Jan 5, 2007 5:51 pm US/Eastern
Finneran Pleads Guilty To Obstruction Of Justice
BOSTON (CBS4) ―
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Former House Speaker Thomas Finneran (file photo)
AP
Former House Speaker Tom Finneran pleaded guilty Friday to federal obstruction of justice charges in U.S. District Court on Friday.
Federal prosecutors agreed to drop three perjury charges against Finneran in exchange for his guilty plea to a single count of obstruction of justice. The charges stem from Finneran's testimony in a civil lawsuit regarding legislative redistricting.
"In volunteering to testify, I was quickly drawn in to political and combative questions which I answered in a political and combative manner. That was my mistake and no one else's and I will regret that mistake for the rest of my life," said Finneran in a statement. He also issued an apology to the court, his family and to the citizens of Massachusetts. .
Under the deal, Finneran will pay a $25,000 fine and be placed on 18 months of unsupervised probation, according to the documents filed in U.S. District Court in Boston. He has also agreed not to seek political office for at least five years.
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns still must approve the deal.
Separately, Finneran still faces a possible suspension of his law license or disbarment by the state Board of Bar Overseers.
The I-Team learned that the state retirement board will meet later this month, and will likely take away Finneran's $31,000-a-year pension.
Finneran, 56, resigned as speaker in September 2004 and was indicted nine months later on charges that he lied under oath about his role in the state's legislative redistricting. The testimony was before a federal appeals court in 2003 in a voting rights lawsuit brought by a coalition of minority groups.
In a transcript of his testimony, Finneran repeatedly denied seeing the plan until it was filed with the House clerk, when all members of the House see the plan.
"Did you review any of the redistricting plans as the process proceeded?" Finneran was asked.
"Not as the process proceeded, No sir," he responded.
"So the first time you saw a redistricting plan was when the redistricting committee disseminated its plan to the full House, is that your testimony?"
"That is my testimony. Yes, sir," Finneran responded.
The indictment cited several meetings Finneran conducted before the formal release of the redistricting map, including one in which he reviewed a redistricting plan for each district in the state, including his own.
Finneran had vehemently denied the charges and suggested the case against him was politically motivated, referring to the "questionable motives and machinations of the U.S. attorney's office."
"I'm not going to lose any sleep over it," he told reporters the day the indictment was handed down.
Finneran currently serves as president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, where he makes about $416,000 a year.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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