A glimpse into probe of DiMasi dealings
- |
A news service reporter stumbled across investigators yesterday morning as they were knocking on the door of a potential witness in the ongoing
Gintautas Dumcius, a reporter for Statehouse News Service, a privately owned news agency that covers Beacon Hill for paying subscribers, recounted the chance encounter yesterday in a story on the service's website.
He said an FBI agent and an investigator for the state inspector general went to the Beacon Hill apartment of Bethann Pepoli, the former state chief information officer who was closely involved with awarding a contract to Cognos, whose sales agent, Joseph Lally, was a close friend of former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi.
Investigators did not find Pepoli yesterday, but they found Dumcius, who was visiting a neighbor of Pepoli's.
The officials said they had stopped by the apartment before and had not seen Pepoli, Dumcius reported.
DiMasi's involvement in pushing the state to award a contract for the type of software produced by Cognos was part of the ethical controversy that engulfed DiMasi last year. He resigned his seat in January, saying that he wanted to return to the private practice of law.
The US attorney's office has convened a grand jury to examine the state's awarding of two contracts to Cognos and payments by Cognos and Lally to friends and associates of DiMasi at the same time the company was lobbying for state business.
ANDREA ESTES
