Federal prosecutors last week indicted former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi on conspiracy charges, alleging that he added spending initiatives to legislation, including to a bond bill, with allies gaining contracts financed through such allocations.
Also charged with wire and mail fraud in the eight-count indictment are three associates: Joseph Lally, owner of Montvale Solutions LLC, which sold software to state entities, and long-time DiMasi friends Richard McDonough and Richard Vitale. McDonough worked as a lobbyist for Montvale while Vitale served as a consultant.
If convicted, DiMasi faces up to 25 years in prison and more than a million dollars in fines. He resigned from the legislature in January.
DeMasi allegedly used legislative language supplied by the three men to add $15 million of borrowing to a $1.5 billion bond bill Gov. Deval Patrick signed in March 2007. The $15 million was for the purchase of software by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.
U.S. attorneys also claim that in 2006 Dimasi orchestrated a $5.2 million budget amendment that enabled the Department of Education to spend $4.5 million on software. The DOE then paid Montvale $891,000 for software, with McDonough and Vitale apparently receiving a cut.
