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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1503 GreenIn Re: John Green, Respondent File Docket: X -ref: Date Decided: Date Mailed: Before: Louis W. Fryman, Chair John J. Bolger, Vice Chair Donald M. McCurdy Paul M. Henry Raquel K. Bergen Nicholas A. Colafella 08 -024 Order No. 1503 3/12/09 3/27/09 This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission. Procedurally, the Investigative Division of the State Ethics Commission conducted an investigation regarding possible violation(s) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., by the above -named Respondent. At the commencement of its investigation, the Investigative Division served upon Respondent written notice of the specific allegation(s). Upon completion of its investigation, the Investigative Division issued and served upon Respondent a Findings Report identified as an "Investigative Complaint." An Answer was filed and a hearing was requested by the Investigative Division. A Stipulation of Findings and a Consent Agreement waiving an evidentiary hearing were subsequently submitted by the parties to the Commission for consideration. The Stipulated Findings are set forth as the Findings in this Order. The Consent Agreement has been approved. This adjudication of the State Ethics Commission is issued under the Ethics Act and will be made available as a public document thirty days after the mailing date noted above. However, reconsideration may be requested. Any reconsideration request must be received at this Commission within thirty days of the mailing date and must include a detailed explanation of the reasons as to why reconsideration should be granted in conformity with 51 Pa. Code § 21.29(b). A request for reconsideration will not affect the finality of this adjudication but will defer its public release pending action on the request by the Commission. The files in this case will remain confidential in accordance with the Ethics Act. Green, 08 -024 Page 2 I. ALLEGATION: That John Green, a public official /public employee in his capacity as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Penn -Delco School District, Delaware County, violated Section 1104(a) of the State Ethics Act (Act 93 of 1998), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a), when he failed to file Statements of Financial Interests for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years and subsequently submitted backdated forms for those years to give the appearance that the forms were timely filed. II. FINDINGS: 1. John Green served as a member of the Penn -Delco Board of School Directors from December 6, 1999, until October 24, 2007. a. Privately, Green has been employed by Temp Air since approximately December 2003. 2. Green, in his official capacity as a member of the Penn -Delco Board of School Directors, was annually required to file a Statement of Financial Interest form by May 1, containing information for the prior calendar year. 3. The Penn -Delco School District is annually provided blank Statement of Financial Interests forms for completion by District Officials and employees, by the State Ethics Commission. 4. The Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission contracts the printing of Statement of Financial Interests annually. a. The State Ethics Commission contracted with Digital Ink Printing Company annually since 2000. b. Orders for forms are placed with the printers in December of the preceding year. c. Forms are received by the Administrative Division of the State Ethics Commission the December before the January of the filing year. d. Forms are then bulk mailed to each municipality in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 5. Statement of Financial Interests forms were annually mailed to the Penn -Delco School District in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. a. In 2003, blank forms, SEC -1, Rev. 1/04 were mass mailed to all municipalities in the Commonwealth, including the Penn -Delco School District on December 5, 2003. b. In 2004, blank forms, SEC -1, Rev. 1/05 were mass mailed to all municipalities in the Commonwealth, including the Penn -Delco School District on December 17, 2004. c. In 2005, blank forms, SEC -1, Rev. 1/06 were mass mailed to all municipalities in the Commonwealth, including the Penn -Delco School District on December 20, 2005. d. In 2006, blank forms, SEC -1, Rev. 1/07 were mass mailed to all municipalities in the Commonwealth, including the Penn -Delco School Green, 08 -024 Page 3 District on December 22, 2006. e. In 2008, blank forms, SEC -1, Rev. 1/08 were mass mailed to all municipalities in the Commonwealth, including the Penn -Delco School District on January 3, 2008, January 7, 2008, and January 14, 2008. 6. Blank Statement of Financial Interests forms were mailed to the Penn -Delco School District in December or January of each year for distribution on or before January of the filing year. 7 Each year when forms are printed a form indication number is listed in the upper left hand corner of the form. a. Forms printed in 2003 contained an identification number of SEC -1, Rev. 1/04 while forms printed in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 contained identification numbers of SEC -1, Rev. 1/05; SEC -1, Rev. 1/06; SEC -1, Rev. 1/07; and SEC -1, Rev. 1/08 respectively. 