Corruption

News, Politics

Star witness a ‘high roller’ Cognos regional manager says strategy meetings held at casinos

/

Star witness a ‘high roller’Cognos regional manager says strategy meetings held at casinosBy Laurel J. Sweet  |   Tuesday, May 10, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics Photo by Matt Stone Salesmen for the global software firm at the center of ex-House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi’s corruption trial held strategy meetings at glitzy casinos on behalf of a company that boasted former Big Apple Mayor Rudy Giuliani as an advocate, a former executive testified yesterday. Christopher Quinter, who was a regional manager for Cognos — now part of IBM — told jurors he once saw sales rep Joseph P. Lally Jr., the government’s star witness against DiMasi, casually slap $10,000 down on a roulette wheel during a business trip to Foxwoods. “He was a high roller,” said Quinter on his second day of intense cross-examination by attorneys for DiMasi’s co-defendants, accountant Richard Vitale and lobbyist Richard “Dickie” McDonough. And that wasn’t all Quinter had to say about Lally, his go-to guy on multimillion-dollar state contracts for Cognos that DiMasi is accused of pocketing $65,000 in bribes to push through. During testimony not heard by jurors, Quinter said he warned the U.S. Attorney’s Office during his pre-trial preparation that Lally “was a bull-(expletive).” Lally pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy and fraud charges in exchange for his testimony against DiMasi, Vitale and McDonough and the word of prosecutors to recommend he serve no more than three years in prison. Already a lightning rod of controversy, it’s unclear when he’ll be put on the witness stand. DiMasi’s defense team will get their crack at Quinter today. Also yesterday, during questioning by Vitale’s lawyer Martin Weinberg, Quinter said former South Carolina Gov. James “Jim” Hodges and Giuliani worked for Cognos in advisory capacities. “You wanted a deep Rolodex. You wouldn’t want to hire anybody who didn’t know anyone. You always needed an audience with the key decision-maker. It was the norm in the industry,” Quinter said of Cognos’ attraction to A-list advance men. Giuliani, a potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, declined comment. Hodges, who now runs a business and government-relations consulting firm, confirmed for the Herald he was on “a modest retainer” for a couple years, well after leaving office in 2003. “They had a very good product,” he said of Cognos. “The folks I dealt with were very straight up.” Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1336808

Justice, Police, Crime, Law and Public Safety, News

Police call Suffolk student project ‘cop-hate baiting’

/

Police call Suffolk student project ‘cop-hate baiting’ ‘REGRETTABLE’: This flier for a Suffolk student project drew the ire of Boston police. By Michele McPhee  |   Monday, April 25, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage Boston Police brass and union officials are furious at a Suffolk University Law School student project that the patrolmen’s union is calling “cop-hate baiting at its worst,’’ while the university has moved to distance itself from the initiative. Fliers for the “Police Misconduct Documentation Project” and the “Police Complaint Assistance Project” were posted at the university’s campus, asking: “Have you been abused, brutalized or mistreated by the Boston Police … ?” Late last week, after an inquiry by the Herald, Suffolk University ordered the fliers taken down, saying the collaboration between Suffolk Law students, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Boston Black Men’s Leadership Group should not have used the law school’s logo. Suffolk University spokesman Greg Gatlin said, “The university does not take a position on public policy issues that are addressed in the many academic programs throughout the institution.’’ Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association President Tom Nee said, “We don’t have a problem with righteous complaints, and the department has several transparent ways to file a complaint. But this project is cop-hate baiting at its worst and the language on the flier is offensive. This is essentially ‘how to sue the BPD.’ ” BPD Commissioner Ed Davis called the project a disservice to both police and students. “The department thoroughly investigates legitimate criticisms and encourages community feedback. We enjoy a strong collaboration with local colleges and universities, therefore a school project intimating a widespread presence of misconduct does a disservice to both the student population and the officers,’’ Davis said. Suffolk University professor Karen Blum of the Rappaport Law Center — whose pro bono program pairs students with the ACLU to file police-abuse complaints — said the language on the fliers is “regrettable” and had them removed. “The Police Complaint Assistance Project is not a seminar in how to sue police officers, nor is it meant to be an indictment of the Boston Police Department,’’ Blum said. “The school has removed the fliers because we certainly would not endorse the word brutalized.” Blum said the project pairs students with people who have police-abuse complaints solely for the purpose of navigating the police department’s Internal Affairs Bureau, not to encourage civil suits against the city. ACLU lawyer Sarah Wunsch said police are sometimes unresponsive to complaints and that people are sometimes afraid to come forward, problems the project is designed to address. Jamal Crawford of the Boston Black Men’s Leadership Group said, “We know that there is harassment and intimidation going on. But what gets to Internal Affairs is a very small percentage of what’s happening. There are some great cops out there but there are some … officers who break the law and blur the line of civil rights.” Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1333026

