Early life
A native of Springfield,Massachusetts,he described himself as a "misguided youth" the year his father,Mortimer "Murty" Reilly,was found dead at home from a heart attack when Reilly was 16. He was arrested for public drunkenness when he was 20. [2] By age 22,he was focused with driving ambition,much to the credit of his friend Wayne Budd's father,Marine turned policeman in Springfield who took him under his wing and encouraged him to go to school.
Political career
From 1978 - 1985,he served on the Watertown Licensing Board in Watertown,Massachusetts. [3]
He left the law firm in 1983 to work in Middlesex County District Attorney Scott Harshbarger's administration as First Assistant District Attorney. In 1990,Reilly was elected Middlesex County District Attorney. He was reelected for a second term.
He ran for attorney general in 1998 against state Senator Lois Pines and won the Democratic Primary. He defeated Republican Brad Bailey in the November election.
In the winter of 2001–02,he conducted a "very public investigation" into the sale of the Boston Red Sox to a group led by John W. Henry. Reilly made "negative comments about the process,Major League Baseball's involvement in the sale,and threatened to block the transaction. Eventually the Red Sox limited partners,the Henry/Werner group,and Reilly negotiated a settlement,in which Reilly agreed to allow the sale to proceed,the Henry/Werner group agreed to create their own charitable foundation,and the Red Sox limited partners agreed to give $10 million more to the Yawkey Foundation." [4] The existence of "higher bids from Charles F. Dolan ($750 million),chairman of Cablevision,and a group headed by Miles Prentice ($755 million)" were the apparent pretext for Reilly's involvement,as the winning bid from Henry's group only totalled $660 million. [5]
He was reelected for a second term in 2002.
On November 30,2005,he said that he was conducting an investigation of Sony BMG over their use of the XCP digital rights management on Sony audio CDs.
In January 2006,he came under fire for allegedly impeding an investigation into an October 2005 automobile crash which left two Southborough,Massachusetts teens dead,and another teen injured. [6]
He has come under fire from gun rights advocates for allegedly abusing his regulatory authority for political purposes. [7]
On January 24,2006,Reilly officially kicked off his first gubernatorial campaign in Springfield at his alma mater American International College. He finished third in the primary on September 19,2006. His opponent,Deval Patrick,went on to win the general election.
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