Lobbyist steered DiMasi to car deals
Speaker may have saved thousands
Over the past six years, as he rose to power on Beacon Hill, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi purchased two luxury cars for considerably less than their estimated values from a used car dealer he was steered to by a top State House lobbyist.
DiMasi bought the two used BMW sedans at a savings of at least $20,000 from the estimated retail value of the vehicles, a Globe review has found.
The speaker declined to be interviewed about the transactions, but his spokesman confirmed that DiMasi was referred to the dealer, who operates out of a small lot in Middleborough, by Richard W. McDonough, a close friend of the speaker's and one of the most active and influential lobbyists on Beacon Hill.
The dealer, Robert Weaver, owner of Sports Limited Auto Sales, acknowledges that he sold the cars to DiMasi, with a minimal markup, after being urged by McDonough to try to find the speaker "a good deal."
Weaver also said he agreed to help DiMasi find a bargain because he thought he might someday secure a favor from the high-powered legislator.
"To be honest with you, of course, I had it in my mind that maybe he could do me a favor someday," Weaver said, in an interview. But he has never had occasion to ask for help from the speaker, he said.
Weaver and DiMasi have engaged in three transactions in the last six years, two of which stand out as uncommon bargains for the speaker:
In June 2000, he paid $29,350 for a used Blue BMW 740IL -- a top-of-the-line model. Used car guides place the retail value of that model between $38,000 and $43,000.
In July 2003, DiMasi paid Weaver $26,115 for another BMW 740IL, this time a three-year-old dark green model. Three independent used car guides put the retail value of such a car between $37,800 and $40,000 at that time.
Even taking the low-end of the retail range, DiMasi saved over $20,000 on the two cars. He paid about $13,000 less than what used car guides suggest as their wholesale cost.
The third purchase from Weaver was a 1999 Mercedes Benz that DiMasi bought in July 2002 for his wife, Deborah . He paid $23,800 for that vehicle, much closer to what used car guides cite as the expected retail price of between $25,000 and $30,000.
Kyle Sullivan, DiMasi's spokesman, denied that the exceptionally low prices the speaker paid for the two BMWs resulted from any favoritism or improper deal-making. "Let me be crystal clear, [DiMasi] paid a fair price for the vehicles in question and he never asked for and does not believe he received any special treatment," Sullivan said in a statement yesterday.
Instead, Sullivan said, DiMasi simply benefited from Weaver's talent for hunting out good deals at Adesa Inc., a national automobile auction house with a branch in Framingham. Adesa wholesales vehicles to dealers throughout the region.
Weaver, he said, could also hold the price down because he sold them to DiMasi "as is" -- without any dealer warranty.
"In fact, consistent with that risk, he [DiMasi] ended up spending thousands of dollars in repairs" on the two BMWs, Sullivan said.
But Weaver said the cars were in good condition and carried manufacturer's warranties. He said he started hunting for a car for DiMasi after McDonough asked him to find "a good deal" for the North End representative. Sullivan confirmed the lobbyist's intermediary role.
McDonough, who declined to be interviewed, has long been one of Beacon Hill's most influential lobbyists and his impressive list of clients paid his lobbying firm $675,000 last year. Among the firms and groups he represents are
He has also long been a close friend of DiMasi's. The two men often play golf, attend sports events, and socialize together with their wives. Despite their close personal bond, DiMasi has never officially recused himself from working or voting on any of the dozens of bills that McDonough lobbies the Legislature on every year.
The Massachusetts law governing lobbying activities prohibits lobbyists from making "any gift" to a public official or member of his or her family. And the state conflict of interest law prohibits public figures from accepting gifts from lobbyists with a value of greater than $100.
DiMasi did not report the discount car purchases as gifts on his 2000 or 2003 financial disclosure statements. Sullivan, DiMasi's spokesman, said "the lobbyist gift laws simply do not apply" to the car purchases.
But Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, a nonpartisan public interest group, called on the Massachusetts Ethics Commission to investigate the transactions.
"The conflict of interest law requires that public officials accept no special deals because of their official positions," Wilmot said. "The facts presented here raise enough questions that they should be investigated by the Ethics Commission."
Carol Carson, spokeswoman for the Ethics Commission, declined to comment.
But for the remarkable deals Weaver was offering, there would seem to be little to attract DiMasi to Sports Ltd. Auto Sales. The dealership is located on a small lot, crammed with used cars being repaired or offered for sale, nearly 50 miles from Beacon Hill. And Weaver, listed in town records as the firm's proprietor, has had his share of financial troubles. He has been hit with tax liens by the state on two occasions, and Middleborough last year cited him as being a "chronic non-payer" of real estate taxes on the property.
Still, Weaver says he was content to earn a tiny profit on the sales to DiMasi. He said he charged the speaker only $315 over costs for the BMW DiMasi bought in 2003 -- a profit of roughly 1.2 percent. Industry specialists say dealers customarily charge purchasers of used luxury vehicles a markup of 10 to 15 percent.
Weaver declined to provide documentation for his other transactions with DiMasi, though he said he "made money" on all three cars.
"I made money, and that was good enough for me. I make my profit from sales like this all the time, not big markups," he said.
Pressed about why Weaver charged DiMasi small markups, Sullivan, the speaker's spokesman said yesterday: "What car dealers charge by way of markup is as mysterious to the speaker as it is to everyone else. What they charge and what they do is a question you have to ask them."
Weaver said he could not provide details on all the sales because, after the Globe began its inquiries, he turned over all of his records to Richard M. Egbert, a noted Boston criminal defense lawyer. Egbert declined to say whom he was representing in the matter, but said DiMasi's savings resulted solely from Weaver's ability to find good deals at auto auctions.
Weaver likewise cites his expertise at finding good deals at car auctions. "I've been doing this a long time and I'm a good judge of value," he said.
The speaker no longer drives a car purchased from Weaver. He now uses a Lincoln Navigator, which has a monthly lease of $1,296 that is paid by his campaign committee. He repaid the committee $1,086 last year for occasions when he drove the car on personal business.
Stephen Kurkjian can be reached at kurkjian@globe.com. 
