State officials revoke former speaker DiMasi's pension

By Michael Levenson and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

State pension officials today revoked former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi’s annual pension of $60,142, the treasurer’s office said.

DiMasi, once a political powerhouse, is now serving an eight-year sentence in federal prison for corruption. He is also battling cancer.

His pension had already been suspended last September after his sentencing in federal court.

Treasurer Steven Grossman chairs the State Board of Retirement.

In September, after the unanimous suspension vote, Grossman said, “We have a job to do, and first and foremost that is to protect taxpayer’s money. It does not include paying pension benefits to people convicted of a crime in the performance of their office.”

Grossman said at the time that DiMasi had contributed $127,000 to the state pension fund during his years as a state employee and a total of $154,600 had been paid out to him.

DiMasi last week appealed his conviction, arguing that federal prosecutors failed to prove that he knowingly accepted kickbacks in return for using his political power.

DiMasi’s attorney, Thomas R. Kiley, who has battled in court to preserve the pension, said he expected to go to court again.

“My operating assumption will be that we will be amending our pleadings in Boston Municipal Court and pursue our remedies there,” he said.

Kiley argued that DiMasi had not been “finally convicted” and said it would be a draconian penalty to take away the pension, which was based on money DiMasi had paid into the retirement system.

DiMasi “earned it” after decades of public service, he said.