As former MIT professor pursues release, settlement could leave him with no home

John Donovan Sr., 80, of Hamilton, is still awaiting a decision from Salem Superior Court Judge Salim Tabit on his request to shave time off that two-year prison term imposed in the fraud case, following his conviction last May. Tabit heard arguments and the testimony of a cardiologist in August and has the matter under consideration.

A Salem Superior Court jury found in that criminal trial that Donovan had orchestrated the creation and filing more than two dozen forged documents at the Salem Registry of Deeds in 2016, in an effort to take the proceeds of the sale of that land from his late son's widow and children.

Donovan is also appealing that conviction, but in the meantime has asked Tabit to "revise and revoke" his sentence, contending that his trial lawyer did not make the judge aware of his medical condition during sentencing.

At the same time, his new lawyer, Ruth Greenberg, is challenging the Massachusetts Department of Correction's denial of medical parole for Donovan, who, she believes, has less than a year to live due to prostate cancer and other health issues.

Greenberg filed her appeal of the DOC decision at the Supreme Judicial Court last month, but it was ordered transferred to Suffolk County Superior Court, where a hearing is set for next week on her request for expedited proceedings.

Sale of properties

Meanwhile, in the business litigation session at Suffolk Superior Court, a different judge has approved a settlement that calls for the sale of all three properties where Donovan and his wife Linda have lived or stayed in recent years, including a renovated barn in Hamilton, a 66-acre horse farm in Aiken, South Carolina, and a vacation home in Pomfret, Vermont.

That settlement was worked out in order to pay part of the damages awarded in a lawsuit against Donovan by an investor and other shareholders in a now-defunct startup called Send It Later, which, a judge found in 2020, was being used by Donovan to support a lifestyle he could no longer afford. Donovan at the time had been put on an allowance as part of another settlement with his surviving children.

Judge Helene Kazanjian conducted a hearing last week in the business litigation session on that proposed $3.1 million settlement.

Under the agreement, the investors, including a Vermont woman who put in — and lost — the most money, will share in the proceeds of the sale of the three properties, which are owned by a trust.

The developments come two decades after what lawyers for Donovan's grown children have characterized as a "divorce" from their father amid allegations of abuse of one of his daughters as well as financial maneuvering by Donovan to regain control over trust funds he'd set up for them, after he divorced their mother.

Years of litigation resulted in a settlement agreement that eventually gave control of Donovan's assets to his children, with provisions that allowed Donovan and his current wife to remain at or use several properties until their deaths.

End in view

But Donovan has repeatedly attempted to revisit that agreement, most recently last spring, an effort he lost in Suffolk Superior Court and is now appealing.

Donovan's civil attorney, Robert Strasnick, objected to the settlement in the investor lawsuit. Strasnick, in a filing, argued that the settlement will cause "irreparable harm" to Donovan and his wife and should not be approved until Donovan has exhausted all of his appeals.

But lawyers for the defrauded Send It Later investors say Donovan no longer has any standing to object, given that he no longer has any ownership over the properties and that the trustee who oversees the trust and its assets has already agreed to the settlement.

Michael Gilleran, who represents investor Jennifer Brining — the Vermont woman who put $1.3 million into Send It Later — said in an email that the litigation has "been a very long and winding road but the end in view now is short and straight."

"With all the parties in agreement as to what should happen now, except Professor Donovan, Ms. Brining and the other (Send It Later) shareholders look forward to having their judgment paid very soon from the sale of properties Professor Donovan once bought and paid for," Gilleran said.

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, [email protected] or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis

Courts reporter Julie Manganis can be reached at 978-338-2521, [email protected] or on Twitter at @SNJulieManganis

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