Our previous three Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

• Charles Flaherty: Resigned in 1996 after pleading guilty in federal court to tax evasion and admitted to the State Ethics Commission that he received free vacation lodging from lobbyists and business interests.
• Thomas Finneran: Resigned in 2004 and three years later pled guilty to criminal obstruction of justice charges.
• Salvatore DiMasi: Resigned in January 2009 due to allegations, and was just indicted on fraud and corruption charges.

Somehow, my level of confidence in our state government is not increasing.