What’s the only thing sweeter than a Massachusetts state pension?
Two Massachusetts state pensions!
If you’ve been wondering why the greed-crazed governor Tall Deval is so obsessed with jacking up gasoline and diesel prices to five bucks per gallon, check out not just the obscene state payroll, but the equally outrageous pensions that come behind them.
Believe me, Charlie Baker and his RINO payroll patriots can yap all they want about “earmarks” and saving the polar bears, but this TCI grift is just another con job to keep those kisses in the mail coming.
Let’s begin with a list of former state legislators who are collecting not one, but two pensions. Most of them are retired judges, surprise surprise.
Remember Steve Pierce? Probably not. He won his last election in 1988, for state rep out in Westfield. He got the biggest break of his life two years later when he lost the GOP primary for governor to Bill Weld.
See the latest pensions and state salaries in the “Your Tax Dollars at Work” section
One thing led to another and since 2015 Pierce has been grabbing two pensions — $105,562.92 as a judge and $72,979.08 from the “Gov’s Exec Office.”
Pierce was the minority leader in the House. He was eventually succeeded by one Fran Marini, who also retired five years back —he gets $85,526.40 as a retired judge, and $16,665.24 as an extinguished solon.
Then there’s Paul Cavanaugh, former state rep from Medford. He officially lifted his snout from the public trough way back in 2002, and has been double-dipping ever since. He grabs $76,245.80 as an ex-judge and $39,711.96 as the former register of probate in Middlesex County before John Buonomo, who went to prison for stealing dollar bills from copying machines at the courthouse in East Cambridge.
But the biggest score among the ex-legislators of Beacon Hill has been engineered by Bill Keating, the former state rep, senator and Norfolk DA who is now a Congressman.
His equally greedy predecessor as both DA and Congressman, Bill Delahunt, had connived to get top prosecutors included in the Group 4 law-enforcement, allowing the elected hacks’ pension heists to begin earlier. Since 1997, Delahunt — in addition to the ridiculous Congressional salary he collected until he gave his seat to Keating, at which point the fabulous pension kicked in — has also been banking a state pension of $62,183.76 a year.
So now Delahunt’s successor Keating makes $180,000-plus as a Trump-deranged Beltway bandito, while simultaneously grabbing $113,668.80 a year since 2011 for his state pension as DA.
Everett is now famous for its casino, but let us not forget Fred F. Foresteire —Triple F, as he was known during his tawdry decades as a city hack. He fled under a cloud 13 months ago, a few weeks ahead of a state indictment on multiple charges of indecent assault and battery during his tenure as superintendent of schools.
He’s now grabbing — sorry, bad choice of words — $116,968.32 a year. You would think that would have been the only kiss the wrinkly old Triple F needed.
I notice a son of a former House speaker now collecting a pension of $110,000, which seems like a lot until you spot the son-in-law of a later House speaker retired on a yearly kiss of $156,000.
Kevin Harrington was the Senate president before Billy Bulger. His cousin Nancy Harrington retired in 2007 from Salem State College (now university, so everybody could get yet another pay raise). She’s collecting a pension of $165,899.52.
Let’s check in with the Creedons of Brockton. The patriarch of the clan is Mike, ex-judge, state senator and state rep — $120,550.68 a year pension. His sister-in-law is Geraldine, a former state rep herself, now collecting a mere $34,127.64 in retirement.
But don’t worry about Geraldine — her hubby Bob, who is Judge Mike’s brother, is still on the payroll, now as the clerk of courts after succeeding Mike as state senator. Well into his 70s, Bob Creedon still makes $155,084 a year — the exact same $155,804 as little brother Kevin Creedon, who’s a clerk magistrate.
By the way, Kevin’s boy Patrick Creedon has followed the family tradition into “public service.” He works for Uncle Bob, as an assistant clerk, for $119,415 a year.
In a couple of days, Tall Deval will be delivering his long-unanticipated State of the State speech, promoting his latest grift, to unconstitutionally double the tax on gasoline, without approval of either the Legislature or the people.
He claims he needs this heist to protect the “environment,” but the only environment he really cares about is the hack environment, and how blissful he wants to keep it for the judges, Triple F, Congressman Keating, the Creedons and all the rest of the hackerama.
Ask yourself this: how much is your kiss in the mail going to be?
