BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Lawyers for John O'Brien, former probation head convicted of trading jobs for political favor, have long said it takes two to tango, and that House Speaker Robert DeLeo should have been right there next to O'Brien it court.
Prosecutors have said that DeLeo is an unindicted co-conspirator in the corruption trial of O'Brien, and when our Political Reporter Sharman Sacchetti asked DeLeo about the allegation, he said he was concerned.
DeLeo, decidedly low key, says he knows this doesn't look good and that he's haunted by it.
When asked if he thinks this has tarnished his reputation, DeLeo said, “I think it has.”
He continues to say he did nothing wrong, but appears humbled, and wants the trust of the people.
“Unless my constituents or the people of Mass. as a whole can look at me or their rep. or senator, and think that they can trust us, then we've got some problems, and I look at that as I stated, the very first day that I was elected speaker, it’s the most important thing I can do. So am I concerned about that? Sure I am. I can't dismiss that,” he said.
It's a sensitive issue here in the Commonwealth, since this house speaker came to power at a time when the three previous ones had left office under fire and would later be convicted of federal crimes.
One of the jurors said this should serve as a wakeup call to Beacon Hill, when asked what he took from that, DeLeo said he considered it a wakeup call when he was elected speaker some five years ago.
Not only because of the three previous speakers, “but obviously we had a city councilor, some senators and a whole host of other things so I considered it one of the biggest responsibilities I had was to try to change how people view the legislature,” DeLeo said.
DeLeo was never charged, and prosecutors never said why that was. They only said that they went where the evidence led them.
DeLeo maintains his innocence and says he felt vindicated because the jury didn't convict on any bribery charges.
When asked if he thought there was a line at which patronage becomes criminal, DeLeo said, “I think if you ask me what I saw or heard in this case, and I was never there, one of the issues that concerned me was the issue of altering test results.”
He says he's not worried about any charges, but what about holding onto his position? He says it’s been gratifying and rewarding, but not on his mind.
The session ends in a week, he says he has a strong agenda and is getting bills on gun and domestic violence done, so he's pushing through to the end.
