Corruption ‘A Way of Life’ in Massachusetts According to Report

When you consider that three of the last five Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives resigned from office and were found guilty of criminal charges or copped a plea, you might think you've landed in a lost episode of The Sopranos.

But that's life in corrupt little Massachusetts.

Salvatore Dimasi of Boston, House Speaker from 2004 to 2009, was convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud, and extortion. Thomas Finneran of Mattapan wielded the gavel from 1996 to 2004. Finneran resigned and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. Charles Flaherty of Cambridge was Speaker of the House from 1991 to 1996 when he resigned and pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

The current House Speaker, Ron Mariano, was preceded by Speaker Robert DeLeo of Winthrop, whose reign lasted from 2009 to 2020 when he resigned to accept a position at Northeastern University.

While never charged with wrongdoing, CommonWealth Beacon says DeLeo was named an "unindicted coconspirator" in a federal investigation of corruption on Beacon Hill.

Dimasi, Finneran, Flaherty, DeLeo and Mariano were all Democrats.

Public corruption in Massachusetts politics is nothing new. A May 1964 article in TIME, "Massachusetts: Corruption is Commonplace," describes how 26 individuals, including House Speaker John Thompson, and nine corporations were indicted on 217 counts, including bribery and conspiracy.

In 1978, Democrat Sen. George Rogers of New Bedford (also the city's former mayor) was convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery. Rogers was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $5,000. After completing his sentence, Rogers served in the Massachusetts House and on the New Bedford City Council.

The Ward Commission, appointed in 1980 to investigate public corruption in state and county building projects, found corruption was "a way of life" in Massachusetts.

In February 1993, Democrat Sen. William Q. "Biff" MacLean of Fairhaven pleaded guilty to public corruption charges. He paid the state $512,000 and served a one-year probation.

The Center for Public Integrity gave Massachusetts a grade of D+ in its 2015 State Integrity Investigation.

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In May 2025, Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio accused Gov. Maura Healey's administration of "improper and unlawful use of emergency procurements," and former shelter director Jon Fetherston asked AG Pam Bondi to investigate what he calls a "disturbing pattern" of criminal activity in Healey's emergency shelter system.

This is but a sampling of government corruption in Massachusetts. There is a lot more where that came from.

If you wonder why the power brokers ignore state law that calls for an audit of the Massachusetts Legislature, it's just business as usual on the Hill.