Parole Board pick is under fire

Milton officer is called unqualified
By John Ellement, Globe Staff
June 13, 2007

Prisoner rights advocates are mounting a last-ditch effort to derail the nomination of a Milton police officer for a seat on the Parole Board, which critics say already has too many people with law enforcement backgrounds.

The Governor's Council is to vote today on the nomination of Mark A. Conrad, and advocates were using e-mail and telephone calls yesterday to generate opposition to the Milton resident who volunteered during the gubernatorial campaign, doing some advance work for Patrick.

"I have nothing against Mr. Conrad as a person; he sounds like a wonderful person," said Patricia Garin, a Boston lawyer who teaches a clinic on parole for convicted murderers at Northeastern University Law School. "But he does not have the education, training, and experience to do this job."

Public Safety Secretary Kevin M. Burke said Conrad's perceptive nature, experience in law enforcement, and commitment to helping youth through Morningstar Baptist Church in Mattapan make him qualified for the job. The position pays about $75,000 annually.

Burke said that Patrick, who also lives in Milton, did not promote Conrad's candidacy and that no one from Patrick's campaign organization recommended him for a seat on the seven-member parole board. Burke said that a friend of his, whom he would not identify, brought Conrad to his attention and that he had to persuade Conrad to seek the post.

"There is no campaign connection; there is no promise," Burke said. "It's just a wonderfully qualified individual . . with a gift to listen, to understand people, and to really examine their character."

According to state records and the administration, Conrad owns Wescon Personal Protection Inc., a private security firm based in Randolph. Burke said Conrad did "a small amount" of advance work for the campaign but did not provide armed protection.

Burke said that when he told Patrick about Conrad's nomination, the governor indicated he knew who Conrad was, but "it was clear they weren't close friends."

Conrad could not be reached for comment yesterday. Burke said the police officer, who testified last week at a confirmation hearing before the Governor's Council, would not talk publicly until after the panel decides today.

"He wants his testimony [at the confirmation hearing] to stand on its own two feet," Burke said. "I think that's appropriate."

Garin and Leslie Walker, executive director of Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, said the board badly needs new members with backgrounds in mental health and social services to help evaluate prisoners with emotional and psychiatric disorders. They said that the state law creating the Parole Board intends that members have expertise in behavioral sciences. "No one on the Parole Board has the knowledge to be able to assess the potential for successful reentry of a mentally ill prisoner," Walker said.

During Conrad's confirmation hearing last week, Mary-Ellen Manning, a member of the Governor's Council, said she peppered Conrad about his qualifications and the parole philosophy of the new administration.

"He kept saying to me if I just opened my heart and saw what a good person he was that I would see that he would do a good job," Manning said. "That's an unsatisfactory response when we are dealing with public safety."

Manning would not say how she would vote, but said she expects
Conrad's nomination to be approved.