On the 27th of January, Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, “retired” from the Statehouse after having been recently re-elected Speaker. DiMasi, is said to have resigned over a slight incident involving a lobbyist and some ticket-scalping legislation.
Proposed Legislation approved by both Attorney General, Martha Coakley and Governor Deval Patrick, calls for ethic reform in the Massachusetts body politic with high penalties for those caught taking bribes (see Lobbyists). This just weeks before DiMasi resigned - makes one wonder what took so long? Patrick, who is up for re-election in 2012, and DiMasi had butted heads over the Governors proposed Casinos Legislation - , DeMasi prevailed at the time – and now, with DiMasi’s “retirement”, that legislation may become a reality. Convenient ethics reform from a State well known for its lack thereof.
Former Massachusetts House Speaker Thomas Finneran, exited the office due to a conviction of obstruction of justice. Finneran is now a radio talk show host on on Boston’s WRKO, and is frequently referred to fellow WRKO host Howie Carr, as “Felon Finneran”. One thing is certain, Massachusetts, a state controlled by Democrat lawmakers, has continued to produce one scandal after another; and that pattern does not promise to change anytime soon.
The Boston Globe is noting that the new Speaker, Bob DeLeo, is “cut from the same cloth” as DiMasi. In the article, it was suggested that the House was run in a similar fashion to a “crime family”. What is of interest is that the The Globe, a longtime supporter of Boston’s top ( ,politico’s, (the Bulger’s for instance) – would write such a savvy “connect the dots - criminal family like atmosphere at the Statehouse” article regarding a man (DiMasi), who they so long supported. Of interest, how the Globe treats DeLeo, should he decide against supporting one of the Governor Patrick’s “favored legislation”. Ethics or expediency?
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