Conte mum on fate of war chest
Almost $254,000 left in campaign coffers
By Milton
J. Valencia TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— Forget the pictures and other personal belongings he will pack
up. District Attorney John J. Conte has some financial decisions to make before
leaving office next month.
Retiring after 30 years as district attorney, he has $253,841.85 in his campaign
coffers, according to campaign finance reports filed on Dec. 1. Mr. Conte has
spent about $25,000 since announcing in January that he would retire, and close
to half that amount was for a “thank you” party in his honor.
Mr. Conte, 76, is not expected to seek public office again, leaving open the
question of what he plans to do with his campaign cash. Mr. Conte has not
returned telephone calls to his office seeking comment on his plans for the
money.
The $253,842 is a significant amount for any local or county political campaign.
District Attorney-elect Joseph D. Early Jr. spent close to that figure on his
election to replace Mr. Conte.
Mr. Conte has given to local charities and political groups in the past year,
but the donations are only a fraction of what’s left in his account.
Candidates leaving public office are allowed to keep an open campaign finance
account if they are considering, or have plans to seek elected office again,
according to Denis J. Kennedy, director of communications for the state Office
of Campaign and Political Finance.
Mr. Conte has not indicated he will seek public office; in January, an
announcement he released said he was retiring from public office.
The release said, in part, “This time next year, I will bring to a close 44
years of service in elected office — 14 years in the state Senate and 30 years
as district attorney.”
In his day, Mr. Conte was known as a political powerhouse and strong fundraiser.
Public officials have left office with significant balances before. Former Gov.
Paul Cellucci had $616,000 in his campaign account at the end of 2001, when he
left to be U.S. ambassador to Canada. His balance was high because Mr. Cellucci
held statewide office. He has closed that account since, after donating heavily
to charities: $100,000 was given to the Boys & Girls Club of MetroWest; $50,000
to the Portuguese Club of Hudson, and $75,000 to The Childrens Trust Fund, for
example.
Former Gov. William Weld had several hundred thousand dollars in his account
when he resigned in 1997, and gave most of it to the University of
Massachusetts. He has closed his account.
Former Gov. Jane M. Swift still has an open account after leaving office with a
balance of $1.8 million, considered an impressive amount for any outgoing
official. Ms. Swift, 41, may be keeping her options open. She still has a
campaign team assembled, and is involved in state politics as guest commentator
on multiple television news and talk shows. By the end of 2005, her account had
dwindled to about $300,000, after donations to charities and political groups,
among other expenditures.
Mr. Kennedy, of the political finance office, said any official can close an
account once there are no liabilities and the cash is dispensed.
There are five outlets to which an official can donate campaign money: the
state’s local aid fund, a municipality’s general fund, a charity, a religious
organization or a scholarship fund.
“It’s very common, when shutting down, to make a contribution to charity,” Mr.
Kennedy said. Still, there’s no requirement that a candidate dissolve the
account, using the reason that he may seek office.
Most of Mr. Conte’s campaign fund expenditures in the last year have been
donations. His committee spent more than $12,000 on a going away party for him,
according to campaign reports. He also spent money renewing his postal office
box.
Throughout the year, he has made minor donations to charities and political
groups. He gave $100 to the committee to elect Philip Palmieri, a city councilor
and a likely candidate for state representative, for instance. He has also given
$1,000 to the Boys & Girls Club; more than $1,000 to Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Church on Mulberry Street; and hundreds of dollars to Catholic Charities of
Worcester.
November 11, 2006
Editorial / Opinion Sentinel & Enterprise
It's one thing to act in a criminally irresponsible and dangerous manner, as Leominster resident Kathleen A. Lamb allegedly did in September.
Police arrested Lamb, the wife of Lancaster's police chief, saying she drove drunk on the wrong side of Route 2.
They had to close the highway to stop her, and Lamb later failed a breathalyzer test, according to police reports.
Her blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit at the time, according to police.
If someone is that drunk, they certainly shouldn't be driving anywhere.
And a person really has to go overboard to get on the wrong highway ramp and then drive the wrong way down Route 2.
It's a miracle nobody got hurt or killed.
So should such alleged behavior be rewarded with a sweetheart deal from the prosecution?
That's exactly what Lamb got from District Attorney John Conte's office.
To call it a slap on the wrist is exaggerating the price she had to pay for her alleged crimes.
She received one measly year of probation
in connection with the alleged incident, according to court documents.
Judge Patrick A. Fox also ordered her to undergo a substance-abuse program and remain alcohol-free during the probation period, according to court documents.
Lamb, 57, also lost her license for 60 days and must pay a $600 fine, documents state.
But those penalties are minuscule given the severity of her alleged acts.
Police had charged Lamb with one count each of operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and a marked-lanes violation.
But Conte's office cut a deal with her where she did not even have to plead guilty to the charges, but instead admitted to sufficient facts, according to court documents.
All three charges were continued without findings for the duration of the probation, which ends next September, according to court documents.
