You earned it!
Former Massachusetts House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi was sentenced yesterday to eight years in federal prison for his conviction on political corruption charges, the longest federal sentence handed out to an elected official in Massachusetts history, climaxing a years-long scandal that had captivated the state’s political establishment.
Sal’s the 3rd Speaker in a row to get a federal felony conviction. The first was Charles Flarighty who decided that taxes were for the subjects, not the political class. He was succeeded by Tom Finneran who with encroaching blacks buying up land in his district, he was concerned about the political future of an Irish Catholic like him. So he conspired to gerrymander his district so that the Irish were separated from the blacks and his seat was safe. Unfortunately the Feds let him simply plea to a felony perjury charge, and like Flarighty before him, “Tommy Taxe” never saw the inside of a cell.
Really bad justice if you ask me, given that these people are public servants, and their actions are nothing short of self-serving. Thankfully the courts are getting wise and Sal will spend some serious time behind bars.
If I were Bob DeLeo I’d be VERY careful.
With all the MA speakers, and all the IL governors, they could almost have enough people to start their own prison gang!
What’s the gang-sign for “Democrat”?