William Burke

A former Massachusetts probation commissioner convicted of rigging the agency's hiring process to favor politically connected candidates has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. U.S. District Court Judge William Young sentenced John O'Brien on Thursday, saying ``every judge in Massachusetts'' must stand ``appalled'' by the extent of corruption in the state probation department revealed b

A federal judge has agreed to remove himself from the trial of former state probation commissioner John O'Brien and two ex-colleagues.       O'Brien, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke are accused in a federal indictment with rigging the hiring process at the probation department to favor candidates promoted by the powerful state lawmakers...