Donations from Liberty Mutual executives to the mayor as company prepared for major Back Bay purchase

By adamg on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 4:28pm

John Keith pulls up the records from the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance on Liberty Mutual-related donations to Tom Menino between July 1 and Sept. 1, 2009.

It was during this period that the company was busy buying up two Back Bay parcels on which it said yesterday it will build a 25-30 story office building, for which the city will kick in $16 million in tax abatements over the next 20 years.

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Comments

Legal contributions -- but against Menino's own policy

By Michael Pahre on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 5:34pm.

Good work by John Keith in assembling the records.

He failed to mention to things, however:

Contributions of up to $500 per person per calendar year are perfectly legal; and
Mayor Menino has a personal policy not to accept campaign contributions from developers who have business before the city, even though the contributions are otherwise legal.

So these contributions appear on the face of them to violate Menino's own policy, not any state laws on campaign finance.

Who's gonna call/email the city's spokesperson for comment?

Did Keith imply they were illegal?

By Dan1975 on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 7:57pm.

I didn't get that sense.

So I guess this means that

By NotWhitey on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 6:02pm.

So I guess this means that John Keith didn't make any money on the deal.

I say forget the tax break

By Dan1975 on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 7:15pm.

If they already own the buildings, let them invest as they choose. Sometimes once those tax breaks are granted the jobs created fall far short of the optimistic projections. Special treatment is not capitalism.

This is news?

By Brian Riccio on Sat, 02/13/2010 - 4:46pm.

I appreciate Mr. Keith's obvious enthusiasm, but I think it's a tempest in a teapot. If he really wanted to apply himself to uncovering corruption in the Mayor's office, why not start with the Big Dig? I'm sure Hizzoner saw his fair amount of old fashioned Boston graft in that debacle. Of course he takes a chance on becoming the missing for some time now John Keith.

What would the Mayor's office have to do with the Big Dig?

By Neal on Sun, 02/14/2010 - 5:47pm.

The Big Dig was not a City project. It was paid for and managed by the State. The City had very little input or oversight and very little or nothing to do with planning, contracts or management.

Let me guess, Suffolk

By anon on Sun, 02/14/2010 - 8:19am.

Let me guess, Suffolk Construction to win the contract. Boston media is a joke when it comes to the relationship that Menino has with Suffolk.