Former probation commissioner O’Brien indicted

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff

A Suffolk County grand jury has indicted former probation commissioner John O’Brien on charges that he traded political donations to former state treasurer Timothy P. Cahill in exchange for a job for O’Brien’s wife.

The grand jury did not indict Cahill, who hired O’Brien’s wife and daughter in the weeks and months following the July 2005 fund-raiser at which dozens of probation department employees donated to Cahill’s campaign. But the panel indicted Cahill’s chief of staff at the time, Scott Campbell, who handled personnel matters for Cahill.

The indictments were handed down in June and unsealed today, according to one source. The two men are expected to be arraigned next week. The investigation was handled by Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Cahill, who left office after running unsuccessfully for governor, hired O’Brien’s wife shortly after the fund-raiser at which scores of probation employees poured thousands of dollars into his campaign fund. An independent counsel called in to investigate charges of political patronage in the Probation Department last November found that O’Brien orchestrated the donations to boost the job prospects of his wife and possibly his daughter.

Federal and state officials have been investigating allegations of rigged hiring, illegal campaign contributions, and other abuses since November when independent counsel Paul F. Ware Jr., who launched his probe after a Globe Spotlight Team series, released a report portraying the agency as rife with patronage.

O’Brien and two top deputies resigned rather than face disciplinary proceedings, but until now no criminal charges have been brought.

According to sources involved in the probe, investigators hoped Campbell would testify against Cahill, but he so far has not incriminated his former boss.

“The return of the indictment today against former Commissioner O’Brien and the chief of staff of the state treasurer’s office is to be expected. To me, it is confirmation of the facts found during the course of my investigation,” said Ware.

“State jobs should not be a dividend for the connected nor for existing state employees in responsible positions. This charge strikes another blow to corruption in state government,” he said.

Andrea Estes can be reached at estes@globe.com.