John Patrick Connolly (June 28, 1894 – October 30, 1971) was an American politician who served as clerk of the

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

of Civil Business from 1936 to 1939. He was convicted of bribery in 1941 for receiving kickbacks from court employees. He later returned to elected office as a

Boston City Council The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no ...

Early life

Connolly was born on June 28, 1894, in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

. He graduated from

Suffolk Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two block ...

Political career

Early career

From 1929 to 1933, Connolly represented the 9th Suffolk District in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

. From 1935 to 1937 he was an assistant attorney general in the office of

Paul A. Dever Paul Andrew Dever (January 15, 1903April 11, 1958) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served as the 58th Governor of Massachusetts and was its youngest-ever Attorney General. Among his notable accomplishments ...

Suffolk Superior Court

Connolly was elected clerk of the Suffolk Superior Court of Civil Business in 1936. He assumed office on December 1, 1936, succeeding the deceased Francis A. Campbell. After taking office, Connolly fired nearly 50 clerks, all without a reason. The dismissed employees filed complaints with Attorney General Dever and Governor

Charles F. Hurley Charles Francis Hurley (November 24, 1893 – March 24, 1946) was an American attorney and the 54th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and one of its first Irish-American governors. Early years Charles Francis Hurley was born in Cambr ...

. In 1938, one of the terminated employees hired attorney Reuben L. Laurie to investigate the firings. The following year the matter was referred to the Boston Bar Association. On June 16, 1939, the Boston Bar Association filed a petition with the

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

for Connolly’s removal. The petition alleged that Connolly, his principal clerk, and another legal figure coerced clerk’s office employees to pay Connolly kickbacks in order to retain their jobs. The Bar Association also accused Connolly of forcing employees to work on his reelection campaign, hiring lawyers who did little work for the office, and having employees intercede in traffic cases. On July 19, 1939, five days before his removal hearing was to begin, Connolly resigned his office. James F. McDermott, who was appointed to succeed Connolly on an acting basis, removed employees hired by Connolly and offered reinstatement to those Connolly had fired. In December 1939, Connolly presented Laurie’s evidence to a grand jury. The grand jury returned six indictments against Connolly and his co-conspirator, William T. Conway. Connolly and Conway’s trial began on March 4, 1940. The pair were found guilty of bribery. Connolly was sentenced to three to four years in the

State Prison This is a list of U.S. state prisons (2010) (not including federal prisons or county jails in the United States or prisons in U.S. territories): * Alabama * Alaska * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Colorado * Connecticut * Delaware * Flori ...

. His sentence was stayed pending appeal. His conviction was upheld and he began serving his sentence on April 8, 1941.

Release from prison

On September 2, 1943, the Massachusetts State Parole Board voted to parole Connolly on October 7 of that year. Upon his release, Connolly worked as a union business agent at the Bethlehem Atlantic Works in

East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and do ...

. In 1947, Connolly was recommended for a pardon by Governor Maurice J. Tobin, but on the advice of Attorney General Clarence A. Barnes, the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

’s Committee on Pardons voted 4 to 1 to deny the pardon. On December 20, 1950, the Governor's Council voted 6 to 2 in favor of pardoning Connolly. According to Governor Paul A. Dever, the pardon was granted to allow Connolly to take the civil service exam. From 1950 to 1960, Connolly worked as a night shift laborer for the Metropolitan Transit Authority. He also served as president of Laborers Local 223 and a delegate to the Boston Central Labor Union. After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65, the MTA rehired Connolly as a legal counsel for its detective force. His final job was with the Boston park’s department.

Boston City Council

Connolly was an unsuccessful candidate for the

in 1951, 1953, 1955, and 1957. In 1959 he won a seat on the council by finishing 9th in a race where only 8 incumbents ran for reelection. He defeated his nearest opponent, teacher and first-time candidate Thomas A. Sullivan, by less than 1,000 votes. In 1961, Connolly lost his bid for reelection, finishing 17th in the general election. Connolly died on October 30, 1971, at the age of 77.

Notes

:1. In the 1961 city council election, the nine candidates with the most votes were elected to the council. Connolly and fellow incumbent Frederick C. Langone finished outside the top nine so their seats went to challengers Gabriel F. Piemonte and John J. Tierney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, John Patrick 1894 births 1971 deaths American politicians convicted of bribery Boston City Council members Massachusetts lawyers Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Suffolk University Law School alumni Massachusetts politicians convicted of corruption