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DiMasi's pension suspended after federal charges

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 11, 2009 11:14 AM

By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

The State Retirement Board has suspended the $60,000 annual pension of former House speaker Salvatore DiMasi because he is facing federal corruption charges.

Salvatore F. DiMasi

The board notified DiMasi in a letter dated June 9 that the criminal charges prompted a review of his pension and further monthly payments of $4,951.86 would be withheld until the proceedings are complete. The letter noted that DiMasi has been accused of crimes in the "course of your service with the Commonwealth and include the misappropriation of funds to yourself and to your co-conspirators."

The letter elicited a sharp response from DiMasi's attorney, Thomas R. Kiley, who said that the former speaker "has not been charged with misappropriating state funds and there is clearly no basis for saying he did.”

“Thank God we're in America, where there is a presumption of innocence and due process before the government takes things from us," Kiley said in a statement. "We look forward to the prompt hearing the Board of Retirement promised."

The office of state Treasurer Timothy Cahill announced this morning that the board had taken action against DiMasi. In a press release, it noted that state law allowed the board to initiate an administrative proceeding against a member who is charged with misappropriation of public funds. The board can seek restitution and forfeit a pension of a person convicted of a crime related to the office they held during their public service.

"As we have had to do in the past the State Retirement Board will examine and handle this case on its merits and apply the law in a fair and equitable way," Cahill said in the press release.

DiMasi and three of his associates have pleaded not guilty to charges that they steered multimillion state contracts to the Burlington software firm, Cognos ULC. In the process, DiMasi is accused of pocketing $57,000.