Sal DiMasi gets 8 years in prison
Former Massachusetts Speaker of the House Salvatore DiMasi will be spending 8 years in federal prison. That was the sentence, the longest ever given to a Massachusetts elected official in a corruption case, handed down today by Chief Judge Mark Wolf of Boston’s federal court, on the final day of a two-day sentencing hearing.
DiMasi, his co-defendant, lobbyist Richard McDonough, and their relatives were emotional during the 11:00 hearing. DiMasi hugged his wife, Debbie, step-daughter, and step-son, who were sitting in the front row. He put on a brave face, smiling with his lawyers and whispering to his family, “don’t cry, don’t cry.” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Fuller, Theodore Merritt, and Kristina Barclay sat at the prosecution table, and the defense table consisted of DiMasi, his lawyers, William Cintolo and Thomas Kiley, McDonough, his lawyer, Thomas Drechsler, and Martin Weinberg, a lawyer for acquitted co-defendant Richard Vitale who is now working for McDonough in the penalty and appeal phase.
Judge Wolf entered the courtroom and announced DiMasi’s and McDonough’s sentences promptly. DiMasi, he said, was to serve 8 years in federal prison with 2 years of supervised release and forfeit $65,000. McDonough is to serve 7 years with 2 years of supervised release and pay a $50,000 fine.
These sentences, Wolf pointed out, were short of the government’s recommendation of 151 months and the sentencing guideline minimum of 235 months. As of today’s hearing, Wolf did not reach a decision on giving the defendants bail during their appeals. But he did say that he would recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that DiMasi be incarcerated at Federal Medical Center Devens, as near as possible to his wife, who is fighting breast cancer. “It is undisputed that Mrs. DiMasi has a particular health problem with a certain urgency to it,” he said. The government did not object to allowing DiMasi to self-report to prison, and neither did Wolf, citing his lack of dangerousness and unlikelihood that he would flee.
In explaining the sentence, Wolf pointed out the damage that public corruption causes. “Mass paid too much for that Cognos software,” he said, referring to the computer program that DiMasi got the state to purchase in exchange for bribes from the company selling it. Public corruption “has real victims,” said Wolf. Referring to Cognos salesman Joe Lally, who pleaded guilty in the corruption case and testified against the other three defendants, he added, “Money for Lally was given priority over the elderly and scholarships…the homeless, some of the most vulnerable people.” And he dismissed the letters of support that dozens of people wrote to the court, saying, “Mr. DiMasi sold out and betrayed many of the people who wrote all those lovely letters on his behalf.” According to Wolf, DiMasi, the state’s first Italian-American speaker, “betrays the promise of America – people who come to this country lawfully to become a part of our community.” And Wolf quoted Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, saying, “nothing breeds faster than corruption.”
As he went through the paper trail of the scheme, DiMasi’s wife, Debbie, and others in the gallery shook their heads.
But not everything Wolf had to say was negative. He did say that he was going to give DiMasi 12 years, but, “I’ve come to learn more about you and your characteristics, your personal history and your good works. The former speaker came from a disadvantaged background, with parents who “could only give you love,” and, as Wolf pointed out, “You have a loving relationship with your wife and your step-daughter and your step-son, and they especially need you now….You have done some admirable things in your personal life and I don’t want to overlook them now…You did advocate for disadvantaged people.” Then, however, Wolf added, “but in my view you sold those people out.”
He continued, “You succumbed to what appears to be a culture of arrogance and impunity that was shared by many but not all of our political leaders in the past…I understand in human terms the difficulty of admitting what you’ve done to your brothers, to your wife, to your children, to all those people who admire you.” Referring to DiMasi’s speech outside the courthouse after his conviction, in which he maintained his innocence, Wolf said, “Your failure to admit what you’ve done…had consequences for…general deterrence…Some of your former colleagues in the legislature still believe that you’ve been unfairly convicted and that you’re being unfairly punished…It seems to be an attitude that if someone supports causes that you care about, then some corruption is expected.” That, said Wolf, is a “pernicious paradox.”
In determining the sentence, Wolf said that DiMasi actually benefitted from the corruption of his predecessors, Charles Flaherty and Thomas Finneran, who avoided prison time, because he wanted to avoid excessive sentencing disparities. He also mentioned Providence mayor Buddy Cianci, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison for corruption, but was apparently not deterred from committing further crimes.
Then Wolf moved on to McDonough, saying that many of the same things that he said about DiMasi applied to him as well. “You’ve been kind at times to virtual strangers,” he said. “That is a good quality.” McDonough also “showed a greater amount of contrition than Mr. DiMasi…You have a wife and a step-daughter who love you very much and who are very much dependent on you.” However, Wolf described McDonough as the “engine of the scheme” and said, “you clearly knew the scheme was illegal.”
“This case has been very dispiriting,” said Wolf. “It will undoubtedly heighten public cynicism regarding public officials in the short term…but it shows that the system can work.” He praised the jurors, one of whom missed her grandmother’s funeral to attend court, and said he “fully agrees” with their verdict. And he described the case as “not just a case of cynicism but I believe one of hope,” asking, “How many good and honest people make anonymous contributions to government that are not recognized?”
Then he concluded his remarks in an unusual and unexpected way – by praising his clerk, who is leaving after two years of service. The clerk, Wolf said, was exceptionally conscientious, working all Labor Day weekend and refusing to take paid vacation. With tears in his eyes, Wolf said, “That should give us all great hope.”
That was it for the sad and, at times, strange hearing. Although I am no DiMasi fan, it is never fun to watch someone get sentenced to 8 years in prison, especially someone his age (66). Perhaps serious jail time is what’s needed to rid Massachusetts politics of the all-too-prevalent problem of corruption, but I can’t help but feel a little bad for DiMasi. It might sound cliche, but this was truly a case with no winners.