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Ex-Lynn official fined $35K for violating state ethics law

Print | Comments () Posted by John Ellement February 23, 2011 05:15 PM

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By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

A former Lynn city official today was fined $35,000 for collecting fees from property owners as a constable while also working as an inspector for the Board of Health, actions that violated the state ethics law, officials said.

In a five-page order made public today, the State Ethics Commission said Louis Picano repeatedly violated the state ethics law between 2006 and 2009. The commission found that Picano was paid to perform constable work 50 times – and had to inspect the same properties at least 32 times.

“A reasonable person who knew that Picano was being paid by private property owners to perform constable services would conclude that he would be less than diligent in identifying health code violations when he inspected their premises,’’ the commission said in its order.

According to a spokeswoman for Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, Picano retired last year and no longer holds the dual responsibilities for the city.

Boston attorney Frank Mondano, who represented Picano before the commission, said he had received his copy of the findings, but had not had a chance to review it by this afternoon.

In its findings, the commission said that Picano worked as a Board of Health inspector from 1998 to 2009.

For most of those years, Picano also held a mayoral appointment as constable for use with his municipal duties, the commission said.

Beginning in 2004, Picano no longer needed constable powers for his city job and instead used the job as a means to earn income for himself, the commission said.

The panel said their investigation focused on the years 2006 to 2009, a time period during which the commission found Picard violated the state ethics law.