Sal DiMasi’s Friend, the Lobbyist

If you’re anything like us, the most complex task you can handle at 3 p.m. on a Friday afternoon is figuring out which bar will have the shortest wait for a table after work. People involved in scandals tend to exploit this weakness and make news late in the day when few people will notice.

House Speaker Sal DiMasi’s pal Richard Vitale is the latest to take advantage of our late-day distraction. DiMasi’s former treasurer and personal banker registered as a lobbyist today.

Maybe it’s because we’re dreaming of post-work french fries and beer, but getting our heads around this is like explaining last week’s (totally incredible!) episode of Gossip Girl to someone who’s never seen the show.

Richard D. Vitale — who had been under fire for never registering as required by state law — this morning registered as a lobbyist for 2008, but listed no clients or payments from any clients, according to Secretary of State William Galvin’s website.

Vitale did not register for 2007, when the ticket brokers won House approval of a bill that deregulated the ticket resale business by allowing ticket brokers to sell tickets for whatever price the market would bear.

So, to summarize: During the time he was paid to advocate (one might describe it as “lobbying”) on the behalf of ticket resellers, Vitale was not a lobbyist. Now he is a lobbyist, but he doesn’t have any clients and his status as a lobbyist isn’t retroactive.

We promise to be righteously indignant about this on Monday.