Ex-aide to senator files ethics complaint

A former aide to state Sen. Richard F. Colburn has sent a complaint to the General Assembly's Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics, asking for an investigation into the aide's allegations that he was required to write academic papers and conduct other personal tasks for the senator as part of his job.

Gregory A. Dukes, who resigned from Colburn's staff in December, said he made the request after learning that the ethics committee had no plans to act on its own and would address the issue only if it received a complaint.

"I believe his actions constitute an illegal use of taxpayer funds in the use of his paid legislative staff for non-official duties, and his coercion of this activity as a requirement of continued employment is unethical behavior for an elected official whose actions violated the public trust of his office," Dukes said in a letter to the committee's chairmen mailed yesterday. He provided a copy to The Sun.

The Sun reported last week that Colburn, 55, withdrew from classes at University of Maryland Eastern Shore this year after Dukes wrote to university officials, saying that he wrote five papers for the senator for two sociology courses last year.

Dukes said he came forward to prevent Colburn from receiving a bachelor's degree fraudulently and because he regretted his participation in the scheme.

University officials confirmed that Colburn withdrew after Dukes contacted the university.

Colburn has denied the allegations and has described Dukes as a disgruntled employee.

Colburn "looks forward to having an opportunity to provide an accurate account about Mr. Dukes' behavior, and the real story behind his resignation," David R. Thompson, an attorney retained by the senator to address the allegations, said yesterday.

Dukes demonstrated he was more interested in publicity than in justice, Thompson said, by giving his complaint to the media before the ethics committee received it.

The chairmen of the ethics committee, Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr. and Del. John S. Arnick, both of Baltimore County, have said they would wait for a complaint before proceeding.

"We'll sit down and look at the law and see if it musters up to a violation," Arnick said yesterday. "If it comes close, we'll call a committee meeting."

If it chooses to act after finding a violation, the committee can take a range of actions ranging from a letter of reprimand to a recommendation of expulsion from the Assembly.

The senator has said he asked Dukes to type the papers because he does not know how to use a computer. But in an interview this month, Colburn could not answer basic questions about his course work, including the names of his professors or the subjects of books he was supposed to read.

Dukes provided university officials and The Sun with copies of draft papers and handwritten notes from Colburn that Dukes said show the senator did not complete the course work on his own.

The former aide said personal tasks he was asked to do included moving furniture in the senator's home, waiting at his home for repair workers and arranging the resale of Baltimore Orioles baseball tickets.

Related topic galleries: Ethics, Colleges and Universities, Major League Baseball, Norman R Jr Stone, Values, Richard F Colburn, John S Arnick

• HOTEL

• ASSOCIATE SYSTEMS ENGINEER

• ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR

• ACCOUNTANT

• FOOD SERVICE

• View all Top Jobs