Court Upholds Ethics Decision Against Island Select Board Member

MARTHA’S VINEYARD – The Massachusetts Ethics Commission says a decision out of Suffolk Superior Court has affirmed its original decision in 2022 affecting Aquinnah Select Board member Gary Haley.

The state ethics board alleged that Haley, who is still serving on the select board, violated the conflict of interest law when he billed the town for over 17-thousand dollars and signed off on the warrant that included the invoice in 2018. 

Acting in his capacity as a master electrician, Haley reportedly installed underground conduits for telecom wires at Aquinnah Circle.

The Ethics Commission says the conflict of interest law prohibits municipal employees from participating in their official capacity in matters in which they know they have a financial interest. The Superior court decision upholds the Commission’s order that Haley pays a ten-thousand-dollar civil penalty for the violations.