Many legislators dodged reporters, dashing into the chamber and, on their way out, scurrying away through side exits that allowed them the buffer of a velvet rope.
Public moments of introspection were few.
Some of those who spoke insisted that DiMasi’s conviction had little to do with them or the workings of state government. None offered any regret that they reelected DiMasi speaker before his indictment, but after stories in the Globe flagged some of his behavior. Most of them rejected the notion put forth yesterday by US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz that “the culture of corruption on the Hill has been dealt another blow.’’
“I don’t think there is a culture on Beacon Hill,’’ said Kevin J. Murphy, a Lowell Democrat.
Murphy, like several other representatives, questioned whether DiMasi was guilty: “It’s the jury who said he did it, not me,’’ he said.
DiMasi was a popular figure on Beacon Hill, and lawmakers still feel affection for him, mixed with anguish that they are now being tarred by their association with him.
Frank I. Smizik, a Brookline Democrat, said it was a shame that “a man who could be so successful gets caught in something like this.’’ He also questioned the US attorney’s use of the honest services law to prosecute DiMasi.
“If they want to go after legislators, they can, and this case itself was based upon a law that was already struck down,’’ Smizik said. In fact the law was not struck down, but was narrowed by a recent US Supreme Court decision.
“I’m not going to say he did it; I don’t know,’’ Smizik added. “That’s what the jury said.’’
Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, DiMasi’s handpicked successor, was one of the few on Beacon Hill who acknowledged being shaken by yesterday’s events. DeLeo appeared stunned as he addressed reporters outside the speaker’s office. He said that the public had been let down and suggested that government is now more transparent than it has ever been, a result of laws signed after DiMasi’s fall from grace.
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