Former Andover Youth Services Director William Fahey admitted ethics violations and paid a $20,000 to the state Ethics Commission, the agency said Monday.
Fahey is currently suing the Town of Andover for wrongful termination, stemming from his May 2021 termination for unspecified conduct by Town Manager Andrew Flanagan. The ethics commission fined Fahey’s former assistant, Glenn Wilson, $9,000 in March for accepting at least $17,500 from a nonprofit between 2016 and 2021.
Like Wilson, Fahey was accused of meeting with the Hurston Family Foundation, which agreed to fund maintenance, programming, and staff for AYS. Hurston funneled the money through Andover Youth Foundation, another nonprofit, and earmarked payments for Fahey, Wilson and other Town employees.
In addition to writing checks for more than 30 Town employees, Fahey received 10 payments totaling $16,500. His actions violated four regulations under the ethics law.
“Fahey’s receipt of private compensation relating to his employment as Director of Andover Youth Services violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against municipal employees receiving compensation from anyone other than the municipality in relation to a matter in which the municipality is a party or has a direct and substantial interest,” the ethics commission said in a news release. “Through his actions concerning merit payments to himself, Fahey also violated the conflict of interest law’s prohibition against public employees participating as such in matters in which they have a financial interest.”
Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan fired Fahey in May 2021 for unspecified misconduct. Less than a month later, Fahey sued Flanagan in Essex Superior Court. The case is currently in the discovery phase.
In his complaint, Fahey said Flanagan “targeted” him for termination for more than five years before firing him on May 10, 2021 after a town-commissioned, independent investigation found Flanagan had “sufficient evidence” to fire Fahey, even though the investigation found some of the allegations, including that he had inappropriate contact with a minor, were not credible.
Andover denied most of the allegations in Fahey’s lawsuit in its response to the complaint.
Fahey has repeatedly denied the allegations and disputes the independent investigator’s report. His firing led to the resignation of AYS’s entire full-time staff in September 2021.
File photo.
Unfortunately, this is a case where it’s cheaper to settle than lawyer up and fight, because even when you win, you lose more money fighting, only the lawyers win. Mr. Fahey is much better off saving his legal resources for the lawsuit against the Town, where he actually can win.