Ex-Essex Tech Superintendent Admits Ethics Violations

DANVERS, MA — Former Essex Tech Superintendent Dan O'Connell used his position to benefit himself and his son on "multiple occasions" in violation of state conflict-of-interest rules. The State Ethics Commission said Thursday that O'Connell admitted to the violations and agreed to pay a $23,000 fine.

In the agreement with the state agency, O'Connell admits that he gave his son, a maintenance worker at the school, pay raises and more opportunities for overtime, according to the Salem News, which first reported this story. He also ordered an underling to reinstate an expired $20,000 stipend, had employees use a school van to deliver bricks to his home during working hours and used job title as leverage in a personal dispute with a plumbing company.

O'Connell retired in 2015 after the school committee said he owed the district $89,000. In December 2016 the Essex County District Attorney's office closed an investigation into O'Connell and said it would not file criminal charges against him.

Known as Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School since a 2018 name change, the school serves students from Beverly, Boxford, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Hamilton, Lynnfield, Manchester, Marblehead, Middleton, Nahant, Peabody, Rockport, Salem, Swampscott, Topsfield and Wenham.

For more on this story, see the Salem News.