News, Politics

Lantigua is focus of federal, state probe Corruption allegations for Lawrence mayor

/

Lantigua is focus of federal, state probeCorruption allegations for Lawrence mayor “I do want to stress that I remain committed to the job that I was elected to do,” Lantigua said in a statement April 4.By Sean P. Murphy and Maria SacchettiGlobe Staff / April 23, 2011 Federal and state authorities are investigating Mayor William Lantigua of Lawrence on possible corruption and other wrongdoing, intensifying controversy surrounding the leader of one of the state’s most financially troubled cities, according to law enforcement officials and one person who was interviewed by the FBI. The FBI, the Essex district attorney, and other agencies are looking into Lantigua’s dealings with companies that work for the city and into his ongoing public battle with the Lawrence Police Department, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officials are particularly interested in the mayor’s control over which companies get towing business with the city and who is permitted to operate taxicabs. One person who has been repeatedly interviewed by state and federal investigators said the agents were very interested in Lantigua’s financial connections, if any, to half a dozen bars and nightclubs, some of which opened since he took office in 2010. Lantigua’s wife has served on the Licensing Commission that controls which establishments can sell alcohol; police say that Lantigua regularly frequents downtown clubs such as Centro. FULL STORY HEREhttp://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/04/23/lawrence_mayor_is_focus_of_federal_state_probe/

Justice, Police, Crime, Law and Public Safety, News

Pace student’s kin file wrongful death lawsuit

/

Pace student’s kin file wrongful death lawsuit Photo by Steven Senne By Marie Szaniszlo and Laura Crimaldi  |   Thursday, April 21, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage The Easton family of a slain Pace University football player said a wrongful death suit filed yesterday in federal court, accusing a New York police officer of “reckless disregard for human life” in his shooting, is intended to force the release of information on the case. The lawsuit claims Pleasantville Police officer Aaron Hess violated Danroy “D.J.” Henry Jr.’s civil rights when Henry was shot outside a local bar. “The one thing we want most, we can’t have,” Danroy Henry Sr. told the Herald yesterday. “We will never have our son back. But this gives us subpoena power to gain access to information we have been denied.” The family is seeking Hess’ testimony about the shooting, his personnel file, 911 recordings and video from businesses at the scene the night of the shooting, he said. The suit, which also names the village of Pleasantville as a defendant, seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Henry, a junior at Pace, was leaving a homecoming game celebration at the bar Oct. 17, when he was shot. Neither Hess nor Village Administrator Patricia Dwyer could be reached yesterday for comment. Authorities said Henry, 20, was fatally shot when he ignored police instructions to stop his vehicle and headed directly at Hess, forcing him onto the hood. The officer fired four shots to protect himself, police said, before he was thrown to the ground. But several witnesses disputed that account, saying Henry drove away because an officer had ordered him to leave the fire lane. Those witnesses said Hess jumped in front of the vehicle, and Henry did not have enough time to stop. Henry was handcuffed and put on the sidewalk, where he lay dying, according to their testimony. A grand jury declined to indict Hess. But the U.S. Justice Department is investigating. Earlier this month, the Pleasantville Police Benevolent Association named Hess, who underwent knee surgery, “Officer of the Year,” an honor that outraged Henry’s family. “It speaks to the level of arrogance we have had to deal with,” Henry’s father said. “One has to wonder if this group sees themselves as above the laws they’re sworn to uphold.” Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1332289

