Court revokes ex-speaker’s pension

By DENISE LAVOIE

Associated Press

Published: 04-05-2017 11:28 PM

BOSTON — Former Massachusetts House Speaker Thomas Finneran must forfeit his $34,000-a-year pension because of his conviction on an obstruction of justice charge, the state’s highest court ruled Wednesday.

The Supreme Judicial Court agreed with a ruling by the state Board of Retirement that found Finneran’s conduct was directly related to his position. It overturned a later ruling by a Municipal Court judge who ordered the pension reinstated after finding that Finneran was not acting in a public capacity when he gave false testimony in a lawsuit challenging a legislative redistricting plan.

“While Finneran’s offense itself does not directly implicate his duties as Speaker of the House, it is nonetheless inextricably intertwined with his position,” Justice Barbara Lenk wrote for the court in the unanimous ruling.

“Simply put, it is only because he had been Speaker of the House at the relevant time that he was in a position to testify as to the genesis of the redistricting plan and to do so falsely. This connection is enough to warrant forfeiture.”

Finneran, a Democrat from Boston, had a long career in the state Legislature, beginning in 1979 and ending with his resignation in 2004 during the federal investigation. During his reign as speaker from 1996 to 2004, he was known to rule with an authoritarian style that earned him the nickname “King Tom” from some critics.

Finneran pleaded guilty to a federal obstruction of justice in 2007 for lying about his involvement in the redistricting plan, which was later thrown out because it diluted the voting power of minorities.

In his testimony in a lawsuit challenging the plan, Finneran said he had no role in drafting a new map of legislative districts beyond appointing members of a redistricting committee. Opponents of the plan said the new map discriminated against blacks and other minority voters in Boston while protecting Finneran and other incumbents.

Finneran later admitted he misrepresented his role, but said it was because he was offended by allegations of racial bias.

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The Supreme Judicial Court also rejected an argument by Finneran’s lawyer that forfeiting his pension would be an excessive fine in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The court noted that Finneran’s crime — a felony connected to a redistricting plan that violated federal law — carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The court said that under those circumstances, the forfeiture of $433,400 in pension payments —the value of his future payments as calculated in 2007 — does not qualify as an excessive fine.

Finneran’s lawyer, Nicholas Poser, said Finneran is “very disappointed, but not surprised” by the ruling.

“He realized it would not be politically prudent of them to reinstate his pension,” Poser said.

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