Between 1980 and 1981, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Chairman Barry Locke and the Assistant Director of the MBTA's Real Estate Department Frank J. Walters, Jr. ran a number of kickback schemes at the MBTA. The kickbacks were discovered when newly appointed MBTA General Manager James O'Leary accidentally opened an envelope meant for Locke that contained the proceeds from one of the schemes. A total of seventeen people and one corporation were indicted for their roles in kickback schemes at the MBTA. Locke was convicted of five counts of bribery and sentenced to 7 to 10 years in prison. Locke is the only Massachusetts cabinet secretary to be convicted of a felony while in office since the state's adoption of the cabinet system in 1970.
Background
In 1979, Barry M. Locke was appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation by the state's new Governor, Edward J. King. In 1980, Locke took on a second role as acting chairman of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. After taking control of the MBTA, Locke hired his friend Frank J. Walters, Jr. to serve as Assistant Director of the MBTA's Real Estate Department. In 1981, a reorganization of the MBTA forced Locke to turn over the day-to-day operation of the MBTA to a general manager. After a three-month search, James O'Leary was chosen to take over management of the MBTA.
Exposure
On April 30, 1981, Walters was unable to meet with Locke to deliver a kickback payment from a company that had been granted an advertising contract. Locke suggested that they use O'Leary as a go-between. Walters placed a large envelope with the words "To Jim O'Leary For B.M.L." written on it on O'Leary's desk and expected that O'Leary would deliver it to Locke. O'Leary found the envelope and, thinking that it read "To Jim O'Leary From B.M.L.", opened it. Inside were four progressively smaller envelopes, with the smallest containing ten $100 bills and a note instructing Locke to use a lower price when determining how much a Belmont man would have to pay for abandoned MBTA land. That evening, O'Leary went to the home of Massachusetts Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti and turned over the money and the envelopes to him.
The next morning, the serial numbers on the bills were noted and placed back in the series of envelopes. O'Leary met with Locke that afternoon. After Locke asked about the envelope, O'Leary handed it over to him. During the meeting, Locke left the conference table where he and O'Leary were seated to take a call at his desk. While there, he opened the envelopes and pocketed the money. Locke told O'Leary that the money was repayment of a loan he had made to Walters eight years ago. When O'Leary left, assistant attorney general Stephen R. Delinsky and two state troopers entered through another door and requested permission to search the office. Locke gave them permission. They seized the envelopes and the money. That same day, Locke was placed on an unpaid leave of absence from his posts after King learned that Locke was under investigation.
Meanwhile, Walters was called to a meeting in O'Leary's office. When Walters arrived at the office, he was met by two state troopers, who placed him under arrest. Walters confessed that the money was Locke's proceeds from one of many kickback schemes the two ran at the MBTA. He provided prosecutors with a detailed, 96-page long statement describing wrongdoing at the MBTA. Walters' statement led to the Attorney General's office questioning dozens of people, including MBTA employees and business executives. Walters agreed to cooperate with the Attorney General's office because he did not want to jeopardize the finalization of his and his wife's adoption of a baby boy. He and his lawyer negotiated an agreement in which he was promised that the Attorney General would not recommend incarceration in his case, the Attorney General's office would help him obtain employment, the Massachusetts State Police would provide him with protection during the investigation, and, if he so desired, he would be provided with a new identity and relocated to another part of the country.
Indictments
On July 17, 1981, Locke and eight others, including his brother Alan, were indicted in connection with the Attorney General's investigation into kickbacks at the MBTA. A total of seventeen people and one corporation were indicted for their roles in kickback schemes at the MBTA. They were:
Schemes
Walters' testimony
During Barry Locke's trial, Delinsky accused Locke of being the "mastermind" of twelve kickback schemes that netted about $60,000 between October 1980 and May 1981. Walters testified that