The Freedom Bulletin

Former speaker of the Massachusetts legislature Salvatore DiMasi is on trial in federal court, along with two associates, on charges of conspiracy, fraud, and extortion. The events and people involved in the case can be confusing, so here is a list of the major players to help you keep them straight:

Salvatore “Sal” F. DiMasi – Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 2004 to 2007. He is charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and extortion under color of official right for allegedly accepting payments in exchange for awarding $20 million in state contracts to the software company Cognos.

Richard “Dickie” McDonough – A lobbyist at Cognos, who is charged with taking kickbacks for his role in helping them get the state contracts.

Richard Vitale - An accountant, consultant, and friend of DiMasi, who is charged with taking kickbacks from Cognos for his role in helping them get the state contracts.

Joseph Lally – A Cognos salesman who was charged with conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering for allegedly bribing DiMasi to awards contracts to Cognos. He pled guilty in February in exchange for a reduced sentence and plans to testify for the prosecution.

Steven Topazio – A law associate and friend of DiMasi who is alleged to have been an unwitting participant in the scheme by holding a no-show consulting position at Cognos and giving $4000 out of his $5000 monthly fee to DiMasi.

Christopher Quinter – A Cognos salesman who was in charge of evaluating the company’s lobbyists and took over Lally’s job after he quit to start his own company.

David Simas – Governor Deval Patrick’s deputy chief of staff; helped to coordinate government agencies in passing budgets.

Leslie Kirwan – Secretary of the Executive Office of Administration and Finance (A&F); her role was to draft the governor’s budget recommendations.

Bethann Pepoli – Acting Chief Information Officer of the Information Technology Division, part of A&F; recommended Cognos software to her supervisors.

Maryann Calia – DiMasi’s chief of staff.

Daniel Toscano – DiMasi’s chief legal counsel.

Anthony Fuller, Theodore Merritt, and Kristina Barclay – The Assistant U.S. attorneys prosecuting the case.

William Cintolo and Thomas Kiley – DiMasi’s defense attorneys.

Thomas Drechsler – McDonough’s defense attorney.

Martin Weinberg – Vitale’s defense attorney.

Judge Mark Wolf – The chief justice of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, who is presiding over the trial.

You can read a summary of what the defendants are accused of doing here.