The e-mail trail
IT'S NOT ABOUT taxes. It's about honesty.
This week, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly said that one reason he did not pick Christopher Gabrieli as his running mate was that Gabrieli refused to release his tax returns.
Yet, late last January, the AG was on the verge of welcoming Gabrieli ``as a true partner in this campaign" -- even though Gabrieli had no plans to disclose tax information.
Reilly and Gabrieli never personally discussed the tax matter; their staffs did. Joe Ganley, a Gabrieli adviser who participated in the discussions, said, ``It never appeared to be a deal breaker," even after he e-mailed Reilly campaign manager Sean Sinclair on Jan. 20 that Gabrieli's wife is ``balking on taxes." Meanwhile, Corey Welford, Reilly's spokesman, insisted yesterday that ``Chris's reluctance to do so was absolutely a factor in Tom choosing not to run with him."
Here is a chronology, based on news accounts and correspondence supplied by the Gabrieli campaign, of what transpired between two men who were almost a ticket and are now rivals for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination:
On Jan. 27, the Globe's Frank Phillips reports that Reilly is in talks with Gabrieli to join his ticket. That same day, Sinclair sends an e-mail to Ganley and to Reilly aides Steve Kerrigan, David Guarino, and Welford. It sets out a tentative schedule for Reilly and Gabrieli for Jan. 29, including ``1:00ish Reilly/Chris finalizing meeting" and ``6:00 candidates get some rest."
On Jan. 28, Guarino sends an e-mail to Ganley and to assorted Reilly aides. ``Please review the attached drafts of e-mails to supporters from Tom and Chris -- to be sent out Monday morning," Guarino writes.
The attachments include a draft letter from ``Your friend, Tom," dated Jan. 30, that states in part: ``I asked Chris to join us in this campaign and join me in governing. Chris agreed, and I wanted to share the news with you, my supporters directly. In a couple of hours, we'll stand with our wives, Ruth and Hilary and announce that we've joined forces to get Massachusetts moving again as your next governor and lieutenant governor. . . . He is exactly the type of person I'm going to need to help get this state back on track -- he has the experience, the commitment to Massachusetts and the passion and energy to make this state all that it can and should be. . . . I'm glad to have a true partner in this campaign and I'd be honored to serve alongside him to make Massachusetts great again."
Later that day, Reilly aide Leah Green e-mails Ganley and assorted Reilly aides to revise the proposed Sunday schedule: ``Spoke with TR and he has to do something from 12-2:30 tomorrow. He did not say what just needed to do something and would be back at campaign @2:30."
Apparently, what Reilly ``needed to do" between noon and 2:30 p.m. was meet with state Representative Marie St. Fleur.
On Jan. 29, after meeting with St. Fleur, Reilly comes to Gabrieli's Beacon Hill home. Reilly tells Gabrieli he is considering the Haitian-American legislator as his running mate and needs another night to mull things over. He tells Gabrieli that after discussions with confidantes Wayne Budd and Ralph Martin, he is inclined to give St. Fleur ``a chance." He says nothing to Gabrieli about tax disclosure, according to Ganley.
At Reilly campaign headquarters, Ganley is finalizing plans for an announcement both camps still expect to make. After Reilly leaves, Gabrieli tells Ganley that, if Reilly is having this much trouble making up his mind, ``there's no way I want to run" with him.
At 8:40 p.m., Ganley sends an e-mail to Sinclair: ``Chris needs to talk to Tom ASAP." The two men talk shortly after 9 p.m. That night, Gabrieli puts out a press statement, saying ``I have decided not to run for Lt. Governor."
On Jan. 30, the Globe reports that Gabrieli ``abruptly pulled out of talks" to become Reilly's running mate. The next day, Reilly officially picks St. Fleur as his running mate. Her candidacy collapses almost immediately, after the Globe reports she had a history of tax delinquencies.
So, to recap: Reilly supposedly declined to run with Gabrieli because Gabrieli refused to release his tax returns. Instead, Reilly picks a running mate who didn't pay her taxes. It doesn't add up.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com. 
