Will “co-conspirator” face charges?
Last week when Joe Tully, the former Lowell city manager, was sentenced to two-years probation after pleading guilty to a single count of wire fraud, the public learned the federal government’s case isn’t over.
With that acknowledgement from Assistant U.S. Attorney William Welch, the public may still get to know the identity of the still unnamed “co-conspirator” in the case.
The wire fraud charge stems from a scheme in which Tully and “co-conspirator” split $18,000 to allegedly pay off politicians to keep the Registry of Motor Vehicles’ office in its former Chelmsford Street location in a building owned by a longtime business client.
Tully was also ordered to repay the $18,000, plus he was also sentenced to limited home confinement.
It’s not the first time Welch, however, said the probe is ongoing. In late August, when Tully pleaded guilty, U.S. District Court Judge Patti Sarris asked Welch if the “co-conspirator” was in the courtroom. He responded by saying the investigation is continuing.
The feds have never identified the clandestine co-conspirator. But in September, The Sun reported that both Tully and downtown property owner Thomas Byrne received “target letters” from the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, as part of the continuing federal probe into the RMV move.
Receiving target letters is confirmation that whomever is on the receiving end is the focus of a federal grand jury investigation.
Neither Tully or Byrne ever rebutted receiving a TL.
Reached on his cell phone Monday, Byrne declined to comment on the case except to say: “I don’t know what is going on. I haven’t spoken to anyone about the case in a year and half.”
