Appeals Court upholds former Brookfield selectman violated conflict-of-interest law

BROOKFIELD —The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a decision Tuesday finding Stephen J. Comtois II, a former Brookfield selectman, violated the state conflict-of-interest law when he acted as a selectman concerning a donation of land to the town that he was interested in purchasing.

The Appeals Court affirmed a May 2021 Suffolk Superior Court judgment that upheld the State Ethics Commission’s 2020 decision on the matter.

In its decision, the court found the commission’s ruling was “supported by substantial evidence, not arbitrary or capricious, or based on error of law.”

In August 2020, the commission found that Comtois used his official position to derail the proposed donation in order to privately purchase the land himself for substantially less than its assessed value.

The commission fined Comtois a $20,000 civil penalty. The former selectman said at the time he would appeal the ruling.

In 2016, Beverly Granger, a former Brookfield resident, wished to donate undeveloped land to the town because she believed the land was unusable and overassessed. The town taxed the land as buildable and assessed its value as $43,900.

At a Dec. 13, 2016, selectmen's meeting, Comtois, serving as the board’s chair, made a motion to present the question of whether to accept the proposed property donation at the next town meeting, with the stated understanding that the town would pay to clear the property’s title if the donation was accepted. The motion unanimously passed.

Comtois then volunteered to inform the owner of the details of the board’s decision. However, the next morning, in his capacity as a selectman and the board’s representative, Comtois called the owner’s real estate broker, according to the ethics commission.

During the call, the commission found that Comtois, through untrue statements and omissions, misrepresented the selectmen’s position, telling the broker that the board would not support the proposed donation to the town and then offered to buy the land himself.

The town’s assistant assessor at the time asked Comtois for updates on the status of the donation several times in subsequent weeks. The selectman’s evasive responses led Jones to believe the donation was progressing, the commission said.

Comtois purchased the property for $200 and a promise to pay all expenses associated with the purchase. He considered using the land to store vehicles for a driving school he owned and operated, according to the commission.

In the Appeals Court’s decision, Associate Justice Robert A. Brennan wrote the court found Comtois’ claim that his participation was limited to his vote to submit the proposed donation to town meeting was inconsistent with the plain language of the conflict-of-interest statute.

The court found that under the language of the statute, Comtois’ participation in his role as a selectman included volunteering to contact the owner, contacting the broker on behalf of the board and communicating with the assistant assessor about his dealings.

The court also found that the history of how the statute defined a “financial interest” did not comport with Comtois’ assertion that the court must not define a “financial interest” to include any potential future financial interest.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: State appeals court upholds edict on former Brookfield official Comtois