Highlights from the probation report

The tenure of Probation Commissioner John J. O'Brien has been marked by "abuse and systemic corruption", according to an independent counsel's report released on Thursday. Explore the report's conclusions and the sworn testimony of key witnesses. | Full report

How the system was rigged

“... they checked to see if the favored candidates had high enough scores to be advanced. If the favored candidate did not, they fraudulently changed the scores ...”
— Excerpt from the report
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“We were given prior to interviewing that certain individuals should be on the top of the list. Those individuals were put on the top of the list.”
— Jeff Akers, supervisor
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“I knew that I was not going to get that job on my qualifications alone.”
— Bernard Dow, a probation employee promoted after seeking a politician's support
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“I believe — from my recollection, if there was a favorite candidate on the list, they got the job.”
— Richard O'Neil, regional supervisor
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“... unless you were really, really — and I mean really bad — everybody kind of made the list.”
— William Burke, former deputy commissioner
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The legislature's influence

“O'Brien told Senator Marc Pacheco in 2005 that either he would successfully fill a first assistant chief probation officer position with the Senator's preferred candidate, or he would not fill it at all.”
— Excerpt from the report
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“... Mr. O'Brien would get his funding, and the legislature would get some jobs, isn't that right?
“Yeah, I would say so, yeah.”
— William Burke, former deputy commissioner, in response to questioning
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“... in a single day, Commissioner O'Brien received calls from six different senators and representatives, or their staffs, sponsoring seventeen candidates. Notably, [legislative liaison Maria] Walsh testified that this volume was a small number of calls to receive in one day during the hiring season.”
— Excerpt from the report
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Employees felt pressure to comply

“I thought that having the names ahead of time was unethical, and I felt that it was cheating and that I couldn't do that.”
— Ellen Slaney, regional supervisor, who was later disciplined after a "botched" promotion
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“Quite frankly, because I was afraid for my job. ... I felt that if I didn't comply with a directive by my supervisor, that I might be in harm's way.”
— Edward McDermott, probation employee
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Fallout from a fraudulent process

“I started to be concerned about my own integrity and reputation with the judges, and I knew the judges were talking to one another, and some of the judges would even say to me as time went on: Okay, Rick, who's on the list today?”
— Richard O'Neil, regional supervisor
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“I didn't think he was an appropriate candidate because he was a convicted felon ... .”
— Regional supervisor Ellen Slaney on Doug MacLean, who was later hired
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“Several witnesses were reduced to tears recalling their involvement with rigging hiring decisions. No system that puts such pressure on its professionals, most of whom have dedicated the majority of their professional careers to the Department, should be tolerated.”
— Excerpt from the report
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