The following is an excerpt from today’s “Weekly Roundup” email courtesy of the State House News Service:
Sal DiMasi could soon be returning to a free world that looks very different from the one he left almost five years ago.
The 71-year-old former House speaker, convicted of corruption and ailing from cancer of the tongue and prostate, body pains and choking episodes, received some mercy from his jailer Thursday when the federal government filed a motion for his compassionate release.What does DiMasi, a former arch-enemy of the casino industry brought low by his business dealings, make of Donald Trump, a casino magnate with a Teflon-like ability to shrug off scandal? It’s hard to imagine the Republican presidential nominee has not been a subject of discussion, and perhaps unique insights, on the inside.
DiMasi is a white-collar criminal and the embodiment of the “culture of corruption” that Republican State Committee members have pledged to expunge from Beacon Hill. For the crime of lining his pockets through a crypto lobbying gig, DiMasi and his family have paid a steep price, and Democrats, who also remember DiMasi for some of his good deeds, rejoiced at Thursday’s news that he may soon be getting out.
“I am overjoyed by the news that the government has moved for compassionate release for Speaker DiMasi,” said House Speaker Robert DeLeo, going so far as to express gratitude to his nemesis U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz for her office’s role.
I agree with this decision, and with the exercise of compassionate release in these circumstances generally. DiMasi should spend the rest of his limited time on Earth with his family.
That said, my wish is that it’s not just the high profile prisoners like DiMasi who get opportunities to escape the excessively punitive American criminal justice system. Just a couple days ago the New York Times reported how marijuana arrests for possession of small quantities actually outnumbered those for all violent crimes last year. Most of those folks, a disproportionate number of whom are black, get thrown away in jail, far from their families and communities. I hope we can get to the point where compassion can be extended to these non-violent offenders as well.
and I wish you and your family many years of good health.
I will always remember your leadership in passing the first in the nation healthcare reform that made it possible for cancer patients like me to get
the care we needed by eliminating insurance companies pre-existing condition restrictions and lifetime caps. Your work and strong advocacy on this issue is the reason I’m alive today so on behalf of all survivors and beneficiaries of a better healthcare system — THANK YOU.
On another personal note, I want to thank you for the many kindnesses you extended to my mentors — former State Representatives Mike Festa and Katherine Clark —- both of whom I served as legislative / constituent aide.
Lastly, to my friends in the progressive community, I leave you to consider
the true meaning of compassion from no less an authority than Jesus himself : ” Every person is worth more than their worst act.”
Fred Rich LaRiccia