Inspector indicted in Massachusetts

[Guest guest]

There are many that think that my fight against the corruption was a losing

battle. was at the head of the problem. I fought him for over a decade

and the end is in sight. He has finally been indicted. I am the Centerville

resident mentioned in the Boston Globe article. I have lead the fight for the

family's in Massachusetts.

If the FBI, Massachusetts Legislature and State Government officials had

listened as far back as 1994 when I first contacted them with the evidence,

my family would not have become homeless from the corruption. Our health

would not have been destroyed. We would not have been robbed of over 750

thousand

dollars for our home and possessions. Will Massachusetts repay us for this?

They looked the other way to this corruption as we cried out for help.

Globe story -

Safety official indicted on license charges

By Raphael , Globe Staff | June 22, 2004

A Suffolk County grand jury yesterday indicted a top state official on

charges that he issued licenses to heavy- equipment operators and oil burner

repairmen without requiring them to take state competency exams, and then

attempted to interfere with an investigation into his conduct.

L. , 69, the Department of Public Safety's deputy commissioner,

was indicted on 25 counts of falsifying the professional license

applications of trades workers, 23 counts of violating the hoisting license

statute,

three counts of encouraging applicants to lie to the grand jury, and one count

of obstructing justice.

In a statement announcing the indictment, Attorney General Reilly

said ''betrayed the trust and responsibility placed in him to uphold the

law and protect the public. "

''By falsifying exams and allowing potentially unqualified workers to obtain

licenses, he placed workers and the public at risk, " Reilly said.

was first appointed to the position of chief of inspections by

Governor Weld and later appointed to deputy commissioner in 2000. His

attorney, Tom Kiley, told the Associated Press that would welcome the

chance

to clear his name. ''Now he gets to fight back, and two sides of the story

will finally be told. That will happen in the courtroom, " Kiley said.

The obstruction-of-justice charge and three perjury subornation charges are

felonies. All told, could potentially face more than 38 years in

prison if convicted. , who makes more than $86,000 a year, was placed on

pa

id leave when the accusations surfaced in October. He was placed on leave

without pay yesterday, and will be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on July

7.

As chief inspector of the state, oversaw the testing and licensing of

dozens of trades that involve heavy machinery and dangerous equipment, such

as construction supervisors, crane operators, oil burner technicians, and

many more. State laws call for license applicants to pass a test by

demonstrating their skills, and many must have years of experience to qualify

for a

license.

The charges came nine months after state Public Safety Secretary A.

Flynn referred allegations about 's conduct to Reilly. A Globe

investigation last year revealed that ordered subordinates to issue such

licenses to dozens of workers without first giving them required tests or that

he

condoned the practice. In one instance, three licenses in one day went to the

nephew of the now-deceased, longtime state senator D. Harold.

The scandal involving was one of the main reasons Governor Mitt

Romney asked the commissioner of Public Safety, ph S. Lalli, to step down in

December. He has since been replaced by Gatzunis, the former town

engineer and building inspector of Belmont, Romney's hometown.

In a statement yesterday, Gatzunis sought to ''restore confidence in the

integrity of the licensing and permitting processes. "

''I am confident that the systems I have already put in place and the

additional reforms I plan to implement will serve as an early warning system if

such misconduct should be attempted in the future, " Gatzunis said.

The most serious charges faces stem from his alleged actions after

the grand jury began to hear evidence in his case, said Kurt N. Schwartz,

Reilly's Criminal Bureau chief.

''We allege that after Mr. learned of a grand jury investigation into

the issuances of licenses, that he attempted to convince three license

recipients to lie in the grand jury about the testing procedure that he

administered or, in this case, did not administer, " Schwartz said. ''The

evidence that

it happened is strong and beyond a reasonable doubt. "

Reilly's office said other charges stem from allegations that issued

23 hoisting licenses -- issued to operate heavy equipment -- and two oil

burner licenses without administering exams required by law. It could not be

determined last night whether the applicants continue to hold state licenses;

state public safety officials did not return a reporter's calls seeking their

comment.

