The Cahill jury is out for the weekend after four days chewing on this thing. All I know is what I’ve read in the papers, which means shit, but, if the jury follows the letter of the law they will come back with guilties.
However, the jury also knows that if they follow the letter of the law than any elected official with a budget and discretion can be found guilty at anytime for allowing political influences to affect expenditures. Hiring decisions alone could get a guy life with “on and after” years.
The law, passed in haste last year as a knee jerk reaction to Sal DiMasi coupled with the unbending rule of not slowing down the casino bill, is vague and overly broad. A Cahill conviction could be vacated on appeal.
As that’s going on Carmen Ortiz has been zealously investigating legislators from both branches for recommending jobs for people who may have or may not have donated to their campaigns.
Based on legal fees reported in campaign finance reports and other indicators it is widely believed that Senate President Murray and Speaker Deleo’s lawyers are fighting hard to keep them from being indicted. No secret there.
The probation investigation has been criticized for being a product of an unsavory symbiosis between the SJC, the Boston Globe, and ultimately the over ambitious yet incompetent U.S. attorney Carmen Ortiz.
Former U.S. attorney and moderate Republican governor Bill Weld came out swinging calling both the Cahill and probation indictments/investigations chicken shit at best.
Wouldn’t Weld be a great candidate for governor next go around? Have you seen who the governor of California is lately? Talk about a time warp.
Meanwhile today’s daily dose from Matt Connolly’s Whitey Bulger’s trial blog brought up yet another of too many smelly things going on during the pre-trial farce happening at the Moakley Courthouse.
Four days to impanel a jury? Judge Richard “Friendly” Stearns’ change of mind regarding issues of law and fact resulting in the credibility of his former colleagues not coming into question?
As this is happening our governor, the former high-up in the U.S. Justice Department and widely speculated to be the next United States Attorney General, makes sure he gets Terry Murray and Bob DeLeo (see above) alone in a room (he cleared out the few aides who also attend the weekly private meetings) and more or less asked them to consider getting on board the gubernatorial campaign ship for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz (see above).
That’s Boardwalk Empire script stuff.
Couldn’t what Deval did be construed as him acting as Carmen Ortiz’s bagman?
(“You know, the U.S. Attorney Office’s in Boston is under staffed. Too many files and too few soldiers. So its only natural for resources to be allocated away from friends.Anyway, she’s OK with me and I think you both would be doing yourselves a favor if you had a sit down with her.”)
Capiche?
Seriously. Keep the facts as is and change the names to Speaker Jay Kaufman, Senate President Jamie Eldridge, Governor Steve Lynch and U.S. Attorney Jack Hart.
I would love to see what the Globe would do with a cast of characters like that.
Wait, is it a country of laws not men or men not laws? It must be “men not laws”. Right?
Add in the well known facts that on top of potential A.G. job, Deval and the President are Chicago buds, the national Dems and national party have been choosing our candidates as of late, the Globe has been touting her, and she was appointed by the Prez to her current post.
Meanwhile, the anointed Carmen Ortiz is trying to convince a federal magistrate to imagine with her and believe that a motel owner in Tewksbury is a bad man and his mortgage free three million dollar piece of property should be hers, I mean the government’s.
And Carmen proudly announces today that her office leads the country in civil forfeiture.
Any bells going off here people? Like Annie Dookhan type bells.
Soooooo,
Is the U.S. Attorney waiting for the Cahill verdict before deciding who else, if anyone, will be indicted and for which crimes?
Has the U.S. Attorney found herself cornered legally and politically? (although politics shouldn’t play a part in her office) Many legal experts are telling her the cases she is trying to make out of the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize winning piece of propaganda aimed toward aiding the SJC in taking over the Probation Department and the jobs that go with it won’t work.
Well actually she isn’t cornered legally. She doesn’t have to indict. No big deal. Happens everyday. Nothing bad about it. Part of the job. Another day at the office. Part of the daily grind.
So it must be political. And it could backfire and kill her chances for the corner office. That’s not good.
Why?
Because the President and the Globe want her to be our next governor. That’s why?
So really, with all this going on and with his background and experience what the fuck was Deval thinking when he launched this stun grenade at the super “private” meeting with Murray and DeLeo?
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hlpeary says
I would take Bill Weld over Carmen Ortiz and the increasingly discredited Globe.
farnkoff says
You know, a lot of sniffing around and grave talk intended to hype himself up, while never actually delivering an indictment on a powerful politician. In those days, the high-profile “target” was Kevin White. Never indicted, right? Could be said that is was all a big show, an advertisement for Weld.
thinkliberally says
…am I the only person who wonders whether BMG gets a subpoena for IP addresses for Ernie’s posts? I hope we’re not seeing the final days of anonymous Ernie. His (her?) stuff is way too enjoyable.
Ryan says
Not sure if Ernie’s been doing that.
Christopher says
This is clearly first amendment territory and the bar is super high for libel where public officials are involved. I don’t find Ernie’s stuff enjoyable, though. Am I the only one who does not seem to get his (masculine name therefore masculine pronouns) speculation? There’s never a follow up to show he called something that supposedly insiders knew. I guess I just don’t get Ernie. He’s difficult to follow, goes off on tangents and frankly jumped the shark a couple weeks ago when he claimed Mayor Menino was getting a sex-change operation.
Mark L. Bail says
He’s an a-hole, but everyone has a friend who’s an a-hole. Sometimes he’s funny. Frequently he’s informative. The Menino thing lacked any redemptive qualities, I agree. But that’s why Ernie’s the kind of guy you don’t invite to family parties.
eb3-fka-ernie-boch-iii says
a cross between Tootsie and Susan Boyle?
That’s comedy gold my friends, comedy gold.
I use to get big money for this schtick in the Catskills back in the day.
striker57 says
Now I get it. Ernie was the star of Billy Crystal’s movie ‘Mr. Saturday Night”. It all makes sense now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mryshdfbn.jpg
seamusromney says
According to the Herald, Weld didn’t just express opposition to the prosecution. He said you need a certain amount of “Mazola oil”, i.e. corruption. And he condoned the practices of former Treasurers who are widely acknowledged as corrupt. Specifically, “In terms of advertisements, I’ve seen that a lot, particularly with state treasurer’s offices,” the former governor said.
Read more about Joe Malone’s corruption on BMG.
Before him there was Bob Crane, who retired mired in controversy over patronage and nepotism.
If Weld thinks that what Malone and Crane did was ok, then of course he thinks what Cahill did was ok. But that also means he has zero credibility.
Ryan says
Not sure how much I believe (though I’m with you on the distaste for Carmen Ortiz; I won’t be backing her in any primary), but fascinating anyway.
Ernie, you really should write a Boston political/crime novel. It could be the next Departed, just without the body count.