House majority leader to pay $30,000 in campaign finance settlement

September 18, 2008 01:36 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

House Majority Leader John H. Rogers will pay $30,000 to the state to settle findings that he paid tens of thousands of dollars from his campaign account to a friend and political adviser, who in turn used the funds to make mortgage payments on a Cape Cod house co-owned by Rogers, according to terms of the settlement to be released today.

While expensive, the settlement was a partial victory for Rogers, who dodged a direct ruling that he converted campaign funds to personal use. The Office of Campaign and Political Finance stopped short of levying a fine against Rogers; it did not slap him with a violation; and it refrained from sending the matter for criminal proceedings to Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Instead of a fine, the office described Rogers's $30,000 settlement payment as reimbursement to the agency for expenses it incurred during its investigation of his campaign accounts. Rogers also will not have to bear the expense of the settlement personally; the agreement allows him to pay the $30,000 out of his campaign funds.

The agency decided not to take stronger action against Rogers, it said, because it determined that Rogers's political advisor, Thomas Drummey, had legitimately earned payments from the Rogers campaign accounts by performing "substantial services'' for the campaign.

Even so, according to its findings, it determined that Drummey used a portion of $96,300 in payments from the campaign to make 22 monthly mortgage payments on the East Falmouth house owned by him and Rogers.

''We feel the agreement speaks for itself,'' said Brad Balzer, the OCPF's deputy director. ''Our decision to reach this agreement rather than to refer the matter to the attorney general's office is the appropriate action.''

Even without a fine and criminal referral, the ruling could be a setback for Rogers as he engages in a power struggle with House Ways and Means Chairman Robert A. DeLeo to succeed Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi. Both Rogers and DeLeo are quietly courting members for their support as speculation mounts over DiMasi, who has insisted he has no plans to leave his powerful office.

In a statement released today, Rogers said he had asked for the OCPF review. He promised to be vigilant in the future about appearances of possible wrongdoing.

''I am also aware that appearances matter and I will work even harder with OCPF to ensure that all committee practices are not only proper, but also appear proper,” he said. “My constituents demand and deserve the highest standards of public behavior and I’m thankful that this issue is resolved and disposed of.”

The agreement with the state quotes him as saying that the payments from his campaign were never designed for anything other than compensation for consulting services.

The campaign finance office launched its investigation after the Globe reported in June 2007 that Rogers, a Norwood Democrat, had used $196,000 of his campaign funds to hire his former law partner, Philip F. Filosa, as a political consultant in an informal arrangement that did not include a fee schedule or even a written contract.