Amorello is facing probe on sick leave

The state Ethics Commission has launched an investigation into whether former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello violated conflict-of-interest laws when he unilaterally boosted the agency's sick leave policy in July, leading to a padded payday for himself and other departing employees, according to three sources familiar with the probe.

When his severance agreement expires in mid-February, the ousted chairman will be entitled to $10,881 in unused vacation pay accrued during his six months of forced retirement, as well as $80,235 -- half in cash, half in health benefits -- for 691 hours of unused sick pay from his tenure at the agency, including the time since his departure, according to Jon Carlisle, a Turnpike Authority spokesman.

The state ethics panel is investigating whether it was appropriate for Amorello to make a policy change that would personally benefit him or his close associates when they left the agency, according to two people familiar with the probe.

Amorello did not return messages left at his home yesterday. His attorney, Thomas Kiley, also did not return calls for comments.

In a directive issued last summer, Amorello bolstered the agency's sick leave policy, which previously had paid retiring employees for 20 percent of their unused sick days, to 50 percent for all employees, whether they retired, resigned, or were fired.

In August, after a fatal tunnel collapse, seven departing managers collected more than $230,000 in sick pay.

Amorello also stepped down on Aug. 15, but continued to receive his $226,000-a-year salary and benefits for six months under a severance agreement negotiated with Governor Mitt Romney in late July. He cashed out $54,000 in vacation pay accrued to that point; the additional $10,881 was accrued between then and Feb. 15. He took no sick pay at that time.

Questions have also surfaced about the timing of the policy change, according to three Turnpike Authority officials.

Last summer Turnpike Authority officials said Amorello had changed the agency's sick leave policy on July 5 -- five days before a tunnel collapse killed 38-year-old Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain. But Carlisle said yesterday that a review of the authority's computer records and interviews with staff show that although the policy document is dated "07/05/06," Amorello finalized and circulated the policy on July 17 .

Carlisle, who previously was a Highway Department spokesman for the Romney administration, said records suggest Amorello changed the policy twice after the fatal accident.

On July 17, he rewrote the policy so that exiting employees could collect 100 percent of their sick leave in cash, Carlisle said records show. On July 31, after he had agreed to step down, Amorello revised the policy again. This time employees would be entitled to 50 percent of their unused sick leave in cash. Employees with 10 or more years of government service could use the other half to pay their contribution to the Turnpike Authority's retiree health insurance plan, once they began receiving a pension.

Amorello, 48, will qualify for a pension at age 55, Carlisle said.

Turnpike Authority board members last summer said Amorello did not notify them that he had changed the policy. It only came to light after Romney took over the agency and noted that seven of Amorello's top associates had walked away with $365,092 -- $238,818 in sick leave and $126,274 in unused vacation time.

Amorello's chief of staff, Marie Hayman, who had enough service to retire, left with an extra $94,096 -- $58,746 in unused sick leave and $35,350 in vacation pay . His spokeswoman, Mariellen Burns, who had worked at the Turnpike Authority for a year and a half, received $25,100 when she left -- $7,408 in unused vacation and sick time, as well as $17,692 in "special recognition" pay .

John Cogliano, the new chairman appointed by Romney, immediately restored the original sick leave policy (20 percent), but Amorello was grandfathered in because the newer policy was in place at the time he signed his severance agreement, Carlisle said.

Six other top managers who stayed behind were fired by Cogliano and received no sick pay or severance.

Amorello's resignation capped a four-year effort by Romney to take control of the Turnpike Authority, which was overseen by a board that supported the chairman. Romney first called for his resignation in 2002 and renewed his efforts in 2004 after the discovery of leaks in a Big Dig tunnel. The governor tried again after the ceiling collapse sparked outrage. Amorello fought to keep his job, but backed down after a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court refused to block Romney's efforts to hold a hearing to remove him.

Carol Carson, Ethics Commission spokeswoman, yesterday declined to comment on the probe, saying, "I can't confirm nor deny that we've received any allegations or that we're conducting any investigation."

State conflict-of-interest law prohibits public officials from acting on a matter that could affect them financially. It also bars them from acting in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to conclude they acted with bias.

The commission can impose fines of up to $2,000 per violation, rescind any decisions deemed in violation of the law, or seek to recover any money collected as a result of an illegal decision.

Frank Phillips of the Globe Staff contributed to this story.