17.5m, huh?
Vitale received $600,000 from Cognos's sales agent in those years, according to an investigation by Inspector General Gregory Sullivan. Formulating his responses to the various investigations is proving costly to the speaker's political account. According to records of the state's Office of Campaign & Political Finance, DiMasi last year spent more than $61,000 of campaign funds on legal fees.
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And now, for a bit of GOOD NEWS!!!!
Embattled House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, dogged by a series of influence-peddling controversies involving close friends, is considering resigning his post as early as next week, according to two members of his leadership team with knowledge of his thinking.
"He has not told anyone definitely what his plans are," said one of the members. "He is considering his options." "No final decision has been made," said the other leadership team member. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity.
WTF? Denial is a knee-jerk reaction for these guys, isn't it?
Even without that final decision in place, DiMasi's private deliberations set off pandemonium across Beacon Hill yesterday. His potential successors openly lobbied for support. Rank-and-file legislators burned the phone lines with questions and rampant speculation. DiMasi's office issued a statement referring to "State House rumors and gossip."
That's why the Globe is covering it!!!!
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At every turn, people saw signs of DiMasi's potential departure. Several DiMasi staff members have been looking for other jobs, according to two state officials who talked on the condition of anonymity. One of his aides has told people he will run for the North End state representative seat that DiMasi has held since 1978, another elected official said.
One rumor even had the clerk's office, in expectation of a resignation letter, staying open late. It wasn't. DiMasi, who was first elected speaker in 2004 after the departure of Thomas M. Finneran, has been beset by ethics questions in recent months. State and federal grand juries have been investigating payments made to friends and business associates by interests seeking favorable treatment on Beacon Hill....
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Update:
Former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson said she routinely accepted money over the last decade from friends and political supporters - upwards of $70,000, some of it cash in unmarked envelopes - without ever reporting it on her campaign reports or tax returns.
Wilkerson disclosed her acceptance of the cash and checks in a recent interview with the Globe, saying she took individual financial contributions of up to $10,000 to help pay off mortgage and federal tax debts. The contributions, she said, were approved by the state Ethics Commission, vetted by lawyers, and within state and federal laws.
How could they be APPROVED if she NEVER REPORTED THEM? LIES right in the SECOND PARAGRAPH for God's sake -- and the Globe gives her a pass!!!
The interview was the first Wilkerson has given since her arrest in October on federal bribery charges, an arrest that was accompanied by stunning FBI surveillance pictures of Wilkerson allegedly accepting wads of cash from a cooperating witness who sought a liquor license for a Roxbury nightclub.
While she declined to discuss anything about the criminal charges, her description of the highly unusual personal fundraising effort provides a possible window into her planned defense.
"I have never, ever accepted money for any act as a senator," she said. "If they're going after corruption at the State House, I would be the 999th person on the list."
They GOT YOU ON TAPE!
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They are ALL BORN LIARS, aren't they?
Related: Criminal State Senator Also a Liar
Criminal State Senator Returns For Cover-Up and links within.
Oh, one more thing: Embattled DiMasi enjoys solid support in North End
Yeah, I think I'm done with Massachusetts politics on this blog.
FUCK 'EM!!
If our citizens don't mind an anal rape, why should I waste time with it? I have more important posts to make.
