Tags: 
Image via PA Environment Today
— News about Quincy Massachusetts from Quincy Quarry News with commentary added
Pigging out at the public trough blocked by the Ethics Commission
A Melissa K. Norris image
Koch Maladministration spin notwithstanding, the recent stink over grifting approvals of an outsized 89% raise for City of Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch as well as 45% raises for city councillors — and on top of 33% raises for councillors less than two years ago and so working out to a 93% raises for them — is looking to become even stinker as the heat is looking to be turned up on those who tried to pig out at the public trough.
How stinky hot?
Potentially wicked stinky.
Seriously wicked stinky.
Examining evidence
A Free Republic image
For starters, the State Ethics Commission has apparently seen Mayor Koch and City Council President Ian Cain misleadingly announce that they were deferring the raises given local public outcry over their griftings of fat raises when in point of fact the deferral were all but assuredly but first steps imposed by the Ethics Commission..
In extension, Quincy Quarry News has succeeded in exclusively securing an unequivocal confirmation from the Ethics Commission that it is — in fact — investigating how approving the raises went down earlier this year in clear as well as ultimately indisputable violations of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 268A, section 19.
Accordingly, Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch and city councillors are open to possibly end up facing prosecution for felony charges based upon their endeavoring personal enrichment while mired in obvious conflicts of interest.
Prison tips for White Collar criminals
And as for the seriousness of possible charges, Chapter 268A, section 19 calls for sanctions of either as much as a $10,000 fine or up to five years of prison.
In other words, potentially government pension-stripping felony conviction sanctions.
Granted, councillors and the mayor can to likely will opt to blame City Solicitor James “DIm” Timmins for his profoundly bad read of applicable laws.
This dog likely won’t hunt, however.
The City Solicitor and his assistants
An old Columbia Pictures images
For starters, the Solicitor has a long history of often losing City of Quincy cases at trial as well as an apparent perfect record of ending up on the losing with cases that he has appealed.
Accordingly, councillors should have duly pressed the mayor’s consigliere, especially as his many of his statements retarding the raises were at best fractional truths which for the most part failed to hold up in the light of day.
That or at least opted to reach out for an outside review,
Instead, the council voted overwhelming to approve the raises, raises that included 45% raises for themselves, and so yet again proving themselves to basically be rubber stamp tools on stools and so at the ready to provide cover for whatever the mayor wants.
Setting the hook?
Image via Shutterstok
Further, there is the problem of how this was not the first time that such apparent grifting has been not only been endeavored but also consummated on multiple previous occasions and which Quincy Quarry exclusively knows that the Ethics commission will surely be considering, not to mention that such patterns or practices does pose further problems for the grifters.
After all, not once, not twice, but five instances over the years is a compelling indicator as regards intent, not to mention screams RICO if the feds end up taking up matters.
Reading for Dummies!
Available via Amazon
Granted, pursuing felony convictions is unlikely however well-warranted, it is only reasonable to pose that any consent agreements will entail clear acknowledgements of errant ways, many thousand of dollars ins fines, and the return of serious ill-gotten gains is not only to be expected.
That and by extension also the likely end of a number of political careers up the event of various local elected officials facing voters if they run for reelection, if not sooner by resignation, are at least in the realm of plausible.
Great news for the Quincy residents. We shall follow up the future progress.
State Ethics Commission to the rescue! It’s reassuring to know someone’s looking out for the underpaid, hardworking public officials of Quincy—because let’s be real, it must be so difficult to scrape by on a mayoral salary already north of six figures. Sure, our city’s sidewalks could use fixing, traffic is a mess, and affordable housing? Forget about it. But clearly, priorities are in order: let’s make sure we’re compensating our politicians with generous raises during an economic crunch. Why put the money towards, say, public services or community programs when we can just make our leaders feel more ‘appreciated’? If only ethical standards and transparency came with raises for the taxpayers footing the bill!
