Pittsfield Council President Mazzeo Denies Ethics Violation
 City Council President Melissa Mazzeo said her attendance at a Berkshire Theater Group was not a 'bribe' and that she filed the appropriate paperwork ahead of time with the state Ethics Commission. |
Resident Craig Gaetani, a mayoral candidate, filed a petition calling on Mazzeo to be removed from her position until a court determines if her attendance at a recent event is considered a bribe.
Gaetani, who has a tumultuous history with Mazzeo over the use of the open microphone period of City Council meetings, claims that he filed charges against Mazzeo for attending a Berkshire Theater Group gala.
The entire council was invited to attend a gala for which the organization charged $500 per plate. The members were invited as guests to speak to other attendees about the city. Mazzeo said she attended the event alone as a guest and filed paperwork with the state Ethics Commission disclosing her attendance.
"It is for us as representatives of the city to talk to people and let them know what's going on," Mazzeo said. "We all get asked to go to numerous events and this one was really important."
Elected officials are often asked to attend such events as guests, she said, and serves as a way for the officials to promote the city to prospective residents and businesses.
Gaetani claims the free dinner was a bribe, though he didn't specify what the organization would receive in return for her attendance.
"Mrs. Mazzeo, in my opinion, has violated the taxpayer by taking what many residents are calling a bribe in accepting an invitation sent to her by Berkshire Theater Group to attend a gala which costs for everybody else $500 but was free for Mrs. Mazzeo," Gaetani wrote in his petition. "This violation established very poor judgement on Mrs. Mazzeo's behalf and is clearly a slap in the face to every single city resident."
He said he filed a criminal complaint in District Court against her. However, no such charges have been filed. A complaint leads only to a hearing to determine if charges are warranted and, so far, no such determination has been made.
The City Council stood by Mazzeo and filed the petition, which means Mazzeo will continue in her role.
While the council president didn't need to put the petition on the agenda, she did so to clear the air. Essentially, she said being a guest at events is part of the elected official's job and focus and accusations of wrongdoing makes the city "look silly."
Mazzeo added that any complaints of such should go to the Ethics Commission and not District Court.
The president isn't the first city official to be accused of accepting a gift. In 2004, then Mayor James Ruberto was accused of violations when he bought World Series Red Sox tickets from the team's former General Manager Dan Duquette. Ruberto bought those tickets at face value but at the time, tickets on the secondary market were being sold for more than 10 times the value.
In that case, however, Duquette was in negotiations with the city to lease out Wahconah Park. In Mazzeo's case there is no such clear link between the attendance of the event and a possibility of a return.
The state's Ethics Commission ultimately found the former mayor in violation of state law but opted against imposing a fine.
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