1) The Patrick administration imposed a salary cap on housing authorities throughout Massachusetts in the wake of revelations that Michael McLaughlin, horrible boss and absentee employee, had racked up a $360K payout as head of the authority in Chelsea. "State officials also will seek to eliminate pay to members of the local boards of directors that govern housing authorities ... Board members, who typically meet once a month to go over broad policy issues, now receive up to $5,000 in pay annually." [Globe]
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2) Meanwhile, McLaughlin may have been speed demon Tim Murray's biggest bagman: "[A] Globe investigation shows that the former Chelsea housing chief ran an extensive political operation for the lieutenant governor right up until McLaughlin resigned in November amid an uproar over his $360,000 salary. The FBI is investigating whether McLaughlin broke federal laws, questioning housing authority employees about McLaughlin’s political activities and management of the agency." [Globe]
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3) A whistleblower complaint revealed widespread mortgage fraud in the Massachusetts' offices of Countrywide Financial: “'By 2006, Countrywide’s business had degenerated into a massive fraudulent enterprise designed to generate commissions on new loans in high volumes without meaningful consideration of a homeowner’s ability to pay,' said Gary Klein, a Boston lawyer with Klein Kavanagh Costello LLP, a firm that represents homeowners fighting foreclosures. 'Tens of thousands of Massachusetts families were sucked into expensive refinancing deals with significant hidden fees and costs.'" [Globe]
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4) Two Allston residents jumped from a second-floor window after their rental on Linden Street burst into flames: "The building housed seven people in four units. Local real-estate attorney Joshua Krefetz tweets that city assessors' and building-department records show the building is legally only supposed to be a single-family home." [The Hub]
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5) An op-ed pointed out another ramification from the MBTA's proposed T cuts: our cred. "The charming quirks of Boston’s antique transit system—the rickety tracks, the service that ends barely after midnight—already keep the city from claiming truly world-class status. But if the T’s latest scenarios come to pass, Boston risks becoming a place where the transit service is lousy and the prices are high: in other words, a bad joke."