DiMasi not the first speaker to land in trouble

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

Massachusetts is no stranger to House speakers who end up in trouble with the law.

Today, former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi became the third former speaker in recent memory who has been in legal hot water.

Former speaker Charles F. Flaherty was forced to resign in 1996 when federal prosecutors charged him with income tax violations after months of investigating his relationship with lobbyists. For three years, the US Attorney's office had investigated nearly every aspect of Flaherty's personal and professional life, and the speaker accepted a felony plea bargain on a 1987 tax issue, ending his 29-year House career.

His successor, Thomas M. Finneran, was charged in 2005 with obstruction of justice for having lied under oath in a civil suit involving a legislative redistricting plan. He pleaded guilty in January 2007 to a federal obstruction of justice charge. He was sentenced to 18 months of probation and fined $25,000. Finneran now has a radio talk show that airs each weekday morning on WRKO-AM.