Wellesley Assistant Fire Chief Violates Conflict Of Interest Law

Wellesley MA

21 September, 2021

5:05 PM

Description

WELLESLEY, MA — Wellesley Assistant Fire Chief has admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by altering the Fire Department's hiring process to favor the fire chief's son and by selecting and interviewing the son of his wife's cousin. Jeffrey Peterson signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted the violations, paid a $5,000 civil penalty, and waived his right to an adjudicatory hearing. This comes after Chief Richard DeLorie admitted to using his official position to alter the hiring process in favor of his son back in August. DeLorie paid a $10,000 civil penalty for violating conflict of interest law. In 2018, the Wellesley Fire Department had openings for three firefighter positions, and DeLorie designated Peterson to oversee the hiring process. DeLorie's son and the son of Peterson's wife's cousin were among 88 candidates who passed the firefighter entrance exam. In writing, DeLorie notified the Board of Selectmen that he would not participate in any capacity in the firefighter review and selection process because of his son's involvement. Documents show that DeLorie did participate in the process on multiple occasions. Peterson chose 27 candidates for consideration, then worked with the town's human resources director to interview candidates, including DeLorie's son and Peterson's in-law. When the interview panel did not include DeLorie's son or Peterson's in-law among the three finalists, DeLorie first criticized the panel's choices then told Peterson to stop the hiring process while he spoke with the Board of Selectmen. In emails to the vice-chair, DeLorie expressed concern that the interview panel did not consider the community involvement of the candidates. The chair reminded DeLorie that DeLorie had recused himself from the hiring process and needed to stay away from the process. DeLorie was relentless, making sure there was another round of interviews, focusing on community involvement, which got his son recommended in the top three this time. When another position became available during the interview process, DeLorie's son was selected, but Peterson's son was not. DeLorie violated this prohibition by intervening as fire chief to have the hiring process halted and redirected to favor his son. Peterson violated the conflict of interest law by selecting and interviewing his wife's cousin's son without filing a disclosure concerning that relationship, violating the law.