Ethics Charges as a Beginning
Ethics charges are often not the end, but rather the beginning of a
process to improve government ethics. Take a recent instance in Los
Angeles.<br>
<br>
According to a <a href="http://www.presstelegram.com/crime/ci_14802716" target="”_blank”">City
News Service article last week</a>, a construction director for the Los
Angeles Unified School District "was charged with nine felony counts of
conflict of interest for allegedly hiring people he employed in his own
business to work for the district." He and two others were accused of
creating a corporation to "profit from the hiring of construction
management personnel." The director allegedly recommended that the
school district hire his employees, and he failed to disclose the
conflict. In addition, the director's company received a kickback from
salaries paid to its employees when they worked on school district
construction projects.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14810464" target="”_blank”">an
Associated Press article</a>, the L.A. controller will begin an
investigation into school district construction practices. It is rare
that only one manager in an agency is misusing his office.<br>
<br>
Not only should government officials responsibly handle conflicts, but
they should also responsibly handle the discovery of unethical and
criminal activity, recognizing that it may not be an isolated instance.
If the filing of an ethics complaint or, in this case, charges against
one manager is correctly seen as a sign of a poor ethics environment,
the ethics environment can be investigated and radically changed.<br>
<br>
By the way, this case also shows that conflicts can be a modus
operandi. Seven years ago, the construction director's business partner
was fired by the school district due to a failure to deal responsibly with a conflict of interest.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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