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State Ethics Commission Issues Public Education Letter to Former Weymouth Housing Authority Employee Laureen Pizzi
The State Ethics Commission issued a Public Education Letter today to Laureen Pizzi, former Director of Management/Resident Services Coordinator at the Weymouth Housing Authority, after finding reasonable cause to believe Pizzi violated the conflict of interest law by, on three separate occasions, leasing Weymouth Housing Authority apartments to individuals with whom she had personal connections, even though they were not eligible for the housing due to prior evictions. Pizzi’s employment with the Weymouth Housing Authority ended in June 2022, in substantial part due to these actions. -
Sharon Police Officers John Avelar and Robert Awad pay Penalties for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
Sharon Police Officers John Avelar and Robert Awad have paid $8,000 and $4,000 civil penalties, respectively, for violating the conflict of interest law. Avelar and Awad signed separate Disposition Agreements in which each admitted that, with Awad’s help, Avelar and Avelar’s friend entered the Gillette Stadium Putnam Club without tickets during a New England Patriots game for which Awad was working security. Avelar and Awad each waived their right to a hearing. -
Former Arlington Inspectional Services Director Michael Byrne pays $80,000 Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
The State Ethics Commission has issued a Final Decision and Order allowing a Joint Motion to Dismiss and approving a Disposition Agreement in which former Arlington Inspectional Services Department Director Michael Byrne admits to repeatedly violating the conflict of interest law by allowing his own plumbing company to do work without permits or inspections at more than three-dozen Arlington sites, creating false permits for work his company performed, and through other actions. The Commission accepted Byrne’s payment of an $80,000 civil penalty and dismissed the adjudicatory proceeding against him -
Former Huntington Selectboard Member Karon Hathaway pays $5,000 Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
Former Huntington Selectboard member Karon Hathaway has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by, as a Selectboard member, directing the delivery of about $5,000 worth of town-owned asphalt millings to her property for her personal use. Hathaway signed a Disposition Agreement in which she admits the violation and paid a $5,000 civil penalty. -
Lanesborough Economic Development Committee Chair and Planning Board Member Barbara Davis-Hassan pays $30,000 penalty for violating Conflict of Interest Law
The State Ethics Commission has issued a Final Decision and Order allowing a Joint Motion to Dismiss and approving a Disposition Agreement in which Lanesborough Economic Development Committee Chair and Planning Board member Barbara Davis-Hassan admits to violating the conflict of interest law by participating as a Planning Board member in a proposal to rezone the Berkshire Mall while she privately had an exclusive marketing agreement to sell the property, by representing the mall’s owner in local tax and infrastructure matters, and by participating as a Planning Board member in a proposal to rezone a second property while privately serving as its listing agent. The Commission accepted Davis-Hassan’s payment of a $30,000 civil penalty and dismissed the adjudicatory proceeding against her. -
Margot Botsford appointed as State Ethics Commission Chair
The Honorable Margot Botsford (ret.), formerly an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, has been appointed by Governor Maura Healey to the State Ethics Commission and designated by the Governor as the Commission’s Chair. Chair Botsford succeeds former Chair Maria J. Krokidas. -
Nantucket Memorial Airport Manager Noah Karberg pays $4,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
Nantucket Memorial Airport Manager Noah Karberg has paid a $4,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law in connection with the lease of airport land to a business of which he was privately a regular customer. Karberg signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted to the violation and waived his right to a hearing. -
Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson Admits She Violated Conflict of Interest Law by Hiring Family Members
Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by hiring her sister and son to paid positions on her Boston City Council staff. Fernandes Anderson has signed a Disposition Agreement in which she admits the violations and agrees to pay a $5,000 civil penalty. -
Former Malden Human Services and Outreach Director Karen Colon Hayes pays $7,500 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
Former Malden Human Services and Outreach Director Karen Colon Hayes has paid a $7,500 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by hiring her two daughters and one daughter’s boyfriend in 2018 and 2019 for jobs with the city youth employment program she managed. Colon Hayes signed a Disposition Agreement in which she admitted to the violations and waived her right to a hearing. -
State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division Alleges Former Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon Violated Conflict of Interest Law
The State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division has issued an Order to Show Cause alleging former City of Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon violated the conflict of interest law by including changes in a revised draft collective bargaining agreement that would increase his salary without notifying the Mayor or any other city officials of the changes or their financial impacts. The Order also alleges that Solomon provided unwarranted benefits to five intermittent police officers and sent the city’s Human Resources Director a fabricated training certificate and a fabricated letter to allow a Methuen City Councilor who was also a police officer to continue to be paid. The Order initiates an adjudicatory proceeding against Solomon. -
Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo Admits he Violated Conflict of Interest Law by Representing his Brother in Lawsuit
Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by continuing to represent his brother in a civil lawsuit against his brother and the City of Boston after he became a City Councilor. Arroyo signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted to the violation and paid a $3,000 civil penalty. -
