DeLeo: 'In the clear' in Probation Dept. probe

By Joshua Miller, Globe Staff

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said today he has been told he would not be charged in the probation investigation that has roiled state government.

“I’m confident that I’m in the clear because I’ve been informed that the US Attorney has stated that they have found that I was not part of any impropriety,” he told reporters at the State House.

Asked if all his members would avoid charges, DeLeo said he did not know. “There is still a grand jury out there, but I do not know the status of any other members,” he said.

John J. O’Brien, the former head of the department, pleaded not guilty earlier this year to federal charges he allegedly bribed state legislators, including DeLeo, by procuring jobs for their friends, relatives and supporters. O’Brien was acquitted of separate state bribery charges earlier this year.

In a statement at the time of the April federal indictment, DeLeo said he had done nothing wrong.

“It is clear that I am not a party to the indictment, but I want to state emphatically: I only recommended job applicants who were qualified,” he said at the time. “I never gave or received any benefits from those recommendations, and I never traded jobs for votes.”

A 2010 Globe Spotlight investigation detailed extensive cronyism and disregard for merit in hiring and promotion in the Probation Department.

Joshua Miller can be reached at joshua.miller@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jm_bos.