Declarations

Judgment Day

“I have been embarrassed. I have been humiliated. I have been ridiculed and I have been disgraced.”

—Retired Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce, who was sentenced in March to 46 months in prison for falsely collecting $440,000 from insurance companies after being injured in a slow-speed fender bender.

Factual Malice

“For the news media, it puts reporters in the odd position of having to not just assess the truth of what they’re reporting, but also assess the intent with which something was said.”

—Boston media lawyer Robert Bertsche, commenting on a federal court decision that journalists and press-watchers are closely following. The case centers on an internal e-mail sent by Framingham, Massachusetts-based office products company Staples Inc., to more than 1,500 employees. The e-mail stated that a salesman had been fired for padding his expense reports. The court ruled that even though the content of the e-mail was true, a jury could reasonably find that Staples had shown “actual malice” in widely circulating the e-mail to humiliate the salesman. Free speech advocates say the decision could have broader implications for all media.

Lucky Numbers

“We’re happy for them.”

—Chubb Spokesman Mark Schussel, commenting after the announcement that 10 employees of the company’s Whinehouse, New Jersey IT department had jointly won $216 million on a multi-state Mega Millions lottery ticket. The winners include the chief information officer, programmers and administrative staffers. The group of employees have gone in together to purchase Mega Millions tickets for years, they said.

RMV Deal Irks Union

“If they wanted to serve the public in an efficient manner, they would have put out a request for proposals, not cut a backroom deal with a politically connected corporation.”

—David Holway , president of the National Association of Government Employees, commenting on a pending agreement that would allow The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to give the AAA auto club’s 2.3 million members a chance to renew licenses and vehicle registrations at AAA offices.

AIG Bonuses Irk Lawmakers

“These bonuses are going to people who screwed this thing up enormously… Since the federal government… now essentially owns that company, maybe it’s time to fire some people.”

—Mass. Congressman Barney Frank (D-Fall River), commenting on reports that American International Group paid out $165 million in bonuses after taking $173 billion in government bailout money.