Former Andover Youth Services Director William Fahey pays $20,000 civil penalty for violating conflict of interest law
Former Andover Youth Services Director William Fahey has paid a $20,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by receiving payments from a private nonprofit in connection with his employment with the Town of Andover, and by allocating the payments to himself and members of his municipal staff. Fahey signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted to the violations and waived his right to a hearing. -
State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division Alleges Lanesborough Economic Development Committee Chair and Planning Board Member Barbara Davis-Hassan violated Conflict of Interest Law
The State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division issued an Order to Show Cause today alleging that Lanesborough Economic Development Committee Chair and Planning Board member Barbara Davis-Hassan violated the Conflict of Interest Law by representing Berkshire Mall owner Durga Property Holdings, Inc. (Durga) in local tax and infrastructure matters and by participating as a Planning Board member in a proposal to rezone the mall while she privately had a marketing arrangement to sell the mall. In addition, Davis-Hassan allegedly violated the law by participating as a Planning Board member in a proposal to rezone a second property while privately serving as the listing agent for the property. -
Supreme Judicial Court Denies Former Brookfield Selectman’s Application for Further Review of Conflict of Interest Law Violations
The Supreme Judicial Court has denied former Brookfield Selectman Stephen Comtois’s application for further appellate review of the Appeals Court decision upholding the State Ethics Commission’s August 18, 2020 decision that he violated the conflict of interest law. -
State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division Alleges Former Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission Cape & Islands/Plymouth Area Director David Rose Violated Financial Disclosure Law
The Enforcement Division of the State Ethics Commission today filed an Order to Show Cause alleging that former Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission Cape & Islands/Plymouth Area Director David A. Rose violated the Financial Disclosure Law by failing to file a Statement of Financial Interests for 2021. The Order initiates an adjudicatory proceeding against Rose. -
Charlton Police Sergeant Steven Madelle pays $10,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
Charlton Police Sergeant Steven Madelle has paid a $10,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by using police resources to locate a person with whom he had a private relationship. Madelle signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted to the violations and waived his right to a hearing. -
Former Andover Youth Services Assistant Director Glenn Wilson pays $9,000 civil penalty for violating conflict of interest law
Former Andover Youth Services Assistant Director Glenn Wilson has paid a $9,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by receiving payments from a private nonprofit relating to his employment and because of his position as a Town of Andover employee. Wilson signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted to the violations and waived his right to a hearing. -
Appeals Court affirms Superior Court judgment upholding Commission decision that former Brookfield Selectman Stephen Comtois violated conflict of interest law
In a decision issued March 21, the Massachusetts Appeals Court affirmed a Suffolk Superior Court judgment upholding the State Ethics Commission’s 2020 decision that former Brookfield Selectman Stephen Comtois violated the conflict of interest law through his actions concerning a proposed donation to the town of land that he was interested in buying. The Commission concluded Comtois used his selectman position to derail the proposed donation so he could purchase the land himself. -
Former Executive Office of Education Systems Supervisor Radhika Uppaluri pays $70,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
Radhika Uppaluri, a former programmer and systems supervisor for the state Executive Office of Education (EOE), has paid a $70,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by, as an EOE employee, hiring and supervising information technology (IT) consultants recruited by her family’s company. Uppaluri signed a Disposition Agreement in which she admitted to the violations and waived her right to a hearing. -
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins pays $12,300 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins has paid a $12,300 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by creating a paid position in the Sheriff’s Department for his niece and by repeatedly asking his subordinates to do personal errands for him. Tompkins signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted to the violations and waived his right to a hearing. -
State Ethics Commission Issues Public Education Letter to Former Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Chief of Staff Lisa Riccobene
The State Ethics Commission issued a Public Education Letter today to Lisa Riccobene, former state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Chief of Staff and Chief Administrative Officer, after finding reasonable cause to believe she violated the conflict of interest law by borrowing money from a subordinate and using the subordinate’s credit card for personal purchases. -
State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division Alleges Former Arlington Inspectional Services Director Michael Byrne Violated Conflict of Interest Law
The State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division issued an Order to Show Cause today alleging that former Arlington Inspectional Services Department Director Michael Byrne repeatedly violated the conflict of interest law by allowing his plumbing company to do work in Arlington without permits or inspections, by creating fraudulent permits for plumbing work his company performed without permits, by inspecting his company’s work, by issuing certificates of occupancy for properties where his company performed work, and by issuing a certificate of occupancy for a property owned by a developer who had loaned him money.
2023 State Ethics Commission Press Releases