Thomas Finneran

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American politician. Perhaps the most powerful political figure in recent Massachusetts' history (as of 2004), Finneran was a controversial Speaker of the House. A member of the House of Representatives since 1979, he was Speaker of the House from 1996 until his resignation in September 2004. Finneran was caught up in a scandal about voting-area redistricting, which minority voters claimed threw the advantage to white politicians. Accused of being a loyal friend and intractable enemy, Finneran nevertheless remained popular with his constituents and was a force to contend with for the Republican Governor, W. Mitt Romney. In 2003 it was announced that Finneran was under federal investigation for possible wrong-doing in redistricting areas of Massachusetts. On September 27, 2004, Finneran announced his immediate resignation from his post of Speaker of the House to become president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a lobbyist group. He denied that his resignation from public office had anything to do with the federal probe into allegations that he lied under oath during the redistricting lawsuit in 2003. His reign as Speaker ended at 1:00 PM on September 29, 2004 and his new position began on October 4, 2004 but he remained a member of the House, representing his home district until the end of the term in January 2005. He was formally indicted on June 6, 2005 in Boston on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice in his sworn deposition of March 28, 2003 and sworn testimony on November 13, 2003. At his arraignment on June 14, 2005 he pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied under oath about his role in redrawing legislative district lines. Finneran graduated from Northeastern University in 1973 and Boston College Law School with his J.D. in 1978. He and his wife have two children. Link to Wikipedia biography