After 41 Felonies, Walsh Should Give Up

Cambridge City Council member William H. Walsh is an experienced, calculating crook. This opinion comes from 11 of his peers who happened of be on the jury of the U.S District Court. They convicted Walsh of 41 out of 59 counts of bank fraud and conspiracy. We ask the same question that Malcolm L. Kaufman of the Cambridge Tenants Union posed: "How bizarre would it be for him to still have his seat and be in jail?"

That's right--Walsh has refused to resign from his post on the council after being found guilty of enough crimes to put him in prison for two lifetimes. Apparently, he believes that he can overturn all 41 convictions and the results of a four-year federal investigation. Perhaps another jury or judge will have more sympathy for the protracted soliloquies Walsh delivered about his immigrant parents, his dedicated work habits and the fulfillment of his own American dream. The evidence in the trial, however, conveys only that Walsh was dedicated to the systematic execution of criminal acts.

Walsh certainly has a right to remain on the council while his expected appeals go through. Massachusetts law will require him to resign if he faces any jail time, but his case is not over. Nevertheless, we can fairly say that Walsh's days of serving Cambridge are over.

The effect of being convicted on 41 counts will destroy whatever credibility Walsh had left. It would be unfair to his constituents to try to represent them with such a tarnished reputation and credibility; their interests will be put in jeopardy by the lowered stature of their representative. In addition, the considerable time that Walsh will have to take in his appeal process will further limit his effectiveness as a councillor.

Walsh has to comprehend that he can do more for Cambridge by resigning than by remaining on the council as a lame duck. He's already been in office for nine years, and his fellow council members and the citizens of Cambridge will never again see him in the same light. Thus, for his own good and for ours, we must ask unconditionally that Walsh resign as soon as he can make his way to Cambridge City Hall.