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HomeMy WebLinkAbout368 HawkinsMr. Chester A. Hawkins Sheriff, Clearfield County 1904 - Rear of E. Dorey Street Ext. Clearfield, PA 16830 Re: 84 -62 -C Dear Mr. Hawkins: STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 ORDER OF THE COMMISSION March 12, 1985 Order No.368 The State Ethics Commission has received a complaint regarding you and a possible violation of Act 170 of 1978. The Commission has now completed its investigation. The individual allegations, conclusions, and findings on which those conclusions are based are as follow: I. Allegation: That as Sheriff in Clearfield County, you requested and received advances and reimbursements for per diem and expenses from the County to attend the State Sheriffs' Convention in Philadelphia, July 13, 1983 to July 16, 1983, but did not, in fact, fully attend this convention and that you split or shared similar funds obtained for the attendance of said convention by Deputy Sheriff Darlene Schultz, who did not attend this convention, in fact, thereby violating Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 403(a). Findings: 1. You serve as the Sheriff, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. You served in that capacity in 1983 and as such are subject to the requirements of the Ethics Act. Mr. Chester A. Hawkins Page 2 2. The County Code provides that: § 443. Expenses of attending members to be paid by county; time limit on meetings (a) The expenses of all authorized county officers attending the annual meetings of their associations shall be paid by the several counties out of general county funds. Each of these officers, except the county commissioners, shall be allowed for his expenses not to exceed seventy -five dollars ($75) per day for the number of days specified in subsection (b) of this section, together with mileage going to and returning from such meeting. The expense allowance shall be paid for each day not in excess of two in going to and returning from such meeting. As amended 1959, April 17, P.L. 45, § 1; 1961, Sept. 2, P.L. 1159, § 1; 1965, Dec. 22, P.L. 1179, § 1, effective first Monday of January 1966; 1974, May 9, P.L. 276, No. 79, § 1, imd. effective; 1980, Dec. 12, P.L. 1174, No. 216, § 1, imd. effective. (b) The annual meeting of the association of county commissioners, county solicitors and chief clerks shall not exceed four days, that of the district attorneys shall not exceed three days, and those of all other State associations shall not exceed three days in every case, exclusive of the time spent in traveling to and from the said meetings. 1955, Aug. 9, P.L. 323, § 443. 3. You annually attend these conventions and permit one deputy to attend each year. 4. Records in possession of then Secretary - Treasurer of the Sheriffs' Association, Joseph Bakes, confirm the following: March 12, 1985 a. The 1983 convention was scheduled from July 13, 1983, through July 16, 1983. b. The site was the Holiday Inn, 4th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. c. You did register to attend the convention and attended some of the affairs. 5. You stated that you left the convention sometime on Friday, July 15, 1983. Mr. Chester A. Hawkins Page 3 A. March 12, 1985 6. Records of the Holiday Inn, 4th and Arch Streets,f, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania confirm that you were a guest at the fac checking in on July 13, 1983 and checking out on July 15, 1983. 7. Records obtained from Clearfield County Controller?, C. Frederick Ralston, confirm the following: o ; a. Requisition dated June 23, 19,43, bearing. name, requesting $375 in expense money and $104 for mileage (5a0 i-1es at .20 per mile) to attend the Sheriffs' Conference in Philad$hia, Pennsylvania on July 13, 14, 15, and 16. Total requested - $4794: b. Check No. 41359 issued by theC1earfield minty Commissioners on July 1, 1983, in an amount of $479. Check made 1pvayabl a to Chester Hawkins. 8. You admit that you received, endorsed and cash,ect check No. 41359 (Finding 6b) and converted those funds, ,fpr youl',,;own use. : : ;r , j r : 9. You also admit that prior, to the , you, r $50 from Deputy Sheriff Darlene Schultz to be -used, to; buy a gift was to be awarded as a door prize at the convention.,,. e . a. You state that at each year's.conventior, county attending will donate a gift usually valued ,a,t,- $1-A0. and that tgifts are awarded at the convention. b. You also contributed $50 toward the purchase, of a gift. 10. In early March, 1984, you; were called to a meet by the Clearfield County Commissioners. Present were.County Commissicr,er Harry Fred Bigler, Jay Master, Tim Morgan and Comptroller C. Frederick Ralston. During that meeting you admitted that you retained, the. expense and mileage money, a. The Commissioners informed you that the ntia,tl would be investigated by the State Ethics Commission. E h. You admitted to the Commission that you /Iew.Deputy Sheriff Schultz did not attend the convention but took no action- agd her. co You told the Commission that you had attended the entire convention and had travelled to Philadelphia, in a carf_, do Gasoline expenses were paid for by credit s hard issued to the county and were in addition to the mileage rate for which, you were reimbursed. Mr. Chester A. Hawkins March 12, 1985 Page 4 11. You received a letter of official reprimand dated March 6, 1984, from the Clearfield County Commissioners citing irregularities in expense account reporting. You were ordered to make restitution to "Clearfield County subject to confirmation and acceptance of the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission." 