The feds have the cancer-stricken former House Speaker locked
up in Butner, North Carolina, 684 miles from Boston. Bellotti and many other people believe he should
be serving his time instead at the Devens correctional institute, less than 30
miles from Boston. There’s a hospital at
Devens.
In his letter to the Herald editor, Bellotti reminded us
that the judge who sentenced DiMasi had
recommended that DiMasi be put at Devens.
He wrote:
“It is time to follow Judge Wolf’s recommendation. During his 30 years on Beacon Hill, DiMasi
did a lot of good for the people of Massachusetts. He deserves to come home.”
On November 30, 2011, DiMasi began serving an eight-year
sentence on bribery charges related to a shady deal involving the sale of
software to the state. Not long
afterwards, he began complaining to prison authorities about his physical
condition. There were suspicious lumps
on his neck he wanted checked.
DiMasi had to wait almost five full months to see a cancer specialist. He underwent a series of tests. About a month after that, he was informed he
had Stage 4 tongue cancer. The disease
had spread from his mouth to his neck.
It was a threat to his life.
When DiMasi’s wife, Debbie, was interviewed by TV reporter
Janet Wu last week, we learned he has also suffered from lung cancer since at
least August, 2012. Mrs. DiMasi said she
found that out only recently when she obtained a copy of his medical file. No one responsible for supervising his
incarceration or treating his cancer had ever bothered to inform them of the
cancer in his lungs, she lamented.
If your worst enemy needed top-notch cancer diagnostic
services and treatment, you’d wish he was in the clutches of the federal prison
system.
It was good to see a respected public official like Bellotti
try publicly to do something for Sal DiMasi, who was quick to help the misfortunate
and the downtrodden when he had the power of the Majority Leader of the House,
and later Speaker, in his hands.
I’m still waiting for one prominent office holder to step
forward and urge Governor Deval Patrick to appeal to President Obama to commute
DiMasi’s sentence and set him free immediately. Our president will take our governor’s
call. They’re close.
Janet Wu noted that, under federal guidelines, DiMasi will
be eligible for early release on compassionate grounds once he’s served half of
his eight-year sentence. That would be in
November, 2015, roughly one year, nine months from now. He could be dead long before that.
I will always acknowledge the seriousness of the offenses
DiMasi committed. I will never be
dismissive of the fact he betrayed the trust placed in him by the voters of his
district and the citizens of our Commonwealth.
I will also never forget the way, when he was Majority
Leader and Speaker, he helped people who were not from his district, folks who would
never be in a position to do anything for him in return. He had a big heart, an instinctively generous
bent.
How much punishment is enough?
Sal DiMasi is 68 years old.
He lost his reputation, his license to practice law, his means of earning
a living, his pension. He exhausted his
savings in his legal defense. Then he
lost his freedom and his health. Recent
reports indicate that he’s lost a great deal of weight and has difficulty
swallowing solid food. If that is not
the definition of a “broken man,” I’ve never seen one.
Here’s another pertinent consideration:
If DiMasi had pleaded guilty before trial, he would have
received a much lighter sentence, maybe as “light” as four years, in which case
he’d now be eligible for a compassionate release because his health is so bad.
Yes, a significant part of his punishment is due the fact he
believed in his innocence and had the temerity to act on that belief. It’s always been that way when defendants
deal with the prosecution. It doesn’t
make it right. Too often it makes for
too much punishment.
