Mass. pol's accountant indicted

BOSTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi's accountant has been indicted on charges of using the relationship to lobby for a ticket brokers group.

A state grand jury handed up a 10-count indictment Thursday against Richard Vitale, The Boston Globe reported. All the charges are misdemeanors.

Vitale allegedly failed to register as a lobbyist while pushing a bill that would have eased state regulations on ticket brokers.

"Failure to comply with the lobbying laws can result in a corruption of the system," Attorney General Martha Coakley said at a news conference announcing the indictment.

The state indictment suggests that DiMasi knew Vitale was lobbying for the Massachusetts Association of Ticket Brokers, the report said. Coakley said that Vitale frequently consulted DiMasi.

DiMasi's office released a statement saying that the legislation was helpful to consumers.

"I have addressed all of these issues repeatedly in the past," he said. "The House of Representatives has many important matters before us heading into the new session, and we cannot be distracted from the work ahead."