Donovan guilty in forgery scheme

May 4—SALEM — A former MIT professor and one-time "business guru" was taken into custody in a Salem courtroom Tuesday afternoon, moments after a jury found him guilty of a dozen forgery and fraud charges.

John Donovan Sr., 80, of Hamilton, will be sentenced on May 16.

It took the Salem Superior Court jury about four hours to reach a verdict on the 12 charges, including seven counts of forgery covering 25 different deeds, mortgages, releases, trustee certificates — and a will codicil that purported to be written by his late son, John Donovan III of Essex.

He was also found guilty of uttering false documents, false statements in a mortgage filing, obtaining a signature by false pretense, making false statements under penalty of perjury and attempting to commit larceny.

As the jury foreman read the verdicts, Donovan stood facing the jury box, his lips tight together. He swayed slightly and put one hand on the end of a defense table.

Earlier in the four-week trial, Judge Salim Tabit had entered a not guilty finding on a witness intimidation charge.

Prosecutors alleged that in September 2016, Donovan filed the various documents at the South Essex Registry of Deeds in Salem, in hopes of steering proceeds from the pending sale and transfer of land his son owned to himself, rather than his son's widow and young children.

In his closing argument on Monday, prosecutor Jack Dawley told jurors that Donovan Sr. — embroiled in two decades of litigation with his surviving children, from whom he is estranged — sought to undo a settlement agreement and "get his mitts on" the properties and land his late son left behind.

Donovan Sr.'s lawyer, Robert Strasnick, suggested that the documents — some of which he acknowledged were forgeries — were part of a conspiracy to "set up" his client, by his surviving children and some disgruntled employees.

The jury rejected that defense.

Within an hour of beginning their deliberations Tuesday morning, jurors had already spotted a typographical error on some of the verdict slips, which they brought to the judge's attention.

After the verdict was read and recorded, Dawley asked that Donovan be taken into custody pending sentencing.

Strasnick urged the judge to let his client remain free pending sentencing, reminding him that Donovan had surrendered his passport following his indictment in the 2017 case, and arguing that the 80-year-old is not a flight risk.

"We are at a different point in time," Tabit told Strasnick as he denied the request. "The jury has convicted Mr. Donovan on every count."

Moments later, after sentencing was scheduled, Donovan was led out of the courtroom by an officer.

"The jury is to be commended for their hard work in understanding complicated evidence," said Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett in a statement after the verdict. "The general public relies upon the integrity of documents filed with the Registry of Deeds. Thanks to the diligence and professionalism of the staff at the Registry, who raised concerns about the documents filed by Mr. Donovan, this fraudulent scheme failed."

Blodgett praised his prosecution team, singling out veteran prosecutor Dawley, who continued to work on the complex case after his retirement to see it to its conclusion.

South Essex Register of Deeds John O'Brien also expressed gratitude to the district attorney for pursuing the case, ""not only for justice for the Donovan children but also to protect the integrity of the recordation system."

It is not clear what sentence the judge is likely to impose on the elderly Donovan Sr., who underwent cancer treatments that were part of the reason his trial was postponed last fall.

Donovan Sr. was once worth millions as a result of his work on taking small companies public.

Throughout the trial, Donovan, who had previously appeared for court in tailored business suits, wore the same green corduroy jacket and khaki pants, and carried his items in a canvas briefcase and a reusable grocery bag.

At one point prior to trial, he had a public defender representing him and was granted public funds to hire and pay a tax expert; his lawyer told the judge during the trial that a friend was paying the costs of his defense.

Strasnick is expected to ask for probation or, at most, a suspended jail term in the case.

However, Donovan Sr. had already received a sentence of probation in a 2006 case in which he was convicted of filing a false police report in what a judge later concluded was a staged shooting outside his Cambridge office.

Donovan's time on probation in that earlier case was marked by repeated issues, including claims he was physically incapable of doing community service at the same time he was taking part in events on horseback at the Myopia Hunt Club and a request to count clearing trails on his own property toward the requirement.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@gloucestertimes.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, by email at jmanganis@gloucestertimes.com or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis