FBI PAYS EARLY MORNING VISIT TO HOME OF STATE'S FORMER CIO
By Gintautas Dumcius
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, FEB. 19, 2009….. Federal and state officials
attempted to interview the state's former chief information officer, involved in
the awarding of a controversial contract that clouded the final months of former
House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi's career, but found no answer when they
visited her Beacon Hill apartment early Thursday morning.
Bethann Pepoli, the state's acting chief information officer under Govs. Mitt
Romney and Deval Patrick, did not answer the door at about 7:30 am, after an
official from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and one from the state inspector
general's office knocked.
The officials declined to say why they were looking for Pepoli. One of the
officials was Jack Meyers, a former Boston Herald reporter who now works as
a senior policy analyst under Inspector General Gregory Sullivan. The other
official identified himself as an FBI agent.
Currently a business development manager at EMC Corp., the information
technology firm, Pepoli was the chief information officer when Cognos ULC
won a $13 million contract in August 2007.
Federal and state investigations are reportedly underway into the awarding
process. Cognos, a Canada-based company under IBM, reportedly received the
contract while represented by a pair of friends of former House Speaker
Salvatore DiMasi.
Cognos paid lobbyist Richard McDonough, a close DiMasi friend, about $1.1
million between June 2003 and July 2008, according to the inspector general's
office. Another DiMasi associate, Steven Topazio, was paid $125,000 by
Cognos between April 2005 and March 2007, according to the IG's office.
DiMasi's former accountant, Richard Vitale, who has pleaded not guilty to
lobbying law violations in a separate case with connections to DiMasi, received
$600,000 from Joseph Lally, the bulk of which came on the same day the state
wired Cognos its $13 million payment, according to a Boston Globe report.
Cognos also received $4.5 million in a 2006 contract with the Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education.
DiMasi, who stepped down from his post in January, has repeatedly said he was
not involved in the Cognos matter and his former aides have noted that it was the
executive branch that awarded the contract.
The Globe has reported that a federal grand jury is investigating the awarding
process and last week published an article stating that two top Patrick aides,
chief of staff Doug Rubin and deputy chief of staff David Morales, have been
subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. The Globe has also reported that
Pepoli has told investigators that DiMasi was pressing the administration in 2006
to buy the exact kind of software Cognos produced.
Patrick administration officials in December 2007 asked Sullivan to investigate
the state's procurement of Cognos software for the Information Technology
Division. In March 2008, Sullivan recommended that the state "should void this
agreement as soon as possible" and IBM eventually refunded the $13 million.
In June 2008, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials
asked Sullivan to investigate the second, $4.5 million contract.
The officials from the FBI and the IG's office on Thursday questioned a
bypassing News Service reporter and a neighbor of Pepoli's regarding Pepoli's
whereabouts. The officials said they had stopped by the apartment before and
had not seen her.
Spokesmen for the FBI and Sullivan's office declined to comment.
Pepoli could not be reached for comment.
More articles are available at the News Service's website.
By Gintautas Dumcius
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, FEB. 19, 2009….. Federal and state officials
attempted to interview the state's former chief information officer, involved in
the awarding of a controversial contract that clouded the final months of former
House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi's career, but found no answer when they
visited her Beacon Hill apartment early Thursday morning.
Bethann Pepoli, the state's acting chief information officer under Govs. Mitt
Romney and Deval Patrick, did not answer the door at about 7:30 am, after an
official from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and one from the state inspector
general's office knocked.
The officials declined to say why they were looking for Pepoli. One of the
officials was Jack Meyers, a former Boston Herald reporter who now works as
a senior policy analyst under Inspector General Gregory Sullivan. The other
official identified himself as an FBI agent.
Currently a business development manager at EMC Corp., the information
technology firm, Pepoli was the chief information officer when Cognos ULC
won a $13 million contract in August 2007.
Federal and state investigations are reportedly underway into the awarding
process. Cognos, a Canada-based company under IBM, reportedly received the
contract while represented by a pair of friends of former House Speaker
Salvatore DiMasi.
Cognos paid lobbyist Richard McDonough, a close DiMasi friend, about $1.1
million between June 2003 and July 2008, according to the inspector general's
office. Another DiMasi associate, Steven Topazio, was paid $125,000 by
Cognos between April 2005 and March 2007, according to the IG's office.
DiMasi's former accountant, Richard Vitale, who has pleaded not guilty to
lobbying law violations in a separate case with connections to DiMasi, received
$600,000 from Joseph Lally, the bulk of which came on the same day the state
wired Cognos its $13 million payment, according to a Boston Globe report.
Cognos also received $4.5 million in a 2006 contract with the Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education.
DiMasi, who stepped down from his post in January, has repeatedly said he was
not involved in the Cognos matter and his former aides have noted that it was the
executive branch that awarded the contract.
The Globe has reported that a federal grand jury is investigating the awarding
process and last week published an article stating that two top Patrick aides,
chief of staff Doug Rubin and deputy chief of staff David Morales, have been
subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury. The Globe has also reported that
Pepoli has told investigators that DiMasi was pressing the administration in 2006
to buy the exact kind of software Cognos produced.
Patrick administration officials in December 2007 asked Sullivan to investigate
the state's procurement of Cognos software for the Information Technology
Division. In March 2008, Sullivan recommended that the state "should void this
agreement as soon as possible" and IBM eventually refunded the $13 million.
In June 2008, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials
asked Sullivan to investigate the second, $4.5 million contract.
The officials from the FBI and the IG's office on Thursday questioned a
bypassing News Service reporter and a neighbor of Pepoli's regarding Pepoli's
whereabouts. The officials said they had stopped by the apartment before and
had not seen her.
Spokesmen for the FBI and Sullivan's office declined to comment.
Pepoli could not be reached for comment.
More articles are available at the News Service's website.
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