Beacon Hill Mired in Scandals

Beacon Hill is mired in patronage scandals that will cost taxpayers' money, yet, they continue to meet behind closed doors, unwilling to correct public perceptions.

Ignoring the Crime and Corruption Gambling has wrought elsewhere, Predatory Gambling continues to be Beacon Hill's focus.

How deaf can they be?

Suit filed over court patronage
By Lee Hammel TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The union representing 3,100 employees in the state's trial courts and probation service is suing former and current state officials for promoting employees based on political connections rather than merit.

The suit filed last month in federal court in Boston names not only former probation commissioner John O'Brien and his deputies - all of whom resigned in the wake of an investigation into their activities - but also Mr. O'Brien's successor, Ronald Corbett Jr. and Robert Mulligan, chief justice for administration and management of the Trial Court who complained of Mr. O'Brien's practices.

They are named because the National Association of Government Employees complained that they have not reopened promotions to undo damage to union members who were denied advancement because others were promoted based on their political connections.

The suit also names Bernard E. Dow of West Boylston, a former official of two NAGE locals, and 15 "John Does" who NAGE said all benefited from their political connections, violating the NAGE contract requiring promotion on merit.

NAGE asserts that, as a union official, Mr. Dow was supposed to report wrongdoing that violated the contract, not exploit it.

However, Mr. Dow, who retired in 2009 as assistant chief probation officer at Central District Court in Worcester, called the action a retaliation against him.

He said he had a contentious relationship with NAGE national president David J. Holway even when Mr. Dow was a union local official. But now Mr. Dow works for New England Police Benevolent Association, which is attempting to decertify NAGE and have NEPBA represent 2,100 trial court employees.

Mr. Dow, the only person below the level of deputy commissioner named in the NAGE suit, appeared as a witness and was quoted extensively in the 322-page Ware Report of November 2010 that delved into apparent instances of undue political influence and alleged corruption in the state Probation Department.

The report recounted his testimony that he was denied promotions about six times between 1976 and 2005, despite superior education and experience.

It said, "I knew that I was not going to get that job on my qualifications alone . So I knew or believed that I needed some political help to get it."

He called the office of House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and spoke to Danny Toscano, a DiMasi aide he knew, before interviewing for openings for first assistant chief probation officer and assistant chief probation officer. Mr. Toscano promised him "We'll work on it."

Although no one from that office solicited funds, Mr. Dow told the independent counsel, "he began contributing to DiMasi in the belief that this would assist in securing DiMasi's assistance in his promotion," the report said.

He gave $500 to DiMasi's election committee on Sept. 26, 2004, and Feb. 4, 2005, during the interview process. Mr. Dow said that Mr. Toscano called him the day before the final interview for the jobs to tell him that he was not going to get "the first assistant chief probation officer's job because it's already spoken for, but you're going to get the assistant chief probation officer's job."

He soon got the job and contributed a total of $1,600 to Mr. DiMasi's committees through December 2005, according to the Ware report.

"Dow told us that he was 'appalled' at the fact that he felt he needed to" make contributions to secure a promotion. While he said he does not mind $20 or $25 contributions, "I don't like contributing, OK, large sums of money to anybody other than to my family, my children."

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Dow said the Ware report did not include all of his 3-1/2 hours of testimony, including that all of the payments were in connection with DiMasi campaign events he attended. Mr. Dow said the September 2004 contribution was made before the posting in December 2004 of the two jobs for which he sought help securing.

He said there is nothing illegal about contributing to a politician whose policies he liked. And Mr. Dow said that when he was a union official, NAGE had complimented him for knowing so many politicians and said that contributions could help both his union membership and himself.

He said he already had a relationship with the speaker, having once resolved a probation case to the satisfaction of Mr. DiMasi, who was representing the probationer as a private lawyer.

After that, Mr. DiMasi once called him personally to say that he was able to shift surplus state funds from some courts to others, such as the one in Worcester.

He said, "I don't believe that Sal DiMasi would not have helped if I hadn't contributed."

Asked yesterday whether the contribution was to ensure that help, Mr. Dow said, "It wouldn't hurt."

Mr. Holway, the NAGE national president, said, "We actually encourage people to be involved politically. But we've never suggested that anybody bribe somebody to get a job."

Mr. Holway said that Mr. Dow's bringing up his work against NAGE is a "smoke screen. There's literally thousands of court employees who chose not to participate in the political process.

"And for anybody who was a union official at the time to conspire and scheme to grab an advantage in a process that he's supposed to be defending as a union official is mind boggling. That's what the suit is about."