Baker: No Special Treatment For Wahlberg

Governor-elect Charlie Baker said Hollywood superstar Mark Wahlberg, who is seeking a pardon for his 1988 conviction on assault and battery and drug possession charges, will get no special treatment from his administration.

Baker said he trusts in the process, which currently requires the Parole Board to vet applicants for pardons and commutations before making a recommendation to the governor. If the governor agrees with a recommendation for a pardon, the Governor's Council must also approve.

Gov. Deval Patrick has recommended one commutation and four pardons that are still pending, but Baker said he has not followed the details of each case closely enough to have an opinion. As for Wahlberg, who has yet to have a hearing before the Parole Board, Baker said he'll wait and see what they recommend.

"He should go through the process just like everybody else and on the facts of the case, if it's up to me to make a decision, I'll make it at the time," Baker said after a charity event Tuesday at the House of Blues.