State mulls another run at DiMasi's pension

The State Retirement Board is weighing whether to appeal a court decision ordering it to resume pension payments to former Massachusetts House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi.

The board scheduled a closed-door meeting Thursday to consider an appeal of the decision handed down earlier this month by Boston Municipal Court Judge Lawrence McCormick.

He ruled the board withheld the $5,000-per-month payment on unwarranted grounds. He said the withholding jeopardized DiMasi's ability to defend himself in a pending federal corruption case.

DiMasi and three associates were charged last year in an alleged bid-rigging scheme for two state software contracts.

The Retirement Board suspended DiMasi's pension, arguing the former speaker was a public official and the charges could prove a misappropriation of state funds