From the Archives: Sal DiMasi

Photo by John Goodman

Earlier this summer, former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi was found guilty on charges of, among other things, conspiracy, fraud and extortion. It is the culminating moment of years of scandal, corruption and legal proceedings. Then, late last week, the sentence finally arrived: barring appeal, DiMasi has been handed eight years in prison for his crimes.

Read our coverage of DiMasi, from both now and from over the course of his rise and fall as House Speaker:

What We Learned From Sal DiMasi, by Steve Poftak on Boston Daily, September 2011
Now that DiMasi has been sentenced to eight years, we should ask ourselves: Why us? Why again?

Beacon Hill’s Most Fascinating Politician, by Paul Kix on Boston Daily, June 2011
The most fascinating element of Sal DiMasi is not his corruption, but his ability to compartmentalize. This was a man who delivered to the Commonwealth universal health care, who teared up when the bill became law. A man who opposed casino gambling in the Bay State because he knew the toll it took on his childhood neighbors. In fact, DiMasi made so many friends among the forgotten that he seemed to them, and many others, the ideal politician. Though of course, a cynic could say he still looks that way.

Sal DiMasi’s Trial: Color Coordinated?, by Sarah Burns, March 2011

Illustration by Andre Carrilho

Two black politicians were sentenced to prison for taking bribes earlier this year. Now that DiMasi is convicted, will he get the same treatment? Or will his punishment follow suit with the two previous (white) Speakers, who never served a day?

The Devil in Sal Dimasi, by Paul Kix, July 2009
The federal indictment and scandalous headlines have made his alleged sins brutally clear. Yet much about the ex-speaker’s downfall has remained a mystery. The untold story of a titan’s desperate final days in power, and the private crisis that may have driven him to risk everything.

King Sal, by Paul McMorrow, February 2008
He’s drawn heat for defying Governor Deval Patrick and taking his sweet time with reforms. Get to know the guy behind the mustache, though, and you learn this: Our speaker of the House has always done things his own way. And now that he’s made himself the most powerful man in the state, he just wants people to play by his rules.