12. The County Commissioners directed you to repay the sum of $100 to Clearfield County. a. Receipt M No. 7513 dated May 3, 1984, and signed by County Treasurer, James Laing, confirms a miscellaneous reimbursement by you in the amount of $100. Section 3. Restricted activities. (a) No public official or public employee shall use his public office or any confidential information received through his holding public office to obtain financial gain other than compensation provided by law for himself, a member of his immediate family, or a business with which he is associated. 65 P.S. 403(a). The County Code provisions are specific. It states expenses are not to exceed $75 per day and the number of days for other state associations - a phrase which would include the Sheriff's Convention - should not exceed three days while allowing (emphasis added) payment for each day not exceeding two days for traveling to and from the meeting. There is no language that would allow expenses for days when one does not attend the convention. You collected daily expense money for five days but attended only three days of the convention. While the Code allows expenses for two days of traveling, there is no evidence that you traveled on days other than July 13, and 15. It would be unreasonable to believe that the Code is intended to allow payment of $75 for a travel day and $75 for an attendance day when both (travel and attendance) occur on the same day, thereby allowing you to realize a total of $150 for one day. Therefore, you collected and retained $150 more in daily expenses than the County Code allows. The Code also allows reimbursement for mileage. However, the General Assembly could not have intended to reimburse a county officer for mileage when a county car is used and gasoline is purchased through the use of a county credit card. The Code states county officers "shall be allowed for his expenses (emphasis added): "; the use of the county's car and credit card f purerase gasoline could not be characterized as your expenses. They were county expenses. Therefore, you collected $104 for mileage reimbursement which is not allowed by the County Code. You collected a total of $254 in expenses in mileage reimbursement not allowed by the County Code and therefore violated Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act by using your office to realize this financial gain not allowed by law. Mr. Chester A. Hawkins March 12, 1985 Page 5 Penalties for violating Section 3(a) are contained in 9(a) and 9(c) which state that: Section 9. Penalties. (a) Any person who violates the provisions of Section 3(a) and (b) is guilty of a felony and shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or be both fined and imprisoned. 65 P.S. 409(a). (:) Any person who obtains financial gain from violating any provision of this act, in addition to any other penalty provided by law, shall pay into the State Treasury a sum of money equal to three times the bnancial gain resulting from such violation. 65 P.S. 409(c). The Court has confirmed the Commission's authority to assess a penalty of up to three times the amount of financial gain realized through a violation of the State Ethics Act. We believe this full penalty is appropriate under these circumstances. There are no mitigating factors. You hold a highly responsible law enforcement position which places upon you a greater responsibility to understand and uphold the law. The amount of your penalty is $762 (three times your financial gain of $254) less the $100 which you have paid to the county for a total of $662. C. Coy dclusion: You violated Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act when you realized a f nancial gain of $254 not allowed by the County Code. Within 30 days of this Order, you must submit to the State Ethics Commission, a check in the amount of $662 (three times your gain of $254 less the $100 you have already paid) payable to the Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,., We are also forwarding this Order to the appropriate law enforcement official to determine whether prosecution is warranted. 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 final and will be made available as a public document 15 days after service (defined as mailing) unless you file documentation with the Commission which justifies reconsideration and!or challenges pertinent factual findings. See 51 Pa. Code 2,38. During this 15 -day period, no one, including the Respondent unless he waives his right to challenge this Order, may violate this confidentiality by releasing, discussing or circulating this Order. Mr. Chester A. Hawkins March 12, 1985 Page 6 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 both, see 65 P.S. 409(e). EMS /na the ,si erbek`t nner Chairman Mr. Chester A. Hawkins, Sheriff Sheriff's Office - Clearfiled County Courthouse Clearfield, Pennsylvania 16830 Dear Mr. Hawkins: EMS /rdp Enclosure STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING P.O. BOX 11470 HARRISBURG, PA 1 71 08 -1 470 TELEPHONE (717) 783 -1610 July 12, 1985 I acknowledge receipt of your personal check no. 697 for $662.00 payable to the Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A copy of the Transmittal of Revenue form is enclosed. This check meets the payment requirements of the State Ethics Commission Order No. 368. Sincerely, Edward M. Seladones Executive Director