The Independent Counsel/Ware Report of the Massachusetts Probation Department ordered by the State Supreme Judicial Court has been completed. The findings include:

*The Hiring and Promotion Process in the Probation Departmentis Corrupt and Has Disproportionately Favored Politically-Connected Candidates

*The Fraud is Systemic and Not Episodic

*Commissioner O’Brien and Certain Others Refused to Cooperate with this Investigation

According to a report on WBUR News & Wire Services:

 The Massachusetts’ highest court is ordering a major shake-up of the state Probation Department after an independent review discovered what the justices described as a system of “systemic abuse and corruption of the hiring and promotion processes.”

The Supreme Judicial Court ordered Chief Justice for Administration and Management Robert Mulligan to begin steps to remove senior officials in the department most responsible for the alleged abuses. 

Mulligan told the court he will immediately seek to remove Probation Commissioner John O’Brien.

Read the full article here. The WBUR article includes a link to the full 307-page Independent Counsel report as well as to the Supreme Judical Court 5-page statement on the report.