A US APPEALS COURT overturned the convictions of former state probation commissioner John O’Brien and two top aides, saying prosecutors failed to prove key elements of their case and should […]
Patronage on Trial
Coverage of the federal racketeering trial of former Probation Commissioner John O’Brien.
Posted inCriminal Justice, The Back Story
Probation case drags on and on
NEARLY SIX YEARS after the Probation Department patronage scandal exploded into public view, almost four years after three top officials were indicted, 18 months after their convictions, and nearly one […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
SJC seeks probes of DeLeo transcript leak
THE MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT told House Speaker Robert DeLeo on Monday that it was asking three state and federal law enforcement agencies and its former independent counsel to investigate […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion, Politics
DeLeo calls for probe of leaked testimony
What follows is a statement issued by House Speaker Robert DeLeo in response to a Boston Globe story quoting sealed transcripts of his testimony before independent counsel Paul Ware, who […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
What really happened at Probation’s electronic monitoring operation?
IT STARTED WITH Michael Bizanowicz, a dangerous sex offender who broke into a Woburn home in 2004 and raped and killed Joanne Presti and then murdered her 12-year-old daughter, Alyssa. […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion
Madeloni critical of Sagan appointment
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S highly political appointment of Paul Sagan as the chair of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education underscores educators’ concerns about the Baker administration’s public education agenda. […]
Posted inPolitics
Linsky says panel can’t probe Probation hiring
The chairman of the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight says the panel does not have jurisdiction to investigate hiring practices at the state Probation Department because such an […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Judge wants O’Brien, Tavares near homes
US District Court Judge William Young, who last week sentenced former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and his top deputy Elizabeth Tavares to surprisingly lenient prison sentences, has endorsed their requests […]
Posted inPolitics
Legislative panel urged to probe Probation
Two Republican state representatives are asking the chairman of the House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight to investigate the “rigged hiring system” at the Probation Department and make referrals […]
Posted inPolitics
Tearful Tavares admits rigged hiring system
Former deputy Probation commissioner Elizabeth Tavares, in a sobbing plea for leniency on her conviction for racketeering and mail fraud, publicly acknowledged for the first time that a rigged hiring […]
Posted inPolitics
Judge goes very easy on O’Brien, aides
A federal judge on Thursday ignored sentencing guidelines and the recommendations of prosecutors – as well as his own history – before handing out much lighter-than-expected sentences to former Probation […]
Posted inPolitics
Judge signals stiff terms for O’Brien, aides
Prosecutors in the federal trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and his two top deputies said on Wednesday they will not pursue bribery charges after the judge indicated he […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics
Ruling increases O’Brien prison time
A federal judge said on Thursday that John O’Brien’s prison time will be significantly increased because the convicted former Probation commissioner “abused a position of public trust.” O’Brien was convicted […]
Posted inPolitics
Prosecutors: Nothing new in O’Brien motion
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday dismissed claims by attorneys for former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two top deputies that they had “newly discovered evidence” that a top judge lied under […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Mulligan testimony likely untruthful – defense lawyers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Defense attorneys, who represent three former probation officials convicted of secretly rigging the hiring system, are accusing former Chief Justice of Administration and Management Robert Mulligan […]
Posted inPolitics
Probation lawyers say jury asked too many questions
Lawyers for the three Probation officials convicted of racketeering and mail fraud filed motions on Tuesday seeking their clients’ acquittal, in part claiming the federal trial judge’s decision to allow […]
Posted inPolitics
Probation juror says DeLeo should have been on trial
One of the jurors in the Probation Department corruption trial sent an email to a radio talk show host on Thursday saying he felt House Speaker Robert DeLeo should have […]
Posted inPolitics
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. […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo criticizes Ware, calls him unprofessional
House Speaker Robert DeLeo over the weekend lashed out at Paul Ware for suggesting a statement Ware made in 2010 should not be construed as clearing the Speaker of any […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
CommonWealth’s coverage of the Probation trial verdict
3 Probation defendants found guilty by jury Fraudulent hires linked to DeLeo, Murray, other lawmakers A federal jury found former state Probation Department commissioner John O’Brien guilty of mail fraud, […]
Posted inPolitics
Putting thumb on scale is the Beacon Hill way
The federal corruption trial of John O’Brien unfolded on two levels. It was equal parts law enforcement exercise and political soap opera. The trial of O’Brien, the former state Probation […]
Posted inPolitics
Ware says his probe did not clear DeLeo
Paul Ware, the independent counsel appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court to investigate Probation Department corruption, took issue with House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s contention that his 2010 probe found the […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo: Jury cleared me of inappropriate conduct
A chastened House Speaker Robert DeLeo responded to Thursday’s Probation Department guilty verdict by issuing a statement saying “it is a verdict that all of us have to respect.” But […]
