| Date: | 03/01/1979 |
|---|---|
| Organization: | State Ethics Commission |
Section 5(a) prohibits a former state employee from acting as an attorney for a city in a civil action integrally related to the state's criminal proceedings against the named defendants, when the attorney supervised the detailed investigation and the analytical report prepared in connection with indictments.
You are an Assistant District Attorney in a County. You supervised a Grand Jury investigation into allegations that four companies had engaged in criminal practices resulting in major overbilling in regard to contracts with the City during the 1974-75 and 1975-76 years. As a result of the investigation, two of the companies were indicted and tried for larceny by false pretenses. In addition, the District Attorney's office submitted to the City an analysis of the records of the four companies and a detailed report of the areas where the City should seek to recover monies in a civil action for those two years. You ask whether you may, without violating Chapter 268A, represent the City in such a civil action if you leave your present position.
If you resign as an Assistant District Attorney, you would be a former state employee and the prohibitions of § 5(a) would apply to your conduct. That Section prohibits a former state employee from acting as an attorney for anyone other than the Commonwealth". . .in connection with a particular matter in which the Commonwealth or a state agency is a party or has a direct and substantial interest and in which he participated". Under the conflict law, a municipality or city is considered "anyone other than the Commonwealth or a state agency". The District Attorney's office is a "state agency". Attorney General Conflict Opinions 551, 848.
The potential civil litigation is a separate "particular matter" (as defined in § 1(k)) from the criminal proceedings. However, the preparation and submission by the District Attorney's office of the detailed analytical report to the City is a particular matter and one which is integrally related to, and cannot be separated from, the potential civil litigation. Your employment, therefore, would be in connection with a particular matter to which the District Attorney's office was a party and in which you directly and substantially participated. Therefore, § 5(a) would prohibit you from representing the City in any civil action relating to the billing practices for the 1974-76 years of the companies which were the subject of the report.
End Of Decision
