Feds seek early release for ex-Massachusetts speaker DiMasi
BOSTON — Federal officials recommended Thursday that former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi be granted early release from prison as he battles cancer.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons and federal prosecutors filed a court notice requesting that DiMasi’s sentence be reduced to time already served so he could be released immediately. The once-powerful Democrat has served almost five years of an eight-year prison term for corruption.
Since his 2011 conviction, DiMasi, 71, was diagnosed with tongue cancer and later prostate cancer.
The compassionate release recommendation is intended for inmates with terminal illnesses as well as elderly inmates who have served a significant portion of their sentences. U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf, who presided over the trial, must approve the request.