November 15, 2018 State Ethics Commission Meeting Minutes - Public Session

PUBLIC SESSION

MEETING CONVENED

Chair Maria J. Krokidas called the meeting to order at 9:32 a.m. Also in attendance were Vice Chair David A. Mills, Commissioner Thomas J. Sartory, Commissioner R. Marc Kantrowitz, and Commissioner Josefina Martinez.

APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES

On the motion of Vice Chair Mills, seconded by Commissioner Sartory, the Commission voted 5-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session, executive session and executive session - adjudicatory minutes of the October 18, 2018 Commission meeting.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.

Personnel

Mr. Wilson stated that Assistant General Counsel Kevin Larivee has left his position to become an Assistant General Counsel at the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Mr. Wilson said Mr. Larivee did high-quality work at the Commission and that he wishes him success in his new position.

Mr. Wilson also provided an update on new employees joining the Commission staff. He introduced new part-time receptionist Gelsomina Bekali, who joins the Commission after retiring from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, where she worked for nearly 40 years. Mr. Wilson also notified the Commission that Sally Lynn Edmonds has accepted an offer to become a Special Investigator. Ms. Edmonds previously worked for the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board and as a staff writer for the Queens Tribune. Mr. Wilson also informed the Commission that Victoria C. Giuliano has accepted an offer to become an Assistant Enforcement Counsel. Ms. Giuliano has worked as an Assistant District Attorney for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Edmonds and Ms. Giuliano are scheduled to begin work December 10.

Mr. Wilson said there are two attorney vacancies in the Legal Division. He said the first- and second-round interviews for one position have been conducted, and that he expects to extend a job offer to a candidate in the coming days. Mr. Wilson said there has been a very good response to the positions that have recently been posted.

Budget

Mr. Wilson said that Budget Team members Alice Wu and Robert Milt submitted the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2020 maintenance budget request to the Executive Office of Administration and Finance. The Commission is requesting approximately $87,000 in additional funding next year to continue the current level of services. Mr. Wilson said the Budget Team would submit the Commission’s budget expansion request for Fiscal Year 2020 on November 21.

Mr. Wilson said staff members are also working on various projects, including a search for a new case management system to replace the current system that has been in use for more than 10 years. He said Mr. Milt has had an active role in that project over the past year.

Mr. Milt said the new case management system will be more flexible to meet the Commission’s needs. He said the Commission has been working in partnership with the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security to analyze potential case management systems. Mr. Milt said the hope is that the Commission will be in better position to transition to a new case management system in fiscal 2020.

Upcoming Events

Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that a farewell event for former Chair Barbara Dortch-Okara will be held Thursday, Nov. 29. He also reminded the Commission that from December 10-12 he would be attending the annual Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) conference in Philadelphia with General Counsel and Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery, Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt, Staff Counsel Amy Nee, and Staff Counsel Norah Mallam.

Next Meeting

After discussion, the Commission scheduled the next Commission meeting for Thursday, December 20 at 9:30 a.m.

PUBLIC EDUCATION DIVISION REPORT

Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented the monthly Public Education Division Report.

Mr. Giannotti reported that he recently conducted five seminars in the city of Lynn, attended by more than 200 city employees. He will conduct an additional seminar in December for members of boards and committees. Mr. Giannotti also reported that he completed a series of seminars to train all employees of the Division of Banks.  Seminars were conducted in October and November.

LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS

General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.

Legal Division Metrics for October 2018

Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for September 2018.             

• Written advice.  The Legal Division answered by letter or email 51 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B.

               For comparison:  October 2017 (same month last year):                        43
                                             September 2018 (previous month):                            38

• Oral advice.  The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone or on a walk-in basis in response to 415 requests for advice from state, county and municipal officials.

               For comparison:  October 2017 (same month last year):                        407
                                             September 2018 (previous month):                            338

• Review of municipal letters.  Division staff reviewed 2 letters issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.

               For comparison:  October 2017 (same month last year):                        5
                                             September 2018 (previous month):                            0         

• Backlog.  As of today, the Division has 2 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old.  There is a total of 18 pending requests for written advice.

SFI Summary

Ms. Slattery provided an update on Statements of Financial Interests. She reported that in October, the SFI Team revised and updated materials for agency liaisons on how to use the SFI filing system, and that SFI Team members held online training seminars for agency liaisons. She said the 2018 SFI season began November 9, when the SFI Team sent requests to agencies for their lists of designated employees required to file SFIs. The SFI Team is scheduled to open the filing system for filing of CY 2018 SFIs on January 24, 2019 – the earliest opening day for filing that the Commission has had in many years. Ms. Slattery said the benefit of an early opening date is that it provides filers with more than three months to complete and submit their CY 2018 SFIs. In addition, the SFI team is working with a vendor to enter into a service and labor agreement pursuant to which the vendor will provide support and assistance to the Commission during the CY 2018 SFI filing season. 

Adjudicatory Matters

Ms. Slattery reported that there are no adjudicatory matters pending.

Litigation Matters

McGovern v. State Ethics Commission:  Appeals Court Docket No. 2018-P-1060.  This is an appeal pursuant to G.L. c. 30A from a May 4, 2018 Superior Court decision affirming the Commission finding that McGovern violated Section 23(b)(2)(ii) by knowingly, or with reason to know, using his position as a Lieutenant for the Agawam Police Department (“APD”) to provide unwarranted benefits or privileges of substantial value to fellow APD Officer, Danielle Petrangelo, by failing to arrest, issue a citation, or to properly investigate Petrangelo for motor vehicle offenses, despite probable cause that she had been operating a motor vehicle the wrong-way on a state highway while intoxicated.  On October 11, 2018, McGovern filed his brief and appendix.  The Commission filed its brief on November 13, 2018.    

ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS

Investigations Unit Metrics Report

Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics for October 2018. She said that despite a lack of staffing, the Enforcement Division has been able to reduce its backlog, due in large part to the work of former Investigations Director Paul Murray and Special Investigator Timothy Gravel before they left the Commission. She said the Division is excited to have a new investigator and a new attorney begin in December.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

At 10:01 a.m., on the motion of Chair Krokidas, seconded by Commissioner Martinez, the Commission voted 5-0 to enter executive session to discuss matters subject to the provisions of G.L. c. 30A, § 21, subparagraph (a)(7), and § 18, and G.L. c. 268B, §§ 3 and 4, including investigatory matters, preliminary inquiries, post-reasonable cause matters, recommendations regarding adjudicatory proceedings, and advisory opinions.

Chair Krokidas stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.

VOTE:  Chair Krokidas                    yes    
             Commissioner Mills            yes  
             Commissioner Sartory        yes  
             Commissioner Kantrowitz  yes
             Commissioner Martinez      yes   

LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING

1. Agenda for the Commission Meeting of November 15, 2018

2. Minutes of the State Ethics Commission Meeting of October 18, 2018 Public, Executive, and Executive – Adjudicatory Matters Sessions

3. Memorandum dated November 8, 2018 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning the Public Education and Communications Division report for the meeting
    
4. Memorandum dated November 8, 2018 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the October 18, 2018 meeting
    
5. Report of Enforcement Division Intake Metrics

Respectfully submitted,

Gerry Tuoti
Public Information Officer