Jan 9, 2009 1:53 pm US/Eastern
Finneran Seeks Pardon From Bush
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Tom Finneran (file image)
AP
Former Massachusetts House Speaker Thomas Finneran has enlisted the help of four former governors in his bid to get a pardon from President Bush on an obstruction of justice conviction.
The Boston Globe reports Friday that Finneran submitted an application for a presidential pardon last month.
The four governors -- Democrat Michael Dukakis and Republicans William Weld, Paul Cellucci, and Jane Swift -- followed with a letter of support.
In the letter, obtained by the newspaper, the governors says Finneran has been severely punished and has "learned the error of the episode."
Finneran, currently a radio talk show host, pleaded guilty in
January 2007 to obstruction of justice charges stemming from his testimony in a federal suit over a House redistricting plan.
As for his pension, it is currently suspended pending a state hearing. "It is uncertain whether a pardon would reinstate a suspended or forfeited pension under MGL c.32, sect. 15," a spokeswoman for the state Retirement Board told WBZ. "The question has not been addressed by the Retirement Board or by the Massachusetts Courts."
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(© 2009 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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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