Press Release  Franklin DPW Director Robert Cantoreggi Pays $15,000 Civil Penalty for Violating Conflict of Interest Law

Boston, MA — Franklin Department of Public Works Director Robert “Brutus” Cantoreggi has paid a $15,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by accepting free ski trips from a water meter manufacturer and its distributor. Cantoreggi signed a Disposition Agreement in which he admitted the violations and waived his right to a hearing.

The Franklin Department of Public Works uses a brand of water meter throughout its service area made by an Alabama-based manufacturer and sourced through the manufacturer’s sole authorized New England distributor. Cantoreggi, as Public Works Director, oversees and approves the Franklin DPW’s water meter purchasing budget.

On multiple occasions, the water meter manufacturer and its distributor hosted ski trips to which they invited employees of several municipal water districts and departments of public works, including Cantoreggi.

Cantoreggi and a friend attended three-day ski trips the water meter vendors hosted in Stowe, Vermont in 2019 and Jay Peak, Vermont, in 2022. The vendors paid for lodging, meals, snowmobile rentals, and water park tickets for Cantoreggi and his friend, neither of whom are skiers.

The conflict of interest law prohibits public employees from soliciting or receiving anything worth $50 or more that is given to them for or because of their official positions. When Cantoreggi accepted the free ski trips from the water meter vendors for himself and his friend, he violated this prohibition because he knew or had reason to know the vendors were giving him these gifts due to his position with the Franklin Department of Public Works.

“Public employees should not accept unauthorized valuable gifts of any kind from vendors doing business with their agencies. Such gifts are generally given because of the employees’ official positions, and the law prohibits acceptance of such gifts unless they are authorized by statute or regulation,” said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson. “While this prohibition applies to all public employees, it is one which those with budgeting and purchasing authority should be particularly mindful of given that acceptance of unauthorized vendor gifts by public employees with such authority inevitably casts doubt on whether public agency purchasing decisions are made fairly and in the public interest. Additionally, public employees in leadership positions must remember that they set the ethical tone for their agencies and those they lead, and that their failure to adhere to the law thus presents a particularly grave threat to the integrity of public service and public confidence in that service.”

The Commission encourages public employees to contact the Commission’s Legal Division at 617-371-9500 for free advice if they have any questions regarding how the conflict of interest law may apply to them.

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