fb-pixelJudge wants trial date in Boston Calling case tied to City Hall - The Boston Globe Skip to main content

Judge wants trial date in Boston Calling case tied to City Hall

Timothy Sullivan (left) and Kenneth Brissette are charged in the case.Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff/File/Globe Staff file photos

The federal judge overseeing the corruption case tied to City Hall has called on lawyers in the case to decide by April 26 on a new trial date, and whether he should hold any other related hearings.

The request by US District Judge Leo Sorokin came after a federal appeals court in Boston put the case back in his court, in a ruling that found that Sorokin erred when drawing out his planned jury instructions. Sorokin later dismissed the case when prosecutors acknowledged that they could not prove the case according to the judge’s planned instructions. Prosecutors appealled.

On Friday, with the appeals court ruling in effect, Sorokin asked prosecutors and lawyers to propose agreed upon – or separate, if necessary – proposals for a new trial date and for any other proceedings, such as to lay out new jury instructions.

Advertisement



The case accuses Kenneth Brissette, the city’s tourism director, and Timothy Sullivan, head of intergovernmental affairs, of extortion for allegedly threatening in 2014 to withhold permits for the popular Boston Calling music festival unless festival organizes hired union stagehands.

Prosecutors allege that Brissette and Sullivan believed they would be aiding Walsh politically if they supported the union. Both workers had been on paid administrative leave, but returned to work when Sorokin first dismissed the case last year.


Milton J. Valencia can be reached at milton.valencia@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @miltonvalencia.