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Bosley Postpones Vote on Senecal PensionBy Tammy Daniels - February 07, 2008
NORTH ADAMS - Local lawmakers delayed the fight to restore the pension benefits of a city employee on Wednesday after apparently failing to gather enough votes to override the governor's veto.
The home rule bill, filed by Rep. Daniel E. Bosley, D-North Adams, and passed earlier in the session would allow Highway Superintendent Leo Senecal to retire with his pension. Bosley withdrew the measure on Wednesday before it went to a vote.
Bosley intimated to The Berkshire Eagle that Gov. Deval Patrick's veto was a slap for opposing the governor's proposal to license three gambling casinos to bring new revenue into the state.
"I'm very frustrated. We shouldn't have to go through this," Bosley told The Eagle. "I've got a good feeling why the governor vetoed this."
It was a sentiment echoed by Mayor John Barrett III in December when he called the governor's veto "a callous act."
Bosley is a longtime opponent of expanding gambling in the state.
Senecal pleaded guilty in 1998 to burying hazardous waste (oil) at the city yard. He said at the time that he was trying to save the city money. He was fined $9,000 for the cost of the cleanup, suspended and demoted, and placed on probation. He served no jail time for the criminal conviction.
He continued to pay into the city's pension fund but was stripped of his rights early last year because of his conviction. Retirement Board members had reportedly been told they could be jailed if they OK'ed the pension in defiance of a 1996 law that prohibited convicted felons from receiving state pension benefits.
The law under which Senecal was convicted was designed to prevent corrupt public officials from profiting from their misdeeds. Local officials have pointed out that Senecal never meant to profit from his actions.
The City Council had approved the home-rule bill 9-0 and the Legislature had passed it. But Patrick vetoed in December as a matter of principle.
Senecal, 61, stands to lose $36,000 a year in retirement benefits; the $41,000 he's paid in since would be returned without interest.
It was not clear when the measure would come before the House again. |
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