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HomeMy WebLinkAbout726 CrisciMr. Raymond L. Crisci c/o Tony Panaway, Esquire 65 West Jackson Street Wilkes - Barre, PA 18702 Re: 88- 061 -C, 88 -074 -C Dear Mr. Crisci: STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 ORDER OF THE COMMISSION Order No. 726 Before: Helena G. Hughes, Chair Robert W. Brown, Vice Chair W. Thomas Andrews G. Sieber Pancoast James M. Howley Date Decided: September 26, 1989 Date Mailed: September 28, 1989 The State Ethics Commission received a complaint regarding you and a possible violation of the State Ethics Act, No. 170 of 1978, 65 P.S. 401 et. seq. You were notified in writing as to the commencement of the investigation and as to the specific allegation(s). The investigation has now been completed and a Findings Report was issued to you which constituted the Complaint by the Investigation Division of the State Ethics Commission. An Answer was filed and a hearing was deemed waived. The record is now completed. This Order of the Commission is hereby issued which sets forth the individual allegations, findings, discussion and conclusion as follows: I. Allegation: That you, a councilman for West Pittston Borough, Luzerne County, violated the following provisions of the State Ethics Act (Act 170 of 1978), when you voted to appoint yourself to a paid position on the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority: ,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 Mr. Raymond L. Crisci Page 2 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). A. Findings: 1. You served as a member of the West Pittston Borough Council. a. You had served in this position since January, 1970. 2. You also served as a member of the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority. a. You are the Representative on this Authority of West Pittston Borough. b. You have served on the authority since February, 1985. 3. Minutes of the West Pittston Borough Council meeting for February 5, 1985 indicate as follows: a. On motion by Crisci, second by Carpenter, council accepted Joseph Saraceno's resignation from the WVSA. b. On motion by Smith, second by Campbell, Raymond L. Crisci was appointed to the board of the WVSA. c. Borough minutes indicate that you were present at this meeting. No vote on the above appointment was indicated in the minutes. 4. Minutes of the West Pittston Borough council meeting for December 29, 1986 indicate the following: a. On motion by Rosencrance, second by Goldsworthy, to reappoint Crisci to the WVSA board for a five year term. Crisci abstained from voting. 5. You received no compensation for serving in the position of a Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority member. 6. You provided the following information in relation to this situation: a. You have been a member of Borough Council in West Pittston Borough since 1970. b. You have served as a member of the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority, representing the borough since February, 1985. Mr. Raymond L. Crisci Page 3 c. You became the representative for the borough on that Authority after the resignation of Joseph Saraceno. d. You were nominated to fill the vacancy the authority by another councilmember and it was seconded by Councilwomen Campbell. e. You were not sure whether you voted in favor of this appointment. But you recall abstaining in a subsequent vote on the issue. f. You received no compensation for your position on the authority. B. Discussion: As a Councilmember of West Pittston Borough, you are a "public official" as that term is defined under the Ethics Act. As such, you are subject to the provisions of the Ethics Act and the restrictions therein are applicable to you. Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act, quoted above, specifically provides, in part, that a public official may not use public office to obtain a financial gain for himself other than compensation provided by law. In the instant matter, the minutes of Council reflect that you were appointed to a non - compensated position on the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority at a meeting of February 5, 1985. The minutes of that meeting do not reflect that any vote was taken on your appointment. In a December 29, 1986 meeting, a motion was made, seconded and passed to reappoint you to a five -year term, but you abstained from voting. Because there was neither a use of office on your part nor any financial gain received, we find that you did not violate Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act regarding your appointment to the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority. C. Conclusion: 1. As a member of Council of West Pittston Borough, you are a public official subject to the provisions of the Ethics Act. 2. You did not violate Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act when you abstained from voting regarding your appointment to a non - compensated position with the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority. Mr. Raymond L. Crisci Page 4 This Order is final and will be made available as a public document fifteen days after issuance. However, you may request reconsideration which will defer public release of this Order pending action on your request by the Commission. A request for reconsideration, however, does not affect the finality of this Order. A reconsideration request must be received at this Commission within fifteen days of issuance and must include a detailed explanation of your reasons as to why reconsideration should be granted in conformity with 51 Pa. Code 52.38. The files in this case will remain confidential in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 408(a) during the fifteen day period and no one, including yourself, unless the right to challenge this Order is waived, may violate confidentiality by releasing, discussing or circulating this Order. However, confidentiality does not preclude you from discussing this case with your attorney at law. Any person who violates 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, 65 P.S. 409(e). By the Commission ,, 4 J /1 <1 ,Helena G. Hughes Chair 1��