Economy & Business, News

Questioning corporate taxes ‘Offshoring’ costs each Bay Stater $608 a year

/

Questioning corporate taxes‘Offshoring’ costs each Bay Stater $608 a year By Jerry Kronenberg  |   Tuesday, April 19, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Business & Markets Photo by Faith NinivaggiLocal activists want Goldman Sachs to pay more tax. Dozens of protesters staged a Tax Day rally outside the Wall Street giant’s Boston offices yesterday, opposing loopholes they say Goldman and other corporations use to avoid taxes. “We think profitable corporations should be paying their fair share of taxes,” said Deirdre Cummings of U.S. Public Interest Research Groups, the activist organization that co-sponsored protests with the group MoveOn.org at corporate offices around the country. The organizations also released a study estimating individual taxpayers forked over an extra $100 billion in 2010 due to corporate “offshoring,” in which companies book profits at foreign subsidiaries to minimize U.S. tax bills. U.S. PIRG and MoveOn calculated that offshoring added $608 to the average Bay State tax filer’s bill this year. The study found that Goldman, which didn’t return calls seeking comment, made $2 billion in 2010, but used 29 foreign subsidiaries to help cut its U.S. corporate taxes to just $14 million. Other companies paid even less. General Electric has faced a firestorm of protests in recent days following word that it paid zero 2010 corporate taxes despite booking $5.1 billion of profits in America alone. “We think it’s important that the public realizes there’s a shifting of the tax burdens going on,” said Cummings, whose group left Goldman a mock $168 million tax bill. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1331783

News

Drug smuggling charge against Mass. jail officer

/

Drug smuggling charge against Mass. jail officer By Associated Press  |   Monday, April 18, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage BOSTON – A Massachusetts corrections officer has been arrested on allegations that he attempted to smuggle heroin to sell to inmates at a medium-security prison near Boston. Ronald McGinn Jr. of Bridgewater was charged Monday with possession of heroin with intent to distribute at MCI-Norfolk. U.S. District Attorney Carmen Ortiz says the 40-year-old sent text messages and discussed with an undercover FBI agent the amounts he would smuggle into the prison and fees he would charge to do so. He was arrested Monday afternoon in possession of 28 grams of heroin. The investigation began after a Massachusetts Department of Corrections officer told the FBI that someone was smuggling contraband to the facility about 25 miles southwest of Boston. It was not immediately clear if McGinn has legal representation. He faces up to 20 years in prison on conviction. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1331722

News, Politics

This photo of Mass. speakers speaks volumes

/

This photo of Mass. speakers speaks volumes LINEUP: From left, former House speakers Salvatore F. DiMasi, Thomas M. Finneran and Charles F. Flaherty, and current House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo attend funeral services for former state Rep. Edward LeLacheur last summer in Lowell.Photo by Lowell SunBy Howie Carr  |   Friday, April 15, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Columnists This is one of those pictures that’s worth a thousand words — the four most recent speakers of the Massachusetts House, together, in what you might call . . . a lineup. From left, in the shades, Sal DiMasi, indicted, about to stand trial on federal charges of accepting $65,000 in bribes. Beside Sal is ex-Speaker Tom “Felon” Finneran, convicted of obstruction of justice. Next to Finneran, yet another convicted felon speaker, Good Time Charlie Flaherty. He went down on an income-tax evasion rap. And finally, the current speaker, Bobby “Slots” DeLeo, the guy whose godson was hired after a nationwide search as the youngest chief probation officer in state history at age 27. Speaker Slots is a high school classmate of Felon Finneran’s — what a coincidence. This photo was taken by a Lowell Sun photographer last summer at a former state rep’s funeral in Lowell. I offer it today in evidence for the defense in the upcoming trial of United States of America v. Salvatore DiMasi, et al. Sal’s defense team, which the taxpayers are picking up the tab for, wants to call a bunch of so-called expert witnesses to “explain” how things work on Beacon Hill between lobbyists and solons. The feds argue that given the evidence against Sal, this is a waste of time. I agree, especially since we have this photo — what more do you need to know about Beacon Hill? But I’d be happy to appear as a witness. I’d bring in a giant blow-up of the photo and a pointer, which I would use to ID each hack. If there are any blacks on the jury, I’d try to mention that two corrupt black politicians from Boston — Dianne Wilkerson and Chuck “Superfly” Turner — are currently serving hard time, while Flaherty and Finneran didn’t do a day. Of course Sal’s $125-an-hour attorneys would object, but I’d have planted the seed: The State House — crime and no punishment, unless you’re black. No justice, no peace. Some might argue that it’s unfair to include DeLeo in this rogue’s gallery, because he hasn’t even been indicted. But in January in the House chambers, DeLeo willingly posed for photos with all of these same sleazy, corrupt mentors of his. I asked for those photos — I figure they’re public record. But DeLeo stonewalled me. I’ll bet if I were some racetrack tout in a leisure suit talking out of the side of my mouth and smoking a cigar, he’d have given them to me — in frames. So now I have basically the same photo — better late than never. Speaking of which, Sal, it’s not too late to change your plea to guilty. You’ll make out just fine. You’re a corrupt white guy from Boston. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1330858

