A former Department of Corrections employee has been slapped with a $1,500 fine by the Office of State Ethics for doing business with his former department in violation of state law.
Within one year of his departure from state service as a district food services manager, Jason Rawlinitis, an Enfield resident, became employed by a private company specializing in the distribution of janitorial and maintenance equipment and supplies and was paid by his new company to contact the corrections department to try to market the company’s supplies and services.
State law says no former state employee can, for one year after leaving state service, represent anyone, other than the state, for compensation before the department, agency, board, commission, council or office in which he served at the time of his termination of service, concerning any matter in which the state has a substantial interest.
In his defense, according to an Ethics office statement, Rawlinitis said that he did not intentionally violate the Code of Ethics and he did not realize any financial gain from the violation. Rawlinitis fully cooperated with the enforcement division’s investigation and has no prior history of ethics violations.
