Auburn water supply foreman faces possible ethics violation for accepting paid ski trips

Kinga Borondy, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Updated ·4 min read
The State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Division alleges an Auburn Water District operations manager violated conflict-of-interest law by accepting two free ski trips from a water meter manufacturer and its distributor.

AUBURN — The State Ethics Commission’s Enforcement Divisionalleges an Auburn Water District operations manager violated conflict-of-interest law by accepting two free ski trips from a water meter manufacturer and its distributor.

Scott Callahan, reached by the Telegram & Gazette Thursday afternoon, said he had no comment “at this time” on the allegations. He faces a public hearing before the commission within 90 days in connection with the charge.

Six other municipal officials, currently or formerly employed in Sudbury, Salem, Franklin, Danvers, Natick and Southampton, admitted to accepting paid trips to Vermont and Maine and other valuable gifts from an Alabama-based maker of water meters or its sole New England distributor, and have signed a disposition agreement admitting their involvement and waiving their rights to a public hearing.

The six men have also paid civilian penalties ranging from $6,000 to $18,000, according to an Ethics Commission release. The enforcement division of the commission offered Callahan a similar opportunity to rectify the matter before filing an order to show cause in connection with the investigation, according to a prepared statement issued by the commission. The agreements with the officials were reached throughout the last three months.

The six municipal officials who signed agreements were identified as:

  • Franklin Department of Public Works Director Robert Cantoreggi

  • Sudbury Water District Executive Director Vincent Roy

  • Former Salem Department of Public Services Director David Knowlton

  • Former Danvers Department of Public Works Water and Sewer Supervisor Aaron Cilluffo

  • Richard Ames, a Natick Water and Sewer Department GIS coordinator and information management employee

  • Former Southampton Water Department Superintendent Thomas Gaughan

Five of the six men, along with Callahan, were authorized to make decisions regarding the purchase of water meters for community use.

Callahan, who has worked for the Town of Auburn for 20 years and was a foreman at the time of the alleged violation, was responsible for purchasing water meters under the authority of the superintendent of the works and the Board of Commissioners. The town replaced 5,000 water meters in the community in 2023 and used the ones manufactured by the unnamed company.

The meter maker, working with its distributor, hosted ski trips, dinners and sports event outings to which they invited municipal water and department of public works employees. Ames, Roy, Knowlton, Cilluffo, Cantoreggi and Gaughan went on paid trips that included paid for lodging, meals and lift tickets for the employees and sometimes their guests.

Auburn official alleged to have accepted two ski vacations

According to the filed order, Callahan accepted at least two ski trip invitations; with paid lodging for a trip to Sugarloaf in Maine in 2018 and paid lodging and a meal for a trip to Stowe in Vermont in 2019.

The state’s conflict-of-interest laws apply to all public employees, state, regional and municipal workers. The guidelines prohibit all public employees from accepting gifts offered to them because of their official positions that are worth more than $50.

“All public employees must be careful not to accept meals, trips and other valuable gifts from vendors doing business with their agencies,” said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson. “Such gifts are generally given to public employees due to their public positions, even when the public employees don’t have the authority to make purchases for their agencies. Unless authorized by statute or regulation, acceptance of such gifts is prohibited by the conflict of interest law.”

By accepting the paid vacations, Callahan violated the state’s ethic regulations, according to the filed order.

“When public employees accept gifts from vendors doing business with their agencies, they give the public cause to question the integrity of their purchasing decisions and their performance of other duties relating to vendors,” said Wilson. “It is particularly important for those in leadership positions to comply with the conflict-of-interest law, as they set an example for the public employees they supervise.”

Officials in charge of selections, purchase of meters

All the communities involved in the investigation — Natick Water and Sewer Department, Franklin Department of Public Works, Sudbury Water District, Salem DPS, Danvers DPW and Southampton Water Department — use the same brand of water meter throughout their service areas.

Roy drafted bid specifications for a May 2023 water meter contract that the Sudbury Water District awarded to the manufacturer’s New England distributor for water meters made by the manufacturer.

Knowlton had purchasing authority for the Salem DPS for water meters, and Gaughan had purchasing authority for the Southampton Water Department subject to authorization for major projects by the elected Board of Water Commissioners.

Cilluffo also had purchasing authority for water meters, subject to oversight, including by the Danvers DPW director.

Cantoreggi, as public works director, oversees and approves the Franklin DPW’s water meter purchasing budget. However, Ames, a technical expert in meter data, does not have purchasing authority concerning water meters for the Natick Water and Sewer Department.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Auburn water supply foreman faces possible ethics violation