Massachusetts House Speaker Robert also announced that he is planning to overhaul the troubled probation department to restore public trust.
State Rep. Thomas Petrolati, D-Ludlow, above, has agreed to give up his No. 3 position in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.BOSTON - State Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati on Tuesday “mutually agreed” to relinquish his No. 3 leadership position as speaker pro tempore in the state House of Representatives following a stinging report that outlined his role in a patronage hiring scandal in the state’s Probation Department.
Saying he is saddened and upset by an independent counsel’s findings on probation, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, D-Winthrop, issued a statement that suggests Petrolati, a Ludlow Democrat, may go back to being a back bencher at the Statehouse after six years as speaker pro tempore. DeLeo did not rule out appointing Petrolati to another leadership post.
“After considerable thought and discussion with Representative Petrolati, we have mutually agreed it would be in the best interests of the House of Representatives that he not seek re-appointment to the post of speaker pro tempore when the House reconvenes in January,” DeLeo said in the statement.
Petrolati, who cited the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions from an independent counsel, has declined comment on the probation investigation. An aide on Tuesday did not respond to a phone call or an e-mail seeking Petrolati’s comment on his loss of the leadership post, which pays $15,000-a-year bonus atop the regular legislator’s salary of $61,440.
As speaker pro tempore, Petrolati has been the speaker’s alter ego, leading formal sessions in the House, representing the speaker at some events and acting as liaison between the speaker and members when crafting and advancing legislation.
Petrolati, a 24-year legislator, was frequently mentioned in a report issued on Thursday by lawyer Paul F. Ware, of Boston, an independent lawyer appointed by the state Supreme Judicial Court to investigate hiring in probation.
Ware’s report concluded that the hiring and promotion process in probation was fraudulent and rigged because the probation commissioner almost always hired candidates anointed by Petrolati or other former and current legislators.
The report offered testimony that the suspended commissioner of probation, John J. O’Brien, solicited campaign donations for Petrolati in a state office building and that a deputy commissioner, also now suspended, would collect money from probation employees for tickets to attend Petrolati’s annual fundraiser in Ludlow.
In his only statement, issued in May, Petrolati said it is irresponsible to suggest he would accept campaign contributions in return for recommending people for jobs.
He said he simply has recommended qualified candidates for jobs, and the state’s chief judge for administration and management, currently Judge Robert A. Mulligan, has the “final say” on probation jobs.
According to Ware’s report, Mulligan said his authority over hiring people in probation was limited to making sure the hiring complied with personnel policies and procedures and affirmative action. Mulligan said he also checked to make sure the funds were available.
The report concludes that Mulligan faced a hostile probation commissioner determined to enforce “a corrupt and fraudulent hiring process.” The report said Mulligan’s power over hiring and promotions was also limited by laws passed by legislators that gave the commissioner the power to appoint.
Former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, now under federal indictment, appointed Petrolati to the then newly-created position of speaker pro tempore in 2005. DiMasi reappointed him in 2007 and then DeLeo kept him in the position in 2009.
Pamela H. Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, said it’s appropriate that Petrolati no longer be speaker pro tempore given the concerns raised by Ware’s report.
“Representative Petrolati at this moment is not facing criminal or civil action, but there very well may be in the future,” Wilmot said.
Petrolati’s lawyer, John P. Pucci, of Northampton, said Ware held nothing back in his report. Pucci said there is nothing in the report to even suggest that Petrolati could face a criminal charge.
Ware’s report was forwarded to the attorney general and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for further investigation.
Rep. Sean F. Curran, D-Springfield, said local legislators will continue to have a strong voice on Beacon Hill despite Petrolati’s pending demotion.
Curran said the public is demanding transparency in probation and that any hiring or promotions be based strictly on merit.
Curran said one change could be to require probation officers to take exams to be hired or promoted.
In a statement, DeLeo said the findings in Ware’s report are severe, significant and disturbing.
“It is clear the probation department cries out for reform and, as the speaker of the House, I intend to lead these reform efforts,” DeLeo said. “These glaring problems in the department do not stem solely from actions carried out by individuals. Rather, the organization itself failed to provide adequate safeguards ... In response to this report, it is the Legislature’s responsibility to contemplate every possible remedy for this problem, including a complete reorganization of the department’s governance structure - and to make changes as soon as possible.”
DeLeo said he met today with Gov. Deval L. Patrick to discuss a plan for overhauling probation. DeLeo said the current structure of probation is flawed and must be changed. He said a bill to reform probation will be a top priority.
Patrick has legislation to remove probation from the judicial branch and combine it with parole under the executive branch.