Salvatore DiMasi
| Salvatore DiMasi | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives | |
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In office September 28, 2004 – January 27, 2009 |
|
| Governor |
Mitt Romney Deval Patrick |
| Preceded by | Thomas Finneran |
| Succeeded by | Robert DeLeo |
| Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from the 3rd Suffolk district |
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In office January 1979 – January 27, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | O. Roland Orlandi |
| Succeeded by | Aaron Michlewitz |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Salvatore Francis DiMasi August 11, 1945 North End, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Suffolk University Law School |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Salvatore Francis "Sal" DiMasi (born 1945) is a former Democratic state representative in Massachusetts. The former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives originally joined the state legislature in 1979, as a member of the Democratic Party. He eventually resigned from this post in January 2009, just six months prior to being indicted on several Federal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the federal government, extortion, mail fraud and wire fraud. DiMasi was found guilty on 7 of 9 federal corruption charges on June 15, 2011. DiMasi is the third consecutive Massachusetts house speaker to be federally indicted.
DiMasi went to college at Boston College and studied law at Suffolk University Law School. He was born and raised in the North End of Boston, home to Boston's Italian American community for over 100 years. He was the Commonwealth's first Italian-American to be elected speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
Salvatore F. DiMasi grew up in a cold water flat in Boston’s North End where he lived with his parents Celia and Joseph DiMasi, his two brothers, and Italian immigrant grandparents. DiMasi graduated from Christopher Columbus High School (1963) and went on to earn a BS in accounting from Boston College (1967), and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School (1971).
From 1974–1976, DiMasi served as a Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney. During the same period, DiMasi co-founded the North End Neighborhood Task Force, with neighborhood activist Emile Pugliano, to address issues of zoning, gentrification and crime in Boston's North End. He also opened a private law practice, focused on criminal defense cases.
In 1976, DiMasi ran for state representative against three term incumbent O. Roland Orlandi (D-North End). DiMasi's 1976 state representative campaign was unsuccessful. Two years later, DiMasi ran again for the third Suffolk County state representative seat—and won. In 1979, DiMasi took office as state representative.
While in office, DiMasi served as chairman of the committees on Banks and Banking, the Judiciary and Criminal Justice. He eventually rose to among the ranks to become Assistant Majority Whip, Majority Whip and Majority Leader. In September 2004, DiMasi was elected Speaker of the House.
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