Free Republic

Former Massachusett House Speaker Thomas Finneran’s desperate bid for a last-minute presidential pardon has failed, after President Bush issued his final acts of executive clemency by commuting the prison sentences of two former U.S. border agents accused of shooting a Mexican drug dealer. A White House aide said the clock ran out for Finneran, convicted of lying about his role in legislative redistricting. Finneran enlisted the help of three former Republican governors to convince the outgoing GOP president to forgive him of the federal felony. “There are no further announcements expected regarding pardons,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. Neither...

It backfired as hit man humor and now Herald columnist Howie Carr wants Tom Finneran behind bars for a tongue-in-cheek threat to have him whacked and stuffed in the trunk of Gov. Deval Patrick’s Cadillac. “Real men don’t talk about putting people in trunks, they just do it,” Carr sniffed yesterday of the former Democratic House speaker, who traded up a felony conviction for a plum gig hosting WRKO-AM’s morning talk show. Last week, Finneran told Patrick on the air that the two of them should take “Howie Carr for a ride,” and “only two will come back.” Calling the...