HomeMy WebLinkAbout547 PantoSalvatore J. Panto, Jr.
702 Cattell Street
Easton, PA 18042
Re: 86 -150 -C
Dear Mr. Panto:
STATE ETHICS COMMISSION
308 FINANCE BUILDING
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120
ORDER OF THE COMMISSION
Order No. 547
DECIDED N 3 0 1987
MAILED 87
The 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 follows:
I. Allegation: That you, Mayor of the City of Easton, violated Section 3(a)
of the Ethics Act which prohibits a public employee's or public official's use
of office to obtain financial gain and Section 3(d) which covers other areas
of possible conflict pursuant to Section 7(9), in that you used your office to
promote your re- election campaign by sending out invitations to attend the
First Annual Mayor's Ball without disclosing that the proceeds would be used
by your re- election committee and by listing the telephone number of your
office on said invitation as a contact place.
A. Findings:
1. You serve as the elected Mayor for the City of Easton.
a. You have served in this elected office since January, 1984.
2. During August, 1986, you mailed invitations to a number of individuals
regarding the First Annual Mayor's Ball.
Salvatore J. Panto, Jr.
Page 2
3. The invitation provided as follows:
THE HONORABLE SALVATORE J. PANTO, JR.
takes pleasure in inviting you and your guests
to attend the
FIRST ANNUAL MAYOR'S BALL_
on Saturday, the twentieth of September
Nineteen hundred and eighty -six
at eight- thirty o'clock
at the
HISTORIC HOTEL EASTON
Tickets - Twenty dollars Hors d'oeuvres
R.s.v.p. 250 -6610 Dessert and Coffee
Cash Bar
4. Telephone Number 250 -6610 is the registered telephone number for the
Easton Mayor's Office.
5. Individuals who contacted the above telephone number in order to respond
to the invitations were advised to make their checks payable to the Committee
to Re -elect Mayor Salvator Panto, Jr.
6. The individuals receiving the responses to the invitations that had been
mailed were employees of Easton City.
7. You stated that the original intent of the Mayor's Ball was not to be a
major fund raiser for your upcoming re- election.
a. You did advise that if any monies were left over, such funds would be
deposited to the use of the Committee to Re -elect Mayor Salvatore
Panto, Jr.
Salvatore J. Panto, Jr.
Page 3
8. The invitation that was forwarded to the individuals in the Easton
vicinity did not indicate that the Mayor's Ball would be an election campaign
fund - raiser and made no reference to the fact that any proceeds from this
function would be used for your re- election campaign.
9. After several citizens objected to the use of your office telephone number
on a campaign related mailing, you forwarded subsequent mailings to the
individuals who had received the invitations.
a. This subsequent mailing indicated that the Committee to Re -elect
Mayor Salvatore Panto, Jr. wished to clarify the fact that the
First Annual Mayor's Ball would benefit the Mayor's re- election
campaign.
10. On two days in August, you also advertised the Mayor's Ball in a local
news publication.
a. That advertisement was in the form of an invitation which indicated
that the proceeds from the Mayor's Ball would benefit the Mayor's
re- election campaign
11. You stated that your mailing of the invitation to the Mayor's Ball using
the telephone number of the Mayor's Office as a contact point was an
inadvertent mistake and once you realized this mistake, you started a_ process
to correct the situation.
B. Discussion: As an elected Mayor in the City of Easton, you are clearly a
public official as that term is defined in the State Ethics Act. 65 P.S.
§402. As such, you conduct must _conform to the requirements of the State
Ethics Act. Rosenfeld, 82 -010. The Ethics Act provides as follows:
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).
Within the above provision of law, no public official may use his public
position in order to obtain any financial gain for himself or a member of his
immediate family or a business with which he is associated. Under the above
provision of law, this Commission has previously determined that a public
Salvatore J. Panto, Jr.
Page 4
official may not use his public office in support of his own election campaign
or in support of the election campaign of members of his immediate family.
This would include the use of his district office, public facilities,
materials, supplies, or personnel in support of such campaign. In this
respect, the Ethics Commission has made various interpretations of the State
Ethics Act regarding such situations. The Commission has held that a public
official may not use his Commonwealth telephone as a contact point for
fund - raising activities or for election campaign activities or other related
personal financial endeavors. See Street, 81 -005; Dorance, 456. Similarly, a
public official may not use the public office mailing systems and postage
meters for dissemination of election or other campaign materials. Rappaport,
126; McClatchy, 130. An elected official may not use his office location in
order to conduct campaign activities. Cessar, 82 -002. As a result of the
aforementioned opinions and orders, the Commission has more recently, in Fee,
86 -542, enumerated those activities which would be prohibited and those
activities which would not be prohibited under Section 3(a) of the State
Ethics Act. These activities are as follows:
1. Use of a seal and your official title is permitted.
2. All stationery containing the aforementioned items should set forth a
disclaimer indicating that the stationery is not official stationery
and has been paid for with private funds.
3. You may not use the address of the public office, or your public
phone number as contact points.
4. The purchase of the stationery in support of a campaign should not be
made through your governmental body and you may not take advantage of
any special rates accorded to that body by any printing company for
the purchase of official supplies.
5. You may not use official mail or postage for dissemination of this
material.
6. Finally, the content of the letter should not indicate or leave the
impression that the letter is an official governmental document or
part of your official function.
In the instant situation, it is clear that you forwarded, through the
mails, an invitation to the Annual Mayor's Ball. The contact point for
responding to this function is the telephone number of the Mayor's Office.
The Mayor's staff, public employees, responded to various inquiries made when
contacted at that number. In this respect, there is no doubt and there is no
Salvatore J. Panto, Jr.
Page 5
contest to the fact that this invitation was indeed mailed and the use of your
office occurred in this manner. The content of the original mailing appeared
to be related to an official function rather than a campaign fund raiser. You
also have admitted that the proceeds, if Eny from the Mayor's Ball, would be
utilized in aid of your re- election ?fforts. The use of your telephone number
and your office, in this respect, is clearly not in accord with the prior
decisions of this Commission. Thus, we believe that your actions did, in
fact, violate the provisions of the State Ethics Act.
We do note, however, that upon further reflection in this matter, you did
take immediate steps to rectify this situation. An equal number of
invitations were mailed clarifying that the Mayor's Ball was going to L nefit
your re- election campaign. You additionally ran advertisements in the local
newspapers. Because of the factors outlined above, however, we will take no
further action in this matter.
C. Conclusion: Your use of the Mayor's Office telephone number and personnel
as a co ntact
point for arranging a re- election funding benefit was in
violation of the State Ethics Act. As noted previously, we will take no
further action in this matter.
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 End 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. S 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.
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).
By the Commission,
-cl .L aka
G, Sieber Pancoast
Chairman