Contributions May Connect Councilor to Probation Scandal...

Councilor Ferrera (Urban Compass)

Not quite five years ago, with then Council-President Kateri Walsh looking on, Judge William Boyle swore in at-large councilor James Ferrera, III as the city’s newest councilor.  His effective predecessor, Angelo Puppolo, had resigned his seat in order to join the Massachusetts House of Representatives.  Ferrera got the gig by being only a few votes short of securing a seat in the 2005 election.  On that day, however, there was somebody other than family and friends haunting 36 Court Street who may have been among Ferrera’s most important political allies: Senator Stephen Buoniconti.

Over the years, Ferrera would receive only $100 from Buoniconti or his campaign directly even as Ferrera and members of his family would contribute thousands to Buoniconti’s campaign and other influential Beacon Hill politicians.  During this time, Ferrera would begin to work at the Probation Department, which runs under the auspices of  the commonwealth’s trial courts.  This employment began and continues when, in the word of counsel investigating the department, “[hiring] and promotion processes have been fraudulently orchestrated from beginning to end in favor of connected candidates.”

Until around the time Ferrera was sworn-in, he worked as a finance officer at Marcotte Ford in Holyoke.  Some time after that, however, Ferrera began working as an Assistant Court Services Coordinator at the Department of Probation’s Office of Community Corrections.  The exact date of that employment is not fully clear, but it does appear to correspond with the approximate time that Ferrera joined the council.  According to campaign finance records, Ferrera and his mother would donate nearly $3,000 between 2006 and 2010, the year Buoniconti ceased to be an elected official after losing last year’s district attorney race.  However, the year Ferrera joined the council he or his committee gave an annual donation of $100 dollars to State Representative Thomas Petrolati of Ludlow whom the Boston Globe called the “King of Patronage.”  The donations seemingly ended when Petrolati narrowly avoided scandal when Sal DiMasi resigned from the House amid separate accusations.

Ferrera is not the only member of the family to work in Probation while contributing generously to Buoniconti.  His cousin, Jill Cocchi works as a Probation Officer and between her and her family members, has contributed nearly $1000 to Buoniconti, including a $500 contribution in 2007, the year Ferrera joined the council.  Cocchi’s own employment started no earlier than 2005, but that could stretch back to earlier employment elsewhere with the commonwealth.  Between both families, Buoniconti received nearly $4,000 dollars.  According to the Globe's analysis of campaign records and probation documents, Buoniconti had received the most money from Probation employees after Petrolati and current House Speaker Robert DeLeo.

At the time of posting, Ferrera had not responded to a request for comment from WMassP&I on this story and his relationship  with Buoniconti.

Cocchi, whose name appears on the Globe’s 2010 list of possibly-connected employees, was linked to Ferrera after a Republican story highlighted an overpayment Ferrera’s campaign committee made to the candidate.  That story noted that Ferrera had overpaid a loan he made to his campaign by almost $4000.  The Republican reported on a letter from the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance to his grandmother and campaign treasurer, Catherine Cocchi.  A search of public records and newspaper clippings linked Ferrera and Cocchi as cousins.

That Ferrera and his cousin would hold public employment is not itself surprising.  His maternal grandmother and grandfather were a firefighter and teacher respectively and   Cocchi’s father, Mark is a Springfield Police Officer.

Fmr. Sen. Stephen Buoniconti (Valley Advocate)

At no time, did either Buoniconti or Petrolati represent Ferrera in the legislature.  Furthermore, no other elected official representing Springfield or anywhere else in Massachusetts got the same amount of contributions from Ferrera as Buoniconti including Brian Lees, Gale Candaras and Puppolo who have represented Ferrera’s Palmyra street residence over the years.  With the exception of Puppolo, records confirm, none received contributions from either Ferrera or his mother Joanne after Ferrera joined the council despite the fact that Lees is now Clerk of Courts and Candaras a state senator.

Politicians giving to one another, whether one represents the other or not, is common.  However, it is not so for Springfield City Council candidates especially in the amounts Ferrera and his family have given.  Former councilor and present council candidate Bud Williams has given $450 to Petrolati over the years.  Candidate Charles Rucks gave $100 once to Buoniconti.  Of incumbent at-large councilors only Tim Rooke has ever given to Buoniconti or  Petrolati, although in the case of the latter as recently as this year.  Nevertheless Ferrera’s overall contributions to Beacon Hill politicians outstrip anything contributed by other sitting councilors and council candidates.

The Year in Springfield 2010...

So comes again another year the wide world of Springfield.  As is tradition, WMassP&I will recount the events and news that made 2010 different from 1876 in Springfield.  As both a city and as one of 351 parts of Massachusetts, Springfield saw its share of ups and downs that may come back to haunt, er, define us in the coming decade.  I guess it really depends.

City Hall (WmassP&I)

The year's most important event may very well have been a continuation of an event we mentioned last year.  The Springfield City Council underwent a paramount shift not only in structure, but in composition as it expanded form nine to thirteen in order to welcome new councilors from the city's eight wards.  Five seats remained at-large.  Four of those seats were retained by councilors under the old setup, with former School Committeeman Thomas Ashe filling out the fifth.  The diverse group of newcomers included time-tested figures like E. Henry Twiggs and past city council candidates John Lysak and Clodo Concepcion.  New faces included the city's youngest councilor in its history, Michael Fenton, Tim Allen, Melvin Edwards, Zaida Luna, and Keith Wright, a Springfield schoolteacher.

