JCOPE Announces Settlements and Enforcement Actions

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics (“Commission”) announced today that it has reached settlement agreements in several matters relating to various violations of the Public Officers Law by State employees including the failure to disclose information on annual statements of financial disclosure (“FDS”), using a State position to benefit a family member, and using confidential information for personal gain.

Olajide Oladipo, chair of the Department of Business and Economics at CUNY York Community College, agreed to pay a $6,000 fine and admitted that he knowingly and willfully failed to disclose positions with other outside entities and the related compensation in his FDS filings for 2012 through 2018. As a part of the settlement, Oladipo will amend those filings. 

Sam Alexis, a former Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) clerk, agreed to pay a $2,000 fine after admitting that he used confidential records to get information about tickets that were being dismissed and then solicited money from drivers to “take care” of their tickets.  Alexis’s case was investigated by the New York State Office of the Inspector General, which referred the case to the Commission for its consideration.  The Inspector General had also referred the matter to the District Attorney’s Office who declined to prosecute the matter.

Jonathan Lacay, formerly the Chief Information Security Officer for CUNY Bronx Community College, agreed to pay a $1,500 fine for using his official position to try to get his fiancée moved from a non-permanent position in the school’s library to a permanent job in the registrar’s office. The fiancée did not get the permanent position.

And, Nicholas Ferriero, formerly a presiding judge for the State Gaming Commission (“Gaming”), agreed to a settlement to resolve allegations that he had served as a judge for races in which his brother-in-law was a driver but failed to notify Gaming and failed to recuse himself. Gaming referred this matter to the Commission after its own investigation, after which Ferreiro was fired.