8. Fran Closs, Secretary to John Steffy, the District's Chief Financial Officer, is responsible for the distribution and maintenance of Statement of Financial Interests forms. a. Closs would provide blank Statement of Financial Interests forms for School Board Members to complete in their meeting packets. b. For District employees, Closs would provide blank forms for completion via interoffice mail. 9. Green, as a Penn -Delco School Board Member, was provided by the School District with blank Statement of Financial Interests forms for completion. a. b. Green was to submit completed forms to Closs for records retention purposes. Green purports that on occasion, the School District did not provide him with a form to complete; nonetheless, Green acknowledges that it is his duty and responsibility as a public official /public employee to see that he filed an annual Statement of Financial Interests form, regardless of whether or not the School District provided him with a form. 10. Green filed Statement of Financial Interests Forms with the Penn -Delco School District for calendar years 2003, 2007, and 2008. 11. Green did not file Statements of Financial Interests with the District for the 2004 calendar year by May 1, 2005, and the 2005 calendar year by May 1, 2006. 12. In or about March 2007, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office requested copies of Statement of Financial Interests forms filed by Board Member Keith Crego and Superintendent Leslye Abrutyn pursuant to a criminal investigation unrelated to Green. a. This request was made to Penn -Delco School District Solicitor Mark Sereni, Esquire. b. Solicitor Sereni forwarded the request to John Steffy, the District's Chief Financial Officer to process. Green, 08 -024 Page 4 13. Steffy reviewed Penn -Delco School District files under his overall control in March of 2007 and determined that Board Member John Green failed to file Statements of Financial Interests by May 1, 2005, and May 1, 2006, for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years respectively. a. Other officials were identified as also not having forms on file including: 1. Board Member Gina Orr failed to file a Statement of Financial Interests by May 1, 2006, for calendar year 2005. 2. Steffy failed to file a Statement of Financial Interests by May 1, 2006, for calendar year 2005. 3. John W. Bondrowski, the District's Director of Auxiliary Services, also failed to file a Statement of Financial Interests by May 1, 2006, for calendar year 2005. 14. After determining that Statements of Financial Interests had not been filed by Green and other District Officials, Steffy directed Fran Closs to contact the State Ethics Commission to inquire how to handle the matter. a. Closs informed Steffy that the forms should be filed using a current form. b. In March of 2007, the current Statement of Financial Interests form had a revision date for identification purposes of SEC 1, Rev. 1/07. c. Closs did not advise Steffy that it was permissible to back date any Statement of Financial Interests forms. d. Closs was a subordinate employee of Steffy's at all times relevant to the investigation of this matter. 15. Green was provided with blank Statement of Financial Interests forms with a revision date of SEC -1, Rev. 1/07, by Fran Closs. Green's forms filed in March of 2007 included the following: Calendar Year: 2005 Filed: 1/31/06 on SEC 1/07 Position: School Director Creditors: Drive Financial, no rate listed Direct /indirect income: Temp Air All other financial interests: None Calendar Year: 2004 Filed: 02/01/05 on SEC 1/07 Position: School Director Creditors: Drive Financial, no rate listed Direct /indirect income: Temp Air All other financial interests: None 16. The Statement of Financial Interests form filed by Green for calendar year 2004, listing a date of February 1, 2005, was filed on form SEC -1, Rev. 1/07. a. Form SEC -1, Rev. 1/07, was not printed until December 2006, and distributed to school districts until on or about December 22, 2006. b. Green's filing for 2004 was dated February 1, 2005, which was Green, 08 -024 Page 5 approximately twenty -two (22) months prior to the form being available for completion. 1. Blank Statement of Financial Interests forms SEC -1, Rev. 1/07, were distributed by the State Ethics Commission on December 22, 2006. 17. In or about March 2007, Green filed a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2005 on a Statement of Financial Interests form with a revision date of SEC -1, Rev. 1/07. a. Blank Statement of Financial Interests forms with a revision date of SEC -1, Rev. 1/07 were not distributed to the Penn -Delco School District until December 22, 2006. b. Green's filing for 2005 was dated January 31, 2006, which was approximately eleven (11) months prior to the form being available for completion. 1. Statement of Financial Interests forms SEC -1, Rev. 1/07, were distributed on or about December 22, 2006. 18. Prior to providing Green with Statement of Financial Interests form SEC -1, Rev. 1/07, Steffy directed his assistant, Fran Closs to fill in the required date information for block 7 of the form to reflect the calendar year for which the form was to be filed. a. Steffy also directed Closs to backdate the forms to give the impression that forms were timely filed in calendar year 2005 and 2006. 19. At the time he completed Statement of Financial Interests forms for calendar years 2004 and 2005, Green knew, or at least had reason to believe, that the forms were backdated. a. Forms for both years were backdated at the time Green affixed his signature. 1. The Statement of Financial Interests form for calendar year 2004 was backdated to February 1, 2005. 2. The Statement of Financial Interests form for calendar year 2005 was backdated to January 31, 2006. 