Mass. Panel Drops Complaint Against DiMasi Witness

The state Ethics Commission has dismissed a conflict-of-interest allegation against a key witness in the corruption trial of former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi.

Joseph Lally, a former software salesman, was accused of trying to influence two state employees by offering them jobs or career assistance. Lally at the time was seeking a $15 million state contract for performance management software for Cognos Corp.

The commission said Tuesday that it decided to drop the complaint in light of Lally's guilty plea and 18-month prison sentence in the federal criminal case. Lally testified against DiMasi and two co-defendants during the trial.

Lally has asked a judge to change his prison assignment from a New York City facility, where he would cook and clean for high-security inmates awaiting trial, to a minimum-security lockup.