District Attorney John J. Conte has had a long run. First appointed to the position in 1976, he was elected in his own right in 1978. During that time, he has been challenged only twice.

Mr. Conte has not had to work hard to raise money to keep himself in office. The vast majority of his political contributions come from his own employees, who are required to make these contributions.

The tragic death of the Murphy sisters of Southborough demonstrates how the political system operates in Central Massachusetts and throughout Massachusetts and how financial contributions appear to fuel how justice is administered.

May 25, 2006

Gubernatorial candidates do battle in third debate
Patrick, Gabrieli spar with Reilly on gay marriage


BOSTON— Deval L. Patrick and Christopher F. Gabrieli yesterday challenged Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly on his handling of gay marriage and opposition to the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound as the three Democratic candidates for governor squared off in their third face-to-face debate. .......

Mr. Reilly agreed “It is time to move on,” but said he followed the same legal policy and interpretation of those statutes used for 20 years in the Attorney General’s office.“You can’t pick and choose which laws you are going to enforce and not enforce,” Mr. Reilly said.

March 19, 2006

In no particular order, I offer several reasons why we shouldn’t name the new courthouse after District Attorney John J. Conte:

1. Despite compelling evidence to the contrary, he is not dead yet.

2. He has failed to solve many high-profile cases that broke during his interminable tenure, including the Scola killing, the Volungis murder, and the disappearance of Lucy Keyes from Mount Wachusett in 1755.

3. His dour spirit would forever infuse the new building so that even the janitorial staff would walk around snapping “no comment” to perfect strangers.

4. He was caught selling steroids to Barry Bonds. Wait, that’s a different Conte.

5. Unlike our district attorney, the courthouse will be accessible to the public.

March 17, 2006

Conte courthouse?
Incumbency doesn’t confer naming rights

It’s largely ceremonial what name, if any, we give to the new county courthouse on Main Street in Worcester, but, ceremonial or not, the symbolism of naming it after incumbent District Attorney John J. Conte would be regrettable. And we’ll have the opportunity to regret it for a long time.

This is not a broad-brush knock on John Conte’s tenure. He has been hardworking and, if nothing else, durable. But the whispered consensus of lawyers, judges, other DAs is that his record is hardly stellar.

February 3, 2006

I think I get it now.

Some Democrats, denuded of a meaningful role in President Bush’s revolution, are committing seppuku with a twist: They appear to believe that a dishonorable death is more desirable than a life in shame.

How else can you explain the unbelievable number of miscues in this soap opera of a Democratic gubernatorial campaign in Massachusetts?

Here is Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, the Democratic front-runner for the corner office, kicking off his campaign by interfering in a criminal investigation, unnecessarily advising Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte not to release to the press autopsy reports in a double-fatal motor vehicle accident.

January 20, 2006

Alcohol eyed in fatal crash

The driver is already facing charges of driving negligently, speeding and a marked lanes violation.

PALMER - The 19-year-old driver involved in a fatal car crash on Route 67 may have been drinking alcohol at a Warren house party before the crash, Palmer Police Chief Robert P. Frydryk said.

If additional charges come from Warren, through the "Social Host Responsibility Law," against the alleged host of the party, that case would be heard in a Worcester County court. Warren is in Worcester County, while Palmer is in Hampden County.

In a similar case in Southborough, also in Worcester County, two sisters were killed on Oct. 13 when their sport utility vehicle slammed into a pole. Worcester County John J. Conte refused to release copies of the girls' autopsy reports to local police, blocking their efforts to file charges of providing alcohol to a minor.

January 18, 2005

Signs of a meltdown

Tom Reilly's gubernatorial campaign might not be toast, but it certainly isn't the Tuscan bruschetta it was several months ago............

Conte decided to seal the records. In doing so, Conte killed the police investigation. The police chief felt it was important to know how the girls obtained the liquor and, if necessary, file charges.

By state law, autopsy records are private; Conte had no reason to release them to anyone except the victims' family.

So did Reilly really have to call Conte just to tell the DA what he must have undoubtedly already known?

January 10, 2006

Friend of Murhpys raised $10K for Reilly

A dot-com millionaire and friend of the family of two Southborough teens killed in an apparent drunk driving crash helped raise $10,000 for Attorney General Thomas Reilly, who now faces accusations he improperly intervened to cover up the case.

January 10, 2006

Conte denies Reilly factor

DA says merits of case, not politics, rule decisions

WORCESTER— A combative Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte reiterated yesterday that a call from Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly on behalf of a friend and campaign contributor who lost two daughters in a car crash Oct. 13 in Southboro did not influence his office’s investigation of the accident.

December 23, 2005

By Noah Schaffer, Worstermag

• DEFENSE CHECKS: Checking in with District Attorney John Conte’s campaign donors, it appears as though a good deal of his contributions are coming from the very people his team faces off with every day in court: local defense attorneys, including such prominent names as Lou Aloise, Peter Ettenberg and Anthony Salerno. Ettenberg tells us that it is not an uncommon practice for defense lawyers to support their local DA. “It’s something I’ve done for 25 years,” he says. “Just like 500 other defense attorneys.”

September 1, 2005

Conte re-election campaign August contributions concentrated in Spencer, Brookfield area, son Joseph makes largest contribution of $250.00.

Conte2006.com

During the month of August DA John Conte posted contributions of $2,350.00. Twenty-one individual contributors are listed. 

DA Conte's son Joseph, also an attorney, employed by Moriarty & Associates, PC, contributed $250.00. State Senator Steve Brewer who contributed $100.00 dollars, was the only elected official to contribute in August.

Thirteen $100.00 contributions are posted, one contribution of $125.00, four $50.00 contributions, and three individual contributions listing only MA as contributors are listed for $25.00. Attorney, Michael Meloche and Dentist, Kevin Grace each made contributions of $200.00.

July 16, 2005

By Noah Schaffer, Worstermag

• CONTE’S GIFTS: District Attorney John Conte has been carefully doling out small donations from his campaign fund to other campaign funds. One of the interesting ones is a $100 donation to Middlesex DA Martha Coakley’s fund. Apparently there’s no bad blood between Conte and Coakley, who recently was quoted (via a spokesman) as saying that she has never accepted donations from staff members or their spouses the way Conte famously does. Another interesting one is a $50 donation to School Committee candidate John Monfredo. In 1987, Conte’s office dropped an investigation into sexual assault charges against Monfredo, then principal of the Belmont Hill School, citing a lack of evidence. Conte did not return a call seeking comment.

June 19, 2005