Barely two months after starting his federal prison sentence, disgraced former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi is returning to Massachusetts to testify before a federal grand jury in Worcester, according to a person with direct knowledge of the arrangement, raising the possibility that he may soon provide evidence against his former legislative colleagues in a public corruption probe. (By Andrea Estes and Shelley Murphy)

Saying that former Massachusetts House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi had conspired to sell his office and was an example of the American dream gone wrong, a federal judge today sentenced DiMasi to eight years in prison for steering millions of dollars in state contracts to a software company and secretly profiting from the scheme. (By Milton J. Valencia and Martin Finucane)

Salvatore F. DiMasi tearfully pleaded for mercy yesterday, saying he is a “broken man’’ who deserves the court’s compassion in setting his jail sentence. (By Milton J. Valencia)

They described him as the man they knew before all this began, and the man they still identify with. Family members, friends, and associates of Salvatore F. DiMasi have asked a federal judge to show mercy when he sentences the former House speaker on corruption charges tomorrow, saying his positive work in public office for three decades should not be tainted by his conviction. (By Milton J. Valencia)

In a legal setback a week before he is to be sentenced on corruption charges, former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi yesterday lost his bid for a new trial, with a federal judge ruling there was “ample evidence’’ that DiMasi and lobbyist Richard W. McDonough engaged in a “classic scheme’’ to cash in on DiMasi’s power as an elected official. (By Milton J. Valencia and John R. Ellement)

FORMER HOUSE Speaker Salvatore DiMasi exploited his position to steer two contracts worth $17.5 million to a Burlington software company in exchange for payoffs for himself and his confederates. He set the tone and called the shots. The last thing DiMasi should expect at his sentencing next week is leniency. (By Globe Editorial)

Richard Vitale, the accountant who was acquitted in the federal corruption case against his friend, former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, is looking to negotiate a plea next week to three pending state charges, his lawyer confirmed yesterday. (By Andrea Estes)

Federal prosecutors recommended yesterday that former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi serve 12 years and seven months in federal prison for his conviction on corruption charges, in what they say would amount to the most severe federal sentence ever handed down in a political corruption case in Massachusetts. (By Milton J. Valencia)