The bill was approved about 8 months after an independent investigator issued a sweeping report that detailed patronage and rigged hiring in the Probation Department.
Rep. Thomas Petrolati of LudlowBOSTON – State legislators on Friday approved a bill that restricts nepotism and patronage in state government, overhauls hiring in probation and the courts and puts a professional administrator in charge of operations of the Trial Court.
The bill was approved about eight months after an independent investigator issued a sweeping report that detailed patronage and rigged hiring in the Probation Department, sparking state and federal investigations.
The bill, a compromise of different versions approved this spring in the state House of Representatives and the Senate, was approved on a voice vote in both branches and sent to Governor Deval L. Patrick, who is reviewing it. Saying the criminal reentry and supervision system is currently too fragmented, Patrick had wanted to combine most of probation into the parole department and combine both under the executive branch. The bill keeps probation in the judiciary.
Rep. Sean F. Curran, a Springfield Democrat and member of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, said the bill calls for significant change in the operation and management of the courts.
"It's moving in the right direction," Curran said. "It improves oversight and transparency."
The bill stemmed from a report issued in November by Boston lawyer Paul F. Ware Jr., who investigated the probation department.
Ware's report concluded that the former probation commissioner and other leading officials in probation rigged hiring to favor certain applicants, including many recommended by judges and legislators.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr of Gloucester said the bill is timely and meaningful.
"I am particularly pleased with the reforms that are being implemented to ensure the integrity of the probation department’s hiring and promotion process, as well as the creation of a new civilian administrator to help the courts manage their resources more effectively," Tarr said.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of GloucesterThe bill seeks to curb the influence of legislators in probation hiring, including Rep. Thomas M. Petrolati , D-Ludlow, who agreed to relinquish his speaker pro tempore's position after he was mentioned almost 90 times in the report by Ware. The report detailed Petrolati's efforts at patronage in the probation department and said he received campaign contributions from 87 employees of the probation department.
Petrolati voted for the bill when it was approved in the House in the spring.
In a mid-year campaign finance report filed last week, Petrolati reported that he spent another $11,670 in campaign money on legal fees, bringing his total to about $108,000 on lawyers since late 2008.
Petrolati reported paying $5,000 in campaign money in January to criminal defense lawyer David Hoose of Northampton. Hoose declined comment.
Petrolati reported paying $6,670 in campaign money to Fierst, Pucci and Kane in Northampton, bringing the total for that firm to about $63,000.
Judge Robert Mulligan, chief justice for administration and managementPetrolati has one of the top campaign accounts in the Legislature with $490,530 in the bank. During the first half of this year, Petrolati reported that he spent a total of $36,694 and raised $45,727, including $2,550 from 13 probation or court employees.
In a letter to Senate Republicans in November, Attorney General Martha M. Coakley said Ware's report outlined serious violations of public trust. Coakley wrote that she assembled a team of prosecutors to investigate probation hiring. The U.S. Attorney's Office is also investigating, The Boston Globe reported.
But Petrolati may not be a target.
John P. Pucci, a Northampton lawyer representing Petrolati, said Friday he has "absolutely no reason" to believe there will be any criminal charges coming against Petrolati.
Pucci said his firm was paid from Petrolati's campaign fund for representing him last year when he unsuccessfully attempted to block a subpoena for Petrolati to testify under oath in Ware's investigation. Petrolati ultimately cited the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions from the independent counsel.
John PucciPucci said Petrolati has not been subpoenaed or asked to testify in front of a grand jury as part of any state or federal investigations into probation.
"He doesn't have any information about anything of a criminal nature and did not participate in anything of a criminal nature," Pucci said.
Petrolati simply made periodic calls to ask that certain candidates be considered for jobs, he said.
"That puts him in a bin with everybody from the governor to the head of the Trial Court," Pucci said.
Judge Robert A. Mulligan, the chief justice for administration and management, and Judge Roderick L. Ireland, chief justice of the state Supreme Judicial Court, issued a joint statement saying they "are pleased that the legislation passed by the Massachusetts House and Senate retains the office of Probation in the Judiciary and addresses the court management structure in an effort to improve the administration of justice."
Under the bill, a civilian court administrator would need to approve hires in the probation department. The probation commissioner will no longer have unilateral hiring authority.
The bill calls for new hiring procedures for probation officers and court officers. Such applicants would need to take an entrance exam and pass background checks, behavioral screening and a review of education and work history, according to a copy of the bill.
To limit the say of legislators in hiring in state agencies, the bill requires recommendations for applicants to be shielded from hiring authorities until the final round of the interview process. Those recommendations will be public record for candidates who are hired.
In addition, applicants for employment within the executive, legislative, and judicial branches will have to disclose in writing the names of all immediate family members who are state employees. This information will be public for successful applicants.
The bill also would revise the way the court system is managed. Currently, a judge, now Mulligan, acts as the chief justice for administration and management is in charge of the day-to-day functions of the Trial Court. The bill places that authority with a new civilian administrator and the chief administrative judge remains with inherently judicial duties such as assigning and disciplining judges.
