The guilty finding was made at the federal courthouse on Boston’s waterfront, but its reverberations were loudest a mile away at the State House. No legislators were formally charged in […]
Patronage on Trial
Coverage of the federal racketeering trial of former Probation Commissioner John O’Brien.
Posted inPolitics
Ortiz wins big victory, but questions remain
US Attorney Carmen Ortiz with prosecutors Robert Fisher (left) and Fred Wyshak Nearly everyone on Beacon Hill thought US Attorney Carmen Ortiz was over-reaching by attempting to make a crime […]
Posted inPolitics
3 Probation defendants found guilty by jury
Defense attorneys (from left) John Amabile, William Fick, Stellio Sennis, Jeffrey Denner, and Brad Bailey A federal jury found former state Probation Department commissioner John O’Brien guilty of mail fraud, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Back Story
How DeLeo became a coconspirator
Federal prosecutors changed their view of House Speaker Robert DeLeo during the course of the trial of former Probation commissioner John O’Brien, largely because of the testimony of a shaky […]
Posted inPolitics
Probation closing statements: The prosecution, the defense & the judge
The prosecution: Former Probation commissioner John O’Brien wrote a January 2007 letter to his nemesis, Trial Court chief Robert Mulligan, in which he defended the way people were hired at […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Attorney: Globe column targeted Probation jury
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE On the second day of jury deliberations in the probation trial, one of the defense attorneys accused the Boston Globe of an “attempt to manipulate the […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics
Health policy agency critiques Partners deal
The state’s Health Policy Commission raised concerns on Thursday about some aspects of Attorney General Martha Coakley’s proposed agreement with Partners Health Care on hospital acquisitions, but the agency did […]
Posted inPolitics
The defense
Former Probation commissioner John O’Brien (right) with his attorneys Stellio Sinnis (center) and William Fick. Defense attorneys for former Probation Department officials John O’Brien, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke III […]
Posted inPolitics
The prosecution
Former Probation commissioner John O’Brien wrote a January 2007 letter to his nemesis, Trial Court chief Robert Mulligan, in which he defended the way people were hired at the Probation […]
Posted inPolitics
US Attorney labels DeLeo a coconspirator
The top public corruption prosecutor in US Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office said Monday that House Speaker Robert DeLeo was an active member of the racketeering conspiracy that led to the […]
Posted inPolitics
Despite concerns, Young keeps most charges
US District Court Judge William Young on Monday slightly narrowed the charges against former Probation commissioner John O’Brien and two of his top aides but agreed to send the case […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo slams Murphy as illogical, untruthful
In a statement issued after 5 p.m. on Friday, House Speaker Robert DeLeo called a former top lieutenant “illogical” and “untruthful” for testifying that DeLeo told him not to cut […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
O’Brien lobbied DeLeo for more power in ‘07
Former Probation commissioner John O’Brien came to see then-Ways and Means Chairman Robert DeLeo in September 2007 lobbying for legislation that would give him much greater powers, a bigger salary, […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
Murphy: DeLeo told me to spare Probation
The House’s former top budget official testified on Wednesday that he was ordered by House Speaker Robert DeLeo in 2009 to spare the Probation Department from the type of drastic […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
SJC judges in dark about Probation hiring
Robert Mulligan and John O’Brien are squaring off in federal court over hiring practices, much as they squared off when Mulligan was the chief justice of administration and management at […]
Posted inPolitics
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 […]
Posted inPolitics
Defense: Mulligan played patronage like O’Brien
An attorney for former Probation Department commissioner John O’Brien on Wednesday accused Robert Mulligan, the former chief justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court, of practicing political patronage, playing fast and […]
