Sal DiMasi: Former Speaker Granted Early Release from Prison

BOSTON, MA — Described by doctors as "fragile" after suffering complications from cancer treatments, former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi will be released from prison early, five years into an eight-year sentence on conspiracy, extortion and other political corruption-related charges.

The court ordered Thursday that DiMasi be released on Nov. 22, according to a 69-page ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf.

Federal prosecutors requested DiMasi's early release under the compassionate release program due to the 71-year-old's deteriorating health. The federal judge in the case had asked for additional evidence, to avoid the appearance of special treatment or consideration in the case of a former politician.

Read More: Judge Wants to Ensure No Special Treatment Involved in DiMasi Case

DiMasi has served roughly five of his eight-year sentence. He was previously scheduled for release in November 2018, given credit for good behavior.

The most damaging convictions included extortion and conspiracy to defraud citizens of honest services related to contracts awarded to Cognos, a software company, in exchange for up to $65,000 in kickbacks, as Patch previously reported. DiMasi lived in Boston's North End.

Despite the evolution of legal guidelines for compassionate release of prisoners, multiple requests for DiMasi's release were denied.

But in July of this year, DiMasi's four lawyers met, "for at least the second time," with Massachusetts' U.S. District Attorney Carmen Ortiz, someone who "ordinarily would not have become involved in this matter," Judge Wolf's order notes.

Ortiz helped convict DiMasi, but after speaking to his lawyers, who met with her pro bono, she asked a legal representative with the Bureau of Prisons to reconsider the former lawmaker's release, according to the order.

"The Bureau responded promptly and, ultimately, positively to this request," Wolf wrote.

DiMasi is not now terminally ill, the judge states, and his various cancers are in remission. However, his difficulty swallowing and need for monitoring provides "extraordinary and compelling reasons" to reduce DiMasi's sentence.

However, the judge's consent came with certain strings attached.

According to Wolf's order, DiMasi must stay confined to his home for six months. He will not be electronically monitored and "may leave his residence for any medical emergency or, with the prior approval of the Probation Office, for medical appointments and religious observances," the order stated. Upon request, after three months, DiMasi could potentially knock that requirement own from a 24-hour confinement to a "curfew," Wolf's order said.

He's additionally banned from associating with convicted co-defendant Richard McDonough, a former lobbyist, and with acquitted co-defendant Richard Vitale, an ex-financial adviser and friend. DiMasi and his family are additionally "prohibited from receiving anything of value from Vitale, to whom DiMasi directed hundreds of thousands of dollars DiMasi extorted in this case," the judge's order states.

Sal DiMasi: Early Release Requested for Ex-House Speaker

The court order additionally breaks down the specifics of DiMasi's disease, stating that he first developed cancer of the tongue and throat in 2012. It required radiation, chemotherapy and, eventually, a feeding tube for a year, the order states.

To this day, despite multiple procedures to correct it, DiMasi's throat remains so narrow, post-radiation, that it's recommended he eat only pureed food. Even then, he is at risk of choking when he eats and at risk of having food go into his lungs, which has in the past caused pneumonia and could again, the order states.

In 2015, DiMasi was found to have prostate cancer, now in remission thanks to radiation therapy, the order says. However, the narrowed throat and challenges swallowing are believed to be permanent.

DiMasi is currently being held at a low-security facility in North Carolina. He will be released to the custody of his wife, Deborah, and will return home in time for Thanksgiving.

Image via Patch archive