John J. O'Brien (commissioner)

John J. O'Brien is a former commissioner of the Massachusetts Probation Service. He was convicted of four counts of mail fraud, and one count of racketeering, and one count of conspiracy. The verdict was pronounced on July 24, 2014 by a 12-member federal jury of the U.S. District Court in Boston, Massachusetts. US District Court Judge William G. Young was the presiding judge. The jury deliberated for seven days and the case lasted two months.[1][2]

The case centered on patronage hiring at the Massachusetts Probation Department during Mr. O'Brien's tenure as commissioner.[3][4]

On December 19, 2016 the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed the conviction of O'Brien and ordered acquittals on all counts due to insufficiency of evidence. The Court of Appeals also admonished the lower court for the allowance of a high number of juror questions at trial.[5]

Further reading
  • "O'Brien rise and reign defined by tenacity". The Boston Globe. 24 May 2010.
  • "Patronage in the Probation Department". The Boston Globe.
  • "Bribery, patronage debated at trial's end". The Boston Globe. 15 July 2014. Probation officials portrayed as corrupt in final arguments
  • "Probation trial displays favoritism to the extreme". The Boston Globe. 16 July 2014.
  • "17 bribery counts for ex-head of probation O'Brien". The Boston Globe. 25 April 2013.
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References
  1. Valencia, Milton J. (24 July 2014). "3 guilty in probation corruption case". Boston Globe. Boston, MA. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  2. Malone, Scott; Mathew, Lewis (24 July 2014). "Former Massachusetts probation official found guilty in corruption case". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  3. Bidgood, Jess (19 September 2011). "Massachusetts: Ex-Probation Commissioner Charged". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  4. Zezima, Katie (18 November 2010). "Inquiry Finds Corruption at Agency for Probation". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  5. "US v. O'Brien" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit. US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Retrieved 10 January 2017.


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