Friends gained as DiMasi's star rose
Lobbying fees soar for 3 linked to House Speaker
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They are among Salvatore F. DiMasi's oldest friends. They golf together, raise money for charity together, even travel together. And when DiMasi rose to the powerful position of House speaker, their fortunes rose as well.
Lobbyists Richard W. McDonough, John J. McGlynn Jr., and John E. Murphy Jr. have vaulted into the top ranks of the Beacon Hill influence trade since DiMasi won the House leadership job in 2004, doubling and even tripling their client billings, according to public records.
All three were among the 20 highest-paid lobbyists last year. And if they keep up the pace set during the first six months of 2008, McDonough and Murphy are on track to each make $1 million and rise into the top 10.
Their lobbying income has risen thanks to new and old clients alike. And it has grown far more than average, records show.
As a group, State House lobbyists this year are on track to collect a record average of $128,248 in fees, up 56 percent since 2004, according to statistics provided by the office of Secretary of State William F. Galvin.
If they keep earning at the same rate for the rest of the year, Murphy's lobbying income will have risen 82 percent since 2004, McDonough's will have climbed 106 percent, and McGlynn's will have increased 274 percent. Lobbying fees represent only a portion of their earnings. They also collect legal or consulting fees.
Neither McDonough nor McGlynn returned calls seeking comment. A spokesman for Murphy - a former House majority leader - said his professional success has nothing to do with his personal relationship with DiMasi.
Ray Howell said Murphy's ability to attract clients is "based on his knowledge of government and the legislative process, and the respect with which he is regarded throughout all branches of the government."
Being close to DiMasi does not necessarily bring success: the three lobbyists have won some legislative battles and lost some.
DiMasi declined to comment for this article. But David Guarino, his spokesman, said the speaker has not interceded to help his lobbyist friends. DiMasi's every decision, Guarino said, "is based solely on what he believes is in the best interests of the Commonwealth, the House of Representatives, and his district, period."
But there is a clear perception on Beacon Hill that their friendships with the speaker have given them an edge, just as favored lobbyists rode the coattails of previous legislative leaders. A coterie of lobbyists perceived as close to former speaker Thomas M. Finneran flourished financially while he was in office, observers said.
"This is how the business works," said Pamela Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts. Lobbyists with friends in high places will command higher fees because of their "perceived ability to move leadership."
Leadership changes mean growth opportunities for well-connected lobbyists, said Galvin.
"The records reveal that changes in leadership tend to benefit certain lobbying entities over others," he said. "It could be a partisan change. When there was a Republican governor, for example, certain firms did better. In the Legislature, it's less partisan and more personal. It's based on longstanding relationships."
In this case, the relationships are well documented. As far back as 1992, when a select group of lobbyists and legislators took a trip to Puerto Rico, the Globe Spotlight Team photographed McDonough and DiMasi in friendly conversation on a sun-splashed beach. Murphy and McGlynn also went on the trip.
Each has been a DiMasi friend and golf partner for years.
McDonough and several of his clients have sponsored the annual Harold L. Vitale Memorial Golf Tournament, hosted by DiMasi at his home golf course, the Ipswich Country Club. The tournament honors the deceased brother of Richard Vitale, DiMasi's longtime friend, accountant, and former campaign treasurer.
Two of McDonough's clients, Anheuser-Busch and Covanta Energy, also are annual donors to the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, a business-backed group that hosts legislative conventions, including a speakers' conference DiMasi recently attended in Newport. DiMasi is a vice president of the group and is in line to become its next president.
Murphy, who served in the House with DiMasi, has also sponsored the Vitale Golf Tournament. He sits on the State Legislative Leaders Foundation's advisory council and two of his clients,
McGlynn, whose son-in-law is a member of DiMasi's House leadership team, also belongs to the Ipswich Country Club and has been the speaker's partner in charity golf tournaments. One of his clients, Giant Glass, has been a "gold" sponsor of the Vitale golf tournament, giving $3,500 a year.
Public records show that lobbying fees reported by McDonough, Murphy, and McGlynn spiked dramatically after 2004, the year DiMasi became speaker.
In 2004, for example, McDonough billed clients $536,000 - about the same amount he had billed every year since 2001. By 2006, his earnings had jumped 56 percent, to $837,000. This year, if he earns as much in the second half of the year as he made in the first, he will collect $1.1 million in fees.
McGlynn, after earning $245,000 in 2004, reported earning $530,000 in 2006 - an increase of more than 100 percent. If he earns as much in the second half of this year as he reported in the first, he will make $916,000.
Murphy, the former House majority leader, has been a high earner for years, even before DiMasi became speaker, according to records. But his fortune improved even more with DiMasi's ascension to speaker.
The year DiMasi took over as speaker, Murphy reported collecting $656,000 in lobbying fees, roughly the same amount he had made in each of the previous four years. In 2006, he earned $931,000, an increase of 42 percent. If he doubles what he made in the first half of this year, he will report lobbying fees this year of nearly $1.2 million.
At the State House, McDonough, Murphy, and McGlynn have had notable success, especially in the House, where members have taken actions that directly benefit their clients.
Like most lobbyists, they work behind the scenes to win passage of legislation that will help their clients, or kill bills that might hurt them. Often this happens in the final moments of the legislative session.
Just before midnight on July 31, McGlynn, for example, was able to squeak through the House a bill that had been sitting in committee for nearly two years. The language would primarily benefit one company, Giant Glass, by preventing its biggest competitors, Safelite and JN Phillips, from acting as "third-party billers" for insurance companies, scheduling auto glass repairs and replacements. Third-party billing makes up a big chunk of their business. McGlynn was unable to push the bill through the Senate.
McGlynn has picked up several key new clients since 2005, including Shields Health Care and Arbella Insurance. Arbella spokesman Doug Bailey would not say whether McGlynn's friendship with DiMasi was a factor in the company's decision to employ him.
"We hire lobbyists based on their particular specialties, contacts, knowledge, and experience," Bailey said. "They keep us abreast of developments on Beacon Hill, strategize with us about legislation affecting our business, and consult about various positions and policies we may adopt."
McDonough, whose father was the legendary, roguish governor's councilor Patrick J. "Sonny" McDonough, played a key role in persuading the House to approve funding for multimillion-dollar
McDonough failed to report more than $300,000 in payments from the Burlington software firm until the Globe disclosed his ongoing relationship with the company in July. Galvin's office fined McDonough and Cognos.
Christopher Andrews, a spokesman for Cognos's parent company,
McDonough also helped defeat a provision that would have imposed new taxes on hotel room resellers such as his client, Orbitz Worldwide. The language, which had been recommended by a special tax commission last year, was killed in the House Ways and Means Committee. An Orbitz spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.
The lobbyists have sometimes been on the losing side: Murphy's client, Associated Industries of Massachusetts, called this year's legislative session "the most anti-employer, anti-jobs session in recent memory." McDonough's client Suffolk Downs saw its hopes for a casino at the racetrack dashed by DiMasi.
Like most lobbyists, the three men give back to members of the institution that has kept them in clover. They have consistently doled out the $200-a-year maximum campaign donations to key lawmakers.
McDonough and his wife contributed more than $20,000 to legislative candidates (and legislative political action committees) between 2005 and 2007; Murphy gave more than $31,000 in the same period; and McGlynn and his wife gave more than $36,000 (including $1,700 to the Democratic State Committee in 2006.)
Many of the donations went to committee chairs or vice chairs - the people hand-picked by DiMasi, with the power to push legislation the lobbyists care about.
Andrea Estes can be reached at estes@globe.com
