BOSTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- A federal prosecutor has warned Massachusetts Probation Department employees against destroying documents related to a patronage scandal.
The letter from Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. attorney in Boston, says her office has begun a federal grand jury investigation of the department, The Boston Globe reported. The newspaper said it obtained a copy of the letter Monday, but an Ortiz spokeswoman said she could neither confirm nor deny a grand jury investigation.
Ortiz told Acting Probation Commissioner Ronald P. Corbett Jr. the order applies to paper files and also to e-mails, text messages and files on laptop computers.
State Attorney General Martha Coakley has said she has assigned a team of lawyers to determine whether to bring criminal charges. An independent counsel released a report that found "systemic corruption," especially in the department's hiring.
Probation Commissioner John J. O'Brien has been suspended and is expected to be dismissed.
