From the Boston Globe:
Defying an order from Secretary of State William F. Galvin, Charlestown accountant Richard D. Vitale will refuse to appear at a hearing today to answer questions about allegations that he lobbied on behalf of a group of Massachusetts ticket brokers.
Vitale's lawyer sent a letter yesterday to Galvin's office saying that Vitale was refusing to comply with the order and answer questions under oath because, in the lawyer's opinion, the secretary of state appeared to be overreaching.
"That is an indisputable fact," Galvin said. "They clearly were paid by an entity that had an interest in legislation, and that legislation received affirmative treatment in 2007.
"When you cut away all the fancy legal talk it comes down to this: Mr. Vitale is not above the law. We have laws that say that people who get paid to influence public decisions need to tell us not only what they were paid but for what they were paid. Mr. Vitale needs to comply with the law."
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