By: Josh Gerstein (Politico)
One of the eight federal prisoners granted sentence commutations by President Barack Obama Thursday is a first cousin of Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass), one of the president's most devoted supporters on the national political scene.
Reynolds Allen Wintersmith Jr. was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in Illinois federal court in 1994 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute cocaine and cocaine base and possession with intent to distribute crack. He was 19 at the time of his arrest and 17 at the time he got involved running drugs for the Gangster Disciples gang. He is 39 today and has spent the last 19 years in prison.
A spokeswoman for Patrick confirmed that the 57-year-old Massachusetts governor and Wintersmith are cousins, but denied any invovement in the drive to get the federal prisoner a rare commutation — one of only nine Obama has granted as president.
"The Governor has no recollection of meeting Mr. Wintersmith (they are quite far apart in age), and believes that if they did meet, it would have been when Mr. Wintersmith was a small boy. The Governor was not involved in any application for a commutation of Mr. Wintersmith’s sentence, and only learned of the commutation through today’s media reports," said the Patrick aide, who asked not to be named.
Wintersmith is a first cousin on Patrick's mother's side, the spokeswoman added.
Patrick's 2011 book, "A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life," discusses his upbringing on the South Side of Chicago, an uncle's addiction to heroin, and the involvement of others in the neighborhood with drugs and gangs.
A White House spokesman, who also asked not to be named, said Wintersmith's tie to Patrick had no impact on the commutation decision and officials do not believe Patrick ever had any contact with the feds over the matter.
