Ex-elections official charged with violating ethics laws

A hearing is scheduled for early next year.

COLUMBUS (AP) — A former county elections official was charged with ethics laws violations Thursday after being accused of being linked to companies that did business with the elections board while he worked there.

Following an investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission, former Franklin County deputy elections director Michael Hackett Jr. was charged with unlawful interest in a public contract, falsification and revolving door violations. A hearing is scheduled in Franklin County Municipal Court on Jan. 3.

“These allegations are very serious ethics violations that result from large contracts approved by the board while Mr. Hackett was deputy director,” said David Freel, executive director of the Ethics Commission.

In court documents, authorities allege that Hackett had an interest in a $785,000 contract that the Franklin County Board of Elections approved in November 2005 with SST Systems, a company whose founders include Hackett’s wife.

Hackett is also charged with submitting a request to the Ethics Commission for one of its advisory ethics opinion on the subject that contained knowingly false statements. He falsely represented that he had no current interest in the company, that his wife had divested her interest and that he had not been part of any discussions on the matter while he was deputy director, according to the complaint.

The elections board moved ahead with the purchase without waiting for the commission’s reply. County commissioners gave final approval in December of that year, but Commissioner Paula Brooks has said they were never told ethics questions had been raised.

“Obviously, the investigation’s ongoing, obviously progress has been made and charges have been filed, and I will be consulting with my client and deciding where we go from here,” said Hackett’s attorney, Sam Shamansky.

Hackett is further charged with conflict of interest on a second contract for violating the state’s revolving door provisions, which call for former public officials to wait one year before taking work from a company they helped hire while on the public payroll.

According to the complaint, Hackett received $5,056 in fees to serve as on-site coordinator and technical support on a $182,980 contract with a vendor that did business with the board. The complaint says he had a role in deciding to award the contract to the vendor, IFES, when he was deputy director.