The former harbormaster of Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.A., has paid a USD 15,000 (EUR 12,728) fine levied by the state’s ethics board for having his subordinate complete his homework assignments for him.
According to the state ethics board, then-Gloucester Harbormaster Thomas Ciarametaro Jr. had his subordinate, the shellfish constable, spend 20 hours of municipal worktime writing at least six college assignments on his behalf while he was taking courses at Endicott College. Ciarametaro received a bachelor’s degree from Endicott in December 2020.
The board contends that Ciarametaro’s actions violated the state’s conflict of interest law, which prohibits public employees from receiving anything of substantial value due to their official position.
“A public official who asks a subordinate employee for a personal favor risks taking unlawful advantage of an inherently coercive situation in which the subordinate may feel they can’t say no,” State Ethics Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson said in a release. “Regardless of coercion, when the personal favor involves use of the subordinate’s substantially valuable public worktime, the conflict of interest law is violated. The violation is particularly harmful to public confidence in the integrity of government employees when the favor secures for the public official a clearly improper benefit such as the unearned college course credit Mr. Ciarametaro received.”
Ciarametaro has admitted to violations in a disposition agreement and has paid a USD 15,000 civil penalty and USD 1,200 (EUR 1,018) in restitution.
Ciarametaro was fired in April 2024 over a forged signature on a grant form. He later sued the city, alleging that he was fired in retaliation for filing a hostile work complain against a former mayor.
The former shellfish constable Ciarametaro had do his homework was later fired allegedly for stealing cash from the harbormaster’s office.