News

Revere police officer charged with lying to FBI agents probing corruption

/

Revere police officer charged with lying to FBI agents probing corruptionThe FBI said in court papers that these images show Revere police Officer Todd Randall collecting $200 in cash from a confidential informant.Posted by John Ellement April 12, 2011 03:22 PMBy John M. Guilfoil and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff A Revere police officer who was allegedly recorded on both video and audio as he collected a $200 cash bribe while on duty, in uniform, and in a marked police cruiser was arrested today on charges of lying to FBI agents. Officer Todd Randall is due to appear in US District Court in Boston this afternoon following his arrest earlier today on one count of lying to federal agents, according to court records. According to an FBI affidavit filed in court, Randall met with a person cooperating with the FBI in 2010 and agreed to help quash a pending criminal case in Chelsea District Court in return for a cash payment.

News

Ex-Veterans Department boss arrested

/

Ex-Veterans Department boss arrested By Marie Szaniszlo  |   Saturday, April 9, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage The former head administrative clerk for Boston’s Veterans’ Services Department was arrested yesterday after he was indicted on charges of demanding kickbacks from two women, said Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley. The indictment charges 57-year-old Joseph H. Miller of Beverly with larceny, extortion and multiple other charges. According to officials, Miller’s scheme allegedly began in November 2009, when he approached a woman and proposed she work as a health care aide to her mother, a vet’s widow, using another person’s license. Miller allegedly then told her to give him up to $1,700 per paycheck, and when the woman balked, he suggested he could withhold her mother’s benefits. Officials said a second woman, a certified nurse’s aide, also provided care through the department, and Miller allegedly inflated her time sheets to increase his take. The scheme came to prosecutors’ attention last summer, when the two victims contacted a lawyer. The city has hired a special administrator to oversee daily operations at Veterans’ Services and is in the process of identifying a new department head.spokeswoman said. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1329438

News

Lawyer: Former speaker Sal DiMasi could lose home

/

Lawyer: Former speaker Sal DiMasi could lose home Photo by FileBy Associated Press  |   Thursday, April 7, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics Attorneys for former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi want the jury in his upcoming federal corruption trial to know he could lose his North End condo if convicted. Thomas Kiley, who is representing DiMasi, confirmed he filed documents with the court arguing that given the fact that jurors will be determining whether DiMasi’s home must be forfeited, there is no reason to block him from presenting certain relevant facts. Among those is the fact the 220 Commercial Street in Boston is the residence of DiMasi’s family. According to the Boston Globe, prosecutors responded by arguing that Kiley’s motion was an attempt to play on jurors’ heartstrings in the hopes they will find him not guilty regardless of the evidence. The trial is scheduled to start on April 26. Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1329147Related Articles:

Scroll to Top