The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government Reaches Sett...
The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government reached settlements in four investigations, totaling $338,000, for alleged violations of the Public Officers Law and the Lobbying Act, the agency announced today.
“Public officials must exemplify the highest ethical standards,” Executive Director Sanford N. Berland said. “This includes using state resources only to conduct state business. There is no place for engaging in private sector work or transactions in a state office or using state employees or resources to perform such work.”
“The state’s ethics and lobbying laws exist to ensure public employees and those who seek to influence government know the rules and restrictions under which they must operate,” Chair Leonard B. Austin said. “If state employees or lobbyists act outside those rules and restrictions, they must be held accountable. Today’s settlements provide both accountability and transparency for all New Yorkers.”
Benefitting from Use of Subordinate Staff
A Director at the Office of Mental Health’s Nathan Kline Institute contributed $325,000 for the benefit of the Institute after an investigation by the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government found the director had received support from his lab’s employees in preparing an application for a monetary prize from the University of Texas.
Ralph Nixon, Director of the Center for Dementia Research and Director of the Laboratories for Molecular Neuroscience, applied for the Oskar Fischer Prize from the University of Texas in 2020. The Oskar Fischer Prize is awarded to the best entries that synthesized existing research relating to the cause of Alzheimer’s Disease. Winners of the prize were to receive an award from a prize pool totaling $2 million.
Two weeks before the prize application deadline in December 2020, Nixon made finishing the application a priority for the lab and directed lab staff members to help complete his application by entering citations, managing and editing references, preparing and revising figures, and reviewing and revising drafts.
In June 2022, the University of Texas awarded Nixon with a $500,000 prize. As a result of the Commission’s investigation, Nixon agreed to settle the matter by contributing $325,000 to the NKI Center for Dementia Research through the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc.
Admitted Misuse of State Resources
James Bakleh, Director of Planning, Design, and Scheduling at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bus Company, admitted to violating the Public Officers Law by using state resources for non-state business, including during work hours.
In 2020, Bakleh received outside activity approval from the MTA and the Commission’s predecessor to operate a private engineering company, provided that activities associated with the business were not conducted during work hours or using state resources. Between 2020 and 2022, Bakleh sent over 200 non-MTA-related emails, both during and outside of work hours, from his MTA email account. Over half of the emails related to the engineering company or to an unapproved rental property real estate business. Bakleh also used an MTA document scanner to scan and forward non-MTA documents to his personal email address on more than a dozen different occasions. In addition, Bakleh did not disclose the income from his real estate business on his 2019 through 2022 financial disclosure statements.
To settle the violations of the Public Officers Law, Bakleh will pay a fine of $1,750 and has amended his financial disclosure statements.
The Office of the MTA Inspector General referred the case to the Commission after completing its own investigation and report.
Inappropriately Entering into Contracts with Another State Agency
Jesus Cortes, a Sergeant with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department who served as an instructor in the training unit, admitted to violating the Public Officers Law when he entered into three no-bid contracts with the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services to provide law enforcement training services between April 2021 and June 2022.
In contracting with DCJS, Cortes provided written certification that he was not covered by Public Officers Law § 73(4)(a), which prohibits state employees and officers from contracting with a state agency unless the contract is competitively bid, when he was, in fact, an officer of the MTA. The contracts stipulated Cortes would be paid up to $500 per day and no more than $14,500 in the contract period. The contract also provided that DCJS would pay Cortes a state per diem and cover his hotel stay during his travels but would not pay him for his travel time. In May 2021, DCJS approved paying Cortes $1,135 in reimbursements for travel expenses and paid $424 for his hotel in connection with him teaching a “Principled Policing – Train the Trainer” course over a three-day period. Cortes also received his regular pay from the MTA on those three days.
In September 2022, after Cortes had already received travel reimbursement from DCJS, Cortes spoke with his MTA superiors about participating in another upcoming DCJS Safety Symposium. Ultimately, the MTA reassigned Cortes to the event for the day, and Cortes then acknowledged that he understood that he could not receive separate pay or travel reimbursement from DCJS for his participation because it could result in violations of both Public Officers Law § 73(4)(a) and the MTA’s Ethics Policy.
To settle the violations of the Public Officers Law, Cortes agreed to pay a $1,250 fine.
The Office of the MTA Inspector General referred the case to the Commission.
Failure to File Timely Lobbying Reports
Casey Strategic Relations LLC agreed to settle violations of Article 1 of the Lobbying Act for failing to submit 32 filings, including statements of registration, registration amendments, and lobbyist bi-monthly reports, within the time required by law. The respondent agreed to pay a fine of $10,000 to settle the violations.
The Commission’s Investigations and Enforcement Division handled these matters, which is led by Director Brian P. Weinberg. The Commission has opened 16 investigations so far in 2024 and is pursuing 53 open investigations. In addition, the Commission examined, assessed, and closed 106 matters so far this year. Approximately 152 matters remain pending.
About the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government
Created by New York state law in July 2022, the Commission’s charge is to restore public trust in government by ensuring compliance with the state’s ethics and lobbying laws and regulations. It has jurisdiction over more than 320,000 officers and employees at state agencies and departments, including commissions, boards, state public benefit corporations, public authorities, SUNY, CUNY, and the statutory closely affiliated corporations; the four statewide elected officials and candidates for those offices; employees and members of the state Legislature and legislative candidates; and state and local lobbyists and their clients.
The Commission administers, enforces, and interprets New York’s ethics and lobbying laws by providing information, education, and guidance regarding ethics and lobbying laws; promoting compliance through audits, investigations, and enforcement proceedings; issuing formal and informal advisory opinions; and promulgating regulations implementing the laws under its jurisdiction.
The Commission promotes transparency by conducting its proceedings publicly to the fullest extent permitted by law and by making the financial and other disclosures filed by those subject to the Commission’s authority publicly available. These disclosures include, but are not limited to, annual financial disclosure statements filed by over 30,000 individuals, and millions of records contained in activity and expense reports filed by lobbyists and their clients.
Links to Individual Settlement Agreements:
