Reporter's Notebook: O’Toole’s ex-colleagues are asked to decry his statement in loan suit

The man suing District 3 candidate John O’Toole is asking former co-workers to write letters to this newspaper accusing O’Toole of mischaracterizing his tenure at the Dorchester-based Optimum Mortgage Corporation, according to an e-mail sent out by Paul Connolly, the plaintiff in the suit, and obtained by the Reporter.

Connolly, who filed the suit against O’Toole in April claiming the candidate owes him and his wife $69,000, has reached out to former co-workers and encouraged them to write to the Reporter, the e-mail indicates. Connolly is backing one of O’Toole’s opponents in the race, Craig Galvin, who owns a Neponset real estate firm.

In defending his client against the lawsuit, O’Toole’s attorney wrote in a court memorandum that O’Toole’s role in Optimum was “that he attended to the renovation of the corporate headquarters and as the part owner of a real estate company he funneled whatever business he could from the mortgage brokerage company to Optimum.”

But in a letter e-mailed and faxed to the Reporter, a former vice president of operations and mortgage loan processor at Optimum called the claims “blatantly false.” Lisa Marie Contrino-Kerr, who worked at the company from July 2005 until the day the business’s doors closed, added that she was “perplexed and quite frankly offended” that O’Toole claimed to have no control over the management of the corporation.

She wrote the letter in reaction to a Reporter article on an ongoing civil lawsuit against O’Toole and after she was contacted by former co-workers, she said. The aforementioned article also noted that other District 3 contenders, including Galvin and Frank Baker, at one point faced their own civil lawsuits, which were eventually settled.

O’Toole, whose campaign declined comment for this story, has said he is confident the lawsuit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court and called “frivolous” by O’Toole’s attorney, will be dismissed after an October court hearing.

Contrino-Kerr, a Weymouth resident, said in a phone interview that she is not backing any of the seven candidates in the District 3 race but has been in contact with Connolly, who declined comment and directed questions to his attorney.

Connolly, who owned Optimum Mortgage Corporation, contends that O’Toole has failed to pay back the loan, which, according to the suit, was due in part to a third owner at Optimum wanting to leave, requiring a separation agreement and a payout from the other two owners, Connolly and O’Toole. O’Toole agreed to match the amount, but did not have the cash on hand, and asked Connolly and his wife for help, the suit says.

“Paul Connolly was the CFO and John O’Toole was the COO and was the Human Resource officer for the company,” with both attending management meetings, Contrino-Kerrr wrote.

She added: “At no time did I ever question John O’Toole’s involvement in the company as it was clear he was truly vested in the company along with Paul Connolly. They worked as hard as they could to make the company work, even through the industry-wide turmoil happening at the time.”

In the defense memorandum, O’Toole’s attorney said O’Toole did not have control over what money Connolly took out of the business. O’Toole was not paid any substantial salary, and had little or no income from Optimum, the attorney wrote.

“He invested money whenever he could on instructions from Paul, in whom O’Toole had great trust,” according to the memorandum. “Now O’Toole realizes that having not been an officer of the company, never having received any stock certificates and never having had an opportunity to examine the books and records of the company, that he has lost his entire life savings.”

Lynch declines comment
on redistricting, awaits map

Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston) said on Monday that he’ll wait to see a redistricting map until he comments on the matter, as speculation has swirled on Beacon Hill that he may be facing off with Congressman Bill Keating next year.

After speaking at the Greater Boston Labor Council’s Labor Day breakfast on Monday, Lynch noted that the chairmen of the redistricting committee are weighing around six possibilities in redistricting. The Legislature has tasked the committee with redrawing the state’s political boundaries following a U.S. Census count that showed Massachusetts losing one of its 10 Congressional delegation members. The panel is expected to release its new map at the end of this month or during the first week of October.

“So until we see a map, I think we probably don’t have a chance to really comment on that,” Lynch said.

Separately, when asked about stitches underneath his right eye, Lynch said he it was the result of surgery to remove basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. “It’s pretty routine,” he said.

Capuano passes on
next year’s Senate battle

Congressman Michael Capuano said last Friday morning that he won’t be among the Democrats jockeying to take on U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in 2012. “There are several good candidates currently in the race and I am fully satisfied that any nominee from this group will represent Massachusetts effectively in the Senate,” Capuano said in an e-mailed statement. “Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me to seek the Senate seat. I very much appreciate your support and your insight. I look forward to seeking re-election to the House in 2012.”

The move will likely free up any operatives who were waiting to hear from Capuano about his intentions.

Capuano, a Somerville Democrat who has held the Eighth Congressional seat since 1999, ran for Senate in 2009 after the death of Edward Kennedy, ending up behind Attorney General Martha Coakley. Coakley then lost to Brown in the January 2010 special election. The incumbent is now running for a full six-year term.

Endorsement Corner: Masons
local backs Dorcena for at-large

City Council At-Large candidate Will Dorcena of Hyde Park picked up the endorsement of the local chapter of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons International Association this week. The chapter, Local 534, is based in Dorchester.

There is no preliminary election and the seven candidates will face off on Nov. 8.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Check out updates to Boston’s political scene at The Lit Drop, located at dotnews.com/litdrop. Follow us on Twitter: @LitDrop and @gintautasd.


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