Reader Elmer sends a link to the Washington Post story reporting that Joe Racalto, Massa's chief of staff, reported concerns about Massa's behavior to the Director of Member Services for the House, who is on Pelosi's staff.
Racalto reported that Massa was living in a house with young male staffers, and that he was spending time alone with young gay House employees for no work purpose.
Some pundits are trying to make a big deal of the Pelosi angle, but I happened to listen to a few minutes of Lonsberry this afternoon, and he said that he needed to "give the devil his due". He thought it was pretty clear that Massa was forced out by Democrats because of his behavior.
Another point that I haven't seen made about this incident is that Massa himself said that he moved out of the house after Recalto became concerned about him living there. I don't know if that was a result of Racalto's trip to Pelosi's office, but it sounds like Racalto alone couldn't get the job done, and Massa did move out, so you connect the dots.
Comments
There's also:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/03/gop-pushes-for-new-massa-pro...
How deep is this rabbit hole?
The quote in the AP piece also mentions explicit language:
I mention that because another story mentioned an apology for bad language:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/aide_massa_apologized_...
Moving out of the townhouse and officially apologizing for language both seem like efforts to avoid further sanction at the time. It seems likely that Pelosi didn't have enough evidence to work with at the time that would warrant a full-scale inquiry.
Yeah, I think some kind of talking-to happened here. I doubt if it was direct Pelosi-to-Massa, but he seems to have gotten the message.
Hmm... Doesn't sound like Pelosi will have to do a Tom Reynolds-esque "I'm sorry" ad...
I'm so tired of this. And it's sad, so sad. I was impressed that the Corning "Leader" editorial also called upon Corningites to welcome the continued residency of Eric and his family. Can you imagine what his wife and kids are going through?
I'd be surprised if Pelosi and company weren't already aware of Massa's alleged Navy sexcapades. Peter Clarke, who is Lonsberry's source, shared the information with many people here in the district and in D.C. Republicans were well aware of the allegations going back to 2006 but it was not exactly something that could have been used against Massa because there was no proof. Pelosi, however, should have known and should of acted when her office was notified about Massa's behavior in October.
Interesting that Joe Recalto, up until 2009, was a staffer for Barney Frank.
Does anyone doubt at this point that Massa is a repressed homosexual? This is the kind of unhealthy stuff that happens when men are forced to live a double life. They become addicted to flirting with that fine line. I would bet he got a rush out of pushing that envelope - in the navy, and as a boss of a gaggle of smart attractive young men. Sad really. I wish he would just come to terms with his feelings and come out, find a decent guy and live a full and happy life. But he's just gotten himself in so deep - family, elected official status, reputation... that he's practically screaming to come out and can't bring himself to do it.
There was just a similar case in Sacramento with a Republican State Senator who was caught on a DUI when leaving a gay bar with a young man in the car. he had a family as well. And a conservative constituency to please.
And what the hell is "snorkeling"? Does the Navy condone this stuff aboard ship or just avert it's eyes?