It’s eight female judicial nominees in a row now for Tall Deval, and I don’t care if he never appoints another man to the bench.
All I ask is, can we please have some equal opportunity for women lawyers who haven’t spent their entire careers funneling thousands of dollars to the most loathsome, crooked Democrats in the state?
For those of you keeping score at home, Tall Deval’s last male nominee to the bench was one Thomas J. Perrino to the Superior Court in September. Coincidence, or election-year pandering? Although, in Tall Deval’s case, what’s the difference between election year and any other year – the PC pandering never ends.
You be the… judge, if you know what I mean.
Perhaps no female attorneys who like to donate to non-corrupt non-Democrats are interested in taking the early retirement of a $170,000 judicial salary for 35 weeks’ “work,” a position that has also included four $6,250 pay raises in the last 20 months, behind which comes a fully vested pension.
Let’s start with Tall Deval’s latest nominations, two women from Worcester nominated for the probate court this week.
Here’s a name that will be recurring in this column: Tim “Crash” Murray, the disgraced ex-lieutenant governor. Both of this week’s nominees – Jennifer Melia and Roxann Tetreau – gave hundreds to Murray before his big crack-up back in 2011.
But cash to Crash was just the tiniest part of Tetreau’s payoffs to crooked Democrats. She duked to two convicted ex-felon speakers, Sal DiMasi ($500) and Felon Finneran ($150).
Tetreau also took care of the very ethical Worcester County district attorney, Joe Early Jr. Other beneficiaries of her largesse: the below-average and now wildly-overpaid ex-rep Vinny Pedone, and Tom Reilly, whom Roxann expected would be appointing judges in 2007.
Hey, better late than never, Judge!
Next, Diane Rubin of Cambridge, a sixtysomething former Mass Pike hack, picked by Tall Deval for the Land Court late last month. She covered all the bases in her quest for early retirement. Not only did she give a grand to Tall Deval, but in 2017 she also contributed to Democrat bust outs Jay Gonzalez and Setti Warren, just in case.
Rubin gave another grand to Rachael Rollins, the next district attorney of Suffolk County, who’s allergic to putting criminals behind bars. The new judge also took care of Ayanna Pressley ($250). Other friends of Rubin include Deb Goldberg, Josh Zakim, Marty Walsh and Bob DeLeo, the unindicted coconspirator, who prevailed in the 2009 speaker’s fight against the even more odiferous John Rogers, to whom Rubin gave $250 in 2014.
Like Tetreau, Rubin’s been on the prowl for early retirement for a very long time – she gave $500 to Small Deval Patrick in 2010, then bet $250 on Steve Grossman in 2014.
All in all, Rubin has contributed $16,450 to assorted sleazy pols, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, even more than Tetreau’s $12,200.
Rubin’s name was put forward with that of another woman, Jennifer S.D. Roberts, whose 2015 nomination was withdrawn at the last moment. I guess Tall Deval got the votes lined up this time.
If you work for a district attorney, you are expected to give money to your boss. Just ask Shelby Smith, nominated for the district court last month. How much did she give her employer, Plymouth County DA Tim Cruz? Exactly $350. Cruz is a Republican, by the way, so maybe she’s the exception that proves the rule about only Democrat donors can become judges.
Next, Valerie Yarashus of Holliston, nominated for the Superior Court three weeks ago. She too has been looking to retire for a long time – at least 2006, when she gave her first $500 to future judge appointer Deval Patrick.
But she apparently thought the next governor would be Tom Reilly. She gave him $1,500 in that 2006 fight. Eight years later, she made another bad bet — $500 on Marsha Coakley, with an additional $1000 to the Democrat State Committee.
By 2016, she realized the error of her ways – she gave $500 to Baker. And now she’ll never work again!
Like most of the new female judges, Yarashus has a soft spot in her heart for corrupt Democrats.
Her favorites include jailbird Sal DiMasi ($750), Jolly John Rogers ($200), Crash Murray ($400), tax scofflaw Marie St. Fleur ($125) and of course the perviest of all State House pervs, ex-state Senate president Stanley Rosenberg, who married the Pee Wee Herman lookalike young enough to be his grandson.
Yarashus gave Rosenberg $350, which by the way was a lot less than she gave her real all-time favorite, ex-Rep. Garrett Bradley, who’s lately been in a photo finish with a federal grand jury.
Over a decade, Judge Yarashus gave Bradley at least $2,250. The new judge is a fine judge of character, isn’t she?
Her investment in good government: $31,755. As a judge, she’ll make that back in less than two months.
So I know of at least eight people who have ever so much to be thankful for next Thursday. All of them are women, they’re all shopping for black robes, and they have one other thing in common.
They’ve given lots and lots of money to some really sleazy people over the years. Whatever it takes….