Walsh Transactions Criticized

Recent reports that City Councilor William H. Walsh had extensive business dealings with high-ranking city officials are sparking controversy over the propriety of such transactions.

According to an article in the August 11 issue of The Boston Phoenix, Walsh has been involved in real estate transactions with Police Chief Anthony Paolillo, City Clerk Joseph E. Connarton and City Councilor Sheila T. Russell. He also loaned $15,000 to Deputy City Solicitor Donald Drisdell in 1986--after Drisdell had just been hired by the city's legal department but before he acquired his current position.

While no one has levied charges of illegal actions against Walsh, the revelations have raised questions about the potential for conflicts of interest.

"It creates the appearance of impropriety," City Councilor Francis H. Duehay '55 said yesterday. "In the aggregate, it's not a wise policy for the city to encourage or permit this kind of operation."

But in an interview yesterday, Walsh said that the transactions under question are part of his normal business as a real estate lawyer and that there is no possibility of conflict of interest surrounding any of them.

"It's normal for someone in real estate to loan, buy and sell," Walsh said. "I have a right to conduct business. By law, it's clean and I've done everything openly."

Walsh said that he contacted the state ethics commission to ensure that his actions were legal before undergoing any business transactions with government officials. He also has a private counsel who makes sure that any dealings are legal, he said.

According to The Phoenix, Drisdell did not know Walsh at the time of the loan, but was directed to him by City Solicitor Russell B. Higley. Drisdell needed a 90-day bridge loan to allow him to fund the purchase and repair of a new house in Somerville.

Drisdell, who helps write opinions and legislation for the City Council, is out of town and could not be reached for comment.

"Drisdell couldn't do me any favors," Walsh said. "His work merely involves opinions and carries no weight of law."

Michael Turk, a tenant activist who has opposed Walsh on issues of housing, said yesterday that in the case of conflicts of interest, any potential for improprieties is as bad as actual illegal actions.

"In the case of conflict of interest," Turk said, "questions of appearance are important because you can't know if someone is returning favors because of side dealings."

Turk said that the uproar surrounding Walsh's actions is due to the extensive nature of the city councilor's business dealings and the extension of an real estate dealings into the arena of public service.

"It's clear that it's a murky area," Turk said. "It's very disquieting to see instances of public officials providing favors, particularly financial ones."

But Walsh insists that the furor is "plainly political."

"Real estate in Cambridge is a bad word and I am the spokesman for people who disagree with rent control," Walsh said. "This year of politics is a focus year on rent control. I think you'll see a lot of bitterness in the campaign [for City Council] before it's over."