ComputerForensicsDigest.com

The administration of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has been ordered by Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin to secure various City Hall computers and hire a computer forensics firm to search for emails deleted by a top Menino aide, Michael J. Kineavy.

Despite a requirement under the Massachusetts public records law that all municipal electronic correspondence be preserved for a minimum of two years, Kineavy routinely dragged unwanted emails to his trash can and then "emptied" his trash can, thus preventing the emails from being preserved on the City's backup tapes. An attorney for Menino said that Kineavy had been handling his email in that fashion for at least five years.

A lot of people are interested in Kineavy's missing emails. At the top of the list is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is looking into charges of corruption against former State Senator Diane Wilkerson. The charges stem from payments Wilkerson allegedly took from a federal informant, in exchange for assistance in obtaining a nightclub liquor license. The federal informant told The Boston Globe that Wilkerson dealt solely with Kineavy on the license issue.

The missing emails are also the subject of a public records request filed by the Globe; so far, however, the Menino administration has only produced 18 Kineavy emails for the relevant time period.

Adding fuel to the mix is the fact that this is an election year in the city of Boston. Three people are trying to prevent Menino from winning a record fifth term, including two current city councilors -- Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon -- and businessman Kevin McCrea. At a press conference outside City Hall yesterday, all three demanded a criminal investigation of the apparent document destruction. Both Flaherty and McCrea also said that they had turned over to investigators emails that they had exchanged with Kineavy during the relevant time period that apparently were not produced by City Hall in response to subpoenas or public records requests. Allegations flew fast and thick that the Menino administration has something to hide.

There is no word yet on which computer forensics firm will be hired to search for missing emails. An inventory of all missing records is due in the office of Alan Cote, the head of the Massachusetts Public Records Division, within 10 days. However, actual retrieval of any deleted emails, even if possible, could take weeks or even months.

Boston's election day is November 3, just 49 days away.