Councilor pays $8,000 for faking governor's endorsement

I don't know who sold out the electorate worse, Timilty for just plain lying about the letter (which is obvious) or Coakley for playing nice and not pushing for a federal investigation as it was the U.S. Mail that was used in this boondoggle. But since Coakley is vying for a governer run or Fed AG run in the future, better not tip the cart over too much right?

Obviously the Boston Globe is in the business of directing commentary now too based on what I got when I submitted my comment. Guess they abandoned objective journalism a long time ago during the election campaigns as well.

Why does this person still have a job? If anyone else forged their supervisor's signature he/she would be out the door.

An $8,000 fine and a confession from an untrustworthy person is a perfect reason to reevaluate the law.

I can't believe what I just read. Not that we have crooked politicians; I consider forgery to be a criminal offense and I would think most courts would agree. What is stunning is that this would not make it to court and that any agreement would even be considered for something this serious.

And yet she does not comment on what this says about her capacity for the job? She should be removed. What a fake. "I just assumed . . . " she just assumed that at one point he had said that quote? What a fake.

Isn't she the daughter of a city councilor who went to jail for real estate fraud? I belive so......

What....no jail time? That is fraud. Are we calling it something else these days?

This person should be fired. Only in public office do they put up with this s--- and get away with it. In the private sector this person would be fired.
Thats why the public sector is in such terrible shape and have these low lifes putting in thier time and couldn't get a job in the real world.

Who steals my purse steals trash; ’t is something, nothing;
’T was mine, ’t is his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him
And makes me poor indeed.
- Shakespeare

Kelly Timilty committed election fraud, forged her boss's signature, and used his good name to enrich herself. She should be prosecuted and removed from the Council immediately.

There is no excuse for permitting this person to retain the seat she was elected to through fraud. The Governor's Council is charged with reviewing and approving judges. It is a travesty that a liar with such gall is permitted to make decision which will have lasting impact on the Commonwealth.
A recall of this dishonest politician is in order.

Kick her rear end out of office.

I think she should have dropped out of the race. If the voters still voted for her then maybe okay. But the sad fact is this in massachusetts: people blindly just pull for the democrat or the name that they are most familiar with.

I think now she should resign and let Gov Patrick appoint someone. The voters just weren't smart enough to care.

The Republicans barely even try to win in this state, and that's too bad too.

I agree with localgirl, she should have been fired and then indicted on both charges, most importantly Mail Fraud. The average Joe could not have gotten off so easy.

God, does Martha do a DAMN THING???? Everything is sweep sweep broom broom with this scum-bag. Gee, I wonder if she is planning a run at govenor, b/c that is the only reason why she is broooming everything so she can keep her "friends in line". Either that, or she is just plain incompetent

prior posters miss the point: Despite an obvious fraudulent mailing, her constituents reelected her. What does that say about THEM?

Steve- I hope you realize that a state prosecutor has no power to dictate what the feds investigate and then subsequently prosecute. I would rather this be taken care of quickly with minimal costs, especially in these economic times. Perhaps you should do some research on how much it costs for a jury trial. For recouping more than statutorily allowed from a fine, I say she did the right thing. Does a long, costly, drawn out jury trial, resulting in 1/8 the amount in fines than this agreement do the public any good?

Prosecutors don't write the laws, they enforce them. And just remember one thing- the forgery statute is written by the legislature (yikes). Re-evaluate the law, yes. But shift your blame onto the majority that keeps voting these people in.

JoeR- wake up and get a breath of reality. A forgery case is more important than a rape or murder? Tell that to a victim's family whose case takes years because we have to take care of this petty stuff first.

Should she booted out of office- sure. But that's our job to do. All this stuff that's been going on lately sickens me to, but sooner or later, we have to stop voting for the people that commit these acts.

Kelly Timilty's conduct is tantamount to fraud. She can call it what she wants. Her committee had to know that they did not have permission to use the Governor's name. And the person who physically wrote the signature had to know that he/she had no permission to do so.

