State Taxpayers and Special Elections
"Former DiMasi aides still on House payroll; Employees given office, but duties are unclear" by Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | March 19, 2009
Eleven staff members of former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi have continued collecting state paychecks and health benefits even though DiMasi resigned under a cloud in January and they have no clearly defined responsibilities at the State House, state officials said.
The arrangement demonstrates how staff members of top lawmakers are sometimes treated more favorably than other state workers whose jobs are eliminated....
Here's why: A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Taxpayers have been paying more than $14,000 a week to keep DiMasi's former aides on the state payroll. The staff members include DiMasi's former chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, policy aides, his former press spokesman, and lower-level administrative secretaries.
And yet they are slashing and burning state services while tossing tax dollars away to corporations and Hollywood!!!
DiMasi's successor, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, has given the staff members a fourth-floor office. DeLeo's spokesman, Seth Gitell, could not say whether they show up on a daily basis or what they do when they are there.
New speaker, nothing changes. Also see:
"Robert A. DeLeo created an additional House committee chairmanship that carries a $7,500 stipend on top of legislators' base salary of $61,440"
So the new speaker is a piggish sack of shit, too, huh?
One of the staff members, who would only comment on the condition that she not be named, said she arrives every day and "does whatever is asked of her."
Another, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aides are helping DeLeo with the transition, but Gitell would not verify whether they had any such duties. Two of the staff members are community liaisons who will continue to perform their regular duties until a new representative is elected to succeed DiMasi in June, Gitell said.
"Some staff members of the former speaker are here during a traditional period of transition," Gitell said in an e-mailed statement. "Others remain to provide constituent services for the people of the Third Suffolk District."
He said the payments to the former staff members "will come to an end," but he would not give a specific date. Yesterday the door to Room 436 was locked at 4 p.m. after two of the staff members, former communications director David Guarino and former deputy communications director Victoria Bonney, left the office. This week Guarino and Bonney announced they have taken new jobs. They will stop collecting checks from the state this week. They declined to comment, referring questions to Gitell.
I guess we just found out the names of the unidentifieds, no?
Although aides of legislators who lose or vacate their seats often stay behind until the end of the term to work with constituents, the concept of paying people after their jobs are eliminated is virtually unheard of in the rest of state government. A spokesman for Governor Deval Patrick said it has never kept anyone on the payroll after jobs were eliminated.
I wouldn't be so sure of that; after all, this is Massachusetts and the Boston Globe.
Gitell said aides to other former House speakers remained on the payroll long after their bosses departed....
Hey, hey, hey, let's not get all defensive, guy, and start exuburantly pointing fingers at the other guys in the past, huh? We are here now.
The state is paying the former DiMasi staff members when thousands of other Massachusetts residents have lost their jobs because of the national recession and skyrocketing unemployment rates.
The "STATE" in this case is YOU, TAXPAYER!!!
"Nobody is doing anything to prolong the relationship with the building," said one of the former DiMasi aides. "We are available to do whatever they want us to do. We would still be there, except for the political circumstances. We're hard-working people, like everyone else. All we want is to be able to move on and not be in the news."
Well, I can understand the media complaint, anywho. The rest, aaaaaahhhhhh.....
Several of the aides did not return phone calls seeking comment. Others had unlisted phone numbers and could not be reached for comment.
Really tried to track 'em down, huh? Then how come there are so many things the paper never looks in to?
Other of DiMasi's former aides are already in new jobs, working either for DeLeo or the House Ways and Means Committee, including two executive secretaries, a researcher, a receptionist, and a policy adviser. One former DiMasi adviser, Christie Hager, who was chief counsel on healthcare, has taken a job at Harvard, Gitell said....
Republicans and conservative watchdogs yesterday said paying former staff members who have no clear duties sends the wrong message to beleaguered taxpayers facing possible tax hikes, including a proposal to increase the gas tax, and service cuts.
"There should be no talk of tax increases until we eliminate obvious inefficiencies such as we are witnessing here," said David Tuerck, executive director of the Beacon Hill Institute. "This is just one of many instances in which the state is wasting money. It's our position that the state needs to address waste and excessive costs before there is any discussion of a tax increase."
