Milton Valencia reports via Twitter that Judge Mark Wolf has sentenced Sal DiMasi to 8 years in prison. His cohort Richie McDonough got 7 years.
The sentence strikes me as severe, but not unnecessarily so (I said to myself over breakfast this morning, “he should get 5 or 6, but Wolf will give him 8”). The prosecution’s recommendation of 12 years seemed way out of line, but the defense’s request for 3 years was not enough, given the roughly 3-year sentences already handed down to Dianne Wilkerson and, especially, Chuck Turner. The amount of money involved and, more importantly, DiMasi’s powerful position as Speaker makes it appropriate, in my mind, that he be sentenced more harshly than Wilkerson and Turner.
Apparently, the question whether DiMasi and McDonough will remain free pending appeal has yet to be decided. That’s a tough one … the “honest services” statute under which DiMasi was convicted has been the subject of an important yet somewhat fractured Supreme Court decision within the last couple of years, and it’s possible that the Supremes aren’t done with it. So it’s not as though the issues on appeal will be trivial. Apparently, Judge Wolf wants to hear further argument on this question.
JimC says
You had me until you invoked Wilkerson and Turner. They had less power, but they abused it the same way. IF three is right for them, why is eight right for Sal?
I agree the prosecutors overreached. They seem to be sending a message, but we don’t know what the message is.
David says
to coin a phrase, with great power comes great responsibility.
JimC says
Serious question.
It’s always apples and oranges, I suppose. And it’s hard to separate the conviction from the career.
Peter Porcupine says
First – the difference in dollar amounts alone merits the stiffer sentence. Considering he was eligible for 20 under guidelines, 8 is a gift.
Not that we have an auditor or IG or anything – but has any effort been made to see if Cognos was an anomaly or a pattern? Was this the SOLE foray into crime, or were there others in his administration or under the prior convicted Speakers where he was part of the ‘leadership’ team?
JimC says
In Dianne’s case, little things seemed to add up to the big thing. But with Sal, we don’t really know.
I’ll admit my own opinion is somewhat affected by the letters piece I mentioned on WBUR. A lot of people came forward to speak for Sal. Which means only that I want to believe this was an anomaly. But, as our friend Dan Kennedy pointed out on Twitter, what counts is what he was convicted of. (For the record, he pointed that out in the context of the prosecutor’s request.)
JimC says
MOSTLY serious question.
Christopher says
…I’ve never understood prison time for political crimes. They should be barred from holding office and heavily fined, but save prison space for those whose physical liberty would endanger the rest of us.
kbusch says
Are you saying white collar criminals should never get jail time? Non-violent?
And why?
howlandlewnatick says
I understand the feds don’t have parole. They do have early release for age or infirmity. If there is a minimum time to serve, could that be when Sal’s out? There must be a reality person out there that knows the system and how to play it.
I doubt if he’ll be making small rocks from large ones.
“In prison, you get the chance to see who really loves you.” –Suge Knight