A top official in the Massachusetts National Guard faces possible removal by court-martial after state and federal investigations uncovered a range of alleged improprieties, including misusing federal money, hiring a convicted felon to do legal work, and threatening a whistleblower.
Yesterday, Murray received a hand-delivered letter accusing him of “waste, fraud, and abuse’’ and ordering him to resign by day’s end or face a court-martial convened by Governor Deval Patrick. State officials could not find a documented court-martial in recent Massachusetts history.
Murray informed the Guard that he would fight the charges, officials said.
State officials last encountered a major problem with the arcane state law on court-martials in 1999, when Cellucci fired the controversial head of the Guard, Raymond Vezina, after reports that he allegedly pressured subordinates to make political donations and wore the uniform of a higher-ranking officer in a Veterans Day parade. Vezina sued, charging that he could not be removed except by court-martial
Boston.com is reporting.
I think the same goes for most states, that there aren’t recent documented instances of courts-martial. I can say I started one in Pennsylvania some years ago, but it was interrupted by a general discharge agreement mid-trial. I exclude of course cases where the person is in a Title 10 status for deployment.