Former Speaker of the Massachusetts House Sal Dimasi was today indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges. His indictment marks the third consecutive Speaker indicted by the federal government. From the Boston Globe:
DiMasi was charged with conspiracy, honest services mail fraud, aiding and abetting, and honest services wire fraud, in helping to award contracts to Ottawa-based Cognos, according to an indictment filed in US District Court in Boston.
Dimasi was joined by several others.
Also indicted were Richard McDonough, a lobbyist for Cognos and close friend of DiMasi; Joseph Lally, the Cognos sales agent; and Richard Vitale, a former DiMasi campaign treasurer who was also paid by Cognos.
A copy of the federal indictment is below.
Bill Manzi.com 
Damn those corrupt Republicans!!!! Oh wait…
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Your Honor,
Another speaker indicted. Another Democrat moving into the culture of corruption. Who would have guessed?
Another future WRKO employee.
Jules
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The culture of corruption is WRKO?
Oh, that’s right, they have Finneran.
-FM
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Your Honor,
Fred and Jim are moving to the dark side because there is no where else to go.
3 speaker felons in a row. Does the Bost Globe know that?
Is the present speaker under scrutiny?
Jules
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Mayor Manzi and Jules et al:
Well, at least this city does not have it bad for corrupt politicians, but when you see these people, you get the feeling, is any politician worth our trust? Your thoughts?
Gerard
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And Howie Carr….
“Oh, that’s right, they have Finneran. “
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Gerard,
I am convinced beyond a doubt that the statewide and federal politicians are given to corruption. Just look at the perks they have voted for them selves. They provide jobs for their friends and families. Governor Patric has tried to pass out 6 figure jobs to settle financial support. I don’t think there is a judge in Massachusetts that has got his job without sending campaign financing to their campaign. I can go on and on. The main problem is ourselves. We vote these guys back into office.
I propose a “vote for the other guy” campaign. The voters will NOT vote for the incumbent.The idea is to turn the legislation over, new faces. If we leave these guys in their job nothing will change. Don’t forget the Mayor is term limited.
I think Mayor Manzi is doing a real good job.
Any thoughts
Jules
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That three speakers in a row have been indicted is a sad commentary on the way this state is run. I agree with Jules that Mayor Manzi is doing an excellent job and that he is doing it under very trying circumstances. The state has to learn new ways to conduct business. It can no longer afford the kind of glad handing that has gone on for so long. The cities and towns that rely on state-aid have been made to suffer while the gravy was spread around at the state level. Shameful!
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Summer, how about staging a “vote for the other guy” for the next election. After all we put these guys in for life. Our bad.
Jules
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As bad as it is, it could get worse.
We could be run by Republicans.
Over on BlueMassGroup, they’re talking about this issue. If you think that the problem is that not enough good people run, or too many people run unopposed because they cannot raise enough money, the best idea that they’ve come up with that I saw is to eliminate or reduce the incumbent effect by making each campaign cycle start with an empty war chest. That, and once and for all get rid of any donations by lobbyists, we might see some change.
Ballot question, anyone?
Check it out, see what you think.
http://www.bluemassgroup.com/diary/15863/what-to-do
-FM
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Sorry, doesn’t do it for me.
Vote for the other guy.
So. Fred, you approve of the present legislation as now constituted?
Of course you do. Blogs probably tell you too.
Jules
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Jules:
Did Bill O’ have a segment on the Commonwealth today?
-FM
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Fred,
I don’t know what the Commonwealth is. Enlighten me.
Jules
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Jules:
Of all the jokes I could make here …
This Space Left Intentionally Blank.
-FM
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Fred,
How about one joke.
Jules
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A joke? Sure thing!
An amnesiac walks into a bar. He asks, “do I come here often?”
-FM
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