Tougher ethics penalties sought
Special panel hears call to tighten laws
The state's top ethics enforcer testified yesterday that the State Ethics Commission needs stronger tools to fight coziness, cronyism, and corruption in Massachusetts, including the power to levy larger fines.
"Two thousand dollars is simply not a meaningful deterrent," said Ethics Commission executive director Karen Nober, referring to the maximum fine the commission can impose. That fine, which has been the limit since 1982, should be increased to $10,000 or $25,000, she said.
Nober also recommended that Massachusetts make it easier for authorities to prove violations of the law banning gifts to public officials. Under current law, the commission must prove the gift was given to influence an official act. Most other states, she said, do not require that link.
Nober was among about a dozen people testifying at the first and only public hearing of Governor Deval Patrick's public integrity task force, which is expected to produce recommendations for strengthening state laws to combat corruption and scandals in local and state government.
The governor formed the 12-member task force earlier this month after a major corruption scandal and a series of ethics controversies roiled the State House, including the arrest of Senator Dianne Wilkerson on federal bribery charges and the investigation by several agencies into large payments made to friends and business associates of House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi. The task force is scheduled to present the governor with recommended new laws by the first week in January, when the Legislature opens its next session.
Ben Clements, Patrick's chief legal counsel and head of the task force, called the hearing to order with a short speech declaring, "The great majority of our public officials . . . are honorable public servants who do their jobs the right way.
"But when the small few do betray the public trust, it casts a shadow on the rest of government and it undermines the ability of government to operate effectively," he said.
But public deliberations of the task force are not in the offing. After yesterday's hearing about making government more transparent with disclosure rules and better enforcement powers, the rest of the deliberations would be conducted in private, said a spokesman for the governor.
"It is important that task force members have the opportunity to engage in open and frank discussion on a wide range of proposals," said the spokesman, Kyle Sullivan. "Some of these proposals may require consideration of matters that are confidential in nature."
Shirley Kressel, a Boston neighborhood activist, said corruption is rampant and called on the panel to hold its deliberations in public.
"I think we should establish it's not a problem of a few rotten apples," she said. "The public perception of the problem is that it is business is usual."
While some members of the public railed against corrupt courts and crooked politicians, few of those testifying offered specific ways to tighten the rules.
"What is happening today is nothing different than what was happening 43 years ago, " said H. Thomas Colo, who served as a state representative from Athol from 1965 to 1978. "It is happening because state government doesn't instill ethics and integrity."
Michael Sullivan, director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, suggested changing campaign finance laws so that large donations made close to elections are reported within 24 hours.
He also recommended that candidates be required to disclose payments made from campaign funds to "subvendors."
The limitation of existing law became clear this year when House majority leader John H. Rogers was found to have paid a consultant, who was his former law partner, $196,000. An investigation showed some of that money went to a consultant who made mortgage payments on a summer home owned by Rogers and his wife. Rogers maintained that the consultant also owned the home, although that assertion is not supported by the deed.
State Representative Jennifer Callahan, a Sutton Democrat, offered a number of proposals, including a bill that would ban lobbyists from contributing to political campaigns or paying for trips or conferences attended by lawmakers. She also wants to mandate ethics training for lawmakers every two years.
Callahan alleged earlier this year that she was threatened by supporters of House Ways and Means Committee chairman Robert A. DeLeo because she had not committed to back his bid to become the next speaker.
"Repeated headlines of corruption have undermined the ethical foundation necessary for good and trustworthy government," she said. 