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HomeMy WebLinkAbout251 BarbushMr. Charles G. Barbush 82 Peters Mountain Road Dauphin, PA 17018 RE: #83 -112 -C Dear Mr. Barbush: STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 ORDER OF THE COMMISSION January 12, 1984 Order No. 251 The State Ethics Commission has reviewed the possibility that you have violated the State Ethics Act, Act 170 -1978. The nature of the alleged violation is as follows: I. Allegation: That as a public employee, you failed to file a Financial Interest Statement for calendar year 1980 by May 1, 1981, as required by the State Ethics Act. A. Findings: 1. An audit of the Financial Interest Statements for calendar year 1980 required to be filed by May 1, 1981, in the Department of General Services was conducted by the State Ethics Commission. Your statement of financial .interest was not on file. 2. You served as an Automotive Equipment Supervisor I in the Department of General Services during the calendar year 1980. a. You resigned or left this position on May 29, 1980. b. You were a public employee as that term is used in the Ethics Act and upon leaving your position became a former public employee and as such are subject to the act. 3. A letter was mailed to you by the Executive Director of the State Ethics Commission, Edward M. Seladones. a. This letter was dated November 18, 1982. Mr. Charles G. Rarbush January 12, 1984 Page 2 b. This letter was mailed to you at 227 North 40 Street, Apt. 101, Harrisburg, PA 17111. c. This letter was mailed regular mail first class. d. We received no response to this letter. 4. A second letter was addressed to you by the Executive Director of the State Ethics Commission, Edward M. Seladones. a. This letter was dated December 29, 1982. b. This letter was mailed to you at the address of 227 North 40 Street, Apt. 101, Harrisburg, PA 17111 and forwarded to you at 46 Sycamore Lane, Palmyra, PA 17078. c. This letter was mailed certified, return receipt requested, No. 0038649. This letter was refused after the Post Office attempted delivery on December 31, 1982. 5. Another letter was sent to you by the Executive Director of the State Ethics Commission, Edward M. Seladones. a. This letter was dated February 1, 1983. b. This letter was mailed to you at the address of 46 Sycamore Lane, Palmyra, PA 17078. c. This letter was mailed certified, return receipt requested, No. P230018461. d. We received no response to this letter. The Post Office attempted delivery to you on February 2, February 9, and February 18, 1983. The Post Office returned this letter to our office marked "Unclaimed ". 6. A fourth letter was addressed to you by the Executive Director of the State Ethics Commission, Edward M. Seladones. a. This letter was dated May 6, 1983. b. This letter was mailed to you at the address of 46 Sycamore Lane, Palmyra, PA 17078. c. This letter was mailed by both regular mail and certified, return receipt requested, No. P195254901. Mr. Charles G. Barbush January 12, 1984 Page 3 d. We received no response to this letter. The Post Office did not return the regular first class piece of mail. The certified letter came hack marked "Unclaimed" after the Post Office had attempted delivery on May 10, May 17 and May 26, 1983. While we accept your explanation for not filing, we cannot understand your apparent disregard of our official correspondence. This situation could have been resolved with less expenditure of time and money if you had accepted our initial letter. We strongly urge you to be more attentive to official matters in the future. 7. We had not received the required Financial Interest Statement as of November 1, 1983, although we have received the required Financial Interest Statement as of November 3, 1983. a. Based upon the above, we issued an Order on November 1, 1983, regarding your filing and you requested reconsideration of same, which was granted. b. In said Petition for Reconsideration you indicated you had not filed a form because your "Director" in the Department of General Services said you were not required to do so. You also stated you were never officially appointed to the Automotive Equipment Supervisor II position and never filed a form while you were an employee of the Department of General Services. B. Discussion: Section 4. Statement of financial interests required to be filed. (a) Each public employee employed by the Commonwealth shall file a statement of financial interest for the preceding calendar year with the department, agency or bureau in which he is employed no later than May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such a position. Any other public employee shall file a statement of finaicial interests with the governing authority of the political subdivision by which he is employed no later than May 1 of each year that he holds such a position and of the year after he leaves such a position. 65 P.S. 404(a). If Mr. Charles G. Barbush January 12, 1984 Page 4 While you did not file a Statement of Financial Interest by May 1, 1981, the required filing date, you have now filed the form. You have also explained that you had not filed previously because you were told that you were not required to file and had never filed a form while an employee of the Department of General Services. You did not intentionally ignore the filing requirement. In addition, we have reviewed your Financial Interest Statement and find no reasonable basis to believe that your failure to file allowed you to benefit in any way. C. Conclusion: While you violated the Ethics Act and State Ethics Commission regulations by not filing a Financial Interest Statement with the State Ethics Commission as set forth above, you have now filed the required F.I.S. and have provided an adequate reason for failing to do so. Thus, we decline to refer this matter to the appropriate law enforcement agency for review. Our files in this case will remain confidential in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 408(a). However, this Order is now final and will be made available as a public document in accordance with 51 Pa. Code 2.38(a). Any person who violates the confidentiality of a Commission proceeding is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or be both fined and imprisoned, see 65 P.S. 409(e). cc: Dept. General Services Personnel Office EMS /alm By the Commission, Paul J. mith Chairman