The accountant to and campaign treasurer of Speaker Sal Dimasi has been indicted by Attorney General Martha Coakley on charges related to lobbying activity and illegal campaign contributions. From the Boston Globe:

Richard Vitale is accused of secretly pushing legislation on behalf of the ticket brokers, which included directly lobbying DiMasi and House Speaker Pro Tempore Thomas Petrolati on several occasions. In one instance, Vitale forwarded e-mails from the ticket brokers to a personal e-mail address of DiMasi, according to a press release issued by the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley. Investigators also allege that Vitale used a courier service to deliver printed copies of e-mails from the ticket brokers to Petrolati’s office.

“Investigators found that on at least one occasion, Vitale delivered an e-mail which requested specific changes to the bill, which the House of Representatives made before passing the bill,” the press release says.

The indictment is a blow to Speaker Dimasi, and comes on the heels of the convening of a federal grand jury to look at some of these same issues. The full text of the press release by Attorney General Martha Coakley is below.

Attorney General Martha Coakley Announces 10 Grand Jury Indictments Against Richard Vitale for Lobbying and Campaign Finance Violations
BOSTON – Today, as part of an ongoing investigation, a Suffolk County Grand Jury returned 10 indictments against Richard Vitale and WN Advisors, LLC, an entity owned and controlled by him, for violations of state lobbying and campaign finance laws. Vitale, age 63, of Boston, is charged with failing to file timely registration statements for 2007 and 2008 (2 counts), making an illegal agreement for compensation contingent on the passage of legislation (1 count), and making campaign contributions in excess of the $200 maximum per year for legislative agents (4 counts). WN Advisors is charged with failing to file timely registration statements in 2007 and 2008 (2 counts) and making an illegal agreement for compensation contingent on the passage of legislation (1 count).
After a referral by the Secretary of State’s Office in June 2008, the Attorney General’s Office began an investigation of potential lobbying law violations by Vitale and WN Advisors. WN Advisors was paid a total of $60,000 by the Massachusetts Association of Ticket Brokers (“MATB”). MATB hired Vitale and his firm to promote legislation regulating the resale of tickets to sporting and other entertainment events. In October 2007, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed ticket resale legislation; the bill did not, however, pass the Senate.

Under state law, a person “who for compensation or reward does any act to promote, oppose or influence legislation” is considered a “legislative agent” who must file an annual registration statement with the Secretary of State’s Office and pay a filing fee. Legislative agents must also file detailed, itemized reports twice a year listing all campaign contributions, lobbyist expenditures, and all bill numbers of legislation that they acted to promote or influence. An entity that employs legislative agents must also file annual registration statements, file semi-annual detailed reports and pay a filing fee. All of this information is then made available to the public on the Secretary of State’s website.

During the course of the investigation, authorities discovered that Vitale communicated directly with two of the highest-ranking members of the House of Representatives, Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and Speaker Pro Tempore Thomas Petrolati, on multiple occasions in an attempt to promote ticket resale legislation on behalf of MATB. Investigators found that Vitale arranged for and attended meetings with those Representatives and a member of MATB, and that Vitale also allegedly met privately with the Representatives to discuss proposed legislation. In addition, investigators learned that Vitale used a courier service on multiple occasions to deliver printed copies of emails from the representative of MATB to Representative Petrolati’s office and Vitale also allegedly forwarded emails from the representative of the MATB to a personal email address of Speaker DiMasi. Specifically, investigators found that on at least one occasion, Vitale delivered an email which requested specific changes to the bill, which the House of Representatives made before passing the bill.

Investigators found that Vitale deliberately concealed his role in promoting legislation by arranging for meetings with the Representatives in his accounting firm office and other private locations. Authorities learned that on at least one occasion, Vitale specifically instructed a member of MATB not to disclose the role of WN Advisors.

Vitale and WN Advisors failed to file registration statements for 2007, and they filed untimely registration statements for 2008 in May 2008 only after being instructed to do so by the Secretary of State.

Investigators also discovered that Vitale signed an agreement on behalf of WN Advisors with MATB that included a provision that WN Advisors would receive additional compensation ($20,000) upon the final passage of favorable ticket resale legislation. Massachusetts law prohibits any person from making an agreement for compensation that is contingent upon the passage or defeat of legislation.

During the time period that Vitale allegedly actively promoted legislation and WN Advisors received payments from MATB, Vitale made four separate campaign contributions to state legislators in excess of $200. Massachusetts law prohibits legislative agents from contributing more than $200 per year to any elected official’s campaign committee.

The maximum penalty for failure to make required lobbyist filings and for making illegal contingent compensation agreements is $5,000. Thus, Vitale and WN Advisors face a combined total of up to $30,000 in fines if convicted on all counts involving those provisions. The maximum penalty for making campaign contributions in excess of the limit for lobbyists is imprisonment for not more than six months or a fine of $500. Therefore, Vitale faces up to two years imprisonment or additional fines of up to $2,000 if convicted on all four campaign finance counts.

The Grand Jury returned the indictments this afternoon. Vitale will be summonsed to Suffolk Superior Court for arraignment on January 5, 2009.

Officials from the Secretary of State’s Office, the Inspector General’s Office, the State Ethics Commission, and the Office of Campaign and Political Finance assisted with this investigation. Vitale, Caturano & Co., Ltd., the accounting firm that formerly employed Vitale, also cooperated with the Attorney General’s Office. Vitale is no longer affiliated with the firm.