Baker Had Role In Holyoke Soldiers' Home Problems: Globe

BOSTON — The now-indicted former head of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home that saw 76 veterans die in one of the deadliest such COVID-19 outbreaks in America was woefully unqualified for the position, one that he got because of his family's political connections, according to an explosive report by The Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team.

The report puts much of the blame at the feet of Gov. Charlie Baker and Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders, who have publicly stated not knowing how "in over his head" Bennett Walsh was. The Globe report lays out how that was not the case.

Walsh, who now faces criminal charges of neglect, was ushered into the role due more to his family's clout in Western Massachusetts than on merit, the Globe said. The former Marine who "forgot to bring a gun to a gunfight" in one overseas skirmish had no health care background to speak of — a key part of the job listing at the time.

"It was a political appointment," Steven Como, former chair of the Soldiers' Home board, told the Globe. Other former trustees and officials suggested Walsh was essentially given the job.

Read the Globe's full Spotlight report.