Former Massacusetts state GOP official gets 7-year prison term for laundering drug money

By Jonathan Saltzman
Globe Staff / May 23, 2009

The former vice chairman of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison yesterday, three months after he pleaded guilty to laundering drug profits for a law client.

US District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns chastised Lawrence P. Novak during the hearing, saying, "You are, first of all, a lawyer" and "What you did is unforgivable."

The 57-year-old Brockton man will have to serve seven years and three months in prison, spend two years on supervised release afterward, and pay a $20,000 fine. He is to report to prison on June 26.

Authorities arrested the criminal lawyer in 2005 after investigators said he offered to launder drug profits for Scott Holyoke, a federal detainee who faced methamphetamine trafficking charges in federal court. The charges against Novak were unrelated to his role in the Republican Party, and he resigned his post as vice chairman after his arrest.

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/05/23/former_state_gop_official_gets_7_year_prison_term/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Local+news

but the charges are most definitely related to his attraction to repuke politics. What better place for a miscreant to hide than in the 'law & order' party?'