Dec 14, 2007 9:34 pm US/Eastern
Powerful Friends Back Finneran As Hearings Begin
By I-Team reporter Joe Bergantino and I-Team producer Maggie Mulvihill
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Former House Speaker Tom Finneran revealed he has cancer Friday and said he must undergo prostate surgery next week.
This comes when Finneran is facing another battle -- fighting to keep his law license nearly one year after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.
Hearings begin on Monday and I-Team reporter Joe Bergantino has been digging to find out who's in Finneran's corner and what his chances are to win.
Finneran, a convicted felon, still commands respect.
There's the state attorney general at a recent fundraiser, honoring Finneran and his favorite charities.
Now Finneran is counting on his powerful friends to help in his battle with the Board of Bar overseers, which could strip him of his law license.
"Mr. Finneran has called in a lot of chips, friendship but I think in this case its going to be a real uphill battle," said WBZ legal analyst Alice Richmond.
Finneran's character witnesses for his hearing beginning Monday are former U.S. attorney Wayne Budd, former Massport chairman Mark Robinson and a one-time legal advisor to governors Cellucci and Swift -- Leonard Lewin.
Daniel Klubock is the former attorney for the Board of Bar overseers.
"How important is the testimony at the hearing itself?" Bergantino asked.
"I think it will be important," Klubock said.
But Finneran's crime is a serious one. He admitted to lying under oath in federal court about whether he had a role in reshaping legislative districts to negatively impact minority voters.
"A lawyer who lied under oath is not credible, is not to be trusted as an officer of the court," Richmond said. "I think that's going to be a very big hurdle for him to get over."
History is also not on Finneran's side.
Convicted spy Alger Hiss and 12 other attorneys, who either lied under oath or obstructed justice, all lost their right to practice law in Massachusetts.
"The board and the court together have essentially disbarred almost everyone who has been convicted of perjury or obstruction of justice," Klubock said.
But according to court documents, Finneran claims that his lies were a blemish on an otherwise spotless career.
His lawyer says Finneran "was widely acknowledged and respected as an exemplary public servant and leader of unquestionable integrity, devotion and talent."
Will the board of bar overseers buy that argument?
"In the usual case we are going to disbar people but this is an unusual case," Richmond said. "This man, he just had 800 very substantial citizens of Massachusetts turn out to honor him."
Another factor to consider: Finneran -- now a radio talk show host -- may testify in his own behalf.
He has a history of being a convincing speaker.
"I made a mistake. I conceded it and I'm paying a terrible price for that mistake," Finneran said.
That is likely to be one of Finneran's main arguments -- that he's been convicted in a court of law for what he would describe as a lapse in judgment, he doesn't have a history of trouble and to take away his law license would amount to excessive punishment.
It could be a year or more, before we know the outcome.
Finneran is also fighting to keep his state pension of 30,000 a year. The state retirement board has temporarily stripped him of his pension. A hearing is set for next month.
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