Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Probably the Tip of the Iceberg


Former Speaker of the House of Representatives for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Democrat Salvatore diMasi was convicted on June 15 in federal court on seven of nine felony counts, including extortion and conspiracy in connection with the award of state contracts according to the Boston Herald. DiMasi is the third consecutive Massachusetts speaker to be convicted of crimes committed while in office, although the previous two served no jail time.

There's a question waiting to be answered here. Is DiMasi a criminal that took advantage of his elected position to line his own pockets? Or is he merely a casualty in the ongoing battle between the all-powerful federal government and their inferiors at the lower level of the polity?

No comments: