Cathy Brauner
Wicked Local Metro, Needham, Mass.
Wellesley, Mass. — Wellesley Fire Chief Richard DeLorie has admitted to violating the state’s conflict of interest law by participating in the hiring of his son as a town firefighter and using his official office to alter the hiring process to favor his son, according to the State Ethics Commission.
DeLorie, who has been with the Wellesley Fire Department for more than 28 years, paid a $10,000 civil penalty, signed a disposition agreement approved by the State Ethics Commission, and waived his right to contest the commission’s findings, according to the commission.
When the Townsman initially heard about the allegations and investigation in July, it sought a comment from town officials. However, Meghan Jop, the town’s executive director, responded that “there is no comment on this.”
An email sent to DeLorie earlier this week on an unrelated matter received an automatic response saying that DeLorie is out this week and will not be responding to emails.
What the State Ethics Commission said
DeLorie’s son passed the firefighter entrance exam in 2018, when Wellesley had three entry-level firefighter openings. DeLorie disclosed in writing to his appointing authority, the Board of Selectmen (now called the Select Board), that his son had taken the exam and notified the board that he would not participate in any capacity in the firefighter review and selection process, according to the commission. “Nevertheless, DeLorie participated in the process on multiple occasions.”
DeLorie designated the assistant fire chief to manage the hiring process. A panel consisting of the assistant chief, the town human resources director and staff, the president of the firefighters union, and a ranking member of the Fire Department interviewed eight firefighter candidates, including DeLorie’s son. Members of the interview panel selected three candidates to recommend to the selectmen for appointment as firefighters. DeLorie’s son was not selected.
After DeLorie was informed that the interview panel did not select his son, he criticized the panel’s selections and instructed the assistant chief to halt the hiring process while he conferred with members of the Select Board, the commission determined.
DeLorie then contacted the chair and vice chair of the Select Board and criticized the hiring process and the candidates selected and praised the qualifications of his son and another unsuccessful candidate, the commission said. “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 recused from the process. DeLorie, however, emailed the vice chair a scan of the front page of a 2003 local newspaper showing DeLorie and his son, then age 10, helping to serve Thanksgiving meals to seniors as an example of his son’s community involvement.”
In a subsequent email to the chair and vice chair, DeLorie claimed the assistant chief and the union had agreed to hold a second round of interviews. The union in fact did not request the additional interviews, the commission said.. After the second round of interviews, which focused on community involvement, DeLorie’s son was among the three candidates selected to be recommended for appointment as firefighters. “DeLorie then sought the chair’s and vice chair’s support for the interview panel’s new selections. The chair again reminded DeLorie that he had recused himself from the hiring process,” the commission said.
At this point in the hiring process, an additional firefighter position became available and the selectmen directed the interview panel to conduct a third round of interviews. DeLorie’s son was one of the finalists following the third round of interviews and the selectmen appointed him as a firefighter.
The commission said the conflict of interest law generally prohibits public employees from participating in matters in which they or members of their immediate family have a financial interest. “Although DeLorie was not involved in the candidate interviews, he violated this prohibition by participating in the firefighter hiring process multiple times, including by criticizing the interview panel’s initial candidate selections and the overall process, directing the assistant chief to halt the process, praising his son’s qualifications, and seeking support from the chair and vice chair of the Board of Selectmen for the appointment of his son,” the commission said.
In addition, the conflict of interest law prohibits public employees from using their official positions to provide themselves others with unwarranted privileges or benefits that are not otherwise available, said the commission, which determined “DeLorie violated this prohibition by intervening as fire chief to have the hiring process halted and redirected to favor his son.”
Public employees who have questions about how the conflict of interest law may apply to them may contact the commission’s Legal Division at 617-371-9500 for free advice.
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