Board dismisses complaint against finance chair

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BEACON FALLS — The Ethics Board last week dismissed a complaint filed against Board of Finance Chairman Joe Rodorigo.

According to the minutes of the April 5 meeting, the board unanimously voted to dismiss the complaint “due to the lack of probable cause.”

Resident Doug Bousquet filed the complaint in December. The complaint alleged that Rodorigo, on several occasions, sat at former Building Inspector James Tucciarone’s desk, used his computer, and went through files without permission. Bousquet claimed in the complaint that Rodorigo, who owns Keystone Realty, was doing it for personal gain.

According to meeting minutes, Ethics Board Chairman Rod Farrell noted that the board didn’t find any evidence that Rodorigo used his position as chairman of the Board of Finance for the purpose of enriching himself or gaining any commercial advantage.

Farrell also noted that zoning files are public information and available to anyone who wants to see them.

The complaint was the second Bousquet filed against Rodorigo. The first, which made the same claims as the second one expect for the allegation of personal gain, was filed in August.

In September, the board voted that the claims in the first complaint didn’t amount to an ethics violation. At the time, the board agreed that even if Rodorigo had been going through files, the town’s ethics ordinance covered very specific activities, such as using town resources for personal gain.

Rodorigo has consistently denied going through Tucciarone’s files or computers. At the time, the land use office was being used as the finance office while the latter was undergoing renovations.