What do you get when you jam an 18-month legislative session into a frenzied final few hours of votes? Well, you get what you deserve, but thankfully for the Legislature, […]
Jack Sullivan
Jack Sullivan is now retired. A veteran of the Boston newspaper scene for nearly three decades. Prior to joining CommonWealth, he was editorial page editor of The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, a part of the GateHouse Media chain. Prior to that he was news editor at another GateHouse paper, The Enterprise of Brockton, and also was city edition editor at the Ledger. Jack was an investigative and enterprise reporter and executive city editor at the Boston Herald and a reporter at The Boston Globe.
He has reported stories such as the federal investigation into the Teamsters, the workings of the Yawkey Trust and sale of the Red Sox, organized crime, the church sex abuse scandal and the September 11 terrorist attacks. He has covered the State House, state and local politics, K-16 education, courts, crime, and general assignment.
Jack received the New England Press Association award for investigative reporting for a series on unused properties owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and shared the association's award for business for his reporting on the sale of the Boston Red Sox. As the Ledger editorial page editor, he won second place in 2007 for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association, the nation's oldest national journalism association of nearly 900 newspapers as members.
At CommonWealth, Jack and editor Bruce Mohl won first place for In-Depth Reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors for a look at special education funding in Massachusetts. The same organization also awarded first place to a unique collaboration between WFXT-TV (FOX25) and CommonWealth for a series of stories on the Boston Redevelopment Authority and city employees getting affordable housing units, written by Jack and Bruce.
The long arm of Probation
The fallout from the Probation scandal appears to have gone beyond state lines and could have an impact on sentencing for former commissioner John O’Brien and his two top deputies. […]
Q&A on Probation case
The following information was gleaned from discussions with a variety of sources close to the Probation Department case involving former commissioner John O’Brien and his top aides, Elizabeth Tavares and […]
Inching along in the market: The genesis of this story
Few stories start in a vacuum. At some point, quite often outside of work, a reporter or editor will come across information that is worth examining. That’s how I began […]
Inching along in the market
in 1996, when William Bulger took over as president of the University of Massachusetts, the school system was an afterthought in many ways on the college scene, both regionally and […]
Fireworks finale in Probation trial
A retired Probation worker incensed prosecutors and drew threats of perjury charges on the stand in the federal corruption trial of his former bosses when he apparently contradicted his grand […]
O’Brien defense rests without a word
Defense attorneys for former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two of his top aides let testimony in the federal corruption trial end Friday without calling a single witness to the […]
A jury full of questions
At most trials in state and federal courts, the jury is a blank and muted canvass for lawyers to paint their cases on throughout the proceedings, its collective voice heard […]
Summer heat turns up on DeLeo
There’s nothing like a summer news lull to fan the flames of a good scandal, and it’s House Speaker Robert DeLeo ’s turn in the glare of the beating summer […]
DeLeo calls out prosecutors, denies jobs for votes claim
House Speaker Robert DeLeo angrily insisted on Wednesday that the Probation jobs his office steered to candidates favored by fellow lawmakers played no role in his effort to gather enough […]
Defense lays Probation problems on Mulligan
Defense attorneys in the federal corruption trial of former Probation commission John J. O’Brien suggested on Tuesday that Robert Mulligan, the retired chief justice for administration and management at the […]
O’Brien judge denies prosecutors more time
The judge in the federal corruption trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two top aides on Monday denied most of prosecutors’ request for additional time to draw jurors […]
Rep. Petrolati’s wife will testify about qualifications
US District Court Judge William Young worked out a deal on Wednesday that will allow Kathleen Petrolati, the wife of state Rep. Thomas Petrolati, to testify at the trial of […]
Witness: DeLeo got jobs to help speaker fight
The legislative liaison for former Probation commissioner John O’Brien testified Monday that O’Brien gave then-House Ways and Means Committee chairman Robert DeLeo 10 newly created positions to hand out to […]
SJC: Coakley opinion defies ‘common sense’
The state’s highest court on Tuesday ruled that a ballot question to repeal the Massachusetts casino law should be put before voters in the fall, calling Attorney General Martha Coakley’s […]
Reps say Probation jobs needed leadership support
State Rep. Harold Naughton of Clinton testified today in the federal corruption trial of former Probation commissioner John J. O’Brien and two top aides that it was common knowledge among […]
Montigny ex-girlfriend says senator ‘opened the door’
The ex-girlfriend of Sen. Mark Montigny testified in the federal corruption trial of former Probation commissioner John J. O’Brien that the New Bedford Democrat “opened the door” for her to […]
Retired judge, prosecutor parry over son’s hiring
A combative and evasive retired state judge insisted his son was “uniquely qualified” for a position as a probation officer even though he had trouble holding down other jobs and […]
Court officers fair game at Probation trial
The federal corruption trial of John O’Brien and two of his top aides has focused so far on patronage at the Probation Department, but the defense is about to broaden […]
Another Probation official made cash donation to Petrolati
For the second day in a row, a witness in the federal corruption trial of former top Probation officials testified he made what appears to be an illegal cash donation […]
Ex-Probation aide says jobs curried favor with lawmakers
Federal prosecutors began tying the string together on their case that former Probation commissioner John J. O’Brien and two top aides ran a rigged hiring system, getting a former chief […]
Whose ox is being gored?
Former commissioner John J. O’Brien and two top deputies, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke III, may the ones being called to answer in federal court for a rigged hiring scheme […]
Reading between the lines
Opening statements in the long-awaited corruption trial of former state Probation commissioner John J. O’Brien were eye-opening not only for what the lawyers said but for what they didn’t say. […]
Judge rules patronage not a crime
The federal judge in the trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and top aides set a high bar on Monday for prosecutors, saying he will instruct jurors at the […]
