Battenfeld: Corruption alive and well in Massachusetts Democratic Party

Corruption is alive and well in Massachusetts Democratic politics For the second time in the last insufficient months the feds have nabbed an elected Democrat and charged them with stealing to fund their personal and political coffers It s refreshing to see the newly appointed U S Attorney Leah Foley making citizens corruption a priority again What is it about the Massachusetts political society that people feel they can brazenly break the law and get away with it But now they aren t getting away with it Democratic state Rep Chris Flanagan of Dennis is the latest target of the feds and he s quite the prize The -year-old two-term lawmaker was charged with stealing over from his business association funneling specific of that into his campaign account and selected to pay for menswear an air conditioner and personal psychic services according to the federal indictment Flanagan in fact went so far as to create an alias named Jeanne Louise who he claimed made a mailer for a group called Conservatives for Flanagan state campaign finance representatives disclosed There was no such group What a tool Flanagan somehow got reelected by the fine voters of Cape Cod last year with of the vote showing how ineffectual the state Republican Party is And his district usually votes Republican The indictment is just another reason people don t trust the administration It comes on the heels of a plea deal reached by the feds and City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson accused of stealing from taxpayers in a scheme that took place in a City Hall bathroom Anderson will get at least a year in prison and has to resign but she is still clinging to her -a-year job Gov Maura Healey and Republicans called on Flanagan to resign too but don t hold your breath He s not going to give up his salary that easily Notably House Speaker Ron Mariano did not demand Flanagan resign Lawmakers stick together Mariano revealed the House would take the appropriate efforts if necessary to ensure accountability If necessary What else do you need to know before you decide to kick Flanagan out of office Mr Speaker The Flanagan arrest begs the question Is Massachusetts politics attracting the wrong type of people Or is the system corrupt Stealing and corruption and fraud now seem like part of the political tradition here Fernandes Anderson does not even appear embarrassed by the kickback scheme the feds uncovered expressing happiness and waving for cameras in City Hall on Wednesday and picking which Democrat-friendly media outlet she gives interviews to Flanagan left court on Friday in a striped button shirt as he strolled by the cameras and refused to talk But get this His lawyer already trying to generate sympathy for Flanagan disclosed he was recovering from heart surgery He s just looking forward to getting home and getting specific rest attorney Greg Henning revealed Don t worry Somehow Flanagan is going to be getting a lot of rest in the near future