Article: A well-tuned political machine, powered by zeal ; Menino's army of neighborhood workers a 24/7 force for constituents, and for him

This story was reported and written by Stephanie Ebbert, Michael Levenson, and Donovan Slack.

On their own, they are petty encounters: A couple of "friends" of Michael F. Flaherty were admonished by city workers to get off his Facebook page; a state aide got advice from a city official that led to a parking ticket being dismissed; a Sam Yoon campaign office was cited by city inspectors for having too many window signs.

But taken together, these seemingly inconsequential incidents offer a rare window into the workings of Thomas M. Menino's City Hall, a place where not even the most trivial slights go unnoticed and the smallest opportunities unnourished.

If Menino is the urban mechanic who ...

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