How does his city-owned vehicle fit into this? Not only do we pay him a crazy salary but we also give him a $60k SUV to drive.
Does he pay taxes on his vehicle use bennies? My guess it’s about $25k a year to provide a vehicle that nice with gas and insurance.
Transparency,
It would be reasonable to suggest that at least in years’ past when Quincy’s peerless mayor was also paid a car allowance that the leather upholstered $60k SUV was “technically” accounted as a city hall motor poll ride. After all, double-dipping can result in one serving time.
Koch employs nearly all his family and most everyone who donates serious money becomes family. He has an aide who got an OUI yet he runs Koch’s operation. Koch’s also appoints boards who provide outsized variances on building permits so his campaign war chest can see big money from those seeking variances.
He disses teachers about over their fighting for 3% raises while providing back door raises to police and fire where his family employed. And just like Boss Hogg he has Sheriff Roscoe whose family has donated since the beginning. Go through his campaign donation list — it is lousy with city workers who know the gravy train will stop if they close their wallets.
Why didn’t he instead use the 10 grand of taxpayer funds spend on his bogus compensation to hire a fitness consultant to tell him he needed to lose 80 percent of his body fat instead of needing an 80 percent raise? Quincy is the most corrupt city in Mass and you don’t need a consultant to tell you that.
The Ethics Board should just build a confessional box outside City Hall. After all, Koch would be okay with that as long as everyone left a donation in the box next to it. Why don’t we ask the City Council about city-wide term limits so we can rid the city payroll of nepotism and cronies?
One thing is for sure: The Ethics Commission definitely won’t find any Ethics in the City of Quincy.
A minor quibble. Mayor Koch’s proposed apparent illegal and thus now “deferred” raise is 89%, not the 79% touted. The grift was to pop his current salary from $151k to $285k a year and thus an 89% pay raise.
Then again, such a math error should come as no great surprise as the Koch Machine has long counted things in ways most curious.
Time for any person with an interest in running for office now is your opportunity. With the exception of Councilor Minton, all of the other councilors were in favor of and then voted for large pay increases for the mayor and themselves.
When the heat then did not abate, Councilor Harris opted to announce that he was passing on the increase.
But not worry for Bill — he had recently landed a state job that will greatly increase his government pension after years of but part-time pay as a city councilor. Keep in mind Harris is already collecting a pension from the Post Office. I hope he claims his tips from his bartending gig at the Nickerson Post.
All of the remaining councilors save for perhaps Minton are ripe for picking. Already Councilor DiBona has a campaign sign posted on Burgin Parkway. He has every reason to be nervous after his angling for and then voting for a huge raise for the mayor and a second fat raise for himself and fellow councillors in recent years.
Howard,
Things are looking to only become funner and funner at the well-deserved expense of local pols in city hall.
For starters, approving the raises is open to felony prosecution per Massachusetts General Law as well as likely dead in the water easy peasy prosecution.
For example, while there will surely be excuse mongering that no one was actually paid the raises, such won’t fly as the council approved the raises and then appropriated funding for them via the FY 2025 budget.
In short, the misdeeds were sufficiently committed.
After all, any such spin pimping innocence would be on the order of bank robbers claiming that they did not actually rob a bank if police had managed to apprehended them before they could fled the scene of the crime.
Plus, there are three other sets of raises in years past that would appear to have been illegally approved and then paid out.
Can you say pattern or practice?
In turn, if felony prosecutions are pursed and turn out to be successful, the mayor and councillors would lose their pensions. likely have to leave office as well as Harris cut loose from his newish state hack hire gig.
As such, it is only reasonable to assume that angling for pleadings out to lesser charges, giving back illegal money paid, and paying serious fines is likely to be in the works.
And as for Boner, well, we all already know that he is Quincy’s emptiest suit in spite of serious competition.
Nothing will ever develop from this Ethics Committee investigation after our honest Mayor talks some of his Quincy’s real estate development supporters and friends to slip the Ethics Committee members a few “gifts”.