Press Release  Nantucket Memorial Airport Manager Noah Karberg pays $4,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law

Boston, MA — 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.

Prior to becoming airport manager, Karberg, as assistant airport manager, came up with the idea of leasing out a parcel of undeveloped airport land bordering Nantucket Marine, a boat sales, service, and storage business he had in mind as lessee. Karberg purchased a used boat from the company in July 2019 and, over the next three years, paid the company to do more than $40,000 of work on it, on which he saved almost $8,000 due to a “local boater” discount. Karberg was friendly with the company’s two owners and considered one of them a friend.

In August 2019, Karberg texted the Nantucket Marine owner he considered a friend about leasing the airport land for boat storage. Karberg then drafted a form letter for the business to use to express interest in leasing the land, and periodically communicated with and advised the business regarding the proposed lease. Later, Karberg took the lead in drafting the technical language for a request for proposals (RFP) to lease the parcel, including recommending the minimum price per square foot for qualifying proposals. In calculating the minimum lease price, Karberg rejected two professional appraisals as too high and made an error resulting in a substantially lower price.

In August 2022, Nantucket Marine was the only bidder in response to the RFP. Karberg, as the sole reviewer designated by the airport’s chief procurement officer, awarded the lease to the company, which signed the 30-year lease in September 2022.

Because public confidence in the integrity of government is undermined when public employees appear to act with bias or favoritism, the conflict of interest law prohibits public employees from acting in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to conclude that they can be unduly influenced by anyone or are likely to act with favoritism towards anyone in their official actions. An appointed public employee can avoid violating this prohibition by, before acting officially, fully disclosing in writing to the official or authority who appointed them the facts that would otherwise lead to such a conclusion. Such disclosures are public records. Karberg violated this prohibition by taking the actions leading to the lease of the airport land to Nantucket Marine, while at the same time doing substantial private business with company, without first fully disclosing that private business and his friendship with one of the company’s owners, in writing to his appointing authority, the airport manager.

A public employee does not need to in fact act with bias or favoritism or be unduly influenced in their official actions to violate this prohibition. Rather, a violation may occur even when the public employee’s actions are not in fact unduly favorable or improperly influenced. No finding of actual bias, favoritism, or undue or improper influence in Karberg’s award of the lease to Nantucket Marine was made in the Disposition Agreement; no wrongdoing by Nantucket Marine or its owners was found.

“This case involves an ‘appearance’ violation by a public employee,” noted Executive Director David A. Wilson. “Mr. Karberg’s conduct as assistant airport manager, particularly his acting officially on the lease while at the same time doing substantial private business concerning his boat with the most likely lessee – private dealings he did not disclose – made it appear that his official actions might not be fair and impartial due to those private dealings. Mr. Karberg could have properly dealt with this appearance and avoided the violation by making a full written public disclosure of the private dealings to the airport manager before he acted on the lease, but he did not do so. Thus, Mr. Karberg violated the conflict to interest law. Nantucket Marine and its owners did not violate the conflict of interest law in connection with the lease.”

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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