CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Ethics Commission has issued public reprimands against two former top officials with the Boone County Ambulance Authority in connection with a loan that helped the agency’s former executive director.
Former authority president Harold Green and the authority’s former vice president Joseph Gollie violated the state Ethics Act by using their public positions for private gain, the commission said.
The pair signed a loan repayment agreement that allowed former ambulance authority executive director Randall Lengyel transfer his retirement from the Public Employees Retirement System to the more lucrative EMS retirement system.
“Green and Gollie signed a loan repayment agreement which provided that the Authority would loan Lengyel $103,000 interest free,” a news release from the commission said.
The agreement said Lengyel could begin repaying the loan in $350 monthly payments once his retirement benefits began.
Green and Gollie have to pay a $1,000 and undergo training on the Ethics Act.
Lengyel, who repaid the loan, previously entered into a settlement agreement with the Ethics Commission. He received a public reprimand and was fined $5,000.