MA: Court officers allegedly involved in the political patronage "pay-for-play" scandal.

Court officers under the control of state judges have ponied up tens of thousands in campaign contributions to the same lawmakers under fire in the pay-for-play Probation Department scandal — further spotlighting the sweeping extent of political patronage in state government, a Herald review found.

Amid swirling federal and state probes into the Probation scandal, the court officers union is also looking at the role of political influence in hiring and promoting in its own ranks. The union has asked court officers to come forward if they believe they were wrongfully overlooked.

Recommendations from lawmakers are common “throughout the system,” said former state Rep. Marie Parente, a Milford Democrat named in the Ware report.

“The same thing goes on in the Trial Court and worse,” Parente told the Herald. “It goes on in every department . . . I wish I had a dollar for every time someone called me about a job at Massport.”


Link:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20101215court_officers_doled_out_130g_opened_wallets_for_lawmakers_in_probation_scandal/srvc=home&position=0