2019 State Ethics Commission Press Releases

State Ethics Commission press releases for 2019

• Ethics Commission Issues Public Education Letter to Secretary of the Commonwealth Galvin
  The State Ethics Commission issued a Public Education Letter to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin to resolve allegations that he violated the conflict of interest law. According to the letter, Secretary Galvin, a candidate for re-election in 2018, benefitted politically from early voting signs that prominently featured his name and an Information for Voters booklet that provided him with free positive publicity, which were created and distributed by his office.

• Agawam Teacher Kenneth Michna Pays $2,500 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  Agawam Junior High School Band Director Kenneth Michna has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by accepting $1,750 in payments from a nonprofit organization for helping to organize and judge a series of band competitions during his public work hours, and by giving a $2,000 payment for the school’s music department to a private, parent-run booster association. In a Disposition Agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission on October 17, Michna paid a $2,500 civil penalty and waived his right to contest the Commission’s findings.

• Division of Professional Licensure Prosecutor Fayette Mong Pays $2,500 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  Division of Professional Licensure Prosecutor Fayette Mong has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by repeatedly invoking her state position when seeking town inspections of a Braintree house she sought to purchase. Mong paid a $2,500 civil penalty pursuant to a Disposition Agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission on October 17 and waived her right to contest the Commission’s findings.

• Blue Hills Regional School to Careers Partnership Director Katherine Touafek pays $4,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  Katherine Touafek, Director of the School to Careers Partnership for the Blue Hills Regional Technical School District, has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by repeatedly participating in hiring her son to do paid work for the Partnership. Touafek paid a $4,000 civil penalty in a Disposition Agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission on October 17 and waived her right to contest the Commission’s findings.

• Former Pepperell Selectman Roland Nutter Pays $6,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  Former Pepperell Selectman Roland Nutter has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law multiple times by voting against authorizing the investigation of a grievance involving his wife, the town Treasurer-Collector, and by participating in matters affecting her employment contract and salary. Nutter paid a $6,000 civil penalty pursuant to a Disposition Agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission on October 17 and waived his right to contest the Commission’s findings.

• Appeals Court affirms Superior Court ruling upholding State Ethics Commission’s decision that Agawam Police Lt. Edward McGovern violated the conflict of interest law
  In a decision issued today, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has affirmed a Hampden County Superior Court ruling to uphold the State Ethics Commission’s 2016 decision that Agawam Police Lt. Edward McGovern violated the conflict of interest law by giving preferential treatment to a fellow police officer suspected of driving the wrong way on a state highway while intoxicated.

• South Hadley Teacher Stephanie Viens Pays $7,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  South Hadley High School Teacher Stephanie Viens has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by accepting travel points and thousands of dollars in stipends from a travel company for organizing school trips to Europe. She paid a $7,000 civil penalty in a Disposition Agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission on September 19 and waived her right to contest the Commission’s findings.

• Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division Alleges West Stockbridge Fire Chief Peter Skorput Violated the Conflict of Interest Law
  The Enforcement Division of the State Ethics Commission today filed an Order to Show Cause alleging that West Stockbridge Fire Chief Peter Skorput, a former Select Board member, committed multiple conflict of interest law violations, including setting stipends for himself, his daughter and his nephew; voting as a Select Board member to reappoint himself Fire Chief; and terminating a firefighter who had filed a complaint against him.

• New Braintree Select Board Member Randall Walker Pays $5,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  New Braintree Select Board Member Randall Walker has admitted that he violated the conflict of interest law by voting to authorize the sale of town-owned land he wished to buy, then privately purchasing that land from the town when it was publicly auctioned. Walker paid a $5,000 civil penalty in a Disposition Agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission on June 20 and waived his right to contest the Commission’s findings.

• Former Roxbury Community College Director of Public Safety Oscar Walker Pays Civil Penalty for Violating Financial Disclosure Law
  The State Ethics Commission voted on June 20 to allow a joint motion to dismiss adjudicatory proceedings against former Roxbury Community College Director of Public Safety Oscar Walker after he paid a $100 civil penalty for failing to file a 2017 Statement of Financial Interests (SFI) on time.

• Former Boston Public Health Commission Worker Frederick Brack Pays $10,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  Former Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) worker Frederick Brack has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by repeatedly using BPHC supplies, equipment, and worktime to do private snowplowing. Brack paid a $10,000 civil penalty in a Disposition Agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission on June 20 and waived his right to contest the Commission’s findings.

• Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division Alleges Former Norwood Selectman Helen Donohue Violated Conflict of Interest Law
  The Enforcement Division of the State Ethics Commission today filed an Order to Show Cause alleging that former Norwood Selectman Helen Donohue violated the conflict of interest law by repeatedly participating as a town official in matters related to Eysie Plaza in Norwood, without publicly disclosing that her daughters had a financial interest in a nearby property, or that she had a history of conflict with the plaza’s owner, Paul Eysie.

• Former Essex Tech Superintendent-Director Daniel O’Connell Pays $23,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  Daniel O’Connell, the former Superintendent-Director of the North Shore Technical High School and Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School districts, has admitted that he violated the conflict of interest law on multiple occasions by using his official position and public resources to benefit himself and his son, a North Shore and Essex Tech maintenance worker. O’Connell paid a $23,000 civil penalty in a disposition agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission.

• Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division Alleges Former Brookfield Selectman Stephen Comtois Violated Conflict of Interest Law
  The Enforcement Division of the State Ethics Commission filed an Order to Show Cause alleging that former Brookfield Selectman Stephen Comtois violated the conflict of interest law by using his official position to facilitate his private purchase of real estate, which an elderly Brookfield resident had offered to donate to the town, for approximately $40,000 less than its assessed value. The Order also alleges that Comtois retaliated against another resident who publicly confronted him about his purchase of the property.
   
• Former North Adams City Solicitor John DeRosa pays $7,500 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  Former North Adams City Solicitor John DeRosa has admitted that he violated the conflict of interest law by representing and doing compensated legal work for parties other than the city in connection with proposed North Adams redevelopment projects while he was City Solicitor, and by advising the city on those projects as City Solicitor during that same time.
   
• Former Hadley Select Board Member Donald Pipczynski Pays $5,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law
  Former Hadley Select Board member Donald Pipczynski has paid a $5,000 civil penalty after admitting to violating the conflict of interest law by invoking his official position to threaten a private club that expelled him, and by voting as a Select Board member against forwarding complaints about his conduct to the State Ethics Commission.