Friday, August 17 – “You shall know a man by the company he keeps,” wrote Aesop long ago. So, what do we know about Senator John Sununu, based on this photo published in the August 10 issue of The Messenger?

Well, we know that Senator Sununu (at left; R-NH) looks fairly relaxed, comfortable, and happy considering that he’s having his picture taken while sitting next to a convicted forger and sex offender.

Of course, Leigh Bosse (right) is a Republican. Perhaps if he was a Democrat, Mr. Sununu would feel differently about him.

On February 28, 2007 Bosse was found guilty of two felony counts of forgery, for which he faced a potential penalty of 14 years in prison. Bosse admitted signing a land owner’s name on two documents in 2003. His real estate license was pulled the next year.

Bosse dodged a legal bullet in April when the state Supreme Court suspended his license for two years, instead of permanently disbarring him as the state’s attorney discipline office had asked.

Why such leniency? According to the Associated Press, “Bosse’s remorse and otherwise clean record won him some leniency from the justices.”

Clean is a relative thing, of course. Some still wonder how he kept his law license as well as his real estate license after the 2001 incident in which “he was convicted of sexual assault for touching the breast of a real estate client [for which he] received a 30-day suspended sentence.”

In addition to being a Republican, Mr. Bosse is the publisher of The Messenger, a 32 page free “newspaper.” Published weekly, The Messenger has an unusual format: 32 pages, on newsprint, measuring 8 inches by 10.5 inches — just like a comic book, but without the glossy cover.

In addition to being a publisher, Mr. Bosse is a lawyer, a former judge, a former real estate agent, a former travel agent, a former New Hampshire House majority leader, a former candidate for governor and state senator, and a long-time moderator of Hillsborough’s town meeting.