Boston City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo violated the state’s battle of curiosity legislation by persevering with to characterize his brother in a 2018 civil lawsuit after he was first elected to town council in 2019, the State Ethics Commission mentioned in a Tuesday assertion.
Arroyo signed a doc admitting to the violation and agreed to pay a $3,000 penalty.
The penalty follows a excessive profile sequence of occasions through which former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins was accused of colluding with Arroyo to affect the race for Suffolk County District legal professional, of which he was a candidate. Arroyo has denied he did something mistaken.
Rollins resigned her workplace earlier this 12 months following a federal investigation.
The State Ethics Commission settlement didn’t describe the lawsuit intimately, solely noting it was filed in Suffolk County Superior Court. A ethics fee spokesperson declined to dive into additional element, saying the fee couldn’t “discuss matters that are outside of the content of the disposition agreement.”
Felix G. Arroyo, Ricardo Arroyo’s brother, was sued by Hilani Morales in 2018 and Ricardo Arroyo was listed as one of many three legal professionals representing his older brother. Morales, a former metropolis worker, accused Felix G. Arroyo of sexually harassing her and retaliating towards her. Felix G. Arroyo denied the allegations.
The State Ethics Commission mentioned Ricardo Arroyo didn’t function lead legal professional for his brother within the unspecified lawsuit however “conducted and participated in several depositions.”
“At least three of the depositions [Ricardo] Arroyo conducted occurred after he was sworn into office as a Boston City Councilor,” the signed settlement with the State Ethics Commission mentioned. “One of the depositions Arroyo conducted while serving as city councilor was of a city of Boston employee and another was of a city contractor.”
Zachary Lown, a lawyer for Ricardo Arroyo, mentioned nothing Ricardo Arroyo did as an legal professional on the lawsuit “negatively impacted the city or its interests, Arroyo’s client and the city are co-defendants, nor did the City ever express any concern to Councilor Arroyo about his legal representation.”
After Ricardo Arroyo was knowledgeable in August 2022 by the State Ethics Commission that his participation within the lawsuit could be a battle of curiosity, he “immediately” started the method of withdrawing, Lown mentioned.
“Councilor Arroyo then moved to withdraw before the next scheduled court date and five months prior to any finding by the State Ethics Commission,” Lown mentioned in an announcement. “We are grateful to the State Ethics Commission for working with us to resolve this matter.”
The ethics fee mentioned it contacted Arroyo — first elected to the council in November 2019, sworn into workplace in January 2020, and re-elected in 2021 — on Aug. 18, 2022 and once more a number of days later relating to his illustration of his brother “and the concerns that representation raised under the conflict of interest law.”
State officers mentioned Arroyo requested the lead legal professional on the lawsuit to file a movement to withdraw on his behalf on Oct. 24, 2022 but it surely was not filed till Nov. 18, 2022. The movement was granted on Feb. 16.
State legislation prohibits municipal workers from performing as an legal professional “for anyone other than the municipality in connection with any particular matter in which the municipality is a party or has a direct and substantial interest,” based on the state ethics fee.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”