GUILTY VERDICT’S FALLOUT
Case could lead to legal battle
Mayor Martin Walsh could face a major legal battle if two former City Hall aides found guilty in the Boston Calling extortion trial testify against him in exchange for lighter sentences, attorneys tell the Herald.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office didn’t call Walsh to the stand, but federal prosecutors named him throughout the trial of Boston tourism chief Kenneth Brissette and city’s head of intergovernmental affairs Timothy Sullivan.
After Walsh’s former aides were found guilty Wednesday for pressuring Crash Line Productions into hiring unneeded union labor for a 2014 concert, the mayor’s legal future took a perilous turn.
“That tactic of the U.S. Attorney’s is almost always to climb the ladder,” said attorney Harvey Silverglate. “That means they look to get lower-echelon officials to testify on higher-echelon officials. The ultimate target in this case would be Mayor Walsh.”
Brissette and Sullivan don’t even have to testify truthfully against the mayor, he added.
“That’s one of the bitter truths of the federal criminal justice system,” Silverglate said. “They only have to testify effectively.”
Brissette was found guilty of conspiracy and extortion. Sullivan was found guilty of conspiracy.
Brad Bailey, a former federal prosecutor, said any leader would be nervous if a member of their inner circle was convicted of a crime — especially if they then testify against the boss.
“But the federal prosecutors will have to think very hard and long about whether they want to do that here,” Bailey said. “They have to understand the collateral damage going after the mayor. It could be an extremely unpopular decision.
“And if you pursue an unpopular decision, you better be darn sure you’re correct about it at the end of the day,” he added.
A spokeswoman for Walsh declined to comment about federal prosecutors potentially trying to lean on the defendants to testify in exchange for leniency at sentencing.
Other lawyers on Wednesday said Walsh should not have to worry.
“There’s no indication it had anything to do with him,” said Michael Kendall, a former federal prosecutor.
George Vien, another former federal prosecutor, also said there’s not a “hint” of evidence that Walsh was connected to the case.
“There’s nothing I’ve seen or heard that the mayor had any involvement in this,” he added. “I think the case ends here.”