John Buonomo jailed for stealing coins from copiers
Penny for pol’s thoughts?
By Laurel J. Sweet
Thursday, November 19, 2009 - Updated 10h ago
Laurel J. Sweet has been featured in the ABC miniseries "Boston 24/7" and the 9-11 documentary motion picture "Looking For My Brother."
For the chump change he was caught on camera tapping from copiers and the cash he stole from struggling taxpayers who voted him into his $110,220 job, John Buonomo, former Middlesex register of probate, was sentenced to 30 months behind bars - and could be sprung in half that time.
The latest face of public corruption in Massachusetts kept his eyes downcast and hands folded yesterday as Middlesex Superior Court Judge Bruce R. Henry sentenced him to the Billerica House of Correction for ripping off $102,792 in campaign donations, as well as buckets full of coins from public copy machines at the Middlesex Registry of Deeds.
“They are offenses that undermine the faith that citizens have in their government,” the judge said.
Defense attorney Michael Natola said Buonomo, 58, of Newton, will be eligible for parole in 15 months. After his release, he’ll face 10 years of supervised probation.
“It could have been worse,” Natola said after the divorced dad was hauled off in handcuffs. “No one takes incarceration well. There are certain people who are better equipped to handle it than others. He’s not one of them.”
Natola said Buonomo has never offered him a motive for his crimes - a perplexing fall from grace for a man with two sons ages 11 and 13, a father stricken with Alzheimer’s disease and a mother battling cancer.
In preparing for the pokey, Natola said Buonomo dissolved his campaign committee account and surrendered its $136,000 balance to the state’s general fund. Upon his release, he must also pay restitution to the state for the $102,792 in donations he admitted stealing.
“When he gets out, hopefully he’s able to find gainful employment,” Natola said.
As for the copiers Buonomo cleaned out, Henry said that money can’t be recovered because “those precise amounts could not be determined.”
Henry said the charges of larceny, personal use of campaign funds, willfully misleading investigators, breaking and entering and theft of public property for which Buonomo stands convicted “are serious offenses.
But he said he was satisfied Buonomo had taken responsibility for his actions.
“Somewhat to his credit - perhaps late in the game,” the judge said, “but to his credit.”
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