Daniel Tavares Continues to Haunt Romney

The Herald continues to bang the Daniel Tavares drum today with a story sourced by someone involved in Deval Patrick’s probe of the Department of Corrections. According to the Herald’s source, the investigation found that Tavares could have remained incarcerated due to bad behavior while he was in prison, but the DOC never followed up.

It goes without saying that the timing is not good for Romney with the Iowa caucus just one week away.

The Herald sketches an outline of the Tavares fiasco that dates back to 1993, when Bill Weld was governor and includes missteps by the Jane Swift and Romney administration, as well.

The Herald also reports that the probe found six disciplinary incidents that should have kept Tavares behind bars for an additional 720 days, but pins the blame squarely on Romney.

But sources said the single most egregious breakdown came under Romney in 2003, when administration officials missed a 60-day deadline for filing paperwork to strip Tavares of 300 days of previously awarded “good time.”

Romney came under tremendous heat in late November after Tavares was arrested for killing a Washington State couple, allegedly over a $50 debt. Pundits across the country immediately made the obvious Willie Horton reference. With Iowa and New Hampshire looming, the timing couldn’t be worse.