Representative Lewis Evangelidis, a Republican from Holden, said lawmakers seem detached from real-world concerns of their constituents.
"People outside the building are really hurting right now,' he said. "I've never seen people so insecure about their situation and the country as a whole. When they see . . . these types of abuses, it frustrates people. They say, 'We're tightening our belts and saving every penny, and look at the way they're acting up there on Beacon Hill.' We're not living up to the standard that everyone else is."
This is WHY I'm a REPUBLICAN amongst a SEA of Massachusetts DemocraPs! It's not much better, but it's better.
But Representative Daniel Bosley, Democrat of North Adams [and] a staunch DiMasi ally, said that keeping a speaker's staff in place during a transition period is a longstanding tradition that makes sense....
How come the as-far-west-as-you-can-be, Big Boz always gets quoted in the Globe when I never even see my state reps name? See: The Big Boss Bosley
Oh.
--more--"
So WHO is getting the LOOT and HOW MUCH?
"Who's still getting paid
Eleven staff members of former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi have continued receiving state paychecks, even though they no longer have clearly defined job responsibilities following DiMasi's resignation on Jan. 27. Here is a list of the staff members with their annual rate of pay.
Jason Aluia, deputy chief of staff: $79,500
Victoria Bonney, deputy communications director: $50,000
Maryann Calia, chief of staff: $110,558
Diane Dockery, executive secretary: $58,300
David Guarino, communications director: $97,538
Deborah Ho, community liaison: $39,750
Judy Laster, chief counsel: $89,888
Trecia Puopolo, community liaison: $37,100
Kathleen Quinn, special assistant: $68,900
Daniel Toscano, chief legal counsel: $103,350
Louis Cataldo, part-time aide: $20,092
--more--"Oh, you'll love this added insult!
FLASHBACK:
"On way out, DiMasi left pay raises, promotions; Staff salaries hiked $65,000" by Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | March 13, 2009
And look who is YUKKING it up!
Robert A. DeLeo (right) succeeded Salvatore F. DiMasi as speaker, raising pay as he took office. (BILL GREENE/GLOBE STAFF/FILE)
Yup, the GOOD GUVERNER himself!
What was a bad week for Salvatore F. DiMasi when he resigned as House speaker turned out to be a great week for a dozen House staff members, who got raises and promotions on DiMasi's way out the door.
On his second to last day in office in January, DiMasi boosted the pay of 10 House employees, including his driver, Daniel Petrigno, whom he made a court officer, one of a cadre of uniformed men and women whose primary responsibility is keeping order in the House.
He gave thousands of dollars in raises to two other court officers and to staff members working for favored committee chairman. The pay increases ranged from 4 to 66 percent and cost $65,000.
That tally increased when his successor, Representative Robert A. DeLeo, assumed office the same week and immediately gave his entire staff raises, some as high as 56 percent. In the following weeks, he hiked the pay of several staff members working for his new leadership team....
Some questioned whether it was appropriate for an outgoing speaker to be so generous, especially given the ethical cloud hanging over DiMasi when he left, or for any raises to be given at all, in such grim economic times.
Answer: NO FRIKKIN' WAY!!!
"Now is clearly not the time for us in government to be seeking pay raises, " said Representative Karyn Polito, Democrat of Shrewsbury. "I'm hearing daily from individuals and families who are suffering more than ever. It is incumbent upon government officials to demonstrate a connection to our constituents. We may need to consider salary freezes, hiring freezes, and furloughs as a way to balance our budget during this crisis."
Maybe some tar, feathers, and a dunk in the harbor would get to them.
DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell defended the raises for aides of the new speaker and the new leadership team, saying in an e-mailed statement that they "reflect entirely new jobs and expanded responsibilities."
These guys NEED a DUNK!!!!
"Robert A. DeLeo created an additional House committee chairmanship that carries a $7,500 stipend on top of legislators' base salary of $61,440"
So the new speaker is a lying sack of shit, too, huh?
Combined with increases DiMasi gave out in spurts over the past year, the two House speakers bumped staff pay more than $900,000 over the past 11 months as the national economy began a precipitous decline and the state confronted an ever greater deficit.
