Yet another Rell appointee has ethics issues

[NewJeffCT]

This is from last week’s Hartford Courant when a red flag was raised about why this guy got a cushy job that tripled his salary and failed to disclose ethical violations in the past.

...
In late 2004, Christopher F. Oliveira quit a job as a $43,466-a-year family relations counselor trainee at the state's judicial branch soon after being accused of misusing office equipment for political purposes.

Two months ago, Gov. M. Jodi Rell appointed Oliveira to a major post as a $121,615-a-year family magistrate, making him one of nine quasi-judicial officers deciding cases involving paternity and child support.

How did Oliveira — with the disciplinary case in his past, newly obtained documents now show — get to this high state post, at triple the salary of his previous job, in the same judicial branch where he got in trouble before?

Rell's office offered few answers — although gubernatorial press secretary Chris Cooper said Friday night: "No information on this matter was included in the background report" done in connection with Oliveira's appointment.

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-ctoliveira0322.artmar22,0,5185690.story



The editorial from today’s Courant:

Christopher Oliveira, 37, may be bright and capable. But in two brushes with state employment, he's displayed deficiencies of character and judgment serious enough to disqualify him from public service.

Two months ago, Gov. M. Jodi Rell appointed Mr. Oliveira, a lawyer who is also chairman of Old Lyme's Republican Party and a member of the Republican State Central Committee, to serve full time as a family support magistrate.

Connecticut has nine such magistrates, quasi-judicial positions with authority to decide issues of paternity and child support. Mr. Oliviera's salary is $121,615.

As part of his application, Mr. Oliveira filled out a questionnaire that included three questions: whether there was anything in his or his immediate family's past that would prove embarrassing if made public; if he had ever been discharged or asked to resign from a job; and whether he had been the subject of any job-related disciplinary action.

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-oliveira.artmar26,0,111970.story