Gray Guilty of Ethics Violation
A city ethics panel found City-County Council President Monroe Gray guilty of violating the city’s ethics code by failing disclose his relationship with a local contractor on government ethics forms. The panel said Gray should have disclosed his financial interests with Trotter Construction, a local construction company that does business with the city. Gray said he didn’t think he needed to disclose the information because he worked as a subcontractor for Trotter on a project involving Indianapolis Public Schools. However, the panel said the rules were clear and that Gray was required to fill out the form. Since Gray argued he made a mistake the panel recommended he submit an amended statement of economic interest. Gray’s offense was officially labeled as a “technical violation.”
What’s really disturbing about all this folks were some of Gray’s statements during the hearing. He told the panel the form was confusing and complicated and that many city employees don’t even read the form, they just fill it out. I find it hard to believe that Gray, who says he helps train new firefighters who frequently have other jobs about conflicts, that he did not understand the forms.
He also blamed the Indianapolis Star for his troubles, accusing them of driving the story and forming their own legal interpretation of the facts.
