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March 4
Our favorite Governor and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney will join us in studio to talk about his brand spanking new book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness

The hack train is never-ending
By Howie Carr | Wednesday, March 3, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Columnists
Photo
Photo by Ted Fitzgerald (file)

Here is Rachel Kaprielian, the ex-solon Registrar of Motor Vehicles, on the need to raise the now-rescinded fees:

“We’re in a fiscal crisis and fees are realigning to reflect that crisis.”

Realigning - is that the new euphemism for raising taxes? Whatever happened to “revenue enhancement?” Or “investment in the future?”

Why are we in a fiscal crisis? Because of the hackerama. Did you see the stories in the Sunday Herald about the court clerks personally pocketing $2.5 million last year in get-out-of-jail fees?

Did anyone notice the runner-up in the clerks’ gravy train? That would be Kevin Creedon, the Brockton District clerk magistrate. After a nationwide search, he makes $110,221 a year, plus $42,947 a year in fees. In the past four years, Creedon made $203,078 in fees.

Not bad, huh? How about his brother, Michael Creedon? A former state rep and state senator, he is now a judge - $129,694 a year.

There’s a third Creedon brother, Bob. Would you care to guess if he works in the Dreaded Private, or public sector? That’s right, the former state senator (he succeeded a guy named Mike Creedon) was elected clerk of courts in 2008 and now makes, like brother Kevin, $110,221 a year.

Bob Creedon, by the way, is married to Geraldine Creedon. Would you care to guess who the state rep from Brockton is? You are correct - and Rep. Geraldine Creedon makes $61,440.20.

You know the old saying. It’s one thing to feed at the trough. But the Creedons are licking the plate.

This explains Deval Patrick’s frenzy to “realign” taxes, as the lovely Rachel put it. One of the solons who stepped up to fight the $5 Registry realignment was Sen. Steve Baddour of Methuen. And his wife works . . . where?

That’s right, Ann Baddour makes $34,517 as an associate probation officer, which he neglected to mention as required on his State Ethics Commission form until he was asked about it by Commonwealth Magazine. An “oversight,” don’t you know.

The probation commissioner, Mrs. Sen. Baddour’s boss, is one John O’Brien, who makes $130,305 a year. One of the O’Brien daughters, Genevieve, works in a division of probation - Community Corrections - making $45,693 a year.

O’Brien lives in Quincy, which also happens to be the hometown of the state treasurer, Tim Cahill. And in yet another amazing coincidence, O’Brien’s wife and another of his daughters both work for Cahill, who is the independent candidate for governor.

Wife Laurie O’Brien is at the Lottery for $50,950 a year, and daughter Kelly Rose O’Brien is a claims analyst in the Treasury for $38,500 a year.

Nationwide Searches ’R’ Us. That should be the new motto of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Did I mention that O’Brien’s deputy commissioner of Probation is Christopher Bulger? Whitey’s nephew makes $114,021 a year.

Realignment? This state doesn’t need realignment, it needs an enema.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1236848