Hull woman to take over as Massachusetts government ethics watchdog
The state agency that investigates ethical breaches by government officials -- from Big Dig sick leave abuses to State House babysitting scandals -- will be headed by a Hull woman.
Karen Nober, 46, will take over next month as executive director of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission, which enforces the state's conflict-of-interest and financial-disclosure laws.
Nober has served as deputy chief legal counsel of the Massachusetts Port Authority, where she managed ethics and corporate governance matters for the authority.
"My career has evolved in a way where I have been the conscience of MassPort in a way," Nober said. "I'm the person who tells people they can't do things they want to, and that it's important for MassPort to do things in a way that is ethical and responsible."
Nober said she worked largely behind the scenes at MassPort, and had no public role in ethical scandals such as the 1999 "booze cruise" that forced the resignation of then-MassPort chief Peter Blute.
The state ethics commission currently is investigating former Big Dig Chief Matthew Amorello on possible sick leave policy abuses, and Massachusetts Biotechnology Council Robert K. Coughlin for entering into job talks while still working as a top government aide.
The commission in 2000 fined then acting-Gov. Jane Swift for using State House staffers to baby-sit her child, and fined former House Speaker Charles Flaherty in 1996 for accepting illegal gratuities, such as use of vacation homes, from lobbyists.
Good government advocates say the state commission has a mixed record. For example, $2,000 maximum fines for ethical violations are too low, and the commission often defers to the attorney general or federal investigators on high-profile cases, said Pam Wilmot of Massachusetts Common Cause.
Sixty people applied to replace former executive director Peter Sturges of Cambridge, who resigned earlier this year. Nober will earn a $136,316 salary and manage staff of 23 and a $1.6 million budget.
Judge E. George Daher, the ethics commission chairman, said in a prepared statement: "(Nober) brings to the job a breadth of experience and a depth of knowledge about the application of the conflict of interest law that will serve the commission and the commonwealth well."
A Long Island, N.Y., native, Nober is a graduate of Boston College Law School and Brandeis University.
Patriot Ledger writer Tom Benner may be reached at tbenner@ledger.com