Press Release  Former DOC Employee Raymond Turcotte pays $35,000 for Violating Conflict of Interest Law

Boston — Raymond Turcotte, former Department of Correction (DOC) Director of Special Operations, has paid a $35,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law multiple times. The State Ethics Commission approved a Disposition Agreement in which Turcotte admitted to the violations, including using DOC equipment for personal purposes, providing DOC job interview questions to his daughter prior to her job interview with the agency, and giving DOC ammunition to his girlfriend. Additionally, Turcotte admitted to requesting and receiving pay for hours he did not work. By entering into the Disposition Agreement, Turcotte waived his right to a public hearing.

The conflict of interest law prohibits state employees from using or attempting to use their official positions to obtain valuable, unwarranted privileges for themselves or others. Turcotte violated this prohibition through the following actions:

• Turcotte used a DOC-issued cell phone and DOC-paid phone plan to make frequent personal calls, including over 300 calls to his girlfriend in December 2022 and January 2023. Nearly six hours of these calls were during work hours.
• In 2022, Turcotte used a DOC-issued vehicle for personal purposes during his work shift and after hours.
• In 2022, prior to his daughter interviewing for a DOC dispatcher position, Turcotte obtained the interview questions, provided them to his daughter, and suggested answers. 
• Turcotte gave his girlfriend, who had no DOC affiliation, DOC-owned ammunition which had been assigned to him for official use.
• Turcotte received DOC pay for hours he did not work over three days in 2022.
• As a contract firearms instructor for the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), Turcotte submitted paperwork falsely indicating he taught a firearms class he did not teach and received pay from the MPTC for hours he did not work.

By providing the interview questions to his daughter, Turcotte also violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against public employees improperly disclosing confidential information they can access through their official positions or using that information to further a private purpose. In addition, by submitting paperwork to the MPTC claiming he taught a firearms class he had not taught, Turcotte violated the law’s prohibition against public employees presenting false or fraudulent claims for payment to their public employers.

“When public employees misuse their positions and public resources to benefit themselves, their families, and their friends, they betray the public’s trust in them as public servants and undermine public confidence in government. This is especially true when, as here, the misuse secures an unfair advantage over others or involves dishonesty,” said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson. “Public employment is about serving the public, not helping oneself, one’s family or one’s friends at the public’s expense.”

The Commission encourages public employees to contact the Commission’s Legal Division at 617-371-9500 for free advice if they have any questions regarding how the conflict of interest law may apply to them.

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