May 2, 2008 8:50 pm US/Eastern
GOP Fuels Ethics Swirl Around Speaker DiMasi
Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer
BOSTON (AP) ―
The chairman of the state Republican Party on Thursday urged Attorney General Martha Coakley to investigate recent allegations involving House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, but hours later a group of DiMasi backers said the allegations are based on conjecture and Beacon Hill policy is being made based on facts, not friendships.
GOP Chairman Peter Torkildsen, standing in front of the Statehouse, pointed to recent reports that state Rep. Charles Murphy, D-Burlington, was in the Virgin Islands when he was recorded as taking seven votes in April. He said such so-called phantom voting amounted to a civil rights violation that should be investigated by the state's chief law enforcement officer.
"When a representative casts a vote for another representative, it clearly violates the civil rights of the people in that district, as it deprives them of honest representation," said the chairman, himself a former congressman.
Torkildsen also asked Coakley to investigate the relationship between DiMasi and Richard Vitale, who was hired by ticket brokers pushing a bill to lift restrictions on their business.
Vitale, who gave DiMasi a $250,000 loan on his North End condominium, hasn't registered as a lobbyist, but has described himself as a strategist. The speaker has said he never spoke to Vitale about the bill.
Coakley declined comment, pointing out there are many state agencies that investigate allegations of misconduct. The GOP already has filed three complaints with the State Ethics Commission related to DiMasi.
DiMasi, meanwhile, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
A measure of the distraction being created by the recent focus on DiMasi's ethics was evident in the rare news conference called by members of his leadership team.
While their colleagues debated the $27 billion state budget, six committee chairmen and the chamber's assistant majority leader held a news conference to say the recent allegations are based on conjecture and not fact.
All were appointed to their positions, which carry extra pay, by DiMasi.
One committee chair, Rep. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, said the ticket resale bill was drafted and passed based on its merits.
Another chairman, Rep. Daniel Bosley, D-North Adams, told reporters: "I have never, in my since-1991 being chairman, I have never had a speaker say to me, `You have to put this into the bill,' or, `You have to take this out of the bill.' What speakers like to do is schedule debate on the floor."
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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