20. On October 15, 2007, Steffy sent a memo to Detective Thomas Worrilow of the Delaware County District Attorney's Office. The basis for the letter was for Steffy to explain the circumstance which resulted in the backdating of Statement of Financial Interests Forms by various officials of the Penn -Delco School District. Steffy provided Worrilow with the following explanation: "My secretary sends out each year the blank statement of financial interests to all administrators and Board Members. In March of 2007 we received from Mark Sereni's office notification that your office was requesting copies of these statements for Keith Crego and Dr. Leslye Abrutyn. I asked Fran (my secretary) to do a spreadsheet for all years and for all employees and Board Members. There were a number of employees and Board Members with either missing or incomplete forms. I also had not filed for one of the years. For anyone who had not completely filled out their form, I directed Fran to send them back their form to complete any omitted sections. We also had a few blank forms for prior years but not enough to send to everyone who was missing a form for that particular year. Dr. Abrutyn also Green, 08 -024 Page 6 wanted a blank form to redo her incomplete form. I told her she could just fill out the missing sections and resubmit but she wanted a new form as well. I asked Fran to contact the state (I believe it was at the phone number at the top of the Financial Interest Statements) to get forms for the years that were missing. The person she spoke to at the state told her that we should just utilize the current year form and that it was not necessary to use an old form. We had blank forms for some of the years in question but not enough for everyone so the new forms were sent out to everyone. Two Board Members had questions on the forms in terms of the date to put in and left the year blank. I directed my secretary to put the year in for Gina Orr and John Green. I told her to put in the year because there were questions and rumors going around regarding ownership interests in Quickstart. I told her that I wanted it to be clear that at the time indicated that the Board members in question did not own any interests in Quickstart. I also dated my own form in this fashion. I also want to state that I believe the purpose and intent of the forms was to determine whether or not a conflict of interest exists or existed at the time a board Member served or during the time an employee was employed. I wanted it to be clear on my form that at that date and time I did not have any interest in Quickstart, past, present or future and that I had not recently sold any interest in this company. If I knew that this would be an issue I would simply have put the date that I had signed on but as I stated earlier I believed that the sole intent of this form was to determine if a conflict existed during the time period in question. In retrospect, maybe I should have put two dates on, one that applied to the time period in question and one for the date that the form was actually signed. I also would like to state that we did have old forms (we still have them) but not enough form [sic] everyone. If I wanted to conceal when I signed, I would have simply utilized one of the old forms for myself. I would also like to state again that the 2 Board members in question did not put the years in but it was my secretary who put in the year under my instructions. There was no reason to date the form as I did other than to show my interests at that point in time. I would also like to add that our IT Director is checking our phone Togs to see how far they go back to see if we can obtain documentation of the phone call to the Ethics Commission via our computer backup system. 21. During calendar years 2004 and 2005, when he did not file Statement of Financial Interests forms, Green's employer, Temp Air, was engaged in a business relationship with Penn -Delco School District. a. No -bid contracts were entered into between Penn -Delco and Temp Air in 2004 and 2005 totaling the following amounts: 1. 2004: $10,532.00 2. 2005: $ 7,484.00 b. Green participated in Board actions to approve payments to Temp Air in 2004 and 2005, and did not publicly disclose his employment by Temp Air either on Statements of Financial Interests filed for those years or during public Board meetings. c. Green's employment with Temp Air was not made public by his failure to timely file Statements of Financial Interests which would have disclosed his affiliation with Temp Air at the time he was voting to approve payments to Temp Air. 22. Green admitted to an Investigator for the State Ethics Commission that he did not timely file Statement of Financial Interests forms for calendar years 2004 or 2005. Green, 08 -024 Page 7 a. Green admitted completing and signing Statement of Financial Interests forms for calendar years 2004 and 2005 on blank Statement of Financial Interests forms with a revision date of SEC -1, Rev. 1/07. b. Green asserts that the calendar year (box 7) and date filed at the bottom of the forms were completed by either Steffy or Closs. c. Green admitted being aware that the actual date that the forms were completed was not reflected on the forms. III. DISCUSSION: As a Member of the Penn -Delco School District ( "School District ") Board of Directors ( "School Board ") from December 6, 1999, until October 24, 2007, Respondent John Green (hereinafter also referred to as "Respondent," "Respondent Green," or "Green ") has been a public official subject to the provisions of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq. The allegations are that Green violated Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act when he failed to file Statements of Financial Interests ( "SFIs ") for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years and subsequently submitted backdated forms to give the appearance that they were timely filed. Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act provides that each public official /public employee must file SFIs for the preceding calendar year, each year that he holds the position and the year after he leaves it. As noted above, the parties have submitted a Consent Agreement and Stipulation of Findings. The parties' Stipulated Findings are set forth above as the Findings of this Commission. We shall now summarize the relevant facts as contained therein. Green served as a member of the School District School Board from December 6, 1999, until October 24, 2007. Pursuant to Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act, Green, in his capacity as a School Director with the School District, was required to annually file an SFI by May 1 containing information for the prior calendar year. The State Ethics Commission annually contracts for the printing of SFI forms. The SFI forms printed in a particular year are marked with a specific revision date in the upper left hand corner. The State Ethics Commission receives blank forms from the printer each December and then mails the blank forms to municipalities and school districts in the Commonwealth, including the School District, for distribution in or before January of the filing year. Fran Closs ( "Closs "), Secretary to John Steffy ( "Steffy "), the School District's Chief Financial Officer, distributes SFI forms to School District School Board Members and School District employees for completion, and also maintains such completed forms. Green was provided with blank SFI forms, and was to submit completed forms to Closs for records retention purposes. Green purports that on occasion, the School District did not provide him with a form to complete; nonetheless, Green acknowledges that it was his duty and responsibility as a public official to file an annual SFI. Around March 2007, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office made a request to the School District Solicitor, Mark Sereni, Esquire, for copies of SFI forms filed by Keith Crego, a School Board Member, and Leslye Abrutyn, the School District Superintendent. This request was forwarded to Steffy. Green, 08 -024 Page 8 Steffy reviewed School District files under his overall control in March 2007, and he determined that a number of School District officials or employees, including Green, had not filed SFIs for calendar years 2004 or 2005. In particular, Green did not file SFIs with the School District for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years by May 1, 2005, and May 1, 2006, respectively. After determining that SFIs had not been filed, Steffy directed Closs to contact this Commission to inquire as to how to handle the matter. Closs informed Steffy that the SFIs should be filed using current forms. In March 2007, the current SFI form had a revision date of SEC -1, Rev. 1/07. Prior to providing Green with SFI form SEC -1, Rev. 1/07, Steffy directed his assistant, Fran Closs to fill in the required date information for block 7 of the form to reflect the calendar year for which the form was to be filed. Steffy also directed Closs to backdate the forms to give the impression that forms were timely filed in calendar year 2005 and 2006. Green subsequently filed his SFIs for the 2004 and 2005 calendar year on forms with a revision date of SEC -1, Rev. 1/07. Green signed and submitted the forms which were dated February 1, 2005, and January 31, 2006, respectively. However, blank SFIs with a revision date of SEC -1, Rev. 1/07 were not available to the School District until after December 22, 2006, the date that this Commission mass mailed blank SFIs with such revision date to school districts in the Commonwealth, including the School District. At the time he completed SFIs for calendar years 2004 and 2005, Green knew, or at least had reason to believe, that the forms were backdated. Both forms were backdated at the time Green signed them. Green has stated that while the date filed at the bottom of the forms was completed by Steffy or Closs, he was aware that the actual date of completion of the forms was not reflected on the forms. In his private capacity, Green has been employed by "Temp Air" since approximately December 2003. As set forth in the Stipulated Findings, during calendar years 2004 and 2005, Temp Air was engaged in a business relationship with the School District. No -bid contracts were entered into by the School District and Temp Air totaling $10,532.00 in 2004 and $7,484.00 in 2005. Green participated in Board actions to approve payments to Temp Air in 2004 and 2005, during which time Green's employment with Temp Air was not made public due to his failure to either timely file SFIs for those years or to disclose such employment during public meetings of the School Board. Having highlighted the Stipulated Findings and issues before us, we shall now apply the Ethics Act to determine the proper disposition of this case. The parties' Consent Agreement sets forth a proposed resolution of the allegations as follows: 3. The Investigative Division will recommend the following in relation to the above allegations: a. That a violation of Section 1104(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a) occurred in relation to Green not filing Statements of Financial Interests for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years and subsequently submitting backdated forms for those years, giving the appearance that the forms were timely filed. 4. Green agrees to make payment in the amount of $500.00 in settlement of this matter payable to the Commonwealth of Green, 08 -024 Page 9 Pennsylvania and forwarded to the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the final adjudication in this matter. 