Walsh: Aides deserve pay unless proven guilty
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh yesterday defended paying two federally indicted City Hall aides their full salaries while they await trial on extortion and conspiracy charges, noting the men are presumed to be innocent of the crimes until proven otherwise.
“It’s innocent until proven guilty,” Walsh told the Herald yesterday. “As I’ve said earlier, we will see what happens in the court.”
Kenneth Brissette, the city’s tourism chief, and Timothy Sullivan, the intergovernmental affairs director, have been on paid leave since being charged a year ago in federal court in Boston. The Herald reported yesterday that the bill for the two will approach a combined $350,000 in salary and benefits by the time the trial begins in January.
The story noted other cases where Boston and other municipalities have moved to suspend without pay indicted employees. In 2014, the Boston Fire Department put a district chief on unpaid leave after he was indicted on charges of theft.
Read more: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_politics/2017/05/walsh_aides_deserve_pay_unless_proven_guilty