Even more mind-boggling to me is the fact that Ms. Timilty will continue in her job. One of the important roles of the Governor's Council is to approve judicial appointments. That's rigt. She decides upon who will be a judge.

Kelly Timilty should immediately resign!!
\

"Isn't she the daughter of a city councilor who went to jail for real estate fraud? I belive so......"

If this is true, apples don't fall far from the tree....

She commited the transgression yet her campaign trust pays the penalty. Does not sound like justice to me.

MA...why is the political scene blowing up in our faces? we have a city concil member indicted for bribery, a state senator facing the same charges, and now another MA politician guilty of fraud who gets to keep her post and only gets an 8k fine? puhlease. when will it all stop?

Yaay - affirmative action at work

A $72,000 Bonus + life long pension & healthcare? She should be fired, stripped of pension and orced to pay the $80K fine. Massachusetts, WHERE DOES IT STOP? Wilkerson, Turner, Arroyo, the T pay raises, the "Hogan Keeps You 'Rollin" Pot smuggling firefighter, a Sec. of State who won't count ballots, and seemingly universal abuse of public trust & resources. Why is the Attorney General MIA on all public sector crimes?

okay, so aside from complaining here, how do we get her replaced?

And to be fair - this came out BEFORE the general election and she still "won"

That guy ripping off the copy machines won to I beleive.

I live in her district - and wrote in Robert Jubinville's name. But she had no opposition in the November election, so no chance of losing. I'm a life-long Democrat, and for once I actually WISHED I could have voted for a Republican instead of her.

sfbaygirl: Dad Joe was involved in something called "The Gumball Factory" in East Boston, a redevelopment deal when things were wild and wooly. Did federal time and wrote a book about it, (talk about no shame). Howie Carr refers to the Timity's as the "K-Mart Kennedy's", since there are so many of them in public office).

I had been looking for a chance to vote for someone other than Kelly Timilty for years. I was pleased to see that there was what seemed like a reasonable alternative in Robert Jubinville this year. So when I saw her endorsement by Deval Patrick I hoped it might be enough to put Jubinville over the top. To me it was clear that it was completely inappropriate for the Governor to be shilling for a candidate for the Council, the only function of which is to act as a check on the Governor's appointment powers. In fact, I used the endorsement to convince a few people to whom I spoke to vote for Jubinville. Evidently few people looked at the endorsement as a negative, as I did. I'm also surprised that I've seen no comment on this point in the press. People should read what Alexander Hamilton had to say in the Federalist Papers about the reason for the institution of the Governor's Council in colonial Massachusetts when the Governor was appointed by the King of England.

Oh, wonderful...another corrupt Mass politician. Massachusetts, leading the country. hahahaahah

To me, this seems very serious. She should resign or be removed for committing forgery.

How old is this woman that she does not know its not ok to forge someone else' signature?

Generally peopl eget fired, expelled from school, removed from their position for forging a signature. Especially the Governor's, no? I belive in second chances, but you have to take a hit for this. Not just $8k.

Martha Coakley, how soft are you?

And I forgot to ask . . . . .what exactly does a Governer's Councilor do anyway?

Signed,
My Boss

another Dem. loser comes to the party.....

Just. Stop. The madness. In this state.

These grubby people in Massachusetts leadership roles distinguish themselves -- over and over -- by combination of pure incompetence, sheer stupidity (..."I just assumed...") and loathsome arrogance that cannot be found outside their ranks.

Pocketing bribes, stealing quarters from state-run copy machines, allowing billion-dollar deficits, playing shenanigans with obscene toll rates, lying outright, allowing the Big Dig to fail on their watch (aggressively fail!), and now forging a governor's signature. ... Just another day in the life? Or the beginning of the end for these leeches?

These antics would not be found in the private sector. They would not get a JOB in the private sector. Enough already - please!

DAP