Yup, BUMPED THEIR OWN PAY a MILLION DOLLARS while they are RAISING TAXES and GUTTING SERVICES for the rest of us!! Welcome to Massachusetts, land of the liberal DemocraPs!!!!!!!!!!!
DiMasi could not be reached for comment.
What, he out playing golf?
Many of the increases in staff salaries were made as lawmakers themselves were receiving an automatic 5 percent pay raise in January that added more than $500,000 to the House payroll. Just 17 out of 160 representatives, including Polito, declined the raises, citing the weak economy and the financial struggles of their constituents.
And may GOD BLESS THEM and DAMN the REST!! I'll be WAITING in HELL for them where I will FEAST UPON their DISEMBOWELED ENTRAILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeLeo was not among those 17.
Of COURSE NOT!!!!! Meet the new scum, same as the old scum!!!
In his last days in office, DiMasi gave raises to aides of Representative Joseph F. Wagner, Democrat of Chicopee, and Representative John J. Binienda, Democrat of Worcester, according to payroll records....
"The hardest thing about being a chairman is keeping your staff happy," said Binienda, who now chairs the Rules Committee.
Yeah, FUCK the VOTERS and RESIDENTS you are supposed to be WORKING FOR!
Wagner said the small raises his aides received were more than offset by cuts he made in other parts of his office budget....
Oh, that's rich!!! That bit of Orwellism will fatten you up plenty! Take a huge bite of that lie and choke it down, readers. So if he didn't get the rise we can't afford, the taxpayers could have saved even less.
You know, I'll do the job for $40,000, how about that? If it ain't enough for you shitters, GET OUT!!!!!!!!!
But Representative Daniel E. Bosley, Democrat of North Adams and one of DiMasi's closest allies, said he specifically did not ask for staff raises, though his employees deserved them.
"We're in fiscal crisis," said Bosley, who chaired the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. "We were down two people and didn't ask for permission to hire because we were in a fiscal crisis. My kids were working 12 or 14 hours a day. I would have loved to have given them something, but I chose not to do that."
Spoken like a true joo, Bos: The Big Boss Bosley
Then why write in a biotech $$$ pipeline from state tax coffers to Israel, dude?
Since his resignation, DiMasi too has been collecting checks compliments of the Commonwealth. Last month he started receiving a state pension of just under $60,000 a year, according to the State Retirement Board. The benefit is based on 33 years and three months of service. He received credit for a full year of service in 2009, even though he resigned in January.
Translation: the fat, slimy shit grabbed two more handfuls of cash before he stopped "serving" you, taxpayer!!
--more--"
Update:
"DeLeo to terminate DiMasi aides 'in relatively short order'" by Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | March 20, 2009
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo yesterday said aides to predecessor Salvatore F. DiMasi who have continued to receive paychecks and benefits since he resigned in January will be terminated "in relatively short order." He would not say, however, when that will be.
He also said he is reviewing all House personnel, including Carol Aloisi, the $60,000-a-year House staffer who was assigned last September by DiMasi to the vacant office of a former lawmaker several months after she left the State House. Aloisi, the sister of Transportation Secretary James Aloisi, had no apparent duties for the roughly six months she held the post.
Related: The First Brother and Sister of Massachusetts
Carol Aloisi "has been a good, valuable worker here in the State House to my knowledge, except maybe for what I've read in your paper this week," DeLeo said.
The Globe reported Thursday that 11 former DiMasi staffers have been collecting checks since DiMasi left amid an ethics controversy in late January. DeLeo assigned the staffers a State House office, where some said they have been helping with the transition. Seth Gitell, DeLeo's spokesman, could not confirm that they had any duties.
It has cost taxpayers more than $14,000 a week to keep the former aides on the payroll. The staffers include DiMasi's former chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, policy aides, former press spokesman, and lower-level administrative secretaries.
DiMasi, who declined to comment for previous stories, yesterday issued a statement through his lawyer, Thomas Kiley, defending the ongoing payments.
Their experience and knowledge, he wrote, "provides continuity and the professionalism that is so necessary to the work of the Legislature. I am justifiably proud of the staff I assembled and it would be a shame were they all to be forced out of public service because of my personal decision."
--more--"Sense any regret, remorse, or apologies there? I didn't.
