Retirement board to repay, appeal DiMasi pension
The State Board of Retirement, in a split vote, decided Thursday to repay nearly $50,000 in pension money it withheld from former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, while also appealing a court's order to do so while the Boston Democrat awaits trial on federal corruption charges.
Treasurer Timothy Cahill, an independent candidate for governor and chairman of the board, said he believed a higher court would overturn the lower court's ruling, as the Supreme Judicial Court did in another case where the board suspended the pension in the high-profile criminal case of Jack Bulger.
But the treasurer said equally important was having a higher court clarify the state's pension laws, so not only the state board but its municipal counterparts know when - and for what crimes - they can suspend pension payments.
"We want the court's guidance; we want to know. There's gray area," Cahill said.
Referring to the state pension law, the treasurer added: "A lot of Chapter 32 is gray, and until we get legal precedents from the court, ... then the lawyers tend to go back and forth and the boards get caught in the middle. We're trying to take the board out of the middle."
DiMasi's attorney, Thomas Kiley, labeled the decision to appeal "a shame" and said, "The law is already crystal clear."
He added: "My attention and the speaker's attention should be devoted entirely to the federal matter, and these diversions are not welcome."
Kiley also said the board's decision could affect a motion he filed in the federal case. That motion sought to dismiss the federal case, arguing that the state's decision to withhold DiMasi's nearly $5,000-per-month pension payment was impeding the former speaker's ability to finance his defense.
The board decided to withhold that money, first in June 2009 and again since last November, after federal prosecutors told the state that holding a required hearing on a proposed suspension could divulge sensitive information in the criminal case.
Kiley later argued in court that the state could not both deny the required hearing and also the pension payment.
DiMasi and three associates were charged last year in an alleged bid-rigging scheme for two state software contracts. Prosecutors say the former speaker netted $57,000. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The retirement board decided to suspend DiMasi's pension because he was a public official and it believed the charges could prove a misappropriation of state funds.
Earlier this month, Boston Municipal Court Judge Lawrence McCormick ruled that withholding the pension was not warranted and jeopardized DiMasi's ability to defend himself in the corruption case.
Cahill made the dual motion to both restore the pension and pursue the appeal. The board voted 3-2 in favor, with members Ralph White and Theresa McGoldrick in opposition.
The vote and prior discussion took place behind closed doors, and only Cahill addressed reporters afterward.
