Richard Vitale, the former accountant and political influence peddler who tried to help Massachusetts ticket brokers in getting favorable legislation passed in 2007 and 2008, has been indicted on unrelated corruption charges, along with his friend and former state House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi.

In addition to Vitale and DiMasi, two other people, lobbyist Richard McDonough and software broker Joseph Lally, were also indicted, according to the Boston Herald newspaper. The four were charged for their alleged roles in trying to steer more than $20 million in state contracts to Canadian-based software company Cognos ULC.

The four are free on bail and are expected to plead not guilty, and all have reportedly denied any wrongdoing. Vitale and McDonough were each allegedly paid significant amounts of money by Lally for helping to get the contract awarded to Cognos.

In 2007 and early 2008, Vitale lobbied on behalf of ticket brokers in the state in an effort to help shepherd through legislation that would have repealed the current Massachusetts anti-scalping law.

Vitale was reportedly paid $60,000 by the brokers, but ran into trouble because he had not been registered as a lobbyist in the state, and he faces separate charges in relation to that case.

The Massachusetts anti-scalping law remains on the books, and the move to repeal it has hung in limbo since the Vitale/DiMasi scandal broke.

(The image accompanying this story is from the Boston Globe)