Not long afterward, Massachusetts rocked the national political landscape by electing State Senator Scott Brown to the United States Senate.  While national Republicans spun a fairy tale that the President Obama's allegedly left-wing policies were to blame, determined tea partiers aside, the result was due to a dismal campaign by Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Beacon Hill was not without its share of attention.  Budget troubles meant more cuts, particularly for cities and towns meant a reduction in school and unrestricted aid.  The entire situation was laid against the backdrop of an election for governor, which even early in the year was thought to be a bruiser for Democrats.  Charles Baker was coming at Gov. Deval Patrick from the right, Tim Cahill, former Democrat, was coming from the further right, while Jill Stein attempted to slip in from the left.  

Mohegan Sun (wikipedia)

Casinos, too, became an issue that would crest at the end of the session.  Massachusetts Speaker Robert DeLeo rammed through casino legislation that would have essentially given dying racetracks the right to open slot parlors in an attempt to make it like it never was when Deleo's father worked at the tracks.  Locally Mohegan Sun, who forays into non-Connecticut states has not been without controversy, got behind building a casino right off the Mass Pike in Palmer.

Longtime Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett announced his intention to retire this year. 

Pro Tempore Today...On Probation Tomorrow...

Fallout from the release of a damning report on the administration of the commonwealth's Probation Department has finally landed on the head of State Representative Thomas Petrolati.  The Ludlow Democrat, whose district includes Indian Orchard in Springfield was the Speaker Pro Temp of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.  He has held that position, which serves little, if any purpose, since the last Speaker, Salvatore DiMasi clawed his way into the speakership.  Speaker Robert DeLeo announced Petrolati will step down from the post when the legislature convenes in January.

Rep. Petrolati (mass.gov)

The Probation Scandal, about which you can read more at Boston Globe, in short consisted of rampant favoritism, corruption, mismanagement, and possible pay-for-play personnel decisions.  Petrolati was called the king of Western Mass Patronage, implicated as being among the more flagrant probation jobs-for-donations participants.

When the scandal broke, the Supreme Judicial Court appointed Boston attorney Paul Ware to investigate the corruption.  During his probe, he subpoenaed Petrolati who attempted to behind some legislative privilege as a reason why he need not testify.  The SJC told him otherwise, but reportedly, Petrolati made heavy use of his Fifth Amendment Protection against self-incrimination.

Gov. Deval Patrick (WMassP&I)

Petrolati may actually be remembered best as the sole dissenting voice of any consequence against placing the State Backup Data center at the site of Springfield former Technical High School.  For reasons never completely understood, Petrolati wanted the center put at the STCC's Technology Park, despite the complex lacking the adequate security that could be easily built into the Tech building during its gutting and renovation.  The considerable sway of Petrolati's constructed office gave him the power to change the bill that funded the data center to suit his needs, possibly out power-playing Cong. Richard Neal.  In the end, wishing to avert an inter-party war over a non-issue, the Legislature decided to leave that final decision of the data center's location to Gov. Deval Patrick.  Patrick, to the surprise of few, picked Tech over Technology Park.

This controversy and Petrolati's odd continuance in the pointless House office even after Robert DeLeo became speaker might have inspired somebody, anybody, to oppose Petrolati in his race to continue as representative.  Not so.  Even in a Republican year (or the impression of one in Massachusetts), nobody Democrat or Republican, opposed Petrolati.  If for no other reason, the GOP should be ashamed because, again in their logic, the town of Ludlow went Scott Brown in January.

Even in the dysfunction and complicity of Democrats in the Springfield area and Massachusetts as a whole, Petrolati has come to stand out.  His Pro Temp appointment raised eyebrows and his involvement in the data center raised objections--from virtually everybody.  Like many politicians he has remained glued to his seat in large part because of his intimate connection to the people of Ludlow (we are largely of the opinion Petrolati has done squat for I.O.).

Speaker DeLeo (mass.gov)

In dismissing Petrolati, WFCR reported that Speaker Robert DeLeo implied that Petrolati's refusal to answer Paul Ware's questions was part of the reason the Ludlow representative was leaving the leadership.  Although couched as a mutual agreement as reported by the Globe, the writing on the wall as it is, DeLeo's account is very likely very generous in how things actually played out for Petrolati.

While the yawning scandal may very well capture more members of the legislature, the reports have only highlighted a few so far.  Inspector General Gregory Sullivan has begun an investigation and Attorney General Martha Coakley and US Attorney Carmen Diaz may yet open investigations, which may turn up more evidence and official corruption.  However, none locally or even statewide have been implicated quite so damningly as Petrolati.  It may be premature to call his political career over, but do not be surprised if the voters in Ludlow and Springfield find themselves springing for an election ahead of schedule.

If anybody will miss Petrolati, it may only be those diehards in Ldulow, who, for whatever reason, continued to support him even as his shine had long since dimmed.  It is hard to say what Petrolati's fate is or for that matter what good he has done for his district.  However, if the allegations are true regarding his involvement in the Probation office and were there some malfeasance in his data center position, it seems likely if not certain the representative had his hand in many other less than honest endeavors.