>>Some state reps continue to cash in on a lucrative perk their constituents don’t get — hefty per diem reimbursements that pay them thousands of dollars simply for commuting to the State House in an unchecked honor system.
Leading the list in 2011 is state Rep. John Binienda (D-Worcester), who put in for 241 days and was reimbursed $8,676. Others include state Rep. Ted Speliotis (D-Danvers), whose 237 days garnered $4,266, and former state Rep. Martha Walz, who claimed 220 days for $2,200. State Reps. John Fresolo, (D-Worcester), Alice Peisch (D-Wellesley) and Paul Donato (D-Medford) all claimed 218 days...Fresolo claimed the most days for any rank-and-file member without a leadership post. He did not return phone calls yesterday.
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Fresolo has other issues to deal with
Carr: Lt. gov really picks cream of the crop
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 By: Howie Carr
All roads seem to lead to Lt. Gov. Tim “Crash” Murray — especially the winding and crooked ones.
Now it turns out that the hack who allegedly went postal on a state rep in Dartmouth a couple of weeks ago gave $200 to Tiny Tim five days before he applied for the state job he desperately wanted.
Hack-on-hack crime — try not to let this destroy your faith in the integrity of state government.
It’s no surprise that the payroll patriot, one David J. Oliveira, felt entitled to a no-heavy-lifting state job that pays as much as $115,000 a year. But assistant commissioner of the agriculture department?
I mean, Oliveira has — had — impeccable hack credentials. Worked for Ted Kennedy and he was a former member of the board of the Steamship Authority — in the Bristol bayou, that makes you a made man.
And yet he allegedly flipped out over losing the job of assistant aggie commissioner? I understand they play for small stakes in Bristol County, but this is ridiculous.
So Oliveira is passed over after butting heads with another hack — the aide to the solon he assaulted at a basketball camp, state Rep. Chris Markey. What was Oliveira thinking? I called him yesterday, but he didn’t return my call. Markey’s dad was a judge and the former mayor of New Bedford. Oliveira left young Markey with a collapsed lung, not exactly a good way to win friends and influence people.
And it all leads back to the lame-duck dead-duck lieutenant governor, Tim “Crash” Murray. Oliveira has been working for the Liberty Square Group, which represents the “embattled” Crash.
Now it turns out that both Markey and Oliveira went to Murray about the job. We all know Tiny Tim is about as bright as a three-watt bulb, but is it possible he promised one job to two people?
If Crash asked Deval for a favor, he’d get it. They have so much in common — both needed three tries to pass the bar exam. I wonder too if Murray knows Oliveira, not just from Liberty Square, but also from Dartmouth. That’s where he’s been known to summer, renting the house of ex-state Rep. John Quinn, who lost his House seat after an failed bid for sheriff.
After taking in Crash as his tenant, Quinn suddenly became “director of graduate public service” at UMass-Dartmouth for $103,000 a year. Another nationwide search.
Did I mention that Oliveira also gave $100 to Quinn? Is UMass-Dartmouth hiring?