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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (457013)	2/16/2009 5:48:54 PM
From: one_less	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1578034

Mass. Speaker DiMasi will resign Tuesday Add a Comment January 25, 10:09 PM by John Zorabedian, Boston Top News Examiner « PreviousNext » Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, under investigation for corruption and under a cloud of suspicion since he was reelected to his powerful post earlier this month, said Sunday that he will resign from the legislature, the Boston Globe reported. DiMasi sent a letter to House colleagues explaining that he will step down effective at 5:00 pm on Tuesday, January 27. DiMasi was unapologetic and told the Globe that he is leaving with his "head high." He blamed "powerful special interests," particularly the gambling lobby he successfully blocked from legalizing casinos in the state, for the ethics investigations underway against him. In his letter, DiMasi recounted his record of achievements in his four years as speaker of the house, and said he made the decision to resign after speaking to his wife and children. No matter what the cynics and critics will say, all of my actions as state Representative and as Speaker were based solely on what I thought was in the best interests of my district and the people of the Commonwealth," DiMasi wrote. He concluded his letter: "I leave the State House knowing that I did what any good public servant hopes to do before they end their service--I made a difference. I am proud of all I have done and I leave with no regrets, not one." DiMasi, who represented Boston's North End for 30 years, including as Speaker for the last four years, was the first Italian-American elected to serve as Speaker in the 225-year history of the state legislature. His record of accomplishments includes authoring the legislation that enacted Massachusetts' groundbreaking health insurance law. But despite DiMasi's popularity among his constituents and among colleagues, he has been under pressure to resign since last week, when the Globe revealed that DiMasi's friend and accountant Richard Vitale paid off $7,500 in legal fees owed by DiMasi's in-laws. Vitale was indicted last week by a state grand jury on charges that he sought to influence state legislation through his relationship to DiMasi on behalf of clients, a group of ticket brokers who sought new rules on ticket scalping. The Globe also reported that an aide to DiMasi met with the head of the ticket brokers' association at Vitale's office, on the same day that DiMasi and his wife signed paperwork for a $250,000 third mortgage Vitale gave them on their North End condo. A federal grand jury is investigating the state's awarding of a multimillion-dollar computer software contract to a Burlington, Mass. firm, Cognos, that made $1.8 million in payments - sometimes undisclosed - to three friends of DiMasi. DiMasi said House Democrats will caucus on Wednesday to elect his successor.

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (457013)	2/16/2009 5:51:13 PM
From: one_less	2 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1578034

Same case but now A republican speaker resigns TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The embattled speaker of the Florida House stepped down from that post on Friday, saying he could not carry out his duties while he was under investigation in a corruption inquiry. The speaker, Ray Sansom, 46, a Republican from Destin, said in a memorandum to House members that he would temporarily hand over the responsibilities as speaker to Speaker Pro Tempore Larry Cretul, a Republican from Ocala, while he dealt with the legal proceedings against him. Mr. Sansom’s move follows the resignation on Tuesday of the speaker of the Massachusetts House, Salvatore F. DiMasi, a Democrat, who said he wanted to find a job outside politics. Mr. DiMasi’s former campaign treasurer and accountant was indicted last month on charges of making illegal campaign contributions and illegal lobbying. On the same day in November that he was sworn in as speaker, Mr. Sansom took a $110,000-a-year part-time job as vice president for development and planning with Northwest Florida State College. On Monday, a Leon County grand jury voted to investigate Mr. Sansom’s ties to the college. The vote followed a series of articles in The St. Petersburg Times that detailed how Mr. Sansom had steered millions of dollars to the college while he was chairman of the House budget committee and raised questions about whether college officials had sidestepped Florida’s open-government laws. Mr. Sansom resigned from the college job this month. He insisted Friday that he expected to be exonerated on all charges. “The allegations and reports associated with these proceedings have caused my family grave pain, and this has prompted my decision,” Mr. Sansom said of his stepping down. “I expect positive outcomes and am confident that when the facts are known, my honesty and integrity will be confirmed.” He had come under increasing pressure from fellow Republicans worried about how the investigations would affect the Legislature when the state was facing a financial crisis. Lawmakers may have to cut billions more in state spending during the regular session that starts in March. “I respect Speaker Sansom’s difficult decision today,” Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, said in a brief statement. Mr. Sansom’s move to relinquish his duties temporarily is believed to be a first in state history. Jill Chamberlin, a spokeswoman for Mr. Sansom, said that he would not give up his title, although Ms. Chamberlin could not say whether he would retain the $41,000 salary that goes with the post. Rank-and-file members of the House are paid $31,000. But Representative J. C. Planas, Republican of Miami, questioned the legality of the move and said the prospect of Mr. Sansom’s return would not satisfy people upset with the Legislature. Other Republicans said they were comfortable with Mr. Sansom’s temporary departure. Mr. Sansom was first elected to the Legislature in 2002. Thanks in part to term limits that force lawmakers out in eight years, he rose quickly in the ranks. His work to help his hometown college did not come under scrutiny until the college’s Board of Trustees gave him the part-time job in November. News reports detailed how Mr. Sansom championed legislation that elevated the college from its community college status and how he was able to win millions of dollars for construction projects for the college.