5. Green agrees to file accurate and complete Statements of Financial Interests in each municipality identified herein if such has not already been [done], within thirty (30) days of the date of the issuance of the final adjudication of the matter. Copies of such forms must also be forwarded to the State Ethics Commission. 6. The Investigative Division will recommend that the State Ethics Commission take no further action in this matter; and make no specific recommendations to any law enforcement or other authority to take action in this matter. Such, however, does not prohibit the Commission from initiating appropriate enforcement actions in the event of Respondent's failure to comply with this agreement or the Commission's order or cooperating with any other authority who may so choose to review this matter further. Consent Agreement, at 1 -2. In considering the Consent Agreement, we agree with the parties' recommendation for a finding of a violation of Section 1104(a). Green, in his capacity as a School Director with the School District, was required to annually file an SFI by May 1 containing information for the prior calendar year. Green failed to file SFIs by May 1, 2005, and May 1, 2006, containing information for calendar years 2004 and 2005. See, Fact Finding 11. Per the Stipulated Fact Findings, after it was determined in March 2007 that Green had not filed SFIs for calendar years 2004 and 2005, he filed SFIs for the aforementioned years, which were backdated to represent that they were filed on February 1, 2005, and January 31, 2006, respectively. Accordingly, we hold that a violation of Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act occurred in relation to Green's failure to file with the School District SFIs for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years by May 1, 2005, and May 1, 2006, respectively, and his subsequent submission of backdated forms for those years giving the appearance that the forms were timely filed. Cf., Dombrowski, Order 1444; Nagele, Order 1403; Hoover, Order 1402. As part of the Consent Agreement, Green has agreed to make payment in the amount of $500.00 in settlement of this matter payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and forwarded to this Commission within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the final adjudication in this matter. Green has also agreed to file accurate and complete SFIs with the School District, if such has not already been done, within thirty (30) days of the date of the issuance of the final adjudication in this matter, and to provide copies of such filings to this Commission. We determine that the Consent Agreement submitted by the parties sets forth the proper disposition for this case, based upon our review as reflected in the above analysis and the totality of the facts and circumstances. Accordingly, per the Consent Agreement, Green is directed to make payment in the amount of $500.00 payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and forwarded to this Commission by no later than the thirtieth (30 day after the mailing date of this adjudication and Order. To the extent he has not already done so, Green is further directed to file with the School District accurate and complete SFIs for calendar years 2004 and 2005 by no later than the thirtieth (30 day after the mailing date of this adjudication Green, 08 -024 Page 10 and Order, and to provide copies of such filings to this Commission for compliance verification purposes. Compliance with the foregoing will result in the closing of this case with no further action by this Commission. Noncompliance will result in the institution of an order enforcement action. IV. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: 1. As a Member of the Penn -Delco School District ( "School District ") Board of Directors from December 6, 1999, until October 24, 2007, Respondent John Green ( "Green ") has been a public official subject to the provisions of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq. 2. A violation of Section 1104(a) of the Ethics Act occurred in relation to Green's failure to file with the School District Statements of Financial Interests for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years by May 1, 2005, and May 1, 2006, respectively, and his subsequent submission of backdated forms for those years giving the appearance that the forms were timely filed. In Re: John Green, Respondent ORDER NO. 1503 File Docket: 08 -024 Date Decided: 3/12/09 Date Mailed: 3/27/09 1 A violation of Section 1104(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a), occurred in relation to the failure of John Green ( "Green "), as a Member of the Penn -Delco School District ( "School District ") Board of Directors, to file with the School District Statements of Financial Interests ( "SFIs ") for the 2004 and 2005 calendar years by May 1, 2005, and May 1, 2006, respectively, and his subsequent submission of backdated forms for those years giving the appearance that the forms were timely filed. 2. Per the Consent Agreement of the parties, Green is directed to make payment in the amount of $500.00 payable to the Commonwealth of Pepnsylvania and forwarded to this Commission by no later than the thirtieth (30 day after the mailing date of this Order. 3. To the extent he has not already done so, Green is directed to file with the School District accurate and complete SFIs for calendar years 2004 and 2005 by no later than the thirtieth (30 day after the mailing date of this Order, and to provide copies of such filings to this Commission for compliance verification purposes. 4. Compliance with Paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Order will result in the closing of this case with no further action by this Commission. a. Non - compliance will result in the institution of an order enforcement action. BY THE COMMISSION, Louis W. Fryman, Chair