BOSTON – Mayor Marty Walsh will get a break from the clouds that have formed over City Hall as a result of an ongoing investigation into “union-related extortion” thanks to a White House invitation to a conference on gun violence Tuesday.
Walsh and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans will both travel to Washington for a State and Local Gun Violence Prevention Convening Tuesday morning. Walsh will speak to the assembled group from all 50 states during an afternoon session at the White House featuring remarks from Vice President Joe Biden, according to a statement from the mayor’s press staff.
The discussions will center on steps being taken at the state and local level to combat gun violence.
“Gun violence is one of the defining challenges of our time,” Walsh said in the statement. “We know that in order to get illegal guns off of streets and out of the wrong hands, we must work with our regional and national partners on commonsense strategies that work.”
Walsh has worked with officials from almost 80 cities across New England to reduce the trafficking in illegal firearms and gun violence, according to the city.
Late last week, a federal grand jury indicted Kenneth Brisette, Boston’s director of tourism, sports and entertainment, on an extortion charge, alleging that he told the director of a September 2014 music festival that he would have to hire union workers in order to obtain needed city permits. Brissette has pleaded not guilty.
Walsh has denied any wrongdoing and put Brissette on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.
