Craig Says Investigate Speaker

Craig Challenges Opponents to Support Investigation of Speaker

Upton, MA …Today Shawn Craig, Republican candidate for State Representative and Iraq war veteran, called for an investigation of Speaker Robert DeLeo for his involvement in the criminal wrong-doings of the Probation Department. Craig also challenged David Muradian and Marty Green to support Ethics Committee and Ethics Commission investigations.

“The U.S. Attorney’s office called the Speaker of the House an unindicted co-conspirator in open court. These allegations cannot be ignored. There must be an investigation now that three probation department officials have been found guilty,” said Craig who worked at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority investigating fraud.

Last week the former Probation Department Commissioner John O’Brien and two other officials were found guilty in federal court for a job-rigging scheme that implicated Speaker DeLeo. O’Brien and Tavares were convicted of mail fraud and racketeering and Burke was convicted of racketeering conspiracy.

Some State Representatives have stepped forward and started inquiring about conducting both a House Ethics Committee and an Ethics Commission investigation. Craig supports that effort.

“Having honorably served my country, it bothers me that three Speakers have been convicted of felonies and now this Speaker has been part of this scandal. I am challenging both my opponents to publicly support the investigation. The people of Grafton, Northbridge and Upton deserve answers. The scandal involved a public safety agency. It is outrageous that people with criminal backgrounds were hired due to political connections,” said Craig.

“It is time for my opponents to stop hiding from the issues,” said Craig.

Craig is the only Republican candidate to publicly oppose the House version of the gun violence bill. Craig is the only candidate to have a plan to stop illegal immigration in Massachusetts. Craig is the only candidate to sign the No New Taxes pledge. Craig is the only candidate to support the Transparency Plan. Craig is the only candidate to support the Small Business Bill of Rights.

“I am running to make a difference, not for a job,” said Craig.

Craig is a member of the Upton Finance Committee and is the liaison to the Mendon Upton Regional School District. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Mendon-Upton Multi-Board Task Force. In addition, he is an active member of the VFW and Upton Men’s Club.

Professionally, Craig has 16 years of private sector experience with the majority spent within the financial services industry. He worked for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) for 8.5 years where he investigated broker-dealers for compliance with federal securities laws and FINRA rules and regulations. This included both routine as well as special investigations involving the review and discovery of money laundering, fraud, embezzlement, insider trading and unsuitable investments. One investigation of which he was the team lead resulted in the discovery of fraud and misrepresentation at a firm located in Braintree, MA. Craig drafted a referral whereby the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission became engaged along with the FBI. The firm’s owner was detained October 2, 2012 and sentenced in April 2013 to 17 years in federal prison plus 3 years supervised probation and $9 million in restitution. Craig left FINRA in 2013 to start a consulting business focused on helping small broker-dealers.

Craig earned his B.A. from Roanoke College, where he double majored in International Relations and Business, and an M.S. in Finance from Suffolk University in Boston.