''These licenses, and there are 25 in these indictments, we allege were

issued directly by , not by others, " Schwartz said. ''We're alleging

that

signed off on these 25 license applications and that personally

falsely certified that he personally had given tests to these 25. "

Schwartz said issued the 25 licenses over the 18 months immediately

prior to his suspension in October. Reilly's office chose to examine that time

period because the Department of Public Safety in April 2002 revamped its

licensing system, computerizing testing and grading, among other things.

Schwartz said there was no evidence to suggest that was personally

enriching himself through bribery or extortion.

''We have not charged bribery, " Schwartz said. ''We do not have evidence to

support any such indictments. We are not prepared to speculate or comment on

possible motives. "

Soon after joined the state Department of Public Safety, the Federal

Bureau of Investigation began probing irregularities in the department's

licensing procedures.

The FBI neither confirms nor denies investigations, but the Globe reported

last fall that city of Cambridge officials, as well as a former Centerville

homeowner, have been interviewed in relation to interactions with .

In the 1980s, when worked in Boston City Hall in the inspections

department, was singled out by fellow employees for providing

information

to the FBI in a bribery investigation that led to 11 indictments. The probe

was headed by Weld's office when he was the local US Attorney.

In 1999, Governor Cellucci considered for the position of Public

Safety Commissioner, but the offer was withdrawn after a sexual harassment

case against surfaced. The Globe reported in 1999 that was found

to have harassed an underling in 1995, and that was ordered to undergo

sensitivity training.

After was placed on leave in October, Flynn -- Romney's secretary of

public safety -- began the process of hiring independent auditors to

determine if any of the thousands of professional licenses issued during

's

tenure were given out improperly. A spokeswoman for Flynn did not return calls

yesterday.

My Letter to the Editor of the Boston Globe -

After reading the article, “Safety official indictedâ€, we feel as if the

FACTS we have been telling for over a decade are finally being believed. I am

the former Centerville Massachusetts resident that is mentioned in Mr. ’s

article.

Sadly for thousands of family in Massachusetts, the FBI waited until many of

us became homeless before doing an investigation. I first contacted the FBI

several years ago with Government records that showed cases of open

corruption. Seems we weren’t on their radar screen.

Over the past decade the Governor's, Attorneys General and many within the

Legislature have known of " irregularities " within the Department of Public

Safety. Instead of taking action they all headed for cover or covered up the

" irregularities " by the Department of Public Safety.

These " irregularities " concerned illegal, unhealthy and unsafe construction

that was being allowed and overlooked by the State Building Inspector,

, of the Department of Public Safety. We are talking about, at least,

hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal, unsafe and unhealthy construction

across the State.

In spite of many written complaints and public testimony given to the FBI

and State Legislative Committees, with State Public Records as evidence, they

all refused to act. When presented with the same State Public Record evidence

Governor's Weld, Cellucci and Swift did nothing but promote .

Gubernatorial candidate Romney's staff stated, " Be confident that when Mitt

is elected he will take the broom of reform and sweep out many of those like

Mr. Rodgers (and hopefully in Mr. Rodger's case, directly into jail.) " They

also stated " From the materials you have sent me it is seemingly clear that

corruption in the town of Barnstable relating to your home implicates many in

high ranking state positions, and some in the legislature itself. Such

disgusting abuse of power is exactly the type of problem that Mitt Romney is

uniquely qualified to remedy. "

Attorney General's Harshbarger and Reilly had said it was their job to

" protect " State employees when they are accused. It seems they practiced a get

out

of jail program for corrupt government employees at the expense of citizens.

Massachusetts Public Records clearly show and discuss the total failures of

Mr. to do his job as the Chief Building Inspector. His failures are

listed in numerous complaints and reports. He even refused to give documents,

requested from the Attorney General's staff, which dealt with unsafe

construction investigations. He also ignored requests from the Legislature.

It is time to use the " BROOM " that Governor Romney's staff mentioned. This

broom can be used to clean up the stench of bad Government in the Department

of Public Safety, Legislature, AG's and Governor's offices. The FBI needs to

learn the same lessons. These people have forgotten that they work for the

most important Special Interest of all, WE THE PEOPLE!

Ken Moulton

2804 SW J Ave.

#36

Lawton, OK 73505

580-581-1657

Here is my Family that was destroyed by this open Government corruption. We

did nothing to deserve it. We are Americans!