Appeals Court Will Hear DiMasi Corruption Appeal

BOSTON — Former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi is getting a chance to contest his corruption conviction.

A federal appeals court panel has scheduled a hearing early next month to review an appeal.

WBUR’s David Boeri explains that lawyers for the former speaker claim prosecutors never showed DiMasi took any actions motivated solely by payments he received:

“They also argue the judge failed to properly explain to jurors what the definition of corruption was,” Boeri reported, “that federal prosecutors failed to prove that he knowingly accepted kickbacks in exchange for wielding his political power.”

DiMasi has already served one year of an eight-year prison sentence for his conviction for selling his influence over the awarding of state contracts.

DiMasi was diagnosed with throat cancer while in prison.