Parole nixed for ex-Sen. James Marzilli

Parole nixed for ex-Sen. James Marzilli

By Jessica Heslam  |   Saturday, March 19, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Coverage

Disgraced ex-state Sen. James Marzilli’s long-shot bid for parole — after less than a month behind bars for a lewd Lowell bender — was shot down yesterday by the Parole Board, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

His attorney, Terrence Kennedy, said yesterday Marzilli “had no expectations of being paroled, and he understood that.”

“He’s OK. I went and saw him the other day,” Kennedy told the Herald. “He’s adjusting. Anybody who goes to jail — it’s a big adjustment. He’s accepting his situation and he’s dealing with it

“It’s not a 10-year sentence,” the attorney added, “so there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Marzilli has been jailed at the Billerica House of Correction since last month, when he was sentenced to 90 days after pleading guilty to sexually harassing four women randomly over a four-hour period in Lowell in 2008.

The married grandfather — who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, according to his lawyer — later resigned from his Senate post.

The hearing was held before one member of the Parole Board, whose name was not released.

The Arlington Democrat is getting some “earned good time” and is expected to be sprung in early May, Kennedy said.

In addition to spewing salacious remarks at the women, Marzilli was also accused of trying to outrun police and telling them he was Dorchester state Rep. Martin Walsh.

Marzilli was also slapped with five years of probation. Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence him to a year in the clink.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1324451

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Five members of parole board resign in wake of cop killing

Five members of parole board resign in wake of cop killing
By Hillary Chabot  |   Thursday, January 13, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics

Five members of the state parole board, including chairman Mark Conrad, above, resigned today in a massive shakeup of the agency following the 2008 release of Dominic Cinelli who police say gunned down Woburn officer John ‘Jack’ Maguire.
Photo by Matt Stone

Gov. Deval Patrick outlined today a massive Parole Board upheaval — including five resignations and three suspensions — following the release of a career criminal who police said gunned down a veteran Woburn cop the day after Christmas.

The governor said the shakeup is meant to regain the public’s trust.

“The public had lost confidence in parole and I had lost confidence in parole,” said Patrick, who faced outcry following the Dec. 26 slaying of Woburn police officer John “Jack” Maguire. “As I said to Mrs. Maguire when we spoke on the phone just a moment ago, none of this is going to bring Jack back ... but what we have done and what we must do is all we can to regain the public’s confidence in a part of the criminal justice system which is vital to a successful criminal justice program.”

The five Parole Board members who voted to release repeat violent offender Dominic Cinelli in 2008 — including Patrick’s former campaign volunteer and pick for Parole Board Chairman Mark Conrad — handed in their resignations last night.

No violent or high-risk offenders will be released until the full Parole Board is rehired, Patrick said.

Donald Giancioppo, the former Parole Board executive director, also resigned following the results of an investigation into Cinelli’s release by the Executive Office of Public Safety.

He also moved to fire three other employees who were charged with overseeing Cinelli’s release. They are currently on suspension pending termination proceedings, Patrick said.

Patrick — who had asked for the public’s patience during the review — said his harsh actions were necessary to restore the public’s trust in their own public safety.

The governor said he’d file legislation tomorrow that would slap offenders convicted of a third violent felony with the maximum sentence.

“I applaud the governor for the steps he took ... I think he did the right thing,” said state Rep. James Dwyer (D-Woburn). “I thought they should have resigned right away.”

“Ultimately, it is Cinelli and Cinelli alone who is responsible for the murder of officer Maguire,” Patrick added today.

Patrick also named Josh Wall, now the first assistant district attorney in Suffolk County, the board’s interim executive director. Wall is expected to be named chairman.

Patrick had ordered a review of the Parole Board following Maguire’s death, and the review detailed “several failings” before and after Cinelli was released, said Public Safety Undersecretary John Grossman.

Parole board employees failed to notify the Middlesex District Attorney or all of his victims before Cinelli’s 2008 hearing. They also didn’t conduct monthly interviews with Cinelli’s friends or family members in the months leading up to Cinelli’s Dec. 26 heist to ensure his parole was going smoothly.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1309288

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Parole Board halts releases

Parole Board halts releases

By Laurel J. Sweet and Hillary Chabot  |   Friday, January 7, 2011  |  http://www.bostonherald.com  |  Local Politics

The embattled Parole Board will not release any more convicts with life sentences until a review of its notorious decision to release a triple-lifer is complete, the board said yesterday, even as a firestorm of criticism over the tragic ruling continued to erupt.

Woburn officer John “Jack” Maguire was shot to death Dec. 26 as he tried to stop parolee Dominic Cinelli from fleeing an alleged department store diamond heist.

“We certainly understand the anger and concern that many people are stressing,” said Executive Office of Public Safety Undersecretary John Grossman. “We share their concern and shock at the events of 10 days ago. We are engaged in a comprehensive review around Cinelli’s hearing and his supervision. At the end of that review, we’ll report to the governor and the governor will take the appropriate action.”

Grossman said Parole Board members can’t legally halt parole hearings, but are canceling their executive hearings, in which decisions about releases of convicts with life sentences are made. Those hearings will not resume until the review is complete.

Not good enough, cops said yesterday.

As far as the board is concerned, “they want them all gone,” Woburn police Chief Philip Mahoney said, flanked by 75 of his fellow Bay State top cops outside Woburn police headquarters, where black bunting grimly marks last month’s line-of-duty death.

“I am so upset with them,” Mahoney said of the board’s unanimous 2008 vote to set 57-year-old Cinelli free, despite a nine-page criminal record of armed robberies, the attempted murder of a security guard and two prison escapes spanning four decades. Cinelli was serving three concurrent life sentences.

“I know a life sentence in Massachusetts is not a life sentence, believe me,” Mahoney said.

However, Mahoney said he believes state officials will do a fair probe of the board’s release.

Cinelli, who Mahoney said appeared to have been in compliance with the conditions of his parole, died from Maguire’s return fire.

“He wasn’t prepared to die,” said the hero cop’s tearful big brother, Charles “Chuck” Maguire, 63. “He was one of those guys who wanted to work.”

Police also pushed yesterday for the Legislature’s swift passage of a bill to abolish parole eligibility for habitual violent offenders.

Mark K. Leahy, president of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said all the red flags that Cinelli was not a good risk for parole were plain as day in his criminal history. “Any clear-thinking person realizes if it’s predictable, it’s preventable,” he said.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1307910

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