Salvatore DiMasi

Salvatore DiMasi
DiMasi in 2008
84th Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office
September 28, 2004 – January 27, 2009
GovernorMitt Romney
Deval Patrick
Preceded byThomas Finneran
Succeeded byRobert DeLeo
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
from the 3rd Suffolk district
In office
January 1979 – January 27, 2009
Preceded byO. Roland Orlandi
Succeeded byAaron Michlewitz
Personal details
Born
Salvatore Francis DiMasi

(1945-08-11) August 11, 1945 (age 79)
North End, Boston, Massachusetts
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materBoston College Suffolk University Law School
ProfessionLawyer

Salvatore Francis "Sal" DiMasi (born August 11, 1945) is a former Democratic state representative in Massachusetts. The former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives originally joined the state legislature in 1979, as a member of the Democratic Party. He eventually resigned from this post in January 2009, just six months prior to being indicted on several Federal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the federal government, extortion, mail fraud and wire fraud. DiMasi was found guilty on 7 of 9 federal corruption charges on June 15, 2011. DiMasi is the third consecutive Massachusetts house speaker to later become a convicted felon due to crimes committed in office.[1]

DiMasi went to college at Boston College and studied law at Suffolk University Law School. He was born and raised in the North End of Boston, home to Boston's Italian American community for over 100 years. He was the Commonwealth's first Italian-American to be elected speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

  1. ^ "A tale of 3 Speakers - Salvatore DiMasi, Thomas Finneran and Charles Flaherty: Is lure of power too tempting?". July 5, 2011.