Gloucester’s former harbormaster, Thomas P. “TJ” Ciarametaro Jr., has been forced to fork over several thousands of dollars in fines for violating the state’s conflict of interest law by having a subordinate complete his Endicott College coursework as he pursued a bachelor’s degree.
Ciarametaro was fined $15,000 in civil penalties and ordered to pay $1,200 in restitution to the city for the hours the subordinate spent writing his school assignments. The subordinate, a shellfish warden, also is no longer employed by the city.
The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission approved a disposition agreement where Ciarametaro admitted to the violations, waived his right to a public hearing, and agreed to pay the $16,200 in fines and restitution.
“A public official who asks a subordinate employee for a personal favor risks taking unlawful advantage of an inherently coercive situation in which the subordinate may feel they can’t say no,” said David Wilson, executive director of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission. “Regardless of the coercion, when the personal favor involves use of the subordinate’s substantially valuable public worktime, the conflict of interest law is violated.
“The violation is particularly harmful to the public confidence in the integrity of government employees when the favor secures for the public official a clearly improper benefit such as the unearned college course credit Mr. Ciarametaro received.”
Attempts to reach Ciarametaro were unsuccessful.
Former Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, who served from 2015 to 2021 when the violations took place, could not be reached for comment.
Ciarametaro worked as harbormaster from 2016 to 2024.
Former Mayor Greg Verga, who succeeded Romeo Theken, said he could not publicly address the situation during his tenure as mayor because it was a personnel matter. Ciarametaro was fired by the city April 8, 2024, during Verga’s first term.
“I couldn’t say anything,” Verga said. “But I’m glad some details came out. My administration held people accountable. I feel a bit vindicated.”
Verga said he could not address whether the fines issued were appropriate.
“I couldn’t tell you if it’s too high or too low,” he said. “But I took a lot of heat when that happened.”
As harbormaster, Ciarametaro oversaw the city’s shellfish constable. The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission found that from February through October 2020, Ciarametaro asked the constable to complete writing assignments for the courses Ciarametaro was taking at Endicott College in Beverly. The assignments included at least five for a creative writing course, three essays for an English literature class, and five for a juvenile justice course. The commission said Ciarametaro received an A-minus in the creative writing course, an A in the English literature course, and an A in the juvenile justice course.
Endicott awarded Ciarametaro a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice in December 2020. Anthony Donaldson, the college’s vice president of marketing and communication, said Thursday that Ciarametaro’s degree had not been revoked.
According to the Ethics Commission, the shellfish constable, with Ciarametaro’s approval, spent more than 20 hours on the city’s clock completing at least six of Ciarametaro’s college writing assignments. At the time the shellfish constable was being paid $39.41 an hour.
The commission holds that by asking his subordinate to use city work time and resources to complete his college coursework, Ciarametaro violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against public employees receiving anything of “substantial value given to them because of their official position.”
In addition, the commission found Ciarametaro violated the law’s prohibition against public employees using or attempting to use their official position to obtain valuable unwarranted privileges that are not properly available to them.
Also, the commission found he violated the law’s prohibition against public employees “acting in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to conclude they would unduly favor another person when performing their duties.”
A Superior Court wrongful termination lawsuit brought by Ciarametaro in December 2024 against Verga, the city’s human resources director and city solicitor, and Romeo Theken was dismissed with little fanfare this summer.
The Ethics 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 might apply to them.
Stephen Hagan may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or shagan@gloucestertimes.com.