Panel hits ex-Pike chief over sick pay; Amorello could face fine at ethics hearing

[Eugene]

Source: Boston Globe

Panel hits ex-Pike chief over sick pay
Amorello could face fine at ethics hearing

By Andrea Estes
Globe Staff / November 6, 2007

The state Ethics Commission charged yesterday that
the former Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman,
Matthew J. Amorello, violated state law last year by
sweetening the agency's sick leave policy just before he
was forced to resign, potentially enriching himself and
other departing aides with tens of thousands of dollars
in added benefits.

Amorello violated the state's conflict of interest law by
making a policy change that would personally benefit him
and his close associates, the commission said in a five-
page order. Amorello also used his position to secure
"an unwarranted privilege . . . of substantial value,"
the order said.

Under the policy the chairman put in place the day before
he agreed to resign on July 27, 2006, he is entitled to
about $75,000 for more than 600 hours of unused sick
leave, the ethics commission said. He has not requested
the money.

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Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/06/panel_hits_ex_pike_chief_over_sick_pay