Press Release  State Ethics Commission Issues Public Education Letter to Former Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Chief of Staff Lisa Riccobene

Boston, MA — 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.

When Riccobene started work as an administrative assistant at the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in 2006, she formed a personal relationship with another employee, who sometimes loaned her money and allowed her to use their credit card information to make personal purchases, according to the letter. After being promoted to Chief of Staff in 2018 and Chief Administrative Officer in 2019, Riccobene directly supervised the employee. During this time, she continued to borrow money from the employee and to use the employee’s credit card. In or about April 2021, after OCME questioned Riccobene about the loans and credit card use, she tendered a $7,000 check to repay a $1,500 loan and her outstanding charges on the employee’s credit card. Riccobene received a warning and was required her to report her conduct to the State Ethics Commission.

Because there was reason to believe the employee loaned Riccobene money and let her use the employee’s credit card at least in part due to Riccobene’s position as the employee’s supervisor, the Commission found reasonable cause to believe Riccobene violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against public employees asking for or accepting anything worth $50 or more that is not authorized by law and is given to them because of their official position. The Commission also found reasonable cause to believe Riccobene’s requests for and receipt of these personal financial favors from her subordinate violated the law’s prohibition against public employees using their official positions to obtain valuable privileges to which they are not entitled.

In addition, the Commission found reasonable cause to believe Riccobene, by continuing to supervise an employee to whom she owed a substantial amount of money, violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against public employees acting in a way that would cause a reasonable person to think they would be improperly influenced or biased when performing their official job duties. Although a public employee may avoid violating this prohibition by timely disclosing to their appointing authority facts that would create an appearance of bias or undue influence, Riccobene did not make a disclosure to her appointing authority regarding her private financial dealings with her subordinate.

The Commission determined that the public interest would be best served by resolving this matter with the Public Education Letter to Riccobene publicly discussing and explaining the application of the conflict of interest law to Riccobene’s actions. Riccobene agreed to resolve the matter with the Public Education Letter and waived her right to a hearing before the Commission. The Commission expects that the letter will provide public employees in similar circumstances with a clearer understanding of how to comply with the law.

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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