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DiMasi pays off mortgage loan from friend
Vitale also files as state lobbyist
House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi said he paid off the balance of an unusual $250,000 third mortgage on his North End condominium yesterday, after the lender, his close friend Richard D. Vitale, who is under scrutiny for work he did last year on behalf of the state's ticket brokers, registered as a lobbyist.
The moves, made in tandem, were an attempt by DiMasi and Vitale to stay within the bounds of state laws that prohibit anyone from lobbying public officials without registering and bar lobbyists from giving anything to a public official.
Whether the strategy would work remained unclear, however, because Vitale's registration did not cover the time that he worked on behalf of the ticket brokers. Secretary of State William F. Galvin, whose office oversees lobbying rules, said he continues to investigate the matter.
A Globe article two weeks ago said Vitale never registered as a lobbyist despite his efforts on behalf of the brokers in 2007; he was paid to help them win passage in the House of a bill that would essentially deregulate their industry. The article, which also disclosed the $250,000 third mortgage Vitale provided for DiMasi in 2006, sparked the review by Galvin.
Neither DiMasi nor Vitale provided detailed information yester day about their actions, leaving unanswered a number of key questions about their financial relationship and the extent of Vitale's legislative activities. DiMasi also would not say how much he paid off on the $250,000 mortgage.
"As soon as the question arose about the possibility that Mr. Vitale could be a lobbyist, Speaker DiMasi took immediate action to determine how to pay off his loan and has paid off his loan using money from his retirement funds," said DiMasi spokeswoman Victoria Bonney.
Vitale, a Charlestown accountant, registered as a lobbyist for 2008, but he listed no clients, no payments from clients, and no legislation that he is seeking to influence. He did not register for 2007, when he offered to use his influence to assist the ticket brokers.
Vitale's spokesman, George Regan, insisted yesterday that Vitale is not a lobbyist, but said he registered because "we figured it was the easiest thing to do.
"We have a great deal of respect for Secretary of State Galvin, and we don't want any misinterpretation or any problems," Regan said. "This is going forward. The reason we don't list any clients is because we don't have any clients."
Regan said Vitale acted as a business strategist for the ticket brokers. Since House passage, the legislation, which would allow ticket brokers to charge any price in the ticket resale market, has been bottled up in the Senate.
Galvin said yesterday that the law does not distinguish between strategist and lobbyist and added that he believes what Vitale did on behalf of ticket brokers in 2007 constituted lobbying. He said he is awaiting filings from the Massachusetts Ticket Brokers Association, the group that hired Vitale, before deciding whether to take further action.
"The statute speaks of promoting legislation," Galvin said. "Clearly what Mr. Vitale did was to promote legislation. It is no longer in dispute. We'll wait for the additional reports to come in from the other entities and explore them for their thoroughness and completeness."
Last month Galvin's office requested the names of "all executive and legislative officials" whom Vitale met with or contacted and the dates of those contacts; a list of all his activities concerning ticket sales; the number of hours he spent on these activities; and his "salary, retainers, and any other payments or compensation attributable to lobbying efforts."
Through Regan, Vitale has declined to be interviewed by the Globe on those subjects.
Yesterday Donald Stern, a lawyer who represents the ticket brokers, would not say whether the brokers will file as Vitale's employer. Letters sent Tuesday from Galvin's office to Stern and Vitale's lawyer, Richard Egbert, state clearly that both Vitale and the ticket brokers must register for 2007 and 2008.
The Globe reported on April 27 that the loan Vitale gave the speaker in 2006 was a $250,000 revolving line of credit on his North End condo. It is a violation of the state's conflict-of-interest law for a lobbyist to give anything, regardless of value, to a public official. DiMasi said that he was unaware of any work that Vitale did for the ticket brokers and that he accepted nothing from a lobbyist.
Vitale also has worked as DiMasi's accountant and has served as his campaign treasurer. In addition, DiMasi has hosted an annual golf tournament that honors Vitale's brother, a Saugus police officer who died in the line of duty in the 1980s.
The tournament's sole "platinum" sponsor was
Vitale's accounting firm - Vitale, Caturano & Co. - also sells Cognos products to its clients, according to the company's website.
The state Republican Party has filed a complaint against DiMasi with the State Ethics Commission, asking the commission to investigate Vitale's actions on behalf of the ticket brokers and his financial relationship to the speaker.
"The fact that Mr. Vitale registered as a lobbyist simply acknowledges what everyone knows," GOP spokesman Barney Keller said yesterday. "His change of title only serves to cast a darker cloud over Speaker DiMasi, who still needs to explain how a $250,000 loan from Mr. Vitale doesn't violate state law. "
Andrea Estes can be reached at estes@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
