A Pattern of Behavior Investigated, Secretly, as Distinct Acts
Investigations of purported ethics violations by the Middlesex County
(MA) sheriff apparently led to his suicide on Saturday. According to <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/28/even…; target="”_blank”">a
Boston
<i>Globe</i> chronology</a>, the sheriff filed papers for retirement on
October 28, while running for re-election on November 2. His plan was
to get a pension and a salary.<br>
<br>
When interviewed about this on November 19, he defended his plan as
legal, but the next day he called the <i>Globe</i> reporter and said that he
planned to resign as sheriff and take only his pension.<br>
<br>
The day the <i>Globe</i> ran its story about the sheriff's decision, <a href="http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/undercover/sheriff-questioned-by-fo…; target="”_blank”">the
local
Fox TV affiliate ran a story</a> based on its seven-month
investigation into the sheriff's alleged pocketing of campaign
contributions (primarily, if not exclusively from employees) and use of
employees for personal purposes. According to <a href="http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/undercover/ag-eyes-middlesex-sherif…; target="”_blank”">an
article
on the Fox-25 website</a>, the state attorney general's office
immediately began an investigation of these allegations.<br>
<br>
The next day, the sheriff told the <i>Globe</i> he was being investigated by
the state ethics commission about the use of employees for campaign
purposes. He denied all allegations.<br>
<br>
Five days later, he was found dead, apparently of suicide.<br>
<br>
Here is an example of how instances of unethical conduct are usually
part of a pattern of behavior, rather than isolated instances. What
held these instances together was the involvement of the sheriff's
employees. He treated them as personal employees and, until one of them
spilled the beans to the Fox affiliate and possibly to the EC, the
employees treated him as their boss, rather than as a public servant.
There is often intimidation in such situations, which is why it is so
important for there to be a way to anonymously inform the appropriate
authorities.<br>
<br>
It's interesting how each sort of unethical conduct was treated
separately, so that no one could put the whole puzzle together. A
principal reason for this is the lack of transparency in both the
ethics process and the news media when it has a good story. For seven
months, journalists investigated instead of the ethics commission or
the attorney general. Who knows how long the EC was investigating the
matter. Nothing was done to stop the conduct.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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