This means if Lamb manages to stay out of trouble for a year, her record gets wiped clean -- a big added bonus.
Overall, Lamb received an incredibly good deal, and one that prompts an obvious question: Would the average member of the public -- one not related to a police officer -- have gotten the same treatment from Conte's office?
It is impossible to say for sure.
Conte of course didn't respond to calls about the case, and won't let his prosecutors speak to the press.
That's business as usual for the district attorney who's remarkably made a career out of hiding in his office and refusing to defend his actions.
But the facts at hand nonetheless paint a clear picture: A cop's wife gets charged with drunk driving and astonishing recklessness, and Conte lets her walk away without pleading guilty to one charge.
It's hard to spin that one as justice served.
Thankfully, Conte will soon retire, wrapping up an interminable run of sustained mediocrity and scorn for the public.
His tenure can't end soon enough, as we've said repeatedly.
But we wouldn't have to keep harping on the DA if he didn't keep leaving us reminders of why he's been such a failure as district attorney.
The deal Conte cut with Lamb is a sterling example. Let's hope it's the last one before he is finally gone.
November 7, 2006
Woman gets probation in alleged OUI incident
By Aaron Wasserman, Sentinel and Enterprise
GARDNER -- Kathleen A. Lamb, the Leominster woman arrested in September for allegedly driving drunk the wrong way on Route 2, has received one year of probation in connection with the incident, according to court documents.
Judge Patrick A. Fox ordered Lamb to undergo a substance-abuse program and remain alcohol-free during the probation, according to court documents.
Lamb, 57, also lost her license for 60 days and must pay a $600 fine, documents state.
She is the wife of Lancaster Police Chief Kevin Lamb and the executive assistant to that town's Board of Selectmen.
Police had charged her with one count each of operating under the influence of liquor, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and a marked-lanes violation.
All three charges were continued without findings for the duration of the probation, which ends next September, according to court documents.
Lamb did not plead guilty to the charges, but instead admitted to sufficient facts, according to court documents.
Police arrested her on Sept. 2 as she was headed westbound on Route 2 east.
They closed the highway to stop her. Lamb later failed a breathalyzer test, according to police reports.
Her blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit at the time, according to police.
"There were obvious signs of intoxication," State Police Trooper Darren R. Specht wrote in a report at the time. "Lamb failed field sobriety tests and was subsequently arrested."
Lamb, as part of her probation's conditions, must remain employed and allow a probation officer to visit her workplace.
Neither her attorney, Robert B. Russell of Clinton, nor Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte could be reached for comment Monday.
September 6, 2006
REGIONAL DIGEST,
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
GARDNER - Three days after
being arrested for allegedly driving drunk and the wrong way on Route 2, the
Lancaster Board of Selectmen's secretary made a brief court appearance
yesterday.
Kathleen A. Lamb, 57, stood quietly during the hearing, which was held by Clerk
Magistrate Whitney J. Brown because the court did not have a judge yesterday.
After the charges against her were read aloud and a pretrial date was set, Ms.
Lamb said, "Thank you," and walked out of the courtroom with a relative.
Her lawyer, Robert B. Russell of Clinton, declined to comment. Ms. Lamb is
married to Lancaster Police Chief Kevin D. Lamb, but they are separated and live
in different communities. He also declined to comment yesterday.
Ms. Lamb was pulled over Saturday at 12:20 a.m. after police received calls
about a car driving westbound in the eastbound lane of Route 2. Police stopped
her in front of the Wachusett Village Inn in Westminster.
"There were obvious signs of intoxication," according to a police report.
She is charged with driving under the influence, negligent operation of a motor
vehicle and marked lanes violation.
Ms. Lamb was released on $1,000 bail Saturday, and is scheduled to return to
Gardner District Court for a pretrial hearing Sept. 20.
September 3, 2006
Wrong-way driver arrested
REGIONAL DIGEST, Worcester
Telegram & Gazette (MA)
WESTMINSTER - State police, working with police from Westminster and
Gardner, arrested a Leominster woman who was allegedly driving the wrong way on
Route 2 early yesterday morning.
Kathleen A. Lamb, 57, of 171 Bayberry Hill Lane, Wildwood Condominiums,
Leominster, was arrested at about 12:30 a.m.
At the time of her arrest, in front of the Wachusett Village Inn, Ms. Lamb was
driving west in the eastbound lane of Route 2, state police said. She was
charged with marked lanes violation, negligent driving and driving while under
the influence of alcohol. According to police, Trooper Darren R. Specht arrested
Ms. Lamb after she pulled her vehicle over.
State police said they received multiple calls from people traveling on Route 2
in Leominster and Fitchburg about a vehicle traveling the wrong way.
At the request of state police, local police departments blocked traffic from
going onto the highway until the driver could be stopped.
Ms. Lamb, who is the executive assistant to the Lancaster Board of Selectmen,
was released on bail. She may be arraigned Tuesday in Gardner District Court.