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Covelle, 59, is married to Patricia Covelle, sister and campaign treasurer for DiPaola, who committed suicide in 2010 amid a campaign finance investigation in which she eventually was fined $4,000. DiPaola was close friends with Medford’s longtime mayor - DiPaola’s widow is McGlynn’s secretary - giving Covelle two powerful backers whom Covelle referred to as “my consultants’’ in an e-mail to his board. 

McGlynn, who appoints four of the five members of the housing board, said he did not speak up on Covelle’s behalf until Covelle was one of two finalists. But at least one other finalist for the job withdrew after Covelle’s connections became apparent.

“I reassessed my job search and decided not to pursue it,’’ said John Coddington, former executive director of the Everett Housing Authority.

Since Covelle took office, he has surrounded himself with familiar faces, hiring his friend Pirri within a few months and then promoting him to the post of subsidized housing manager when Pirri’s predecessor agreed to take a demotion.


https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/04/23/medford-housing-authority-director-under-fire-for-allegedly-giving-jobs-friends-and-family/zQTKNG31lxDI5FECNVaQ8N/story.html