The state Ethics Commission charged yesterday that the former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman, Matthew J. Amorello, violated state law last year by sweetening the agency's sick leave policy just before he was forced to resign, potentially enriching himself and other departing aides with tens of thousands of dollars in added benefits.
Amorello violated the state's conflict of interest law by making a policy change that would personally benefit him and his close associates, the commission said in a five-page order. Amorello also used his position to secure "an unwarranted privilege . . . of substantial value," the order said.
Under the policy the chairman put in place the day before he agreed to resign on July 27, 2006, he is entitled to about $75,000 for more than 600 hours of unused sick leave, the ethics commission said. He has not requested the money.
Amorello was unavailable for comment yesterday because he is out of the country. His lawyer, Thomas Kiley, said Amorello had ordered a revision of the sick-leave policy that reduced his potential payout. Even then, he said, Amorello has "not received one penny as a result of this policy change." The former chairman will be ordered to appear at a public hearing before a single member of the five-person panel, who could impose fines of up to $2,000 for each of three violations and force him to forfeit the $75,000.
Seven other employees, including three senior staff members, also took advantage of the generous policy. The policy was rescinded by John Cogliano, who was former governor Mitt Romney's choice to succeed Amorello as head of the troubled transportation agency.
It was unclear whether the other employees might be forced to return the money they received under the short-lived policy.
"I'm thankful there will be a day of public reckoning," said Mary Connaughton, a board member and Romney appointee, who is a vocal critic of Amorello.
The Ethics Commission began its review after the Globe reported in August 2006 that the Turnpike Authority's sick leave policy was changed twice in July 2006. The Ethics Commission charges that Amorello first asked the authority's human resources director earlier in the year to look at improving the benefits.
As a result, in early July, the policy that had been in place for a decade was dramatically enhanced, the commission reported. Before the change, retiring workers were entitled to cash in 20 percent of their unused sick days. The new policy allowed all exiting employees to collect 100 percent of their sick leave, in cash, whether they retired, resigned, or were fired.
On July 26, the day before Amorello quit, he directed his staff to scale back the benefits, the Ethics Commission said. The policy was revised so that employees could cash in only half of their unused sick leave, instead of 100 percent. Employees with 10 or more years of government service, including Amorello, who was previously a state legislator, could use the other half to pay their share of their health insurance when they retired.
Under the terms of his severance agreement, Amorello agreed to step down Aug. 15, 2006, but continued to receive his full salary of $226,348 a year, plus benefits for six months. He also received $53,977 in unused vacation when he left.
Kiley said Amorello's actions had the effect of slashing his potential benefits, from 100 percent of the value of his unused sick days to 50 percent.
"The only participation that Matt Amorello had in this instance would have been to reduce his theoretical benefit, and I emphasize theoretical because he didn't receive a penny," said Kiley. In addition, he said, Amorello's severance benefits were determined through negotiations with the governor's office and "weren't dependent on this policy. On the 27th of July 2006, what was going to happen to him was a function of one-on-one negotiations," Kiley said.
The Ethics Commission offered to settle the case without a public hearing, but the sides could not reach agreement during talks over the last several months. Kiley said talks failed because "Matt would never and will never agree to something that is not true."
Amorello did not inform Turnpike Authority board members that the sick-leave policy had been changed. It was revealed after Romney took over the agency and discovered that seven of Amorello's top staffers had left with $238,818, representing payments for unused sick time.
Marie Hayman, Amorello's chief of staff, received $58,746 in unused sick pay. Mariellen Burns, a spokeswoman who had worked at the Turnpike Authority for only a year and a half, received $4,312 in unused sick leave. Keith Shirley, Amorello's deputy chief of staff, received in $12,567 in sick time.
Only the Massachusetts Port Authority continues to pay its departing employees more than other state agencies. Last year the Massport board reaffirmed its policy of paying retiring workers 100 percent of their unused sick days. The policy has resulted in several payouts of more than $100,000.
Andrea Estes can be reached at estes@globe.com.
