[1] On February 8, 1971, Wendell Woodman, a writer whose State House column appeared in many suburban newspapers, released the first in a five-part series of articles that attacked MBM's contract as a "sweetheart deal".
[1] On February 11, Senator Joseph DiCarlo and Representatives Ralph Sirianni and William F. Hogan filed an order for the creation of a joint committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the awarding of the contract to MBM.
[2] Anthony Mansueto, one of the company's senior vice presidents, then sought the help of Senator James A. Kelly, Jr. On March 17 the two met in Palm Beach, Florida.
Senators DiCarlo, George V. Kenneally Jr., and Robert Cawley and Representatives Sirianni, Paul Menton, J. Laurence Golden, J. Hilary Rockett, and James F. Hart were named to the committee.
William Harding, MBM's head of sales, then talked to his friend, Senator Ronald MacKenzie, about the probable results of the investigation.
According to McKee, DiCarlo chastised him, saying that "They shouldn't have to chase MBM like creditors" and that the delayed payments had caused him "difficulty and embarrassment because he had to share them with others".
While under interrogation by a Federal prosecutor during a grand jury, an MBM official was asked if he knew of any similar corruption in any other state.
[3] The committee consisted of three Democrats and two Republicans appointed by Senate President Kevin B. Harrington in consultation with Minority Leader John F. Parker.
[3][10] In 1978, Representatives Philip W. Johnston and Andrew Card filed legislation to create the Special Commission Concerning State and County Buildings.
Governor Michael Dukakis chose Amherst College President John William Ward to chair the committee.
The commission spent two and a half years investigating the awarding of architectural and construction contracts in Massachusetts over the previous two decades.
It found that Governors Endicott Peabody, John A. Volpe, and Francis W. Sargent routinely awarded state design contracts in exchange for political contributions.
[11] He lost the Democratic primary to Frank J. Mastrocola, Jr., a 24-year-old one-term Alderman from Everett who ran on the slogan "If DiCarlo Wins, Massachusetts Loses".
[12][13] Before going to prison, DiCarlo named a number of other politicians who received money from MBM, including Harrington, Kelly, Speaker David M. Bartley, and Boston Mayor Kevin White.
After his release from prison, DiCarlo was unable to find employment for six months, but eventually accepted a job with a Revere construction company.
After his release in October 1978 he did paralegal work in the offices of attorney Richard M. Riley and State Senator Michael LoPresti Jr. On August 19, 1981, the Burlington Board of Selectmen voted 3 to 2 to make MacKenzie the town's veteran's agent.
[16] In December 1983 the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners ruled that MacKenzie, who graduated from Suffolk University Law School in 1976, was eligible to be lawyer in spite of his conviction.