New: State Police union lawyer who tried to intimidate Boston First Responders United has close connections to AG Maura Healey
Same attorney who spent five years working under Healey is now seeking to silence critics for sharing a “campaign video attacking gubernatorial candidate and Attorney General Maura Healey” regarding her alleged unethical behavior
WOBURN — The attorney who issued an intimidating cease-and-desist demand to a Boston-based first responders organization for sharing a video calling on attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey to address questions about alleged unethical romantic affairs with various female Massachusetts state troopers himself worked in the AG’s office under Healey for roughly half a decade, records show.
Patrick Hanley, a lawyer now representing the State Police Association of Massachusetts, issued his demand immediately after the Massachusetts Republican Party drew attention to the existence of the video on Friday.
MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons later discovered that Hanley, who no longer works for Healey, spent 11 years working in the attorney general’s office, both when Healey was assistant attorney general and later when she was elected AG.
The video in question, meanwhile, posted to the group’s Twitter account, asks whether Healey “used her power” to initiate the alleged unethical affairs or if they were “just coincidences.”
Hanley’s ties to Healey’s office also include legal work spent defending one of three assistant district attorneys involved in the state drug lab scandal that an assistant counsel for the Massachusetts Board Bar of Overseers described as “one of the most severe cases of conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that this Commonwealth has ever seen.”
MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons said the intimidation and attempts at censorship are reminiscent of the same strategy Democrats employed in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
“In the fall of 2020 we saw the Democrats direct federal agencies to actively suppress any reports that could negatively affect the campaign of their presidential candidate, Joe Biden,” Lyons said. “Two years later, we are watching the Democrats and Maura Healey employ this same strategy of intimidation and censorship, and no fair-minded voters should stand for any of this.
“Voters are entitled to know the truth, and anyone who values the fairness of our electoral system should be alarmed by this blatant abuse of power.”
He represents the most scandal ridden State Police agency in the nation. The MSP are in the bottom percentage in the nation for traffic enforcement. The state roads in Massachusetts are dominated now by speeders and road ragers. One can drive from the South Shore to the North Shore without seeing an MSP patrol.
Up until the early 1990’s the Mass State Police, Registry Police and MDC Police ranked very high nationally in traffic enforcement. The MSP were an effective and welcome sight on our roads. The Weld and Cellucci era ushered in the decline. Under Baker the road safety has hit an all time low, Recently in a small South Shore suburb I had a road rager honking his horn at me and demanding that I go through a red light on a state road.
This lawlessness and apathy will increase under Healey if she wins. Jeff Kuhner made a great point this morning on WRKO when he mentioned how the Republican leadership has let Mr.Diehl down by not funding any tv commercials. Instead we have tv commercials of the worst state AG in Bay State history playing basketball. Healey has the poorest record on consumerism, fighting corruption ever. The Bush era Republicans with ties to the Weld, Cellucci and Baker eras are as bad for working class people as are the current Democrats in this state. They despise Trump because he tells the truth.
Agreed, however I think the reason we haven’t seen any TV commercials is that the Mass GOP simply doesn’t have the funds. TV ads are much more expensive than radio or internet, so they seem to be concentrating their efforts there instead of TV. The blame can partly be put on the Republican Governors Association which refuses to help Geoff. Take a look at their website if you want to see some of the RINO’s who control that organization.
It’s been 40 yrs. since we’ve had a conservative statewide officeholder (Gov. Ed King, Reagan Democrat). Once Healey takes possession of the Corner Office, it’s lights out of the once-great Commonwealth. Very disappointed in Jim Lyons’ chairmanship. Kept calling Charlie Baker his “friend.”