Growing Closer: Masselli Was Chair of Donovan Finance Committee.

A figure at the center of a federal criminal investigation into state bonding funds and campaign contributions served as the chair of former Speaker of the House Christopher Donovan’s campaign finance committee, according to documents reviewed by Daily Ructions. Mark Masselli, head of Community Health Center, Inc., is listed as chair on campaign finance committee meeting agendas. Millions in state bond funds given to CHC while Donovan was both speaker and a candidate for Congress in 2011 and 2012 have fueled a growing federal criminal investigation into the connection between fundraising and state cash for the well-connected private organization.

Donovan’s campaign fundraising included regular conference calls with members of the finance committee. The meetings were arranged by Donovan campaign finance director Robert Braddock, who was arrested in May 2012 as part of the federal investigation into Donovan’s fundraising and roll your own tobacco legislation.

The fundraising conference calls began with 10 minutes of remarks from Masselli, followed by Donovan’s tales from the campaign trail. Campaign manager Josh Nassi, according to agendas, updated listeners on the state of the race. Braddock would then “explain the campaign’s fundraising strategy and explain the finance committee’s role in that process.” Federal investigators will be interested in learning details of that segment of the meetings. The agendas left time for questions from meeting participants.

The agendas obtained by Daily Ructions list as members of the finance committee Mark Maseelli-Finance Chair, Millie Torres Ferguson, Chris Cloud, Julie Kushner, Reza Mansoor, Gerry Fox, Tom Swan, Nick Nyhart, and Ethan Rome.

Donovan’s campaign collapsed after federal law enforcement arrested Braddock, Nassi and others in the roll your own investigation.